the following is an extract from an article i wrote when i left the watchtower 25 years ago.
it may be helpful in reasoning with a jw about the anointed/great crowd distinction.. --------------------------------.
to divide people into those with a heavenly hope and those with an earthly one is not a biblical concept.
Two groups: Jews and Gentiles but one hope.
Remember, the two classes doctrine came, not from Russell, but from Rutherford. His flawed reasoning was based on the 144,000 - mentioned but twice in Scripture and then only in the book of Revelation known for its symbolic use of numbers.
Basing a doctrine involving a literal interpretation of a number in a book replete with numbers even JWs treat a symbolic is a bit unsound to begin with.
i was reviewing some of the evidence the wt proposes for their claim of the bible's scientific accuracy, when i came across this interesting assertion.. the mountains rise and fall, and today’s mountains were once under the ocean.
(psalm 104:6, 8) in contrast, several myths say that the mountains were created in their current form by the gods.. https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/science-and-the-bible/.
interesting.
Excellent find! It's the religious variant of 'having your cake and eating it too'. JW organization writers seem incapable of giving too much thought (or critical thinking) over what they've said elsewhere.
the watchtower—study edition | march 2020. .
4 jesus taught us the importance of making peace with a brother who has something against us.
(read matthew 5:23, 24.
Make peace not shunning.
when the doctrine regarding 1935 being the close of the calling was done away with in 2007, it was not unexpected to see the number rise.
over the next few years it went from around 8,500 to 10,500. this seemed to indicate that there were a couple of thousand people that may have felt they had the calling all along, but too shy to profess it.
for the 30 year period between the mid 1978 and 2007, parktakers had barely dropped.
Only in a "Christian" cult would the "hope" of going to be with Christ in heaven upon death be viewed with such scepticism, scorn and derision (even among ex JWs). By contrast, in mainstream Christianity the "heavenly hope" is commonplace - and generally doesn't invite any head scratching.
We can thank Rutherford for his sniffy take on the 144,000, the residue of which persists well into the eighth decade of his death.
i have just got of the phone with a relative complaining about the convention venue.
as far as my relative is concerned wt can do no wrong, so for him to say what he did it must of been bad.
the venue where the convention was held was described to me as a “tin shed with no air conditioning”.
Is this in New Zealand?
hello forum.
my aunt, flyinghighnow, has passed away.
i don't know if you remember her, but she was a long time member.
had to look.
first paragraph mentions that most of were probably born after 1914. most?
i bet the dubs 105 and older can be counted on your fingers..
WERE you born after the year 1914? If so, you have lived your entire life during “the last days” of the present system of things. (2 Tim. 3:1)
Paragraph proves that only the stupidest of minds now write for the Watchtowere. And, of course, not one word about the millions who were born after the year 1914 and have since died of very old age.
jw broadcasting sept 2019 issue commentary.
according to the jw in the sept 2019 episode, the ukrainian soccer player andriy nesmachniy (go to 1:04:14 in the video) "abandoned" his career for jehovah????
he retired at 32 years old, the normal retirement age among soccer players.
Look what I've given up for Jehovah! Am I not good and worthy?!
Most of the JWs I know who have 'given up" worldly careers and goals were 'over the hill" and/or on a downward spiral anyway but astutely reframed it publically as giving up worldly pursuits.
One of my acquaintances was a professionally trained opera singer who derived much pleasure in telling anyone who would listen all about what he gave up for "the truth". I was to later learn from a reliable "inside" source that he had not been successful in his application to undergo advanced tuition/training with one of the "masters" because he didn't have what it takes to keep advancing. So he was already on the way out when he made the decision to 'put the kingdom first'. That happens in life - and I feel for anyone in that position.
However, strange - or perhaps not - that he never shared that particular tidbit with listeners - the whole story changes.
2019-11-25-boe.
donations in support of kingdom interests worldwidehttps://docdro.id/mqpxklf petra!
this is what my children tell me... get over the whole jehovah's witness thing!
yes, they tell me they have gotten over the whole thing and they tell me that and i need to also.
my exgirl friend who was raised as a jw also has said the same thing.. my children say they got over it, however they are quick to point out how messed up their lives are now because of no college education and other missed opportunities.
Our kids can be our harshest critics and appreciate the least what we have done. You can always hold out the silent hope that one day they will realize if you could just get over it, you would have by now. Anyway, there could be a grain of truth in what they say - but even if there is, getting over something is not a matter of willing it to happen.
My loved ones have occasionally said variations on "get over it" to me but I also have a good sense of my own situation and realize not everyone - even from the vantage of being an exJW - feels the same way as me.
All I can recommend is you graciously thank them for their feedback but also acknowledge to yourself that we are all individuals who have been affected in different ways by our connection to the organization. My view is the more devastating impacts we have witnessed and observed in the organization, the harder it is to "get over it". But over time, we might manage better our expectations of others (drop the wish that they will read your book) and respond in healthier ways to your own pain and suffering.
