E-Watchman and JW Reform

insearchoftruth

I have read some very interesting and thought provoking articles on the subject sites. Having never been a jw, what is the feeling of a 'run of the mill' Witness towards these sites sympathetic towards the general doctrines of the WTS, but calling for some major reforms?

digderidoo

A run of the mill witness wouldn't dare call for major reforms, they would be disfellowshipped and shunned for it. Everything has to come from the top down, rather than the other way around.

Paul

AnnOMaly

E-watchman himself was disfellowshipped. He thinks he has been anointed and called to be an Ezekiel-like watchman to the Watchtower Society who he believes has gone apostate.

Run of the mill JWs think he's the apostate and generally wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole, if they'd even heard of him. However, there is a small group of supposed loyal JWs who have set up a website with the sole purpose to prod, poke at, deride and mock anything e-watchman says.

wha happened?

E-Watchman unfortunately is a bit of a loon. He kicked alot of people off site a few years ago for being critical of the WTB&TS. He apparently is the only one allowed to be critical of the WTB&TS. His many essays are interesting reading at best

insearchoftruth

Thanks for the information, glad to have gotten that background, did not think that the jws would be all that sympathetic to a site like that, but it does have some interesting information nonetheless!!

ProdigalSon

I've been posting at e-Watchman for two years. He kicked two-thirds of the members off the board 18 months ago for disagreeing with the Watchtower's version of the New Covenant, where the "anointed" are the mediators for the "Great Crowd" rather than Jesus. The other issue involved was whether or not the Watchtower was the "God's visible organization" and "sole channel of communication" between Jehovah and mankind.

He doesn't care what the members believe, as long as they don't post anything contrary to the forum guidelines, which is that no one is allowed to undermine the core doctrines, or make references to the Watchtower being part of "Babylon the Great". Personally I don't agree with most of what he espouses but I think he has a few things right, and his board does serve a useful purpose, in my opinion. It allows a JW to learn just enough of the "truth about the truth" without having an immediate stroke, heart attack, or aneurism, which is what would happen to a lot of dubs if they were suddenly exposed to the works of somebody like Fritz Springmeier.

ProdigalSon

james_woods

2/3 majority thought that Jesus was their mediator instead of the FDS?

And they got kicked off his board for it?

Lovely.

M.J.

I like the articles on jwreform.org.

They basically take the position that the WTS is too authoritarian and presuming, even though they have the best overall teaching.

This is also the position taken by the guy at www.elihubooks.com (Greg Stafford)

But it would be considered dissident material in any case. That Kingdom Ministry last year taking a jab at JWs conducting and distributing their own research apart from WT material seem to be directed at those going down the Stafford route. It obviously was in reaction to something that was happening.

In any case, the writing and approach taken by these semi-apologists is potentially less alarming to the JW than outright "apostate" stuff would be.

insearchoftruth

e-watchman does appear to be a whole lot more targeted towards doctrine, while still questioning the organization.

One of the better articles I have read is the organizational idolatry article on jwreform, was trying to think of a way to get my wife to read it...

Fangorn

E-Watchman is a nutcase who has been dogging ex/anti Witness sites for years. A very short period of observation will tell almost anyone that he doesn't deal from a full deck. Not sure about the JWReform oufit, probably just an intermediate stage in leaving.

E-Watchman and JW Reform

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