JW.borg?
It keeps you young, Barb, doesn't it? !!!!!
I'm sure we can count on Witness youth to dutifully read the magazines online, once they're finished gaming and downloading porn.
Thanks again
metatron
Essay by Barbara Anderson: "What's in a Name?"
by AndersonsInfo 48 Replies latest jw friends
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AnnOMaly
Hi Barbara, fascinating article. Enjoyed reading it. Very interesting about the lawsuit in Israel. 'CIC' - absolutely, LOL!
Wasn't there also the situation in Mexico many years ago, where JWs were known and registered as some sort of 'cultural society'? They had Cultural Meeting Halls instead of Kingdom Halls, 'companies' instead of 'congregations,' and never went out in Service armed with a Bible but just with the magazines.
*** Yearbook 1995 pp. 211-213, 233, Mexico ***
"However, there were obstacles because of the restrictions that the law imposed on all religions. Objections were raised to the house-to-house activity of the Witnesses, since the law stipulated that ‘every religious act of public worship must be held inside the temples.’ For the same reason, objections were raised to our conventions in public places. This was a problem, because these conventions were constantly getting larger. Owning property also presented problems, because the law required that every building used for religious purposes had to become federal property.
"For these and other reasons, the Society decided that it would be wise to reorganize, with a view to giving greater emphasis to the educational nature of our work. Therefore, on June 10, 1943, application was made to the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs to register La Torre del Vigía as a civil society, and this was approved on June 15, 1943.
"With this rearrangement, singing at our meetings was discontinued, and the meeting places became known as Halls for Cultural Studies. No audible prayers were said at meetings, though nothing could prevent a person from saying an earnest prayer silently in his heart. Every appearance of a religious service was avoided, and truly our meetings are designed for education. When Witnesses in other lands began to call their local groups “congregations,” the Witnesses in Mexico kept on using the term “companies.” House-to-house visits by the Witnesses continued, and with even more zeal; but direct use of the Bible at doors was avoided. Instead, publishers learned the texts by heart so that they could quote them. They also made good use of the book “Make Sure of All Things,” which is a compilation of Scripture quotations on many subjects. Only on return visits and on studies (which were termed “cultural” instead of “Bible”) was the Bible itself used.
"The principal work of Jehovah’s Witnesses remained the same, namely, preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom."
[ ... ]
"In 1989, with the approval of the Governing Body, a letter was written to all the “companies” saying that as of April 1, we would be operating in Mexico as a religious organization. Afterward, in the June issue of Nuestro Ministerio del Reino (Our Kingdom Ministry), which was changed from being called Informador (Informant) de la Torre del Vigía, further details were given. From then on, the Bible would be used from door to door, and prayers would be offered at meetings. Later, we began to sing songs at the meetings."
See also: Awake! 1974, 7/22, "New Building for Cultural Work in Mexico" p. 16.
By the way, I noticed a typo (I think):
"In October 2012 [should be 2014?] when Watchtower leaders are putting on a new face and celebrating a new image at their Annual Meeting, we will continue to announce the truth to the world ..."
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OnTheWayOut
Thanks for your continued work to expose jw.borg or whatever name Watchtower goes by.
Great article. -
ablebodiedman
Barbara,
Yes, there is some truly insidious evil and duplicity happening in that Society.
But hey, what about some even more insidious names which are only known internally.
Such as; "God's Spirit Directed Organization".
Yes, on the surface it doesn't sound like much of a name until we consider that it is ranked right in amongst those other names that Jesus Christ gave us in his baptismal commandment with an insistance that this extra name is a requirement for salvation.
So what is in this extra name that Jehovah's Witnesess are compelled to make a vow to?
Page 109 of the book; "Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom" gives the answer!
How "God's Spirit Directed Organization" is organized, gets explained on that page.
After that "organizational" arrangement was put into action this is what page 109 quotes the Governing Body as saying:
jv chap. 9 p. 109 Jehovah’s Word Keeps Moving Speedily (1976-1992)
After the committees had been operating for some months, the Governing Body observed: "It has proved beneficial to have a number of brothers taking counsel together to consider the interests of the Kingdom work."
The name; "God's Spirit Directed Organization" is "a number of brothers" ----------------- a man's number!
So what's in a name?
This relegates the identification of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to something even more insidious than just "a cult".
Cult, is an understatement.
It's a beast!
Everything Jesus Christ said would happen, is really happening!
abe
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Jeannette
Barbara------you're one in a milllion, zillion. I live in West Tenn- if you need anything, give me a call.
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Vidiot
AndersonsInfo - "They have to attract youth to the org. or keep the youth that are born in or there is no future for them, so they are reinventing themselves to survive. Believe me, I have that information on good authority."
The inside's staying the same; it's still the same old apocalyptic-millennialist authoritarian high-control group; they're just trying to put a fresh coat of paint on it.
Genuine progressive reform isn't possible at this point; they've painted themselves way too tightly into their ideological corner (all that's really left is to climb the walls ).
AndersonsInfo - "Believe me, I have that information on good authority."
The moles and defectors are, I think, some of my favorite people. And I don't even know who they are.
AndersonsInfo - "If WT wants a new name, let's try this one on: jw.borg. That name is already a hit among young Bethelites as well as former JWs."
Seriously? Bethelites use it???
That's awesome! And funny as hell!
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Vidiot
'Kay, I just read Barb's essay in its entirety, and one bit in particular that really stuck out to me was this one:
"I find the arrogance of the Watchtower to turn to the courts to demand in their lawsuit compensation for mental anguish and legal expenses most nauseous. Obviously, to do such a thing, Watchtower leaders felt no guilt for consciously misleading school authorities by using deceitful tactics; but to me and many others, their actions are reprehensible."
I have a hard time deciding if the WTS reps, by kicking up a fuss, were either arrogant or just plain stoopid.
Either way, I'll paraphrase something I posted in another thread recently ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/279024/2/A-point-which-virtually-every-JW-will-miss-in-this-weeks-book-study#.U0685NT4Cmw ):
If you have to cheat to promote your agenda, your agenda doesn't deserve to be promoted.
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AndersonsInfo
I certainly appreciate all the kind words about my essay and about me too. I've concluded that my role as a former insider at WT headquarters is nothing more than as an "information pusher alonger." It's time consuming I admit, but writers are encouraged to write about what they know best and what I know best is all things Watchtower. Nothing to brag about actually! Wish I could say I'm a science writer or something like that which really takes lots of intelligence.
However, to know that factual information can set people free from the WT's mental hold on them is a reward in itself for the work that I do.
Presently, www.watchtowerdocuments.com is getting a facelift. It still exists, but the remodeled website can be accessed by this link: www.watchtowerdocuments.org. This is where I'm posting my new articles, lots more historical documents along with more court documents. The Home Page will be redone too.
For those who have left the WT, but, as many do, wonder for the rest of their lives if the teachings of JWs about Jesus second coming and the end-of-the- world are the truth, I recently wrote "Examining Apocalyptic Convictions."
http://watchtowerdocuments.org/examining-apocalyptic-convictions/ If you know anyone that might be helped to see WT for what it really is, another false prophet, maybe the information in this article might be of some use to them to help set them free.
And for those who are interested in Charles Taze Russell and his wife, Maria, I've completed about nice chapters about them (a work in progress) and you can find that information here:
http://watchtowerdocuments.org/history-of-charles-taze-and-maria-ackley-russell-contents/
And if you want to have a bit of a laugh, you might read "Playing Footsie with a Circuit Overseer."
http://watchtowerdocuments.org/playing-footsie-with-a-circuit-overseer/
AnnOMally: Thanks for pointing out the error that slipped by me. The Mexico story is very interesting. I'm presently working on an article which will shed some light on that situation, although Ray Franz is owed all our gratitude for exposing the story. I will just add to it.
One of these days, I'm going to post on my website the story of Joe and my visit to Turkey while we were at Bethel. The WT organization was not a recognized religion in Turkey, but operated as a "cultural association" similar to Mexico. We sure had some crazy experiences during our visit especially when we were nearly arrested for participating with others to smuggle into the country a computer for the underground WT branch.
Jeannette: From one Tennessean to another, send me a PM with your phone number and I'll give you a call.
Yep, metatron, working on jw.borg stuff keeps me young. There's so much for me to say and do that is JW-related that I don't have time to get old!
Barbara
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Vidiot
AndersonsInfo - "Wish I could say I'm a science writer or something like that which really takes lots of intelligence."
Lady, you couldn't do what you do if you didn't have brains.
Or a heart. Or courage.
Which means you're the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion, all in one.
I remember seeing you on the Dateline thing way back in the day. I was still in (and it bothered the hell out of me), but I found it quite telling that the WTS gave you the boot only days before it aired; it smacked of desperation on their part even back then, and I never forgot it.
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PaintedToeNail
Barbara, thank you for the very informative article. Another note: the Borg is also stressing those crazy carts! I saw one on a pier in San Diego. Talk about crazy! Everyone else was walking around in shorts, bathing suits or other beach attire and the 'brother & sister' manning the cart were dressing in meeting attire. They looked like ridiculous weirdos. Would you talk to a person at the beach that was dressed in a suit and tie? Didn't think so, no one else was either. There was also a cart at the airport, which was also being ignored by passers-by. Yet, they must be having minor success with this method to keep pushing it.