by Damn The Watchtower 82 Replies latest jw friends
No respect! It's more of a fear of them in their powerful positions!
But, I think you're leaving out the female element.
Excellent points. The women are indeed a large army. I'd love to see them stand up en masse within the organziation and declare for their rights.
Mad Sweeney - If the women stopped preaching the whole thing would shut down. The men, especially the elders, avoid the actual preaching work as much as possible by shepherding, doing KH maintenance, doing KH construction or just being present but not really participating.
welcome DTW. We all would like to make a difference and work to improve things that trouble our conscience, be it doctrinal matters, injustice, corruption, abuse, or general unfairness. It does not necessarily make our point of view right all the time, but having the freedom to have a positive imput among fellow believers without being labelled diversive and disloyal is what many have found that still have a personal faith in God on this and many other boards and are no longer serving men. I made the mistake for over thirty years and convinced myself it was love and loyallty to God and his word first and looking to his spirit, love for my brothers and working in association with the watchtower society through the congregation and their doctrinal developments and having the freedom to allow my conscience and long personal experience to decide if i could always without fear of debate and sincere discussion except the ever changing doctrines because of their having to reinvent themselves every half a decade, after all they claim they are not inspired, {and we no that that's just double talk}
The leadership will always exist while it's followers are happy to worship by numbers needing policies and procedures to tell them how to behave. This is not meant to be unkind but i still have family members who think i am mentally deceased because i dare to believe and put faith in God without watchtower governing body direction, they did not learn this from Christ. As you are fully aware what jeremiah 31:33-34 says that no man made policies and procedures that determine how faithful you are, because The Lord writes his law of love on our hearts. The point i am trying to make is the leadership feeds on our fear and in turn it's followers become legalistic and judgemental of others and become victims of their own uncertainties of their salvation, {you are only as good as you last report} you cannot change over one hundred and thirty years of a self greasing axel, you need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you out of the manmade watchtower and follow Christ as your leader.
Cattails
I've commented on this before.
Many JW families I know (especially the multi-generational ones) have a very strong and domineering female influence. Even as a kid I would comment on how a lot of the families I knew would not be witnesses if the women in the family weren't. It's interesting too that the influence isn't always an overt one.
Many wives and mothers in the religion are often passive agressive and play the victim role very well. They use the natural desire that men and children have to please them to keep the family in line.
sorry about any the spelling mistakes had to type it up very quickly.
I am not blind to the degrading of the Watchtower. But first, let me say that many, including myself, are happy with some good changes. Among them the emphasis on family worship night, the invitation to freely comment on several parts at the meetings. The friends are doing a better job at commenting not just from the paragraphs but from their own hearts and minds this I believe is due to the increased free commenting. Also, many of our young people are energized to participate in fulltime service.
If that's your idea of "crumbling" you are mistaken. Family Worship night is nothing more than the infiltration of cult indoctrination within the family. Where are we more at ease with our surroundings than at home? At home we get to "do it our way" and it makes us feel powerful. The Watchtower knows this and they use it to their advantage very skillfullly.
The "Flock" book speaks about Family Worship night as an indicator of "spiritual strength" especially of the family head. "Spiritual strength" is purely a social meter within the Kingdom Hall and JW outings. The Wathtower cares nothing for families. If they actually did they would show concern for the the relationships inbetween family members rather than just have a "check mark" for Family Worship night's regularity. Indoctrination first everything else second. This is the truth.
The family being together is the most important thing, but you will never hear that uttered from the podium of the Kingdom Halls. Where you will hear it is from is it's people and that's because they understand the intimacies of their life more than the men in Brooklyn far more.
-Sab
Don't the Mormons have a type of Family Worship night as well?
I have found this thread which DTWT has introduced to be very interesting. The opinions have been varied and well presented. Here is my two cents worth. The problem, DTWT, as I see it is in the very title of this thread. You say the WTS's leadership is crumbling. To that I say, "Good!" For the men who sit on the Governing Body should certainly not be "leaders" in any sense. For a Christian, the only leader is Jesus Christ. --Matthew 23:8, 10
Some point to Matthew 24:45-47 as proof that Christ intended a body of men to have direction and control of his interests here on Earth. But the "faithful and discreet slave" mentioned in those verses was charged with feeding the disciples, not leading them. The subsequent appointment over the Lord's "belongings" was to continue feeding them, not to become some kind of ruling clique. (Matthew 23:11, 12) The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses has assumed a role which Christ did not intend it to have in the first place. It is no wonder that disarray and confusion have marked its tenure and will continue to do so.
Furthermore, if one examines the "food" this group has been serving, it becomes obvious that neither God nor his Son is its source. The flip-flops, the muddled thinking, the outright falsehoods, the mistaken interpretations, and the false prophecies are all compelling evidence that neither the present-day Governing Body, nor any of its predecessors has ever had divine sanction. God is a God, not of disorder but of peace, according to Paul's words at 1 Corinthians 14:33. The history of the WTS has been rife with discord, dissension, and disharmony from Charles Russell's time down to this very day. True, there is a façade of unity, but that has been maintained by fear and tyranny, not by love, kindness, and superiority of argument.
So I am not one of those who thinks the Governing Body should institute reforms to make its leadership better or more effective. What they should do is resign. If these men were truly concerned for the rank-and-file's welfare, they would do so at once. Instead, they hang on and impose even more pharisaical rules on the membership. They are more like ravenous wolves than sheep-like followers.
Quendi
Family Worship Night was a godsend for my family. It is the perfect opportunity for a "family head" to expose his family to thinking and reasoning skills they will never learn at the Kingdom Hall. Look at the Bible ONLY and discuss what the words actually say. You'll quickly find that the Bible and the Watchtower are Worlds Apart.
As long as they don't confessed JESUS as their LORD, SAVIOR and MEDIATOR, no matter how many changes they make, they are still an established SECT of Christianity. You are still attached to an "organization" you need to learn how to worship in SPIRIT no matter what the Watchtower Corporation does, plus one needs to FLEE from organizations like the WT Corporation. Don't be afraid to WORSHIP in SPIRIT, GOD seeks for such like this. Get the corporation, worldwide organize religion out of your mind. See how the Watchtower is being affected by the economical downfall in the world --- another proof that they are also part of that system which they preach will "soon" be destroyed. They are collapsing with it. DO NOT BE AFRAID. Do not serve God to avoid being killed in "armageddon" - the Gospel is about see how GOD LOVED US FIRST and we respond to that love. Serve God because you have understood His love for us. Not because your fear of punishment. Watchtower preaches a FALSE GOSPEL. God looks for people that LOVES him with all heart and mind ... not for people that fears him ... or want something from Him...
