Posts by Lost in the fog

16

are the witnesses now considered "clergy " ?

by lancelink in

years ago when i was a jw, one of their cornerstone teachings was that they were nothing like babylon the great.

i remember being taught that the witnesses not using any type of clergy class distinction was proof that they had the right religion.. well, recently we had this article in the local paper, and an elder who was no doubt the presiding overseer tried to use the clergy class excuse to get out of answering questions regarding a child abuse case.

here is the statement that really got to me.

Lost in the fog

I know that you can choose to opt out of doing jury duty in the UK if you are a minister of religion.

So brothers and sisters were stating on their application form that they were so they could get out of doing it. Then the WT Branch sent out a letter saying that only congregation elders could use this cop out clause.

So the irony is that on the one hand every witness is told during the baptism talk "today you are qualified as ministers of God" they aren't allowed to say so in any secular setting until they have qualified as an elder.

Elders can choose to use their rights as a Minister of Religion to not be on a jury, BUT it is a conscience matter. The brother who is the coordinator of the congregation I used to be in, was twice on jury duty. He told us about one case which was a murder with his words "but we nailed the bastard!" I reckon you can all guess what he is like on judicial committees as well...

1

It isn't only the witnesses.

by Lost in the fog in

at last we have a statement that it's not all about the jws because to listen to them you would think that it was.

u.s. commission on international religious freedom database lists religious prisoners across globe - washington times.

https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/6/us-commission-on-international-religious-freedom-d/ .

Lost in the fog

At last we have a statement that it's not all about the JWs because to listen to them you would think that it was.

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom database lists religious prisoners across globe - Washington Times

https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/6/us-commission-on-international-religious-freedom-d/

41

Creepy display

by neat blue dog in

.

i dunno about you, but if i walked up to this display at an expo i'd be a little creeped out..

Lost in the fog

We saw a similar creepy photograph recently. Talk about fixed denture smiles, although the girl 3rd from the left is definitely having to force her smile.

A friend said that they looked like 5 aliens, adding "Are they really tracts in their hands and not stun guns!" Lol.

23

Did You Ever Get Hit On By An Elder?

by minimus in

jw
friends

the organization stresses to elders to be careful with members of the opposite sex.

never be alone with a sister whether it be in field service or paying a visit by means of a shepherding call.

do you know of any elders that flirted or were overly “touchy” with females?

Lost in the fog

I used to find it hilarious that older elders would hand out this advice to younger elders, but had no problem giving lifts to an entire car party of sisters. Who knew whether the last one was dropped off at the roadside or inside.

And for the ministry we had one Service Overseer who would only work with teenager sisters, putting a helpful arm around their "shoulders" to steady them at the door. Mind you it caused several to stop going out on the work, and a couple to leave the religion entirely. But when it was raised at an elders meeting, all his cronies had a holier than thou attitude and how dare you impune this fine upstanding older man....

Excuse me while I go outside and throw up.

12

Update/Change In OD Coming Soon

by mr_doubtful in

there will be an update/change in the od book coming soon.

i have it on good word that this change in the od book has already been pushed out & notified to the “higher ups”.

newwww light!.

Lost in the fog

I don't think most witnesses read any of the books now that they are online. It's not like having a real book.

It used to be that when you qualified as an unbaptised publisher you were given the OD book as if it was a golden key to baptism.

It doesn't hold the same excitement to say OK you qualify and you can download this book if you haven't already done so but please be aware that if you download all the books you need to study you'll have no gigs left on your device.

4

Not official representatives?

by Lost in the fog in

just copying this article from a us newspaper website.

it was the section of the article that said, ".

when a reporter asks about jehovah's witness beliefs, a church elder refers her to the website jw.org, explaining that the quinoneses and wellses aren't official church spokespersons.".

Lost in the fog

Just copying this article from a US newspaper website. It was the section of the article that said, "

When a reporter asks about Jehovah's Witness beliefs, a church elder refers her to the website jw.org, explaining that the Quinoneses and Wellses aren't official church spokespersons."

So despite the fact that they were baptised as MINISTERS and are REPRESENTING Jehovah and ADVERTISING the Kingdom from door to door, they are NOT actually spokespeople for the (church) congregation.

Makes you wonder why they bother going out!

Making a 1.5 minute heavenly pitch - Laredo Morning Times.

https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/Making-a-1-5-minute-heavenly-pitch-14803641.php

24

The "figurative" heart

by Sour Grapes in

about 25 years ago i gave a talk about how when the bible talks about the heart that it is the literal heart and how the heart and the brain are connected by nerve tissue.

the watchtower even stated that some people who received a heart transplant would take on some of the personality of the donor.then all of a sudden the borg changed and said that when the bible refers to the heart that it is figurative.

then when ever the watchtower referred to the heart it always put the word figurative in front of it.. does anyone know why there was a change in the use of the word heart?

Lost in the fog

I remember those Heart talks as well. The trouble is that dyed in the wool JWs believe every single word printed in the WT as gospel. It does not matter if it flies in the face of common sense or scientific fact, it was in the WT therefore it must be true.

I remember being taught about the ice age forcing up mountain ranges at school, but the circuit servant had given a talk saying that geology science failed to accept that the flood caused the upheaval. As a child I didn't know what to believe but erred on the side of the WTS to be ridiculed in my classroom. I now know how silly I was to do so. But, I just give that as an example of the mind control of never going against the spoken or written words of the WTS. And I reckon that the majority of the JWs still would not do so even on pain of ridicule or worse.

23

JWB 5th Anniversary GB host lineup

by neat blue dog in

the recent article on the 5th anniversary of jw broadcasting includes a helpful graphic showing our hosts:.

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Lost in the fog

Based on their belief that the GB will be in heaven with Christ, then the sooner these old men die, the quicker Armageddon will come in. The rank and file are probably praying for their deaths every day.

24

Where are the funds going to come from? Warwick Expansion

by HiddenPimo in

so with the news that they are remodeling patterson and expanding warwick, where are the funds going to come from?.

could this be a ruse like the need for thousands of kingdom halls proclaimed a few years back only to be replaced with the we realized the halls were not at capacity and the great sell-off began?.

maybe the hope is going to be that the sheep will give give give and then all of the sudden, after prayerful consideration the gb have determined that the current resources are sufficient to create the needed media and content.. my bet is that in 10 years it will all be consolidated to warwick and walkill and patterson will be sold to who i have no idea, but they own a ton of property in upstate ny..

Lost in the fog

Like this new recording and TV studio. Notice that they don't want to reveal how much it will cost, but will no doubt be asking the faithful sheeple to contribute towards it.

https://www.recordonline.com/news/20191008/jehovahs-witnesses-to-build-huge-media-production-center

Helping Cult Victims Cope.

by Lost in the fog in

while the following article deals with cults in a broad brush manner, the final section on helping cult victims cope with life after leaving is very practical, especially the self assessment review questions.

i found it helpful to me.

https://theness.com/index.php/the-prey-of-cults/.

Lost in the fog

While the following article deals with cults in a broad brush manner, the final section on helping cult victims cope with life after leaving is very practical, especially the self assessment review questions. I found it helpful to me.

https://theness.com/index.php/the-prey-of-cults/