Posts by Nicholaus Kopernicus

19

"Freeness of speech"

by Wonderment in

this was posted on another thread (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6040010839031808/christmas-tree-word-appreciation), but wondered about how others here would see this with one experience i had as an elder now as ex-jws.. when we were jw's we had to be extremely careful with what we said around the brotherhood.

if someone said anything out of the ordinary, relationships among the involved were halted immediately, or were never the same afterwards.

in this place, one can say almost anything without the fear of having a truck run over us.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

My experience is that a talk is interesting or not depending on how much the speaker incorporates into the outline from external references. When he adds information and references it, this gives weight to what he is saying. It is tragic that there are influences around who seek to extinguish individuality on the one hand, and genuine desire to refresh, stimulate, and encourage the audience on the other hand. Innovation in other words. But then again, when an organisation at the top is dysfunctional, it can be disconcerting for those dysfunctional leaders see others do the right thing.

In my experience, there are few interesting talks given anymore. It's becoming a desert of sorts. The "famine in the land" is not really in the realm of Christendom as I was led to believe, but right there in the kingdom halls. The leadership of the WTS is addressing meeting attendance in the April 2016 edition of the Watchtower magazine.....

"REASONS TO ATTEND MEETINGS

They educate us.

They encourage us.

They bring us under the influence of holy spirit.

They give us opportunities to show our brothers that we love them.

They unite us with fellow believers.

Our attendance gives Jehovah what he deserves.

Our attendance shows Jehovah that we want to draw close to him and his Son.

Our attendance demonstrates that we support God’s sovereignty."

I can't agree with any of the above. It's just not my experience any more. I grew weary of RC ritual and repetition many years ago. Yet in many respects, WT meetings are becoming mere ritual and repetition and underpin the sovereignty of the GB, and neither encourage or educate.

42

Beards

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i have a beard.

i spend a month on vacation with no worry from the congregation overseas of course.

i grew a full beard now and with glasses i finally have posted my picture on facebook og me... next to half life 2 cover showing i look like gordan freeman lol.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

This is taken from the 1942 text called "The New World". So the WT's antipathy towards beards is/has been quite extreme. I have met a Bro from Scandinavia with a beard. He hasn't encounteted problems. Very problematic in UK and USA however.

That Jesus is not only depicted here as clean shaven but also caucasian and blond, and with the marching body language of a GI Joe is gross. Then again, all these years later, the WT Society excells in being gross/eggregious/arrogant/hierarchical.... and so on.....

5

Harvesting of cash

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

in the wt handbill/invitation coloured brown, it clearly states "no collections" on the left and right sides of one of the pages.

however, on the newer and replacement handbill/invitation coloured blue/gray, reference to there being no collections is entirely absent.

i'm not sure if this is because of the present cash harvest or a sign that something even more direct may be under consideration at some time in the future.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

In the WT handbill/invitation coloured brown, it clearly states "No collections" on the left and right sides of one of the pages. However, on the newer and replacement handbill/invitation coloured blue/gray, reference to there being no collections is entirely absent.

I'm not sure if this is because of the present cash harvest or a sign that something even more direct may be under consideration at some time in the future. Yet, even before the brown handbill was released, there was a white handbill which still had "No collections" printed on it in bold. So this most recent redesign with the statement being omitted may well be a significant sign of preparatory and future intent.

21

Pictures in the Watchtower

by Sour Grapes in

jw
friends

after sitting through last sunday's watchtower i got so sick of seeing the bobbing/nodding heads when talking about the pictures.

they act like god himself took the picture.

there must have been 10 comments about the group in service and the one brother was looking at his phone with a smile, which is a dead give away that he was reading something interesting.. what got me was how the older brother in the posed picture had a bible in his hand had a stern look on his face looking at the young brother.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

There is much more attention given to the pictures than there used to be. I can't help but think that this attention to the pictures increases as the content of the literature becomes more dull and boring.

There is also a tendency to attribute too much importance to the pictures - rather like the JW.ORG emblems which are appearing at KHs and in lapel and tie pins, key fobs etc. Simply idolatrous and showing the authors at the WTBTS as increasingly bankrupt spiritually.

24

Following Christ "from a distance."

by New day in

luke 22:54.

"then they arrested him and led him off, and they brought him into the house of the high priest; but peter was following at a distance.

" i am still raging because this verse was used at a recent circuit overseer's visit.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

Another good riposte to those seeking to guilt trip us into "reaching out" is this quotation from the w14 9/15 page 3 (Are You Reaching Out?).....

"Some believe that they are successful only if they get this privilege or that appointment. Such thinking is erroneous and can turn into an obsession. If you serve Jehovah faithfully wherever you are and whatever you do, you are a success." [bold mine].

I don't reach out, don't give money, don't have "privileges" and don't care what any temple police officer (elder) or high priest (circuit overseer) thinks!

40

Boredom at the Kingdom Hall meetings

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

put aside all the stupid rules,beliefs,doctrines and practices of the jehovah's witnesses.this is one of the main reasons why i stopped attending all meetings!

boredom.

monotone speakers.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

Some years ago, I remember attending a circuit elders' meeting where most of the time of the meeting was given over to presenting meeting parts and the audience giving feedback. The purpose of the meeting was to look hard at presentations and make them as interesting as possible. We were all informed that the rationale underlying such a focus was the perennial problem of troughs in mid-week meeting attendance. This of course implies that much of the responsibility lay with those presenting the information - true to an extent. However, there was no reflection whatsoever on the content of the meeting parts. Of course, to this day, the content of meetings is as it has always been - completely centralized. Thus, if the authors of the meeting produce outlines etc which are rather boring, then the meetings are going to be boring. Hardly rocket science!

Earlier in 2015 and perhaps 2014 too, I remember there were several episodes of KSM's having a part where several verses of scripture were read out and then open questions put to the audience. In my congregation not only did many hands go up, but the hands were held really high. I interpreted this as the audience being really enthused to participate. These items disappeared however. I don't detect enthusiasm at the meetings. Nobody says - "Oh wasn't that a nice talk..... wasn't that an interesting thought." No, the authors of the content and structure of the meetings exemplify the banal, the institutional, and lack of imagination. The focus is on considering the literature published by the WTBTS rather than the Bible. For an organisation which purports to be Christian, so little of Christ's teachings are actually considered. So the WTBTS is really responsible for the boring meetings and any consequent reduced or irregular attendances.

My scriptural thought on WTBTS meetings: "Better is the ending afterward of a matter than its beginning." From somewhere in Proverbs.

26

Good books to read?

by thedepressedsoul in

i read crisis on the conscience and i am about to start, "who wrote the bible?

" does anyone have a list or great books to read for anyone searching for the real truth?

i've only ever seen the world through a jw lens and i am excited to see what other view points are out there!

Nicholaus Kopernicus

"Against the Flow" by Professor John C. Lennox. An examination of the book of Daniel. Interesting perspective on higher education in the text.

A very interesting read all in all and far superior to the JW book on Daniel. Thoroughly referenced, indexed and with nice photos and art work. Available from Amazon hardcopy or as Kindle ebook.

9

Trinity doctrine and bible canonization

by The JHWH in

hello, a quick question that came to find and couldn't find easy answer using google so i'ma try here.. so: was the doctrine of trinity decided to be a christian doctrine by the same people who chose which books to include in the bible?

i vaguely remember that both of these subjects were decided at the first council of nicaea.

if this is not the case, then when, where and by whom were these things decided?.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

An interesting discussion on the history of the trinity doctrine is still freely available to download from the BBC...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xgl3m

Discussion is chaired by Melvyn Bragg and has three guest speakers. I found it quite interesting.

24

Following Christ "from a distance."

by New day in

luke 22:54.

"then they arrested him and led him off, and they brought him into the house of the high priest; but peter was following at a distance.

" i am still raging because this verse was used at a recent circuit overseer's visit.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

I remember this guilt tripping at the convention. Not surprised to hear of a CO using it to further bully bros locally.
It does represent a policy / approach change. I say this because there was a major release about "reaching out" in the Nov 2011 WT. There has been a further WT release since then but I forget precisely when. The Nov 2011 WT is interesting and useful in that it has provided me with a good referenced reason for not "reaching out".....
"Of course, a brother does not have to be a ministerial servant or an elder in order to help others and have a full share in the ministry."

Additionally, the article states that......
"..... Jesus did not lecture or threaten his disciples."
It is probably the case that the WTS is not gaining the input of elders which they hoped for as a result of their WT articles on "reaching out". That they think guilt tripping at conventions or during CO visits will work shows how lacking in EQ they are.
Becoming an elder is bad for your health, bad for relationships. Even "reaching out" to be an elder can be damaging. It brings you closer to a niche of individuals who tend to bully and they will eventually expect you to adopt the same behavioural profile.

54

The Watchtower is not invincible

by Coded Logic in

despite claims to the contrary, there's no guarantee the watchtower will be around in a few decades time.

and it seems to me there's ever mounting evidence that the opposite may well be true.

but it's not just that recruitment is down and their defectors are up.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

I certainly hope we don't have to wait decades. I'm hoping for a Berlin Wall speed of demise. The deterioration is certainly caused by the GB and their "helpers". However, the detioration is being helped along by the local GB's, that is - BoE's.

The WT society is so structured that it seeks to disseminate only and not listen. It ignores Jesus counsel - "Let him who has ears listen well." They ignore Solomon's counsel - "In a multitude of counsellors there is accomplishment". No, they are exclusive rather than inclusive. They are all highly directive rather that participative/consultative. They preach the virtue of being yielding but do not practise it! Many an individual has suffered terribly as a result of BoE's unwarranted interventions in other peoples' affairs.

In their main teaching text (What Does the Bible Really Teach?) they have a photo of a dirty lollipop and ask if we would lick/suck it? Well, many are realising that the WTS is the dirty lollipop and abstaining accordingly!