It already IS a new religion. "Jehovah's dynamic, forward moving organization", you might say.
All religion is faltering under the weight of the information age. The timeline of it's demise is anyone's guess.
the generation that will be no means pass away have passed away.. the 144,000 were sealed up in 1935, oh, no wait, we got that wrong, we still have some.. russel is the faithful and wise servant... oh, no he wasn't it was me, rutherford... no, actually, we got that wrong it's knorr... erm, no we mean the governing body.. shunning is pagan, true christians would never do that (1946)... oh, actually, we should do that too.. the revelation book has been re-written.. the un is the satan's visible organisation.. wtbs signs up for fellowship with the un in 1991.. exposed in the guardian newspaper so ends it's fellowship in 2001.. the greatest man book is now obsolete and replaced with another jesus book.. the mags are reduced in pages.. encouraged to use tablets instead of actual books to save paper (money).
halls being sold off.. congregations sharing halls.. society owned buildings being sold off.. video pertitioning for money only last year to fund a new building.. bethelites reduced.. missionaries sent back home.. young members leaving.. long time members discovering the history and leaving.. how long do you think this religion has left?
i cant see it being here in another 100 years.
It already IS a new religion. "Jehovah's dynamic, forward moving organization", you might say.
All religion is faltering under the weight of the information age. The timeline of it's demise is anyone's guess.
according to new, officially published guidelines, jws can now shun a person who has not been disfellowshipped from the congregation.
i see this guideline being abused by many jws who have an axe to grind with a fellow jw.
for example, let's say sister peinindiass rubs sister sensitive the wrong way.
I find it hard to believe many will shun any who aren't officially df'd. Witnesses need a label on everyone and if they don't have the df'd label they probably won't shun them.
My housemate was never DFed and never DAed. But the moment she stopped going to meetings, EVERYONE in that hall shunned her - including the old pioneer sister who studied with her a "helped" bring her into the fold.
it's rare that i bump into someone from the old hall.
but it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers i remember.. he came into my place of work not knowing i worked there.
my company is now on his delivery route.
CRAZYGUY : I wonder if they even realize it.
it's rare that i bump into someone from the old hall.
but it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers i remember.. he came into my place of work not knowing i worked there.
my company is now on his delivery route.
STUCKINARUT2 : He WAS, by his own admission, still mentally in when all this happened. But when those elders bared their true colors it woke him up.
it's rare that i bump into someone from the old hall.
but it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers i remember.. he came into my place of work not knowing i worked there.
my company is now on his delivery route.
FAYEDUNAWAY : He acknowledged that the PO lied to his mother and I thought to ask him for his mother's reaction but the conversation moved on too quickly. I'll be sure to ask about that next time I see him.
it's rare that i bump into someone from the old hall.
but it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers i remember.. he came into my place of work not knowing i worked there.
my company is now on his delivery route.
JHINE, VILLAGE IDIOT, TOESUP : Thanks. Feels good.
it's rare that i bump into someone from the old hall.
but it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers i remember.. he came into my place of work not knowing i worked there.
my company is now on his delivery route.
COFTY : The elders are blind to what they do. So narrowly focussed on rules and regulations they can't see themselves or the trail of blood.
it's rare that i bump into someone from the old hall.
but it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers i remember.. he came into my place of work not knowing i worked there.
my company is now on his delivery route.
PALE.EMPEROR, LIEU : We talked about that. He told them that their behavior was not in line with scripture OR the literature. Yet the wolves went ahead and tore him apart anyway. He told me he appealed the DF verdict to no avail. I asked him, WHY, if elders are appointed by Holy Spirit and the entire judicial committee arrangement is overseen by Holy Spirit, WHY does there even exist an appeals process?
it's rare that i bump into someone from the old hall.
but it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers i remember.. he came into my place of work not knowing i worked there.
my company is now on his delivery route.
It's rare that I bump into someone from the old hall. But it happened yesterday with one of the nicest brothers I remember.
He came into my place of work not knowing I worked there. My company is now on his delivery route. I saw his new beard and knew immediately he was no longer active, because as we all know, bearded men will not inherit God's kingdom. His face lit up. I think mine did too, as I really did have genuine affection for this guy. His wife at the time was profoundly apposed to his participation in "that filthy cult" and she was hell bent on making his life miserable. She succeeded. He saw it as persecution, Satan's attempt to keep him from Jehovah, reinforced by all of us in the organization who loved him.
He shook my hand furiously with a big smile and... we caught up. He married a new girl who was "not in the truth." Had been inactive for a couple of years and then got a message through his mother that the PO from our old hall just wanted to contact him to provide encouragement.
My old friend told me he really missed the meetings, friends, etc... so he agreed to meet with PO. "[Zoos], I arrived with my tail tucked between my legs. I was contrite, admitted everything and told them I wanted to come back and make things right. THEY POUNCED! Turned out they only wanted me to appear before a committee so they could disfellowship me. They trampled ALL OVER my humility."
I could see the pain in his expressions as he related the story and it made me think of my own experiences and those of countless people on this forum who have shared their stories. We talked for awhile longer - he and I were both on our respective company clocks - but the good news is he is FULLY awake, FULLY out, and happier than I have ever seen him.
And I'll see him again.
let`s face it , the people who took part in quick builds / renovations of kingdom halls , etc, never expected the wtb&ts to sell off the buildings they were so sure was for furthering kingdom interests in this system of things .. they gave their time, effort, money, labour ,free of charge , and then some years later the society sells it off for a profit ?
to the wt ?.
kingdom halls , assembly halls , etc.
What the WBTS is doing to people in this regard is unethical but not illegal. The property is theirs to do with what they please.