I know of 5.
And add to that myself when I got baptized under the premise of giving up my life for the spirit directed organization.
thw wts likes to play games with their statistics.
one interesting but truly tragic is the number of jwhovah's witnesses who commit suicie.. now i suspect that if a person commits suicide shortly before or after they are disfellowshipped then the elders would say that person wasn't a witness or that they had done something so terrible that they were too guilty to admit it and by their action of committing suicide they pretty much declared they were no longer a jw.. yup fancy talk to make sure any crap didn't fall on them.. so my question.. do you know of cases like this?
if so then can you answer a few more questions.. had this person been dfed or in real danger of being dfed or whatever the equivalent is if they were never baptized?.
I know of 5.
And add to that myself when I got baptized under the premise of giving up my life for the spirit directed organization.
besides learning how to speak publicly, has the watchtower given you any benefits?
?.
It taught me to be a rebel and not celebrate holidays and be my own person. Except that those things can't be done within the organization.
It taught me to be a good, clean, considerate contientious person. I am more mature and self aware than most worldly people are.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/mis/4322726860.html.
not a sexual term at all fyi - w4m looking for like-minded friends, in the same condition.
don't respond thinking it means something sexual.
She wants to get back in soon and is looking for like minded ones.
today i was remembering how angry i used to get at the meetings and all the little irritations that in the end would just make my blood boil these included:.
prayers that go on foreverstudy or wt conductors still taking comments when its clear that the point has been covered 20 times alreadymeetings over running by more than 5 minsmy favourite was this one elder who would play guess the point i am thinking of.
he would keep rephrasing the question from the wt until someone would bring up the point he was thinking of.
The most annoying thing is when you walk into a meeting or assembly and the prayer is going on, people stop and stand right there. Then others see that people are stopped for the prayer, they can't hear the prayer but stop quite a distance away because there is a prayer. They think it is respect for the prayer. No, it is just so that others will see them putting on a show of respect for the prayer.
my jw wife is teaching my nearly-3yr old to pray before meals.
i'm cool with that... doesn't bother me at all.
the problem is, i'd like to accept my role as father but i don't know how to lead in this area.
Thank you Jehovah for this job that allows me to buy food, though on the credit card, and though I have to work overtime and miss meetings and field service.
It's a show. Because Jesus prayed and miracles happened to feed many, people follow that, though nothing miraculous about the sun,rain cycle.
i have just spoken to a brother who is part of a group of single brothers and sisters who meet together once a week to discuss bible topics and he has been told by and elder that the organisation "banned" these private meetings years ago.
i told him i remember that article but he is adamant that the society would never do that (!
) now i am fairly sure i remember that article whether it was in a km or one of the mags i cant recall but i am sure i remember them saying we needed nothing more than the food that the slave class provided (another means to control us),does anyone have the details of that article because i have said i will find it and let him have it.
Jeffro is right "The Watch Tower Society cannot ban private meetings for any purpose, but it doesn't endorse independent Bible study groups"
Why does it matter what the watchtower or the fds says about anything?
But the real issue is in this quote " meet together once a week to discuss bible topics"?
Why would they want to do such things?
i commented about how the 2008 yearbook gives the story of a girl who is on estonia idol and gives up an opportunity to progress to further rounds because she has a talk on the theocratic ministry school.
when jws started to study with her, that is the day the music died.. .
while watching the grammys, though most was trash the music from the 70s was great, i thought, what if paul mccartney's parents studied with jws and paul didn't become a musician.
Oh, but we do wish that Justin Bieber's parents would have studied and got him baptized at a young age to give out tracts, rather than attacking our ear drums.
i commented about how the 2008 yearbook gives the story of a girl who is on estonia idol and gives up an opportunity to progress to further rounds because she has a talk on the theocratic ministry school.
when jws started to study with her, that is the day the music died.. .
while watching the grammys, though most was trash the music from the 70s was great, i thought, what if paul mccartney's parents studied with jws and paul didn't become a musician.
I commented about how the 2008 Yearbook gives the story of a girl who is on Estonia Idol and gives up an opportunity to progress to further rounds because she has a talk on the Theocratic Ministry School. When JWs started to study with her, that is the day the music died.
While watching the Grammys, though most was trash the music from the 70s was great, I thought, what if Paul McCartney's parents studied with JWs and Paul didn't become a musician. His music would have died and there would have been no Beatles.
That could be applied to any number of people. Being marginalized and trivialized and talents wasted ends up killing everyone's music and other talents. That's my concern about the dangers of the organization.
.....whether it be in the congregation or from "headquarters"?
How about: The worst scandal we are about to do...
they love to quote the verse "you must not make tattoo markings upon yourself," to "prove" that witlesses should not have body art.. yet the word tattoo is maori in origin.
how the hell did moses know a maori word???.
in every other translation it says you must not make cutting marks.
Why does anyone need to quote the Bible on this subject?
Tattoos are just plain stupid. People get them because they want to be free, rebels, not following the establishment. But they get them because they are following others.
Something dangerous and permanent and non-productive. bah on it.