Posts by Bigdummy

25

Do you feel that you are really YOU?

by UnshackleTheChains in

i am interested in finding out how you view yourself.

are really you when it comes to every day interactions....ie when at work, with family or friends, or if attending meetings?.

if still attending, do you feel you are not the real you at meetings?

Bigdummy

You have a lot of the same feelings I have. I have been associated with wtbts for

60 years. I go to keep peace with my wife. I haven't been in FS for over a year.

My wife knows my feelings and we just kind of leave it at that. She is still in 100%.

I don't go the mid week meeting but I go on Sunday about 3 times a month but

I go out to the car during the wt study. I usually just read my bible during the talk.

Nobody and I mean nobody has ever asked me about why I don't go out in FS.

Two elders visited my wife and I about 2 months ago ( I'm sure my wife invited

them) and neither of them asked about my not going in FS anymore. No CO visit

either. I guess I'm fortunate. I don't make waves with doctrines anymore. I do my

own research and study. If 8 million people want to believe something I say let them.

i believe what I want so I will let people believe what they want. I don't feel like

debating people who are entrenched in a belief. If somebody wants to know what

I think I'll tell them. I'm not a conversationalist anyway.

14

Don't know if I'm hearing things.

by Bigdummy in

i went to the hall with my wife on sunday.

i try to be there for my wife at some meetings.

because she is still neck deep in the beliefs and she understands my fading and doesn't.

Bigdummy

This was one of our local elders who has been around here at least 30 years. He

has stated some off the wall things in the past and even ticked his brother-in-

law elder off one time for something he said from the platform. The argument

between them is not here say, I witnessed the confrontation in person and tried

to help rectify the situation. The speaker was once our presiding overseer and it

always seems we get he A type personality in that position. They all seem to think

that this is THEIR congregation. I notice that it's the same 25% in the congregation

that provide all the answers to questions from the podium. I wonder if there are

not more like me at the hall, who used to answer maybe once per meeting, who

no longer care to participate because it's so drone like anymore. I wouldn't answer

questions directly from the publications but tried to put some meaning into what

I was saying. I see long timers who almost read the answer directly from the

watchtower word for word. Sad. No warmth. No life. I don't discuss any of my

feelings about the wtbts with any jw's. Only my wife. I haven't commented or

turned in any fs report in many months so I know I'm probably on the radar. Funny

thing though the circuit servant was just here a few weeks ago and I was expecting

a visit or something to see what was going on. Dead silence. They probably had

others that needed encouraging. I really do feel for others that can't see . I can't

blame them because my wife is one of them. I'm definitely not an intellectual or a

Bible scholar but come on. This whole organization is nothing like the 50s or 60s

when I grew up.

14

Don't know if I'm hearing things.

by Bigdummy in

i went to the hall with my wife on sunday.

i try to be there for my wife at some meetings.

because she is still neck deep in the beliefs and she understands my fading and doesn't.

Bigdummy

I went to the hall with my wife on Sunday. I try to be there for my wife at some meetings

because she is still neck deep in the beliefs and she understands my fading and doesn't

give me a bunch of grief about it. We have a conversation at times about what I don't be-

lieve anymore. Anyway the speaker shifted his talk to the 30 something attendees who

were not baptized jw's. I will use his quotes as closely as I can. He said " I guarantee this

is the truth but don't take my word for it. I want you to research the Jehovah's Witnesses

for yourself. Be like the Bereans and don't just accept something that somebody tells you.

Churches teach doctrines and have no moral compass coming from Bible teachings.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not have doctrines, we have the truth. Matthew 24:45 shows

definitely that Jehovah has a modern day organization." Okay I'll stop the quotes now.

There was so much wrong from my 60 + years of jw understanding that I couldn't quite

take it all in yesterday. My own researching and years of doubt have me where I am now.

If he wanted them to do research in jw publications only I could see his point. Jehovah's

Witnesses do not teach doctrines? I told my wife that one of the gb said they were the

guadians of doctrine. The statement that Matt 24:45 affirms that Jehovah has a modern

organization and it's the Jehovah's Witnesses? I didn't get that from reading that scripture.

My wife said " hmm " and went to sleep.

51

" you will never grow old..."

by mrquik in

jw
friends

" you will never grow old..." a more grievous lie is hard to imagine.

i heard this one first in 1957. i was 6. my mother had just converted.

i heard it many times after that.

Bigdummy

Markofcane,

That is my feelings also. I'm 65 and started going to the kh when I was five years

old. My wife was born in. I haven't been in fs for many, many months. Couldn't

continue to go to people's doors and tell them something I didn't believe myself.

i go the meetings sometimes to accompany my wife but I try to read my bible

while I'm sitting there and try to block out a lot of things. I look around some-

times and watch the others nod their heads in agreement to some ridiculous

assertment. One of the elders stated from the podium the other night, " if you

don't attend all meetings and go in fs, there is something wrong with you."

I thought so be it. If that's what you think that's fine. I don't speak to any

jws about my views. I tell my wife but it doesn't affect her beliefs at all. That's

ok with me. Everyone should be able to believe what they want. It's funny that

you can't question the org. It's like poking someone in the eye.

31

Midweek meeting

by loneranger in

jw
friends

almost two months into the change in format of the mid week meeting from the school and service meeting format to the christian life and ministry (clam) format.

in my congregation, seems attendance is down 10-15% over the normally low attendance for the mid week meeting before the change.

some indicate that the meeting under the clam format is very "intense"...you really need to study and research to be able to participate or get anything out of the meetings.

Bigdummy

I made a comment a few weeks ago but our congregation's lack of hand raising.

The attendance is dwindling and only a few raise their hands for comment. Two

families are moving and that comprises of about a 10 people. The meetings

are extremely boring, the comments are basically from the material and no

extra thoughts or heartfelt thinking on the comments. The elders keep saying

"this new arrangement is so exciting and fast paced the time just gets away. We're

just trying to hold on to the chariot." And once again out of the blue an elder will

bring up the fact that if the GB tells us to do something that doesn't make sense

in a human standpoint we should just go ahead and follow direction. I'm wonder-

ing , and I'm serious, is this statement something that the elders have been told

to say every other week? Also another thing I took note of. Jesus was mentioned

in the opening and closing prayer. Not one single time was his name said during

the entire meeting. None. Zero. Nada! I asked my wife if she noticed it. She didn't

and didn't seem to think anything of it. I told her the GB had taken his place. She

didn't want to talk about it. I can't talk to anybody at the hall about these things

because in the past I have tipped my hand to a couple of elders how I see things.

For my wife's sake I wouldn't want to cause a big disturbance so I just take and sit

with her.

20

My First CLAM Meeting

by The Searcher in

i carried out my monthly "cover" visit to the k.h.

tonight.

as previously discussed on this forum, the clam meeting is just a rehashed, recycled, reshuffled, & rebranded ministry school and service meeting.

Bigdummy

I haven't posted in a good while. I have been associated with this sect for approx.

60 years, baptized for 50. For someone who is newly converted, this CLAM deal

would be ok I suppose but the whole concept of jw indoctrination is very dis-

heartening. I still go with my wife for a night meeting but I don't get as upset as

I did just a few months ago. I can sit there for a couple of hours and it's like my

mind is really kind of listening and yet I'm studying peoples reactions to what

is said from the platform. It's like the Searcher said, the same few people do

90% of the commenting and that's fine with me because I'm surely not going to.

I haven't been door to door in many many months but yet I was asked if I wanted

to get back on the ministry school. I thought that was very odd. I wonder some

times if there are others at my hall who feel like I do. Too risky to try and find out

but it is telling that a lot, and I mean a lot are silent. An elder was giving a part

a few weeks ago that required audience participation and at one point he asked

a question and there was dead silence for about 30 seconds and you could see

he was getting frustrated and he said " come on people there's tons of answers

here". My attitude is not the best anymore about any organized religion. I read

the Bible and read a lot from Matthew Henry so I consider myself God fearing

and live my life accordingly. I'm not a rebel nor a great thinker, but sometimes

I wonder if the people in jw Ville do ANY thinking of their own. I know this is

doubled space but I can't prevent it.

4

Almost said too much"....... maybe

by Bigdummy in

the wife was getting ready for the sunday meeting yesterday and wanted the grandkids.

they didn't want to so she called our daughter to come and pick them .

now wife is about to cry because she is going by herself.

Bigdummy

I would like to say that I apologize for that last sentence in my above post. Some-

time my thoughts and my typing don't coincide with each other and the result is

a little messed up. I'm happy and frustrated at the same time about my feelings,

the happiness of knowing that there are multitudes of people like me that have

stepped back and really took a discerning view of what is taught as life saving

truth and frustrated that people still gobble this up as the only true way to be

acceptable to God. I really can't totally blame the sheeple. I was one myself. I'll

try to make better sense of my posts but sometimes I get jacked up about

something and I start to rant.

4

Almost said too much"....... maybe

by Bigdummy in

the wife was getting ready for the sunday meeting yesterday and wanted the grandkids.

they didn't want to so she called our daughter to come and pick them .

now wife is about to cry because she is going by herself.

Bigdummy

The wife was getting ready for the Sunday meeting yesterday and wanted the grandkids

to go with her. They didn't want to so she called our daughter to come and pick them

up. Now wife is about to cry because she is going by herself. I got dressed and went

with her. Man , I'm glad I did. I didn't have a magazine ( haven't looked at a Watchtower

in a long time) so I'm sitting there listening and observing, and lo and behold a former

elder makes a comment about a video of a brother Schaffer who really hit home

with a point about how we don't understand some things that happen and if we are

offended by them we should just let it go. I know this very video came up for discus-

sion a while back on here and somebody gave a good critique on how the brother mis-

applied the meaning of that scripture in Philipians. After the meeting I approached the

Watchtower conductor and we went over the verses together and said he had never

looked at that verse the way I was viewing it but yet he agreed with me. The verse is

not saying that Jah understands we were wronged and so therefore you should suck

it up and let it go because you don't understand and Jehovah does. This is misapply-

ing a scripture to fit an agenda. I also brought up the misapplying of the WTS of Prov.

4:18 which is used as an excuse to bring up new light in ever changing doctrine. The

rendering of that chapter has nothing to do whatsoever with end time prophecies. It's

about a father encouraging his so to avoid bad people and their influences and the son

will identify bad people on his own as he gets older and he gets wiser. Most elders

or anybody for that matter that I've discussed Prov 4:18 with agrees that in the context

it's referring to a father counseling his son. Only one elder disagreed. He said that

scripture could be interpreted as new information becoming brighter and brighter. I told

him I guess you could interpret a lot of scripture to mean what you want you want

you want it to mean but that scripture is self explanatory.

19

This generation revisited.

by Bigdummy in

it's 1:30 am and i'm wide awake again as usual.

i was doing a little bible reading yesterday and.

came across luke 11:29 where jesus states " when the crowds were increasing, he began to say,.

Bigdummy

The Searcher: " JWs eagerly await conventions for new light".

We had an elder who stepped down or was deleted who would say months in

advance of a convention that we would be learning a lot of things at the upcoming

assembly. Possibly, this coming October will be the finale of this system of things.

This went on for several years and some of the people thought he was so smart

about everything. A lot of people looked over him and thought he had a screw loose

because he over exaggerated his comments with his own experiences in life. All

comments would include anything that happened in his life that he could work into

his comment. I did this and I did that. I liked the guy but his act got real old over the

years and I believe he worked himself into such a frenzy all the time that he burned

out.

I was at the Service Meeting with my wife the other week and I finally heard the com-

ment that I had been waiting for weeks to hear. A sister commented " that was the

best assembly ever." That comment somehow doesn't have the same importance

it used to have the other 50 times I heard it over my lifetime.

19

This generation revisited.

by Bigdummy in

it's 1:30 am and i'm wide awake again as usual.

i was doing a little bible reading yesterday and.

came across luke 11:29 where jesus states " when the crowds were increasing, he began to say,.

Bigdummy

It's 1:30 am and I'm wide awake again as usual. I was doing a little Bible reading yesterday and

came across Luke 11:29 where Jesus states " when the crowds were increasing, he began to say,

this generation is an evil generation, it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it." I'm kind of

paraphrasing here and will drop down to verse 30 where he states " Jonah became a sign to the

men of Neneveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation". I think it's plain enough to me

that the generation he is referring to is the people who are his detractors who are in his midst at

that time. Looking at Matthew 24:34 he states that " this generation will not pass away till all these

things take place". This generation here in Matthew takes on a deeper meaning because of the

future destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the future coming of the Son of Man. I'm using The

New Oxford Annotated Bible for the scriptually quotes so I would like to quote the footnote about

Matthew 24:34 which states " the normal meaning of ' this generation' would be ' men of our time'

and the words would refer to a period of 20 to 30 years. What Jesus meant here however is

uncertain." The point of my post is, why couldn't the WTS have used the same logic and said " we

are uncertain what is meant by generation in this verse ". But no, they had to assert themselves

and say this is what it means. We know what it means because we are spirit directed and then

change the interpretation approx 6 times. Believe and follow us or die. I gave up. Rant over!