You should be able to go to 20 topics per page. There's a set of buttons on every page (5/10/20) that determines the number of topics per page. Click the 20 and things get much happier.
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
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31
New layout feels very chaotic
by EndofMysteries ini don't really know how to describe the feeling but i'll give examples, but the new layout to me makes it feel tiring being on for too long.
1. there is the top menu, then a big add between that and the next part, a big ad between the bottom and where you reply, then on the right column you either have 2 ads on top or some type of summary, then ad, then either related posts or other areas.
there are no borders, the adds have the same color and text type but larger font, and it all seems chaotically merged into one thing where you need to constantly sort out what you are viewing.
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Did you ever hear yourself as a JW say something and think, did that just come out of my mouth?
by Wasanelder Once ini was driving with a long time non-witness friend when a song by supertramp came on the radio and i changed it.
she asked "why did you do that?
i like that song.
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OneEyedJoe
Happened all the time, though to be fair that's partially due to my social ineptitude, since it also happens when I greet someone as we pass in the hall at work.
The best example of this happening in a jw setting, though, was after a surgery. When people asked how I was, I would say "I'm OK, but it'll sure be nice when I get to the new system and have someone who knows what they're doing working on me." This, despite the fact that the surgeon did an amazing job.... Even as I was saying it, I knew I was only saying it because that's what was expected.
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BOE 2014-11-06 Procedures when legal issues are involved
by wifibandit infull set: http://imgur.com/a/z4k2t.
sample:.
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OneEyedJoe
So, basically, even though we're making a bunch of organizational changes that essentially gang you out to dry if someone should sue, you need to follow our instructions for your own protection.
Is it me or are they not just reinforcing that pedophiles need to be protected, and any failure in that regard could legally endanger the elders themselves, even though the opposite is true?
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An unconfirmed report of a JW Murder in Mozambique
by Slidin Fast ina couple from the uk, international construction volunteers, were living in a trailer whilst building a translation facility in mozambique.
a gang attacked them with machetes and stole everything they owned.
the couple were flown back to the branch in south africa.
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OneEyedJoe
I cant vouch for the validity of this, but if true it is a terrible tragedy and one can only wonder.. Where was the most powerful force in the universe on that day? Taking its lunch break?
To paraphrase Elijah's taunts to the baal worshipers - perhaps he was taking a dump.
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A possible way for the Watch Tower to generate revenue via their website.
by adjusted knowledge inearlier in the week someone posted the potential value of the jw website based on visits and if they used advertisements.
many stated they would never do that but i propose they could.. besides their real estate profit making business model, they have the conventions as cash generating machines.
they give directions to their members to which hotels/motels to use.
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OneEyedJoe
I came in here fully expecting some completely unrealistic idea, but I think you might be on to something. They've already got links to Roku stuff up there, so I could totally see them expanding this.
There was a time i would've said "no way" if someone suggested that they'd pass slips out to take pledges for money, or install credit card machines in assembly halls, or require that any excess congregation fund be donated outright. In light of that, I find it difficult to say that they'll never put some kind of ads on their website.
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My Explanation of Why They Got it Wrong About Blood Using Only the NWT
by cofty in10 " any israelite or any alien living among them who eats any bloodi will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
12 therefore i say to the israelites, "none of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.
15 'anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
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OneEyedJoe
Thanks, cofty, for this...I hope you don't mind if I claim this research as my own should the need arise. This is especially pertinent considering the wt study in two weeks veers into a tangent on blood. -
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Do current JWs like to have Bible discussions?
by Magnum inon another thread rufus t. firefly made this interesting comment:.
my wife is a "zealous" regular pioneer who never talks about the bible or "the truth" and who has no interest in conducting a bible study with anyone.
this is how one remains a jw.. i decided to start a new thread to discuss this, since i didn't want to veer completely off the topic of the original thread.. i can relate to what rufus said - not concerning my wife, but other close jw family members.
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OneEyedJoe
There are some that still like to discuss the Bible (or, more accurately, the WTS' interpretation thereof) but these are usually the older ones that seem to have more of a doomsday fetish than the younger one or the more recent converts. What's more is that it's never really an open discussion - any dissent from the official interpretation and the conversation devolves into a lecture about how you need to pay better attention at meetings and toe the line.
The younger group (30's and younger) only talk about"spiritual" activities, the things they feel guilty about ("omg I know it's bad but I just had to see the new twilight movie") or some point in a recent WT that they can use to brow beat someone else that's doing something that they don't agree with (or to beat someone else down to inflate their holier than thou ego).
As for the OP's supposedly non-controversial questions - the problem is that they are controversial. Will the end come in 10 year's time? That forces them to recall that 10 years ago they would've unhesitatingly answered in the affirmative. Who's the king of the north? We used to know but things don't really fit the old predictions these days, and the light is supposed to get brighter, not dimmer.. The sad fact is that there are few questions of any depth that doesn't expose some failing of the cult - and that's why no one asked questions, they're too afraid of the answers.
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Please post new forum feedback or questions here
by Simon inwell, the switchover happened - there were a couple of things i had to fix which meant the posting was disabled for longer than i planned but it's now enabled and some people have already posted.. if you have any questions about the new format or suggestions on how to improve it, please post them here.. if you are having trouble signing in or posting then you'll need to email me instead.. many thanks to everyone for their patience during the changeover !.
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OneEyedJoe
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but paragraphs don't seem to happen for me in PMs (this is my first post since the switch, do I guess we'll see if it's a problem here, to)
I had this problem using chrome for android, but I'm not sure if that's related. I got a PM from someone else, and they had the same problem (they sent another one apologizing for it)
So this should be paragraph #3.... let's see how it goes.
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Men are not looking forward to becoming Elders or Ministerial Servants
by Hidden-Window ini have noticed an apparently increasing number of men who are not interested in becoming ministerial servants or elders.
i also know of some that have voluntarily stepped down (which is my case) for no obvious solid reason.. i remember, during my teenage years or even during my twenties, the brothers were always looking forward to being appointed... although many still do, i have noticed there are many others with whom you do not know what the deal is.. since there is no freedom of speech within the organization, we remain in the dark about the motives and desires of everybody else.
i attend a congregation with only two ministerial servants, while it is full of men who do not seem to be willing to do more.. it is hard to tell exactly what is going on, since honesty is not possible while you are inside, but i am starting to think that more and more are becoming disillusioned.... .
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OneEyedJoe
I'm curious what everybody thinks on this. Is this a purely JW phenomenon or part of a larger social phenomenon or both?
That there is a malaise among young men has become fairly well documented of late.
They don't have the interest in education, careers, marriage, family, home ownership or any of the other traditional milestones we associate with adults that previous generations did.
Could the lack of ambition among JW males be part of this? Or have they simply wised up and recognize a prison treadmill when they see one?
When talking about this topic, I always have to remember something I heard a long time ago: "Every generation thinks the one before it is old-fashioned, and the one after is doomed." Not sure if this is some famous quote, but it's quite accurate. We tend to white-wash our own past and view the current youth through the lense of our current understanding of the world. This leads to a skewed perspective, which then leads us to confirmation bias - only picking up on evidence that today's youth are worthless humans and those older than us are hopelessly out of touch.
My personal theory is that the apathy in JW ranks is due to the combination of a number of factors:
1. Decline of productivity of the ministry - even if they're not consciously aware, it's been a long time for most JWs since the last time they had a productive bible study with anyone. This is discouraging. Even on the service meeting, the "good experiences" related almost invariably end with "we had a good conversation, even though they didn't take the magazines" or something else, whereas they used to end with "I started a bible study." Morale is down because of this, and this is probably a large part of the motivation for the numerous tract campaigns - they figure if they can get the JWs to the point where they're told not to start long conversations, they won't find it as demoralizing when they don't.
2. Somewhat related to #1, the world at large is becoming more secular. In any given day, a JW's faith is assaulted from many angles - science (evolution, cosmology, and archeology especially), increased connectivity to good people that aren't JWs, increased connectivity with JWs that may have left/faded, TVs shows and movies about scientologists and mormon/LDS cults, and a general disgust with evangelical christians. In response to all this, it's much easier to just not talk about being a JW with anyone. Any open/honest conversation would lead them to question their faith, and that's something that many are afraid to do. The only time they talk JW stuff is in groups that are exclusively JW, or in service. Outside of that, they don't want to do it. When they don't live it 100% of the time, it's harder to be zealous and to want to do it more, because they're probably happier when they don't have thier JW hat on.
3. This generation hasn't had their 1975 style fiasco. Failed predictions like that (and 1914-1925) do 2 things: weed out fence sitters and force those who remain to double-down and become more zealous. The net result is that you have a much higher percentage of people who are going to "reach out" for priveledges.
4. These days time is at a premium. There's always something that you can do to entertain yourself, and boredom isn't tolerated for more than a few minutes. In service, it's looked down upon to be playing angry birds on your phone while in the car, so it's super boring. The boredom of service is making a greater impact on the zeal of the younger generation than it did on mine (and I'm not that old at 30).
There's probably more to it still, and the culture of today's youth probably doesn't help much (and that's partially encompassed in point #4) but I don't think that's the sole problem.
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Men are not looking forward to becoming Elders or Ministerial Servants
by Hidden-Window ini have noticed an apparently increasing number of men who are not interested in becoming ministerial servants or elders.
i also know of some that have voluntarily stepped down (which is my case) for no obvious solid reason.. i remember, during my teenage years or even during my twenties, the brothers were always looking forward to being appointed... although many still do, i have noticed there are many others with whom you do not know what the deal is.. since there is no freedom of speech within the organization, we remain in the dark about the motives and desires of everybody else.
i attend a congregation with only two ministerial servants, while it is full of men who do not seem to be willing to do more.. it is hard to tell exactly what is going on, since honesty is not possible while you are inside, but i am starting to think that more and more are becoming disillusioned.... .
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OneEyedJoe
This was the general rule in my area. If you were a young man who (1) avoided getting into serious trouble with the elders (2) was regular at all meetings and (3) put in at least 10 hours a month in field service, you'd make ministerial servant by 20/21.
Maybe I was just always in the wrong croud, but I didn't know many young pioneers and everyone I grew up with that didn't get in trouble where MSes in their mid-late 20s. There's one uber-dub in the group, though, that was made an MS at 18, elder at 22 or 23. Man did that do a number on his ego. Its rare that I'll encounter anyone with a way of speaking that equals his in pretension.
I was publically reproved for drinking when I was 20 or 21. I can't remember the exact year anymore. In any event, I went from feeling like some giant stud to feeling like an outcast. My reputation had been destroyed. I began dating a girl a few years after my reproval and it was going great until her family found out I'd been reproved. You'd have thought her dauther was dating a drug-dealing, gang-banger with a felony conviction. It was awful.
A little off-topic, but it always struck me as shameful the way people would treat someone who'd been reproved, even if it had been years prior. Years ago I knew a girl that started dating some former bethelite that had been reproved about a year prior (of course, no one knew what for, but EVERYONE assumed it was fornication). A number of people questioned her choice because he'd been reproved. The contrast between this behavior and Jesus' words to forgive your brother 77 times (as well as many other oft-cited principles on forgiveness) was quite stark.