Posts by Lightgrowsbrighter

155

Survey: How long were you in the cult vs what year you were baptized

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

hi people,.

i want as much data as possible on the effect of the internet on the time captured by the cult.. please answer the three following questions about yourself or about someone you know (for example, if your parents or grandparents were jw's and left).

1) were you raised as a jw, or did you convert?.

Lightgrowsbrighter

1) Raised in (3rd gen)

2) Baptized in 1982

3) Faded in 2011

Associated 46 years, baptized/in 29 years. I questioned many of the controlling policies from my teen years on. I really began to doubt the 'spirit directed' WT leadership in the mid 1990's with the whole 1914 generation re-definition. I was an elder and the WT conductor at the time and felt guilty teaching/preaching this reaching numerology. Stepped aside as an elder a couple of years later (the peer pressure was terrible), and finally completely left (no peer pressure now- I'm just an ignored 'apostate') as the control from the top became more pronounced. The internet helped, but Ray Franz's book "In Search of Christian Freedom", and Stephen Hassan's book "Freedom of Mind" confirmed to me that I had made the right choice to leave.

I still miss the basic Christian association, as I still believe and am a Christian. But the controlling, works oriented, and Pharisaical mindset of most active JW's drives me away anytime I reconsider my decision. One more help for me as a 'lost sheep' has been the Beroean Pickets website. Good spiritual commentary and discussion without the dogmatic, controlling leadership.

128

Looking Back In Retrospect To 1975...

by titch in

greetings, folks: so, it's been 40 years since 1975. and, if you were actively involved with the witnesses back then, the mindset of many was, that by early autumn of 1975, it would mark the anniversary of 6000 years of human existence.

and, the hope was then, that it would mark the start of the 1000-year of christ, from the heavenly realm.

but, looking back now, 40 years ago, in june of 1975, only 3 more months remained until early autumn.

Lightgrowsbrighter

I was young kid in '75, but remember it clearly. My parents dropped everything in '74 and pioneered. We had also moved 'where the need was great' in the early 1970's. Of course, my dad had to go back to work when 'the end' didn't come because he ran out of money. To this day, my parents claim they didn't pioneer because they thought it was going to wrap up in '75, only because their hearts motivated them. They did pioneer again in the 1990's, and now in their early 70's take advantage of the 'wonderful arrangement' to pioneer with only something like 20 or 30 hours a month (not sure about the details on that one...). The cognitive dissonance that I see blows my mind.

On another note, many younger JW's that weren't around in 1975 don't believe what a big deal it really was in the org. If this was any other religion with a similar false prediction, JW's would be all over it, telling everyone that this proves that God could not behind that organization. But with JW's, just more 'new light'. Wow.

23

Governing Body Mandating That Parents Shun DF'd Preteens Baptized Children Will Hurt Them Big Time In The Courts

by Brokeback Watchtower in

as the bad conduct of the governing body becomes widely known to both judge and jury i expect that will make lawsuits more profitable against them and easier wins against them and more plentiful.. i think probably one of the most damming videos out there on the net is the one where the parents show their loyalty to the wt corporation and shun their own flesh and blood in obedience to it cruel directives.

this video truely shows that the governing body don't give a shit about the children who symbolize their dedication to the corporation or their parents.. such a self serving corporation that uses it members for profits only and offer nothing in return no matter how much how much they claim otherwise.

they can't hide this it is plain as day so no matter how much they claim they are concerned about the youth in the organization their action thunder loudly and can not be hiden under a basket.

Lightgrowsbrighter

http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/shunning/

Paragraph 3 in the above FAQ link; quote: "What of a man who is disfellowshipped but whose wife and children are still Jehovah’s Witnesses? The religious ties he had with his family change, but blood ties remain. The marriage relationship and normal family affections and dealings continue."

I guess this 'reasonable' looking comment on JW.org about 'normal family affections and dealings continue(ing)' only applies to a man. If you are not the man of the house, but another family member, you are gonna get cut off. Unfortunately, I personally know of men who have been disfellowshipped and their super JW family totally shun them, despite the above mentioned policy. What a hypocritical, convoluted, Pharisee like mess the WT leaders have created. So sad that so many young ones are permanently damaged by this unchristian policy.

17

When did the WTS begin to require baptismal candidates to answer 2 questions. What were they?

by AndersonsInfo in

i need some research done so if anybody has the time, please see what you can find on the subject as stated in the title.. i clearly remember attending my first circuit assembly.

on october 30, 1956, i definitely answered two questions, along with about ten other people including my mother, not at the assembly, but we were standing at the side of a small baptismal pool that was in the basement of a kingdom hall in ronkonkoma, then a small hamlet on long island in the town of islip, suffolk county, new york, united states.. i know for a certainty that in 1945 candidates for baptism were not asked any questions but they were informed through their congregation that there would be a baptism and told where and when it was to be held.

usually the baptism was done at a beach and when candidates showed up in bathing attire, they were dunked, no questions asked.. so sometime between 1945 and 1956 two specific questions began to be asked of candidates.

Lightgrowsbrighter

With the recent WT video of young children being encouraged to get baptized, I thought it would be appropriate bump this thread. The changes to the 2 baptism questions in 1985 were mainly a legal issue. Anyone being baptized now recognized the total authority of the WT organization. Keep in mind this took place only a few short years after the purging of true balanced Christians like Ray Franz from the organization as 'apostates'. The 1985 change to question 2 now made it legally binding to DF someone for disagreeing with any opinion of the WT organization as they had taken a vow that it was 'God's spirit directed organization'. There is no doubt in my mind that the recent 'encouragement' from the WT leadership to baptize young children is a calculated control move. If these poor kids do anything outside of the WT parameters, they can be threatened with or actually DF'd. Hard to scripturally justify as Jesus Christ himself was 30 years old- a legal Jewish adult- before he presented himself for baptism.

31

Beroean Pickets

by joe134cd in

hi i've been reading a web sight called borean pickets.

http://meletivivlon.com/2015/05/09/may-tv-broadcast-on-tv-jw-org/.

although the guy writes some real thought provoking stuff, i sort of don't know what to make of it.

Lightgrowsbrighter

BP is a great forum and has been very encouraging to me. I agree with leaving_quietly- their goal is an open, respectful, Bible based discussion forum for those of us attempting to address the cognitive dissonance required to be a thinking JW. One especially interesting thought they've shared is that those of us who are sincere JW Bible students and find ourselves disagreeing with the WT leadership are suffering a form of persecution, and have to meet 'underground'. How ironic is that??

23

Is there anything about the JW's you still like?

by donny in

some jw's on various postingshave asked me was there anything about the jw's i still agree with.

of course there are some things i agree with and some i partially do.

1. political involvement - while i do not agree with totally avoiding anything associated with politics, i agree that many of todays churches are way too involved in trying to sway their constituents beliefs.

Lightgrowsbrighter

Good post Donny. Yes, there are some good things I miss about being a JW, including the points you made. I believe the bottleneck is at the top, and JW's are no exception. Many JW's are good, sincere people. They follow the leadership, and that means that all of the negative factors are there as well as the positive. I think if a few dozen arrogant leaders at the top adopted a truly Christlike humble attitude, the trickle down could be amazing. Unfortunately as Ray Franz pointed out, it doesn't seem possible with WT leadership.

9

Listen to Raymond Franz in the fascinating interview

by Terry in

i don't know if many of you have watched this exceedingly in depth interview in which raymond franz expounds so many wonderful.

subjects with such precision and affection.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ttdozz-chg. .

Lightgrowsbrighter

This humble brother has helped me so much. Many that watch and comment on this website have been 'beat by their fellow slaves' (Matt. 24:49) It is very ironic to me that Brother Ray Franz is viewed by many JW's as the 'ultimate apostate', when in reality, if all of the WT leadership had his humble attitude, many of us who have left the WT org would still be involved. In the org, we are taught that we are not in Jehovah's favor if we leave. Many who leave believe this and lose faith in Jehovah and Jesus. Ray Franz is a must read or listen, because he mentally helps all of those 'beaten sheep' to see that they are indeed still individually valuable to Jesus and Jehovah.

I know there are many active JW's that lurk here. For those in upper leadership, you will have a lot to explain to Jesus if you refuse to humble yourselves. (James 4:6-10) Paul made clear in 1 Cor 3:9, that even if you are a 'leader', you do not have authority over your 'fellow workers'. Ray Franz did not believe it was possible for the WT org to change as a whole. It is then up to all of you current leaders to prayerfully individually consider if your current course is really helping or actually destroying others spiritually. NOT something to take lightly!

95

Michael Brown verdict discussion policy - take II

by Simon in

i had originally thought that making the rules clear about what was and wasn't going to be allowed when discussing the michael brown verdict that we'd be able to avoid some of the unpleasantness that surrounded the subsequent trayvon martin trial discussions.. michael brown verdict discussion policy.

i had hoped that once the evidence came out there would not be as many people promoting opinions that contradicted it.

unfortunately, that appears to have been naive of me.

Lightgrowsbrighter

I've read through many of the emotional pros and cons about this case. One of the things I learned early in life is that things are sometimes just not fair. But somtimes, what's fair or not fair is simply the perception of each individual. What seems fair to one seems unfair to another. This MB deal is a perfect example of perception. One thing that helps me is still having faith that there is a loving personal being(s) (Jehovah/Jesus) that will make things right. Most people participating on this website have some JW background as I do (45+ years). I know many have been burned by the controlling WT tactics and may have lost faith in a loving being. Perhaps I come accross naive and some will belittle my comment. But nevertheless, my belief helps me deal with injustice or perceived injustice. I hope and pray that things will ultimately work out well for everyone. In the meantime, we can all treat those in our personal circle with love, respect, and be peaceful. If everyone did that instead reacting with anger and violence, even this messed up world would be a much better place. To quote Rodney King, 'Can't we all just get along?'

9

do jws even read and absorb mathew ch 5 and 6 ?

by sowhatnow in

i mean its says right in there not to pray in public, or babble on, how many 10 minuet long babbling prayers have you endured ??.

where in the bible does it tell us anyone prayed for a large group of people publicly, or even in front of the family at their homes?.

it says in vs 14 to be forgiving, how can disfellowshipping someone be forgiving?

Lightgrowsbrighter

Your average JW elder would- with their WT training- present to you Matt. 18:15-17 as proof that Jesus condoned DF'ing. They then cleverly cross-reference that to Paul's words in 1 Cor. 5:11 to 'stop keeping company' with such a man. It's useless to debate this with the average rank and file JW (as with every other dogmatic WT teaching). But if someone is open to it, it's clear from the context of Jesus words in Matt. 18 that the entire congregation would simply treat the indivdual 'as a man of the nations'. There is no secret judical committe, public slander/gossip, or even shunning. They would just simply no longer be viewed as part of the congregation. It's easy to make Paul's words in 1 Cor. 5 and 2 John 9,10 look like support for DF'ing. But again, looked at through the loving eyes of Jesus, clearly the legalistic judicial style of the WT is unscriptural and has done much, much more harm than good. JW's are told this keeps the congregation 'clean', but it is primarily a scare tactic and control mechanism. You are right sowhatnow. It would be amazing for the WT leadership to back off this hard line stance and apply the main part of Christianity- LOVE and forgiveness. Unfortunately, they seem to be getting even more harsh....

102

Bill Cosby - too much smoke for no fire?

by Simon in

it seems like the list of people who are accusing him of rape and sexual assault is growing every day.

i'm skeptical of single accusations but the number of people and the similar stories seem overwhelming now.. it's not a conviction but to the court of public opinion ... guilty?.

.

Lightgrowsbrighter

Perhaps a judicial commitee could be formed- that will get the bottom of this.