i cannot believe i let 7 men in new york tell me god didn't consider me righteous.
how do people that believe in god put up with this crap!!
no wonder in all my years i had a hard time praying.
So 7 "imperfect men" that make up the gb now believe that they get to determine who and who are not righteous? And, based on the FACT that the bible calls Lot (the incestuous dude who banged his own daughters) a "righteous man", I'd rather be considered unrighteous. And, who was it that determined that Lot was righteous?
just saying!
just seen this announced on reddit:.
ken cook was announced today at morning worship as the new member of the governing body.
i dont recall him from the broadcasts, but he was formally a helper on the writing committee as per https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/governing-body/.
Another "imperfect man" to be part of the "imperfect GB" to help guide an imperfect organization imperfectlly!
just saying!
one of the most common "defences" of jw organization is that "the brothers" are imperfect yet still strive to follow god's word.
"sure, they make mistakes," so the argument goes, "but so did god's people in the past, including in bible times.
" the key point is their readiness to keep studying god's word and learning from their mistakes.".
One thing that I’ve been able to observe during my lifetime (71+years) and especially when I was a jw is: People are going to believe what they want to believe regardless of what the FACTS show!
"The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction." -- Feb 2017 Watchtower
WT 11/15/13 pg 20 para 17
At that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.
Wt February 2017 Study edition pg 23 para 12
The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction. In fact, the Watch Tower Publications Index includes the heading “Beliefs Clarified,” which lists adjustments in our Scriptural understanding since 1870.WT June 2017 Study edition page 30 para. 15
What is our response to divinely authorized headship? By our respectful cooperation, we show our support for Jehovah’s sovereignty. Even if we do not fully understand or agree with a decision, we will still want to support theocratic order.
But what if the GB is wrong and someone loses their life? What if they are wrong about our stance on the blood? Remember, they were wrong on the organ transplant issue and many brothers and sisters died? Are they blood guilty?
So if Jehovah directs the GB, and the GB get things wrong, then does that mean that Jehovah was having a bad day when he told them those wrong things? Or,
Does it mean that Jehovah deliberately reveals 'false truth'? Or,
Does it mean that Jehovah is not really directing the GB at all?
If you went through some sort of time warp from the 1960's till now, you'd hardly recognize this jw ''religion'' anymore. Music videos, cartoon characters, debit and credit card machines set-up ''conveniently throughout the facility'' at the regional conventions. Idolizing of the governing body members, it sure parallels other religions and the things we jw’s use to condemn!
what made the israelites so deplorable?.
i started thinking about how the bible describes ‘god’s people’, the israelites.
most of the time god was very pissed off at them.
What made the Israelites so deplorable?
I started thinking about how the bible describes ‘god’s people’, the Israelites. Most of the time god was very pissed off at them. Most of the Old Testament, or Hebrew scriptures if you like, is about prophets sent to the Israelites to warn them or to curse them for their shitty behavior. Was that the inherent behavior of all nomadic tribes? Or was it the just them? And more importantly, why would ‘god’s people’ be such belligerent butt holes?
IMHO, I think that the god that the Israelites invented, YHWH, drove them to such madness. Starting with the patriarch Abraham, “god’s friend”, he was willing to slaughter his own son because YHWH told him to do so. Bet ya Sarah was not in favor of that command!
Then there is Lot, (not and Israelite per se) a man that the bible calls a “righteous man”, has incestuous relations with his 2 daughters and knocked them up. Daddy dearest. Wonder if the kids called him dad or grandpa, or both?
God, supposedly, kills all the Egyptian first born and then drowns the entire Egyptian army as the Israelites, including women and young children, witness the marvelous event. Can you here the Israelites chanting, Kill, Kill, Kill!
They enter the ‘promised land’ only to execute genocide on the other nomadic tribes. I’m sure that didn’t affect the psyche of the Israelite soldiers. What nice stories they had to share with their wives and children about how they executed innocent women and children because YHWH told them to do it.
Then you have other meaningful events, like the inauguration of Solomon’s temple. Now that must have been a joyous occasion to witness the massive slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals. The blood must have been everywhere. I’m sure the young ones especially enjoyed that event. Ya gotta know that YHWH was well pleased. All that burning animal flesh was a “restful odor” to YHWH.
I could go on but I think that you see where I’m going with this. When you have such a kind, loving god as YHWH it’s no wonder that the Israelites where the way they were. Why wouldn’t everyone want to be part of such a wonderful people?
My conclusion is that the Israelites were the a**holes they were, not despite the fact that YHWH was their god, but because YHWH was there god.
just saying?
its not wars caused by satan and man.
its hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and tornadoes!
so the logical question is jesus showed he can control the weather when on earth.
Oh and don't forget the "unnatural" disasters that jehober has caused. He wiped out millions during the mythical flood, the Red Sea, the 185,000 army, and the miraculous genocide of the inhabitants of 'the promised land'.
just saying!
ok i have been out for over 25 years however i was active for 33 years and every picture /illustration of the 144,000 in wt publications i ever saw always showed the anointed/144000 with jesus on the throne apparently all male with beards.. not one woman was ever depicted in their drawings/illustrations that i ever saw of those sharing kingly rule with christ jesus not one.. and the saying is : 'a picture speaks more than a thousand words".
i can hear a jw apologist saying now [ their is no gender in heaven neither male or female ] well if that is the case why are everybody illustrated wearing a beard clearly a sign of being of the male gender.?.
in the wt illustrations/pictures of angels they are not shown as having beards giving the impression they are neither male or female .however not with those taken to heaven to rule with christ the anointed.. maybe the governing body of jehovah`s witnesses are showing their true feelings about women who claim to be of the anointed .. that the g.b.
I'll bet that Paul caught a lot of flack when he dared to mention that someday men and women would be equals, even in another world! How dare he even think that such a thing is ever possible! Men in those days treated women the same way the wtbts treats them today--as lesser beings! Can you imagine the suggestion of a women be a gb member? Nope but when they get resurrected as a male spirit creature, they get to be a king! Congratulations ladies! Praise jah for he is great!
just saying!
among the many ways that jehovahs witnesses leadership strangle a person is primarily through the taking of your identity.
for cults and high control groups, of course this is how it's done.
but once you leave, finding out who you really are, and living a life of authenticity is usually quite challenging.. i have learned since my exit in 2006 that it is healthy to learn about who you are.
You got it AllTime! The borg definitely rubs people of the their individuality. "We must conform" is their mantra. "Don't dare have an original thought or idea. Let the gb do all your thinking for you and trust them to lead you in the right direction."
Yep that is the way it is inside the borg. Since I've freed myself of the wtbts, I have felt so free to pursue my passions and hobbies. My nights and weekends are free. It's like life has doubled or even tripled!
Now that you have healed and/or are still healing, ani't it grand? Life isn't bad at all once we learn what life is>
just saying!
the other day i ran into a jw who just happened to be my very friend during my jw days (which were most of my life).
so for about 60 years we were each other’s very best friend.
we grew up together from about 8 years old and are the same age, now in our early 70’s.
The other day I ran into a jw who just happened to be my very friend during my jw days (which were most of my life). So for about 60 years we were each other’s very best friend. We grew up together from about 8 years old and are the same age, now in our early 70’s. We were in the congregation. We went to school together. He was much smarter academically than me but I was a better athlete (and better looking) so we were mutually jealous of each other at times.
We went to jw parties together; we got drunk together, we dated many of the same jw girls back in the day when dating was ‘allowed’. We surfed together, water skied together. We raced our motorcycles and our cars against each other. He was best man in my wedding and I was best man in his wedding. Our wives became good friends and his kids became friends with my kids. So you sort of get the picture.
But, we haven’t been that close for the past 20 years since we don’t live near each other any longer. His wife is a lifelong pioneer (50+ years) and he joined her as a pioneer 6 years ago. I, on the other hand, have been an inactive jw for about 6 years and was pimo for about 5 or 6 year before that. My wife is still active but not a super jw.
Back to our chance meeting. We chatted for a while, then he hit me with: “I was really sad to hear that you have left the “truth.” I thought about it for a moment and then replied; “I didn’t leave the “truth”---the truth left the “truth”. Were we not promised by God’s organization that we would not grow old in this system? Were we not promised that God’s righteous new system would be here within the 20th century?”
He didn’t reply but instead changed the subject. He told me as we parted that we need to continue this discussion at a later date.
“Cool!" I said but inside it hurt like a son-of -a-bitch!
just saying!
good morning everyone , .
i am wondering how people have personally delt with the anger at the gb when waking up and realizing it’s a scam, lie , and it’s awfully depressing .
i have had difficulty concentrating at work , have had an emotional roller coaster between okay days and awful days.
CovetsadJW
I second what scratchme 1010 said. You need to stay positive. Thousands of people felt exactly the way you feel right now. It's a real blow to our psyche when we realized that we were duped by a cult.
I personally went through a horrible period of time as I backed away from the borg mainly because my family was still in. I spent over 60 years in the cult and though it took me a few years to fully recover, but once you're free, you're really free!
It will require time, depending on how deeply you were indoctrinated, but there is real light at the end of that dark tunnel. Hang in there and continue to seek support from other here on this forum and you will recover!
just saying!
so... i am doing a crazy stat: how many pieces of paper has the wt ever published?.
i don't have the answer yet, but.... i do have the approximate answer for the awake!
and the watchtower magazines.... get ready... it's a whopping 1.1 trillion pages!.
To me, the real tragedy of this whole situation is the waste of time, time that was volunteered by young men and women who thought they were doing something important to save mankind. At least 50%, and maybe more, of the bullsh*t printed in both the watchtower and awake is crap that the wtbts no longer teaches and has shelved as 'old lite'.
So many cases of young people that have left bethel very disillusioned because of the things that they "witnessed" during their time there. Just the sheer volume of time, energy, and resources that were wasted as false prophecies were printed and published by the charlatan wtbts. Too bad!
just saying!
