Quite an accomplishment
Congrats
original thread here.
update: so, after the meeting i had with elders a few weeks ago as outlined in my original thread, they met as a body and once again called to tell me that after considering my case they still thought a judicial committee should be held against me and asked to be there "thursday at 7:30".
all of this, i remind you, because of posting coc on facebook.
Quite an accomplishment
Congrats
i think the single biggest mistake the governing body have made in the last 10 years has to be creating jw broadcasting and putting their gb members on there... on a weekly basis too.. when i was a kid, i had no idea who the governing body were, what their names were or what they looked like.
there was one or two long term pioneers that knew the names of two of them but that was about it.. when i was about 10yo i imagined they looked something like this:.
ahh.... those learned men with a lifetime of bible knowledge just oozing out of their very hearts.
The word "mature" was part of the WT vocabulary and it was a goal to be reached by any sincere JW; I don't see that word repeated constantly as it was before. One of the requisites to get maturity was personal study.
The WT knows that very few current JWs are studying at all, what the WT is doing is spoon feeding them in the way that is done in modern society and the results are a new generation of "light" JWs .
i am going to engage on a trip to the past and share with you some of the matters that marked the beginning of the jws persecution in cuba.
you will be surprised that the pattern that was followed is very similar to what happened in other dictatorial countries.. in the cuban case, i am going to surprise you and tell you that like what happened with hitler; the wt was partially responsible for their clash and confrontation with the cuban government.
during the early 60s the revolution was fighting for survival and they were willing and ready to demolish any perceived enemy to their cause.. a prime example was their war against the catholic church that was the most influential religious entity in the country; it took the supreme leader only a few public discourses to send the vast majority of clergy packing and back to their country, in this case spain.. the jehovah’s witnesses were an insignificant minority but they over estimated their importance and displayed a belligerent attitude, it was known that this was a us based religion and an easy target to connect them with the cia.
For Fisherman and others following the saga, here is some information that might explain the relaxation of the WT persecution in Cuba:
Castro was baptized and raised a Roman Catholic as a child but did not practice as one. In Oliver Stone's documentary Comandante, Castro states "I have never been a believer", and has total conviction that there is only one life.[2] Pope John XXIII excommunicated Castro in 1962 after Castro suppressed Catholic institutions in Cuba.[3] Castro has publicly criticized what he sees as elements of the Bible that have been used to justify the oppression of both women and people of African descent throughout history.[4]
In 1992, Castro agreed to loosen restrictions on religion and even permitted church-going Catholics to join the Communist Party of Cuba. He began describing his country as "secular" rather than "atheist".[5] Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in 1998, the first visit by a reigning pontiff to the island. Castro and the Pope appeared side by side in public on several occasions during the visit. Castro wore a dark blue business suit rather than fatigues in his public meetings with the Pope and treated him with reverence and respect.[6] In December 1998, Castro formally re-instated Christmas Day as the official celebration for the first time since its abolition by the Communist Party in 1969.[7] Cubans were again allowed to markChristmas as a holiday and to openly hold religious processions. The Pope sent a telegram to Castro thanking him for restoring Christmas as a public holiday.[8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_Fidel_Castro
i would love to compile a list of the education obtained by the governing body members both past and present.
can anyone provide any information to get me started?.
it still amazes me they think they can translate ancient languages with an 8th grade education.
What I remember is that George Gangas, a Greek-Armenian was involved in the translation work. He didn't have an scholar background just his knowledge of the two languages by virtue of his birth.
i am going to engage on a trip to the past and share with you some of the matters that marked the beginning of the jws persecution in cuba.
you will be surprised that the pattern that was followed is very similar to what happened in other dictatorial countries.. in the cuban case, i am going to surprise you and tell you that like what happened with hitler; the wt was partially responsible for their clash and confrontation with the cuban government.
during the early 60s the revolution was fighting for survival and they were willing and ready to demolish any perceived enemy to their cause.. a prime example was their war against the catholic church that was the most influential religious entity in the country; it took the supreme leader only a few public discourses to send the vast majority of clergy packing and back to their country, in this case spain.. the jehovah’s witnesses were an insignificant minority but they over estimated their importance and displayed a belligerent attitude, it was known that this was a us based religion and an easy target to connect them with the cia.
Fisherman
FC did the same with most religion property, shutting down their operations but not taking the property; as to why I don't have an answer.
After the raid operations in the Branch became very limited,I remember that the "study material" as it was called came from stencil machines, it was a very arduous process done in different locations. After the release of the few copies allocated per congregation, enterprising friends will type a few more for distribution using carbon paper.
i am going to engage on a trip to the past and share with you some of the matters that marked the beginning of the jws persecution in cuba.
you will be surprised that the pattern that was followed is very similar to what happened in other dictatorial countries.. in the cuban case, i am going to surprise you and tell you that like what happened with hitler; the wt was partially responsible for their clash and confrontation with the cuban government.
during the early 60s the revolution was fighting for survival and they were willing and ready to demolish any perceived enemy to their cause.. a prime example was their war against the catholic church that was the most influential religious entity in the country; it took the supreme leader only a few public discourses to send the vast majority of clergy packing and back to their country, in this case spain.. the jehovah’s witnesses were an insignificant minority but they over estimated their importance and displayed a belligerent attitude, it was known that this was a us based religion and an easy target to connect them with the cia.
I heard that very few can get internet in Cuba, so JW sign don't do much for the locals.
Fisherman
One of your pending questions, internet is already there and expanding. I assume that it becomes more accessible is going to be a headache for the WT, similar to the USA experience.
playing devil's advocate here.... what's the difference between the gb changing bible interpretations compared to parliaments all over the world changing laws?
although the us constitution (=bible) remains untouched, congress passes i don't know how many new laws every year.
and of course people are expected to follow them.
People can oppose and change parliament if they don't like what they are doing.
i still go to the meetings because of my in wife and it came about that the elders knew of my pissed off attitude about the society getting involved in the un.
so the elders said they could help me get over that and wanted to meet with me.
now just to let you know, i have only told my wife and her mom so far about it, that's it.
I just remembered this one point that elder stuck-up made. He said that now a days, even people who point to articles like a 1972 WT or something is, No we don't even consider that anymore.
If that is the case then the decisions that were taken based on their representations are no longer valid and the old-timers are free to go on their merrier ways.
i still go to the meetings because of my in wife and it came about that the elders knew of my pissed off attitude about the society getting involved in the un.
so the elders said they could help me get over that and wanted to meet with me.
now just to let you know, i have only told my wife and her mom so far about it, that's it.
Since the dreaded word apostate came out in the conversation keep your guard up, this is not over yet; it is very possible that after talking to the other elders they might want to follow this. If that is the case act dumb, no arguments whatsoever; just listen.
hey guys it's been 2 years since leaving and this is how life has gone for us since then.
hope you guys have had a positive experience too!
cheers 😃.
Your comment is a grand slam and it seems to be having an effect, the original post was from a month ago and it has 10 comments, the majority are related to your observations.
Maybe this young couple that is doing a very admirable task should take a minute of their time to reciprocate a bit.