Surely one of the worst things Watchtower has ever produced.
Only positive spin on it is that perhaps their extremism has reached some sort of limit with this video, like the worst of the storm before a period of calm.
well.....they showed that shunning video again.
you know...the one where goldilocks gets disfellowshipped- and the parents look across the hall at her with disdain.....yeah that video.. i was interested to see what kind of answers would be given during the discussion after the video and some of the reactions.
everyone sat there gormlessly staring at the video.
Surely one of the worst things Watchtower has ever produced.
Only positive spin on it is that perhaps their extremism has reached some sort of limit with this video, like the worst of the storm before a period of calm.
i am prepared for shunning when i send in my da letter.
my dad was furious when he comes back from overseas and find out that i have da myself.
yes, i do regret not talking to him first before i da...i also know that my mom is crying in her room.. but they didn't chase me out of the house.
It sounds like your parents are more reasonable than some JWs.
But I've also found some JWs operate a very strict "my advantage" approach to shunning. Which means that the JW will allow any amount of association with DFed or "marked" individuals so long as that association is to their advantage: take lifts from you, let you do chores for them, look after them, buy them dinner, whatever. But if you need something from them they suddenly remember you are bad association and refuse as a matter of "principle". Or maybe I just had a bad experience!
revision date: 8/17.
the talk outline “jesus christ—earth’s new ruler” has been discontinued and should no longer be used.
it has been replaced by “who really is jesus christ?”note: this is the special public talk outline for 2018. the talk will be given in most congregations the week of monday, march 19, 2018.. .
Who is Jesus? If they haven't worked it out by now what chance have they got?
have the bethelites started cooking and doing their own washing yet?
how are they coping?.
paul.
If there's no cashier then how do you pay?
And if there's no one there, and he just took the fruit, how did they know to send him the bill?
Given the stress he was under I think he should be forgiven for forgetting to glean from the lunch table. And it's still a shame they billed him simply for not following procedure on his last day.
have the bethelites started cooking and doing their own washing yet?
how are they coping?.
paul.
If he'd actually stolen the fruit, you'd think the response would have been different than simply sending him a bill.
There seems to have been some sort of misunderstanding. Maybe he said he had skipped meals and needed something, the person at the desk agreed, but someone higher up decided he needed to pay anyway.
have the bethelites started cooking and doing their own washing yet?
how are they coping?.
paul.
Morpheus I appreciate you have direct experience of bethel and the rules and I don't question that. But you weren't at bethel when they were sacking a quarter of the workforce in a short period of time. Who knows what kinds of madness might prevail in that situation. There's no need to accuse the guy of making it up.
i should know the answer to this but my memory is failing big time.
our friend just called who is still in the cult.
he's been away from it for about five months now.
Marrying a non-Witness is not a DFing offence.
Who knows what they are up to. I suggest he simply asks them why they want to have a meeting.
Whatever it is he's probably best to be completely repentant and compliant with any demands if he wants to try to avoid getting DFed.
first, a word about the watchtower’s financial position: nobody (outside the watchtower organization) knows.
the wtbs is not required to disclose its finances, and doesn’t.
we can speculate, but that is all we are doing.
Indeed, it would be very traumatic for many JWs.
I kind of hope that a better religion might emerge. One that still opposes war, uses God's name, and preaches a paradise earth, but one that doesn't shun people or discourage education, free discussion, and trying to make the world a better place where possible.
Maybe if they closed the religion down as gradually as possible that would be the kindest way to do it. Like continue the steps they've been taking:
1. Stop the book study
2. Reduce the literature near to zero
3. Cancel the midweek meeting
4. Reduce the WT to a series of questions for open discssiom
5. Stop recording ministry time or having organised ministry meetings
6. Say any person who gives wise advice is a "faithful slave"
7. Consign 1914 to history
8. Be kind to former JWs instead of shunning them
After implementing those changes it would hardly matter if they closed their doors in the end or whether they continue as a positive community. Either way it would be less traumatic for all involved if they did it gradually.
have the bethelites started cooking and doing their own washing yet?
how are they coping?.
paul.
Maybe it was especially harsh for some reason... or maybe not. Maybe this is how they are dispatching people from bethel these days.
According to the 2016 and 2017 yearbooks they got rid of something like 6000 or 7000 bethelites in one year. That's more than a quarter of the total number, and totally unprecended in their whole history.
So in that kind of upheaval I guess things like this can happen, more by bureaucracy than any particular malice.
have the bethelites started cooking and doing their own washing yet?
how are they coping?.
paul.
I would hesitate to contradict his story. Evidently something happened that shook him up. And billing him for fruit seems odd, but with people "following rules" you just never know. The trouble is his story is not very clear. He seems a bit traumatised to me.