just feel like i could never make it on the outside world.
i was never able to adjust, except in being a mom and in business.
those are the only things that i feel strong in.
I think it comes down to how much pain it is causing you to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses versus what pain would be associated with fading out and leaving. How tied to the organization are you? Lots of relatives and friends that mean a lot to you that would cut you off entirely? Children involved who would get caught in the middle? Husband who would make your life hell?
Feel free to PM me if you want to talk privately.
CC
do any of you ex-jw's still believe in god?
even with the new rebranding/softening of this religion, i still don't see how people can believe in him.
the god of the old testimate is an angry murderer who approved rapes and slavery and killed thousands of men, women and children.
I am convinced there is a God, but I'm certain that he is not as religions (especially Jehovah's Witnesses) paint him.
I believe that as science makes progress, the various views about what is considered "spiritual" will be debunked to a certain extent and explained to a certain extent. This will result in many of the restrictive views of religion melting away as the true nature of what binds us together and initiated the universe becomes clear. And through that, our new understanding of how things really work, many of society's ills and imbalances can be righted. It will simply be a matter of truly understanding what is beyond us.
CC
if jws did the following, i believe they would grow exponentially and become one of the largest 'religions' on earth : .
1. no more dfing or shunning......its up to your conscience who you like or don't like.
in the same way if i was catholic living in ireland, i wouldn't hang out with my neighbor if she was a drunk fornicator, just had an abortion, had a taliban boyfriend and also supported liverpool soccer club.
I can't see it happening. However, I can't see any significant religions left on the planet within 20 to 30 years.
CC
this article suggests that there are projects being halted, but chelmsford isn't one of them.
can someone from the uk tell me if this article was written by a reputable and known publisher?
plans for huge jehovah's witnesses hq continues.
Remember that even if they say they are doing "construction", there can be very little work going (especially expenditures) but the "construction" can be called "in progress". An example is dirt work done by volunteers.
So it can be true that something can be going on there, but it isn't significant.
CC
jusmy wife and i were out in the ministry today and she was expressing her annoyance at brother perfectionist in our hall and how he is beginning to annoy her as nit picks over everything that the more liberal witnesses view as ok. so we were having some fun about what we could say to him that would really raise his eye brows.
she then suggested i say ' hey brother perfect, you'll never guess what happened to me.
i was sitting on the toilet when to my shock and horror, there was no toilet paper left.
If he is an elder...create a fake letter from the branch office...just page 2 of like 5...and just a fragment of it...that mentions him in super derogatory terms and talks about him being deleted and a special committee formed to hear his case. Like a triangle of paper. BAD: leave it somewhere he will definitely find it and go nuts trying to figure it out (he'll assume the body is aware). WORSE: leave it somewhere that the gossip sister (there's always at least one) will find it and then the tongues will wag and do far more damage.
Evil I know. Depends on how far you want to go with it. PM me if you want me to send the fragment to you.
CC
i have a confession to make.
a strange urge is building in my brain... each time i see a jw literature cart on the street it builds.
it is becoming a stronger and stronger thought in my mind.
Is this anything like Super Mario Cart? I'll just drop that here...
CC
what is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
All dictionary and scholarly and "Theocratic" definitions aside, the common use of the term cult really refers to whether a religion (a) has unreasonable and non-sensical requirements and (b) whether the doctrine is generally accepted or not, in my opinion.
I would most certainly say that most people consider Jehovah's Witnesses a cult due to their position on holidays, neutrality, medical treatment with blood products, and shunning/disfellowshipping.
Not sure why it is a debate. If Jehovah's Witnesses are convinced they are right, why bother debating whether this is a cult or not. I would argue that under the classical definitions that the 10,000% greater emphasis and visibility of the governing body (deliberately not capitalized) makes the organization more focused on individuals than ever before.
CC
if the preaching work is now so important (with all the lay offs at bethel and also stopping all construction work around the world) does this mean that all branch offices will be paying living costs for all pioneers sp that rather than working for satan they can be doing gods work.dont hold your breath lol
Nope. Not happening. I think there will be no special pioneers appointed for a while and between layoffs and attrition the number of special pioneers will shrink drastically.
It has helped my analysis very much to think of this is a very large corporation. I've been in middle management for years and I know the drill. This is now a slash and burn operation until they exit panic mode. Which might be never.
CC
just realised i've got to go through this tomorrow.
does anyone know of a summary of changed teachings so i can do some reverse witnessing?
i checked jwfacts but nothing specific.
Latest I am aware of is that the antichrist is false religious leaders of all types.
CC
went to over to family gathering at a cousin's home in upstate ny over the weekend.
in the late afternoon, several bet-hell constructions workers arrived (some family, others just friends), after a nice day of slavery at the construction site.
endless bragging ensued while we gathered around a bonfire, from how "the construction is going forward in seamless way", using "the best techniques and materials in construction" to the fact that the obama care website doesn't work properly and how it's "complete garbage when compared to the jw.org.".
Excuse me, but jw . org is terrible, speaking from an infrastructure perspective. It was down most of the weekend because it couldn't deal with the load put on it for a million people to hit it to get the new publications. What kind of worldwide organization website can't deal with the load of a portion of its members hitting it all at the same time?
The underlying architecture is flawed and beyond repair.
CC
