Posts by startingover

32

How many JW's left after the 1925 debacle?

by middleman in

i'm very interested to see how many left because the "proclaimers" book said it was very few.

it's my understanding that there were over a third that left but i'm not sure of this figure.

if anyone has this info it would be much appreciated-hopefully with a source for verification.

startingover

Cofty,

I think your comments about their achieiving "cult" status at that time are right on. My grandfather got involved in 1910, from what I know of him I firmly believe he was attracted to the pyramid measuring thing, but before his death he made documented comments that he was having a hard time with what was going on. He happened to be close friends with one of Rubberfarts henchmen, which I firmly believe accounted for him being among the 25% that remained after the 1925 debacle. But as the numbers Leolaia posted shows, the numbers started to go up shortly after, and I suppose it would be easy, especially if you had a powerful friend, to just go on with it. In my grandfather's case, it appears that it was about 10-15 years before the changes started bothering him.

100

Where did 607 come from?

by MrFreeze in

okay so we've obviously established on this board that 607 is not the correct date that babylon destroyed jerusalem.

even before 1914 came around, the bible students still thought 1914 would be a pivital date.

the only way they can gain that info is from the 7 times or w/e.

startingover

Whenever these threads develop and scholar is involved, I can't help picturing him sitting at his keyboard, typing away saying "If i just ignore what they say and type this, watch them get all excited. I can just do this over and over and they will respond everytime." I'm not saying I don't appreciate the many posts by those in the know on this subject, it doesn't take long in these discussions for anyone other than those with JW blinders firmly attached to see the real issues.

I really think you do more harm than good Mr. Scholar if your goal is really to prove the WT is right. Those with enough interest to actually look into what is being said can see that your arguments don't hold water. OTOH, if you expounded your arguments at the local KH, there would be little or no interest. I guess from that viewpoint if you truly are interested in this subject, it would make sense to come to a place like this where you could actually carry on a discussion about it.

65

Help me become a real CRAZY FUNDIE ATHEIST parent!

by bohm in

jw
friends

hello friends!.

once in a while you hear about fundie atheists, and i have desided to become one.

but i need a bit of advice.. you see, apparently the fundie atheists are as messed up as their worst religious "fundie" counterparts, so i got some expectations to live up to.. i have desided to focus on how i should raise my child, since the religious dickery i hate the most has to do with how children are raised.

startingover

Tec,

I have to admit it really gets under my skin a bit when you are quick to jump in promoting Jesus when in reality it doesn't seem like he's really given you direct answers. I guess I don't understand why this Jesus character gets all the credit you give him.

65

Help me become a real CRAZY FUNDIE ATHEIST parent!

by bohm in

jw
friends

hello friends!.

once in a while you hear about fundie atheists, and i have desided to become one.

but i need a bit of advice.. you see, apparently the fundie atheists are as messed up as their worst religious "fundie" counterparts, so i got some expectations to live up to.. i have desided to focus on how i should raise my child, since the religious dickery i hate the most has to do with how children are raised.

startingover

Tec,

Your last post spoke volumes. You beieve because you want to believe. Even if it doesn't make sense, you still make it work because for you it just has to.

86

Oompa

by palmtree67 in

jw
friends

he was in a very bad motorcycle accident on tuesday and is in the icu.. i think we could all send our oompa good vibes, prayers and healing angels.. .

.

startingover

Anyone heard anything new about Oompah's situation?

17

Went to a strange funeral today

by startingover in

jw
friends

went to a funeral today for a lady that has not been associated with the jw's for many years, and her husband has probably just been on the fringe of association, their children have been out for a long time.

so they had the funeral at a funeral home, the place was full of family, jw's and other friends.

in the newspaper obituary they referred to it as a celebration of life.

startingover

No Jam, that is no joke.

17

Went to a strange funeral today

by startingover in

jw
friends

went to a funeral today for a lady that has not been associated with the jw's for many years, and her husband has probably just been on the fringe of association, their children have been out for a long time.

so they had the funeral at a funeral home, the place was full of family, jw's and other friends.

in the newspaper obituary they referred to it as a celebration of life.

startingover

I've known the people involved in this for quite a while. I think the elder, who knows the husband well, was not quite sure how to handle the situation. He seemed a little uneasy about things and messed up big time reading the scripture from Job (couldn't find the exact verse in his notes after he drew attention to the words of the "prophet" Job). He came across as very unprepared as he messed up naming the family (he was reminded at the end of the talk by a daughter before his prayer) and stumbled through the eulogy prepared by the family as if he had never seen it before.

It was definitely an unusual situation, which I can understand. But the "god bless you" comment really stunned me. There was really no need for him to say that. Of course, it also stunned me when the theme of the DC a few years ago was "Follow the Christ" and also when I walked into a recently remodeled KH less than a year ago and was faced with a big picture of Jesus with his outstreched hand in the entryway. Having been a JW since my birth more than half a century ago these things catch my attention, they just aren't things JW's do.

17

Went to a strange funeral today

by startingover in

jw
friends

went to a funeral today for a lady that has not been associated with the jw's for many years, and her husband has probably just been on the fringe of association, their children have been out for a long time.

so they had the funeral at a funeral home, the place was full of family, jw's and other friends.

in the newspaper obituary they referred to it as a celebration of life.

startingover

Went to a funeral today for a lady that has not been associated with the JW's for many years, and her husband has probably just been on the fringe of association, their children have been out for a long time. So they had the funeral at a funeral home, the place was full of family, JW's and other friends. In the newspaper obituary they referred to it as a Celebration of Life. I honestly did not know what to expect, but I figured since she had been out for so long the JW thing would probably be on the back burner.

The talk was given by a JW elder, but he did not follow any JW outline. He talked mostly about the woman and her family and her life from a manuscript the family had given him. There were a couple of scriptures at the end, one mentioning the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous, and along with the scripture he said that those who accept god are the righteous, and those who do not are the unrighteous, but that everyone gets a resurrection. Interesting. Then he read a scripture from the prophet Job (I never heard of him referred to as a prophet), said a short JW prayer and then invited the audience to the families home. He ended it by saying "God bless you". I thought WTF! Since when is "god bless you" in the JW vocabulary?

It was a wierd experince, even more so at the reception where there was a mixture of family, long time JW's, DF'd people and faded JW's with goatees. I've been to a funeral like this once before, but the god bless you comment really caught my attention.

96

Challenges Facing the Watchtower Org

by eric356 in

ive been thinking about the future of the watchtower organization and the challenges it faces in coming decades.

its difficult to address the issue without allowing personal feelings affect the analysis.

many people seem to think that the society will collapse fairly soon, based mostly on the fact that the person dislikes the leadership or cant understand how others can believe the doctrine.

startingover

What a great thread! Lots of food for thought, thanks to everyone for their input.

3

New Elder's book question

by startingover in

jw
friends

i read a comment on a facebook page after it first came out that they are now capitalizing faithful and discrete slave in the book and not capitalizing he or him when referring to god.

just curious if anyone knows anything about that or saw it on facebook..

startingover

I read a comment on a facebook page after it first came out that they are now capitalizing faithful and discrete slave in the book and not capitalizing he or him when referring to god. Just curious if anyone knows anything about that or saw it on facebook.