quite simply, most jw's are scared as heck of ever reading information critical of the watchtower society.
deep down they genuinly fear their 'faith' wouldn't stand it.. ignorance and resisting contrary information is the final defense for jw's.
it is the fall-back position they mentally run to at the slightest bit of criticism.
Watchtower April 1, 1920, pp100, 101
We would not refuse to treat one as a brother because he did not believe the Society is the Lord's channel. If others see it in a different way, that is their privilege. There should be full liberty of conscience.
At the start of this sentence they say they should not do a thing.. and the end they say the very opposite is also fine.
Watchtower double speak at it's best.
hello, some of you old friends and not so much.
i'm wondering why my 13 year-old account from beliefnet is in your database.. interesting.... so that's how you get your numbers for "members".
from other forums.. lol.
Are you saying everything stays here for ever Simon? 13 years is an awful long time don't you think?
Maybe when people register you should warn them that anything they say or do here will be kept for ever ala the N.S.A and not just slam them with the somewhat brusk and curt response as you did to the sincere question above.
People should have some rights over their identities (even if fake) and data. You don't really own the members you know.
You have already made it impossible for anyone to ever clear or delete personal messages and ignored many requests to allow people control of their own inboxes.
What's this seeming hostilty towards peoples freedoms and privacy that you often disply? Is all this data your private property?
" the secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or a new thing in an old way.".
richard harding davis.
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That's a simple one. It doesnt.
go to jw.org right now friends and you will see a young male jw witnessing in a rural setting with publication in hand and - take careful note - wearing a crisply-white open-neck shirt.
bring out the carnival, light the lights: the organ ization is kicking itself into an ongoing casualization of its rank and file.. in the 1960s through 1980s i know brothers who dared to attire themselves sans ties who were reprimanded or worse.
.
I think anyone would look just plain stupid in a full suit and tie in an Hawaian beach for any reason don't you?
im a long-time lurker turned member, finally felt the need to share my experience with people who know where im coming from.
will try to be as succinct as possible!.
am from the uk and was born in as 3rd generation.
The exact same thing happened to me. I was doing special pioneer hours and was answering up like crazy at every single meeting. Then one day the entire bubble just burst with an enormous POP!
It was memorial week of last year.. just the thought of going made me almost vomit. Not because of God, the Bible, but because of the entire organisation and the people in it and the whole castle of lies simply disintegrated in the same way you described.
It's coming up to a year soon that I have not been to a meeting or seen or spoken to a single person from that congregation. I have not had a single phone call, letter, note through my door or visit. Nothing.
I live less than 2 minutes from the hall and walk past it every day. Yet still not a peep from anyone. It's completely surreal! It's like I never existed.. as though my entire experience in 'the truth' never even happened. It's all so completely bizarre.
I don't miss any of it or any of them. There is nothing to miss. There is no real or rather 'whole' truth there are certainly no love.
If I ever do get a visit or 'invited' to any kind of 'committee' I don't know what I will do. One thing I do know is that I can never see myself ever having anything to do with that group again and in the year that has past I have become a veritable expert in the history of the organisation and all it's falsehoods.
The information I have on them they really would not want in the public domain and I would have no hesitation to get my producer contacts at the BBC to do a highly personal and revealing documentary exposing the entire shameful charade that they are perpetuating.
I suspect that they are aware of this hence the reason I am being left completely alone. They seem to not want to provoke anything. I have no fear of them what so ever and I am certain they know this.
For now I allow time and space to let the offence and anger diminish and regain my full objectivity. But what you say os so true.. once you have seen behind the curtain so to speak.. you can never un-see it. You are changed for ever.
Peace.
1. how can i change and upload a new avatar?.
2. when will we ever have any control of our pm inboxes so we can delete and clear messages instead of them sitting there for eternity?.
3. will there ever be any control of what we post (ie: being able to remove stuff) or is anything we post, say or share carved here in stone to maybe come back and haunt us in 15 years.. thanks...
1. How can I change and upload a new avatar?
2. When will we ever have any control of our PM inboxes so we can delete and clear messages instead of them sitting there for eternity?
3. Will there ever be any control of what we post (ie: being able to remove stuff) or is anything we post, say or share carved here in stone to maybe come back and haunt us in 15 years.
Thanks..
after reading the thread soon to be 18 and quit speaking to her mother- suggestions?, i started thinking of how to use the wtbts's doctrine to help jws to see what is the real purpose of shunning for the wtbts.
hopefully, some good ideas will be posted to this thread and may help exjws and jws to maintain relationships with each other instead of shunning the non-jws.. how would a jw react to the following?.
do christians shun or not associate with non-jws to help non-jws believe that the wtbts has the "truth", to keep the cong clean of non-believers, or to not be shunned?
It's simply incredulous and insane that 3 shamelessly unqualified men who make decisions in a closed kangaroo court can dictate to 7 million people how to treat you. Including your own family and loved ones. It's even more incredulous that those 7 million or so others can even follow and act on such dictates.
Just smile and love them back. Love conquers all and removes their cruel power entirely.
i plan to voice my dissent after our next discussion of the generation teaching coming in april.
obviously i will avoid incriminating myself.
but, i feel it's a perfect time for me to question the credibility of the gb considering most people at our hall are old enough to remember the 1995 flip flop.
During my last days in the ministry I found I was unable to talk about anything at all to do with the organisation or it's teachings. I would never even try to invite people to the meetings. I was just too dam embarrassed. All I would talk about was love and humanity and compassion and the love of God. I felt daft with those magazines in my hands. Their contents did nothing for me.
Come to think of it there was really no point in me being in that religion at all.
1983 "avoid independent thinking .. how is such independent thinking manifested?
a common way is by questioning the counsel that is provided by god's visible organization.
" {wt jan 15 1983 22}.
Great point Tammy..
to thank you for taking the time to read this, because i feel that it is extremely important.
over the years we have been waring against the watchtower, and our battle field has been the internet.and we have been very successful in establishing discussion forums and online resorces exposing false teachings and we have used youtube to further shed light on the watchtower, we have even written books to this end.. .
yes we have attacked watchtower at its weakest point, the internet and we have been able to do this as small groups and even individualy.
All war is a waste of time and energy and resources and life. You will also only end up hurting yourself or getting hurt.
The only war I have ever been engaged in is with my own mind and feelings and the war to free myself from false ideas and false people. Once I have accomplished this. I have won my own personal war.
Game over.
