Personally I think its a condition of the mind and heart. If you still believe in the doctrine and look at the organization with adoring eyes, than you're still a JW. I have grandparents that haven't gone to the meetings in years but were HORRIFIED to find out that I had stepped a foot in another church. They still buy into the rhetoric, and I consider them JW's. On the other hand, I've never been DF'd or DA'd, but my heart checked out of that place a loooong time ago, and I haven't considered myself JW in a long time.
Are Those Of Us That Do Not Preach or Attend Meetings Still JWs???
by minimus 26 Replies latest jw friends
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whyamihere
After reading this...I wonder if we are not active and don't count why should they DF us or shun us?
Do they shun Non-JW's? No not really. Then if we don't go don't follow the rules. Why should we still be apart of the game?
Brooke
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hamsterbait
"He gave some as prophets, some as apostles, some as teachers, SOME (not ALL) as evangelisers."
Does this mean that if I don't go preaching refreshing words of doubtful credibility I am no longer a christian. Why can't we just be a christian, just as the bible said those believing in Christ were called BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE.
Rutherford was awake all night before he dreamed up the 1931 talk on the new name. How much had he had to drink by 4 o'clock am?
Galatians 1 v 8 makes me shudder at the thought of knocking on doors...
Applying their own criteria to other religions shows how they lack any sense of fair play. Look at all the lapsed catholics in prison. Yet the WTS has regularly trumpeted that the prison population has a disproportionate number of catholics (Not ex or lapsed) Any really faithful catholic knows murder is wrong or whatever is a sin and would avoid it. But if a JDub commits these sorts of thing, the usual response is "they were not really a Witness or they would not have done it."
Since we are all sexual beings, does this mean that a celibate man is no longer male? Since elders can only be male does this mean one can only be an elder if sexually active? When an elders wife dies does he cease to qualify until he does it again with another woman?
HB
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pennycandy
The official word may be that you have to preach to be a witness, but I've talked to countless inactive people over the years who've stopped going to meetings, haven't preached in years, but when asked will proudly insist that they're one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
I think to the individual it's a mindset.
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Blueblades
Yes. By what they have written many times in their literature. They have charged the Elders with the duty to help those who do not preach or attend meetings on a regular basis. These ones are still considered sheep that are "Spiritually Sick".
Inactive ones have always been considered members of the congregation. However, with the release of the NEW "ORG." BOOK, March 20th, they have had new light that says they are not JWS.
However, they have left that decision in the hands of the local Elders,.
Blueblades
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TheEdge
Minimus - I've asked this in response on 2 other threads - are ''Inactive Publishers'' still counted in the overall number published by the Society? If so, are WE boosting THEIR numbers.
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GermanXJW
However, in Germany the WTS claims to have 210,000 JW but only about 160,000 proclaimers are in the report.
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minimus
Inactive ones are not counted. After 6 months, it's like they don't exist.
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Gill
I hope not!
If they are, then the JWs are guilty of doing what they accuse the Catholic church of doing, counting all of those who have been christened as babies. In which case |'m still a Roman Catholic. I know which one I'd prefer and its not the JWs!
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minimus
Gill, the Witnesses are becoming more like Catholics than I ever thought!