Yep ... in Australia it was a thing around in the 80's too. I used to hear these kinds of 'experiences' in public talks all the time, used as another proof that we had the Truth. It was drilled into us so much, that none of us used to go thrift shops, just in case those secondhand shoes came with a free demon.
no-zombie
JoinedPosts by no-zombie
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7
HER HANDBAG TOLD HER TO STOP PREACHING
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/qzpj3kzgidi?si=x1xazpqmed1zq5h2.
ah, yes, another shining example of the watchtower’s *unmatched* commitment to rational thought.
forget logic, science, or even basic common sense—just blame that suspiciously cursed handbag for all your troubles!
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Is the US a democracy or a republic? Yes
by blondie inhttps://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1122089076/is-america-a-democracy-or-a-republic-yes-it-is.
throughout our history we have functioned as both.
put another way, we have utilized characteristics of both.
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no-zombie
How can the America be a Democracy, when the ONLY way you can become President is, if you are either mega-rich or mega-influential? As there is not a Democracy in the world, where presidential candidates have to be willing to raze and spend $1.4 billion USD (as in the case of Trump did last year) to win in it AND have the right social and business connections.
Don't fool yourselves. The US is not a Democracy ... is a Plutocracy ... and has been since the late 1800s.
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JW internal culture is destroying everything that makes a Jehovah’s Witness
by ukpimo inthe entire internal religious culture of the watchtower organization is harmful for its current members.
the culture seems to traverse ethnic and national barriers.
however, the worst of each culture all around the world appears to have a symbiotic relationship with the religion in an attempt to make the org fanciful in every nation and locality.
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no-zombie
I believe that the turning point for Witness culture was in 1980, when the Bethel purges began after the Disfellowshiping of Ray Franz.
Much like the advice given to King Rehoboam in 1 Kings 14 ... a rod of iron began to pelt the backs of the Brotherhood, seeking to stamp out any form of disloyalty. This (as most here will remember) took to form of hard-line WT articles on apostasy, increasing the oversight by the COs, a ban on independent bible study groups and an direct instruction to stop elders from arranging social gatherings.
Not that there was problems actually, but the fear to loosing control was enough to remove any form of locally organized activities and recreation, which directly contributed to the splintering of the collective spirit congregations generally bring.
And while it has take some time, its now quite clear that the very thing Governing Body didn't want back then ... has now quietly but fully been manifested in the form of lip service by the rank and file, with Publishers doing basically whatever they want.
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Struggling
by Kelley959 ini hope this is the right place to post this.
if not, please remove.
this is a long post, sorry for the rant, but i have been debating posting this for a while.
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no-zombie
to Kelley959
Its ok to rant and complain here ... as most of us had done so over the years. And while you will end up seeing that we've have come to this forum for different reasons, the one thing that you will find (something that will not be able to have in any Kingdom Hall) is the freedom to speak your mind, without being negatively judged. So just do it and unburden your soul.
Welcome aboard.
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They are running out of people to do their stuff.
by liam inthis is the watchtower study article being studied today.
so it’s the current new light!.
what are the new qualifications to be an “elder-aka older man...and circuit overseer?.
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no-zombie
As I have said for years ... demographics is everything ... absolutely EVERYTHING. Whole nations, whole empires have disappeared due to inevitable reality of demographic forces.
So when there is no young people left in a congregation, you can't magically create them, no matter what you now do or promise. Why ... because you have to give birth to them and grow them, as a part of a 20 year investment ... and they should want to stay.
Which of course means the Governing Body has killed its own future and the future of the Organization by making the religion so fucking boring, everyone wants to get out as soon as they can. Even the so-called 10 year plan, is now far too late to have any impact upon our rapidly aging religion.
The bus for meaningful change, left the station a long time ago.
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Making Friends with Babylon the Great: Watchtower’s New Goal
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/iv_uifab-qg?si=ttnajiuizmtqlte9.
it began during the last annual meeting of 2014 and now is trikling down to their watchtower magazines, this new "live and let live" attitude towards people of other faiths, or as they were known as babylon the great soon to be dead in the hands of god members.but it is a new different story, so let's read paragraph 15 from study article 15:.
"jehovah is kind to both the righteous and the unrighteous.
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no-zombie
While I applaud the wishful thinking of others, I do belief that many read into Watchtower articles too deeply, to see in effect what they want to see.
For example, hoping that Governments will see a softening of this or that teaching, is just not going to work, as the Australian Royal Commission proved. Meaning that, unless something is clearly stated in (or removed from) the KS book (yeh I do know that it's now called the Shepherd the Flock Book) it will not be admissible in court or taken as a serious doctrinal redirection.
Thus until that publication removes the Interfaith paragraph from the section dealing with Apostasy, as a disfellowshiping matter ... it is pointless to get overly excited about this thread.
Sorry.
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How Do JWs Understand Salvation & What Is Needed to Obtain It?
by LauraLynn infrom my experience within the jw organization, i understood that salvation meant a person accepted the teachings of the wbts without question as the "faithful and discrete slave," thereby placing their trust in them, not jesus christ.
salvation consisted of being found "righteous" by jehovah and resurrected to everlasting life in an earthly paradise.
to obtain this salvation, one needed to obey the organization's teachings, remain a faithful jw, and lead a moral life.
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no-zombie
Unfortunately, this statement ... Those who will not be resurrected for a crack at life will include those who rejected the life-saving message of Jehovah’s Witnesses advertised since 1919 ... is not correct. As, all who died before Armageddon will have a resurrection. And the expression often quoted as to a resurrection of life or a resurrection of judgement, refers to the outcome of a resurrected person because of their post-Armageddon's conduct only.
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How Do JWs Understand Salvation & What Is Needed to Obtain It?
by LauraLynn infrom my experience within the jw organization, i understood that salvation meant a person accepted the teachings of the wbts without question as the "faithful and discrete slave," thereby placing their trust in them, not jesus christ.
salvation consisted of being found "righteous" by jehovah and resurrected to everlasting life in an earthly paradise.
to obtain this salvation, one needed to obey the organization's teachings, remain a faithful jw, and lead a moral life.
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no-zombie
If this question is asked in all seriousness, my answer would be that the specifics of salvation (for either the heavenly or earthly hope) from successive generations of Governing Bodies, is rather vague. Whether is is a deliberate attempt of maintaining a dependency on the Organization or not, I don't know. However the official position lies somewhere between being a faith based justification and a works based one.
Like many things in our faith, much is short on details ... I guessing because ultimately its easier for them, being not pinned down.
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How are new Servants and Elders appointed?
by no-zombie innow that we have the tick-a-box field service reporting method, how are brothers measured fit for an appointment as a ms or elder?
has there been clarification in any of the recent elders schools or in meetings with the co?.
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no-zombie
Now that we have the tick-a-box field service reporting method, how are Brothers measured fit for an appointment as a MS or Elder? Has there been clarification in any of the recent Elders Schools or in meetings with the CO?
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Removed - blood card
by skin ini overheard a discussion between two jws, they said that when someone is disfellowshipped, they are asked to hand their blood card back to the elders.
i had never heard of this before, is this correct?.
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no-zombie
Yes, I've heard of this before ... but not for a long time.
And while many might not really care once being disfellowshiped, the stripping off a person's Bloodcard in this manner could have been used to forcefully illustrate their removal (or expulsion) from the Organization.