Posts by Disillusioned JW

20

WT's Impact on Children

by Sea Breeze in

what is your opinion of the wt's impact on children?.

here, children get to connect the dots and see what will happen to you if you are disobedient.

.

Regarding the WT's teachings of the completion of 6,000 years of human existence an of other teachings notice what is said in the "THE AUTHOR'S FOREWORD" by Charles T. Russell dated October 1, 1916 to Volume II (The Time is at Hand) of Studies In the Scriptures. [See http://www.ctrussell.us/d01f9bc2626a96a38625699900786730/292532fd2e3e86a5862564520013da70_7b4ad6db.html .]

'This Volume makes no claim to infallibility, and no claim of any direct inspiration from God in the interpretation of His Word.

... The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great thousand-year Days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great Seventh Day, the thousand years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873. The events of these 43 years, which this Volume claims as the beginning of the Millennium, we still find fully corroborating Bible prophecies, as herein set forth. During these 43 years, nearly all the inventions of our day have been accomplished. The sewing machine, one of the first, began to reach its perfection 43 years ago. Since then, we have all kinds of farming machinery and tools, and workshop, store, factory and home conveniences, in abundance and cheap--through human invention. These are shortening the hours of labor, and doing away with the "sweat of face," which the Bible declares to be identified with the curse.

... We could not, of course, know in 1889, whether the date 1914, so clearly marked in the Bible as the end of the Gentile lease of power or permission to rule the world, would mean that they would be fully out of power at that time, or whether, their lease expiring, their eviction would begin. The latter we perceive to be the Lord's program; and promptly in August, 1914, the Gentile kingdoms referred to in the prophecy began the present great struggle, which, according to the Bible, will culminate in the complete overthrow of all human government, opening the way for the full establishment of the Kingdom of God's dear Son.

Notice that though bold claims were made, it was also stated that they were not claimed to be "... any direct inspiration from God in the interpretation of His Word." Russell and his WT organization was trying to have it both ways!

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

Thanks Earnest for informing me there was a person named Evander J. Coward and for indicating that the person named CHAS. A. SMITH (of the West Indies) was writing to Evander J. Coward. That clears up the confusion I had.

BoogerMan I think that Rutherford (but perhaps it was someone else) is the one who wrote the article praising Russell, since The Finished Mystery Mystery book also highly praises Russell and on page four calls him "the Lord's special servant to give the Household of Faith meat in due season" (see https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46016/46016-h/46016-h.html ). I think Rutherford wrote such things in order to gain more influence on the Board of Directors and within the Bible Student movement.

I included a portion of the article so that JWs could see that the WT officially taught for a period of time that Russell was the "Faithful and Wise Servant". Notice that the article says that if readers of the WT were to disregard the teachings of Russell's Studies In The Scriptures it would mean they were disregarding the Lord, disregarding Christ who chose Russell to dispense spiritual food ('meat') in due season! The article also says we should "hold fast to that which we have". No wonder many of the Bible Students held fast to the teachings of Russell and broke away from the Watch Tower (and the Watchtower) when Rutherford started making numerous doctrinal changes!

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

Holy smoke! Please read the following from page 391 of the December 15, 1916 issue of the Watch Tower which I read a moment ago at http://www.ctrussell.us/3e8bddb381ab8aff862566bd000abc73/2052dfe85588ea03862566eb0010a4bf_7b4ad6db.html . Most of the boldface was added by me for emphasis.

'THE WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY is the most wonderful and unusual Corporation on earth. It is the strongest corporation, not financially, but strong because it has been, and still is, used of the Lord for the carrying on of His work. It is unusual in this: that all who are in any wise connected with it gladly render their services without salary; those giving all of their time taking only the bare necessities of life. It will continue in the same manner as in the past to spread the Gospel, so long as the Lord indicates this as His will.

THE WATCH TOWER

This publication is the medium through which the Kingdom Message is brought regularly to the members of the "Household." "That Servant" used this medium to give out the "meat in due season." By his last Will and Testament he provided for the continuance of THE WATCH TOWER by a duly constituted Editorial Committee. The names of the members of this Editorial Committee appear upon the title page of each issue of THE WATCH TOWER. It is the province of this Committee to put in proper form and publish, twice each month, that which goes to the Church. THE WATCH TOWER is not the organ of the Editorial Committee. It is the official organ of the Church. It is the only publication in the world declaring the presence of the King and announcing the nearness of His Kingdom. Therefore, dear brethren, THE WATCH TOWER is your journal. It is the journal of every one in harmony with Present Truth, and its publication is for the benefit of all such. It will continue to publish only that which is in harmony with what "that Servant" has heretofore given to the "Household of Faith."

Shall we, then, continue to recognize in our Class-studies the Berean Bible lessons prepared by Brother Russell? Shall we continue to speak in our Class-studies of Brother Russell as the Lord's Servant who brought "meat in due season to the household of faith." Yes, indeed! Why not? If the Lord was pleased to use him for many years to give the "meat in due season" to the Church, then it is still "meat in due season," and the Berean lessons are essential for the development of those who shall be made partakers of the Kingdom. Should we now disregard the food contained in the STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES and other publications of THE WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, it would mean that we were repudiating or disregarding that which the Lord has graciously provided for our benefit. We must make the distinction between Brother Russell as a creature and his official capacity as "that servant" of the Master to give out the "meat in due season." To disregard the Message would mean to disregard the Lord.

Let us be courageous and faithful, dear brethren. Let us remember that in unity there is strength. The Lord will continue His work until it is finished. He will gather all of His true children into the Garner in due time. Shall we be of those thus gathered? That will depend upon whether or not we hold fast to that which we have; whether or not we remain loyal to the Lord and to His Message of the Kingdom.

The Lord's "faithful and wise servant" finished his work and left with us his message. His last words to the Church, as set forth in his Will and Testament, show how essential it is for every one who would enter the Kingdom to continue loyal, and faithfully develop the fruits and graces of the Spirit. He said, "I entreat you all that you continue to progress and to grow in grace, in knowledge, and above all in Love, the great fruit of the Spirit, in its various diversified forms. I exhort to meekness, not only with the world, but with one another; to patience with one another and with all men, to gentleness with all, to brotherly-kindness, to godliness, to purity. I remind you that all these things are necessary for us--necessary that we may attain the promised Kingdom; and that the Apostle has assured us that if we do these things we shall never fail, but that 'so an entrance shall be ministered unto us abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'" '

The article then says "ECCE HOMO!" in reference to Russell. Those words are a Latin translation a Greek phrase used in the NT about Jesus Christ. The phrase in English translates as "Behold the Man" or "Look, the man". The Latin phrase "Ecce Homo" is a also the main title of a book written by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (a very famous atheist) and first published in 1908.

The same WT article about Russell also says the following.

'God gave him a Message--he gave it to men: He patiently told it again and again. ... "Behold now the Man?--Or wait world-old way To pay him the tribute we owe him today? Stand reverently now, with uncovered head, And look on 'that Servant' and honor the dead! A Man has gone from us, leaving none in his place, Yet his Message of Truth men can never efface. He'd the mind of a master, the heart of a child, The courage of Caesar, a soul undefiled. He'd the love of a father, a shepherd's kind care, The faults of a human and sympathy rare. He lifted a standard and held it up high. He lived--ready to live and ready to die!" '

That article is very discrediting of the current WT organization for it has radically departed from much of what Russell taught, in contradiction to what the above article says must continue to be taught! One could say that WT article is damming of the current WT organization! Wow!

Page 31 of the January 15, 1916 issue of the Watch Tower includes a letter which apparently addresses 'JUDGE' J. F. RUTHERFORD as "MR. COWARD"! The letter also praises Rutherford for sending a copy of a publication which vindicates Russell (perhaps it is the same one which page 398 of the December 15, 1916 issue of the Watch Tower advertises as "Judge Rutherford's Defense of Pastor Russell"). [See http://www.ctrussell.us/3e8bddb381ab8aff862566bd000abc73/54bb2576107d50b0862566e900677ec7_7b4ad6db.html .] The letter says the following.

' "AN ECCLESIASTICAL BATTLE" BY
JUDGE J. F. RUTHERFORD.

DEAR MR. COWARD:--

I have to thank you for the copy of the vindication of Pastor Russell, which you were kind enough to send me, and which, I need hardly tell you, I read with interest, having, as you know, been to some extent prejudiced against your leader and his work.

Its perusal cannot fail to increase my interest in his writings, as each point raised by his champion carries conviction with it to any one who enters the jury-box with an open mind, as, thanks to your interview, I was prepared to do.

Again thanking you, and with best wishes for yourself and work, I am

Yours faithfully, CHAS. A. SMITH.--West Indies.'

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

waton, are you saying that now JWs only study the WT magazines (digital ones) while at the kingdom hall, and that none obtain paper copies of recent issues any more for use at the kingdom hall? Furthermore, perhaps at the KH a digital copy of the WT magazine is displayed on a computer/video monitor during the meetings.

My JW mother and JW sister do not have internet service at home and they don't have smart phones or tablet computers either (but I am told that a JW supplies them with digital WT Society content on a device which plugs into their digital TV/monitor). I sold off all my WT Watchtower bound volumes except for those from 1993 - 1999, but I kept my WT Awake! bound volumes from 1966 - 2008. I have the "Watchtower LIBRARY 1999" CD-ROM software (and the 1995 edition).

I do realize that much of the WT's new literature (and videos) are only published online and/or available as an download from the website.

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

Where can I find JWs and potential JWs who would like to read the old printed literature of the WT, and how can I share that literature with them without being officially removed from the religion and thus shunned by my JW family?

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

ThomasMore, by "they are redacting former writing as fast as they can" what exactly do you mean? Do you mean they are changing the wording of online copies (or blacking out portions of the text of them) on their website and revising in-print editions of their literature? Or do you mean they are tracking down copies of old out of print WT publications and destroying them? Regarding changing their literature are they acting like the evil government in the novel called Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four .] That book was required reading in the grade school or high school I attended.

An ex-JW close friend of mine has told me that the WT is making numerous changes to the wording of their literature, without mentioning in the literature that the publications are revised. Is that what you mean? Since much of their literature is now primarily accessed online rather than reading print editions, that is something they can easily do for their online content. Furthermore, much of modern human society, especially young people, do most of their reading online and in digital downloads rather than reading books printed on paper. That further makes it easier for the WT to secretly rewrite their literature, far easier than the fictional evil government in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four could.

My mother's house contains old WT literature (some of which my mother inherited from her mother and step-father) going back at least to the 1930s. I know that because I have seen them and browsed through them, including numerous books by Rutherford. Likewise my mother has books of her own from the 1940s onward which I also have seen. I have avoided telling any JW elder that such books are in my devout mother's home.

Years ago I sold off most my pre-1970 WT books (including the Russell books and most of the Rutherford books I had; I had bought them at a local thrift store and online), since I didn't think I could change the mind of any devout JW by inviting them to read them. Should I try to buy replacement copies of those books?

20

WT's Impact on Children

by Sea Breeze in

what is your opinion of the wt's impact on children?.

here, children get to connect the dots and see what will happen to you if you are disobedient.

.

Disillusioned JW

Thanks LongHairGal for sharing with sympathy for me and for sharing your experiences.

Foolednomore, please tell me some of the things which the professional told you about the WT being the source of your depression. My devout JW mother for many years was a psychiatric nurse at a large hospital.

20

WT's Impact on Children

by Sea Breeze in

what is your opinion of the wt's impact on children?.

here, children get to connect the dots and see what will happen to you if you are disobedient.

.

Disillusioned JW

Regarding 1975 I do believe that the WT made at least one false claim, namely that it marked 6,000 years of human existence. That is because I now know that anthropology (including archaeology) definitely show that humans - even our specific species of humans - have existed for more than 100,000 years! Furthermore, they show that even that the ancient city of Jericho dates back more than 10,000 years ago! Likewise, hypothetically speaking, if the biblical creative days of Genesis really took place each of them must have been millions of years longer than 7,000 years each.

Regarding Jericho, a city inhabited today and now under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, see https://www.travelujah.com/touring/ancient-ity-of-jericho-marks-10-000-years and https://www.britannica.com/place/Jericho-West-Bank . The Britannica article says the following.

"By about 8000 bce the inhabitants had grown into an organized community capable of building a massive stone wall around the settlement, strengthened at one point at least by a massive stone tower." Think about it folks; a literal watchtower - perhaps the very first one - existed by about 10,000 years ago. For the WT religion isn't that ironic?!

20

WT's Impact on Children

by Sea Breeze in

what is your opinion of the wt's impact on children?.

here, children get to connect the dots and see what will happen to you if you are disobedient.

.

Disillusioned JW

Note: In the last paragraph of my prior post I ran out to time to revise it to say the following. "A number of other times I experienced harassment (including racial insults) and threats of violence with 'worldly' people, but nothing like that with JWs or Kingdom Hall attending children of JWs (except for some harassment from one preteen child of JWs). When in a group of JWs I always felt very safe (including at district conventions) but not always when in a group of non-JWs."

20

WT's Impact on Children

by Sea Breeze in

what is your opinion of the wt's impact on children?.

here, children get to connect the dots and see what will happen to you if you are disobedient.

.

Disillusioned JW

LongHairGal, while I was a grade school child I would sometimes play outside on my block with kids from my side of the block and the ones on the opposite side of my street. Many times they would harass me (only one of them was raised by JW parents) and sometimes even try to start a fight with me, and I never knew why. I tried to get along with them. To the best I could determine it was either due to racism (I am a multiracial brown skinned person and they were all white) or because I tried to always be very good (to the best of my ability) and tried to avoid getting into fights and tried to avoid doing other things which the JW religion says is bad (such as playing with toy guns or celebrating pagan holidays or using 'foul' language).

My bedroom French windows had a latch on them to hold the windows shut but no actual lock. On many days I would have the windows open to let in cool breezes. There was a tall bush below the windows. One of the kids, a very bratty 'worldly' kid who caused troubles for me climbed up on the bush and reached out to come into the open windows! I closed the windows and he went away. Another time, but when the windows were closed, the troublesome kid not only climbed up the bush, but he also opened the windows and reached into (or nearly into) my bedroom while I was in my room! I thus pushed him away and closed the windows and then I never saw come up to my second story window again. But, one day either my Mickey Mouse watch (from my bedroom) or my sister's Minny Mouse watch was missing from the house (I forget which, maybe both happened) and I presume he stole it (or them).

One day on the grade school play ground 'worldly' kids took terms kicking my butt and when I would chase after one of them, one of them would kick me from behind. In high school a kid kept on jumping onto my back in gym. I would bend over and he would slide off my back and then get back on and the process would repeat. Why in the world did he act that way? Admittedly for a time even a Hispanic boy raised by JW parents caused me some problems, but thankfully in high school he didn't cause me any problems. In high school he was an A student.

A number of times I when I would open my high school locker (which had a built-in combination lock) I would find that some things (pencils?) were stolen from it and that some unwanted things had been put into it. I wondered how that could happen and who did it. Small things can be slid through slits on the door and the bottom and top of the door can possibly be bent open while the door it locked. Maybe the kid knew how to 'crack' the lock. I later bought a combination padlock and put it on the lock and started keeping my things in a hard to reach place of the lock (near the level of the locks) and that solved the problems. It wasn't until college that I no longer had any problems with 'worldly' people in school.

In one banking office job I had, about 10 years after I graduated from college/university, one non-JW young person (probably a non-Christian) started verbally harassing me (but carefully done in a way which probably couldn't get him in trouble, and he made himself a friend of the boss) multiple times a day after he learned I was a JW (I mentioned to him and the other two co-workers sitting close to me that I don't celebrate holidays and birthdays) - holidays and birthdays were celebrated in the workplace and thus my non-observance of such was noticeable. I think the guy was a non-Christian (and probably an atheist) because when I first met him he told me that he got a Christian woman to quit work and that I was her replacement (I and he were working through a temporary agency).

A number of other times I had problems with 'worldly' people, but hardly any problems with JWs or Kingdom Hall attending children of JWs. When in a group of JWs I always felt safe (including at district conventions) but not always when in a group of non-JWs.