Posts by Nicholaus Kopernicus

41

Observations From an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Searching for the Lost Sheep

by doubtfull1799 in

"what man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?

" - luke 15:4. disclaimer: by posting the following observations i am not complaining.

i am happy to be left alone.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

Doubtfull1799:

Your experience comes as no surprise to me. The JW organisation is one which is highly stratified / directive. Thus, the organisation cannot produce shepherds as such. The focus of the organisation in practice is that of policing its affiliates. Therefore, its "shepherds" tend to function as de facto police officers such is the appalling environment of influence which they are constantly exposed to. This is rather like the temple police in the first century who carried out the direction of the then ecclesiastical authority (Sanhedrin). Their role also parallels the muttawa (spiritual police) in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia to an extent.

In terms of shepherding, being encouraging, supportive, comforting, and other higher functioning in the realms of counselling and catharsis, my assessment is that by far, most BoEs in the JW org are just not capacitous.

Their dysfunction reminds me of the cliché - "They who expect nothing shall not be disappointed!"

7

BRITAIN ZONE VISIT - 18th March 2017

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

a. llewellyn – wt summary (“why modesty still matters”).

i won’t go into this much as an individual can read it for themselves and conclude as s(he) sees fit.

what i would say however, is that i remember llewellyn using phrases like “knowing your place in jehovah’s organisation” and “taking care not to act presumptuously”.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

I've not come across this Papps before. However, discovered he did some media responses (I think before Paul Gillies did it). The example here is his response to BBC on blood issue....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7080902.stm

7

BRITAIN ZONE VISIT - 18th March 2017

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

a. llewellyn – wt summary (“why modesty still matters”).

i won’t go into this much as an individual can read it for themselves and conclude as s(he) sees fit.

what i would say however, is that i remember llewellyn using phrases like “knowing your place in jehovah’s organisation” and “taking care not to act presumptuously”.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

A. Llewellyn – WT Summary (“Why Modesty Still Matters”)

I won’t go into this much as an individual can read it for themselves and conclude as s(he) sees fit. What I would say however, is that I remember Llewellyn using phrases like “knowing your place in Jehovah’s organisation” and “taking care not to act presumptuously”. I’ve singled out these two thoughts as they came across as quite condescending.

For example, “knowing your place” – yes the organisation of Jehovah’s Witnesses is one of the most highly stratified of religious organisations on earth today. To act outside of one’s place is therefore probably seen as a lack of modesty. Of course, this organisation is one which disseminates information only. It does not listen. So is it any wonder that individuals increasingly ignore this perceived “place” and seek a listening ear elsewhere? Such as for example, this online forum?

My ears popped up when Llewellyn talked about not acting presumptuously! Well, north of the border a cliché derived from scripture says that one should “look in before you look out”! The organisation of Jehovah’s Witnesses has “presumptuous” as a middle name in practice!

When discussing this subject of modesty, neither Llewellyn or the WT bothers to make reference to the Insight Volume where 1 Cor 4:6 is referenced - “Do not go beyond the things that are written [that is, do not go beyond the limits that the Scriptures set for humans in their attitude toward one another and toward themselves]...” Of course, the WTBTS / GBoJW goes way beyond the things written with regularity.

S. Papps – Branch Report & Experiences

Theme: Blessed in the City & Blessed in the Field (Deut 28:3)

Papps stated that the 2016 harvest work has really blossomed. It is really going forward. Evidence of God’s blessing on the Britain branch of JW he cited as follows....

· 12 countries in our branch territory, including the Falkland Islands, Malta, and Pakistan.
· In these territories, there are 149,080 publishers.
· There has been an increase in pioneer publishers over the last 10 years
· 14,796 pioneers currently, ranging in age from 11 to 88 years
· 10% of publishers in Britain are engaged in the pioneer service.
· Hours in ministry for 2016 service year totalled over 27.4million.
· Bible studies have increased to over 69,000.

However, Papps concluded, Jehovah doesn’t focus on statistics but on people! He then went on to disclose that 4,350 literature carts have been distributed to congregations. The carts he said, have been instrumental in reaching those who used to serve Jehovah. Then gave an example of an individual who was a former elder and a pioneer (serving for 7 years) who took literature from the cart regularly and expressed an interest in being reactivated.

With reference to cart use in the ministry, Papps stated that there is a need to be consistent, patient, and positive. Reason: results may not be known to us or perhaps be delayed. Went on to add that there has been 4000+ requests for Bible studies made via JW.org.

He gave examples of ministry, including a congregation which organised visits to hand car washes during rainy weather. Another congregation focussed on the two creation brochures and placed 400 in a month.

Papps then moved on to the branch relocation project, revealing that a new and updated video would shortly be released and that in consequence, individuals would be able to see for themselves, Jehovah’s blessing on this project.

For my part, I thought it was very significant that Papps’ portrayal of statistics seemed to be based on the territories supervised by the Britain Branch. He avoided any statistics regarding publisher growth augmenting this by saying that Jehovah doesn’t focus on statistics. The truth is closer to the fact that the publisher numbers in Britain are falling. That there was a paper increase of a paltry 26 in 2016 has to be understood in the context of numbers being buoyed up by significant immigration to Britain (many foreign language congregations and groups for example). If Jehovah doesn’t focus on statistics then perhaps publishers no longer need to submit field service reports?

H. Corkern – “Always Rejoice in the Lord” (Php 4:4)

This talk lasted an hour. Corkern stated that he and his wife visited the branches in Belgium and the Netherlands en route to Britain. (See how “precious kingdom resources” are being used!) I was at a loss as to why he travelled so much to deliver a seemingly innocuous pastoral talk. However, maybe it wasn’t quite so innocuous or pastoral. My ears popped up when Corkern stated that we should never use unscriptural means to get away from trials. Doing so may delay relief or make it more difficult to deal with the trial. He emphasised that one is saved if you endure to the end.

I’m being highly subjective here, but I could not dismiss the suspicion that this HQ high flier was delivering such a message to provide a spiritual / intellectual pretext for not yielding to any governmental / court demands to fundamentally change the WT child safeguarding policy. He went on to affirm not deviating from Jehovah’s standards for example.

I was surprised, but then again not so surprised, when he disclosed that the most common reason for brothers losing their joy is because of one another. [I thought God’s true organisation was marked by love!] In dealing with this subject, he merely mentioned that man tends to error (Psalm 130:3) and there isn’t a man who doesn’t sin (John 8:46). So he side stepped this important issue. He didn’t mention that much of the loss of joy is attributable to BoEs and CO's who think more of themselves than it is necessary to think. He did not take the opportunity to quote the Insight Volume on the subject of humility where it is said:

“And when one person offends another, it tests his humility to obey the command to go to the other person and admit the wrong, asking forgiveness (Matt. 5:23,24)”. Well, he wouldn’t want to upset BoEs by giving them more work to do would he? The unwritten policy of the WT is that BoEs and others in positions of authority simply do not apologise! If you have received an apology from a BoE or an individual elder, do share!

35

New member + anyone attended/seen the Zone Visit?

by Isambard Crater in

jw
friends

i'm a new member so wanted to say 'hi'.

i live in the u.k, was born in, fell away as an unbaptised publisher, got baptised in my 30s for reasons i'm retrospectively unsure of, and lost my faith about five years ago around the time of the original a.r.c.

now, being unable to leave is making me physically, emotionally and mentally ill.. i have been visiting this forum for a couple of years and wanted to post my first message to see if anyone has attended, heard or watched the zone visit broadcast thing happening this month?

Nicholaus Kopernicus

Re: modesty in dress and grooming. The GBoJW have afforded themselves an exemption from 1 Thess 4:11 - leading a quiet life and minding your own business. So too have they exempted themselves from 1 Pet 4:15 - not being a busybody in other peoples' affairs. They are spiritually bankrupt / barren and thus focus on being prescriptive of others. In consequence, we get nonsense like this....

35

New member + anyone attended/seen the Zone Visit?

by Isambard Crater in

jw
friends

i'm a new member so wanted to say 'hi'.

i live in the u.k, was born in, fell away as an unbaptised publisher, got baptised in my 30s for reasons i'm retrospectively unsure of, and lost my faith about five years ago around the time of the original a.r.c.

now, being unable to leave is making me physically, emotionally and mentally ill.. i have been visiting this forum for a couple of years and wanted to post my first message to see if anyone has attended, heard or watched the zone visit broadcast thing happening this month?

Nicholaus Kopernicus

29

Which is worse according to the GB: Child Abuse or Apostasy??

by stuckinarut2 in

so we all know how the organization conducts itself regarding child abuse.

the multitude of legal cases worldwide including the current australian royal commission as well as anecdotal accounts prove their attitude.. perpetrators have not been reported to authorities, and data bases of such have been kept sealed even when demanded by the courts!.

however, when it comes to those of us who have simply left the organization due to learning the truth, the society spares no effort in spreading gossip and ensuring that one's name and reputation is ruined.. so gb, which crime is worse?

Nicholaus Kopernicus

During WT study of Sun 5th March a sister answered up indicating that....

Even if we here of child abuse in the organisation we should still remain loyal to Jehovah.

The WT study conductor was a little embarrassed as if to say - what's that git to do with this study. However, several months ago, she gave the same answer during a Thursday night book study.

Both she and another pioneer sister harp on about apostates sometimes. They talk of shunning apostates rather than remaining loyal. Listening to them is so tiresome!

Both of them strike me as "cold fish" - a term I learned from a social worker to describe individuals lacking the capacity for empathy.

16

Last Sunday's WT Study re Anxiety

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

this article could be seen as a nice read compared with the banality and repetitiveness of many articles in recent years.

however, several areas in the article still troubled me.

paragraph one externalises the cause of an individual’s anxiety to satan the devil.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

Cherylanne725:

That you experienced what you did over 20 years ago is evidence that the GBoJW, the authors of the WT, and most BoE have learned nothing about anxiety despite publishing on the matter. This weeks WT study article focussed on the year text is an example of how anxiety can be elevated rather than assuaged.

The most recent WT study depicted a widow with a barren refrigerator. Her countenance suggests mental tension / stress / anxiety. In the lower part of the art work, the widow is shown neatly attired, and depositing a coin into the contributions box at the kingdom hall. Her countenance suggests that she is happy / pleased. The relevant paragraph makes reference to the “needy widow” whom Jesus affirms. Thus, the authors of this magazine are drawing a parallel between the first century support of a divinely approved temple, and the modern day estate of the WTBTS. The needs of anyone who contributes to this modern day estate will be met by God claim the authors, as such individuals are putting the Kingdom first (another false and twisted parallel).

However, I would assert that this part of the article may engender feelings of guilt, experiences of stress / inadequacy on the part of seniors of meagre means at not being able to contribute as they may otherwise wish to. I would even go as far as to assert that this part of the article is an actual example of the psychological abuse of seniors and in my mind, shows a rather callous and cold streak on the part of the WT authors. That they psychologically prey on seniors like this is shamefully reprehensible. As Meleti rightly says in his blog, the book of James holds the congregation responsible for providing for a “needy widow”. That the WTBTS absolves itself from James’ scriptural guidance on the matter is exemplary of how divergent they actually are from this and many other examples of scriptural precedents.

However, all that having been said, the main point I wanted to put across is about the authors of this magazine in their article about anxiety recommending meeting attendance as one means of assuaging anxiety. The truth is to the contrary in that an elderly needy one attending the meeting at which this article was discussed may likely feel anxiety /guilt / stress. So the meetings may actually be a source of anxiety rather than a source of becalming such.

52

Convention program 2017 AM3

by George One Time in

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/convention-program-2017/friday/.

why would our beloved gb member be on the top picture of the program?.

any ideas?.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

This reminds me of the last convention at Twickenham RFU stadium where banners were fixed to the lamp posts.. The banners had a member of the GBoJW portrayed on them. Hardly faithful, and certainly not discrete. Neither is this programme!

By the way, the convention mentioned above was an over crowded debacle. Families with kids couldn't find seats and had to go home. Insufficient public transport. One member of my cong didn't get home until 11.00pm. I anticipated problems and left at lunchtime. Now I just don't bother at all.

This GBoJW projecting themselves as they do is really quite repellent!

16

Last Sunday's WT Study re Anxiety

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

this article could be seen as a nice read compared with the banality and repetitiveness of many articles in recent years.

however, several areas in the article still troubled me.

paragraph one externalises the cause of an individual’s anxiety to satan the devil.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

I forgot to mention paragraph 17 wherein it is said.....

"a congregation elder may be able to help you to put your anxiety into perspective".

I think they mean that you may be carefully corrected and told to focus on the more important things such as ministry and meetings.

In any case, an elder's role will be quite limited as the WT doesn't provide training in how to deal with anxiety. No mention is made od the possible need for professional help.

I don't suffer from anxiety myself, but I couldn't honestly recommend approaching an elder. Notwithstanding his lack of training/knowledge, he is likely to be quite busy already and highly stressed and perhaps not even aware of it. On balance, elders are more likely to be a source of anxiety than a source of mitigating it.

37

Everyday expressions used by JWs that are NOT in the bible...

by stuckinarut2 in

reading another thread made me realise that there are numerous expressions used as everyday witness terminology, that is not in the bible.... such as:.

governing body.

paradise earth.

Nicholaus Kopernicus

Here are a few.....

Theocratic order

Loyal submission

Exemplary publisher

Universal sovereign

However my pet hate and the word grossly over used and misused in the organisation is "privilege" (assignment). This word is actually in the NWT 1984 and 2013 between 6 and 8 times. However, it shouldn't be there at all. Was inserted (interpolation) by the WT "scholars"! It isn't in the Kinngdom Interlinear for example.