i never, ever thought i would ever be posting on a board such as this but here i am.
i've been reading the boards for several months and despite my initial conscience twinges, i couldn't help but follow a logical thought process on many issues that were causing me grief.
over this past week, due to the things i've read on here, i've had a massive cloud lift from me and i'm starting to feel joy and love in my heart that i've *never* felt before.
Love has nothing to do with it. The JW religion ruined my life with wrong predictions and advice. Love won't remove the crazy, doctrinally inept history of the JW religion. If you're now all about love, then tell me how a loving god could allow all the horror that has gone on for millions of years and is going on now.
Cats are being boiled alive in a market in Asia. Raccoons are being skinned alive (I've seen the video). Can you, in your new "love" frame of mind give me an answer for that?
the watchtower—study edition | june 2020. .
study article 26.
6 who can share in the search for inactive ones?
Suppose Thomas really is a super elder who has some kind of ability to make people return (or want to return). What about all the poor inactive ones who live in areas where there is no super elder like Thomas? They are going to be destroyed at Armageddon because they happen to live in a zip code where there's no super elder. It's not fair or just and doesn't make sense.
And consider the overall point of the article. It equates returning to Jehovah with returning to "the congregation". How arrogant.
Why would anyone want to return? Because of the informative, interesting, mentally stimulating meetings? Because of the org's history of accurate interpretation of Bible prophecy and end of the world predictions? Because he or she wants to get back onto the hamster wheel of mind-numbing, dead-end busy work? Because he or she greatly admires the dignified, scholarly GB?
at what time would you say that the watch tower schema lost the spirit?.
like the ancient nation of israel which struggled maintaining divine blessing due to a long series of grave errors that eventually culminated in definitive loss... how and when did watch tower lose the spirit?.
can we pinpoint a time or event?.
I say during the 70's & 80's in the last part of F Franz's time as oracle and when R Franz and some others seemed to be seeking real truth. In the 80's, it seems that R Franz and some other JW higher-ups were using Bible commentaries, etc. to seek better understanding. The org got scared because it realized real truth would expose its doctrines. A witch hunt ensued, and since then the org has frowned on JWs' using non-JW material to do study and research. It doesn't want JWs to learn Bible languages. The org is now not a lover of truth, but a fearer of truth and open knowledge.
***** footnote *****
I get the point of what you're asking, but, even though I'm going against your request, I have to add that, now, looking back, I don't think the org ever had "the spirit". In my answer above, I'm just indicating when a major change took place. Before that time, the org seemed honest, sincere, bold, and even somewhat scholarly. The doctrine, to me, had the ring of truth. That's why it appealed to me and the many smarter, more level-headed JWs I knew at that time.
Now, JWdom is a joke. It would be unrecognizable to many of the ones I knew a few decades ago who haven't seen it in the last twenty years. JWs run from questions. The org is no longer bold; it's puny & weak. It realizes it has lost in the doctrinal arena and is playing it safe now with dumbed down literature.
a new fox poll says biden is up by 12 percentage points.
of course, most other polls say trump will be trounced this time around.. do you think the polls might be right this time?
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But at least if Uncle Joe does a fireside chat, he'll be smiling and won't be calling you a son-of-a-bitch.
Even if Trump were referring to me, I'd rather have that any day over Uncle Joe's insincere, phoney smile. Trump is out with it, and I find that to be refreshing. If they're all venomous snakes, then Trump is out in the open, whereas, Uncle Airhead and his side are hidden in the grass.
I honestly believe that Trump cares more about the country than Uncle Joe.
the latest instructions from the kingdom hall trust here in the u.k are very revealing, and current j.w elders need to beware !
i will get to that in a minute.
maybe in the usa and other countries too ?.
Damn. In the days of Freddie, it seemed the org was really interested in things spiritual and trying to gain deeper understanding of the Scriptures. Now, the org's focus is on money and self-preservation.
for those who haven't come across furuli before , he is a 77 year old norwegian professor and is ( or was ) one of the few "scholarly" jws used by the society and used as a source on various matters ( especially 607 bce ).. however recently he has fallen out with the gb and has published an interesting book - like many recent scholarly apologists , he seems to be going down the road of disagreeing with the authority of the gb but still holding that the jws is the one true religion.
kind of "lions led by donkeys".
whether this view will continue is anyones guess.
I'm beginning to think Furuli might be sort of like Fred Franz; Franz thought he was a righteous guru with intelligence and knowledge exceeding that of his peers and underlings. Furuli seems to think similarly of himself.
in minneapolis, the city council has voted to abolish the police.. many cities want to either disband or defund the police.
black lives matter and other groups have influenced citizens and neighborhoods to get rid of police and their authority.
is anyone really supportive of removing the police or cutting out law enforcement through the budget?
If they think police are bad, wait until there are none and individuals start enforcing on their own or in their own groups. It'll be the wild west.
Do they even understand the big picture? Who will enforce road laws (and there have to be road laws)? Who will write reports for wrecks? Who will protect against crime?
I just don't get how anyone could even conceive of the idea. Are they that naïve?
that was this weeks video.
but the elders cant say: liberry, pitcher, aks, pronounsiation, mono-tone-us, unconscience.
JoenB75, yes; actually, that's very insightful. Unfortunately, many JWs wouldn't grasp what you posted.
that was this weeks video.
but the elders cant say: liberry, pitcher, aks, pronounsiation, mono-tone-us, unconscience.
jp1692, I HATE "new-kya-lur". I've heard some really educated (well, at least they had the paper) people say that; I think even some scientists. In an area I used to be in there was a JW college professor with a doctorate in education who said it.
I also hate "Revelations".
that was this weeks video.
but the elders cant say: liberry, pitcher, aks, pronounsiation, mono-tone-us, unconscience.
Some examples from my area: Joe Nathan ("Jonathan"), Galatea ("Galatia"), Michelle ("Michal") (and that was a CO), Apostal ("Apostle").
Had a school overseer that tried to say "we're going to give you a mark of commendation." This was back when students were given either a G, W, or I. I don't know why he tried to say "mark of commendation" rather than just saying "we're going mark you good" or "we're going to give you a G". Anyway, when trying to say "we're going to give you a mark of commendation", he would say "we're going to give you a mark of accommodation". I heard that every week for several years.... and THAT WAS THE SCHOOL OVERSEER!
