by berrygerry 41 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
depression era mentality (middle America) where they rode bikes and may have done odd chores here and there and bartered for food. But, the fact is the religion built a whole culture and mentality around this!
This was a brief era in time and is OVER. The country and the world is not like this!!.
Mentality that exists only among CO's and those long-time sheltered at Bethel.
It may also exist in third-world countries, accounting for the growth in those countries, and the decline in the west.
Didn't they announce something like 300 KHs to be closed in Spain a few years ago?
The older I get, the less I want to be bugged down with a doomsday religion. Listening to the meetings, specially the mid-week one, over the phone is wonderful!
This Org is hemorrhaging bad!
These most imperfect, heaven-bound crazy believing MEN, better come up with a heartfelt apology instead of always blaming the followers for their mistakes.
DY
You know what would put the ultimaye hurting on the WTBTS? If an inquiry like the one in Australia happened here in the USA.
DY
Longhairgal, you're so right, especially about jw's criticizing ones for getting jobs!
This one elder's wife that I thought was a good friend, said NO you shouldn't go get a job, but instead you should be pioneering! - I had told her that my husband was having a hard time with the business (floor maintenance) and needed my help to bring in extra money.
She said if only I would seek the kingdom first, then by some miracle all my bills would get paid. I said, We don't have time, I don't want the electricity to get turned off.
I did get a job that I happened to enjoy, which was another mark against my character. I didn't know that if you didn't mind the work at your secular job, it showed up your spiritual weakness. I made all the meetings and my talk assignments and got a few hours of service in every month. OH lor', that was nowhere near good enuff.
The more people rolled their eyes at my faithlessness the more down it dragged me.
Like you said, the dubs are not in touch with reality. And isn't it ironic in this US of A, the country built on hard work and persistence, that the WT has built an entire society around the idea that working to earn our subsistence is BAD! We should wait around for a flippin' miracle to show up and grant our wishes and pay our bills.
IOWNMYLIFE:
This elder's wife who was expecting you to jump from a plane without a parachute, I wonder what she was living on?
Were she and her husband existing on contributions and green handshakes? A family business? Or, was she one of those older ones who pretty much got involved in the religion after the husband earned his living and was retired? One thing I can gather from a person who makes a remark like she made to you: she hasn't got the foggiest idea about reality and is in no real need. If she was, she would be howling and she'd be out there busting her ass working somewhere.
I could never stand those anecdotal and JW urban legend stories of where Witnesses are miraculously helped by financial aid from a mysterious benefactor. If, in the past, this has ever happened, I believe it is from elderly JWs with all the disposable income. These people have passed away for the most part. This generosity is a thing of the past, IMO.
It's not that I think miracles are impossible, it's just that these stories are designed to keep people from becoming responsible citizens instead of deadbeats looking for handouts - which is what too many JWs turn out to be, even if they didn't start out that way.
Crazyguy:
Yes, in fact they made a huge U-turn when Bethel in Spain annouced they were going to enlarge their facilities because the GB had give them the task of printing more stuff and translation so they made an announcement in all congregation for donations and contributions with a nationally produced video.
Just some months later, they annouced they stop printing even for Spain, most bethelites quit Bethel and all would be carried out from London except for basic administration.
The men in charge of Bethel in Spain were completely humiliated.
Wasn`t it just a few short years ago they said they would need more KH`s because of the expected increases ?
And they had a program to fullfil this need ?
On the one hand they quote the scripture that says something like ",In the last days 10 men out of all nations will take hold of the skirt of a jew and will say we will go with you people because we have heard Jehovah God is with you people".
An expected increase /influx of many people wanting to join this religion.
And then on the other hand we have ," In the last days the love of the greater number will cool off " obviously denoting a decrease in believers.
A great exodus of people leaving the religion
Which is it Watchtower ?
Remember they also said for decades that the annointed numbers would decrease as we got closer to armageddon ,then for about 35 years the number never dropped below 8000 annointed ,then lo and behold the numbers actually started to go up so that at this date they are well over 14000-15000 annointed or maybe even more.
So if their are any thinking JW`s left in the organization its no wonder the attendances are dwindling
Hello,
Same in France , near Paris,
KH seem to less than 50 % occupied
But the illusion of full is maintained by the presence of foreign language congregation with a french congregation.
The long and the short of it is that whatever happens any person who is experiencing cognitive dissonance about their beliefs and reality will simply shift the facts to suit their belief. Logic and reason are exactly what is missing.
When your eyes are open to it you can see that it's been happening for over 100 years. For example, the idea was essentially that 1914 was going to see the faithful raptured. When this and subsequent expectations on the system ending in a few short years have proved false then the logic changes so that Jehovah is simply allowing as many as possible to come to know him.
The fact that this means countless births of children into suffering is not a logical inconsistency. The fact that countless people are being born that will never hear the "lifesaving" message is not a logical inconsistency.
It's was bullshit 100 years ago and it's still bullshit now.
