JW responses on Facebook rules from CO

by purplesofa 23 Replies latest jw friends

  • purplesofa
    purplesofa

    I know there has been threads on JW's using Facebook, I thought I would post some responses from JW community I got in an email.

    This was presented for discussion.

    A CO in our area (Rochester) said that there would be no one being
    accepted as an elder, MS, or pioneer if they were on facebook. I know
    some who are on it....(I was one) but when i heard that I got off.
    And, again, I have nothing to say about who is on it, that is a
    witness. I only care about what I do that may be good or bad.

    What are you saying?

    Wow. That is a problem in the organization. The CO, not the Facebook.

    That is the kind of stuff that makes us look bad.

    This is why I won't be an elder or MS. I can't deal with the politics.

    I hear these talks encouraging people to reach out but yet these things are

    telling people that they can't.

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    Confusing? No. You see Steve We reach out the way the GB want us to do so.
    and this the way we we do it.

    We go to someone home or the hall,, a service group, consider the text
    or review the publications, and we go out knock on doors, present the
    publication offer a bible study. That how we reach out. And we are
    always under someone supervision, a parent, a husband, a servant, and
    Elder, the Co or DO, the Service Dept and the GB.

    And they The GB tell us what to do. which is enforced by the Service
    Dept. the DO, The Co, the Elder, the Servant, a Husband, a Parent.

    Internet and Social nets breaks that supervision. You see it is not
    the Internet, it is not social nets . It is us. We are not suppose to
    associate with no one outside the organization. The only contact we
    have with people is thru our ministry. Thats it. The Internet put us
    directly in contact on a personal level with.... (drum roll please)

    ....'''Worldly" people... And we being Humans and all of us have a
    herd mentality and the innate desire to be social will do exactly
    that, and that will widen our experience a little bit more, and when
    that happens our hours go down in service.

    It has always been this way. Before the Internet; it was... extra
    curricular activities at school. non related work activities such as
    company picnics. All these things are wrong because we are told so.
    based on Biblical principle and the belief, that every non JW will die
    in Armageddon and us too, if we don't do as we are being told.

    I read a talk from a member of the GB, who mentioned, If we were to
    die unexpectedly would we be in Good grace with Jehovah? How is our
    conscience?
    I was taught that regardless, with the exception of those who
    committed the offense against the holy spirit, our sins were paid when
    we died and we will be resurrected.
    After reading that talk... apparently not. Would Jehovah punish us
    more than the poor sap who died in a car accident and was a rapist or
    criminal?

    There is only one way we reach out to people, and I am sure we all
    know what it is :-)

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    > Another "regulation" that's evidently not from the fds. How can anyone be held to a standard the fds has not published in some form? But if a CO wants to make an issue of this sort of thing (maybe he has, or maybe the person who reported this has their facts wrong), he can easily sway a body. May not be corrected until a chg in COs.
    >

    How can he... easy he id the C.O. he will write a report to the Branch
    if we don't pony up. He can recommend a removal and everyone will
    fall in line. Ive seen it. We agree to one thing, he make a suggestion
    and those who want to keep their position will melt like butter to
    comply. It is human nature, and nobody will say a thing.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Again, I cannot imagine a CO saying this at all. I just do not buy these
    stories.

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    We just had the CO last week here in San Antonio TX, and he did say that the branch does frown on the so called "social networking sites". So you are correct in your statement.

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    Have you heard about principals
    > From gods word not rules?
    >
    >

    Sure, and yet rules exists. For example what biblical principles says
    I am suppose to write an introduction letter for a brother who is
    moving from one congregation to the next, and then have the secretary
    contact me so I can send the publisher cards to the publisher new
    congregation?

    It is rule. And in the congregation we have hundreds of them. We use
    the same biblical text to define what a generation means, and we
    change a whole doctrine regardless that it is the same text.

    What Biblical principal you find about marriage vows? But we do have
    a rule about using only the vows that appear in a certain article of
    the watchtower.

    SO my Brother we do have rules. Written ones, and unwritten ones. And
    since we are to obey those who take lead, those who take the lead
    invent a plethora of rules, which will eventually be circulated in the
    congregation and the brothers will follow them without blinking an eye
    :-)

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    It is about social control :-)

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  • Pandoras cat11
    Pandoras cat11

    Hello Purplesofa!! Haven't posted in a long time. Had to chime in on this thread. Facebook is the best thing that could have happenned to this cult. Recently I did my own "finding friends" on Facebook. What and eye-opener. I have found so many Jw's that are supposed to be "in" but are friends with ones who are either disfellowshipped or on fading terms. Most are clubbling and are posting pics that are not JW approved. In other words---they are having a fun time. Hmmmm, it seems being a witness in name only is very easy now. How times have changed. There is a very gaggy site that is called "Examining the Scriptures Daily". Who are they trying to kid? Saw several names on that site that are really working the system. So, I feel that the big boys in NY will never stop the Witnesses from being on Facebook. ( Check out Jehovahs Witnesses on Facebook) This is from my hometown--many are leaving!!!

    Meow

  • Finally-Free
    Finally-Free

    How would the elders know who was on Facebook unless they were on it themselves?

    W

  • cognizant dissident
    cognizant dissident

    My father is the Presiding Overseer of his congregation and he has been on facebook for over a year now!

  • blondie
    blondie

    In the end with elders, MS, etc., the rank and file, what matters only is what humans see, not what god sees. If no human knows (or can prove they are on Facebook) it doesn't count.

    Jehovah GB/FDS/DOs/COs/elders/ms/rank and file have left the land and are not seeing.

    (Ezekiel

    8:10-12) . . .So I went in and began to see, and, look! there was every representation of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the dungy idols of the house of Israel, the carving being upon the wall all round about. 11 And seventy men of the elderly ones of the house of Israel, with Ja·az·a·ni´ah the son of Sha´phan standing in among them, were standing before them, each one with his censer in his hand, and the perfume of the cloud of the incense was ascending. 12 And he proceeded to say to me: "Have you seen, O son of man, what the elderly ones of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each one in the inner rooms of his showpiece? For they are saying, ‘Jehovah is not seeing us. Jehovah has left the land.’"

  • Pistoff
    Pistoff

    This is a good example of the double track of what controls the life of witnesses, on one hand the clear definitions of right and wrong, like adultery or stealing, and on the other hand this:

    We just had the CO last week here in San Antonio TX, and he did say that the branch does frown on the so called "social networking sites". So you are correct in your statement.

    Frown?? What does that mean? It means they don't WANT you on facebook, but obviously can't come up with a scriptural reason to say no. Facebook is no more than the backyard fence on a global scale, and that makes them very nervous indeed. No longer are you limited to the ideas, opinions of those in your KH or just witnesses; anyone can opt in or out of your social circle., and you WILL find people who are reasonable, nice and are not witnesses.

    The GB operate out of fear; they lack the insight, and foresight, to guide the fellowship through difficult waters, like exposure to all manner of facts that will shatter their little bubble of shallow beliefs.

  • cattails
    cattails

    I love my facebook and I ain't gettion off it!

    And the ingrates from NY can go lick cattails!

  • Pistoff
    Pistoff

    Here is what is ironic to me:

    Facebook and other social networking sites could be the tool to huge growth for the WT, if they were not so focused on the outdated mode of preaching to promote growth. It is so ineffective that there have been recent talks about the real reason for preaching, to prove we love Jehovah, or some such blather.

    It DOESN'T work. People are turned off by it, but the WTcannot see it as only a tool for growth; it is their identity. Their grip on this old method for growth is preventing their growth, among other things.

    Other groups grow by ATTRACTION, by having a group that is happy and well adjusted. Lots of people are looking for a religion. No matter what the WT says, selecting a religion, let's say a church instead or community because I think that is how people look at the choice, it really is just like different car brands or toothpaste; people check them out and make a choice. I don't think that most people are looking for TRUTH, just a place they feel comfortable and maybe a charitable cause.

    Facebook could be the best showcase for a large group of essentially decent people. BUT lleadership is so INEPT that they can't see this is a tool that would showcase them if they could ever get their act together.

    I don't like the social climate of the JW's any longer, but compared to LEADERSHIP the rank and file are genius. The top layers of the WT are the worst in any religion over a million members. They should be fired, or resign; that is how badly they have done their job.

  • awildflower
    awildflower

    It's going to be interesting how this all plays out. I think we should scoot over and make room for some more friends on JWN. This could be a deal breaker for a ton of jw's, to stay on facebook or not. At the very least, those that do stay will be dealt with as "weak" jw's. But maybe when they find that no men are reaching out anymore because they are on facebook, the GB may have to bend. IDK, very interesting though......wf

  • WTWizard
    WTWizard

    Can anyone prove with just the Bible that one should not belong on social network sites? If not, then why are they making a rule against it? Remember, they claim to have a monopoly on abiding by the Bible--so, if it isn't in the Bible, either they have to stop claiming to represent it or not have the rule in the first place.

    And that goes for MySpace, too. I remember a while ago, the witlesses seemed to have a problem with MySpace. Now it's Facebook. What next, Twitter?

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