I suppose that JW light is one step removed from JW-has-seen-the-light. There is one thing better than pretending not to be in a high control cult, after all.
TonusOH
JoinedPosts by TonusOH
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78
What the new JW light position really is đź‘Ť
by ElderBerry ini’m still an elder and i consider myself jw light.
as my fellow elders are.
we don’t throw our weight around like elders used to in the past, it’s all very easy going these days.
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GB being sued as a group and named individually in a child sexual abuse coverup.
by liam inthis is a court case filed in august 2021 by the zalkin law firm.
deborah hines vs watchtower and the governing body.. what's interesting is;.
"ny already set a precedent that an unincorporated group can be sued for its action and has specifically said this case can move forward.
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TonusOH
Cases like this are important for another reason: they demolish the narrative that the organization is guided by Jehovah through his holy spirit. Every child that is victimized by people who are not dealt with properly (by immediately contacting the authorities to investigate) is another child that Jehovah let down by not informing the GB to promote the proper policies. And that is before we learn some of the details of these cases, such as the lack of empathy and the times that they allowed the perpetrator to confront their victim in a room where the only other people were elders, which means the victim was basically alone.
So, they have to either admit that they dropped the ball repeatedly for decades, or they have to fight tooth-and-nail, which just makes them look worse. At some point, the publicity will become too much for the rank-and-file to ignore.
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The Share of Religious Americans will continue to decline- New York Times. Why? New Pew Study
by Balaamsass2 inlocally, in northern california i have seen/heard a drop in jw and mainstream church attendance especially in person attendance.
(exception: a new creepy local new-age charismatic/pentecostal group: "bethel church" 11,000 and growing mega church(kundalini yoga/sex combined with prosperity gospel, trumpism, guns, rock music, dancing, glitter, speaking in tongues, and faith healing).. for me this paragraph sums it up regarding jehovah's witnesses: " ...smith described organized religion to me as having become a “polluted” idea in the american mainstream, because of the publicity around sex abuse scandals and financial malfeasance in many different faiths in the ’80s and ’90s as millennials came of age.
“the scandals violated most of the virtues believed to make religion good,” smith wrote.
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TonusOH
According to Pew Research, the breakdown is something like 62% Christian, 29% unaffiliated, and 7% other.
Atheists account for around 5% and agnostics 6%. The growth has been in those who seem uninterested in religion (19%). They don't identify as atheist or agnostic, but they no longer associate with any particular church. I assume that it just doesn't matter much in their lives anymore.
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What's with the attack (counsel) on husbands with no corresponding article for wives?
by Rattigan350 inwhat's with the attack (counsel) on husbands with no corresponding article for wives on the jan 2025 w that is being studied today?.
is there a point to that?.
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TonusOH
There's no corresponding article for women because the WTS considers the man the head of the family and the woman should know her place. In their eyes, her role is simple and easy to remember: your husband is the boss.
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3080
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)
by Simon inuh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.
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TonusOH
Times have changed when he is seeking validation from small YT channels. In the past, he would be the one doing the small channel the favor. Now, he is hoping that no one tells her to look into his recent past, or she may have to make a second video about him...
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What are some of the more exceptional self-authenticating claims made by Jehovah’s Witnesses?
by Vanderhoven7 inlet's start the ball rolling with two connected claims.. the religion of jehovah’s witnesses is the one true religion.
all other religions are satanic, including all the churches of christendom..
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TonusOH
That is correct, Jan. As far as the WTS is concerned, the most important things a JW reads are the articles, books and statements written by the organization. Anything that is not provided by the organization may cause a JW to 'stumble' and become confused or misinformed. It's one of the classic signs of a cult- information control.
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What are some of the more exceptional self-authenticating claims made by Jehovah’s Witnesses?
by Vanderhoven7 inlet's start the ball rolling with two connected claims.. the religion of jehovah’s witnesses is the one true religion.
all other religions are satanic, including all the churches of christendom..
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TonusOH
The impression I always had was that the WTS encourages the rank-and-file to read the Bible, but they are to leave the interpretation to the Governing Body. I don't recall ever hearing an explicit encouragement to read it, but they do (did?) have a program where they would review the Bible --three chapters at a time-- every week. If you followed along, you would eventually read the whole Bible.
In the past, Russell claimed that his Studies in the Scriptures were a such a superior guide to understanding the Bible that reading the Bible was unnecessary. In fact, his claim was that someone who only read the Bible would 'fall into darkness' unless he made sure to also read SitS. Thus, there was a time when it could be said that the WTS openly discouraged reading the Bible.
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New GB member Judy Jedele critizing Job's "humility" while wearing $20,000 Rolex, gold cuff links, coloured suit. Incredible!
by WingCommander ini swear, you can't make this shit up!
for years and years growing up in this cult, i had to constantly hear from my parents, from the stage, in the literature, about "keeping your eye simple", not being "materialistic", not "having a showy display of one's wealth.
" of course, this never seemed to apply to the wealthy business owning elduhzzzz who ran and lorded it out over the congregations, but i digress.
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TonusOH
I feel like I'm the only person here without some kind of expertise on watches.
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Examples of Watchtower flawed interpretation of Bible passages?
by Vanderhoven7 inasking jehovah’s witnesses to interpret specific passages is a great way to demonstrate their interpretive abuse.
got any clear examples?.
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TonusOH
Journeyman: Could the "slave" be illustrative of a group?
If I am remembering correctly, this is one of the reasons they started referring to the "slave class."
The WTS insists that it does not use a heirarchical structure like the Catholic Church. Then they start referring to various "classes." You are of this class, they are of that class, and so on.
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What are some of the more exceptional self-authenticating claims made by Jehovah’s Witnesses?
by Vanderhoven7 inlet's start the ball rolling with two connected claims.. the religion of jehovah’s witnesses is the one true religion.
all other religions are satanic, including all the churches of christendom..
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TonusOH
Their view that non-JWs are doomed is perhaps the most striking difference as someone who was born in and is now outside of the bubble. I think that it is one of the views that helped me get out over time, because it's impossible not to meet people that you feel don't deserve that fate.
5. The WTS is a spirit-guided organization-- its leadership is informed by Jehovah through his holy spirit.
(5a. Jehovah somehow manages to give them the wrong information from time-to-time.)