To Mikejw
While I agree with you in principle, regarding being part of a group in survival situations, I understand that the devil is always in the detail.
Referring a previous post I made, if the disaster you are fleeing from is basically a large local event (say to the level of cyclone Katrina), then pulling out your Witness card may provide some benefits. However if the problem is a national or international one, where relief aid will take a very long time to arrive in sufficient quantities (like what happened to Haiti), then its not going to help anyone being part of a congregation.
In fact I firmly believe, that it will most likely reduce the odds of you and your family surviving.
This is because, as water, food and shelter becomes harder to get, people in your group must all be able to value-add to the whole or at the very least, be able to replace the resources they personally consume. So while it might seem like a nice idea to bring along Brother and Sister Oldtimer with you in your car group, you have to ask ... what will they contribute. I know that its cruel I know to think like this, but for every extra person you take along, the more it will drain your personal strength to provide for your own. Or ultimately you might find yourself crushed by the fact that you don't have enough to go around and be forced to decide who gets how much.
In any case, the reality is that many, many older people are kept alive artificially today by a medical system that will not be able help Diabetics, people with a respiratory or cardiovascular disease or cancer during a wide scale disaster. And, these people will most likely die even with all your efforts and best intentions. And we haven't begun to consider the logistics of those who are chronically overweight or wheelchair bound. Interestingly even the writer of the 1939 book 'Grapes of Wrath' recognized that the very the evacuation itself, could be too much for the elderly to physically endure, anyway.
And don't get me started on how stupid it is to depend on refugee camps, where theft, rape and murder are historically common place.
No, survivalism is not a game that plays fair when things get really bad. And its not going to be very funny, when you have to start burying your friends (or god forbid, family) in roadside graves because of Typhus or Cholera, which has happened more often than you think, when people drink stale water out of desperation.
Finally, from my own experience dealing with various Elders, I'm sure most are not able to improvise in dynamic situations, as their 'training' centers around getting instructions from others, which costs time and depends on a country's infrastructure working reasonably well.
Thus if I have to evacuate, my plan is to bug out with one or two well chosen small family groups, people with a similar basic mindset as me, who already have enough to care for their own immediate needs ... but can add something to the collective. However if they are not ready when its time to go, then I'm leaving without them.
To Dagney
Yeh, Dagney ... when the SHTF those 4 to 5 brothers who bought an RV together will turn easily into 16 to 20 people when they bring their families along. And then you'll see some fun and games, when they realize that there is not enough room for everyone. Lets hope no-one brings a gun.
no-zombie
JoinedPosts by no-zombie
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85
Disaster preparedness
by ElderBerry inas your family considers its disaster preparedness plan, please ensure that the secretary has up-to-date contact information for you and your emergency contact.
also, we have re- peatedly seen good results when brothers and sisters are prepared with go bags and are ready to obey direction when they face various kinds of disasters.
please be sure you have a go bag, and review its contents at least once a year.
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no-zombie
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Moving on in a new chapter
by redsetter2 inmoving on is the hardest thing anyone has to cope with.. i have officially left the org.
and now it feels my family have been waiting to do this for a long time, officially shunning me, even though they were practically doing this whilst i was still in.. it feels like i've accomplished a victory and at the same time i feel guilty i was tangled up in communication with someone who "hid who they were" claiming to leak information from bethel.
i got the call from the man who i thought i worked with.
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no-zombie
Perhaps this a good time to remind ourselves not to devolve things about us, if we don't want it to get back to us.
Those in Bethel should particularly take note, regarding the forwarding of files, as most will contain some kind of watermark that someone one in IT could trace back to you and your IP address. As I suspect that Service Desk Elders are just as interested in Leakers, as we are reading about what they have to say.
Remember ... only the paranoid survive.
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New ministry, you don’t give a witness
by Mikejw inthere are assignments on the life and ministry school now where they are suggested to just talk to people without giving a witness.. they are supposed to practice starting conversations with strangers and listening to them to talk about whatever they want to talk about .
there is an assignment this week where the conversation ends without giving a witness.
jws don’t look like jws anymore and now they don’t actually preach.. you could get bearded men with sweaters or other such tops and women in pants or slacks coming upto you in the park or on the street and starting a conversation with you.. then you hear them listening to you and talking about whatever they think that you wanted to talk about .
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no-zombie
Of course you are right Mikejw, but I think that this spirit of one's service, is now only formalized. Our pioneers were effectively behaving that way for years. Yet I must confess that as we get older, the people we've known in the past, move out from the circle of our lives. And so to remain mentally healthy, we must maintain being socially connected.
However seeing our 'friends' at the meeting or in the letter writing groups may seem like we are satisfying this need, we all know of the superficiality and pressures that still exist in the congregations. On the other hand, if you joined a community knitting, chess or some kind of sporting club you might find people with less of an agenda, than those at the Kingdom Hall. Plus you might actually learn, that most worldly people aren't the violent, immoral individuals we were lead to believe.
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So Let's Say Bigger Change Happens
by peacefulpete inif a change in the blood policy happens, who will be more upset, jws or former jws?
i suspect the latter.
when the beard thing went down, jw's seem to immediately embrace it, whereas many former jw's have been brooding about it.. did it take away a pet gripe we had?.
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no-zombie
An interesting thought peacefulpete and perhaps you are generally right. I feel this way because while it is true that we are a older religion (in regards to age demographics) the type of person in the congregation are quite different to those of the recent past.
In the past, Witnesses lived more by principles where they took pride in taking the moral high ground. And actually were happy to suffer because of it. When these ones were disfellowshiped most (while not enjoying the process) accepted their mistakes and the consequences.
Today though I see most Witnesses as a whole lot weaker morally. Not that they are more immoral (say about sex) but less directed by personal conscience. In stead our people today are more like spiritual jellyfish that float on the current coming from the Governing Body. And so have no real problem with the beard or pants thing ... or anything else that appears in the future. Yes, some might become a bit perplexed, but not bitter.
Its a bit like kids who used to get told to do their school homework every night, and then realize that they don't have to do it during the holidays. Are they 'bummed' that they had to do it in the past? No. They are just happy that they don't have to do it now.
Those on the outside, might have a different view of things though.
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How they could change blood doctrine
by Person inmany people say gb will soon dump blood doctrine to appear less fanatical.
others saying it is impossible for them to do that because of legal ramifications.
i think there is a way that could potentially be solution to those problems.
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no-zombie
The Governing Body might say ... "because of our deep love for you, after much deep study and reflection, there is a chance that Acts 15:29 could be referring to one's physical health, as a result blood transfusions could become a matter for your personal conscience."
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Disaster preparedness
by ElderBerry inas your family considers its disaster preparedness plan, please ensure that the secretary has up-to-date contact information for you and your emergency contact.
also, we have re- peatedly seen good results when brothers and sisters are prepared with go bags and are ready to obey direction when they face various kinds of disasters.
please be sure you have a go bag, and review its contents at least once a year.
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no-zombie
Much of what has been said here is good. However I would like to add a couple of more points.
Firstly you can't prepare for every kind of natural disaster or emergency. So don't bother. Luckily, the area were you are living now, most likely has only one kind risk. You might live in a earthquake zone, an area prone to flooding or fire, so just focus and plan for that.
Secondly, understanding whether your disaster is a local event or a regional one, should influence your decision to go or stay. So gather reliable intel ... not hearsay.
Finally, 95% of all people leave things too late. Its far better to evacuate over nothing (and laugh about it after), than being trapped with everyone else. Remember, if you have to see the danger with your own eyes before you do something ... then you'll probably die along with your family.
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New light: the GB are infallible
by AEnEm inamazing new light in the latest morning worship by gary breaux.
the gb "never lie or deceive us.
we can have absolute trust in the governing body".. he then makes a very helpful point, so as to avoid being deceived and avoid lies.
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no-zombie
While on paper the Governing Body has never claimed papal infallibility, in practice they have always had it. By the fact that they leave no room for an individual to choose whether to believe a particular teaching or not. Its 100% acceptance of their role as God's spokesmen or nothing at all.
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The org. Came out with a Christmas song!!!!
by nowwhat? inholy nativity batman!
on jw broadcasting.
final song for this year's convention.
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no-zombie
It does sound to me more like they are preparing the Brotherhood for some more "new light".
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no-zombie
The problem here is that, the Governing Body has turned the WatchTower movement into an American centric religion, and as such have formulated its rules accordingly. But America is not the whole world. For example here in Australia, our views on nationalism and how we express it is completely different. As a result most Witness youths (me included) never had much an issue over the flag or the National anthem.
But like DesirousOfChange said, you always get those few who insist on making a point of things, on both sides of the fence.
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The Times of Restoration of All Things
by no-zombie ini thought of something during last weekend's wt study article, that made me think that perhaps we are on the wrong track on how the governing body is going to handle the whole 607-1914 thing.in paragraph 9 it referred to the the messianic kingdom rule as a period as called 'times of restoration of all things' taken from acts 3:21. this period of 'restoration', started in 1914 with jesus becoming king in heaven, and led to pure worship being restored 'soon after that'.and it was the last comment, that got me going.you see, in previous wt study articles (and i went through the 1990-2024 references) this term of 'times of restoration' was applied rather generally and more like a description of what jesus and jehovah was going to do during the messianic rule, rather than a formal title and a fulfillment of prophesy.however, what if the governing body keeps 1914 as jesus' invisible crowning ... but dumps 1918 as the date for the beginning of true worship?
firstly this paragraph reinforces the previously announced removal of russell being a part of the slave class, for obvious reasons.
but if 'true worship' had a soft start around the 1920s and making that the elastic part, then the embarrassment of his teachings and maybe even rutherford's, all of it could be excused as the speech of john the baptist.
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no-zombie
I thought of something during last weekend's WT study article, that made me think that perhaps we are on the wrong track on how the Governing Body is going to handle the whole 607-1914 thing.
In paragraph 9 it referred to the the Messianic Kingdom rule as a period as called 'times of restoration of all things' taken from Acts 3:21. This period of 'restoration', started in 1914 with Jesus becoming King in Heaven, and led to pure worship being restored 'soon after that'.
And it was the last comment, that got me going.
You see, in previous WT study articles (and I went through the 1990-2024 references) this term of 'times of restoration' was applied rather generally and more like a description of what Jesus and Jehovah was going to do during the Messianic rule, rather than a formal title and a fulfillment of prophesy.
However, what if the Governing Body keeps 1914 as Jesus' invisible crowning ... but dumps 1918 as the date for the beginning of true worship?
Firstly this paragraph reinforces the previously announced removal of Russell being a part of the slave class, for obvious reasons. But if 'true worship' had a soft start AROUND the 1920s and making THAT the elastic part, then the embarrassment of his teachings and maybe even Rutherford's, all of it could be excused as the speech of John the Baptist. In effect saying. "Yeh, they had a good heart but the real out pouring of the Holy Spirit came latter". And secondly and perhaps more importantly, by breaking the linkage between 1914 and 1918-9, they can still keep 607BCE and the major part of the 70 weeks of years prophesy, without upsetting those who have known this understanding for years.
Of course, future WT articles may clarify this topic, and I could be completely wrong. But I just thought this might be a way out for the Writing Committee problems in dealing with our early Adventist teachings and the more bombastic decisions of the past.