westiebilly11

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Posts by westiebilly11

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  24

  A brazen falsehood in this week's Watchtower study! (week of Feb 9 - 15, 2015)

  by Island Man in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  on page 13 of the december 15, 2014 watchtower (study edition), the first 2 sentences of paragraph 10 say:.

  "the symbolic separating of fish does not refer to the final judgment during the great tribulation.

  rather, it highlights what would happen during the last days of this wicked system.".

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  westiebilly11

  .all makes as much sense as saying it will be dry tomorrow if it doesn't rain between the showers..!
  
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  72

  Is the preaching work, no longer the number 1 priority?

  by ToesUp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been observing a pattern in recent wtbs publications and events.

  is the importance of the preaching activity no longer the number 1 priority?

  are not billions of lives still at stake?.

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  westiebilly11

  again ,from my own experience, with each meeting I attended in my early years in, I was surprised to discover how expansion/attendance came from horizontal connections rather than new ones from outside, as someone has said earlier, families bring in extended family members and aunts/uncle etc etc.

  Rarely did I ever see freshers come in from the world, it was usually through family connections, even if such connections were only tenuous or temporary in attendance.(curiosity no doubt). Thankfully none of my family did come in, something which made my exit almost painless....although I did miss some genuinely nice people.
  
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  72

  Is the preaching work, no longer the number 1 priority?

  by ToesUp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been observing a pattern in recent wtbs publications and events.

  is the importance of the preaching activity no longer the number 1 priority?

  are not billions of lives still at stake?.

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  westiebilly11

  ..in my own experience of the local congregation the ones who came in from outside were either old, loners, disabled, widows/widowers, or transitory, ie they'd come for a while then drift out, only to be replaced by fresh ones,...rather like a social club than a religious meeting.( In fact during my first year or so in I was swamped with meals out, cinema outings, etc etc almost as if to help me avoid any genuine ' smelling of the coffee'....)
  

  .to back this up when I first went, in 1983 , the congregation numbered about 90, after approx 10 years it was decided to form another congregation, (probably to allow born in teenagers the opportunity to gain 'privileges'/reach out ) so both had approx 55,  when I left 3 years ago each cong numbered about 75, so total of 150 from original joint of 90....hardly massive growth, even allowing for comings and goings..
  

  There always seemed to be babies or babies on the way, as soon as a young couple married "in the lord" within a year or so they'd be reproducing...very few if any normal, run of the mill, mr and mrs smith, average ,worldly couples/single ever came in,...
  
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  72

  Is the preaching work, no longer the number 1 priority?

  by ToesUp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been observing a pattern in recent wtbs publications and events.

  is the importance of the preaching activity no longer the number 1 priority?

  are not billions of lives still at stake?.

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  westiebilly11

  I'm so glad I was not a born in..I chose to go in...and, after 30 years, I chose to leave after certain dubious elders revealed their true colours....I feel sorry for those born in as they have been cultivated and nurtured to accept without choice ...institutionally programmed..most lacking the tenacity and courage to reject what they did not choose..and risk being shut out of family and lifelong associations...I hope that as time passes and with the drip drip of internet alarm bells...those wasted young lives will yet choose freeedom...
  
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  72

  Is the preaching work, no longer the number 1 priority?

  by ToesUp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been observing a pattern in recent wtbs publications and events.

  is the importance of the preaching activity no longer the number 1 priority?

  are not billions of lives still at stake?.

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  westiebilly11

  judging by the trolley brigade and their passive attitudes...it does seem that the ministry has lost it's impetus...all the years I was in it was always the number one priority...save lives...warn people....the time left is reduced....just as in the times of Noah etc etc...but in recent years/months it seems that they have no clear idea what they're warning people about...the paragraph on page 2 or is it 3 of the magazines seems vaguer and less defined....younger ones loathe the door to door ministry...I know as I've been told that by ones I still talk with (unofficially!)...
  
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  12

  The last refuge of a cult

  by undercover in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the wts struggles to survive in the 21st century, what with the internet, social media, instant communication, instant video, instant music, instant porn, er, not that i'd know anything about that last one... but anyhoo.... as they struggle to keep the young ones indoctrinated, they've finally realized that sitting in wt meetings four days a week, and knocking on doors at least once a week is not appealing to millennials, and with all the new technology at their fingertips, it doesn't take but a couple of clicks of a mouse to find enough disturbing info on the wts to encourage them to fade away.. so what to do?

  well, if you can't beat em, join em.

  after years of demonizing the internet, televangelists, showboating religious leaders, and discouraging anything that could lead a person to question their authority, they finally figured out they can't beat em.

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  westiebilly11

  perhaps the one thing that most jws hate ( unofficially of course) is going out in the ministry and calling on people unsolicited,,youngsters surely find this uncomfortable and difficult..yes, there will always be the pioneer stereotype who revels in boasting of hours and placements etc etc but the majority of the young ones surely find it outdated and profitless...it harkens back to the days when double glazing salesmen used to call and were told to get lost...the ministry will drive youngsters away....eventually...
  
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  6

  Something JWs don't understand how to do

  by enigma1863 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i had to share this quote.

  it reminds me of trying to reason with jws.

  you can only go so far before they shut down.. .

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  westiebilly11

  they're unable and unwilling to discuss or think rationally about anything that may from their perspective weaken or cast doubt on their faith or their personal perception of what faith is..It is as if to begin such a thinking process is a form of self abuse..any attempt to get them to think 'outside their wt made box' is interpreted as an act of satan ....they cannot think rationally or independently because that is something satan would do and did do when he rebelled...so it's a No No from the start.
  
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  20

  A few more random thoughts on the new Kingdom Hall design meeting

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  left completely unsaid at the meeting: who is going to be the owner of the property & building when all of these new khs are built?

  in the current arrangement, in most cases, a local trust is set up to hold ownership.

  of course, the most likely answer is "the watchtower (or whatever shell corporations they set up) will own the land & building".

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  westiebilly11

  perhaps by using the jw. / org  symbol/sign  the buildings will automatically pass into  corporate wt ownership...is there any small print anywhere that might hint at this?.....
  
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  72

  Last nights meeting...

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know dubs are delusional.

  i know dubs don't reason well.

  i know dubs are a bit off, like many groups.

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  westiebilly11

  ...there was a time when I was in when the org/jw/wt stood for pure worship of a loving and patient god....meeetings and study material was solid and constructive...positive and heartwarming.encouraging all of us to work together and reach out to one another...the bible really did seem true...a real message from god.....elders were loving and caring...approachable......but now...when I see stuff like this topic and random wt articles spouting forth hate for weaker ones...I am saddened and even angry....wishy washy doctrines...isolationism from the real world....trapped young people with no viable or painless way to walk out into the real world and pursue careers and education and be really useful to others.....this cartoon dvd is almost..almost rock bottom....
  
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  19

  Survey: How Many Here Have Gotten Into Trouble With The Elders

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how many were brought in the infamous back room?

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  westiebilly11

  vey true blondie...wish I had taken your advice a few years ago....I complied...all the way..