Posts by Doubting Bro

24

Elder/MS requirement for marriage talk? (Wedding not in KH)

by respectful_observer in

okay team,.

some family friends who are engaged are getting some flack around the particulars of their wedding ceremony (surprise!

"strain out the gnat, gulp down the camel", and all that).

Doubting Bro

In some states (as an American I always assume you are in the USA), its not as easy to get a license to perform weddings. I know that when I was a Secretary, I helped a MS get a marriage license and I had to write a letter signed by the entire BOE that essentially said that we recognized him as a minister in our local congregation. So, if the BOE is against the wedding, you likely won't get that kind of assistance. Of course, if the person you have in mind is already authorized by the local officials, then not a problem.

You can always find a secular official to do the actual vows then have a religious ceremony if you really want a JW marriage talk.

73

The con is completed - comments from the US branch's LDC chief

by sir82 in

jw
friends

recently attended a special assembly day.. guest speaker was thomas chicky, a member of the us branch committee and the head of the us ldc (which has replaced the rbcs).. the last talk of the day is scheduled for an hour.

it was the usual boring mumbo-jumbo.

he appeared to have blasted through his hour-long outline in just about 45 minutes, so he "treated" us to informal comments on recent developments.. he commented on the new wt complex in fishkill ny.. then he dropped the bomb (well, to anyone with ears and at least 2 functioning synapses).. the following is not a word for quote, but presents the gist of his comments:.

Doubting Bro

That's a really good question, what are they doing with all that cash? I've had a few local folks questioning that as well. Of course, they are saying that we must be getting ready to make a final preaching push or some nonsense. It's amazing how easy it is to rationalize things.

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.

Doubting Bro

It's really not a defensible position from a Biblical point of view and I'm pretty sure they know that.

Oh and love the Merry Christmas wish at the end. That made me laugh.

Of course, their rendition will be how they won a debate with an "opposer"

48

Jehovah's Limp Witnesses Pointed Me to JW.org When I Was Willing to Talk

by steve2 in

several months ago i approached a nice young couple who were standing by a jw literature stand in my local community.

they were pleasant and polite but incredibly stilted when it came to answering my "innocent" questions about their beliefs.

this was the occasion of jws featuring the article headlined "is religion dying?".

Doubting Bro

The reality is that the overwhelming number of JWs HATE the "ministry". I was just with some JW "friends" socially when they were talking about a local break spot and the direct quote (from an elder) was: "breaks are the best part of field service". While he said it as a joke, I can bet that most JWs feel the same way.

I never liked it but thought there was something wrong with me. I was out every week but once an elder, I devised a system. We lived in a rural area, so I would get a territory at least 15 minutes away, spend about half hour or 45 minutes driving from door to door, then take a break and make RVs for the rest of the morning. If it was raining, then 100% RVs.

If the WTS were to make an announcement that JWs didn't have to report their time anymore, how many JWs would still go out in service? How many would put in pioneer hours?

I think the community apathy and apathy among JWs as a whole has really diminished any zeal towards the ministry. Now, people simply go out to "get their time in".

10

Wills - A disgruntled father making a final point

by Listener in

an unusual and amusing will was contested in an australian court a few years ago.the deceased man separated from his wife in 1959 and shortly after the wife was baptized as a jw.

in the following years their four children also got baptized.

apparently this enraged the deceased for the remainder of his life, who was himself a catholic.his will included two conditions that his four children were required to fulfill before they would qualify to receive their share of the inheritance.

Doubting Bro

I don't see this as any different from when a JW parent cuts a DF/DA child out of their will and leaves the money to the WTS. Legally, you can leave your money to whoever you wish. Ideally, you'd want to continue your legacy by passing things on to your children. But, obviously the relationship was strained and thus the conditions. Was their being JWs the cause of the strain? Likely but it could have been more him than them. Really difficult to tell. At least he left things to his relatives and not to some huge non-profit organization.

It's a shame that religion is such a divisive influence. Probably the most divisive in human history.

17

Why I DON'T Fear The Future - A Conversation With My JW Mum

by Divergent in

jw
friends

3 questions i hit my jw mum with:.

first question: do you believe that god is love?

third question: do you think a god of love would choose to destroy me for not doing something i cannot do (be a jw) because i am not convinced rather than convince me beyond doubt?

Doubting Bro

But what if God has convinced you that the WTS isn't the truth. By not following His direction, aren't you willingly sinning against Holy Spirit?

35

What age were you when you were counted as a publisher?

by OrphanCrow in

the wts has always included minors and adults in the same categories - publisher and baptized.. i am interested in knowing how many minors, approximately, are included in the publisher count.

and, at what age a person started publishing.

what age was the youngest publisher reported?.

Doubting Bro

Was 8 when I joined the school, 10 publisher, baptized at 17 (late).

As far as current makeup, in my congo there are some kids but honestly maybe out of 110 or so publishers, only about 10-15 unbaptized publishers who are minors. There are just a couple of minor baptized kids.

When I was a kid, the number of UBPs was much higher and I know we probably had 30 or so out of 100 publishers. I think that JWs aren't having as many kids as they used to (English - USA)

25

Watchtower's "New Light" re Babylonish Captivity, November 2016 WT

by Room 215 in

has anyone noticed the wt's most recent shell-game revisionism in the november study tractazine, relating to the shifting of its "babylonish captivity" doctrine, from a 3 1/2-year period around the ww 1 years, to a period now spanning about 16 centuries, or from the 4th century (constantine's legal recognition of christianity) to 1919?.

Doubting Bro

Eventually, they will need to scrap everything since it's all inter-related. It hasn't fit together (well it never did but at least it used to actually work on a timeline) in quite sometime. Every time they make a change, the rest of their interpretation suddenly doesn't fit.

Honestly, when they started making changes going back to the change in generation in 1995, that was an eyeopener for me and cracks began to form in my belief. Of course, like many here, I pushed it down and doubled down in my efforts. What an idiot!!

30

GB "... it can make mistakes when explaining the Bible ..." Simplified version WT Feb 2017

by freddo in

study article: who is leading god's people today?

start of paragraph 12.. standard version: "the governing body is neither inspired nor infallible.

therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction.".

Doubting Bro

They've always said they were not infallible. It's the saying they make mistakes that feels different. The old way was getting clarifications which in fact were complete reversals of previous positions and not "clarifications" at all. But, they never couched it in terms of a "mistake" only a "new understanding".

The more I think about this, the more I wonder if there is a major change coming.

But, the average JW WILL NOT CARE! Seriously, there may be a few that get awakened just like with the last crazy "adjustment" with the generation. But, I'm not sure if at this point, anything they say or do would cause a major fallout. As a matter of fact, I would venture to guess that any major doctrinal adjustment would either 1) go over everyone's head or 2) get people more enthused for a short period.

Cults change things all the time to keep people off balance. And so the GB will continue to make changes big and small and the beat will go on. Eventually this religion will bleed out by a thousand cuts but it will be a slow fade into the dark night and that will take several generations (real ones not their definition).

I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am.

9

Circuit Organization Guidelines English (S-330-E Us)

by wifibandit in

circuit organization guidelines english (s-330-e us) 03/13.

Doubting Bro

Much thanks go to both you and your sources!!!