Posts by passwordprotected

14

When did jehovah's witnesses become "the truth"?

by Hobo Ken in

jw
friends

what's the best explanation?.

always since russell founded them?.

chosen in a specific year by jesus?.

passwordprotected

....and for those looking for the blog article, it can be found here.

Excerpt:

Jehovah's Witnesses have the "truth" right?

Now any witness will tell you they believe they are the true religion on earth right now....

But is that based upon their current beliefs and standing with God?

Or have they perhaps always been God's chosen ones since C . T. Russell founded them?

Or as Franz believed attained such a lofty title at a specific time?

One of the above must be what they believe.

In my opinion the answer to these questions lies in a long term strategy by Governing Body 2.0 to re-shape or abandon doctrines and overhaul the public/religious image of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In the days of men like Fred Franz and his ilk they totally believed in their own press and thus felt they were in a position of having “special insight”. Fred Franz was merely following in the footsteps of "judge" Rutherford and his predecessor Charles Russell, the religion's founder in his mind-set.

Franz believed they were "chosen" by Jesus himself during an "invisible" visit to earth to inspect the world's religions around the year 1919 a.d.

Now how does that above statement sound ? Would a "householder" in the 21century be likely to buy into that during a visit from a Jehovah's Witness at their door?
Remember ultimately they are a publishing corporation with a product to "sell" whether that be books, donations to the cause or joining the religion. Products have to be saleable and attractive to prospective buyers.

So the previous "product" sold. The end is coming! The people flooded in and so did the money......
Unfortunately the product had passed it's sell-by date in the shape of the combined "insights" of Russell, Rutherford and Franz when they turned out to be poorly judged guesswork and idle speculation at best.

125

JWs Not Allowed to Post on Websites?

by StandFirm in

this seems to be a favorite topic to bring up to any witnesses who post on any website where there are any opposers, either here or topix or anywhere.. so, here is the one and only place i will be discussing it.

who can prove that witnesses are specifically told not to post on websites about them?.

passwordprotected

A couple of things. First off, StandFirm is a tryer.

His blog (http://stayawake-standfirm.blogspot.com/) and his never-say-die atttitude to defending the Governing Body are what inspired me to start my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

In general he's fair, but at other times he's hugely blinkered and selective. But that's mind control. In my opinion he's earned his stripes when it comes to stepping out and standing firm in defence of the Society and the Governing Body.

His tone of argumentation, that you're witnessing, has been learned at Topix. So, don't expect him to curl up and die, do expect him to pick up on any perceived logical fallacy, etc. Yes, this will frustrate you, but he won't be as bad as reniaa or [insert weird JW apologist here].

Secondly, however, some of the reactions to his initial question have been sooooo JWN in their tone of puerile snickering. Grow up, people. You know who you are.

7

The Abuse - and Cover Up - of Children, With No Support from the Elders...

by passwordprotected in

...isn't unique to the watch tower society.. the trial took place in march 2008. prior to the trial, not knowing how the young man would plead, we asked pastor dh to come with pastor sw ready to give testimony on our childs behalf if needed.

pastor dh made it known to us they were not coming to the courthouse.

i explained to him if the young man pleaded not guilty, our child would then have to get up in front of the court and reveal the entire ordeal along with answering questions from the attorneys.

passwordprotected

I'm realising that the WTBTS and its problems with child abuse isn't unique. That could be why the mainstream media and governments don't make too much of a fuss about it.

7

The Abuse - and Cover Up - of Children, With No Support from the Elders...

by passwordprotected in

...isn't unique to the watch tower society.. the trial took place in march 2008. prior to the trial, not knowing how the young man would plead, we asked pastor dh to come with pastor sw ready to give testimony on our childs behalf if needed.

pastor dh made it known to us they were not coming to the courthouse.

i explained to him if the young man pleaded not guilty, our child would then have to get up in front of the court and reveal the entire ordeal along with answering questions from the attorneys.

passwordprotected

...isn't unique to the Watch Tower Society.

The trial took place in March 2008. Prior to the trial, not knowing how the young man would plead, we asked pastor DH to come with pastor SW ready to give testimony on our child’s behalf if needed. Pastor DH made it known to us they were not coming to the courthouse. I explained to him if the young man pleaded not guilty, our child would then have to get up in front of the court and reveal the entire ordeal along with answering questions from the attorneys. It didn’t matter, they still weren’t coming. His response to us was, “I have my church’s reputation to consider.”….[the pastors ultimately showed up after the threat of a subpoena].

This article explores the cover up of child abuse within the fairly large "reformed" (i.e. Calvinist) Sovereign Grace Ministries (link to Wikipedia article) church network. Watch for the similarities to how the Watch Tower Society deals with victims of abuse, especially the unco-operative attitude from the leaders.

In my experience of Christianity, "reformed" evangelical Christians (who often refer to themselves as Calvinists) are probably more arrogant than the Witnesses when it comes to believing they have "the truth". The disturbing part is that there's a heck of a lot more of them (65-70 million), and their influence is spreading. They make me sick.

32

As The Governing Body Tightens its Grip...

by passwordprotected in

two and a half years ago i predicted that the governing body was going to have to tighten its grip on the rank and file witnesses.. "it's time to get in the compound, brothers and sisters...." it's classic sleight of hand.

distract your audience.

pull off the trick.

passwordprotected

IMO the future noo light has to be big enough that they are already indicating to the r&f that they should be happy about any new changes they receive from GB which to me indicated they are preparing them for the future big changes in doctrine.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, you've hit the nail on the head.

Before I left I started noticing comments about obeying them even if it seems "unsafe" to do so. They need to bring in big changes to their eschatology, but before they do so they need to condition the drones to obey without question, even more so than usual.

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

What about the supposedly liberal stance on education? Has that gotten more liberal or more hardline?

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

Talking about dress and grooming, gotta love these guys... I wonder where The Governing Body gets its ideas from;

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

Let's be pragmatic for a minute, and use a 5 year timescale.

Who of us, while we were active JWs 5 years ago, would have thought that the WTBTS would publish revisions to the 1935 theology and the "generation" theology, which itself was tweaked twice in quick succession, which would severly readjust their eschatology?

Who of us, while we were active JWs 5 years ago, would have thought that the WTBTS would abolish the home group arrangement, and all but outlaw (via the September 2007 KM Question Box) private group Bible study?

The Watch Tower Society, under the direction of The Governing Body, does whatever it needs to do to protect its assets. And its assets are money and property. That means they will absolutely make sure their butt is covered legally. That also means they need a hard core acolyte following that only ever farts when they're allowed to.

Faders do not fall in line with that.

The WTBTS will only get more hardline. They need to run a tighter ship.

Perhaps this needs to move to a new thread?

32

As The Governing Body Tightens its Grip...

by passwordprotected in

two and a half years ago i predicted that the governing body was going to have to tighten its grip on the rank and file witnesses.. "it's time to get in the compound, brothers and sisters...." it's classic sleight of hand.

distract your audience.

pull off the trick.

passwordprotected

@Black Sheep

You raise a good point. However, do JWs place the same important on 1914 as they did back, say, in the 1980s or 90s? During my exit an elder told me 1914 was merely the end of the Gentile Times, nothing more.

Really? Is that all 1914 was?