Holy Spirit - Present or Gone in the Congregations?

by BourneIdentity 40 Replies latest jw experiences

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  BourneIdentity

  I was doing some reminiscing and remember the days back in the late 80s and early 90s where I truly could say the meetings were so encouraging and that I felt the Holy Spirit present and operating on all of us.

  
  

  Today when I attend, there is nothing of the sort. Is it because Jehovah has withheld it? Is it because I’m not worthy of receiving it now? Was I just brainwashed and having a placebo effect a couple decades ago? Did Jehovah ever offer his Spirit to Jehovah’s Witnesses?

  
  

  Wondering if any of you still attending feel the same way. I recently attended the special assembly day and everyone looks so bored and depressed. Not the effect you would think the Holy Spirit would have on a group.

  
  

  I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. The expectation Armageddon was supposed to come decades ago and it hasn’t yet. The number of people aging with no retirement money and very limited means to get by before dying. Having family members that have to be shunned. All the negativity constantly spewed in talks about how bad this life is. For example, go to https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/. Does that look like a religion that is sharing good news with people?

  
  

  Sort of going off on a tangent now, but what do you guys think about the Holy Spirit being present in today’s congregations. Is it completely gone or was never there in the first place?
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  asp59

  Yep have felt the same thing. In the western world middle 90s something happend. As it holy spirit wasent there anymore. Then it been spreding worlwide. Thats actually the reason i suspect there was something abouth the date 1914. After 80 years ,with is a biblical generation felt like not much was working any more in this org. Think they just focus on preaching and other things like Christian love they never paid any attention to. Holy spirit moved on.
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  neat blue dog

  C: brainwashed and having a placebo effect

  Final answer.

  Actually, the 90s were a low point for the organization in a lot of ways. They could no longer charge money for literature due to a court decision, funds were drying up, the move to softcover books was initiated, there was no slick media like today, even the quality media they had like the org video and convention dramas took a nosedive in production value over that decade, and probably most important, one of the biggest teachings they had for decades, "this generation", had to be changed out of necessity. Only those so far in they couldn't see the forest for the trees wouldn't notice.
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  snakeface

  You are waking up.

  Maybe the REAL Holy Spirit is enlightening you.
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  Sea Breeze

  I was raised a JW and was baptized in 1986; then left with the November 15th issue of the WT in 1995 when they jettisoned the generation doctrine and removed the statement on the inside page of the Awake about how Armageddon would come before the generation of 1914 would pass away. I was never Df'd.
  
  After about 8 years, I became a traditional non-denominational Christian, attending a medium size Bible Church. In Christianity, you don't feel special, but you do feel peace. You are a sinner saved by Grace ... "not of works, lest any man should boast".
  
  Salvation is a two-part process. 1. Conviction of sin, and 2. Acceptance of Christ's blood covering offered at Matthew 26: 27, 28 "for the forgiveness of sins".

  The first is an action of the Holy Spirit and the 2nd is an action from your own volition. The Will of God and the Free Moral Agency of man meet here. .
  
  From my point of view, I can now compare my two experiences. As a JW, I had in fact experienced a supernatural conviction of sin, but I had been prevented from accepting the new covenant "for the forgiveness of sins". So, although I believe I experienced a move of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of becoming a JW, most of the later JW experience was a false specialness kinda feeling that I felt from being in the "right" club...as opposed as to being in a right relationship with God.

  Now, I feel much smaller, and God (especially Christ) seems much bigger. The Holy Spirit now edifies my spirit with inner peace as I've slowly learned to trust again.
  
  Hope that helps.
  
  
  
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  john.prestor

  What holy spirit? What you're describing sociologists call emotional energy, any kind of successful interaction produces that feeling at varying intensities, anywhere from mild contentment to goosebumps coursing down your spine.
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  newsheep

  Go back to the bible times where god always would withdraw his spirit and would let wickedness prevail like Solomon for example.

  At the beginning of his reign, Solomon loved the God of Israel and covenanted with God that he would walk in obedience throughout his administration as king of Israel. Solomon was promised wisdom, riches, honor, and long life if he would continue in righteousness before the Lord. The promise was fulfilled. During his life, Solomon became famous for his wisdom. Great men and women from many nations came to hear him and test his understanding and knowledge. Solomon also acquired great wealth, and there were said to be no kings in all the earth who could compare to him. Under Solomon’s reign Israel reached her greatest point as a nation—honor, wealth, power, and respect were hers because of the administration of her greatest king.

  Nevertheless, at the end of Solomon’s reign, ( 1 Kings chapter 11) Israel became temporally and spiritually bankrupt. Deterioration and strife were everywhere. Within a year of Solomon’s death, the land was divided into two kingdoms, and the course of Israel’s history was permanently altered.

  Hence draw close to god and he will draw close to you, so that's what I always use to hear. So no gods spirit was never on the jw's. They even admit the are not inspired with holy spirit. How can there even be holy spirit where they deny having it? Plus look at all the wrongful dealings that go on in each and every congregation and nothing is ever done. All I would ever hear is wait on Jehovah and he will clean it up in his due time. No, he withdraws his spirit and never does clean it up.

  It's a cult!!!
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  Nathan Natas

  Here's the flaw in your analysis, BourneIdentity: someone who was an active JW in the 1960's (like me) could say, "I truly could say the meetings were so encouraging and that I felt the Holy Spirit present and operating on all of us, but not so much after 1975."

  Likewise, someone who was an Earnest Bible Student in Germany in 1925 could look back longingly to the guidance of Pastor Russell prior to his death and say, "I truly could say the meetings were so encouraging and that I felt the Holy Spirit present and operating on all of us, but not so much after 1918." If you were to read the book by the Sadlack brothers from Germany titled "The Desolation of the Sanctuary" this was exactly how many Bible Students felt about the leadership of "Judge" Rutherford. The book is still available today in English fro LULU.com.

  I'd be willing to bet a nickel right now that JWs in 2050 will look back longingly to 2025, when the Watchtower meetings were so encouraging and so evidently filled with Holy Spirit.
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  LongHairGal

  JOHN.PRESTOR:

  I agree that it was a good and positive feeling people felt - what you call emotional energy.

  I’m not convinced it ever was ‘Holy Spirit’. Sorry if anybody finds this offensive but I never believed this.
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  APieceOfShitNamedTate

  I think I might be turning into either an agnostic theist, or an agnostic atheist. As most of us here know, the Bible does not stand up to scientific scrutiny or common sense. It's very difficult to continue to believe in things like the holy spirit. In the words of Mikey from YouTube, "It don't work no more." God is either not all powerful, or he's not all good. That Adam and Eve story is so stupid when you think about it; all this suffering over what? A piece of fruit? Absolute nonsense! And if holy spirit is so powerful, then why did a JW get killed while out in field service? I won't get too specific on that one, I might out myself. I grew up being taught that the holy spirit and the angels protect us in the ministry. Obviously that's a lie. Even if the person that was killed wasn't a "faithful" JW, certainly someone out that day should have been faithful enough for their protection to transfer to the whole group by association.