even if you disapprove of much about the wt and/or its religion, what aspects do you view most favorably about the wt and/or its religion?
for me one of the things i view most favorably about the wt and its religion is its extremely strong insistence that jws never intentionally kill another human being.
i especially appreciate that regarding those who have been born, but i think some abortions of human embryos might be justifiable.
Using the logic of the WT, God would have to appoint people to specifically violate his laws in order to fulfill the governmental ministry He called them to!
Whether I pull the trigger or pay someone else to do it, I am still responsible for a persons death. I agree with Sea Breeze on this one. If government agents with "swords" use those swords the way they are intended they are doing God's will as He appointed them to do so.
do you think most of what they cover is accurate?
do you trust the media , especially mainstream?.
The fact that people in the U.S. choose which cable new network to get their "news" from based on their political ideology say it all. In the U.S. you are better off watching your local station news.
It is not just a matter of how much opinion and spin that get put on news stories. It is also a matter of what stories will be covered and those that one. Stories that do not support a particular political ideology on the surface may be outright ignored.
we had a fancy dress up party in our congregation.
elders special pioneers and many others came, though some came as cowboys and pirates with guns and swords which was not in line with the watchtowers "beat your swords into plough sheers.
" some sisters were belly dancers....yes they exposed their stomachs.....shock horror!
For some reason pirates and cross-dressing always seems to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Ironically, the problem with pirates has been stated as "the are known rapists." You mean like countless Witnesses you shield from local authorities?
to the majority of people who investigate the activities of the wts from its beginning history there were obvious false proclamations and doctrines propagated by the wts.. a matter of fact the wts produced a long list of literature that posted proclamations on the front cover and went into detail of things that were suppose to happen, from jesus returning changing the world in which we live and so on.. wonderful things one might say but not factual or either theologically correct .
.
The number 1 cost of any organization is its personnel/employees. With volunteers running printing presses and food being grown on "The Farm" the overhead was extremely low.
As a kid I remember going to the magazine counter at the Kingdom Hall and paying $0.25 per magazine. That $0.25 went directly to the Watchtower. When I sold that magazine to a householder for $0.25 I would give that money to the Watchtower as well. So now the Watchtower was getting $0.50 per magazine. This was at the same time I was paying $0.50 for a Spider-Man comic book at my local gas station. The gas station and Marvel Comics made a profit off the sale of that comic book. I promise you the employees of the gas station and Marvel Comics are not a volunteer labor force.
Here is a bit of truth I recently learned - the human brain is wired to believe anything that is beneficial to it. Living forever in perfect health in a paradise sure sounds beneficial. People can't handle life and the can't handle the idea of dying either. Humans are the only known organism on Earth that is conscious that one day they will die.
it's pretty easy to see how current events would have any jw convinced the end is imminent, but i just don't see how there could be a major push for zealous service, pioneering, etc.
decades into the future.
even if (when) world events happen periodically that could scare the r&f, there are now countless hours of hd video of jw leaders saying how close the end is.
I see a valid point made by Redvip2000 and Jofi-Wofo. I remember the overlapping generations doctrine being introduced in 1995. I was in my early 20s, a Ministerial Servant, and as about as active as a Witness could get. I remember newspapers covering the doctrine change and interviewing longtime Witnesses who left over it. I just shrugged it off.
I also agree with Road to Nowhere - the game changer is the internet. Not just the internet, but mobile internet. I have read posters on this very website who have stated they were reading posts from this forum on their mobile device in the middle of a meeting. Now that is something I would never have dreamed of while I was a Witness.
There is no hiding the truth about the Truth anymore. The 8 Popes of Walkhill telling rank and file to ignore the man behind the curtain is like telling a child not to push the shiny, red button.
Add to that the experience one of our regular posters shared with us recently on how his PIMI family all left at once thanks to the Watchtower's response to COVID-19 lockdowns. We are 15 months into the COVID thing in the U.S. We have had 2 virtual/Zoom Memorials and now we are getting our second virtual Regional Convention. No Witness has knocked on a door in the all-important life-saving door-to-door ministry in over a year!
For over a century the Watchtower has told us that Jehovah would speed up the work during the time of the end. Yet, we have muppet Governing Body members telling us on JW Broadcast that we are in the final part of the final part of the last day while the religion as a whole has come to a screeching halt. You can't have it both ways!
as a youg man this stunned me when i studied the original "youth" book 97% had done it so i thought soo that's pretty much everyone i guess the 3% were witness youth!
also "awake" claimed 90% of students had accessed porn at some time.
everyone is doing it i guess 10% are the witness youth...how dumb was i?.
Under the Radar -
I agree 100%! Irresponsible child birth and non-supportive parents is unacceptable. That being said, I also see the damage of not letting teenagers or young adults even date simply because they cannot afford to support a family.
This caused a huge problem with me and my marriage. I was in my mid-twenties before I even had a girlfriend. I was lost and had to learn through the school of hard knocks.
even if you disapprove of much about the wt and/or its religion, what aspects do you view most favorably about the wt and/or its religion?
for me one of the things i view most favorably about the wt and its religion is its extremely strong insistence that jws never intentionally kill another human being.
i especially appreciate that regarding those who have been born, but i think some abortions of human embryos might be justifiable.
I too didn't accept the whole non-violence thing growing up as a JW. The Watchtower finds a scripture and then stretches it past rational thinking into a doctrine. I found it hypocritical to say the least that a Witness would have no problem calling the police if an axe murderer was trying to kick the front door of their house in knowing full well that those police officers may shoot and kill the suspect, but you couldn't own a gun to protect yourself or family.
What I learned during the end of my fade - Romans 13:1-7 is referred to as the "Police Officer Scripture" by many churches. If God gives the earthly authorities a sword to use and expects them to use it for our benefit, to the point of calling them his "ministers," how is it wrong to carry a weapon as a police officer?
About ten years later I read this book that showed me something in plain sight - Luke 3:10-14
10 And the crowds were asking him: “What, then, should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them: “Let the man who has two garments* share with the man who has none, and let the one who has something to eat do the same.”+ 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized,+ and they said to him: “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them: “Do not demand* anything more than the tax rate.”+ 14 Also, those in military service were asking him: “What should we do?” And he said to them: “Do not harass* anybody or accuse anybody falsely,+ but be satisfied with your provisions.”* - NWT
So, here the crowd was asking Jesus what they need to do to gain salvation. In the crowd were soldiers who asked as well. Did Jesus say, "Put down your sword, your spear, and your javelin and follow me"? No! Jesus told the soldiers to quit shaking down the citizens and be content with the provisions the military gives them.
Then the first gentile to convert to Christianity - Cornelius. Notice, Peter is sent to Cornelius who is converted on the spot. Cornelius was a Roman military officer. Where did Peter tell Cornelius he had to resign his commission and give up military like? That's right - he didn't!
Yet, the Watchtower forces active duty military members to be discharged before they are allowed to be a Witness.
With all that being said, late in life I have seen the benefit of non-violence and have accepted it. I won't allow innocent people to be harmed. There is not path to peace. Peace is the path.
latest advice for jw parents: if your kids get disfellowshipped, fight the urge to blame yourself.
yes, great advice.
if your clueless, underage child is struggling in life, don't blame yourself, stop thinking about it and move on.
Watchtower - Force your children to become a baptized publisher of the good news.
Watchtower - If your kid gets DFed, that's on them. Don't blame yourself.
Idiot Parent - Son, take this gun and start robbing liquor stores. You better do it if you want to live in this house!
Idiot Parent - Oh, gee! My son was just sentenced to 50 years in the penitentiary for armed robbery. Best not blame myself.
even if you disapprove of much about the wt and/or its religion, what aspects do you view most favorably about the wt and/or its religion?
for me one of the things i view most favorably about the wt and its religion is its extremely strong insistence that jws never intentionally kill another human being.
i especially appreciate that regarding those who have been born, but i think some abortions of human embryos might be justifiable.
I think one thing JWs got right was that being a Christian is a way of life, a practice. Sitting in a pew inside a church makes you no more a Christian than sitting in your garage makes you a car.
as a youg man this stunned me when i studied the original "youth" book 97% had done it so i thought soo that's pretty much everyone i guess the 3% were witness youth!
also "awake" claimed 90% of students had accessed porn at some time.
everyone is doing it i guess 10% are the witness youth...how dumb was i?.
Sex has always been the number 1 way religions controlled the masses.
JWs say -
Growing up as a born-in JW my parents told me I could not date until I had a job that could support myself, a wife, and children. I just happened to graduate high school at the beginning of the recession of the 1990's. So, it was a long road to travel before I could mark all the boxes.
JWs reasoning against masturbation is just like its reasoning against oral sex - Because we said so! I remember as a kid studying the Youth book with my dad. When it got to the chapter on sex there was no explanation in the book. My dad told me, "Well, it's wrong because you're stealing from Jehovah. When you seek sexual gratification outside the marriage arrangement that is stealing."
"Stealing from Jehovah"?!?! That answer is dripping with BS!
