Posts by Doubting Bro

35

Dear Jehovah's witnesses, a question....

by punkofnice in

dear jehovah's witnesses and on-the-fencers.. isn't it even a little bit obvious that the watchtower organisation doesn't have jehovah's blessing?.

if it did, why are your leaders, the governing body, asking you for your money and assets?

surely, jehovah would provide for the organisation without having to use your hard earned money and assets?.

Doubting Bro

Old Hippie,

So you don't believe in the Bible? If the Bible is accurate and all those miracles occurred, then why couldn't it happen again today? Jehovah supplied manna to the Israelite nation as they wandered through the wilderness after he opened the Red Sea. This was after sending plagues on Egypt. Jesus fed large crowds with a few fishes and loaves. The apostles were released from prison by an angel.

If the WTS truly is not only the true religion but also the earthly part of Jehovah's heavenly organization, then way can't He take care of things? I'm not being sarcastic,I truly want to know. When I actually believed in them and when I was having doubts, I prayed for understanding and got no response.

Extraordinary proof is required for extraordinary claims. If we are really in the last days of this system, why can't they come up with something, anything, miraculous that proves Jehovah is with them.

The only conclusion I can come up with is He's not.

49

The wonderful things you hear AFTER you step down as an elder!

by redpilltwice in

well, well, that was quite a heartfelt welcome on this site four days ago.

thank you all for the encouraging replies.

one of them was this one from magnum: "hey now, don't just pop your head in and disappear.

Doubting Bro

Welcome brokethechains!! Looking forward to your contributions.

45

Don't know what to do

by looter in

jw
friends

i'm in a crazy situation.

about a year ago, i was going to get baptized.

it was all planned and arranged until ttatt was learned.

Doubting Bro

Blues Brother has fantastic advice. I don't believe the elders would back up your father's ultimatum the reasons he gave you are perfect! That will buy you some time until you at least graduate.

39

To all JDub lurkers: How can you continue to preach knowing that you are telling lies?

by macys in

this is a damn serious question.

you must know by now that jerusalem was not destroyed in 607 bce and that 607 was initially picked by ct russell by using his "pyramid scheme" measurements.

there is no hiding these facts yet you continue to preach this nonsense.

Doubting Bro

Everyone has to live with their choices and no one has the right to criticize another's path. I quit doing that when I realized the JWs were not the truth and that there is no true religion. How is the OP any different from JWs saying that all non-JWs are bad people who will ultimately be destroyed?

Perhaps you'd like to go over every detail of my life and tell me what to do since you're in the business of judging and controlling others?

For the record, I don't go out but even when I was a hard core JW, I never made a convert and if you look at the numbers, most people don't. FS is busy work, meant to give purpose to the group. Converts in most places are a relic of the past.

49

The wonderful things you hear AFTER you step down as an elder!

by redpilltwice in

well, well, that was quite a heartfelt welcome on this site four days ago.

thank you all for the encouraging replies.

one of them was this one from magnum: "hey now, don't just pop your head in and disappear.

Doubting Bro

I encountered a little bit of that myself. Certainly not doubts about the organization but more complaints about elders.

I'm pretty sure there are at least one or two other people in my congregation who feel the same way I do but none of us are willing to walk out on that limb.

I've met a few others from this board who are in my part of the country and having an "aposta-fest" at the circuit assembly or regional convention (even hung out with a board member at the international) is such a relief.

The person who actually got me to finally investigate my religion of birth and who is also in the same position as me is a friend. I'm sure he reads this board as well although for the sake of plausible deniability, neither of us have mentioned it.

78

Half of the cong was dancing last night

by StarTrekAngel in

so went to the meeting last night.

i had not been to one since before the holiday break (3 weeks ago).

besides, it was our first meeting in the new format.

Doubting Bro

Yeah, it was really weird. I really felt isolated standing there with no lyrics

35

I almost died laughing at the meeting last night. OMG WTF is going on? Have I been away this long?

by macys in

ok so most of you guys know already that i am going through the reinstatement process for my parents but i do have a partially sinister plan which i will not mention here since someone told me that there are b-lites that read boards like this.

last night and it was the funniest experience i have ever seen.

besides that the brother doing the sound and video screwed up the whole thing when showing the videos and it took 3 brothers to fix it after 10 minutes, the whole thing was a joke.

Doubting Bro

That song was literally the worst thing I ever heard. Several people were making fun of it, even the chairman made fun of it after they played it first with no singing.

39

Hello, I'm new here too!

by redpilltwice in

jw
friends

hi everybody, 1st post here.

20 years jw, elder for 6 years, regular pioneer for 3 years, have always been following the 2012 candace conti abuse case with much interest, especially since the case suddenly disappeared from www.watchtower.com's news section (thanks brother j. r. brown, office of public information, because it led me to "worldly" websites for more info), leading to more and more dissatisfaction , leading to jwfacts, jwsurvey, ad1914, wtdocuments etc., leading to my awakening about 4 months ago, now fading faster and faster to zero meetings and zero field service...and you know what?

it feels good!.

Doubting Bro

Welcome and look forward to your contributions!

91

Is the Watchtower organisation facing the biggest crisis of its history?

by slimboyfat in

recent developments make me think they might be.

the problems they are facing are not just lack of funds but also draining authority, and the two could be a heady and explosive mix.

one of the best analyses ever written of the watchtower was a book called "trumpet of prophecy" by sociologist james beckford in the 1970s.

Doubting Bro

Seems to me like the big crises in the past were caused by either internal fighting or failed prophesy. People were passionate enough to make a change and leave in both the 20s & 75-77. This time, what they are facing is much more difficult to deal with. Apathy is their biggest problem. And so far, they haven't come up with a way to deal with it. I really think they are close to if not already topped out but I don't believe we'll see a major decline but rather a slow decline as older ones die off and kids just don't get baptized or leave as soon as they are able. Conversions have slowed down to almost nil in developed countries and I would image as resources dwindle the ability to make converts in 3rd world countries will diminish as well.

How far they reduce remains to be seen.

49

Slightly different approach - JW my tradition

by closed in

hello everybody :) i have been visiting this forum for some time.

i noticed that many can't really free from the past in the org despite many years outside of jw.

i was awaken with a bang.

Doubting Bro

To me, it really boils down to which path has the biggest downside. For some, the pain of staying in is worse than the pain of getting out. For others such as you, the downside of getting out is far more painful than staying in. To each his own. Of course, I still attend for the sake of family which is likely why I don't think its a big deal. I really believe our experiences and bias really color our opinion much more than the facts.

Welcome to the board and look forward to hearing more from you!