should christians drink tea?.
would you like a cup of tea?.
this seemingly innocent question has been asked countless times, and is regarded as a gesture of courtesy and hospitability in many parts of the world, in both eastern and western culture.
Fake
Yeah, it is. The org's writing is really bad in many ways, but I see lots in this piece that wouldn't have passed its proofreaders, as bad as they are.
"genuine Christians refuse to condone with any behavior"
"Some in the congregation of Corinth seemed to think that there was nothing wrong in eating meat"
many others
not sure if this bothered other people, but it absolutely drove me crazy!!!!.
ok, typical annual memorial.
the emblems are being passed around.
I don't have a problem with the servers' offering the emblems to the speaker. I just think it's weird that that some speakers feel they actually have to hold the cup & plate in hand even if they're not going to partake. I saw one speaker actually lean toward the cup and plate and make gestures with both hands as if he was going to take them, but then pause and go back to the podium.
So, yeah, offer it to them, but let them just shake their heads and refuse if they're not going to partake.
did anybody else get an announcement at their meeting about the branch approved jw.org business cards?.
apparantly, they're real slick and fit into your wallet (making it easier to informal witness).
the logic was, some people don't want to be handed a big tract and would prefer something smaller.. so strange considering how little there is to those tracts!
LisaRose: I wonder if they have completely lost faith in the ability of the average witness to do any Witnessing or recruiting whatsoever?
I think so - and not just the average Witness, but any Witness - from GB on down. The passage of time and the internet expose' and just the general availability of info on the internet have shown all the loopholes in JW theology, brought to light the crazy, deceptive, dishonest, hypocritical JW history, etc. I used to be fearless in witnessing and thought I could outdo any opponent, but I now know that I cannot defernd JW doctrine and history. During the pre-internet days I just happened not to encounter anybody who was knowledgeable enough to counter my arguments. But things are different now.
JWs are getting dumber and dumber and their opposition is gaining more ammo against them every day. I think the days when JWs thought they could go into the field and boldly challenge doctrine and defend theirs are over. With this new situation in JWdom, the only recruits they will get in the economically and technologically superior lands are losers or social misifts or those who are lacking intellegence & knowledge.
not sure if this bothered other people, but it absolutely drove me crazy!!!!.
ok, typical annual memorial.
the emblems are being passed around.
OMG! I can't believe it! I have had the EXACT same feelings for many years. I was embarassed to invite anybody of reasonable intelligence to the Memorial because of the things you mentioned.
number one thing on people's minds at that moment is "Oh dear gawd, please don't let me or my child be the one to spill anything!" The number two thing on people's mind is "I wonder what bat-shit crazy person is here tonight that is going to partake?
Those actually were the first and second things on my mind.
They insist on having each and every human being in the hall touch and hold the plate or wine glass.
I always thought that was so strange & weird. When I gave the Memorial talk and they offered me the emblems, I just shook my head "no" in a firm and dignified manner and didn't lean toward or reach toward the emblems in any way. I didn't even look at them. The last year I went, I was standing in the back. When the servers offered me the emblems, I had my arms folded and I just shook my head indicating "no".
As if the momentary touching and holding of the plate or wine glass is somehow a "Holy" experience.
Yeah, like you gotta have hands on the cup or plate or you're gonna incur the wrath of the Sovereign or you won't get credit for being there.
JWs can't/don't think for themselves; they just follow the crowd. They think "well, since everybody else is touching the cup & dish, I guess I'm supposed to."
It's ironic that JWs think they have discernment; they're the blind ones. I think it's people like us who can recoginize what you mentioned in the OP who are really the ones who have discernment and can "see" and recognize truth.
comments?.
[img]http://i59.tinypic.com/dfx6y9.jpg[/img].
Yeah, Indian Larry, it makes me sick. There was a thread earlier today (I think) asking whether this banner was approved by the org. On that thread I responded:
How can they be so certain it's 99% now when they've been black-and-white wrong in their predictions for significantly over 100 years? Also, the "99%" is meaningless unless we know the total. In other words, 99% of what? That 1% remaining could be a long time.
The banner thing is indicative of the new look and feel and personality of JWdom. It goes right along with all the international convention partying and all the other kookieness. JWs really are trying to be relevant, hip, and cool. If they didn't have permission to do it, then they probably just sensed that it was OK since they see all the other similar stuff going on.
I tried to talk with my JW mother after the convention. They really are getting dumber and dumber and more brainwashed. And with the dumbing down, they're becoming more happy-clappy and less dignified as evidenced by the banner thing. Since there's no more mental stimulation, I guess they have to fill the void with something.
So it is sickening to me. I'm by no means a party-pooper, but I feel that that's not appropriate for the occasion. It almost makes light of it. JWs claim that the Kingdom is about to slaughter almost all earth's population, so it is a serious subject. Banners like that are appropriate for sporting events - not serious events (at least if JWs were right, it would be serious).
What irks me, too, is the probable fact that most of those who made and/or held up the banner can't defend JW doctrine; heck, they probably don't even know it. Yet they arrogantly and smugly produce and hold up that banner.
i swear, time is moving so fast.
the only time i know what.
day it is, is by looking at the news paper.
Thanks prologos & Old Goat - very interesting and thought-provoking.
Old Goat: "It was a different religion than it is today" and "The members were committed and knowledgeable. They knew their religion. That’s not so now."
I say that to my wife almost every day. I know you've seen more of a change than I have, but I've seen a huge change in the last forty years. The JWs today are not knowledgeable as they were some time ago; they don't seem to be made of the same stuff.
Old Goat: "There was a reservoir of doctrinal questions too. Major prophetic statements seemed to have no basis in anything but imagination. When I read the book New World, a commentary on Job, I was impressed. Two decades later, in the 1960s, I had read almost everything the Watchtower had ever published and was left with the lingering question: “How do they know that?” The answer is, of course, they don’t. They see themselves as inspired, even though they deny that. They know ‘it’ because they want to see themselves as a prophetic movement. They don’t know anything at all. They make it up."
Very interesting.
It seems that some of you don't, but I find it really sad that it's all evidently not real. It's on my mind constantly - every day, almost all day. During my belief period, it was so exciting, it felt so warm and safe, and it felt so secure to think I had living forever in paradise ahead of me. Though I still do cling to a little hope, the hope is almost gone.
Thanks, jam, for letting me ask a few questions on this thread. This topic of time seemingly passing so quickly has really had me in some deep thought lately. The clock is ticking.
making the rounds on facebook is a snapshot of some jws holding a huge banner from the upper deck at a convention.
it says, "jehovah's kingdom" and underneath a crudely drawn download 'bar' with the number 99% on the right side, as if to say in computer lingo, jah's day is almost here.
behind are other dubs holding up smaller placards, but i can't remember what they said.. is this a wt sanctioned or approved action?
Thanks, Apognophos.
making the rounds on facebook is a snapshot of some jws holding a huge banner from the upper deck at a convention.
it says, "jehovah's kingdom" and underneath a crudely drawn download 'bar' with the number 99% on the right side, as if to say in computer lingo, jah's day is almost here.
behind are other dubs holding up smaller placards, but i can't remember what they said.. is this a wt sanctioned or approved action?
SAHS: It seems that the WTS is becoming more and more aware that any kind of “logical” or “factual” academic approach on their part is simply not going to cut ice because of the ease with which information can now be compared and tested against their history, . . . . so, that is why they are instead focusing more on the charismatic, emotional-type approach.
Exactly - I've been saying that. They realize now, with all the info available with the click of a mouse and with all their failed predictions and all their crazy, deceptive history, that they can't go the deep, analytical, scholarly, technical route anymore. There can no longer be any of the deeper books like the ones of the Fred Franz era. They know they can easily be shot down now. Those days are over. I believe that's one reason, if not the main reason, for the dumbing down and going happy-clappy, charismatic, and emotional. It used to be that they could sort of say (or print) what they wanted and all those in awe of Oracle Franz believed it unquestioningly. But they don't have a monopoly anymore. Just consider the fact they've basically had to try to hide the Creation book and the Trinity brochure because they got busted on those.
Can somebody tell me what "the new contact cards" are?
i swear, time is moving so fast.
the only time i know what.
day it is, is by looking at the news paper.
jam - I'm extremely sentimental and nostalgic, and it depresses me how quickly time seems to pass. It's downright scary. The weeks, months, and years are blowing by. When I was young, a year seemed like an eternity. It seemed like my high school years would never end. Now four years is nothing; it just blows by. I'll be thinking about something that seems like it happened a year ago and find out it was seven or eight years ago. I cannot believe it's been thirteen years since the events of Sept 11, 2001. I can't believe it's been 20 years since 1994, when time ran out on the old JW "generation" definition.
prologos & Old Goat - I'm mid-fifties, and I still have the same desires and interests I had 30 years ago; in fact, I've acquired more interests. Do you guys still have basically the same mindset you had at 70 or 50 or 30? Were you both JWs? If you were, what was it like when you first realized something was wrong and that you might not be living forever after all? Was it extremely depressing? Do you feel that there's any kind of existence after the clock runs out on us here on earth?
jam, I hope you don't mind my asking those questions. They seem to go along with your thread subject, and you just got me thinking about the passing of time, what it's like to grow older, etc.
making the rounds on facebook is a snapshot of some jws holding a huge banner from the upper deck at a convention.
it says, "jehovah's kingdom" and underneath a crudely drawn download 'bar' with the number 99% on the right side, as if to say in computer lingo, jah's day is almost here.
behind are other dubs holding up smaller placards, but i can't remember what they said.. is this a wt sanctioned or approved action?
How can they be so certain it's 99% here when they've been black-and-white wrong in their predictions for significantly over 100 years? Also, the "99%" is meaningless unless we know the total. In other words 99% of what? That 1% remaining could be a long time.
The banner thing is indicative of the new look and feel and personality of JWdom. It goes right along with all the international convention partying and all the other kookieness. JWs really are trying to be relevant, hip, and cool. If they didn't have permission to do it, then they probably just sensed that it was OK since they see all the other similar stuff going on.
I tried to talk with my JW mother after the convention. They really are getting dumber and dumber and more brainwashed. And with the dumbing down, they're becoming more happy-clappy and less dignified as evidenced by the banner thing. Since there's no more mental stimulation, I guess they have to fill the void with something.
