Posts by gingerbread

85

I'm thinking about going back

by Corboy101 in

jw
friends

i have been out for 22 years.i was raised as a jehovahs witness.

i was baptized in 1986 but soon after left the religion.

theres a whole lot to the reasons why i left, but i left.

gingerbread

I will assume that something has changed in your life.

Your now are in middle age. Perhaps you find yourself divorced or are raising teenagers. Do you have concerns about or a fear of the future? Do you carry guilt over past wrongdoing or 'sins'?

Are your parent(s) still active in the 'truth'? And are they now aging (in their 70's) and you want to be connected to them on a religious level before their demise? Is your need to return based on pleasing others or yourself?

Have the Witnesses in your family quietly excluded you from many gatherings over the years because you're not 'active'? Is the direction of your professional career at a standstill or are you working a job that is unfulfilling?

Please consider and respond...

ginger

27

"Pst! You CAN go to an international convention even if you're poor, but don't tell everyone!"

by cedars in

the 2014/2015 international conventions have been announced, and will be held in the following cities.... melbourne, australia october 2014london, england august 2014quito, ecuador january 2015frankfurt, germany july 2014athens, greece june 2014seoul, korea september 2014mexico city, mexico november 2014harare, zimbabwe august 2014as always there is a long list of requirements for those wealthy enough to attend - including the requirement to keep your "exemplary status" right up to the day of departure or lose all your money.. there is also a curious paragraph that seems to indicate an element of subterfuge.... special rooming: confidentially, we will be asking the host branch office to poll local brothers to determine if some might be able to provide limited rooming provisions in private homes.

this information is not to be made known to the applicants in general.

however, if the elders are aware of a longtime, faithful servant, perhaps with many years of full-time service, who is not able to fully finance such a trip, he could be encouraged to apply and the secretary can check the box on the electronic jw.org application that this delegate qualifies for the special rooming provision, if available.. basically, watchtower is admitting that it is possible to attend an international convention even if you can't afford the hotel, but they don't want everyone to know because they want as many full-paying delegates as possible.. my article on this can be found on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/watchtower-announces-new-international-conventions-while-downsizing-district-conventions-for-2014.

gingerbread

Eight cities abroad for each eight members of the governing body.

What a nice vacation itinerary.....

93

Scary Stuff

by Farkel in

jw
friends

today's high school students in the usa:.

less than 1/2 of them cannot identify the century when our civil war happened.. one in four thought columbus discovered america sometime after 1750.. one in three cannot name one right enumerated in the bill of rights.. three out of four cannot name the first us president.. two out of three do not know the length of term of a member of the house of representatives.. half cannot find britain on a map.. one out of four cannot find america on a map.. when my oldest daughter, who is now a physician was in 9th grade in this once-great state of california, i asked her about the three branches of our federal government.

she was clueless and told me she would take civics in her junior year in high school.

gingerbread

We sound like a bunch of old farts

Barry, you are correct. In the US, we are taught from birth that our country is the best in the world and without us the 'third world' countries couldn't survive. It's a type of arrogance that is uniquely "American'.

I had a conversation last week with my folks about the young JW's (or lack of) in the area congregations and circuit. I commented that it's a fair statement that most young Witnesses don't even know what 1914 even means in this religion or when C.T. Russell lived. After a minute of thought they both agreed. They said "it's just not the same as when we came in the truth (40 years ago)."

21

Petition in England: "Ban Jehovah's Witnesses!" - (HM Government)

by Oubliette in

jw
friends

i stumbled upon this on a hungarian ex-jw blog.

does anyone in the uk know anything about this?

of course jws will just see this at "proof" that "the is near!

gingerbread

Usually I attempt to put a positive spin on my comments. However....

This time I digress. Let's face reality. As long as peoples have lived in groups, religious belief systems are essential for maintaining a cohesive governing structure. The 'hope' that governments will ban religion is a JW pipedream (slanted in their favor).

Stop thinking like a Jehovah's Witness. God is NOT going to use governments to turn on and destroy 'Babylon the Great'.

69

What would it take for YOU to come back?

by noonehome in

jw
friends

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gingerbread

I too must answer this question with tongue in cheek.

I'm resurrected on a paradise earth and find out that everything that the WT teaches was really the truth.

or

The GB gives away the billions in $ and real estate to the poor, hungry and disadvantaged AND they become homeless tent makers.

47

Former Longtime Elder- Met up with a Former CO,DO

by James Jackson in

jw
friends

at a convention recently, i met with don wallace, a former co and do.

he told me he came off the road 6 years ago and is living in scottsboro al.

him and his wife are in their late 70's.

gingerbread

Wow. I haven't heard that name in many years!

I would describe Wallace as an old school CO. He fashioned himself as a genteel, southern 'gentleman' - sometimes with white shoes and suit (a la Colonel Sanders). A friend once told me that in an elder's meeting he told the brothers that he wore the 'white hat' during his visit to the congregation and they we're in charge of doing 'the dirty work'...

He would refer to himself on stage as 'Brother Wallace'. And, once from the platform he stated, 'we ALL tell little white lies from time to time, don't we'....with a big grin on his face.

10

Questions About Paradise

by jw07 in

before you knew the truth about the truth, did you stop to think about the aftermath of armageddon were it to happen now?.

[if !supportlists]1.

[endif]almost 8 million jws (0.11%) left alive out of 7 billion+ people, or 875 bodies to bury per person left alive.

gingerbread

Look at the 2013 JW calendar. It's fully illustrated with scenes from the '1000 Year Reign'.

The only problem is that none of this stuff is in the Bible. It's pure fantasy. And the average, WT worshipping person believes this to be factual and true.

I've heard people - when they got the calendar - trying to 'unlock' the secret meanings hidden in the illustrations...

ginger

14

After Armageddon...Then What?

by Cold Steel in

i've read the sarcastic short stories about it, but seriously, i'm stumped.. after armageddon, what then?

yeah, i know they'll bury our bodies or cart them off to be burned, but then the earth will become paradise and then what??

seriously, what do they (the leaders) do to remain relevant?.

gingerbread

The Watchtower has spread a false idea that 'new scrolls' will be opened after Armageddon - ask anyone that's been around for a while what these new scrolls mean. They'll tell you it is a 'new' set of codes of conduct, rules and principles for the 1000 years. Search the WT Library - online or on CD.

This idea is taken from Revelation 20:12. Please read it for yourself and see what you think.

What the Watchtower wants you to believe about the 'new system' is illustrated in this years calendar. Have a look-see!

21

Feeling very sick!

by msconcerned in

jw
friends

well as you all may or not know i am an m.s and trying to figure all these feeling out.

but i have a dilemma, i will be going on a shepherding call with an elder to "help" a family who is discouraged with the people in the hall.

i have to admit i feel the same way they do so how can i "encourage" them when i feel the same?

gingerbread

This is an excellent opportunity!

Perhaps there has been some real wrongdoing in the cong. or the family is tired of getting beaten around / minimized by their 'brothers.'

Maybe they - the parents anyway - are in the same boat as a lot of us. They're seeing through the veneer of 'the truth.' Or they are struggling with 'new light' or the recent child sex abuse news. Maybe the convention chewed them up and they are riddled with guilt.

It's a typical pattern for publishers to blame individuals in the congregation instead of the real culprit - the Org.

25

Have The JWs Changed All That Much In The Last 20 Years All That Much?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i believe most witnesses believe that there is nothing new in their religion....would you agree with them?.

gingerbread

Yes. From the perspective of 40 years, my view is that current Jehovah's Witnesses are only a "shadow" of what defined them as a group a few decades ago. Below is short list of what the contemporary JW has become - this was not the case during the mid and late 20th century.

1. Apathy toward individuals in congregation.

2. The annointed are on the increase.

3. The WT has become a construction and property management corporation.

4. The rapture of all anointed ones will occur before Armageddon.

5. Millions are spent annually on defending legal cases and child abuse settlements.

6. Matters of personal conscience are few.

7. Apostate 'thinking' can lead to disfellowshipping.

8. Individuals cannot trust their own minds (thoughts) or heart (emotions) to make personal decisions.

9. The Faithful Slave in not the annointed remnant but the Governing Body at WT Headquarters.

10. Baptismal numbers in countries where JW's are established are on the decrease.

11. Very few conversions are made through the door-to-door program.

12. Armageddon will arrive in the immediate (yet indefinite) future.

13. Personal problems are blamed on the wicked system of things.

14. Depression is common (and expected).

.... these are just a few of the 'changes'.

ginger