UPDATE! 'Local Needs' Part on Apostates!

by drew sagan 41 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  juni

  
  Good morning sis -

  The cong. was probably happy to hear something new and exciting after the usual local needs talks. Don't ever think what you tell an elder will stay in confidence. For a lot of them, they share everything w/their wives and if their wives talk pretty soon the whole cong. knows. I like what Jourles (?) said about people looking around for that apostate. How true. Some of the "friends" can give looks that cut right through you. We had a sister whom we called "sister snake eyes". She found it her business to stare you down if she felt you were not up to par. We'd stare back and finally she'd look away. hee hee hee She would know what we were doing, but she just couldn't get herself undercontrol. I guess she felt it her duty to judge by appearance.

  Juni Sorry, that was Unique1's comment about looking for the apostate.
• 

  fullofdoubtnow

  If your elders are anything like most of the ones I've known, I am not surprised details of your "confidential" talk has leaked. Whenever anyone was announced as no longer a jw in my hall, the elders would make sure people knew why they had gone. On some occasions, the reasons that were being gossipped about were actually false.

  Ah well, there's nothing like a good "apostate" warning to stir the congregation up a bit. You must have them running scared.
• 

  lovelylil

  Drew, that is just typical of what these pharisees, I mean "elders" do. This can only help your wife to see that this religion is not Godly.

  When I left the org. in the local KH they gave a talk about Apostates too and they described me in absolute perfect details including all the experiences I had in the ministry which was supposed to have "puffed me up" into thinking I was now one of their precious 144,000 heavenly heirs. Anyway, all my friends knew it was me, it was really funny the way they did it. I was upset that no one taped it for me. I could always listen to it on days when I need a pick me up.

  These were the same elders who used to compliment me from the platform and use me as an example of someone who truly had God's spirit on them. I guess they did not mean it because if they did, they would have believed me when I said I absolutely know I will be in heaven with Christ. I guess their meaning of me having "God's spirit" was that I had a lot of bible studies for them.

  They are so spiritually blind - they will not be able to "see" enough to walk a straight line even with the aid of - a guide dog, a cane and a personal chaperone.

  Glad you and your wife could laugh this off. The more you think about it, the funnier it will be to you, Lilly
• 

  drew sagan

  I really can't get over how much this thing has really changed my wife. It's like it was ment to happen. She really needed an obvious sign like this that the WTS is out to save itself, not 'truth'.
  I think this is a great expierance for everybody out there that was in my situation. Last night my wife actually said 'All I've heard you talk about the last few months is Gods grace, what Faith really is, and Jesus. And somehow you have lost your faith in God because you asked these questions?" Stay true to what you belive. In time all you have to do is let the Elders do what they do best, protect the WTS from criticism. It becomes obvious to those close to what has happened. Don't be affraid to get the ball rolling, it's well worth it.
• 

  Warlock

  Well, Drew, so much for "confidentially".

  Warlock
• 

  acadian

  How can these guys think they have the truth when they get so scared of somebody asking them a stinking question

  That's what happened to my wife and me, we asked questions. we were doing research in the other books mentioned in the bible, like enoch, Jaser and others. they accused us of going ahead of the FDS, Well sorry if I'm tired of milk, I want some meat to chew on! Yeah, so were official apostates in our old hall, which is fine with us. You know what's really sad though, is we have openned our home on many occasions for differant ones in the hall who needed help not charging a dime for anything because they needed help, we had the book sudy in our home for over 10 yrs with all the muddy shoes in the winter, and never a though from anyone to help clean our carpets, or their kids breaking things. We bent over backwards for our hall, and never once recieved a thank you. I'm happy to be an Apostate in their eyes, better that, then God's eyes, WE know who the REAL Apostate's are! Acadian
• 

  lovelylil

  you are so right Drew!

  A turning point for my hubby was when the elders came to see me and although I was very polite to them and showed them why I felt the way I did using the bible and Jesus' words - they were, jugemental and could not refute me at all scripturally. They did not even try to use the bible at all. They focused the whole conversation on works and said nothing about Grace, love, or forgiveness.

  I did not know at the time how much of an affect this had on my hubby. But it began to show him how these men were more worried about protecting the org. then helping someone spiriturally. They just kept asking the usual - do you want to remain a JW? Do you believe the faithful slave is teaching the truth? Do you believe this is God's organization?, yadda, yadda.

  This situation it seems is exactly what your wife needed.
• 

  Mary

  One quote was "now if people really have questions or are confused by something we teach, we really want to help them. But if someone is an apostate, stay away from them!"

  Yes it doesn't take much for the warning signs to go off in their heads. If someone asks them "...I don't understand about how Jesus returned invisibly in 1914", they're more than willing to go over the whole 607 BCE + 2520 years to "prove" the doctrine. No problem there. But if you say to the same elder "...I have proof that Jerusalem wasn't destroyed in 607 BCE, here it is." and you prove to them that their doctrine is wrong, wrong, wrong, then the cult bells immediately go off in their heads and they refuse to listen to reason. No matter how much evidence you have, it's going against what the F&DS class are teaching, therefore you're wrong, wrong, wrong and are an obvious apostate.

  The word "apostate" comes to their mind whenever someone asks an uncomfortable question that they have no answer to.

  Truly, they are receiving their reward in full.
• 

  delilah

  The word "apostate" comes to their mind whenever someone asks an uncomfortable question that they have no answer to.

  boy, ain't that the truth, Mary??!! They really are ridiculous, aren't they?
• 

  metatron

  AH, consider the sheer beauty of this change! While formerly Jehovah's Witnesses were bold and ready to confront any opposer,

  they now slink away in fear of "apostates". Most of them are abysmally ignorant of the Bible itself, just like the 'worldly'

  people they used to denigrate. They fear the internet, they fear what they might find out about, they fear doubt, they fear

  critical reasoning ..... because we have them on the run!

  metatron