just got called by a lovely elder(ly) woman trying to get a conversation started about the state of affairs in the world and if it is ever going to get better (this introduction is so old, this came straight from the old 1980's brown book of conversation starters).
at first i asked whether she was a telemarketer, no, she is a "bible student".
i hadn't heard that in a while, so i asked her what denomination, she kind of struggled and quietly said i'm one of jehovah's witnesses - the embarrassment was palpable.. so i said, oh, i'm one of jehovah's witnesses too!
Q: Would be believe the Bible over the Watchtower?
A: I would have to research that.
Yikes!
That is like asking -
Q: Would you listen to God over the Governing Body?
A: I would have to think on that.
I guess Jehovah's Witnesses are actually a polytheistic religion. They worship many gods. At least 8 of them.
a newspaper article quotes a jw as saying "every (letter) i put in the mailbox, i feel, 'ah, this could reach somebody.
'" the article also quotes her as saying "we are accomplishing even more now than we were door-to-door because this way everybody in the house gets a chance to pick up that letter and respond to it.
it just feels good.
We got the letter about 6 months ago. It is just members paying via postage to advertise JW.org. The Watchtower would be better off upgrading their business model by actually paying for advertising online to get people to go to their website. I won't say that will never happen as I never thought the religion would turn out the way it looks now either.
i was talking to an ex-jw.
not been out as long as i have.. cut a long story short, i came to realise that i can no longer be bothered to debate jws if (on the rare occasion), i have encountered them.. i think that because i am somewhere circling a nihilistic atheist it seems pointless.
i just don't have the energy because i rarely even think about jw related garbage.
I would welcome a conversation with an active JW about their doctrine. There was a time when JWs were supposed to be able to defend their faith. The Watchtower wanted JWs to study their publications and the Bible to make a competent defense of their faith. Not any longer.
Now JWs are NOT to study. The Watchtower only wants members to listen and obey. When JWs are challenged about their beliefs the are a one-trick pony - "Go to JW.org for the answers to all your questions."
the thread about old timers got me thinking about trends i see with the watchtower.
i've changed my opinion about where the organization stands.
when i joined the religion in 1973 it was dynamic, even the small congregation i attended sent out three or four pioneers.
We as a human species are evolving in our way of thinking. Rationality has replaced the past. The only religions that will survive are ones that encourage doubt and truth seeking. That is certainly not evangelical Christianity and especially not Jehovah's Witnesses.
i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.
this is your crash course.
i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.
In regards to bullet point "E" -
Doctrine changes from time to time. The Watchtower never acknowledges the hardships, damage, and even deaths caused by their doctrines after the change. The Watchtower simple makes the statement that there is "new understanding" under their doctrine of "New Light". The change is to be accepted and the past doctrine or the problems it caused are to never be mentioned.
i'm just thinking of examples of jw doublethink.. here's one - jws will tell a bible study or unbaptised publisher that there is no hierarchy within the org.
they typically remark on christendom's hierarchy but then say 'we are all brothers'.
but as a person gets further into the cult, jws will constantly stress the need to obey the governing body.. jw hierarchy .
The greatest JW double think I can come up with is this -
The Watchtower advocates in its printed publications for all people to examine their religion for the purpose of finding out whether or not it is "the truth". Conversely, the Watchtower and its leaders, the Governing Body, prohibit their followers from examining the teachings of the Watchtower for their accuracy. To simply question a belief of the Watchtower is to risk being shunned by their organization. Followers are advised to simply accept what they are told and to question it is to question God. In short, that is the central belief of all Protestant/Reformation/Evangelic Christian denominations - Never question those taking the lead as that is the same as questioning God.
An unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates
i am finishing to read the entire bible (nwt 2013) for my first time (my fault) and i wrote down hundreds, maybe thousands, of questions not clear to me, but one especially came in my mind meditating on god's name.. if i wanted to summarize the entire bible in one phrase i would say (even before the kingdom): god’s name sanctification.. god is jealous about his name.
he does everything for the love of his name, and he wants to be called and prayed using his name.
no doubt about all this (repeated several times in the bible), but it involves the pronunciation of his name.. god left us his name in the form of יהוה which is unpronounceable.
To add on to the OP frustration, we were taught to offer our prayers "in Jesus' name" as Jesus is the intermediary between God and imperfect humans. "Jesus" is English for the Latin version of the Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) as there is no way to translate the Hebrew name ישוע (Y'shua) into Greek. Some words and names just don't translate into other languages.
So Jehovah's Witnesses are told by the Watchtower to pray to Jehovah (a made up name created by a Catholic monk) through Jesus' name, which is also made up.
If you were born in England, the U.S., or any other nation whose language is English and your name is John I am sure you would appreciate it if people called you John even if you were to travel to Spanish speaking nations where they would use Juan instead of John. A person's name doesn't change based on geography or national language of translators.
i realize many here think that in-person meetings will return as soon as things are safe with covid.
but many acknowledge it will likely be 2022 or later when this happens.. surprisingly, many pimi jws in our congregation are not shy about saying they are fine with zoom meetings forever and do not want to go back to in-person meetings.
many speculate similar thoughts that are on this site....such as a combination of in-person and zoom meetings.
If the Watchtower reduced meetings to a 45 minute public talk on Sunday and only asked for 1 hour a week of standing next to a literature cart for publishing hours Witnesses would through a ticker tape parade.
i posted this item a few weeks ago (link below) with a compilation of items that could happen as the organization unravels - even though many (including myself) may find it unlikely, improbable or simply too much of a change to believe.. https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5165806634663936/drastic-upcoming-changes-accelerated-pandemic.
as an active pimo though, i came up with the list in the above post simply from the standpoint that very significant changes have been occurring on an ongoing basis and sometimes i think even very active witnesses do not realize it.
a few major items that have been ongoing or were singular events listed below.
8. Elimination of the Theocratic Ministry School
while we are talking about economic stimulus i thought i’d bring up the $15 minimum wage.
pros and cons?.
I bet you will find that most people make over the minimum wage. My question here is, what was the grocer paying before, 14.75 (even though the minimum wage was 7.25)?
$10.50 and hour was the starting wage.
I think what it comes down to is pricing. Pricing in driving main street out of business and only Wall Street can be profitable. The restaurant business is just one example of this. You can drive overhead down by getting a bulk discount on supplies.
I remember when I was in high school all the local comic book shops worked together to get their overhead down. In the U.S., all comics are purchased from the same distributor. The bigger the order, the lower the cost per issue. When 5 stores located in 2 neighboring cities put in one order to the distributor the started saving money and that kept their doors open.
