Srecko Sostar

@Anna I would love to see who you really are, to see you as a person that is so blind to the deliberate faults of JW Org. 
Your long answer is so full of, I think the GB call it garbage. But I'll probs get told off for saying that... 
 It is true that ultimately God reads hearts and reads motives, and that we cannot judge anyone,
Well it's good that Jesus Christ read the heart of Saul, when Saul was persecuting the early Christians isn't it ? Otherwise the Apostle Paul would not have existed.  
Quote " For example there are those who condone things that God hates and implicitly rejects (eg. practicing homosexuals). "
I see you didn't mention Pedophilia then. You really are blind. 
Quote "Firstly, the organization is only in place because of the preaching work. "
BUT, the message keeps changing to suit the GB and it's writing dept'.  Scripture is deliberately misused to misguide innocent people. The Catholic church is earthwide too with it's false message, so not much difference there. 
Quote "Secondly, the organization strives to strictly adhere to the scriptures."  Anna, wake up, the Org misuses scriptures. 
The 'This Generation' scripture is a great example. The 'Superior Authorities' scripture is another example. Are  you being deliberately blind to all this ? 
Quote "Also, as far as I am aware, those who "leave the org." do not continue to preach, and no longer strictly adhere to the scriptures. "
1. I do not preach anymore because I realise now that i only preached what I was told to preach, and that was not serving God it was serving the JW Org. I am quite prepared to admit that I do not know what 'truth' is, so i would not know what to preach. I truly believe that the scriptures, well the deeper parts thereof, are for the Anointed and that the scripture concerning 'ten men clinging to the skirt of a Jew' will take place when God makes it truly known who the Spiritual Jew' really is. 
2. As for 'strictly adhere to the scriptures.'  You are right in my case, but then i was never doing so anyway as I was serving an Organisation, so I was never strictly adhering to scriptures and the Society, GB, JW Org, never did and still do not. 
Quote "There are also many that do not see those things you listed as reasons to leave the org. "
That is because those people serve the Org as their god. They do not look for truth, they are just spoonfed and accept it all. Even when the meanings of scriptures are changed by the GB or writing dept', the congregants do not even question it, they dare not for fear of being disfellowshipped. Those poor people do not know any other life, they are trapped inside that giant bubble, and frightened to look for God themselves. They rely on men that are not anointed with Holy Spirit, to guide them. The blind leading the blind, and we know what happens next. 

But hey.... THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!!

@JW Insider If the Society / GB and all in 'command' had acted in the way that Paul was saying in that 1 Corinthians 9 19-23 scripture, then the Earthwide Child Abuse / Pedophilia  would never have happened. 
But you seem to see it as just collateral damage, necessary for the 'progress' of the Org. 
Quote "Still the core of the religion itself is one that does perhaps the best job of all religions in fighting the machinations of the Devil: " 
How can that be so when many of the beliefs are based on lies or misinformation and meanings of scripture constantly change to suit the purpose of the GB ? And also as I've mentioned above the Child Abuse.  
And you yourself mentioned the Armageddon threats from the Org. When in honesty they have no real idea. They keep moving the goalposts to suit themselves. 
And of course the shunning we will never agree on but we can agree to differ. 
And I've only just spotted this "and pointing out the value of Christian morality", now that has to be a joke. 
And the "We must question." Really ? and get disfellowshipped for doing so. 

My goodness topic wars. (A bit like Robot Wars only funnier) 
We we are all totally off topic of course and we all have our own opinions.
@BillyTheKid46 I honestly don't know who is a Witness and who is an ex-Witness, or who was never a Witness at all
My opinion was that @JW Insider is still a Witness but working for both sides, a bit like Judas did. My feelings are that he/she thinks the JW Org as a whole has the 'truth' but that maybe the GB are going off track. 
As for @Anna , I'm totally confused. I thought she, I presume she is a she, was a Witness as I thought she wrote in the present time about her kingdom hall and elders. 
And you Billy, even you confuse me. Sometimes I think you are a Witness and other times I think you are a religious person but not a Witness.
Hence, everyone, I tell you this, once again. When I upvote or downvote or make reference to a comment, it is ONLY about that ONE comment.  One reason for that is I have a bad memory and cannot remember ten comments back, and a second reason is that a lot of the time,such as now, we are totally off topic anyway, so we cannot be commenting on the actual topic heading.
I do wish people would be their real selves, real names, real photos, etc. It would make my life so much easier. 
Good morning From me in Devon England at 9.30am. I am not a robot    

Question: how does a membership contract apply to a minor? Wouldn't such contracts be null and void - if not illegal because a minor can't sign such a contract?

And what if you were baptized before they changed the wording (from dedication to Jehovah to dedication to organization)?

I focused on “God’s standards”, but after reading the comment by Srecko and John, I realized I missed this part highlighted :
Typically, JWs believe qualifying to be a JW is following God’s standards.    One must enter into a religion formulated by men to “qualify” for life, which is why a person becomes a Mormon, a Seventh Day Adventist or a Catholic.  They gather their flock and pin them down with rituals to be observed and interpretations called doctrine that must be adhered to.  When men rule over men, God’s standards which are based on Christ’s teachings, do not exist.  The captive treasure that the Watchtower uses for its unique validation as “the truth”, are the anointed ones.  Rev 20:7-9; 13:10
 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.  Col 2:8
The “elemental spiritual forces” that instigate the need of an earthly organization, a labeled religion to serve God, is sourced in Satan.   The man in the video who is being slandered because of his desire to put faith in the truths of the Bible, is beginning to wake up to this fact.   He has every reason to be angry.  
 
 

I was going to add this to another topic but remembered we are told to start new topics, so I've done that.
Hope this hasn't been added before but it would take me a month to go through all the topics to see if its on here.
It is about the baptism of children, but I also thing it involves making children go on the ministry. 
http://aawa.co/blog/baptism-of-children-the-issue-of-consent/?fbclid=IwAR1cwfrLr1EizagDGhW0Z_7IZV3TtWPq3CpjidqhiS6bqYZVWirxI-oK01s#comment-2071

Practice and tolerance of what is wrong, often times comes very quietly and imperceptibly.
If the premise is correct; the devil rules the world and seduces people. In that case; devil can and do every trickery to spoil what is true and right and justice/correct. In that light, WTJWORG are NOT IMMUNE on the same. Human History, or if you wish more precisely, Bible History, from Adam to nowadays proves this simple and cruel reality.
Every single free moral agent, free will human, proves one and single fact - all are corruptible, can be spoiled by bad and half true or by lie. 
To have the conviction that an individual or organization is in every respect correct and "having the truth" (religious or some other moral truth) is often the way to appear, to happen just the opposite. Perhaps not necessary on every particular issue. Problem that exist is in this; Organization ask from you, even demand from you to be loyal to all doctrines. They not allows your personal choice to "pick" what you feel as truth, but to carry all what they as Organization found to be The Truth.  
Sometimes, a certain Dilemma, before which we sometimes find ourselves, is the moment when we can be relieved of the trap of the deception in which we fall. But the liberation process of this kind does not always succeed. The fallacy, which is within us, provides a strong resistance and people around us (power of collective/group), who are loyal to the same deceit, working to encourage us to stay in the trap. 

GB Helper quote: "That person's relationship with JHVH is forever ruined. JHVH discards the person like a piece of garbage."
GB terminology: sinful person is garbage
CO terminology: someone's (person's) faith is garbage
"Garbage" is in WTJWORG lexic. And can be using for determining some person's spiritual or literal position inside WTJWORG or in front JHVH God.
 
 

Someone has to take out the trash.

There's a simple message in this video that doesn't require watching all 10 of them, or waiting to hear the "rest of the story".  The reason  I posted it is only to show the contradiction of Watchtower’s teachings, and what the consequences are for not having FAITH in the organization. Rev 13:4  What was told him on the day of baptism is also quoted in the Bible Teach Book:
 Baptism represents something very important. When you are immersed in water, it means that you have died to, or abandoned, your former way of life. When you come out of the water, you will begin a new life doing God’s will. It shows that you will serve Jehovah from now on. Remember that you are not dedicated to a human, an organization, or a work. You have dedicated your life to Jehovah.  "Should I Dedicate My Life to God and be Baptized?"  par 24
Hundreds of people are disfellowshipped every year for rejecting the organization, but STILL maintain their faith in God and Christ.  What the C.O. stated is exactly what the organization believes.  Rev 13:15   If one doesn’t put faith in the organization, their faith is garbage.   
Watchtower 79/3/1, pg 12-18, the article is entitiled, "FAITH IN JEHOVAH'S VICTORIOUS ORGANIZATION"
God is NOT an organization.  We are to put faith only in Him and His Son.  
 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exod 20:4-6
Only those who see the hypocrisy and face the day they question it, will understand what this man is going through.    I just hope there is a JW here asking the same questions as this man has.  
 
 
 
 

Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2     you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
    and the flesh from their bones;
3 who eat my people’s flesh,
    strip off their skin
    and break their bones in pieces;
who chop them up like meat for the pan,
    like flesh for the pot?”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
    but He will not answer them.
At that time He will hide His face from them
    because of the evil they have done.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
    who lead my people astray,
they proclaim ‘PEACE’
    if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
    who refuses to feed them.

6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
    and darkness, without divination.
The sun will set for the prophets,
    and the day will go dark for them.
7 The seers will be ashamed
    and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
    because there is no answer from God.”
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
    to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;
10 who build Zion with bloodshed,
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.

11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,
    her priests teach for a price,
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”

12 Therefore because of you,
    Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,
    the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
 
 

The Lawyers and Accountants now decide theocratic policy for the WTB&TS, and that is a documented fact many times on public display, as discussed here, ad nauseum .... They care ONLY about winning the case for the Society, and care NOTHING about TRUTH and JUSTICE, fairness or equity... or they would not do what they do so transparently BADLY.
The quest for Justice is, for us as an organization, all about preserving money ....  and real estate, through strategy and tactics that would embarrass a crooked used-car salesman.
The Society has NEVER admitted making an administrative mistake that would cost them money, and it took a hundred years for the one-liner in the February 2017 Watchtower for the GB to admit, hidden in a paragraph, that they were NEITHER inspired of God, or infallible.
Other than that .... NEVER.
EVER  (Please correct me with a real example if I am wrong...)
The same is true about the real and alleged victim's lawyers who choose to represent the plaintiffs.
They will only take a case on contingency based on their evaluation that they cannot lose the case, or can force the Society to settle for enough money to make their case, and STILL BE PAID. 
The way the civil secular courts work,  they only have to prove their case to a preponderance of evidence.
For those in Rio Linda, that means 51%.
 

"Police executed a search warrant last week at the headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Kraainem just outside Brussels, the VRT reports. The news was confirmed by the federal prosecutor's office."
http://brusselstimes.com/belgium/justice/15271/police-descend-on-jehovah-s-witness-hq-after-abuse-allegations

@BillyTheKid46 I said it would be sensible to me and that you would not think it sensible. 
We are both totally off topic and we will never agree on things concerning God or how God should be served through Christ. 
You say that ", JW’s encourage everyone to KNOW God personally by means of Jesus sacrifice" 
But the memorial is just one occasion per year. The rest of the time JW's try to tell people that they can only serve God through the JW Org. Quite a difference i think. 
Where does any of this factor into that equation when people are NOT willing to follow bible principles.
If you truly believe that the GB and it's Org 'follow bible principles' that is your choice. 
However by doing some research and having an open mind I have found differently. 
As for 'rethinking Christianity', do you just mean knuckle down and do as I'm told by the JW Org ? 
Or do you mean, as I am doing, having an open mind and listening to every one that makes comments here and elsewhere ? 
No i haven't found direction yet. But I haven't given up either. I'm a sinner like any other. However i think I will be dead for a long time before the Judgement Day arrives. I'm prepared to be judged for all my faults and mistakes. God is merciful  and forgiving and so is Jesus Christ. 
I am not in opposition to God or Christ, I'm just in opposition to a false religion or a religion that has gone off track. 

Woof!

My deceased Father, in one of his observational moods, spent some time watching how well I took  care of, and loved  my dog, Jed, (Jedediah Dog), and remarked "If I am ever reincarnated, I want to come back as your dog."
ECC: 9:3-4
" 3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope[b]—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
As to whether it is better to be  a live dog or a dead lion .... It is better still to be a LIVE LION, than a dead dog.
....and a lot easier!
Unless of course, you are among those agenda driven great unwashed masses who suffer from WDS, ( "The Sword That Cuts Both Ways" (tm) ) for which things that make normal common sense make no sense at all.
 
 

There exists a reason why - making doctrines from poetry - is bad idea.
Another thing what is good to remember from time to time is: word forever, eternal in Bible not necessary holding idea of something that will never stop. :))

Anybody heard of poetic licence? 
Def.  "The freedom to depart from the facts of a matter or from the conventional rules of language when speaking or writing in order to create an effect."

This WTJWORG  "double-edged sword" statement is interesting. 
If GB think how some "others" (not them but "others") members have some mental or emotional problems are problematic to be counted as part of This Particular CLASS, that issue can be solved by some medical examinations and interviews of all who made claim they are anointed. If, after they have been put through a medical test, are Not Positive on Something - whatever the test was looking for - they are healthy :)))

I'll try to explain what I mean about who are "highly spiritual men" among the anointed.  
Gerrit Losch, governing body member speaks on JW Broadcast, March 2018: 
“So whom do you trust?  You fully trust in Jehovah, Jesus, and the “faithful slave”. 
“This is not to say that the slave is perfect and never makes mistakes, but Jehovah and Jesus trust the imperfect slave who cares for things to the best of his ability AND WITH THE BEST OF MOTIVES.  Shouldn’t we then trust the imperfect slave as well?”
“To appreciate the extent of Jehovah’s and Jesus’ trust in the faithful slave reflect on what he has promised its members. He has promised them immortality and incorruption. Soon, just before Armageddon the remaining members of the slave will be taken to heaven.”
 “Since Jehovah God and Jesus Christ COMPLETELY trust the faithful and discreet slave, should we not do the same?”
The rest of the anointed are  not considered part of the “faithful and discreet slave” as a result of “new light”.   How do you feel after reading this?  Do you trust the “faithful and discreet slave” aka “wicked slave” who believe they are most definitely going to heaven to rule with Christ, WHO WILL NOT  REVEAL THIS DECISION UNTIL HE RETURNS? Can uninspired men be given spiritual insight of their own destiny? Matt 25:21  What gives the GB the confidence to say they will “be taken to heaven”?  Prov 16:18   They have judged themselves as “righteous” and they easily judge their “brothers” under them as possibly not righteous. Rom 14:4
“Do the other sheep need to know the names of all anointed ones still on earth today? No. Why not? Because it is not possible for anyone to know for sure that these ones will get their reward.”  Wt 16/1 pp. 20-26
Because of men’s doctrinal change, all anointed are not referred to as “faithful” and “discreet”, which is a twist of scripture to gain power over the anointed ones.  Matt 24:48-51   It has helped put doubts in the anointed mind of their calling, as well as anyone who may know them. 
"So the number includes those who think that they are anointed but are not. For example, some who used to eat the bread and drink the wine later stopped. Others may have mental or emotional problems and believe that they will rule with Christ in heaven."  WT 1/16
 You must trust the GB, because you trust God and Jesus, but don’t trust any other anointed one as worthy of their “heavenly calling”. 
Only spiritual unstable wicked men relishing power over others would expect us to place our trust in them, as we would trust God and Jesus.  
Who then is "faithful and discreet"?  Who is spiritually stable?  Who receives their "heavenly reward"?  At this time, it appears only to be 8 men in power over Christ's slaves.  To make this claim proves they are head over the anointed congregation.  Only Christ is the Head of his Body and determines one's salvation.  Col 1:18
“A lie is a false statement deliberately presented as being true – a falsehood.  A lie is the opposite of the truth.  Lying involves saying something incorrect to a person who is entitled to know the truth about a matter.  But there is also something called a half-truth.  The bible tells Christians to be honest with each other. Now that you have put away deceit, “speak truth”, wrote the apostle Paul at Eph 4:25.  LIES AND HALF TRUTH UNDERMINE TRUST”  Gerrit Losch
 
 
 

My perception is that it is every day normal reality, not idiosyncrasies.
 In keeping with the theme of "Dogs", did you know that the brightest star in Earth's sky is Sirius, the Dog Star?
...just sayin' ....