Similar to BOTR, maybe my first "hmmm" thought was when I realized that when God brought the Flood, he killed every bird and land animal in the world (except for a couple of each). That seemed pretty uncalled for. I was troubled by this and did my best to put it on the back shelf in my mind. It's one of a few issues pertaining to God's treatment of animals that made me scratch my head, but I was remarkably good at not thinking about these things.
Your "Things That Make You Go Hmmm?" List
by FlyingHighNow 63 Replies latest jw friends
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yadda yadda 2
As a born-in, the only things that really made me go 'hmmmm?', even from childhood, were the questions:
"Why does Jehovah have to kill everyone who isn't a Jehovah's Witness? It's not their fault they were born imperfect and sinful."
"Why can't Jehovah just get rid of Satan and the demons and then see how things go from there? Why does he have to kill billions of people at the same time?"
I never got a satisfactory answer to those questions my whole JW life, and ultimately the horrific absurdity and contradiction of such beliefs were what released the mental chains binding my mind. I realised that no such God or doomsday future could possibly be true, and even if they were true, I would never in a million years want to worship such a 'God'!
The truth really does make you free!!!! :-)
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justme67
I think for me it was DFing. They always said not to speak to them so they would want to come back. If thats the case, then they are only coming back because they are lonely and want their family and friends back. Not for their love of God. The organization doesnt care why they come back, just as long as they can raise those numbers.
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smiddy
The watchtower/witnesses would point out that the R.C. church used the fear of hell-fire to control and keep their members in line , and I would think dont we do the same with the threat of armageddon on our members ?
smiddy
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The Searcher
When I started reading the complete Bible ON MY OWN, I made a written note of interesting/puzzling/memorable scriptures for future reference. When I read Romans 6:7, I immediately thought of Adolf Hitler.
After becoming a Witness, I pondered on that verse and researched the Org's views on it. Eureka!! Their corrupt reasoning on that verse was the catalyst for my learning TTATT. Then the floodgates opened for me, making perfect sense of all the ongoing radical changes in recent times -
1) Cancelled the home Bible Study groups
2) Started Family Worship Evening
3) Initiated schools at HQ for single sisters, single brothers, & married couples
4) Stopped applications for the Gilead Missionary School - it's now invitation only
5) Produced greatly inferior quality paperback Bibles and songbooks - which quickly fell apart
6) Introduced a Study Watchtower for "deeper" articles for Witnesses
7) Reduced the pages in the public Watchtower and the Awake by 50%
8) Introduced a website where literature, Assembly programs & videos can be downloaded by people, rather than giving printed material away
9) In the July 2013 Study Watchtower, several MAJOR teachings which were the "truth" for many decades, were REVERSED!!!
10) Set up a scheme whereby every congregation cancelled their KH private insurance, and paid the premium to the Org.
11) Established the Kingdom Hall Trust - which effectively assigns ultimate control of the KH to the Org! (Google Menlo Park)
12) World HQ gets sold off after nearly 100 years
13) Numerous country Branches sold off and Bethelites made redundant
14) Every District Overseer in the world to be made redundant in September 2014 - "many" will be used as Circuit Overseers
15) New donation arrangement to be instituted this year, by getting Witnesses to pledge and pay a specific amount of cash every month.
16) Only a privileged few thousand got invited to the Annual Meeting - in future, everyone will see it via videolink
17) The sell-off and relocation of the Britain Branch
18) The Worldwide Kingdom Hall Construction Team to replace the RBC in its present form
19) The Revised edition of the New World Translation Bible
20) WTBTS registers as an NGO and attends the conferences of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. (OSCE)21) All Circuit Overseers to retire at 70
22) CoBE approaching/80 years old to retire.
23) All Kingdom Halls to have a JW.ORG banner on an external wall.
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smiddy
9) In the July 2013 Study Watchtower, several MAJOR teachings which were the "truth" for many decades, were REVERSED!!!
thanks for that extended list Searcher , could you please elaborate on the above ? expand on it please ? in any way you can ?
smiddy
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sylvlef
Zone visit from David Splane in Paris,2011. There has been a lot of pressure by elders in my cong to go to This event,but when arrived there were no organisation here: The meeting caused so Much trafic issue on the nearby highway that we got blocked into it for 1hour, then when arriving there was not enough Seat for every one so we had to sit on the floor.then listening that dude and seing the réaction of people around i thought "wow, they really are adoring This guy and not God".
after that every thing that made me cringe a little, policy about collège, DF thing, pressure to put hours of service on a report, pressure to always do more, "privilèges" ballet for men, reinforced my conviction that This religion was BS...
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prologos
sylvief : explain please, your last line "-ballet for men" a better translation perhaps?
I mean this is funny, David splane in pole dancing, now in a ballet for men? no,
the man is seriously married to a proper, good looking lady.
traduire s.v.p.
SEARCHER: on the Romans 6:7/ Hitler thought,-- do you have a link, or would you start a nwe thread please?
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sylvlef
prologos.
it is the "privileges" ballet...you know This little dance That every young male in the congregation does with the elders in order to be appointed...well not every young male but the ones who week some kind of "career" in the JW way...
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Apognophos
sylvief's statement made sense to me, personally. The show that brothers put on, of being responsible and following every little niggling requirement in order to be given more privileges, could be considered a sort of ballet. It's about appearance, not who they are on the inside.
I'm curious, sylvief, did Splane read a talk manuscript in French, or was there a translator?