Posts by Disillusioned JW

43

Does this look like the WT is going to be around a long time? One Watchtower @ One Awake for the public in 2022

by pistolpete in

i keep hearing that the watchtower org is going to be around forever because of the many other religions that have been around a long time.

but i disagree because the wt is not like other religious cults.. the watchtower's breath of life is dependent on the last days that started in 1914. .

you can’t change 1914 without a death blow to the entire organization.. the watchtower's 2nd reason for staying alive, is it's continual urging that the life saving preaching work of warning people is the most important work ever.. but- it's very obvious to many, even the old ones that instead of speeding up the work------the work is slowing down to a drip.. comment by former believer; .

Disillusioned JW

Update: Christian Science and the Bible Students movement were started at about the same time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science says that Eddy began teaching her first student in 1866, that in 1875 she wrote her theology book called Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and in April 1879 she and her followers founded her church. Eddy died in 1910.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses says Russell formed a Bible study group in 1870, in 1876 Russell and Barbour jointly produced (another source says published in 1877) the Three Worlds book, and that in July 1879 Russell began publishing Zion's Watch Tower. Russell died in 1917.

The Wikipedia article about Christian Science says the following. 'In 2010 the New York Times reported church leaders as saying that, for over a year, they had been "encouraging members to see a physician if they feel it is necessary", and that they were repositioning Christian Science prayer as a supplement to medical care, rather than a substitute. ... In 2021, a church Committee on Publication reiterated that although vaccination was an individual choice, that the church did not dictate against it, and those who were not vaccinated did not do so because of any "church dogma".'

Similarly, we know that though the WTS for a period of time forbade organ transplants and vaccinations they later said such are a conscience matter. They had also forbade blood fraction for a period of time but later said it is a conscience matter in regards to many blood fractions.

The membership of Christian Science is in decline (at least in the USA, where it like the WTS was founded in) for the Wikipedia article about it says the following. "Christian Science became the fastest growing religion in the United States, with nearly 270,000 members there by 1936, a figure that had declined by 1990 to just over 100,000,[8] and by 2009 reportedly to under 50,000.[3]"

43

Does this look like the WT is going to be around a long time? One Watchtower @ One Awake for the public in 2022

by pistolpete in

i keep hearing that the watchtower org is going to be around forever because of the many other religions that have been around a long time.

but i disagree because the wt is not like other religious cults.. the watchtower's breath of life is dependent on the last days that started in 1914. .

you can’t change 1914 without a death blow to the entire organization.. the watchtower's 2nd reason for staying alive, is it's continual urging that the life saving preaching work of warning people is the most important work ever.. but- it's very obvious to many, even the old ones that instead of speeding up the work------the work is slowing down to a drip.. comment by former believer; .

Disillusioned JW

ozziepost, cults can last a very long time. The LDS and the "Christian Science" (so-called) were founded before the JWs and before Russell's Bible Students movement, yet the LDS and Christian Science still exist, and various Bible Students groups still exist. A number of Christians have told me that the Roman Catholic Church is a cult, but that Church has existed for at least about 1700 years (if not even nearly 2000 years). Thus the religion of the WTS/JW, even if truly a cult, can possibly exist in some form (even if reduced to no more than 1000 members) for another 100 years (if humans still exist then).

34

Here's a question that I guarantee no one has ever thought of!

by nowwhat? in

unlike men who took no note, surely the fallen angels knew of gods plan to flood the earth, so why didn't they build an ark(s) for their nephilum sons?

.

Disillusioned JW

Correction: My second to last post instead of saying "...to do foolish things if they are doing bad things to you, do what ever they say proving they aren't telling to break a law ..." should have said "... to do foolish things or even if they are doing bad things to you, the WTS says to do what ever the authorities say to do provided they aren't saying to break a law ...". I had some other typos also but I hope you recognized what I meant despite those.

34

Here's a question that I guarantee no one has ever thought of!

by nowwhat? in

unlike men who took no note, surely the fallen angels knew of gods plan to flood the earth, so why didn't they build an ark(s) for their nephilum sons?

.

Disillusioned JW

The WTS teaches that All Souls' Day, if not not also Halloween, was created by people in honor of their ancestors who died in the flood. But here is the thing. According to the WT the only people to survive the flood were Noah and his family, all who were deemed by LORD Jehovah GOD Almighty to be worthy of saving, and thus if the WTS is correct (hypothetically speaking) there were no ungodly people left to start those pagan holidays to mourn their ancestors who died in the flood!If The WT is correct none of the ancestors of the flood were ancestors of the people LORD Jehovah GOD Almighty destroyed at the flood, unless possibly they were ancestors of Noah's wife and/or the wives of Noah's four sons (since the Bible does not name the immediate ancestors of those women).

34

Here's a question that I guarantee no one has ever thought of!

by nowwhat? in

unlike men who took no note, surely the fallen angels knew of gods plan to flood the earth, so why didn't they build an ark(s) for their nephilum sons?

.

Disillusioned JW

Yesterday I was telling a co-worker that though being obedient often has many benefits, it is over rated. I mention that the WTS stresses obedience, obedience, obedience! They stress obedience to the GB and the WTS, to one's labor union (if any) at work, to one's governments (including not even participating in protest marches against injustices by one's government(s) and including not speaking out against one's government or governments), to one's employer (including not starting a labor union at work), to ones husband (in the case of married women), and to one's parents.I told my co-worker that our nation (the USA) was founded by being rebellious towards an unjust ruler (the one who was the king of England at the time).

To the WTS it doesn't matter if any of ones authority figures are in error and requiring one to do foolish things if they are doing bad things to you, do what ever they say proving they aren't telling to break a law of Jehovah (as defined by the GB and WTS)! That teaching of the WTS is wrong and it annoys me greatly!

22

1914- responsible for the biggest decrease in JW's?

by joey jojo in

theres a couple of threads re: 1914 on the board right now and it got me thinking.. the jw doctrine of the 1914 generation is a key doctrine , yet it is probably the number one reason most have left over the decades.. 1975- within one generation.. 1995 - new understanding of the word generation.. 2010- overlapping generation first mentioned- some anointed survive armageddon.. 2015- infamous overlapping generations chart featuring david splane.. its obvious the org is changing the goalposts and constantly trying to squeeze as much time as they can before they have to abandon this altogether.

or will they come up with something new?.

does anyone else think this ever changing doctrine is responsible for the biggest loss of members?.

Disillusioned JW

Blondie, I think the JW got the idea (whether directly or indirectly) from some of Russell's literature. That is because I think I read in Russell's literature that the term "day and the hour" doesn't mean that Christians couldn't learn the year (and the season and the month). I think that Russell might have also written that while Jesus and others didn't know the time (or even the year) when Jesus spoke the words in the 1st century AD/B.C.E, people in Russell's day could learn it because Jehovah provided inspiration/insight then.

27

Pimo's walking out

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

is it possible that jw's would get so worn out by watchtower 's bullshit that they would stand up gather their stuff and walk out of a meeting or a convention.

i can see a small number doing it..

Disillusioned JW

Sea Breeze, that terminology you used is very informative. I wish I had thought of it that way when I was a baptized JW, and especially prior to being baptized. The JW people telling me thought-stopping cliche's were in effect trying to get me to stop thinking about the matters, even if they didn't realize that is what they were doing. In turn they learned those expressions, and the idea that one should use such, from reading the WT's literature. That is one more insidious way the WT manipulated me! Drats! If JW people hadn't spoken that way to me (though it probably happened only a few times) and if the WTS literature hadn't instructed people that way (something they did more often) I probably would have thought about the matters more and possibly left sooner or never got baptized as a JW.

Folks, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9 for more information. One example it gives is "Stop thinking so much." The people saying such might mean well, but in some situations it would be beneficial to think more about what one was thinking about at the time. But ending a certain line of thought is not always a bad thing to do, it depends on the reason for doing so.

I wish that some make a list of the statements in WTS literature which are used by the WTS to manipulate people, including examples of use of thought-stopping cliche's. Listing numerous instances of such would help me and others to see not just the types used but also the frequency of the usage.

49

Start of the Great Tribulation will be announced soon

by joey jojo in

at the 2021 annual meeting, samuel herd revealed new light and claimed the anointed will all have passed away before armageddon.

it has since been revealed that while they will die before armageddon, there will be some anointed still around that will witness the start of the great tribulation.. so the question is, how many years until the existing members of the governing body have passed away?.

im not a doctor, but based on their age and various stages of obesity, im thinking 10- 15 years- give or take, sounds about right.. with that in mind, the great tribulation could be announced any day.. the new understanding has now freed the org from the burden of having to identify a particular generation in relation to the date of armageddon.

Disillusioned JW

blondie, don't you mean 120 years before the flood, instead of 120 days before the flood?

28

Shocking Letter Reveals Jehovah's Witnesses True Beliefs! - YouTube 'xjw curious'

by Mace.Bean in

youtube's 'xjw curious,' pete corbeil, reads proselytizing letter written by a pimo jw who simply shares current watchtower teachings like no other jw.

use google drive link below to print your own copies of this letter.

(114) shocking letter reveals jehovah's witnesses true beliefs!

Disillusioned JW

Correction: I meant to say "... I have not read many specific examples of such having happened".

28

Shocking Letter Reveals Jehovah's Witnesses True Beliefs! - YouTube 'xjw curious'

by Mace.Bean in

youtube's 'xjw curious,' pete corbeil, reads proselytizing letter written by a pimo jw who simply shares current watchtower teachings like no other jw.

use google drive link below to print your own copies of this letter.

(114) shocking letter reveals jehovah's witnesses true beliefs!

Disillusioned JW

Please provide specific examples of edits/revisions and re-issuing of publications. I ask this because though I have read a number of posts saying such are happening, I have read many specific examples of such having happened. The claims being made are very interesting to me.