Posts by kaik

44

Why are JW talks & publications never uplifting?

by thedepressedsoul in

i was sitting at the meeting the other night and for the first time it hit, jw talks or magazines are never uplifting!

i rarely, if ever hear a talk or read a magazines and have it give nothing but praise to jehovahs servants or just praise jehovah and jesus throughout it.

they never just a read through the bible or just a bible story explained or told.

kaik

Problem with WT and its membership, it is a totalitarian organization. As such, it needs to feed itself on fear and guilt of the people to survive and to control. All hard coded totalitarian regimes works on the same principles, let's be Nazi Germany, Stalin USSR, communist states, or Jacobin's I. French Republic. Such system works on denunciation and suppression of individuality. This is done by erasing anyone uniqueness, by collective infusion of guilt. It is like Robespierre standing at the Convention in 1794 shrieking that anyone who is not a model citizen and patriot is a traitor deserving guillotine; but refusing name names, he infused fear in everyone with doubts that they are indeed traitors.

So you have book study, some public speaking, WT analysis, and the premises are the same. There are people who are "traitors" in their mind and hearts by doubting what FDS had said, and if they are doubtful than they will die in "imminent" Armageddon. People are doubting their action, thinking, and attitudes with each study and try to comply to the model role in order to survive. They do not want to end up like opposition of Robespierre that was chopping heads in hundreds a week.

55

I'm studying with Jehovah's Witnesses!!

by Kulotti79 in

jw
friends

hello all... i currently studying the bible teach book and i'm just curious what information does the study conductor record about the student and is it passed on??

and they keep on saying "the truth" which is starting to get on my nerves.

lol.

kaik

Run, run faraway and don't look back. This religion will destroy your life as you know it, and there is not happiness. The bible study is pretty much a study of their literature based on their own momentary interpretation of the Bible. JWs won't be honest about their beliefs and will lie to you to get to the organization. Lying is considered appropriate if it servers the purpose. I remember around 1990, there was a paper which put who was the student, what they studied, how long, when, where, and some other details, something similar what JWFacts had posted.

Any case, use your own judgement and be warned.

26

Remember Those in Full-Time Service (1945 - 2015)

by jwleaks in

jw
friends

the saddest story ever told.

despite being childhood sweethearts, in the year 1941 they decided to postpone marriage and remain single and childless in this system so as to put the the theocracy first, albeit under the control of the watch tower society.. in the final pages of the children book john and eunice walk silently through the fields and stop by a great tree on the river bank where they had sometime before discussed their future plans.

the young lovers seat themselves down and look over the landscape.

kaik

In my KH were several elderly who never married because they were told in the 1940's not to do so. I remember one woman who was probably the oldest person in the KH since interwar period (she talked a lot about WWII persecution) and she was single until her death at very old age in the 1990's. There are two women who were close friends with my mom, single and never married. One must be in her mid 80's, and the other even more. So many destroyed, lonely lives for publishing company.

91

Your worst convention experience.

by zeb in

by a split second rescuing our handicapped son from being pushed down the stairs by a flood of sisters rushing out to see as the drama had started.. the main offender being a special pioneer..

kaik

My convention in Prague-Strahov in 1991. It was summer, in stadium pan where temperature was soaring to 36C and we were sitting on the sunny side. There was no sufficient refreshment to replenish I was dehydrated. We had constant argument with family between my mom and my siblings and relatives who accused us being spiritually weak because we were dripping with sweat and started to be nauseous by afternoon. My family being extremely fair complexion had a heat stroke. My mom turned into red lobster and I was afraid about her health, but fellow KH did not call anyone for medical care as it was non existent. My elder instead started to criticize everyone who was sweating and said that brothers in Africa have to sit in the convention during much higher temperature. When I completely sweated through my white shirt and tie, I decided to sit only in my T-top, which caused my elder to sent me home. There was very little care for families with children who supposed to get refreshments and care, but they suffered as the rest of us. I was glad that my niece who was a toddler was not there with us.

39

NEW LIGHT FROM SLO CIRCUIT OVERSEER "Warning, Blood on Doorposts", "The Couple who Missed One Meeting Died With Their Kids, Don't Miss Any!

by Trailer Park Pioneer in

sorry, i messed up before i could put the right title on this new light from our circuit overseer, his visit show's a great desperation in the organization's mindset, adding more anxiety and guilt to jws who already feel they don't measure up!.

hi, i attended the circuit overseers visit and got really angry because our c.o.

gave information coming from the governing body's chief apologists regarding "meeting attendance" and "the couple who missed one meeting and lost their entire family because they did not get the "411" when armageddon was coming!

kaik

Entertaining. This kind of talk brings me back to 1980-1985 where the Angel of Death was imminent and these who would not be warned by message from the elders will die.

22

Is The Borg going back to “Old School” thinking & getting more hardcore?

by thedepressedsoul in

im still in and i cant help but feel nervous as more and more changes are coming forward.

i cant help but feel that they are starting to get more hardcore again.

let me explain.

kaik

WT always was one step forward, one step back. I remember little melting and freezing, and this is nothing new. We had always a list of forbidden movies because they considered inappropriate. One movie stick me 30 years later, and it is Polish one Sexmission (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexmission). I seen this movie after I left and realize that the movie was not about sex, but about totalitarian regime defiance. Maybe the Borg was afraid that JWs will see association between WT and totalitarian regime depicted in the movie.

16

Jewish Exegesis of the OT Scriptures in the days of Jesus

by fulltimestudent in

the sub-structure of the nt, as understood by new testament scholar, charles harold dodd, is based on,.

... passages of ot scripture with their application to the gospel facts ... it provided the starting point of the theological constructions of paul, (and) the author of to the hebrews, and the fourth evangelist.

it is the substructure of all christian theology and contains already its chief regulative ideas.

kaik

FTS, thanks for your answer. When I studied at university and also under rabbi, both mentioned that majority of Jews lived outside Judea at the time of Jesus and small minority was in their homeland. Jews scattered across two empires-Persian and Roman- were not even aware of Jesus existence. I have read different demographic estimates, where 10% of the population in the Roman Empire had Jewish religion in the peak or Trajan, and only 2% of them lived in Jerusalem and vicinity. Alexandria was the biggest Jewish city, which had tremendous impact on Jewish philosophy, religion, culture; so did Persian and Parthian empire for Jews integrated in the society there. While there is not any indication that Jesus ever was in Babylonia, NT mentions Jesus living Egypt, where he would certainly encounter Jewish thoughts and education radiating from the biggest Jewish centers of learning at his time.

I love Midrash and I had a borrowed copy, but it was too extensive to read. Midrash is very interesting literature to read, as it add much of the information into the OT. For example explain who was father of Kain, how Serpent seduced Eve, why she is called mother of all living but the same is not said about Adam, what was Serpent seed, and so on. Midrash were written in span of 1400 centuries with increased interest outside Judaism. The stories were also popular in the 12/13th century monasteries and during Renaissance when they were translated into different languages like Polish, Czech, Italian, and German. Definitely, it is more interesting than Studies in the Scripture.

53

Is Watchtower's stance against education only for North American witnesses

by wannaexit in

jw
friends

i was reading on a european ex jw forum where some feel that watchtower's railing against higher education is primarily for north america issue.

this is due that many in usa and canada leave home to leave on campus.

it was mentioned that many young european jw attend universities and its not frowned on.. i found this odd because i heard what morris and losch said about education in italy.

kaik

In Eastern Europe WT was against higher education as far I remember. There were handful college educated people in my KH, but majority of the JWs are barely literate there, usually having only mandatory education to the age 16. During communist rule, many JWs were denied higher education by the government and were forced to work in the coal mining areas. This education deficit caused by repressive government is very visible in the group born before 1968.

Other refused to got to professional schools because they were discouraged by the elder. I had numerous talks about my higher education with my elders and I got my undergrad and postgrad after WT world. All my JW relatives have basic education. My mom got her education before she got involved with the cult. Various studies in Czech Republic and Slovakia had often put JWs as one the least literate demographic group out there, just bit better than gypsies. The Czech census from 2011 indicates that less than 7% of JWs have college education, while 13.5% of Catholics, 42% of Jews, 16% of 7DA, and 20% of Czech protestants.

43

Je Suis Charlie

by Slidin Fast in

this incident in paris makes me feel absolutely furious.

yes i feel desperately sorry for the victims and their families no one should have to deal with that.

the thing that makes me feel absolutely incandescent though is the attack on freedom of speech and expression.

kaik

I do not think the events in Paris will have lasting impact on European society as the liberal left will continue to silence any criticism of immigration from Muslim countries and Islam religion. Ten years ago, Muslim terrorist blew up metro in Madrid. Spanish government even lied about it and blamed it originally on the Basque groups. Also does anyone remember London bombing, and numerous incidents in France in past 12 months? Did it changed anything? Did any politicians or elected officials did anything? In Sweden, Denmark, Germany it is all the same, resigned population. Unfortunately, I do not see it as wake up call based on the past incidents. I think European Union is in the point of no return.

4

The "Lord Jesus" Descends Again?

by runForever in

this is a chart i created that charts the use of the term "lord jesus" in the watchtower magazine.. interesting to note that the term only broke the 60 count 4 times and those were close intervals of 7 years with the last count above 60 being an 8 year interval.. .

.

kaik

When I was associated with JW and WT, I have barely knew anything about Jesus. JWs lacking deep knowledge of Jesus Christ, and they do not see him as a Savior as do other Christian denomination. Jesus in WT theology is moderator to the 144,000 whose number in my time in JW was around 8500, for the rest the salvation lies with the tit of the WT. Jehovah witnesses are often not even aware what Jesus had said and what order, and their entire system revolves on several selected chapters of the NT with his invisible return. So it does not surprises me to see this number chart.