Jehovah's Witnesses: Behind Their Lies

a reply to: pjdonovan70

Excellent compilation...thanks for posting that.

It seems like the end they are now speaking of may refer more to the end of the JW's themselves though!

originally posted by: Murgatroid
Has a mass exodus begun in the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses?

Desperation! THE MASS EXODUS HAS BEGUN.

The internet is the most powerful external weapon against the Watchtower. The most powerful internal one is themselves. With all the rapid fire desperate changes taking place in The Watchtower, the more savvy, acute Jehovah's Witness will begin to see all this maneuvering for what it is, Desperation. Every new light has new questioners. Virtually none of the children who have not been baptized will ever stay in the religion once they are adults, and hardly anyone from the field is attracted to the organization.

It's truly exciting to see the early stages of the COLLAPSE OF THE WATCHTOWER ORGANIZATION.

Update : Most of their real estate has been sold off, Kingdom Halls are "compressing", Bethelites and missionaries are being sent home, 20 Branch Offices shutdown, Watchtower format changed to public issues and private issues, more and more judicial committee meetings being held for apostasy. (THE WATCHTOWER IS DEAD IT JUST HASN'T FALLEN OVER YET! The Watchtower officials are "dividing up the booty" and getting out of Dodge!

answers.yahoo.com...

Whilst I am glad that the cult is finally imploding, as these things often do, I feel sorry for the millions of people who have devoted large parts of their lives to this counterfeit and then the truth dawns on them. It is a really hard place to be. Many go off the rails for a while. I estimate it took 10 years of intense study with a couple of years at Bible college to deprogram. Financially I dont know if I will ever catch up.

If you know one, give them an encouraging word, there is life after the JWs and it is bigger and better than they could ever imagine.

originally posted by: pjdonovan70
a reply to: Stormdancer777

"To what generation did Jesus refer? Jesus was referring, not to the wicked, but to his disciples, who were soon to be anoited with holdy spirit. Jesus' anoited followers, both in the first century and in our day, would be the ones who would not only see the sign but also discren its meaning - that Jesus "is near at the doors." 14 What does this explanantion mean to us? Although we cannot measure the exact length of "this generation," we do well to keep in mind severaal things bout the word "generation:" It usually refers to people of varying ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period; it is not excessively long; and it has an end. (Ex. 1:6) How, then are we to understand Jesus' words about "this generation?" He evidently meant that the lives of the anoited who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914 would overlap with the lives of other anoited ones who would see the start of the great tribulation." - The Watchtower 2010 Apr. 15
answers.yahoo.com...

From what I have heard, that is the current "new light".

This has to be funniest thing I have seen for years. I was laughing for days. It explains it pretty well though.

a reply to: Cinrad

a reply to: Murgatroid

a reply to: Cinrad. That video had me laughing my ass off. Thank you for starting my morning off with a good laugh.

a reply to: ketsuko

I can't remember but it might have been that most of the end time stuff came from my mother, at the age of twelve I became fascinated with the book of revelations, and always will be I suppose.

She was a big Rex Humbard fan, I have the old Rex Humbard prophecy Bible

a reply to: Murgatroid


WOW thanks for sharing that

a reply to: Cinrad

Funny yet sad, as another person pointed out those who were so dedicated.

Families torn apart by harsh shunning rules, what a shame.

a reply to: Murgatroid

I keep seeing references about a mass exodus of JW's...

Hmm.

That's funny because there are plans to build 1300 new Kingdom Halls in the United States alone.


I've seen people leave, some come back, but I haven't seen a "mass exodus".


New branch headquarters have been built all over the world to serve people in other countries.

a reply to: ketsuko

But if they've never read the Bible for themselves ... how do they know they are really sharing God's word and not the word of their pastors?

"Read God's Word Daily", is what I have been told since 1977.

I have also been told to use other translations as well....

a reply to: Murgatroid

MUST read books for Jehovah's Witnesses who have any doubt about whether or not the JW organization is a cult..

Among Jehovah's Witnesses I have seen some real jackasses.

The reason that they are what they are, is that they don't follow Bible principle.

I also know many, many, genuinely good people.


At times I have seen charismatic individuals who rise up in the organization and seem to draw people to themselves. It eventually ends badly.


We should always, always, always, point people to Christ, who is the perfect reflection of his Father.


If anything my personal experience is that leadership has been very hands off with me.

Some people have strong opinions. If they are in leadership, they can be dangerous, if the Holy Scriptures are not the basis for teaching.


The organization is alot like ATS.

People drawn from all over the world with a common interest.

Moderators are selected.

Some people love the Moderators.

Some people hate the Mods, and don't follow the rules.

Some want peace, some want drama.

Some are very active, and become popular, and a three word response gets them 20 stars.

Many ATSers tell others outside of ATS about their conspiracy beliefs, and are looked at like they have an extra eye growing from their face.

Some people leave in a huff.

Some leave and come back.

Some really like ATS overall and stick around.


Every organized group has rules and guidelines and leaders.

That don't make them a cult

a reply to: Char-Lee

It was a poor choice of words, I wanted to erase them from existence, even if they are outrageous enough to shock a person out of a brainwash state. I will always be respectful to people and they don't deserve to be lied to either, or to tell me a lie.

I want people to realize that other people cover up things for reasons. It is a big deal to change the worship of the sun, and then big to branch off of that in sectors. It is not a big deal to laugh at it and change nothing, but to acknowledge the truth, after studying the evidence is different than the brainwash state of rejection.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are in fact the real New Testament, and they are Far from the NT in the bible. But, they do contain parables and the teachings of Christ, and over 900 books. Not only does that mean the NT has been fabricated, but the ways in which it has been fabicated are in the name of paganism and astrology.

a reply to: Murgatroid

I keep seeing references about a mass exodus of JW's...

This could easily be interpreted as the sorting work, the narrow path will not have many travelers, the large religions who continue to bulge at the seams as the last days conclude are on a broad easy path.

a reply to: Cinrad

I don't get that any religion is a cult anymore than another unless something like snake handling. The JWs worship the same as almost all except they don't call their buildings churches but call the people the church correctly.

cult
kəlt/Submit
noun
a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
"the cult of St. Olaf"
a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.
"a network of Satan-worshiping cults"
synonyms: sect, denomination, group, movement, church, persuasion, body, faction
"a religious cult"
a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
"a cult of personality surrounding the leaders"
synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for, idolization of, devotion to, worship of, veneration of
"the cult of eternal youth in Hollywood"

We have a few old Finn Jehovah Witnesses that come over for bible study once in a while. I like these two old people, they are decent people. We talk about god, I actually like doing that. I bring up things that most people won't bring up. They are obligated to try to teach us from their little book, and we read from it alternately. I like making them feel like they are accomplishing something at their age. I have no intention of becoming a Jehovah Witness but would like to learn a little more about how the regular people in their religion think and feel. It doesn't hurt to discuss religion with these people, I like to think I can possibly adjust their consciousness a little.

If this is a cult, not all members believe in the cult part. These people I have met are just trying to spread the philosophy that they believe in, one that not many people think is right. But in essence they believe most everything that Christians do, actually taking the writings of the bible more seriously. We all will read a passage from the bible, the same passage, and compare what is said. Sometimes the way it is written in their bible is better, other times the way it is written in the other bibles is better. We are using three different bibles, the wife's is the King James version, the one I am using is one of my mothers old bibles, the new translation used by some religions, and of course they both have their bible.

What we seem to be doing is comparing perceptions. I like doing this, these people are far from pushy. I finally got the old guy to have coffee and a cookie. We discuss anything from alcohol to environment and their viewpoints actually are not much different than mine. But we are all Finns, so I guess that is a relationship that binds us.

Now they do believe in the 144,000 and that god will be cleansing the earth. You guys that know me know I do say when I see something wrong. I brought up that the bible clearly states that we will not know when the apocalypse is coming, but I did say we were in for a major correction in our lifetime. The deceit and lies never hold up, many societies are built on deceit and misinterpretations that are spewed to help people appear better than others. They agreed that we do not know when the apocalypse is coming and actually said that if everyone knew, that everyone would be rushing to church getting saved. I like conversations with people who can think on their own, these two old people actually can think instead of parroting the information in their literature. But they still need to read a little out of their book so they feel like they are doing their job. I will do this with them and participate in this.

I even told the old guy that my church is the woods, I feel best there. He said he also loves sitting amongst the trees and has always felt good there. The woods are god's creation. I feel better in this creation than I do in a church building, that is why I do not belong to a church, I would rather spend time in god's garden.

To me the name of god is not really that important, the old bibles of different cultures say his name is something like Jehovah but also state the name of god should not be uttered. This means that this name is not the true name of god in pronunciation. It has to be pronounced right, and very few if any actually know how to pronounce it any more. The phonetics of pronunciation are important in this issue, they do not think they are though. Saying that their pronunciation is right is actually not the truth either, but it is not worth arguing about. These two people, probably in their eighties have the right to believe, and they are not pushy with us. They just want to try to help us understand. I try to help them understand also. It is a bible study, not a sales pitch in my mind.

None of this really matters anyway in my mind. It is our actions that are important, not what religion we belong to. If we treat others as we would want them to treat us, and not take advantage of others we would all be better off. But still, those who desire to rip others off should be dealt with. This includes tricking others into wanting what they do not really need. Life could be so simple and stress free. We also need to tend to the garden of Eden that god gave us, this whole planet is the garden of Eden, but we are making it into a trash heap. Even the Witnesses that are coming over agree with that.

So now I am open to getting bashed by those who do not like the Witnesses, maybe there are some pushy ones, but I treat them nice and they do the same with me. This is a free country, we have the right to freedom of religion. It is when we decide our rights are better than others that conflicts arise.

originally posted by: greyer
a reply to: Char-Lee

It was a poor choice of words, I wanted to erase them from existence, even if they are outrageous enough to shock a person out of a brainwash state. I will always be respectful to people and they don't deserve to be lied to either, or to tell me a lie.

I want people to realize that other people cover up things for reasons. It is a big deal to change the worship of the sun, and then big to branch off of that in sectors. It is not a big deal to laugh at it and change nothing, but to acknowledge the truth, after studying the evidence is different than the brainwash state of rejection.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are in fact the real New Testament, and they are Far from the NT in the bible. But, they do contain parables and the teachings of Christ, and over 900 books. Not only does that mean the NT has been fabricated, but the ways in which it has been fabicated are in the name of paganism and astrology.

. You can't base the accuracy o of the bible based only on the dead sea scrolls. As Dr. Walter D. Huyck Jr. puts it, "when considering the impact of the scrolls upon the New Testament. We must conclude that our cultural understanding of the period, as a result of the scrolls, is limited to that of the Essene community at Qumran. It would be difficult to apply the context of the scrolls beyond this community because they were so secluded from common society, and their documents often exaggerated the situations addressed to the benefit of their utopian views. Therefore, the historical reliability of the scrolls is questionable."

originally posted by: Char-Lee
a reply to: Murgatroid

I keep seeing references about a mass exodus of JW's...

This could easily be interpreted as the sorting work, the narrow path will not have many travelers, the large religions who continue to bulge at the seams as the last days conclude are on a broad easy path.

I think the basics are there in most religious denoms, but there is also a lot of other baggage to be waded through on your way.

To me, the idea of church is a place where believers can gather for fellowship and to study together, to carry out those necessary rituals to their life such as marriages and baptisms and observances/remembrances of God's appointed times. Many churches have grown well beyond that to many other things and have put ritual ahead of learning and knowledge.

a reply to: rickymouse

Yeah, Christ didn't have a church/building

It has all been twisted into something unrecognizable

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
a reply to: rickymouse

Yeah, Christ didn't have a church/building

It has all been twisted into something unrecognizable

Jesus taught anywhere he could and actually was kind of against the Jewish Church because the Church was more important to them than god's creation. Like I said. I have no interest in belonging to any religion anymore, but that does not mean I can't discuss the subject with others on a neutral basis.