as i was taking a week off with my family, i was told, when back, that a talk had been given during the mid week meeting, in connection with special needs of the congregation.
it was all about how not to associate with a so-called brother who gives too critical comments at the wt meeting about jehovah's organization and tries to lead astray the spiritually weak members of the congregation, and things alike.
of course, everybody understood that i was the target.
a so-called brother who gives too critical comments at the WT meeting about jehovah's organization and tries to lead astray the spiritually weak members of the congregation
That would be more than enough to get you DF in most congregations. How did you get away with just being marked ?
i don't get this...my mum pioneered for 25 years and in the last few years she at 69 is claiming to be anionted and taking emblems.....well you should see the back stabbing!
some claim she isn't since she doesn't work at bethel or contribute to the litrature???
it becomes a big debate, is she or not?
Knowing that this religion is all BS, how could anyone really "know" they're of the anointed if the possibility of that calling isn't real?
Whether the religion is right or wrong is a surely a different issue to whether a calling is real. The calling to be with Jesus pre-dates the WTBTS by 2000 years.
persons among the witnesses have been disfellowshiped for holding birthday celebrations.
the core of the watch tower argument seems to be based upon the principle of guilt by association - that because only pharaoh and herod are mentioned in scripture as celebrating birthdays, and because these were wicked men, therefore the celebration of a birthday is necessarily wicked also.
[53] this is certainly a forced conclusion.
When a baby is born in the congregation everyone sends cards and presents. Surely that is THE birthday so they shouldn't do it ?
i don't get this...my mum pioneered for 25 years and in the last few years she at 69 is claiming to be anionted and taking emblems.....well you should see the back stabbing!
some claim she isn't since she doesn't work at bethel or contribute to the litrature???
it becomes a big debate, is she or not?
How do you quote what someone else has written in a post ? You know, in a shaded box ?
i don't get this...my mum pioneered for 25 years and in the last few years she at 69 is claiming to be anionted and taking emblems.....well you should see the back stabbing!
some claim she isn't since she doesn't work at bethel or contribute to the litrature???
it becomes a big debate, is she or not?
I understand that teaching has been adjusted somewhat since I left. But I wonder how much the R & F really change what they believe
Mrs Fiorini, despite the change in understanding I don't think most JWs have adopted the idea that there are "new" anointed appearing in their midst. They usually refer to these ones as "professing to be of the anointed". In other words, the person might think they are anointed but we have doubts. It's very peculiar thinking. On one hand they absolutely believe that there are anointed ones. But if they KNOW the person then they doubt they are anointed. It's like they have a particular view of what an anointed one should be like.
jeremiah 10:23.
23 lord, i know that a man doesn't control his own life.
he doesn't direct his own steps.. .
"Do not put your trust in nobles (elders, COs, DOs, GB, F&DS) to whom no salvation belongs" - somewhere in the Bible, don't know where off hand. Respect people in authority yeah. Trust them to run every aspect your spiritual life for you. Nah. It's not scriptural for one thing.
i don't get this...my mum pioneered for 25 years and in the last few years she at 69 is claiming to be anionted and taking emblems.....well you should see the back stabbing!
some claim she isn't since she doesn't work at bethel or contribute to the litrature???
it becomes a big debate, is she or not?
It's because the GB and F&DS are a faceless, nameless authority-entity to most JWs - and they like it that way ! It's comfortable. Most JWs don't know who the GB are, and most have never met an anointed. It's easy for them to say "the GB says this" and "the F&DS say that" and talk about "doing good to Christ's brothers" (ie. knock doors offering WT magazines). But when someone "professing to be of the anointed" (don't you just love how they say that ?) shows up in their congregation they don't know what to make of it, especially if they don't fit the "profile". Unless you've got grey hair, wear a smart suit, are a gentle quiet sister or an "elder-type" brother you stand no chance. If you're too young, or a bit rough around the edges, if you ask questions or are just plain awkward (ie. ask "why?" instead of "how high?" when the elders say "jump") the only person who'll accept you is Jesus. But that's ok isn't it ?
a lot of exjws need an answer to "where else to go?
" and some people seem to need to belong to an organization.
doing some research on answers.yahoo.com i noticed that both jws and mormons come in for a lot of criticism for being manipulative cults.
I've not spoken with many SDAs but every one I have chatted with has been very polite and alot more reasonable than most of the JWs I have known over the years. What struck me was that they are quite open to acknowledge that others are good, spiritual people even if they are not SDAs. Having said that, they do feel that they are the only true religion and that any good people will ultimately join them (much like the JWs). They also get hung up on dates and chronology, although one I spoke to was quite a free thinker and admitted that there were ones among the SDAs that wanted to see certain things reformed. Ironically, of the 28 (?) principle teachings that SDAs hold, I believe pretty much all of them. But would I join their church ? No, because JWs have put me completely off the idea of "belonging" to any organisation other than the body of Christ.
the wts says that the 4 living creatures around god's throne are symbolic and the 24 elders are also symbolic but the 144,000 are literal.
in the vision john is merely describing what he saw.
john does not make a distinction in the way he enumerating the persons/creatures of the vision.
I can see there is a good argument for the 144,000 being symbolic. Jesus is, after all, not a literal "lamb" and if the 144,000 are a symbolic (spiritual) "Israel of God" then it would made sense that the number is also not literal.
Then again, perhaps the 144,000 is literal, in which case the "Israel" could also be literal. Perhaps there literally are 144,000 chosen ones from Israel. In which case, could the "great crowd" not simply be other anointed Christians above and beyond the 144,000 ?
JWs used to teach that the great crowd also go to heaven. Maybe they will revert back to this as they have done recently on a number of teachings (for example the "new light" on the "generation" being the anointed ones, which was actually "old light" from 1927 ?
1983 "avoid independent thinking .. how is such independent thinking manifested?
a common way is by questioning the counsel that is provided by god's visible organization.
" {wt jan 15 1983 22}.
The only alternatives to independant thinking are 1) dependant thinking or 2) not thinking
