Posts by slimboyfat

27

Here's a morbid thought...

by Rainbow_Troll in

it probably will never happen but... imagine the gb recieved some new light that told them the great tribulation was imminent.

the world is going to hell and all jws can expect until armageddon is terrible persecution the likes of which no christian has ever experienced in two thousand years.

but jehovah has a solution: put yourself and your family 'to sleep' and after armageddon's over, jehovah will 'wake his people up' at the resurrection.

As I understand it the reason Jim Jones resorted to a death pact was because he faced extended jail time for fraud. Otherwise he probably would have been happy to continue as a cult leader indefinitely and it never would have happened.

The GB would similarly need to be in a corner and facing existential crisis for this to even arise as a possibility. As it is at then moment they have a comfortable lifestyle with few problems. This is nowhere near on the horizon.

Even if some of the GB were to face prosecution and a lifetime in jail for some reason at some point, because of the developed structure of JWs it is likely there would be others in the organisation who would take over control and replace them. So even if the JW leadership faced a serious crisis, their developed structure also militates against them successfully taking down the membership with them in any death pact.

So I don't think this is at all likely or worth discussing much. In some ways it reflects a sort of ex-JW fantasy because it would deliver final and conclusive proof that the JW leadership are morally bankrupt. But we don't need the GB to initiate a death pact in order to prove they are morally deficient. Their everyday decisions and actions to date already prove that for most clear thinking people looking at the evidence.

16

How the Watchtower Could Grow In Numbers

by Sour Grapes in

if i were running the watchtower there are things that i would do to increase the numbers and increase donations.

since so many older witnesses are realizing that the false hope they had of not growing old and not having to die is fading away like a frost on a sunny autumn morning, the watchtower needs to shift gears.. as it has been stated on this forum, the emphasis needs to shift from not dying to the glorious hope of the resurrection, the gateway to paradise.

they need to deemphasize armageddon and emphasize "the way of life" that witnesses have.

slimboyfat

Many of the changes you suggest would make JWs a better religion in my view. But they certainly wouldn't help them to grow. Strict religions grow faster, not ones that soften their requirements.

And it's true that many older JWs are realising Armageddon will not come before they die. But this is a realisation that aging JWs have always had to cope with as death approaches, whether that be in the 1950s or the 2010s. What's different now is that the GB is not offering any consistent reasons for thinking that the end will come soon. But this is not a necessary development for JWs. They could come up with new reasons and carry on as before. If they did, that would be their best chance at growing in the future.

12

"Jehovah's Witnesses" : A religion - or a denomination of a religion?

by The Searcher in

"a christian denomination is a generic term for a distinct religious body identified by traits such as a common name, structure, leadership and doctrine.

individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church or fellowship.

" (wikipedia) .

slimboyfat

Like everything else, it depends on the context.

Just to mention one perspective, it is common in sociology textbooks to divide religious groups into four categories: church, sect, denomination and cult. According to this definition JWs are classified as a sect rather than a denomination, because they are internally exclusive and externally viewed as deviant, whereas a denomination is inclusive and considered respectable.

The typology is included and discussed in this blog post.

http://benedson.blogs.com/benedson/2005/12/sect_denominati.html

So are JWs a denomination? Not according to one common sociological definition at least.

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

slimboyfat

Thread spoiler alert: the attemp by Cofty's former pastor to reconvert him has not succeeded (yet)

14

JW mention in Geography book

by Nihilistic Journey in

i was reading a book exploring he relationship between geography and religion and found the following quote starting on page 121 of chris park's sacred worlds.. park, c. c. (1994).

sacred worlds: an introduction to geography and religion.

london: routledge.. one of the most dynamic religious groups in terms of disseminating its beliefs is the jehovah’s witnesses.

slimboyfat

Incidentally there's a more recent geographic study of JWs in Ireland that looks interesting.

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-017-9376-6_85

14

JW mention in Geography book

by Nihilistic Journey in

i was reading a book exploring he relationship between geography and religion and found the following quote starting on page 121 of chris park's sacred worlds.. park, c. c. (1994).

sacred worlds: an introduction to geography and religion.

london: routledge.. one of the most dynamic religious groups in terms of disseminating its beliefs is the jehovah’s witnesses.

slimboyfat

How many errors can you pack into a small paragraph!

1. JWs were not founded as "People's Pulpit Association" in 1884. Russell's group,started before that, and the Watch Tower began 1879.

2. JWs are officially JWs, not unofficially.

3. JWs are not pacifists.

4. They have never claimed 200 million members.

5. They do not clam the NWT is infallible.

6. They don't claim JWs in general will rule over the earth but only the 144,000 anointed.

The part on Spain may be riddled with errors too for all I know. If he can't get the general correct there's no reason to trust him in the specific.

50

Why Finding the One True Religion is Impossible

by Simon in

jws like to think they have found the one true religion.

but like so many other religious people, it's usually the religion they were born into, the only religion they know because it's the first one they found or, at the most, one of two or three (typically the second one after they left their first / born-in faith).. the trouble is, there simply isn't enough time to explore and investigate each and everyone of the many thousands of belief systems, religions and sects around the world.. think of it this way: which is the best neighbourhood to live in where you would be most happy and most successful?

not just in the city or even the country you are in, but the entire world.. how would you ever know?

slimboyfat

What religion will I join tomorrow?

47

Hidden message in JW bunker video?

by Dunedain in

so, i was speaking with a relative recently, who is "in" the borg, but is completely aware of the terrible hypocrisy from the gb down.

he is not in the box, and its great to be able to have a realistic, and logical discussion about the current state of the org.. we started discussing, specifically, about that bunker video that was released in december.

how it is being played at all the conventions.

slimboyfat

I guess the reason many of the videos JW.org is producing seem so shocking is because of two trends running against one another.

On the one hand the messages JWs promote are becoming more unacceptable to society at large. Whether that be against homosexuality, shunning family members, or awaiting apocalyptic persecution.

On the other hand the sophistication of the media JW.org is using to promote their messages has leaped forward with technology.

The message JWs are promoting hasn't really changed. They have always warned about persecution and tribulation for example.

The problem is that they've found a striking new medium for delivering their message just at the time when their message is becoming more and more unacceptable to most regular people.

11

A Taxonomy of WT Presidents/GB

by breakfast of champions in

[this is what happens when the semester ends.

idle hands.

so i was thinking of how you would categorize the presidents of the wt, and i came up with this:.

slimboyfat

Henschel doesn't even get a mention. The last of the "anointed" presidents. Talk about the forgotten president. One of the only things I "know" about Henschel is that he visited a posh hotel in Malta, because someone wrote a story about it online nearly 20 years ago.

Not to mention Don Adams and Max Larson, the two headed non-anointed presidency.

35

Im Going To Approach A Witnessing Cart Today

by pale.emperor in

the city in which i work is flooded with those witnessing carts.

today im going to approach one of them and pretend i dont know what they believe.

gonna try and record it if i can.

slimboyfat

Jesus pretty much set the tone as far as tolerating difference and accepting others with differing views is concerned.

Matt 12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.