Ozzie's Weekend Poll #7

ozziepost

G'day all,

I'm sorry that due to "technical difficulties', last weekend's poll did not appear, but thanks to all those who enquired about why it was not posted. Glad you're enjoying them!

So, time to put your feet up, so to speak, and have some fun with this weekend's poll. The topic this weekend is:

What did you think when, in 1995, the Borg changed the generation teaching ?

1. Didn't understand it.

2. Hoped the elders could explain it.

3. Apologised to all your return visits and Bible students for misleading them in the past.

4. Hoped you wouldn't have to explain it in a Ministry School talk.

5. Who turned the lights out in Brooklyn?

6. Who turned "the light" on in Brooklyn?

7. Told the boss you were available for overtime on meeting nights.

8. Spent 2 months crossing out the old teaching in all your personal copies of the publications.

9. Nothing - the elders said it didn't apply in your country.

10. What change?

Have fun.

Cheers, Ozzie

Edited by - ozziepost on 16 June 2002 3:26:16

terafera

how about

11. 'oh god'..another changing of the rules....

really, i wasnt that surprised. I had told my mom for years that I thought they had the generation thing way off base. When I heard they changed it, it seemed like something they'd have to do, considering almost everyone in that generation is dead.

noidea

#12..That does it for me..*Closes all publications and opens the bible (KJV)

finnrot

I left after 1975, I don't know why anybody stayed after 1975 came in with a bang and ended with a whimper.

I worked with a guy in the 1980's who was a recent convert and explained to him the 1975 false prophesy. I was shocked to find out that he said that he had heard rumors about that, and from what he heard, it was only a few poeple that were running ahead of the organization.

I asked him if this wicked system was still around in the year 2020 if his faith might be shaken, and he thought about it for a few seconds and admitted that it probably would. That was 18 years ago, 18 years to go and counting. I wonder if I planted a seed in his head and he remembers the conversation.

Prisca

I suppose my reaction was a version of 8. Bindly accepted the change as "New Light"

Matty

Prisca, that was me as well, I just accepted it, didn't really think much about it, and just got on with my life as a Witness. I think most people in the congregation just accepted it too, I never heard any rumbles of dissention. I can liken this behaviour to switching on auto-pilot, coasting along - not making any assessments. I was a witness, and that was a given. It's a well-worn cliche, but all my friends and family are in a big bubble, unaware how stupid they are.

Max Divergent

It was just another change. I sort of thought: 'we're not JW coz the end will be here in 1914 + x years. This is a fix up of an over enthusiastic understanding from years ago. Wonder who's weak enought to fall off coz of this?'

So I guess I just rationalised it. It never really worried me. I was always more taken by the Danial phrophesy of the Kings of the North and South. Could read a lot into the current situation - KofS inexplicity withdrew in 1992, but is now ready to strorm back into the holy place of the totalitarian Islamic KofN to face destruction in the holy lands (or smothing like that...)

Cheers

Mmm... where's that KH to go and make a quick repentance???? :-)

Pathofthorns

I think at the time the true implication of this change didn't sink in for many. About the same time there was the change in the separating of the "sheep and goats" doctrine being yet future.

It was these two changes where it hit me that I was going to grow old and die. I realized the "this generation will not pass away" teaching had been pretty much what I had been teaching people and the "sheep and the goats" understanding was what was driving the "sense of urgency" among JWs.

The Society had made liars out of all of us due to what we had told people at the doors. Every stinking moment in the ministry up until that point was wasted because the entire foundation of our message was now wrong. Later in 1995 (i think) they came out with the ridiculous QFR article explaining how the new understandings did not mean the preaching work was any less urgent and that the end was not any farther away than we had originally thought. Of course we all knew exactly what had happened.

Whether this sunk in at the time or not, the effects of this change became apparent in the years following as most JWs shifted their "putting KIngdom Interests first" to playing "catch-up" financially and preparing to possibly retire in this system and many older ones resigned themselves to the realistic possibilities of dying.

With a single article the WT society basically hung it's members out to dry and dashed everything they had been hoping for and had built their lives upon. I realized if they could abandon the membership and their own doctrines with the stroke of a pen, I could no longer put any weight to what they had to say.

Path (sorry for going on about this one... alot of younger Witnesses strangely don't even have a clue about this and this wasn't very long ago)

Francois

I left back in the mid-seventies. And I didn't know anything about the generation teaching change until I showed up here about a year ago.

I wasn't surprised. The generation teaching was just like all their other teachings; the result of a fevered imagination, fueled by a desperate attempt to have God react to Freddie Franz' desire to live forever. He essentially tempted God by inviting him to destroy all His children on this planet for the convenience of Fred Franz. Wouldn't you just LOVE to have THAT Karma?

There isn't going to BE any Armageddon. Not ever. Never. Not in the cards. In the same way that you "annihilate" your enemies by converting them into friends, God will annihilate, and crush evil by turning it to righteousness by the power of his indwelling spirit. Armageddon my ass. It takes a sick mind to even dream up that idea. It's more like Hitler than it is like Jesus.

$0.02

Francois

blondie

4. Hoped you wouldn't have to explain it in a Ministry School talk.

Most JWs can't explain it even now 8 years later; many still are stuck in the old version (along with the "sheep and the goats" understanding).

Ozzie's Weekend Poll #7

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