Posts by kaik

18

Basic JW Doctrine

by crolson in

jw
friends

hi, i am not a jw, but i am a student studying the jehovah's witnesses.

i was wondering if a jw could answer a few questions for me about your doctrine?.

where does your teaching come from (which writings)?.

Crolson, welcome on JWN board. Most of us here are ex-JWs who left organization recently or long time ago like myself 21 years ago. There is no universal consensus of JW doctrines and beliefs because they change all the time. The WT is not the same organization I grew up in in the 70's-90's, so what we studied and believed 25-35 years ago is no more relevant today in WT world. So whatever you miss on any doctrine, JWs are not afraid the loss of the knowledge, because a new doctrine will arrive shortly. I can only answer some of the questions that I remember from my WT life back then. There are probably others who can answer you better.

What is your God (Jehovah) like?: Creator a life giver and the only One who was always present
Where does your teaching come from (which writings)?: Bible interpreted through WT publications. In the 1980's it was later forbidden to study Bible on its own as it could lead to heresy.
Who is Jesus? Is he God or man or both? Did he save us from our sins?: Jesus is not God. He is only mediator for 144K and nobody else. He only save 144K. The big crowd is saved through association of 144K.
What does it mean to have salvation?: Nothing. Salvation for Big Crowd is achieved in the ability to ride through Armageddon, doing field work, and read WT publications. 144K goes to Heaven.
Who or what is the Holy Spirit? What is his function?: A force that created universe and guides FDS.
What happens after death? (both for faithful JWs and for those who don't believe): With exception of 144K, nothing. Death is sleep, a status of non-existence and lack of awareness. Evil people or faithful JWs of Big Crowd get resurrected as nothing in their past lives mattered. People destroyed by Jehovah do not get resurrected (flip-flop doctrine). 144K see their funeral on their way to Heaven.
What is sin? What can we do about it?: Sin is fall of man from Grace; inability to be good. Person is born damaged with a sin due disobedience of Adam. JWs believe in Original, Adamic sin. We cannot stop to sin, as it is part of our human nature, but we can mitigate the effect by doing field work, read WT publications, and attending KH and numerous conventions.

74

A call from family - Armageddon this month!

by kaik in

i very seldom receive a call from my jw siblings, i mean seldom.

i can count them on my hand in past 10 years.

while we talk about mom a lot and i am in touch with her, i was very surprised when i received this call.

kaik

I hearing this hype on "A" since June of this year. My cousins, mom, niece, siblings. They live in different cities and go to different KHs. So I am curious who is pushing this BS because I cannot find anything official. I can ask these two, I know them since HS. The elderette went to the same school as I did, and she is just two three years older then me. Her dad was extremely zealot, ultraconservative elder. Somewhere someone is steering up these expectations.

Meanwhile, Halloween is in couple weeks, and I am getting my decoration ready. Our neighborhood is overrun with kids, as everyone is Gen-X/Gen-Y. I wonder what my siblings will say in November 1st.

179

Largest amount of refugees since WW2 in Europe

by Powermetal4ever in

jw
friends

so i had a discussion with my mother about this, and she claims that because of this that: "we are surely living in the last days right now" while i must admit myself that the situation seem chaotic, i don't want to believe that it is the last days.

so question is, how do i face an opinion like that?

kaik

There were widespread anti-immigration demonstration in Poland in past several days. Katowice, PL.

People considers last week voting to accept refugees as a treason, and they are cursing Ewa Kopacz for succumbing to Merkel's pressure. In past several weeks, there were more than 100 arson attacks in Germany alone. The refugee crisis will undermine European politics and it will cause disintegration of European Union. I would not be surprised if something much worse would happen from this.

11

All these new changes and the 20/30 year olds

by All for show in

jw
friends

i see all these changes we are all shocked by.

if they are all true, and wtbts is hoping to distract the r&f with the ongoing claim 'the end is so near we need to preach'.

how long do you give the excitement to die down among the 20-30's crowd?

kaik

My niece is in her mid 20's. She is not baptized, but she started to study with my cousins to become JW. I am trying to talk her out of it, and I advised her to stop by at my mom, who is in the cult for 40+ years and she has all the publications with generation that will never die including this print:

I do not think that old publications would do this trick. Young people are vulnerable as anyone else. Young people go through various crisis, job loss, love failure, etc. and they may find WT message enticing. My niece started with bible study this year after she was in accident and my cousins started manipulating her physical weakness for WT benefit.

74

A call from family - Armageddon this month!

by kaik in

i very seldom receive a call from my jw siblings, i mean seldom.

i can count them on my hand in past 10 years.

while we talk about mom a lot and i am in touch with her, i was very surprised when i received this call.

kaik

I very seldom receive a call from my JW siblings, I mean seldom. I can count them on my hand in past 10 years. While we talk about mom a lot and I am in touch with her, I was very surprised when I received this call. My initial reaction was that something bad happened to my mom. She is scheduled for surgery in this week or so. So my sweat just poured. However, this call was not about mom or my nieces or nephews, but about Armageddon starting this month!

Anyway, I answer the call and my sibling told me that elder and his wife stopped by (I know them both since 1980's and they are just couple years older than me); was told that they must increasing a preaching activity as the END is eminent. The refugees are sign of the end, and Russian involvement in Syria is fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. For next 20 minutes I was subjected of various bible verses reading on fulfillment of big "A" in 101 year since Jesus started rule.

After all these preaching non-sense, I was asked if I am not afraid to be destroyed in next couple days! My answer was if I made it so far that long, I am really not afraid nor care much about it. So, I was interrupted, with question "You are really not interested in returning to Jah, WT, KH? I answered if they will continue worshiping WT after October 31? This pretty much ended the call.

So, I contacted my mom, and she told me that all KH speeches and publications are weaker, and dumber as years go by. And she started joking if big "A" will start during the surgery or afterwards. My niece told me that my JW cousins are vehemently insisting that the END is here. My niece lives 300KM apart from her mom, so she goes to KH, which indicates me that this is a new light. Does anyone encountered recently similar activity around the world?

12

Almost 60 years ago, The Watchtower made a prediction that has proven to be amazingly accurate.

by Bonnie_Clyde in

i haven't posted for quite awhile, just usually lurk, but thought surely someone would have noticed this on jw.org.

this was under the article about distractions.

i clicked on the article and below is the "accurate" prediction that the wt made back in 1958. this has to prove they have jehovah's backing, don't you think?

kaik

If you read some publications by Rutherford from 1920's, he made similar observation on technological progress as sign of the end of times. I do not remember which publication it was, but it was one of these in the interwar periods, where Rutherford mentioned radios, planes, cars, phones, and new media TV as sign of impending doom of the humanity during "A". That was 80-85 years ago. Who would know that car and phone would be common? Yeah, some visionaries and industrial leaders did, and Rutherford was not unique on these observations.

12

WT Failure To Engage In Charitable Works

by Joe Grundy in

i never was a jw.. wtbts and its hydra-headed organisations world wide has charitable status.

yet, as far as i can see, it carries out little or no real charitable works.. last weekend my son and his friends did a 420 km cycle ride and mountain walk in aid of a local hospice at home charity.

they've raised (so far) 5,000. this charity makes a real difference.. this a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ijr7ipvrek&feature=youtu.be.

kaik

WT and JWs almost never get engaged in charity work. I say almost. In 1989 the only charity work we did when Romania was in the mist of revolution and there was a call for helping other JWs so they not starve as the political situation was extremely difficult. We purchased a lot of flours, cooking oil, sugar, and other bulk items that were snet to Romania. That was the ONLY time I seen any charity. In 1997 and 2002 Czech Republic was devastated by widespread flooding. I know JWs who were totally flooded out and lost everything, yet nobody from HQ in Prague offered any help. While some individuals did help the other by donating some crap, there were JWs who lived in homeless shelter until flood water receded. The only help came from the government. Yeah, you are flooded, but only advice you got was doing more field work as did one crazy now deceased sister.

My life after WT, I had engaged in various charities and seen so many others around me to do so. My father-in-law did AIDS ride. We did breast cancer walks as we have lost women friends to it, organized food banks at work, etc. Charity work is a distraction from a field service.

30

Where you are in your life now.....What would you have preferred .... To be left in ignorance ? ...Or to know the truth about the truth

by smiddy in

jw
friends

i think possibly their are a few valid reasons for either options to this question ,depending on a number of factors .. such as how old you might be, how long you have devoted your life to the "truth" as you believed it .

?....how it may affect your mental/physical health and well being.?.

how it will affect your financial position in your life ,?

kaik

I am in mid-40's. I grew up in it. I left 21 years ago, while leaving my entire biological family trapped in the cult. I started a new life with full of ideals. Most of the came through. I have successful corporate career, have a house with picket fencing, got education in field that I love. I am six months away from earning my master's degree (hard doing it by working full-time). I need that master to get promoted. I have stable marriage with the same person I met 18 years ago and it was a love on first sight. Leaving WT made me to think about future all the time. I am a planner, and I need stability. WT gave cocoon to people not to worry about future, only live for present. I am hoping to save enough money, I can leave workforce at age 60 and enjoy retirement.

I see how my JW family fared: broken marriage, no comfortable life, but having a hope that Jehovah will rescue them from their misery. WT is prison or totalitarian cult. I lived in totalitarian regime, and I understand why many people long to live in it. Totalitarian regime will line up your life for you, and you don't have to do anything. Just listen, and obey. Conform and do not complain. WT takes creativity and individuality as payback. I do not regret leaving WT.

I regret that my parents accepted my aunt's invitation to have bible study.

44

I'm not so sure a bigger awakening is going to happen anymore

by bradford in

jw
friends

when i left in march officially i started reading the forums here.

i had this excitement that more people would be leaving soon because of the crazy broadcasts, the crazy "new light" that the gb was dishing out, and more recently the australian royal commission lighting up geoffrey.

this past saturday i had an elder stop by to chat for the first time since i left.

kaik

I do not believe on sudden exodus at all. Anyone who were in the WT cult through 1970's-1990's would see the BS and walk away knowing that the theology, system of beliefs, and organization is nothing more than man-made invention. Yet, only individuals left. Other stayed behind. While WT is certainly in crisis, I see it as transformation phase to new level of BS to move from American business model of Knorr's era and vision of 1950's to something more global and less American. It is not the same religion I grew up and I left 20 years ago. As a group, JWs really do not care about flip-flopping doctrines, they just want to feel to be part of exclusive pact that would give them some assurance in survival of big "A" or after resurrection.

While it is possible some groups will split, WT survived 1925, 1975, and gen of 1914 fiasco, and will survive all of us. It is a wishful thinking that WT will explode and cave by many who left WT, but this won't happen.

62

What is the most strange action of a witness while out in field service?

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

i was paired with this older "brother" when i was a teenager.

he was very very strange.

he was a nice guy but goofy.

kaik

I have seen some embarrassments while on field service. One elder loved to stop people in a passage way connecting bus terminal. He often did it that way that he will stop in front of them and prevented people to walk by. However, he caused one elderly woman with a cane to miss her bus. She came back waving the cane over her head screaming that because of him, she missed her bus. We very quickly disappeared in near by apartment complex.

Other time, we were doing field service in Carpathian mountains when we were invited into the farm house. The old man had hand carved huge, old, dinning table with field and forest life motifs: wolves, sheep, goats, bears, but the elder wife refused to sit by the table because she considered the motifs demonic.