Posts by rocketman

46

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 5-29-05 WT Study (Apostasy; Inactive)

by blondie in

as the foremost person in the bible who let gods word light his roadway, where is jesus in this article?

wts reminders; otherwise you will not be heard and will not enjoy divine favor.

(psalm 119:175,176) some who have wandered away from the christian .

rocketman

Must be diligent students
Most JWs barely have time to glance at the information assigned each week for them to read let alone do any in-depth research.
20 to 22 paragraphs in the Watchtower
15 paragraphs in the book study
3 to 4 chapters of the Bible
Another WT article for the instruction talk
Material for the #3 and #4 talks
Prepare and conduct the family study
Prepare for field service on Saturday (read articles in 2 magazines)
And if you are an elder, prepare and conduct the book study, perhaps also the WTS, besides preparing one public talk a month

Excellent point Blondie. When I was an active jw, finding time to actually study the Bible was almost impossible. After becoming an elder, I found it beyond comprehension how we were expected to do all that stuff. Add sheperding calls, judicial commitees, and preparing for and conducting the Theocratic School and the task left me drowning in self-doubt and nearly a nervous breakdown.

The WTS has rules to unite them.
Dress and grooming; no beards on men, no pants on women at the KH or in the ministry, all without biblical basis.

Of course, the rules go even further - not only "no beards", but no facial hair other than a mustache. Two local examples: One elder who had a little growth below the bottom lip was asked to shave it off. Another brother who grew a goatee was told he could not have privilages - including even reading at the Book Study.

17

My mum is rather CROSS at sister Elderette!

by Gill in

jw
friends

my mother was rather upset last week.

she had been sorting the territory when the group was out on field service.

there were only lowly women present so there was no problem with her doing this, as she usually did.

rocketman

In many cases, it seems as though the elder's wife is more hung up on 'protocol' than the elder himself. Sometimes this is the fault not only of the religion but a manifestation of whatever dynamic exists between the wife and her hubby. For some reason, she becomes his little Rottweiler and seems compelled to defend his sphere of influence. Add to that the Enforcer mentality that many elders' wives seem to have, and it all adds up to the B-word with a capital B.

One thing that might also be at work is this - women among jws have no authority. And of course, they are always reminded of being in proper 'submission' to men. This frustrates many of them, who seek to exert some authority in some way. When hubby becomes an elder, this gives them an opportunity to throw some weight around. This also may partly explain why some elders' wives seem much more judgemental than their husbands.

...Glad I Never Faced A JC Comprised Of Elderettes Class...

9

Online WT article: Religion - How Should It Be Financed?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

in light of the recent letter read to congregations, it would be good to review the article they have on financing religion.

while jehovah's witnesses do not practice tithing, they sure do have a way of getting that proverbial plate round the congregations.. for those not familiar with the recent letter to congregations in the us, here is a snippet... wts bills us jws $8.4 million for traveling overseers.

being announced at service meetings this week at all us congregations:.

rocketman

Thanks for the link Kenneson.

About 5 yrs ago the congregation's "bill" (and yes, it was essentially a bill that was expected to be paid) was about $620. Now it's gone up considerably. For a family of four that's a $32 'donation' that is expected - on top of contributions expected for a mortgage, utilities, and of course the "Worldwide Work".

9

An intersting thing the CO said awhile ago.....

by JV in

jw
friends

he said that the biggest challenge that faces the jw's in north america is getting along with the brothers and sisters and aint that the truth?

i can't stand half of them.....partially cause i'm a bastard too but i mean there are some genuine assholes out there.

you know when the co talks about it something's gotta be goin down anyways talk to y'all later i'm off to have some beer.

rocketman

While it's ceratinly true that there are strange, paranoid, and weird people in all walks of life, the jw religion seems to attract its fair share. But I think the religion itself is responsible for creating people who are 'little Pharisees' - judgemental, self-righteous, and intolerant of anyone who doesn't view the worship of Jehovah or the activities of the religion in the same way they do. I find it hardly surprising that they are at each other's throats, and while I was an active jw I heard enough negative comments to confirm my suspicion that I was part of a religion that hardly knew the meaning of 'having love among yourselves'.

22

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 5-22-05 WT Study (God's Word or word)

by blondie in

.

rocketman

Only Jehovahs Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the "great crowd," as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil. (Revelation 7:9-17; 2 Corinthians 4:4)

Btw, a direct contradiction to this statement at their web site:

Do they believe that they are the only ones who will be saved?

"No. Millions that have lived in centuries past and who were not Jehovah's Witnesses will come back in a resurrection and have an opportunity for life. Many now living may yet take a stand for truth and righteousness before the "great tribulation," and they will gain salvation. Moreover, Jesus said that we should not be judging one another. We look at the outward appearance; God looks at the heart. He sees accurately and judges mercifully. He has committed judgment into Jesus' hands, not ours"

48

Ex elders, have you apologized to anyone you df'd?

by avishai in

jw
friends

for instance, especially kids under the age of eighteen, or dfing folks for questioning the society?

i think if i had been involved, i'd have to get on the horn with everyone i'd df'd.

except the child molesters

rocketman

I haven't really had an opportunity - any who were df'd by committees I sat on have not bumped into me (or I them) and I'm not especially inclined to call them, since I've lost track of where they are.

There's another factor too - the people who were df'd were part of the religion too. What I mean is, they assent to the whole process, just as I did as an elder. It's all part of the religion. I can't see the point in issuing an apology for doing what we all understood at the time as my job.

But, if I had abused anyone verbally or emotionally, or asked inappropriate questions, or been unduly harsh, then I would feel compelled to apologize. But as far as I can tell, I treated those before the committee with respect and tried never to ask improper questions. Actually, I never really asked many questions at all. I mostly stayed quiet during the proceedings.

11

classic opening scenes

by tijkmo in

i was thinking while watching the new star wars film last night that when it first happened it was truly outstanding....so what other movies grabbed right from the off.

brubaker...where bob redford as the prison governer enters the prison undercover as a prisoner.

die hard 3...summer in the city.

rocketman

I've always liked the opening of Star Trek VI when the Klingon moon Praxis explodes and the Excelsior encounters the blast wave. There's a certain corniness to the whole scene (now I just laugh at Zulu saying "My....God") but it's a rollicking start anyway. I also like the start of Star Trek:Generations (though the rest of the movie is goes downhill), and First Contact (which pretty much maintains the momentum).

27

DO YOU BLOG?

by Terry in

jw
friends

i just started doing this (blogging) and it is not unlike writing a diary put into public view.. there a zillions of these things floating around out there.

many are extremely inventive, artistic, interesting and startling.. however, most are utterly inane!.

sturgeon's law at work.

rocketman

I had a nice one at Salon.com but lost it in a PC crash (it needed to be downloaded). Since then, I lost the urge to blog.

29

Dawkins Interview; Atheism, Agnosticism, Etc.

by AlanF in

the following was forwarded to me, and i post it in its entirety, with a few edits for clarity, without comment.. ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ .

many of my friends are well aware that i'm not the slightest bit religious.

with other friends the subject has never come up - and might never have - i'm not much of a proselytizer.

rocketman

A: It's an interesting thought that in some remote time in the future, people may look back on the 20th and 21st centuries as a watershed in evolution -- the time when evolution stopped being an undirected force and became a design force. Already, for the past few centuries, maybe even millennia, agriculturalists have in a sense designed the evolution of domestic animals like pigs and cows and chickens. That's increasing and we're getting more technologically clever at that by manipulating not just the selection part of evolution but also the mutation part. That will be very different; one of the great features of biological evolution up to now is that there is no foresight.

Just a thought - could evolution have been a "design force" all along? Since humans can now "manipulate not just the selection part of evolution but also the mutation part" couldn't it be possible that God (or whatever one wishes to call him) has done the same thing?

...Wants to have his cake and eat it too Class...

20

Counsel by school overseer...

by in a new york bethel minute in

what was your worst point of counsel?

i think for most men, it was gesturing to an audience while trying to make it look natural.

i remember writing on my notes to gesture and to speak slowly... what was your hardest point of counsel to work on?.

rocketman

Confession, I know where you're coming from in regard to giving speech cousel. I assisted in the School for several years before becoming Schoolmaster Overseer (), and yes, it was very tough giving a W, especially on things like personal appearance. I'd get quite nervous, and often had no idea of what I'd actually end of giving out even as I made my way to the platform.

I also noticed that the worst offenders in the area of Timing were elders. The Bible Highlights part almost always ended up running very long, and the Instruction Talk was a problem as well. Not being able to ding a little bell, tap a pencil, or otherwise stop the talk, I felt pretty helpless as I then had to rush the rest of the School because one or two elders couldn't shut the heck up.