Posts by slimboyfat

12

About 1.8 Millions disfellowshipped since 1981 and about 1.3 Million still are!

by StephaneLaliberte in

this means that for every 6 publishers, there is a disfellowshipped person.

this statistic doesn't take into account all of the kids that become/removed as publishers and receive a similar treatment from their family.

conclusion: jehovah's witnesses do break up families.

slimboyfat

The figures sound about right. But there are a few complications.

What about people who "disassociated" are they included in the 1% or the 40,000 figures? Probably not. Yet not all of these people left voluntarily, since it can include "apostates", joining military, attending another church, and more recently accepting blood.

Also until the mid 1990s unbaptised publishers could be removed and treated as if disfellowshipped.

Plus we don't know if the DFing rate has changed over the decades, either up or down, which is entirely possible.

Having said that the ball park figure of around 1 million or so DFed seems proportionate and fits with the known facts.

23

The goal in all this 1918/1919 change?

by careful in

as some have recently posted here, there does seem to be a shift going on in their self-interpretation(s) of what happened in 1918 and 1919. if we can look past all the details that emphasize the poor thinking and poor wording (or contradictions/just plain craziness/insignificance) of their message, something bigger seems to be afoot.

they appear to be attempting to redefine the meanings for some "prophetic" scriptures in light of themselves.

1. they are trying to somehow fill the void they have themselves created from their rejecting freddie franz's (ff) type–anti-type postulations.

slimboyfat

Yes maybe the reason the link works for me is that I downloaded it months ago. I have tried to email you the PDF. Will write a proper email soon.

23

The goal in all this 1918/1919 change?

by careful in

as some have recently posted here, there does seem to be a shift going on in their self-interpretation(s) of what happened in 1918 and 1919. if we can look past all the details that emphasize the poor thinking and poor wording (or contradictions/just plain craziness/insignificance) of their message, something bigger seems to be afoot.

they appear to be attempting to redefine the meanings for some "prophetic" scriptures in light of themselves.

1. they are trying to somehow fill the void they have themselves created from their rejecting freddie franz's (ff) type–anti-type postulations.

slimboyfat

It's a thesis with the title: "The Church in the thought of Charles Taze Russell" by Gene Edson Ahlstrom

23

The goal in all this 1918/1919 change?

by careful in

as some have recently posted here, there does seem to be a shift going on in their self-interpretation(s) of what happened in 1918 and 1919. if we can look past all the details that emphasize the poor thinking and poor wording (or contradictions/just plain craziness/insignificance) of their message, something bigger seems to be afoot.

they appear to be attempting to redefine the meanings for some "prophetic" scriptures in light of themselves.

1. they are trying to somehow fill the void they have themselves created from their rejecting freddie franz's (ff) type–anti-type postulations.

slimboyfat

Excellent post careful. Yes their abandonment of Franz's "types" may be causing unintended problems. And they are not as creative or intelligent as Franz was.

Yes Russell had a lot more to say about the gap between the second century apostasy and the nineteenth century revival. I think the Bible Students identified the messengers of the church in Revelation as: Paul, Arius, Waldo, Wycliffe, Luther and Russell. I can't find the source for that now, but in searching for it I came across this interesting discussion of Russell's "church thought".

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a226955.pdf

45

New light in this weeks WT?

by Indian Larry in

anybody have any ideas where they are going with the "new light" they have been pushing last week and this week?

for instance in this weeks study article one section reads:.

in years gone by, we believed that jehovah became displeased with his people because they did not have a zealous share in the preaching work during world war i. we concluded that for this reason, jehovah allowed babylon the great to take them captive for a short time.

slimboyfat

It's amazing they still take themselves seriously enough to rearrange these particular deck chairs and expect people pay attention like this is relevant, important, or even coherent information.

40

What if Fred Franz had never existed?

by Magnum in

what if fred franz had never existed?.

those of you who weren’t around in the days when he was the oracle of jwdom or who at least aren’t familiar with the deeper publications he was responsible for probably won’t be able to comprehend the significance of the question.

i believe he influenced jwdom greatly, and the whole feel of jwdom would have been different without him.. during the 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s (not sure about 50’s), he was considered to be almost superhuman by some (a lot?

slimboyfat

In fact some have claimed Franz was in control of WT doctrine before Rutherford died, in as much as Franz is said to have ghostwritten some of Rutherford s later books.

A textual analysis of some sort should be technically feasible these days to clear up this claim one way or another.

40

What if Fred Franz had never existed?

by Magnum in

what if fred franz had never existed?.

those of you who weren’t around in the days when he was the oracle of jwdom or who at least aren’t familiar with the deeper publications he was responsible for probably won’t be able to comprehend the significance of the question.

i believe he influenced jwdom greatly, and the whole feel of jwdom would have been different without him.. during the 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s (not sure about 50’s), he was considered to be almost superhuman by some (a lot?

slimboyfat

Without Fred Franz the belief system of JWs as we know it today wouldn't exist.

But he's not the only one with a crucial role in JW development.

For example the bureaucratic and organisational structure of JWs were significantly crafted by Nathan Knorr.

37

April 2017 Study Watchtower encourages you to defy The Society !

by BluesBrother in

at least, that is how i see it... the article "the judge of all the earth always does what is right".

paragraph 6 & 7 .

6 consider the experience of willi diehl.

slimboyfat

The only sense in which it makes sense to say he "waited on Jehovah" is that he didn't say, "to hell with JWs if they treat me like this just for getting married" and leave JWs altogether. He is being commended for accepting being treated like dirt for no good reason and simply waiting it out. The message to JWs today is that they need to accept being treated like dirt by the organisation for no good reason from time to time. This demonstrates loyalty and a proper attitude of waiting on Jehovah.

74

This site should be called Anti-Jehovahs-Witnesses Cry-babies

by the-Question in

so, you left because of a bad example(s).. why all the whining?

nothing better to do with your time?.

you at least know far more about the bible than any church-goer?.

slimboyfat

The Jews were released by Cyrus 2 years later.

I always wondered where they got the convenient two years from. Have you got any idea?

45

What's preventing YOU from stopping meeting attendance?

by nicolaou in

we all 'exit' in our own way and at our own pace but i'm curious, why carry on stuffing yourself into that stiff suit and tie or meeting dress years after you realised the truth about 'the truth'?.

they kept you a prisoner, what's stopping you from leaving now that you have the key to your own cell?.

loved ones?

slimboyfat

That's interesting nicolaou that your doubts were prompted by a particular circumstance and turn of events that could easily not have happened. The person who prompted your research, I guess he also left JWs?

It makes me wonder, because generally I agree with you that you can't make a JW reevaluate their beliefs who is not ready to do so within themselves. At the same time, chance encounters with disconfirmatory information can often make JWs think. Both of these propositions seem to be true.

Which makes me think that the best way to combat the Watchtiwer society is not to confront JWs head on, but to make information about JWs readily available where JWs may bump into it of their own accord. Which is what many of the best activists like Paul Grundy are doing with their websites, and in the old days when people used to make sure local, libraries had copies of Crisis of Conscience. I wonder if there are yet more ways of making information easier for JWs to stumble upon. That's where energy should be focussed.