Posts by dropoffyourkeylee

49

Dissenters in Watchtower History: Differing Departures

by slimboyfat in

i'm reading an excellent book about defectors from the mormon church called differing visions: dissenters in mormon history.

through a collection of essays from many academic authors it looks at the life stories of dissenters and reasons for departure, as well as analysing the impact of their dissent on the church itself.

fascinating stuff and makes me wish there was a similar volume looking at the key dissenters from jws/watchtower and the impact they had.

dropoffyourkeylee

I think dissenters who left at the 1918 schism were much more influential than are generally thought of nowadays. Paul S L Johnson was one (mentioned in the original post). I used to have some of his books which he called the 'Epiphany Studies in the Scriptures'. Scanning thru them (didn't have the patience to read them all, as they are pretty dry and there are 17 volumes) I began to realize that there was an ongoing sparring between the WT at the time and Johnson. Johnson would publish an interpretation and the WT would print a rebuttal. Johnson founded the LHMM, which is still in existence and has a small following.

Likewise the ones who left and founded the other 'evil slave' organizations (like the Dawn) were influential in taking out at least half of the Bible Students of the time away from the WT. I don't remember all their names, but I remember A. I. Ritchie being one. During the 20's thru the 50's these people were the 'apostates' to watch out for.

These people and their movements are scarcely a threat now to the WT, but they left an indelible mark.

24

Why JWs record and report time?

by ThinkerBelle in

okay, so yes, i'm a born-in, but this point has always baffled me (and i guess i never bothered to research or ask).

what is the purpose of counting time in service?

when was it started and why?

dropoffyourkeylee

The requirement started around the early 20's. My theory is that it was originally motivated by the need to support the men's claim of being a minister before the draft board. One of the things that got Rutherford in jail in 1918 was that they were giving an affidavit of 'membership' but didn't have a way to prove it, beyond the lame reason that he subscribed to the W T . The time record has still served that purpose in more recent times.

35

Did you like hymns as a jw?

by jean-luc picard in

jw
friends

i was just explaining to mrs picard........ never a jw, and not english, how we used to celebrate the harvest festival, when i was 7 and younger, before my parents converted to jw'ism.. i loved to sing "we plough the fields and scatter".

of course, singing such hymns is, to a jw, paramount to apostasy,with the death penalty like punishment the ensued.. how really stupid their harsh rules.. did you have any favourite hymns?.

i think we would all agree, that they beat the pants off the "kingdom melodies".

dropoffyourkeylee

I like Be thou my vision, and The water is wide

35

Did you like hymns as a jw?

by jean-luc picard in

jw
friends

i was just explaining to mrs picard........ never a jw, and not english, how we used to celebrate the harvest festival, when i was 7 and younger, before my parents converted to jw'ism.. i loved to sing "we plough the fields and scatter".

of course, singing such hymns is, to a jw, paramount to apostasy,with the death penalty like punishment the ensued.. how really stupid their harsh rules.. did you have any favourite hymns?.

i think we would all agree, that they beat the pants off the "kingdom melodies".

dropoffyourkeylee

Many hymns evoke emotional response and really stick with people. My mom's final clear memories were the wors to hymns, not a single kingdom melody, but the old hymns from her childhood.

12

Is there a Ministerial Servant Qualification Change?

by Simon Templar in

it used to be that if an adult child (either a non-believer or disfellowshiped/disassociated) lived "under your roof" and lived by the "bible standards of the home", the father could be appointed either a ms or elder as the case may be.

of course, if the adult child was a believer and a member of the congregation, they had to be exemplary.

i overheard at the meeting yesterday, taking place in a side conversation held in the corner, that if this living condition exists, the father cannot be appointed because of the presence of the non-participating adult child in the home.

dropoffyourkeylee

This has been the practice for as long as I can remember. If an elder has a grown child out of ten truth, he either kicks the child out of his house or else steps down as an elder.

166

Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

by thedepressedsoul in

here is an idea i tested.

works at both assemblies and conventions.

i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

dropoffyourkeylee

Lol, I would almost go just to see that

22

Online Watchtower publications archives?

by slimboyfat in

years ago i remember there being a number of sites with pretty extensive archives of watchtower publications online.

can anyone direct me to the best current site for this material?

in particular i am looking for a booklet from 1898 called "the bible vs. the theory of evolution".

dropoffyourkeylee

Welcome back, slimboyfat.

30

Construction Halts & other cutbacks - Here's what I think happened

by Listener in

to get to the point straight away i think the crane accident that occurred at warwick was a significant catalyst that has caused the org.

to change its plans suddenly.. list of assumptions, not all of them are validated.

- there was a serious crane accident that occurred at warwick approx.

dropoffyourkeylee

I heard that in past projects (don't know about Warwick) the heavy steel work was done by outside contractors with union labor. Then the internal work was all done by volunteer workers. I think it likely that there is a mixture of outside contractors and JW volunteers (many amateurs). Not a good combination.

22

Online Watchtower publications archives?

by slimboyfat in

years ago i remember there being a number of sites with pretty extensive archives of watchtower publications online.

can anyone direct me to the best current site for this material?

in particular i am looking for a booklet from 1898 called "the bible vs. the theory of evolution".

dropoffyourkeylee

It's hard to believe, but my mom came into the truth in early '60's by reading the older literature (which meant the 30's and 40's literature). Looking at it now, the material is so bizarre. I guess in a different time and place it must have made sense and appealed to some.

166

Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

by thedepressedsoul in

here is an idea i tested.

works at both assemblies and conventions.

i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

dropoffyourkeylee

LOL, the whole idea is hilarious.

Here is another idea. Since the assembly programs are set in advance, a 'counterpoint' commentary for each talk could be streamed live as each talk is given, delivered right to the ipad of anyone curious enough to follow along.