mizpah

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Posts by mizpah

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  7

  Shocking or funny experiences at the memorial

  by Dimples in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember at one memorial one of the sisters invited someone other than a bible study.

  imagine as they passed the wine and the kingdom hall (you know at this time the place is always silent) to have this person stand up, hold her glass of wine up in the air and at the top of her lungs yell out... i drink this wine for jesus christ who died for me!!!

  another time with the passing of the bread, i had the aisle seat and handed the brother the plate so he could start another row.

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  mizpah

  In the congregations I attended, the Memorial was always an occasion for the "sisters" in the congregation to get all "gussied up" in their finery. It was like Easter Sunday at the churches. The conversation afterwards would be..."did you notice "sister so&so" and her new dress?"...."wasn't "sister whatshername"rather overdressed for the occasion?...etc. No matter how hard the sisters tried to be different from their counterparts in "the world" they always failed miserably on the Memorial night...haha
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  5

  How true is this about JW's?

  by Beans in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  .

  what is sociologically interesting about jehovah's witnesses is that they derive psychological satisfaction from perceiving a coherant pattern in there beliefs regardless of possible inner inconsistencies, and that, even if they do notice inconssistencies, they can abrogate personal responsibility for there own belief in the safe conviction that someone, somewhere in the watchtower society must be able to solve the problem.. by james beckford.

  http://quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com

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  mizpah

  Unfortunately, many of us stayed in the organization even when we had doubts about some of the Watchtower teachings. We were well trained to "wait upon Jehovah." So, it we had questions we usually blamed ourselves for not fully understanding. The common feeling was that Jehovah's organizaiton would eventually give us the answers if we were patient. It never occured to most of us that it was not "God's organization and did not have the answers.
  

  However, in time the more we saw and heard it became very evident that it lacked the love and compassion that Christ said would exist among his people. The worst offenders were the elders and overseers. It finally led some of us to examine the history and the doctrines of the Watchtower Society. Also, we heard about the trouble at Bethel in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was no longer possible not to question the Watchtower Society at this point.

  Fortunately, many from our old congregation left the organization at the same time. We had our own support group to help us come through the difficult transition. Now, many years later we have all gone in different directions. But we have kept in contact over the years.
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  17

  Just VENTING...

  by Confucious in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hey friends,.

  i had a chance encounter with one of the elders in the congregation i was in today.. guys, still today, i feel like a broken man.

  somedays i just want to sit and home a cry all day for all the pain this organization has given me.. i came out from the "world" and came into the "truth.

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  mizpah

  Confucious:

  I can assure you that there is life after the Watchtower. You'll go through natural stages of withdrawal. There will be fear, anger and resentment. But there will also be relief, peace and restoration. You're in the early stages. My wife and I have been out of the organization for 20 years. We've never regretted our decision. It has come at the price of losing family members and friends. But we also enjoy the freedom we have from a cruel and unchristian organization.
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  48

  A Secret about DF'ing that Elders will not tell you.

  by Amazing in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of the big issues affecting ex-jws is being shunned by their close relatives.

  this can be especially painful for parents, children or siblings.

  the jw relative may even make some exceptions to associate in the name of "necessary" business, but then later on their conscience "pricks" them, and they realize that they have pushed the envelope too much and they withdraw their association altogether ... or ... the society comes out with some article or the co comes to town, and manage to ding on some issue that make jws feel guilty about associating with df'd and da'd relatives.

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  mizpah

  I quoted this paragraph to my son-in-law in hopes that he would soften his position toward allowing us to see our daughter and grandchildren. His reaction was that "nothing has changed." We still have no contact with her and the children. It's been over twenty years now.

  Another elder in a different congregation was asked why my daughter refused to have assocition with us. His reply was that it was "a personal choice" made by my daughter. He indicated that there was no rule forbidding her to contact us.

  There is some truth in both statements. For those who keep contact with disfellowshipped family members, they can cite the reference and say it is "important family business." Other "die hard" JWs can cite the many other references in the Watchtower literature that discourage and forbid any contact whatsoever. In a way, it is a personal decision. But it is a decision that is influenced by the cruel and careless policy of the Watchtower Society that speaks with a "double tongue."
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  15

  Society's position on water dowsing?

  by mizpah in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  over the years the society vascillated on its position of the practise of water dowsing?

  does anyone know it's present position?

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  mizpah

  Dantheman:

  The "ambivalence" I meant was the shifting position of the Watchtower Society on this subject over the years. I agree with you that the latest article seems to favor condemning the practice.
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  37

  JW Mom (Joyce Stewart) resists life-saving transfusion for little daughter

  by Gopher in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  here is the link to a sad story happening in omaha, nebraska, usa:.

  http://www.theindependent.com/stories/090903/new_surgery09.shtml.

  hospital sues to force tot's surgery.

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  mizpah

  shotgun:

  I'm afraid that the position of the Watchtower Society has changed since that 1958 article. I've known of several individuals who were disfellowshipped for accepting blood transfusions. In one case, a "brother" wanted to extend his life long enough to see his children by his first marriage. (He knew he was dying.) The elders made several attempts to see this person in the hospital when they got word of this in spite of the fact that the family forbid any visitors. The elders called after visiting hours and said they were ministers calling upon a sick member. When they got into the room the only thing they were interested in was his verifying that he voluntarily took a blood transfusion. Upon confirming it, the elders left and met again at the Kingdom Hall to disfellowship him.

  Fortunately, this brother's wish to see his family was fulfilled. He died shortly after their visit.
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  46

  Is the WTS slowly turning into a mainstream religion?

  by obiwan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i took this off of xjw_b12's thread.

  (hope you don't mind).

  "when considering whether to include a pinata at a social gathering, christians should be sensitive to the consciences of others.

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  mizpah

  The last two sentences by James Penton in his book Apocalypse Delayed is interesting: "The future for Jehovah's Witnesses as they now exist - despite continued growth - does not seem bright. In the long run they will have to change and moderate to survive, and that will probably mean that they will have to settle down to becoming just another denomination among denominations."

  One does not have to become "mainstream" to be more acceptable to the public. Just as the Mormon church and Seventh-day Adventist church has moderated its more radical early elements, the Watchtower can make similar adjustments for a greater appeal. There seems to be some indication that this process is already occuring. But it also could go "the other way" and revive its date-setting tendencies and lose its credibility entirely.
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  2

  My Dad's Bloodless surgery

  by ApagaLaLuz in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a few months ago my dad has a stroke.

  he has recovered for the most part.

  he had a test though recently and discovered his artery is 99% blocked, so they cannot do an angio-plasty.

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  mizpah

  Chevysntats:

  Our thoughts and prayers remain with you and your dad during this difficult time.
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  7

  Was Charles T. Russell A Mason And Believer In The Occult?

  by Latin assassin from Manhattan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been reading in this forum that charles t. was a mason up until his death, and that he was buried as a mummy.

  i also heard that the guy who wrote the new world translation was in court at one point, and was proved a fraud because he couldn't read greek, much less transalate it.

  does anyone have any proof of all this?

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  mizpah

  AlanF:

  Thanks for the good information. I think some of these things get distorted in the telling. Russell supported the Zionism movement. But he was not a Zionist. Russell's grave has a pyramid memorial stone. But he was not "mummified." He promulgated the popular theory of his day that the Great Pyramid was the "stone in Egypt" of Biblical prophecy. But I don't think he was a "believer in the occult."

  Russell made many mistakes in his life time. But I don't think he was any better or worse than many other religious leaders before or since. Critics like to pick up on these mistakes and blow them out of proportion.
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  11

  "Kingdom Melodies"

  by ignorance is strength in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  why exactly are they so bad?

  are they afraid that a true orchestral and choral piece will glorify god too much?

  btw, can you think of any other songs that kingdom melodies sound like?

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  mizpah

  My wife and I have noticed that some of the melodies are very similar to those in classical music. We often wondered if they were not "borrowed" and passed along as "Kingdom Melodies."