we have heard it said, he that is not on my side is against me... .
in watchtower world this was certainly the case.
watchtower world was fully good, while anyone not belonging to them was fully on the side of evil--classic cult black and white thinking.
I’ve been ambivalent and I’ve haven’t really cared for certain pet peeves myself, that is why I normally remain quiet these days.
Phizzy, in another thread, you said more succinctly than I, “Both of them need to grow up and realize that if we are to make any headway with convincing JW's to examine their religion, we need to show maturity, levity and a lack of personal ego.”
Of course, I do not want to name names, because the common cause we all have is not about individual grievances.
stil no 2016 yearbook on jw.org, due to my fade i forgot the normal publishing date.
do you remember when the yearbook was released?
i'm just curious about the 2015 publisher data.
we have heard it said, he that is not on my side is against me... .
in watchtower world this was certainly the case.
watchtower world was fully good, while anyone not belonging to them was fully on the side of evil--classic cult black and white thinking.
we have heard it said, he that is not on my side is against me... .
in watchtower world this was certainly the case.
watchtower world was fully good, while anyone not belonging to them was fully on the side of evil--classic cult black and white thinking.
Different gospels say both. Cults do like to use those verses to create an us vs them mentality. But that is not the discussion at hand...
stil no 2016 yearbook on jw.org, due to my fade i forgot the normal publishing date.
do you remember when the yearbook was released?
i'm just curious about the 2015 publisher data.
I've been here four years and this is asked every year about this time.
BTW...I suspect the reported 2015 baptism numbers are likely accidently misreported by an order an magnitude. I hope I'm wrong! We will see when the Yearbook comes out.
questions from readers .
say, who is that in your avatar slimboyfat?
from brother i. m. curious, usa.. that's archibald belaney aka grey owl.
we have heard it said, he that is not on my side is against me... .
in watchtower world this was certainly the case.
watchtower world was fully good, while anyone not belonging to them was fully on the side of evil--classic cult black and white thinking.
We have heard it said, “He that is not on my side is against me…”
In Watchtower world this was certainly the case. Watchtower world was fully good, while anyone not belonging to them was fully on the side of evil--classic cult black and white thinking. There is no middle ground, no fence. Anyone who sits of the fence is following the Devil whether they know it or not.
If one points out any criticism in teaching or practice, then they are on the other sides, they are following the enemy. After all, there are only two sides. One side cannot do wrong and the other side cannot do right.
In Watchtower world, political feuds abounded, especially when people had any “position”. Most elder bodies around the world are rife with politics. Personalities clashed, battles ensued. I know. I had family embroiled in these constantly. Sometimes they were winners, sometimes they were losers. Who was right? Who was wrong?
Now that I am outside of Watchtower world I realize they were like children on a playground behaving badly over some meaningless game. Often my family was as much the troublemakers as the other parties they were feuding against.
There are many who carry of this same spirit of contention. Normally, I try to duck and cover and be invisible. I am afraid of getting dragged into the muck rather than attempting to live a post-cult life. To me, Watchtower (not JWs) and other cults in general (not their members) are the big enemy.
Why? Because it is an evil that has affected my life. Of course, I don’t give it the same energy I used to--I just don’t have the energy anymore. I have done what little I could do. Even then, it was never about me. I was about helping JWs still trapped.
And it was never about battling against any one individual, but the “concept” that apparently holds even the Governing Body “captive”. Perhaps there are some individuals who knowingly pull the strings, but I do not think it has ever been proven. And besides if there are a shadowy cabal, I certainly don’t know their names to make it about individuals.
Back to the point, contention is a force of nature that has occurred before in the exJW community and will continue. The names will change but the song will remain the same. I have no illusion anyone will change that and certainly not anything I will say. But perhaps if anything I say makes sense, perhaps some individual will decide to not contribute to any feud. And if I ever get embroiled in such a thing, feel free to call me out on this and remind me of these words.
I have noticed in both sides to the current feud that has been going on that neither side can take criticism well. These camps seem to believe there are only two sides without neutral ground. If anyone offers criticism, they are assumed about being a follower of the other camp. In truth, there are those outside the two camps. They see clearly the flaws of both camps because they are not emotionally invested. They see both sides throwing gasoline of the fire. They see both sides guilty of bad argumentation. They see both sides guilty of what the other is accused of in slightly different ways. They see both sides doing some good work as well, but the storm that they both stew overshadows it.
I am not in either camp…or anyone’s camp but my own. Nor am I looking for people to be in my camp…my tent is not big enough.
latest from a reliable source: .
"more news from the south-west of england.cinderford congregation has been terminated.
if you look on jw.org it hasn't disappeared yet (dec 20th 2015) but it's meeting time is shown as sunday at 10.00 am and that is not possible, as lydney who shared the same hall are listed as sunday at 10.30 am.cinderford and lydney shared a hall in parkend, lydney, gloucestershire.
mir, a participant in german board http://www.infolink-forum.de reports that he contacted the dag-hammarskjold-library and got the following reply from [email protected].
1. can anybody - following a request and explanation as set out above - use.
the library?
And from what I understand using clippings leads to quotes out of context.
family background: my wife ("liberal" jw), me (ubm), two children aged 5 and 2.
(want more details?
-> http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/279456/raising-kids-jw-mother-agnostic-father).
Watchtower interpretation of Babylon the Great:
All other religions are part of Babylon the Great, "the world empire of false religion", the dwelling place of demons. JWs are to "get out of her" and "touch nothing unclean".
