have to share this experience with you all.
years ago we were advised in england that computers were frowned upon not to bother with them,anyhow i never listened & therfore we bought into the computer market,we were allso advised not to spend to much time with televisions,of which i took alittle note got rid of it for six months,it gave us back family time ,any how as you guesed it the persuasion came from the local elders ,(geting rid of things.).
we then decided to buy a caravan ,yes this was frowned upon ,as we wanted weekends away to enjoy life with the family,people complained that we wouldnot be able to meet for field service transgresing against jehovah stealing his time,anyhow we went out and bought a 23 foot twin wheel caravan the one you have to pull behind a car or jeep.. we visited lots of areas of natural beauty in england .but the story now gets interesting ,we ended up storing our caravan down in summerset ,we had great times at the site meeting all types of different people & familys,we met a special middle aged couple & there famiy became good friends,the husband has developed cancer ,has been given six months to live,he was left for deadby the hospital with no hope of seeing next christmas or beyond,, he had cancer in his liver ,i found a article on the internet wherby a (cancer surgeon ) had a way of operating on the liver ,i informed my friend ,gave his wife the contact address,and three weeks later he is booked in for an operation that will save & prolong his life,the surgeon is going to starve the infected cancerouse liver then remove the slight infected other liver which will then start to grow ,kapow a new lease of lifeto a man who was resigned for death.. my point here is.. if,we had listened to the society, (about bad associations ).
Nightwarrior,
That's an amazing story. I think computers are brilliant and the internet is a fantastic tool. I have found out so much information about so many things from the net. You can seriously find out about just anything - it's all here. My mother has a medical condition and I buy her medicine online from a herbal remedy place - it's the only stuff that works for her and it makes her feel so much better.
I hope your friend makes a speedy recovery.
xxR
elders in my area are sifting within the congregations,.
london england .
e.g whom they consider to be rebeliouse /bad association/not even going to the persons homes announcements made because they can.
Hi Thomas,
It's not so good when you have to make a choice between your religion and your family. What sort of an organisation would make someone do that? To leave, I will be causing my family a lot of pain because they will be under tremendous pressure to shun me - I know this beforehand and can see it coming. It makes me very angry. And I am leaving because I have a conscience and can no longer go on living a lie.
I still haven't seen any evidence that elders are sifting through the congregation yet - maybe that is a nice surprise they have in store for the new year.
xxR
so now the wt is selling cars?.
not only that, but you buy these cars for the co's?
let me get this straight, i buy a car but it's not for me?
Sorry to sound really dumb - but does this web site belong to the society? I don't get it. Are they buying/leasing this type of car for COs or are they selling them? What is going on? How many JWs don't know about this (me included)?
what would your life be like if the entire watchtower organization never was.
In a way, I am grateful to have been contacted by JWs. I never read the Bible before I started studying with them. I don't know that I would have ever bothered reading it if it wasn't for the fact that you are told to read it every day. I am glad I found out that they are not God's true organisation. I have many close friends who are JWs and it is sad that they are still being worn down by the daily grind of trying to meet the JW requirements. I am slowly trying to break away, but it isn't easy - I have many family members in the organisation. Many of their teachings are correct - it's just sad that, where they are wrong, they don't admit it and just expect you to swallow everything. I think I am a stronger person for having been in the organisation and now, making a stand and finally breaking free, even though I know it will be really horrible when they finally boot me out for good - it will hurt my family a lot and I have to prepare myself for that.
xxR
here is some interesting views of the former leader.. http://quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/russell.htm.
*** watchtower 1917 november 1 p.323 ***.
[note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 cd-rom] .
RR,
I have never been comfortable with the fact that Jesus is Michael any more that I feel comfortable with him being the Pope. I admit, I really don't know.
Are you saying pyramidology is still one of the Bible Students beliefs? I am not saying it is wrong, I don't know enough about it. When I first found out that Russell was interested in this subject, I was amazed. The JWs never tell you this and, if it was one of the main beliefs of their founder, they should discuss this openly.
When I have read about Russell (various sources) he comes across as a very humble, mild man which is why I wanted to find out more about him. When Rutherford came to power, how many stayed with Russell's teachings? I know there was a certain amount of conflict and many BSs couldn't get along with Rutherford or his methods of running the organisation. As a JW, I assumed the headship was passed along from Russell to Rutherford in a smooth and loving manner - I was never aware of the frictions involved. I thought all previous presidents of the society all agreed and were in harmony - but then I was a JW for many years and swallowed everything they told me.
From your remarks, I take it you think there is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas or birthdays. Again, I don't have any opinion on this - I think you should be free to decide. It's just funny that Russell's present day organisation demonise it.
And what about the cross and crown? Didn't Jesus die on a stake? Not that it really matters - he was executed and the instrument used isn't really that important. It's just that JWs make such a big point about this.
Where would I get copies of his books?
Many thanks
xxR
in today's copy of the scotsman there's an article on people that don't celebrate christmas for a variety of reasons and sure enough a witness family are featured.
they are spending christmas day on the beach in the canary islands and after pointing out the fact that the 25th is christ's birthday go on to say.
"it would be churlish to say that our children are not affected by peer pressure about christmas, but we feel bigger issues are at stake - independant thought and standing up for what you believe in.
Scotsman,
I made that very same point on another thread - the fact that an awful lot of JWs have 'Family Day' - which is just a substitute for Christmas. Some JWs I know even have all the trimmings of Xmas on 25th Dec but insist they are not celebrating it.
It must be nice to have the money to spend Xmas on a beach in the Canary Islands. I couldn't even afford a weekend at Blackpool, the way my finances are going. And if only 'independent thought, and standing up for what you believe in' were actually allowed by the rulers of the JWs!
xxR
here is some interesting views of the former leader.. http://quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/russell.htm.
*** watchtower 1917 november 1 p.323 ***.
[note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 cd-rom] .
From my recent research, didn't Russell teach:
1.Pyramidology
2.1874 and then 1915 as the end of the world - not the time of Christ's presence
3. Leviathan was a locomotive
4.Blacks will turn white in the Millenium Reign
5.He would go to star Alcyone
6.Michael the Archangel was the Pope
7.He celebrated birithdays & Christmas
8. He used the cross & crown as WT emblems
If the above is true, why would God have chosen him as his servant to provide food to us lesser ones. It would be a bit odd to use a person who was incapable of getting the most basic teaching correct. I started to study some of his teachings when I had doubts about the WTBTS initially. However, the more research I did, the more I became uncomfortable with what he taught. There is so much conflicting information. Did he, or did he not, treat his wife badly? Did he believe he WAS the Faithful and Discreet Slave (some say he did, some say he didn't). Why did he make such false predictions for the end of the world, when Deuteronomy 18:20-22 specifically warns against it.
I would be interested in finding out where I could get reliable, unbiased information about him.
xxR
elders in my area are sifting within the congregations,.
london england .
e.g whom they consider to be rebeliouse /bad association/not even going to the persons homes announcements made because they can.
Nightwarrior,
I am in London and if that was true, I would have been first on the hit-list and I haven't heard anything. Where did you hear this?
xxR
why is it that when the overseer visits the congregation, that just about everybody shows up to the meetings and they all go in the field service?
a whole week of endless zeal just to prove that they are all so spiritual.
is gone, they all come back to normal.
In my congregation, it is always the same ones who invite the CO & his wife for lunch. I have volunteered to do this in the past, but the same ones have always got in first and I never got the chance. I have a sneaky feeling that one time there was still a vacant lunch slot but, when I approached the elder organising CO lunches, he said the slots had been filled. I think he just had me down as a trouble-maker and didn't want me to have the CO all to myself. I used to find it quite hurtful (I started to think it was my cooking!) but after a while I got used to it and didn't bother to ask any more. I never got a chance to work with him on the ministry either - I think COs avoided me. It used to make me sick the way everyone was always so friendly and 'loving' when he visited, yet I could barely get a 'hello' out of them the rest of the year.
one double standard that always got to me was how a body of elders would talk about how a brother needed to "qualify" for some privilege by being a good example for weekend service and yet a number of elders would hardly ever go out in field service at all!
or how they would use 2 hours to literally gossip about everyone in the congregation, and then give a local needs talk on the need of not talking about the brothers and minding our own business.........what double standards got to you?
I was thinking along the same lines as Fire Dragon - you try to get people to take JW literature and 'be open-minded' and read it - but we can't read any other literature. I was 'told off' for reading a history book once - it wasn't religious or anti-witness or anything but was all about Ancient Egypt and their customs - I like history. An elder came by after the ministry one Saturday and made a sarcastic comment when he saw it on my shelf. When I defended myself, he said I could find out all I wanted to know about Egypt from the society's books.
If everyone has to be open-minded enough to read JW literature, then JWs should read theirs also.
