Posts by StarTrekAngel

6

Last Chance To RSVP For Meetup in San Marcos, TX

by lambsbottom in

jw
friends

hi everyone, .

we have 4 ex-jws coming tomorrow for a meetup in san marcos, tx.

pm me for more information.

Wedding with a sad side

by StarTrekAngel in

so the family attended a wedding this weekend that we had coming up for a while.

the man getting married (a close relative of my wife) is the son of an (now) elder.

he was baptized young.

So the family attended a wedding this weekend that we had coming up for a while. The man getting married (a close relative of my wife) is the son of an (now) elder. He was baptized young. He got married several years ago but the marriage seemed doomed from the beginning. For what I recall, trouble started the same night of the wedding. I remember that the couple was introduced during the reception, followed by introducing her parents and close relatives. Then it was the turn for his parents. They were standing there, waiting to be announced but no one did. Someone told the announcer to move on to the next item. Everyone was left waiting and no one worried about correcting this. Party went on as planned. No apology, no corrections made.

Moving forward to more recent times, I think it is likely that the above event had to do with the fact that she was not a JW and he was baptized. His parents probably tried to break up the relationship, failed and pissed off her parents.

They quickly divorced. Thankfully there were no children in between. We did not find out any more about his JW life. We knew he moved out of the house but that was about it. A couple of years later we find out he was dating a girl. We found out he was visiting with his JW parents. May be it wasn't the most loving of visits, but he was allowed in the house and to mingle with the family. The parents got to know that he was doing ok. His dad was not an elder at this point but he knew the rules.

Then they got to know his new girlfriend. Soon enough they had a baby and the grandparents received them (the grand kids) into their home. His parents live in a very humble (not to say crumbling) house. They had a car accident and could not afford all of the medical bills. She stepped in to help her future parents in law. She was in the medical field so she knew her way around. She manage to get them financial assistance. His sisters were grateful and I am assuming the parents did too.

Finally, the decide to tie the knot. We get an announcement and everyone is exited. At this point, his dad is an elder. I can tell from the time that has gone by that this new appointment really grew into him. Even at family gatherings he spends most of his time sharing "theocratic posts" in facebook. Everything seems ok until a week before the big day. His dad calls our house (we are JWs too, right?) to let us know that he will not be attending his son's wedding and neither will his wife. The reason being is that back then he was Dfed (the kid) and he could loose his elder appointment if he attended the wedding. No one seems shocked by the news. Some of the other JW family members choose not to attend. From that point on my mother in law feels like she has to excuse her attendance. I do think she was sincere when she said she wanted to go just because her other daughters (who live out of town) would be there and she gets a chance to see them. However, she did not need to attend the wedding in order to see them.

At the end, everyone in my house attended the wedding. So did most of his sisters, who are technically JWs but not the type that would get in trouble for doing this. Although I've heard that most of them are baptized and currently make an effort to attend the meeting. So who knows what would happen, but in my opinion nothing will happen. We had to travel and rent a room in order to be there for the weekend. His mom and dad, rather than be exited with anticipation (or busy helping setup the party), went on to field service like any other Saturday. If I had to take a guess, I would say they probably spent the night studying the WT mag as a way to strengthen their "resolute stand to stay loyal to Jehovah"

The point of the story is that I believe that, while no one in the family vocally criticized this move by his parents, everyone knew in their subconscious that this was not right. It was sad that his parents were not there. It was sad to see some of the family wonder where they where at (some were left in the dark as for the reasons) but it was nice to see the outpour of support from the rest of us. I don't think I've ever seen my wife dance so much. The next day everyone went on to social media and started posting pictures and making comments about how great everything was. Even today, 2 days later, some comments are still popping up. Wether we vocalized it or not, I am pretty sure that was the intention in most of those who posted their pictures. It was just another way to say loud and clear "we are with you H & G"

May whatever God you believe in (or not) bless you with a long and happy marriage.

5

Gates of Hades will not overpower the Congregation? 1900 Years with NO Congregation??

by FusionTheism in

matthew 16:18: also, i say to you: you are peter, and on this rock i will build my congregation, and the gates of the grave will not overpower it.. and yet, the very latest david splane video on tv.jw.org says there was no faithful slave for 1900 years and no true congregation, and perhaps not even any anointed living.. how does this scripture make any sense then?.

StarTrekAngel

hmm... wasn't Jesus referring to his own "death"?

59

New David Splane Video: No 1900 Year Faithful Slave

by FusionTheism in

governing body member david splane has a new video on tv.jw.org where he talks about all the horrible things committed by martin luther and the protestant reformers.. his conclusion is that there has been no faithful and discreet slave on the earth during the past 1900 years (before 1919 i guess.).

he also says that maybe there were a few anointed on earth, maybe not.. he did add an interesting statement that he doesn't condemn the other churches just for misunderstanding the bible because the society has done that.. another odd point, was that he actually mentioned catholic missionary work in a somewhat positive light, while totally condemning the reformation views on predestination..

StarTrekAngel

Well, since I am at it, might as well post my thoughts.

Seems to me that this statement, if spread around enough, give the GB another weapon to dismiss old writtings, dismiss most of Russel's publications if it compromises them. Anyone who can try to blame the FDS for old understanding can be now dismissed. Old teachings that can not be re evaluated under any light, are now open to questioning if they so desire.

59

New David Splane Video: No 1900 Year Faithful Slave

by FusionTheism in

governing body member david splane has a new video on tv.jw.org where he talks about all the horrible things committed by martin luther and the protestant reformers.. his conclusion is that there has been no faithful and discreet slave on the earth during the past 1900 years (before 1919 i guess.).

he also says that maybe there were a few anointed on earth, maybe not.. he did add an interesting statement that he doesn't condemn the other churches just for misunderstanding the bible because the society has done that.. another odd point, was that he actually mentioned catholic missionary work in a somewhat positive light, while totally condemning the reformation views on predestination..

StarTrekAngel

oops! wrong thread. Sorry!

59

New David Splane Video: No 1900 Year Faithful Slave

by FusionTheism in

governing body member david splane has a new video on tv.jw.org where he talks about all the horrible things committed by martin luther and the protestant reformers.. his conclusion is that there has been no faithful and discreet slave on the earth during the past 1900 years (before 1919 i guess.).

he also says that maybe there were a few anointed on earth, maybe not.. he did add an interesting statement that he doesn't condemn the other churches just for misunderstanding the bible because the society has done that.. another odd point, was that he actually mentioned catholic missionary work in a somewhat positive light, while totally condemning the reformation views on predestination..

StarTrekAngel

Am I the only one here seeing the scary writing on the wall?

40

Canada Branch Finances - What's Going On?

by berrygerry in

an update on the canada branch hasn't been made (i think).. year-over-year, canada's equity decreased by 11 million in 2012, 17 million in 2013.. however, the 2014 report shows a huge increase (20 million) in the cost of "purchased supplies.

" with the shrinkage of the mags, and the push to online, how the heck did this go from 39 million to 58 million?.

even with this number, the equity in 2014 went down by a staggering 56 million.. what the heck is going on?.

StarTrekAngel

Wasn't there a UK version of the "debt forgiveness letter" floating around?

18

The monthly broadcast as an opportunity to wake up

by paradisebeauty in

i was thinking that maybe the monthly broadcasts are a occasion for some jw's to wake up.

before those broadcasts they probably imagined that the gobgoverning y members are some very special peopleand that you see in their behavior and words that they are "chosen".

but now all jw's can see them for who they really are: average men, some full of themselves, some ridiculous, some just normal men with nothing special.

StarTrekAngel

I keep on thinking that is impossible not to wake up after hearing those things. At the same time, is like when you grow a fear of something. I was kicked by a horse when I was small. I sill love horses and love to ride them when I get a chance. I can approach them, feed them, etc. Just don't ask me to stand behind one. If the horse moves and ends up putting his hind legs towards me, an automatic mechanism kicks in and has me move away from the horse. It's uncontrollable.

This broadcasting thing is the same. As much as I see how helpful it could be, I just have that fear of every imagining me bringing more indoctrination into my house.

86

What are you gonna do when the existence of god is disproved?

by Doltologist in

in 1897, j.j. thomson discovered the electron.

this was the first constituent part of the atom which, for 2,000 years, was thought to be indivisible.

today, we know of 18 elemental particles following the recent discovery of the higgs boson, the so-called god particle.. back in 1897, most people believed in god because there weren't even any theories as to how the universe came into being.

StarTrekAngel

LOL... that's screwed up. May be they were role playing all along and someone found the book and took it seriously.

86

What are you gonna do when the existence of god is disproved?

by Doltologist in

in 1897, j.j. thomson discovered the electron.

this was the first constituent part of the atom which, for 2,000 years, was thought to be indivisible.

today, we know of 18 elemental particles following the recent discovery of the higgs boson, the so-called god particle.. back in 1897, most people believed in god because there weren't even any theories as to how the universe came into being.

StarTrekAngel

Let me put this thought out there. What if that day comes. We learned everything about the origin of the universe, enough to proof that the scientists were right on their theories. But what if, at the same time, included in such knowledge, we get information that makes us realize that what we just acquired is only, at the most conservative level, 0.00000001% of everything else besides that there is to know? Would God be dead then? Will religion be forgotten then?

To think that answering the question of the origin of the universe is the end of our quest for knowledge, puts us pretty much in the same boat as the believers. Now I am not saying here that you are implying that we are 10 years away from answering every question humans have. If I understand correctly, you are saying that we would be at a point where it will be pretty hard to believe in a creator. But then, who lit the match at the big bang?

There is always going to be another question that, while the answer isn't around, God will come as a placeholder.

Or may be we are just one of many cycles of existence that have occurred and will continue to. Have you ever read "The last question" and "The last answer"?