Gossip and tittle tattle were rife in my old congregation. Much of it dispensed and incited by wives of elders of all ages, as well as idle single sisters with too much time on their hands. Many the time when I listened to a widow or infirm elderly one who opened their heart to me in pain at the unjust and often malicious gossip they'd heard. One widow in particular would openly cry and when I encouraged her to go to the elders she'd say that it was just too hard to do, since it was their wives who were the gossipers...So cruel...
westiebilly11
JoinedPosts by westiebilly11
-
14
If gossiping was a D.Fing offence how many in your congro would be D.Fed?
by karter inthere goes at least half the elders wife's alot of the publishers.
karter.
-
-
westiebilly11
-
56
"You Wouldn't Believe How Many Have Crawled Back To The Meetings"
by minimus inthat's a comment i heard from an elder i haven't seen in over a decade, yesterday.
i mentioned it all on my other thread.
i responded that i knew of no one that was crawling back to the meetings and gave him an incredulous hearty chuckle.
-
-
westiebilly11
Such loving words from a man who has genuine love for mankind. Gee, I can see why he's an elder. Worth his weight in gold. Such compassion....so touching. Minimus may well be exaggerating, I don't know, but I have heard similar words from someone who was an MS but who is now an elder...
-
141
Do You Remember When JWs Relished Explaining Their Beliefs?
by minimus ini bet most witnesses could not explain their blood policy, their understanding of the slave, and even simple biblical doctrines....they are an embarrassment to any old timer..
-
-
westiebilly11
The big difference is that in years past the GB and the elders sought to explain the Bible and their beliefs., and were genuinely concerned for others, .but nowadays it seems that they try and justify themselves and their own take on the Bible...and have little real love for others..
-
62
Meeting Attendance levels
by freddo ini attended a sunday meeting today after missing a couple due to a bout of chronic apathy.
out of 74 publishers we had a grand total of 33. wonderful.
for those that attend, how are you finding the numbers?.
-
-
westiebilly11
locally ,ministry and going from home to home seems to be dying a natural death...motivation lacking. Rarely see any out these days...yet it used to be pushed so hard when I was in.
-
30
Is Satan really the bad guy in story of creation?
by evilApostate ini wanted to take an objective look at satan in the story of creation.
this is not meant to offend those of you who are still christians.
i'm agnostic btw.
-
-
westiebilly11
Reading this again has made me notice something I never have before.....Gen 1 verses 26-28..Man was made in God's/A N Other's image (image meaning what??)...yet Gen 3 v 4 etc says that only after eating the fruit would man then be 'like God'...like one of us. etc etc..mmm.Seems odd to me....
-
3
BBC Radio Four Comedy Centering Around Leaving the Witnesses.
by gonzobear ini heard this on the radio last week and thought it was really powerful, amazingly radio four referred to the witnesses as a religious cult, which i thought was progress.
it's a strangely tough listen, i'm sure many of you have been through similar, i know i was, and to hear it presented as comedy seems to add an extra punch.
it's great to see true life stories gaining some media traction.
-
-
westiebilly11
It was brilliant...should be heard by all witnesses...to the point too. Covered elsewhere on this forum....
-
41
I don't think I will be able to escape the JWs ...
by nevaagain ini know i will get a lot of backslash on this forum for saying this, but as it looks like, i won't ever be able to escape the jws.
i have been a born in, third generation jw and awoken in one way or another (i joined this forum 15 years ago) for a very long time.
but i have adapted to the jw lifestyle to a point where it does not bother me anymore.
-
-
westiebilly11
How long can you tread water?...Wish you well, you're clearly in a confort zone...if you're happy as you are then no one should criticize you...but be true to yourself....to do otherwise is fools gold..
-
13
Hilarious Radio Standup By An Ex-Witness
by pale.emperor inguys, you gotta check this out.
she explains the whole religion in a very funny way.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x6mf3#play.
-
-
westiebilly11
I found her observational humour and her common sense dismantling of the whole jw mess brilliant! I'd love to record her show but bbc iplayer won't let me ... Hope many JWs heard it too since it was on Radio 4 midday...and here's the odd thing...I was travelling between clients and would normally listen to my cd..but ..for some strange reason, something (someone??!) made me choose to listen to the radio...Divine intervention?..Perhaps?!!
-
41
what are your thoughts on this quote from the elders book?
by aboveusonlysky in'in order to extend mercy, the committee must be convinced that the wrongdoer has a changed heart condition and that he has a zeal to right the wrong and is absolutely determined to avoid it in the future.'.
shepherd the flock page 91. i remember this is one of the first things that concerned me as an elder because it seemed to sound like a person is guilty until proven innocent rather than 'love believes all things', especially given the word 'convinced' appears in bold.. then in a training video one elder said something like 'unless we are convinced of repentance the shepherd the flock book says we must disfellowship'.
that was the begining of the end for me as i thought surely true christians would reason the other way round and show mercy wherever possible.. any thoughts?.
-
-
westiebilly11
Village Idiot..No. The carer was one of a team of carers who looked after my wife. The difference is that the carer went above and beyond by taking unpaid time out to deal with personal hygiene matters etc and even took my wife out for meals etc in her own time. The carer never was a JW . To the shame of my fellow JWs at the time, none of them offered to help me or even made time to visit my wife when she became bedbound. But, they would call round (3 at a time !) to count time in trying to conduct a study, even though my wife was unable to understand or make sense of study material as her mind was quite far gone....
-
41
what are your thoughts on this quote from the elders book?
by aboveusonlysky in'in order to extend mercy, the committee must be convinced that the wrongdoer has a changed heart condition and that he has a zeal to right the wrong and is absolutely determined to avoid it in the future.'.
shepherd the flock page 91. i remember this is one of the first things that concerned me as an elder because it seemed to sound like a person is guilty until proven innocent rather than 'love believes all things', especially given the word 'convinced' appears in bold.. then in a training video one elder said something like 'unless we are convinced of repentance the shepherd the flock book says we must disfellowship'.
that was the begining of the end for me as i thought surely true christians would reason the other way round and show mercy wherever possible.. any thoughts?.
-
-
westiebilly11
In my own case they were prejudiced from the start. I was not prepared to cave in and apologize for something which most people would have considered to be kindness. My sin? Repaying a particularly caring carer with a meal for looking after my late wife. I was brought up to be kind and considerate to all and the elders warped perception of acts of kindness made no allowance for my 'kind nature'. Looking back, the elders could not 'show any mercy' beacuse to do so would be to admit to their own failings/shortcomings. Catch 22...Elders are aloof and unwilling or unable to mitigate their own judgmentalism....Judicial committees are thus flawed from the start........