Spiral

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Posts by Spiral

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  21

  This Week CLM Meeting

  by zophar in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so, this week on the clm there was an interesting comment at our kh.. under the "apply yourself to the field ministry" portion this week, there was the bible study assignment based on the publication: who are doing jehovah’s will today?

  published in 2016. the material was from lesson 28 "what can be found on our website?

  there is a footnote at the bottom that reads: .

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  Spiral

  @Zophar: That is definitely NOT corporation policy! He must really be awake or soon will be.

  Did anyone in the audience show a reaction to that, or comment on that? I would think some would be shocked by that comment.
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  39

  This year’s convention

  by lastmanstanding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  two things i noted at this year’s rc.

  1) the new teaching with respect to matthew 25:45 which was applied equally to the rank & file jw.

  this teaching is also found in the watchtower study for last sunday.. then he will answer them, saying: ‘truly i say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of these least ones, you did not do it to me.. 2) the new armageddon video which was a big shift.

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  Spiral

  Longhairgal: The other thing about rank & file JWs getting “equal salvation” by “doing good” and helping other JWs in the hall tells me they are looking for caretakers (women, of course) and suckers to give money to people (needy and deadbeats) in the hall. (This of course specifically referring to fired bethelites- of which there will be more, no doubt.) I would not be surprised if at some point kingdom halls become places where JWs bring canned food, etc.

  Interesting observation! There are so many elderly and/or poor people that need "caretaking" just in my area, and the elders certainly aren't doing anything on a congregational, organized level to "care for these needy ones"! Someone busy who can least afford it ends up helping (a lot!) with no acknowledgement or financial help from the congregation. It's not sustainable because pretty soon most (and I really mean most) of the congregation will fall into the "needy" category. (Hardly anyone has any retirement savings, just a few sisters like my mother who had hard working "worldly" husbands.) The bOrg created this crisis, but it's typical of them to bully other people to take on the burden. And promising a little guaranty of salvation.

  I was asked the other day what the JWs do to help support their elderly. Many churches here have all sorts of programs, activities, and food banks to help. It was a shock to those with me when I said "absolutely nothing".
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  22

  Teachings/beliefs that fade into oblivion without explanation.

  by smiddy3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "millions now living will never die" that teaching persisted for a number of years from the early 1920`s ,sad to say that their would not be anywhere near millions alive today.and with another few years their won`t be anybody alive .. the year 1925 was supposed to see the resurrection of faithful men of old such as abraham issac and jacob and noah who were to be princes in the earth.

  of course no such thing happened and we don`t here anything more about that prediction anymore.. the time period between adams creation and eves creation was an excuse why armageddon was delayed in about october 1975 because they didn`t know how much time had elapsed between the two.

  that`s all forgotten about now.. six thousand years of human history was supposed to have ended in about october 1872 according to studies in the scriptures vol.2 1906 , the "time is at hand" page 11 (forward 1916 ) puts the start of the one thousand year reign of jesus christ as of the year 1873. so in 1906 they the i.b.s.a.

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  Spiral

  Oh yes, women are still subordinate in the new system. I'm guessing they'll be scrubbing those toilets in dresses!

  allornothing:

  I was shocked with the implications of the types/ anti types abandonment because so many of the jw beliefs were built on that and with one annual meeting talk- poof gone- I was like does anyone in the cult slumber understand what that means?? Hello?? Anyone? Lol

  I wondered this too! The type/antitype doctrines were integral to the JW belief (it was proof of their "special" status before God, after all), and if you could "understand" it all you were considered super spiritual. And then, suddenly, it's gone, and no one even questions it! What?
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  22

  Teachings/beliefs that fade into oblivion without explanation.

  by smiddy3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "millions now living will never die" that teaching persisted for a number of years from the early 1920`s ,sad to say that their would not be anywhere near millions alive today.and with another few years their won`t be anybody alive .. the year 1925 was supposed to see the resurrection of faithful men of old such as abraham issac and jacob and noah who were to be princes in the earth.

  of course no such thing happened and we don`t here anything more about that prediction anymore.. the time period between adams creation and eves creation was an excuse why armageddon was delayed in about october 1975 because they didn`t know how much time had elapsed between the two.

  that`s all forgotten about now.. six thousand years of human history was supposed to have ended in about october 1872 according to studies in the scriptures vol.2 1906 , the "time is at hand" page 11 (forward 1916 ) puts the start of the one thousand year reign of jesus christ as of the year 1873. so in 1906 they the i.b.s.a.

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  Spiral

  Back in the 60s and 70s there was a lot of numerology going on. Not just that, but all the interpretations of prophecy, types/anti-types, sacred mysteries they'd unlocked, and of course the over-the-top contestant, the book of Revelation.

  From what I understand, all of that has gone away, yes? So does the bOrg believe in any interpretation of the book of Revelation now, or are they just not talking about it.

  And to think we had to study that stuff for hours and hours.
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  3

  Tired and Poor

  by Diogenesister in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  * "if you want people to remain loyal followers you have to keep them tired and poor" - jim jones, said to a trusted confidante.. sound like anyone we know???.

  * from the book "a thousand lives" .

  ( as told by neil "great apostate" gardener) .

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  Spiral

  Tired, poor, and frantically busy on the "spiritual" hamster wheel.
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  10

  "Colour inside the lines!"

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just some random musings here.... picking up on the thoughts expressed in other posts (such as @wake me's post excellent earlier this week), about how "infantilized" jws are, it made me think of this post topic.. just like little children, jws need to be given constant praise and reassurance that they are doing well and doing the right thing.

  also, they feel so bad if they stray or deviate from the ideal prescribed course, behaviors or activity that is approved by the society.. if they are told that they have "coloured outside the lines" so to speak, they feel dejected - or worse - defensive, depending on who points it out to them.

  (eg a witness vs a non witness).

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  Spiral

  I wanted to reply to Wake Me Up's thread from the other day: Excellent observations. Couldn't agree more, and you explained it so well.

  Ever since reading that post I've been thinking about another aspect to the childish, "don't color outside the lines attitude" the bOrg instills in its followers: The mental damage done by spending your entire life WAITING for the new system, WAITING upon Jehovah, taking no initiative on your own. If you are frozen into inaction on all levels because you are PATIENTLY WAITING ON JEHOVAH, you never grow up.
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  28

  Special Seating at the Convention

  by mann377 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone noticed at the convention that there is special reserved seating?

  the convention that i attended (to keep peace in the family) had seating in the suites of the arena.

  all arenas, stadiums etc.

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  Spiral

  jws, some of it is that, but I would gather it's also a way to make some people feel special, not like the rest of the poor drones who have to fight for parking, fight for seats, wait in line for the bathroom, etc.

  For many years before I dropped out, if some privilege was "special" (as in you had to apply to the elders, for instance) I hated it. Just a way to have a caste system, without the poor publisher drones understanding what is really going on. They go along with it, and in the meanwhile, get disrespected.
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  18

  Image: Great Tribulation

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the org's fear theme has really been emphasized recently- the bunker video and now the convention video with jws being pursued by guys with assault rifles.

  this image comes from the watchtower july 2017 questions from readers: would it be fitting for a christian to keep a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, for protection against other humans?.

  the caption for the image is this: during the great tribulation, christians will rely on jehovah and not try to defend themselves.

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  Spiral

  LongHairGal: Yes, and so many of them are depressed/anxious already. But they are so fragile in their belief system, it's hard to talk to them. Senseless suffering.
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  37

  Help: Anyone identify Gary Breaux's ring?

  by Fay Dehr in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  can anyone identify this ring?

  (ideally, a link to a page on the internet with photo and description).

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  Spiral

  You know, back in the day "Brother" Spiral put up with so much sh*t because he was well-dressed. The polyester suit types in the congregation back then would even say his ties were too colorful (they were the "don't wear a colored shirt" types). They would have had an apoplectic episode if any brother had worn a pinky ring. When I see this today it's just creepy and makes me glad (all over again) that we're out.
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  18

  Image: Great Tribulation

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the org's fear theme has really been emphasized recently- the bunker video and now the convention video with jws being pursued by guys with assault rifles.

  this image comes from the watchtower july 2017 questions from readers: would it be fitting for a christian to keep a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, for protection against other humans?.

  the caption for the image is this: during the great tribulation, christians will rely on jehovah and not try to defend themselves.

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  Spiral

  Funny how the image seems to have been stolen by a mega church. Takes one to know one.
  

  All this new fear mongering is just crazy.

  And showing this stuff to children is child abuse.