OneEyedJoe

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Posts by OneEyedJoe

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  5

  Pastor Russell demoted to Brother Russell

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the reading room, and noticed in the god's kingdoms' rules, rules, and more rules book.. brother charles taze russell and brother russell.. never noticed him being called brother russell before..

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  OneEyedJoe

  I don't think that's new...in fact I barely remember him being called pastor.
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  7

  Strange concepts

  by lurkernomore in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i don't know why this popped in my head earlier today but here goes:.

  satan apparently blinds the eyes of un-believers towards the 'truth'.

  this point has been discussed both at meetings and during discussions with others in the congregation over the years.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Not to mention the ever-perplexing question that arrises:

  If Satan is blinding the minds of the unbelievers, would the unbeliever know it? Typically it would be quickly agreed upon that, no, they would not be aware that they were being blinded, because such awareness would likey counteract the effects of being blinded. Once you acknowledge that someone being blinded by satan wouldn't know it, the next question is "How do I/we know that Satan isn't blinding my/our mind(s)?" The more you try to disregard the question, the more you're forced to face that maybe your desire to disregard it is due to the effects of having your mind blinded. The only way to prove that you're not being blinded is to look at the evidence objectively, and anyone honestly doing that can only come to one conclusion.
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  43

  Update to Rio Rancho, NM Kingdom Hall

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=678180165590951&set=o.585807931515647&type=1.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Even if they'd had no agreement, I'd be surprised to learn that the family made up the story of talking to those who were doing the building project. If they'd talked to them, then it's the same because there's no good reason not to move the KH in order to be the good neighbors they always claim to be.
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  43

  Update to Rio Rancho, NM Kingdom Hall

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=678180165590951&set=o.585807931515647&type=1.

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  OneEyedJoe

  itKH - it might be a non-story if not for two factors:

  1. The family approached the people in charge of the building project and discussed the issues. The head JWs apparently had no problem adjusting things to make sure his view wasn't ruined. They had a handshake agreement that they'd leave the view unobstructed.

  2. The JWs are CONSTANTLY bragging about what good neighbors they are (both litterally and figuratively). I've heard dozens of stories from the platform about how a "good wittness" was given during the KH project because they worked with the surounding homeowners to make sure that any concerns where addressed (even though they weren't legally required to). Stories are told of how they've repaired the neighbor's fence (even parts that don't border the KH property) or repainted houses or whatever. This story flys in the face of all that, and is a clear example of the truth that this is not the most loving organization on earth, but just made up of good and bad people alike.
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  42

  Ironic quote in the 5/14wt lesson "Are you moving ahead with Jehovahs Organization"

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the whole article makes me ill with its worse than average mind control.. i was going to only include one quote but there are so many doozies that i will post what i feel to be the worst.. from paragraph 6.

  "gods organization survives and flourishes on earth because the people who are part of it have his approval.".

  the great tribulation has been "so close" for over 120 years of wt history.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Yesterday's meeting was pretty unbearable. Here were the highlights:

  The public talk was about dealing with anxiety. I forget the exact title of the talk, but it's a fairly commonly used outline, "Coping with anxiety in today's world" or something like that. This was my first time hearing it while awake. The first 20 minutes (fully 2/3rds of the talk) the speaker was essentially just giving reason after reason for why we shoudl be anxious. I said to my wife at one point "it seems like the talk is designed to make us anxious. I was fine before I came in, but man it sure sounds like there's a lot to be anxious about." Usually any criticism of what's being said in the meetings is met with a stern look or a "i don't like it when you say things like that." this time, though, she smiled and said "was that not what the talk was about - 'Being anxious in today's world?'" Maybe I'm getting through to her a little, hopefully.

  On to the WT study:

  It's funny how differently you can read something depending on your mental state. Every time I read the phrase "our understanding" in a sentence that was encouranging the reader to accept and embrace the changes, the 'our' in my mind was the GB. It really reads differently when you see it that way - it reads abusive and controling: "I changed my mind, now you need to follow!". But a JW who hears that "our understanding" has changed, and they automatically include themselves as a part of 'our' as if by the mere announcement that you believe something different, it's somehow become a part of your own mental understanding and belief system. It's truely scary when you think of the extremes in how that power might be used.

  On Paragraph 10, I had something of a epiphany. They instruct us to read Proverbs 4:18 (the org's favorite scripture - light gets brighter) and of course everyone faithfully taps on the scripture on their iPad, reading in epub format and it takes them to the scripture. When I first discovered that they'd included the scriptures in the epub formatted WT, I was pretty surpised, because I'd always been told that we need to read scriptures directly from the bible - not printing out all the scriptures in the WT study and reading them off a sheet of paper. I didn't think of it much beyond that, though, and enjoyed the convenience. Yesterday, I realized the reason for the reversal: they're providing a convenient way to read the "necessary" scriptures, and now have absolutely no risk that someone might get ambitious and actually read the context! If they did that, they'd see that Prov. 4:18 doesn't actually apply in any way to what they were saying. It wouldn't be hard for them to instead link to the JW library app and take you to the scripture in context, if they wanted to - but that would be completely self-defeating.

  Par. 11 - we're encouraged to go to all the meetings. (I guess Jesus isn't really there when only 2 are gathered in his name, you have to be at the KH, too). In summation, before moving to the next paragraph, the conductor actually said these words: "With all the changes that have been going on, it's more important than ever to be at the meetings. If you miss a thursday and a sunday, you might not recognize the organization anymore"

  Par 14 was a good one. I always love to watch for the paragraphs where they don't even bother to cite any scriptural backing. One older brother and powerful elder made a shocking comment here in reference to the quote from Pryce Hughes " My early experience taught me how unsound it is to rely on human reasoning. Once my mind had been resolved on that point, I determined to stay by the faithful organization. " He re-read the quote, but when he got to the "Once my mind had been resolved" part he said "In other words, once he got his mind right." He went on to assert that if you aren't following along with everything you're told from the org, you "need to get your mind right."

  Par 15 was also interesting from my new perspective. It purports to liken the changes in the organization to the changes that had to be made in the 1st century. Looking at it as a JW, it totally validates that the org should be constantly changing, but if you actually read and discern what was going on, it takes a totally different meaning. Paul was telling them not to continue as though they were under the mosaic law - they had to 'keep up with god's organization.' The important difference, though, was that neither Jesus, nor Paul, nor anyone else EVER told them to follow the mosaic law in the first place. For this to be a true parallel, there'd have to be a scripture where Paul instructs the congregation to remain under law, then one where he changes his mind - obviously this isn't the case. The other intersting thing here, was that it cast the congregation members as being the ones at fault - perhaps a subtle attempt to reinforce the belief that things like 1975 where never advertised from the top, and was purely the fault of those in the congregation.

  All-in-all, a truely sickening meeting.
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  40

  World Events bring about A Renewed Zeal!!!

  by jk-ton in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi guys!

  is anyone sensing an increasingly sanctimonious arrogance in j-dubs recently?

  im asking this as i am finding that with the two major news stories in the last few weeks (ie.

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  OneEyedJoe

  They have a great system, anytime something happens, everyone says it's the beginning of the great tribulation. once it's solved and peace returns, they're watching for a cry of peace and security.

  That said, I haven't noticed anything locally. Most here are totally clueless to current events.
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  44

  Just curious...how did you find Jehovah's Witness Net?

  by cultBgone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the influx of new posters made me wonder if the push to view jw.org is helping curious ones find this support site?.

  please post whether you found jwn during an internet search or if someone told you about it.. i myself was directed here by a df'd family member once i shared my doubts with that person..

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  OneEyedJoe

  I finally decided that I needed to talk to someone about all my concerns, but I didn't want it to be a whole thing. I knew if I talked to an elder they'd probably want to study some book with me, and I knew that'd go one of two ways: I'd either chicken out and just go along reading the answers out of the paragraphs, or I'd push the issue and ask questions that I knew deep down had no good answers.

  Instead I did a Google search go 'jw forum' and this was the first hit.
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  39

  Poignant Statistics Summary for Comment at This Sunday WT Study! (Aug. 3, 2014)

  by SAHS in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the watchtower study to be considered this sunday, august 3, 2014 (using the magazine dated may 15, 2014), titled are you moving ahead with jehovahs organization?, in paragraph seven (on pages 27-28), talks about the number of people baptized in recent years:.

  7 where do those making up the great crowd come from?

  they are being brought together because of what jesus foretold as part of the sign of his presence.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Regardless of the semantics about publishers and baptisms, the numbers (especially over a 10yr period) are sufficient to show a trend. Either there's a ton getting DF'd (there are, but not that many) or there's a ton of baptized folks that went inactive.
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  33

  What Would It Take To Prove......

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a hypothetical question.. at a minimum, what evidence would it take to prove that the society is trying to quietly shed publishers?.

  now, i don't think we have evidence of this yet but that doesn't mean it could never happen.

  we must consider where the trends of magazine/literature cuts, branch office sales, coerced contributions, bethel/do layoffs, and emphasis on jw.org lead us.. otoh, you might argue that there would never be a deliberate move to get rid of them, just moves that discreetly abandon them.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Yeah, when it comes down to it, leadership by comittee is an odd beast and that may just be the only thing that's in play here. It may just be that the combination of wishful thinking and the human brain's aptitude for finding patterns (even if they don't exist) might be the driving force behind the idea of an intentional shedding of fence-sitters.
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  33

  What Would It Take To Prove......

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a hypothetical question.. at a minimum, what evidence would it take to prove that the society is trying to quietly shed publishers?.

  now, i don't think we have evidence of this yet but that doesn't mean it could never happen.

  we must consider where the trends of magazine/literature cuts, branch office sales, coerced contributions, bethel/do layoffs, and emphasis on jw.org lead us.. otoh, you might argue that there would never be a deliberate move to get rid of them, just moves that discreetly abandon them.

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  OneEyedJoe

  At the risk of turning this into something of a circle jerk, you have a good point that I hadn't considered, Vidiot. If they shed everyone all at once, the chance of a splinter group capturing a large portion of those shed goes up substantially. They don't want competition with another group that's similar, since it would fly in the face of their claims to be special and unique. It's definitely better to loose people slowly and just let them disperse amongst the existing religions or become atheist, since they would then pose no great threat of attracting away loyalists. If there's a splinter group of sufficient size, the loyalists might get curious.