as a lot of you know, i'm one of the 'never been a dub' on this board, but i have a friend who's one.
in fact we had a long discussion last night, but i'll save that for another topic.
i was just reading a post about jws formerly celebrating christmas.
Double Edge,
Hi. Do you have a copy of the Watchtower Publications Library on CD ROM? It contains decades of their literature. Easy to use. Search by word or subject. A-Z.
That would really help you to personally research the beliefs of the JW's, without having to ask people who may be ignorant or have it all confused anyway.
If you do not have the CD ROM, I am sure someone here can get one to you somehow. Or at least retrieve the information you request.
If you do have the CD ROM, use it.
we know that the wt portrays the jw's as a "happy" people.
the wt would have the world believe that the wt organization as a whole is a "happy" organization.
yet somehow they still believe that jw's are a "happy" people.
LB and jimbob,
Thanks for your posts.
It is saddening to have JW friends and JW family frustrated and unhappy in an organization that is supposed to be happy, full of satisfaction and brilliant hope.
What's worse is that our friends and family are frustrated, disappointed, unhappy and they do not know exactly WHY they feel that way. They just blame themselves for not doing good enough in the eyes of the WT, because they are conditioned to think that way.
I'm glad you LB and you jimbob have found more happiness and content. It's good to hear.
Let's hope other can find the same happiness also.
we know that the wt portrays the jw's as a "happy" people.
the wt would have the world believe that the wt organization as a whole is a "happy" organization.
yet somehow they still believe that jw's are a "happy" people.
We know that the WT portrays the JW's as a "happy" people. The WT would have the world believe that the WT organization as a whole is a "happy" organization.
But is that "happiness" true, exaggerated or outright false?
Are JW's, in fact, really a FRUSTRATED people?
Besides the ordinary frustrations in life, that persons of any religion or belief experience, such as, health, the economy, making ends meet, etc. And other than the difficulties in trying to be live as a Christian should... do JW's heap further difficulties upon themselves, making themselves increasingly frustrated in life.
For instance, in the JW mind, if your service report is not at least status quo, equal or greater than the national JW average, there is something wrong with you.
If you are not going to all 5 meetings every week, there is something wrong with you.
If you miss a number of meetings because you just did not feel like going or had something else you wanted or had to do, there is something wrong with you.
If you are a JW brother and you are not "reaching out" for privileges and responsibility, there is something wrong with you.
If you a JW brother OR sister and you are retired or just regularly have extra time on your hands and you are not using that extra time to pioneer or increased service, there is something wrong with you.
Basically, if you are not a MODEL JW or trying to be a MODEL JW, you have a bad attitude, you may be considered "spiritually weak" or even "bad association".
Or you may be chastised or even avoided by JW family, JW friends or JW hierarchy. Or worse...
Some here who used to be JW or still are JW may have even found themselves treating others this way.
How can that be healthy for a person, family or any relationship when, in addition to the ordinary frustrations of life, trivial JW matters become a source of frustration?
Most JWs I know are either critical of themselves or their JW family and JW friends because they feel they are not quite doing as much as they should. They will rake themselves or others over the coals with this! They call it "encouragement", but it is often more like verbal abuse or self abuse. They feel they should do MORE or need more faith... You know, they are DEEPLY worried about these kind of trivial JW matters, because they might not 'measure up' at Armageddon.
Yet somehow they still believe that JW's are a "happy" people.
So, back to the question.
Are JWs really a happy people?
Or are the really a needlessly FRUSTRATED people?
it appears as if this is a haven for those who hate the jehovah's witnesses.
if that is too tough of a stance, then this place is a haven for those who hate the governing body of jehovah's witnesses.
many are apostates.
If you were sexually, physically or verbally abused by a JW when you were young, you might feel negatively about JW's and the WT.
Especially if you were disciplined or silenced by the WT and the JW who commited the abuse continued to roam the congregation as a JW in "good standing".
ok here is my deal.... for those of you who don't know already i have never been df'd or da'd.
i just quit going, and was never baptized.
(that will become relevant later).
Hi joannadandy.
IMO, the fact that you are unsure whether you should go or not, shows that it might not be a good idea. It would probably be very uncomfortable.
Though you are not DF or DA, some there might view you as "bad association".
Just send a baby gift with your Mom if you feel like it.
if the catholic church does go bankrupt, what would that mean for the jw doctrine of the 'destruction of babylon the great'?
especially considering that the catholic church makes up an enormous percentage of "babylon the great" and that the catholic church has received the brunt of jw castigation over the years... .
if sexual abuse scandal could bankrupt the catholic church with all its great wealth, what could sexual abuse scandal do to the far less wealthy wt society?
Enron?
Worldcom?
United Airlines?
Catholic Church?
WT?
if the catholic church does go bankrupt, what would that mean for the jw doctrine of the 'destruction of babylon the great'?
especially considering that the catholic church makes up an enormous percentage of "babylon the great" and that the catholic church has received the brunt of jw castigation over the years... .
if sexual abuse scandal could bankrupt the catholic church with all its great wealth, what could sexual abuse scandal do to the far less wealthy wt society?
If the Catholic Church does go bankrupt, what would that mean for the JW doctrine of the 'destruction of Babylon the Great'?
Especially considering that the Catholic Church makes up an enormous percentage of "Babylon the Great" and that the Catholic Church has received the brunt of JW castigation over the years...
If sexual abuse scandal could bankrupt the Catholic Church with all its great wealth, what could sexual abuse scandal do to the far less wealthy WT Society?
Here are some media links...
__________________________________________________________________
CATHOLIC BANKRUPTCY?
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) - Hundreds of lawsuits alleging abuse in Indian schools have forced the Roman Catholic order that administrated them to file for bankruptcy protection.
The Oblates of Mary Immaculate is facing 2,500 separate claims for compensation from alleged victims of physical and sexual abuse in residential schools run by the order.
"We deeply regret having to take this action but we really have no choice," the Rev. James Fiori said in a statement issued Tuesday.
The Oblates order has paid $500,000 in legal bills over the past two years, and expects an additional $400,000 in legal costs each year until the situation is resolved, according to Fiori.
"According to our auditor, at the current rate of spending, we will fully deplete our resources by 2006 and will be unable to meet existing obligations if certain protective measures are not taken," Fiori said.
Students at the residential schools say they lost their native language and culture and often faced physical and sexual abuse. The schools were most prominent in the decades after World War II.
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press
http://www.unsolvedmysteries.com/usm238482.html
_________________________________________________________________________
BANKRUPTCY STILL AN OPTION
Apart from the sordid revelations of the past two weeks, priests and parishioners were also enraged after the archdiocese threatened to take the unprecedented step of declaring bankruptcy as a way of dealing with the estimated 450 lawsuits it faces from alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Morrissey said on Friday there was nothing new to report on the issue of bankruptcy, meaning it could still be an option. Such a move would require the approval of the Vatican, and Law apparently discussed it during his visit to Rome over the past week.
The lingering specter of bankruptcy angered the Rev. Robert Bullock, chair of Boston's largest forum for priests and one of those who had called for Law to resign.
``To say the Catholic church is bankrupt would be a stigma spiritually, liturgically and theologically,'' Bullock said.
Law had been scheduled to retire in four years. His resignation was the first cardinal departure amid scandal since Vienna's Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer retired in 1995 after accusations that he sexually molested a boy 20 years before.
The cardinal's resignation dealt a terrible blow to what had been an extraordinary career that started in the heat and protest of civil rights advocacy in the U.S. Deep South and eventually touched the highest rungs of church power in Rome.
While Law is no longer archbishop of Boston, he retains the rank of cardinal and will be eligible until he turns 80 to enter a conclave to elect a new pope in case of John Paul II's death. (additional reporting by Tim McLaughlin in Boston and Patrick Rizzo in New York)
http://www.azcentral.com/news/reuters/stories/NEWS-POPE-LAW-RESIGNATION-DC.shtml
________________________________________________________________
Bankruptcy raises more questions
12/4/2002
OR ALMOST a year now, the Globe has painfully detailed the child molestation scandal of the Catholic Church while carefully avoiding any analysis of related church teachings. However, in light of the fact that the morally bankrupt Cardinal Bernard Law may be considering financial bankruptcy for the Archdiocese, we Catholics need to know answers to the following:
1) Is the church really universal, as Catholics are required to proclaim at each Mass, or is it actually a fractionalized compendium of countless local and independent legal corporations?
2) Can God declare bankruptcy and revoke all those eternal rewards we have been promised?
3) Is there some hidden message of justice for the victims of priestly sexual abuse in a bankruptcy proceeding?
M.J. NAPPO
Boston
This story ran on page A18 of the Boston Globe on 12/4/2002.
2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/338/letter/Bankruptcy_raises_more_questions+.shtml
.
if the catholic church goes bankrupt, as some media sources suggest may occur... what do you think that would mean for the current jw doctrine on the 'destruction of babylon the great'?
However, considering that the Catholic Church has received the brunt of JW castigation, what would the bankrupcy of the Catholic Church mean to the JW doctrine?
Because, after all, what would "Babylon the Great" be WITHOUT the Catholic Church?
.
if the catholic church goes bankrupt, as some media sources suggest may occur... what do you think that would mean for the current jw doctrine on the 'destruction of babylon the great'?
If the Catholic Church goes bankrupt, as some media sources suggest may occur... what do you think that would mean for the current JW doctrine on the 'destruction of Babylon the Great'?
.
what is the youngest partakers that you know of?
other than those children who just wanted to know what the emblems taste like... lol
What is the youngest partakers that you know of? And what became of them?
Other than those children who just wanted to know what the emblems taste like... LOL
