i have noticed an apparently increasing number of men who are not interested in becoming ministerial servants or elders.
i also know of some that have voluntarily stepped down (which is my case) for no obvious solid reason.. i remember, during my teenage years or even during my twenties, the brothers were always looking forward to being appointed... although many still do, i have noticed there are many others with whom you do not know what the deal is.. since there is no freedom of speech within the organization, we remain in the dark about the motives and desires of everybody else.
i attend a congregation with only two ministerial servants, while it is full of men who do not seem to be willing to do more.. it is hard to tell exactly what is going on, since honesty is not possible while you are inside, but i am starting to think that more and more are becoming disillusioned.... .
DOC: As mentioned above, if a person has no other place to receive affirmation -- job; school; whatever -- the laying of the hands for MS/Elder can give them that feeling of accomplishment that most people yearn.
Which is yet another reason why the WTBTS discourages higher education. People that are fulfilled in other areas of their life are not as likely to feel the need for a JW title.
tonight as i was putting my son to bed, we were looking out his bedroom window from his bed, down upon the neighbors' house across the street.
they have a beautiful, big sparkly christmas tree in their front window and my son gazed at it and said, "that's what's missing from our family.
" talk about daggers through the heart!.
You have a trick situation, to be sure.
But why does your husband get to have his religion dominate the family when no one else wants it?
The answer is this: The WT modus operandi is to bully and manipulate. JWs learn to do the same, usually without realizing it.
It sounds like your husband is not really the "bullying" type but that he is merely parroting JW behavior.
Consider calling him on his manipulative behavior in a calm and gentle way. Reassure him of your commitment to the family, but assert your right to express your beliefs in your own home.
well, it's christmas eve afternoon here now in the uk.. traditionally a time when all the panic shopping is over, what's done is done, what you've forgotten you've forgotten, time to raise a glass (or two) and relax.. so may i wish all members/readers/posters a very happy xmas, whether you celebrate it or not, and extra 'get up and go' for 2015.. best wishes to all.. .
Merry Christmas, Joe!
It's only 6am here, so I'll wait until later to raise that glass (or two).
the revised edition of the bible teach book is up on jw.org with a new cover..
NewYork44M: I read the quote in the text posted. "There are people everywhere who have bad traits. This shows that god will soon act." Wow! This god of theirs is not very tolerant.
Actually, their God is very "tolerant." Look how long it's been that's he's done nothing!
In fact, his "tolerance" proves that the conclusion of the WT writers is wrong: There is no reason to conclude that "God will soon act" because there has always been "people everywhere who have bad traits" and God has apparently been fine with leaving it alone since the Great Deluge of Noah's day. Why would now be any different?
I know, don't tell me: "We're living in 'The Last Days'."
Only we're not! Indeed, the evidence--the real evidence, not the made-up cherry-picked stuff that's found in WTBTS literature--is that we are actually living in the safest period of human history.
Bad things clearly still happen, but the rates of all kinds of violence has been dropping dramatically for centuries and the trend is still down.
the revised edition of the bible teach book is up on jw.org with a new cover..
It makes sense that, since the OLD WDTBRT book was based on the OLD NWT, they would have to have a NEW, REVISED WDTBRT book to match the NEW and REVISED NWT.
After all, we just want to know What Does the Bible Really Teach as of right now, this moment ... that is to say until some "New Light" comes along and then we have an "adjustment" in "our understanding" of what the Bible really teaches, but that's ok, because then we will really, really know what the Bible teaches, at least for the moment.
Lather, rinse, repeat: It's a cult!
My Lodge cast iron skillets, naturally non-stick.
I can make beautiful pan-seared just about anything: fish, steak, you name it!
Even scrambled eggs turn out wonderfully and you don't have to worry about all the toxic crap from teflon.
today i added a new article to my blog.
the information is a little dated.
material cited was published in 1973. but i don't find any good sources online for this information so i published it myself.. the doctor involved (now deceased) was dr. j lowell dixon.
Thanks Marvin!
well, i have been lurking on this site for several months and i recently decided to join as a member.
i have made several observations and would like to make a few comments.. first, i am perplexed by the attitude of many on this site that are either former or active (but apostate) jws.
they seem to have a strong hatred for the wts and also for rank and file jws.
▪ Why have Jehovah’s Witnesses disfellowshipped (excommunicated) for apostasy some who still profess belief in God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ?
"Obviously, a basis for approved fellowship with Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot rest merely on a belief in God, in the Bible, in Jesus Christ, and so forth. The Roman Catholic pope, as well as the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, professes such beliefs, yet their church memberships are exclusive of each other. Likewise, simply professing to have such beliefs would not authorize one to be known as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Approved association with Jehovah’s Witnesses requires accepting the entire range of the true teachings of the Bible, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses." - Watchtower, April 1, 1986, Questions from Readers.
Notice that accepting the Bible is not enough, one must also accept those "beliefs that are unique to Jehovah's Witnesses" no matter how often they change.
well, i have been lurking on this site for several months and i recently decided to join as a member.
i have made several observations and would like to make a few comments.. first, i am perplexed by the attitude of many on this site that are either former or active (but apostate) jws.
they seem to have a strong hatred for the wts and also for rank and file jws.
Welcome Heisenberg!
if a personal God does exist, a caring and loving God, then JWs do have ‘the truth’ regardless of all the false prophecies and issues they have with changing doctrine.
Your conclusion does not follow from your premise.
One could just as easily say:
That being said, you ask quite a lot of questions, none of them necessarily mutually exclusive, but you ask them as if they are.
Don't forget your uncertainty principle!
during one of those meetings that took place before my jc, one of the elders, who was a good friend of mine back then and used to come up with a few outlandish personal views about some teachings, attempted to counter one of my arguments like this:.
eden - "well, if the truth doesn't change, why is it that what we teach as 'truth' has changed over the years (several examples given)?
how can we dogmatically claim at any given moment that we have 'the truth' if our teachings keep changing?".
"Though mistaken, they eagerly shared it with others." (Proclaimers, chap. 28, p.623)
Funny, I distinctly remember the illustration in the old Live Forever book about a person that was reading a map incorrectly with the point being that being sincere in your beliefs, but wrong does not make you right.
Hypocrites.
