Posts by gingerbread

9

DID WW2 SAVE THE WATCHTOWER?

by nowwhat? in

i put together all the pieces of the russell-rutherford years, but i am trying to figure out why the the watchtower did'nt fall apart after the 1925 false prophecy.

did world war 2 scare people into thinking armegeddon is finally near?

it seems once brother knorr took over the society experienced tremendous growth.

gingerbread

Rutherford was a salesman.

Like any good salesman, he could use emotional argument to convince the unaware to buy. Rutherford also promoted himself as "President" of the WT Society and he was adored as such by the faithful.

By 1940, Knorr and Franz realized that times had changed. With a massive global war in full swing and later the fear of nuclear (Armageddon-like) destruction in the news, they capitalized on those sentiments. Knorr realized that his personality couldn't carry the Org. into the second half of the century. He changed the face of the WT ( just like the 'new' Governing Body is currently doing ).

He, Franz and the other writers became 'anonymous' and set about running the Org. like an international publishing company. I grew and grew and grew. Money flowed in by the bag loads and they invested it in real estate and the stock markets - around the world.

Their speculations payed off - big time.

ginger

97

Unconfirmed 2014 Year Book Numbers - Peak Pubs, Baptized, Hrs, Reg Pio & Studies

by OwnAccord in

jw
friends

i bethelite sent this email out - can't really give out names.

we wrote these figures as quickly as possible, but could not keep up 100%).

you get to check these figures out when you get your 2014 yearbook.

gingerbread

"Most are humble and poor."

That's the most depressing line from this post.

Religion has preyed upon and used (and abused) this demographic for centuries. Jehovah's Witnesses are no different. And they want you to stay that way...

ginger

31

What % of householders would have a clue about the "life saving " message JW`s have brought to their doors these past 100 years.

by smiddy in

i`m an optimist and i would say zilch .

i would bet you a million dollars ( if i had a million dollars ) that if you did a survey in the street that you live , asking the householders what is the life saving message jehovahs witnesses bring to your door on a regular basis , they would not have a clue.. and they have been preaching this message for over 100 years .

how inefective can they be .. the probable answers you would get are : they dont take blood transfusions.

gingerbread

Most people on this planet don't know any Jehovah's Witnesses, don't know what they believe and could care less if they found out.

Public school is where many people have contact with JW's. Their impression of the group is about non-observance of holidays, the pending Armageddon and they go to church a lot and even preach in public. Because so many JW parents are now 'homeschooling' their kids, I see this initial contact becoming a thing of the past.

The notion that JW's are held in high esteem by the 'world' for their honesty, conviction and faith is promoted by the WT Society's writers. It's part of the delusion we're fed through the publications, talks and experiences.

ginger

7

JW 'cart preaching' trend copied from the russellites

by EndofMysteries in

i guess the proper food at the right time on new ways for preaching was taken from the russellites.

years ago i remember seeing them in flea markets, etc, w/ their booth set up.

now suddenly the watchtower org is doing the same thing.

gingerbread

The Bible Students used marketing methods that were common in their day to get 'the message' out - leaflets, newpaper ads, lecture tours, etc. Later Rutherford added the 'sound' car, phonograph, radio, sandwich boards and ramped up magazine production.

Think of the newspaper boy on a street yelling 'extra, extra, read all about it!!'.

Data-Dog Google 'International Bible Students'. These are independant groups that are 'decendants' of the original Bible Students who split (or were disfellowshipped) from the WT Society when J. F. Rutherford took control.

The term "Russellites" was coined and used by those that remained loyal to Rutherford. It was used as a derogatory label. Soon after Rutherford became president of the Society, he also banned beards at Bethel. Wearing a beard implied that a man was fashioning himself to look like C.T. Russell.

Of course the beardless tradition continues today in the WT organization.

ginger

30

Anyone know of any witnesses that concealed carry to meetings?

by LogCon in

jw
friends

does anyone know of any witnesses, in good standing, brother or sisters, that used to conceal carry to meetings or field service?.

gingerbread

I have a good one.

We used to be with a cong. in a very rural, mountainous area in New England. One older fella that I really liked confided in me one day that he packed heat in his book bag when out in field service. He had returned this town (his hometown) about five years previous. While he was living in another part of the country he studied and became a JW.

He carried a pistol because he was scared when he was out in service. When he was a young man he was a tough guy. In fact he was a BAD guy - heavy drinker, bar fighter, messed with other men's wives, arrested more that once, gambler....

A couple of elders knew he carried but told him to keep it quiet.

ginger

56

They are really begging for money again..

by XBEHERE in

jw
friends

sorry i don't know how to post the actual letter but here is the text of it.

lol.

christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses 2821 route 22, patterson, ny 12563-2237 phone: (845) 306-1100.

gingerbread

This week begins a new publication in the weekly 'BIBLE Study' - the brochure Who Are Doing Jehovah's Will Today?

This letter is timed to sync with the start of this 'work hard for the organization' Q&A discussion. EVERYTHING is pre-planned and carefully orchestrated to get the results the Org. needs.

The real reasons are never disclosed.

To quote George Carlin - "God needs money. A LOT of it !!!"

ginger

20

How I miss the 'Truth' of my youth....

by gingerbread in

jw
friends

my family moved from the city to the country.. part of the reason for the relocation was to move 'to where the need was greater'.

i loved our new home - i was free to roam the woods and fields, enjoy the wildlife, work in our garden and feed the chickens.

i had new friends in our new congregation.

gingerbread

We were naive.

Those of us who where born into or came into the 'Truth' believed it to be the gods honest truth. We didn't have the internet. We never had access to 'apostate' reading material.

The phrase 'it's a conscience matter' was used freely about anything that didn't break 'Jehovah's laws'.

We saw baptisms at conventions that lasted into the afternoon session - hundreds standing in line to get baptized.

Most of the kids that I grew up with 'left the truth', were disfellowshipped or turned out to be disfunctional at best. Many of us have been shunned on one level or another. Or, unfortunately, we created disfunctional & divorced families of our own.

Our parents have now died or grown old - a delightful group of optimistic 1960's non-conformists looking for a faith outside of the organized religions they grew up in. They saw the peace and love they desired in Jehovah's Witnesses.

We didn't know the facts.

It was a delusional reality we all constructed.

ginger

20

How I miss the 'Truth' of my youth....

by gingerbread in

jw
friends

my family moved from the city to the country.. part of the reason for the relocation was to move 'to where the need was greater'.

i loved our new home - i was free to roam the woods and fields, enjoy the wildlife, work in our garden and feed the chickens.

i had new friends in our new congregation.

gingerbread

My family moved from the city to the country.

Part of the reason for the relocation was to move 'to where the need was greater'. I loved our new home - I was free to roam the woods and fields, enjoy the wildlife, work in our garden and feed the chickens. I had new friends in our new congregation. These kids were transplants to this 'paradise' for the same reasons. We were a tight bunch. Our families associated together inside and outside of the hall. We all stuck together at school. We all had romantic crushes on each other. Field service was an honest attempt to teach the people in our territory about the Bible. Service had a light side with lots of laughing and picnic lunches under a roadside shade tree. It wasn't just about 'getting in our time'.

The first summer we build a new Kingdom Hall - by ourselves. I was happy (and proud) to be part of this group. Everything we believed was based on the Bible. We weren't like the religions of Christendom. We had real love among us - regardless of race, income, education or background. We were one big happy family. Being a Jehovah's Witness meant being free of man made religious traditions, free from religion's 'fleecing of the flock' and the 'collection plate'.

Our contributions took care of the basic necessities of the hall - the bills and maintainence. We knew that religion was "a snare and a racket". We didn't have big church buildings. We didn't have paid ministers or a clergy that demanded recongnition and obedience.

We were just a group of honest hearted people doing our best. We weren't suspicious of each other. We didn't have 'arrangements' for anything - we took care of each other because we wanted to.

Looking back after 40 years, I realize that we were all naive. And BOY how things have changed !

ginger

406

Goodbye JWD/JWN (my last post)

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

after some considerable thought i have decided that i will no longer post on this forum because i want to return to jehovah.

thank you for all the kindness and many interesting discussions over the years.

i wish you all well in the future and the decisions you make.

gingerbread

Maybe SBF is conducting a shunning experiment - for the lurkers, faders and would-be-if-I-could-be leavers.

Maybe this experiment is an attempt 'trick' the currently active members of JWN into showing their true personalities - to expose how their post-JW mindset is still judgemental and condemnatory.

Maybe SBF is really a conceptual artist.

ginger

122

Can the jw organization be reformed?

by wannaexit in

jw
friends

i know that this has been discussed in the past but i wanted to get some fresh opinions.

there are many out there that recognize the "rot" that is in watchtower but still feel that there is a "wholesome" side to it and are trying to bring about change or reform from within.. in 2002 when the rose colored glasses came off for me and i truly started to understand ttatt, i still felt that there was some redemable aspects of the organization.. i felt that russell had some doctrinal things right.

i don't feel like that anymore.

gingerbread

The Watchtower writers have held the leaders of the Protestant Reformation (Martin Luther, John Calvin & John Wycliffe) as heroes. That Reformation caused a break from the Roman Catholic church and the creation of new churches across Europe.

Do you know what was the main element that cause the masses of people to leave the Catholic faith? > the printing press and it's ability to spread the 'truth' of the Papacy - very quickly into the homes of the people.

Sounds a bit like the internet...

JW leadership spread the illusion of reforms through 'new light' and the faithful lap it up like sugar water. 'Reform' comes from the top in this organization. The individual 'publisher' has no voice in changes of policy. None.

ginger