by run dont walk 47 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Gotcha. But consider this: if it weren't for the Fundamental Doctrine, the policy on having two witnesses to molestation wouldn't exist, because common sense would rule. Of course, this also applies to the rest of the dumb things that the Society teaches.
AlanF
Alan, Tex:
Many JWs I know are 'reassessing' their convictions right now. I believe it all started in 1995. I was stunned by the WT article, and then more stunned at the casual response from many of the "friends." One brother said, "well, it explains a lot," and seemed relieved to have a doctrine he could more easily support -- in other words, this was simply a new, improved belief. Not that many boats were rocked, at least visibly.
But as time has gone on the boat rocking has had a huge impact, in my opinion. I can't reveal too much now but in my own extended family all the boats are rocking. If the present trend continues there will be zero JWs in my family, spelling the loss to the society of one or more elders, ministerial servants and pioneers and a family that once stood as a "pillar" of its congregation and whose home was was "party central" for the congregation. An event such as this would have sent out shockwaves years ago, but I predict it will be more common in the years ahead. I have a close friend who said, after an assembly last year, "I was waiting for just one really crazy thing to be said, and I was gone," referring to the talks on the platform. I think a lot of brothers and sisters are wary, watching, waiting for the whistle to blow, telling them it's time to leave.
It seems that I am the only person in this forum who was NOT SURPRISED in 1995
when this "new light" by the WTS got revealed...;-)
Years before, I already had a discussion with a brother, where I told him that in my opinion
the organization within a short time will change their understanding regarding the " generation" into this direction. He was stunning and speechless, and he didn't believe me...
E.
I think that our mindset was so... I have to use a football analogy, here: when a defenseman makes a tackle, he is supposed to keep his head up and see what he hits, so he doesn't break his spine.
I think so many of us had our heads down, weren't looking at the 1914 generation teaching as something we were tackling, and we wound up being paralyzed when we made the inevitable impact with reality.
The concept of reality NOT including the fundamental 1914 generation teaching as being true was something we just weren't looking for, in any way. It was hammered into us so much, every CO's visit, every special talk - every Memorial talk, every time you were thinking of doing anything that wasn't "spiritual" they would pull out the 1914 Countdown Lecture, With Flipcharts and Population Bar Graphs - we totally weren't looking at it when we hit it, and we snapped our necks trying to bring it down.
This is stupidly true, but the reason it surprised us is that we weren't expecting it. I know, its a truism, but there was just no way an average dub was going to think about a statement that appeared on the Awake masthead and think about contradicting it! Just not gonna happen, ace!
I had a very physical reaction to the news, and it nearly broke me. It didn't though - only bisexual women had the power to free me from dubdom... yum yum yum...
CZAR
No Erich, I also knew that the generation teaching would have to change years before it actually did. I had already left by then but was still fascinated by it all.
Like you I told my wife, and some elders, that it was going to happen but of course they just smiled their smug little smiles and thought how deluded I was.
Then it happened. And I told the elder who I had most to do with (my Father-in-law) and he refused to believe anything had changed. He died a few years later, I still don't know if he ever accepted the change. Another elder who I had spoken to, and laughed when I predicted the change, said ' well, it's good that the society don't get bogged down with erroneous teachings like the churches, I'm glad that the Truth keeps improving.' (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Another Witness I spoke to hadn't noticed the change but was quite happy about it - she was busy enjoying her life and didn't have time for Armageddon to come anyway! She was another JW who didn't accept a lot of Org teachings but just went for the social aspects.
I still think that many many JWs are totally unaware of the change.
The most interesting reaction came from my wife. I asked her about the article, and she said (regarding the old generation understanding) 'I know, I've said it myself on the doors'. I was stunned. What she was doing was deliberately taking the personal blame for misunderstanding the scripture. The WBTS were not to blame at all! It was she who had misunderstood what the Society had said earlier. It was she who had misapplied scripture. It was just like 1975 all over again. My wife became, in her own eyes, one of the few who had read too much into the Society's statements.
I witnessed firsthand the terrible spectacle of an intelligent woman willingly sacrificing herself on the alter of crass stupidity.
Very, very sad.
Shock, disbelief, anger, rage, sadness, greif, acceptance, happiness.... in that order.
My mom, who never reads anything, didn't even know it had happened. She tried to tell me it was all lies, that there was no change. I told her to pull out her bound volumes and start reading. It doesn't mean anything to her, she thinks she is not smart enough to understand it anyway, so whatever the "brothers" say is fine with her.
I was so angry when I found out. My mom had been laying on the guilt really hard in 98, saying that her grandchildren would die and there was nothing she could do about it.
Pam, Your mom and my mom sound like sisters, LOL
I conducted it word for word paragraph for paragraph.I did not add anything to it.None of the elders commented beyond the sentence structure in the article.Not even the Bethelites!
After the meeting,some of the elders had a tonque in cheek look when approached by me.One elder the PO.kept repeating that this does not mean that the end is not coming soon!
I kept my doubts to myself for the time being.I know that most of the older ones were puzzled,but kept a stiff upper lip so to speak.
Blueblades
