i have concluded that elders are people who take it as their right to torture any baptised member of the congregation who will not conform to their standards.. why do i say this?.
basically i think they see anyone who does not live up to their standards as a threat in which they risk exposure to fealings they would rather die than face.
(the irony they pride themselfs in thinking they are in the "truth").
once again, out of my own expereince, and of few I know, there are sincere types of elders, who may have some doubts, but "wait on jehovah".
Sooner or later this may create a problem (like in my case), but in the meantime, they really think, they work for the benefit of the flock and under the direction of God.
Especially as an elder, you are kept busy with indoctrination of others and yourself, there is little time to pursue doubting thoughts that come up in your mind.
i have concluded that elders are people who take it as their right to torture any baptised member of the congregation who will not conform to their standards.. why do i say this?.
basically i think they see anyone who does not live up to their standards as a threat in which they risk exposure to fealings they would rather die than face.
(the irony they pride themselfs in thinking they are in the "truth").
sorry for you bad experiences, partly the ORG is to blame for putting a sense of self-importance into members, who can calim the "thocratical" career, whule being a "nobody" in rela world.
Even during my pre-apostate time, I always respected the views and decisions of the brothers, as much as the WTS allowed it of course..and so did some I know personally.
remember, most elders are just captives of a concept as well....
this question was inspired by a question on another thread.
to the ex-jw community here,.
do any of you regret learning that wt is not god's organization?
good question, i asked myself many times:
not sure, what is better, but the real question is: are we all morally entitlet to know the truth ?
I think we all are, but living in an illusion can at times be easier.
However, for me personally, its a 2-edged sword. On the one hand, I feel no more guilt about not doing enough, not being the super-dub like others, about recreational activities, about work-decisions etc.
This is a great relief, I do not regret.
On the other hand, while still in, there are a lot of problems arising, how long can you support something on the outside, while on the inside you are far gone ?
Sometimes I do wish, i never knew.....but its only sometimes...
i have expressed in this forum that sometimes im confused as to what will be my ultimate decision.
at this point in my life there is too much at stake.
first, my own emotional estate, ill hate to bitterly regret the years expend taking unnecessary emotional abuse and theocratic bulling.
very interesting and well put story.
in many ways, I fight with the same troubles.
Our Congo is probably different ot the average conge. We have quit some well educated brothers, were you can even have deep discussions. Apparentely they did not take every word of the WTS as gold, since they took higher education for example.
The BOE is in general caring and reasonable. Just exclude some nonsense teaching of the WTS, and yes, the congo would be really a nice place...
the main question is: Can you do more good being in, even though by supporting the WTS some collateral damage will be done ? Or is it better to leave everything behind, following your own path of truth, but probably not being able to help anybody else ?
Once you turn officially apostate, nobody will listen to you anymore, you are in line with Satan then...
i totally appreciate the posters who have a ton of bible knowledge and love research, but me being a witness for a few decades find myself not really interested in many of the discussions here and at the meeting.
the current "grace/undeserved kindness" post by sir82 is a prime example.. first off i do know that my personality is to be sceptical about most things, and i usually focus on things that i can see or are more simple, especially if it is a topic i am less interested in.. but am i bad because i don't really care if jesus died on a cross of stake?
or i am not interested in trying to figure out when (and if ) jehovah is going to take care of wicked people or resurrect dead people........ i kind of figure we will find out when it happens.. sometimes if feel stupid about bible things, but i take pride in trying to live by the basic bible principles and laws (about stealing, adultery, bad language, etc), although i do have a good deal of general knowledge about the bible, i could care less about breaking down the different "loves" in the hebrew language or greek language, or whatever..... i guess i have a similar knowledge of the scriptures as the "christians" before the wts "helped us figure it out" starting around 1900. .
no,not bad at all, had to force myself reading the bible, especially the OT can be broing at times, however, there is something
that we (ex and current JW) should have done from the beginning: read the context !!! esp. of scriptures WTS uses for their
control and self-boasting attitude.
Then, maybe, we would have seen, that shunning (2. John 10,11) applies not to DFD persons, that the faithful slave is not a prophesied class just an illustration, that the second coming of Christ is not seen through world events, that the 7 times of Daniel have no indication pointing to establishment of the heavenly kingdom 1914, etc...
then, maybe, we would have been spared of lots of garbage, mind control, heart ache, inner conflicts....
i give the movie a 6.5 score.
the scenery was wonderful, but the plot was not zipped up well.
it sort of follows the story-line of "dances with wolves", but in space.. .
seen it, in 3D, really recommend to watch in 3D, speciual effects are stunning, story is ok, nothing great, but ok...
also sister overzealous and self-righteous from our hall even seen it the other day...
so I guess, most JW wont object it...
comments you will not hear at the 01-03-2010 wt study (november 15, 2009, pages 3-7)(your prayers).
review comments will be in red or headed by comments.
wt material from today's wt will be in black.
penny2: personally i dont like this group hand holding either, but thats my personal opinion, if I dont like it, i dont do it !! No need to make a rule out of it...
hm, I found out the phone number and called, and guess what ?
the householder was just praying to God to find the truth.
Immedietaley started a bible study over the phone, because he never can leave his home, Satan put too many doors blocking him...
got some info from the annual meeting.. unofficially, the 'generation' is now categorized as 2 groups.
the first is 'the 1914 group' and the second is the younger anointed 'contemporaries' who 'actually work for a period of time with those anointed ones'.. the 'generation' is now 'the lifespan of those who actually saw the beginning of the sign and then the lifespan of those who worked with those who saw the beginning of the sign'.. here we go again....
teel, I was thinking the exact same, but then, I believe, they are just so sure of themselves, they pull out anything they want, the "spritual strong" ones will follow them, no doubt.
What was the reaction of most JW to last WT-article nonsense rule about public paryer behaviour (not embracing etc) ??
well, its from "mother", so its gold....no critic allowed...
or why do you think, humility is soo emphasized ? (twisting real humility to braindead submission actaully)
i got this from a close friend -.
this past weekend, the family attended the circus assembly.
i skipped it, and didnt get a hard time for not going, which was a first.. anyway, my family didnt want to tell me about a couple of points from the d.o.
going to watch the movie tonight
