Posts by OneEyedJoe

31

Why do you still give talks?

by 1tMakesNoSence in

assuming you are still sitting there because of circumstances.

why do you still give/don't give talks?i ask this because i have to give talk no.

3: love and obedience bring happinessnwt p. 26 4-6 (5 min.

I vote for going ultra-hardline, but back everything up with references to the WT. If you give a talk that your conscience is OK with, then you would only be serving to soften the face of the cult to anyone there who assumes you're a JW (i.e. everyone). You never know who in the audience might have a problem with something in the cult (in this case, perhaps the call for obedience even if it doesn't make sense) and if you soften the blow you might serve to keep them in the cult longer.

That or spin things such that you're directly condemning the cult in some way without saying it. My favorite talk ever was the one about 8 months ago where I got up there and talked about how we would never want to be a part of any religious organization that had ties to the UN. It was hilarious and sad at the same time to see all the nodding heads.

Anyway, you're never going to reform the cult. Certainly not by giving softened talks that could pass for legitimate christian sermons. I think the only way to help is for anyone who's still in to point out the flaws by making them obvious, either by citing inconvenient scripture or by going ultra-hardline. A talk about obedience seems like a great time to do the latter.

23

Governing Body Mandating That Parents Shun DF'd Preteens Baptized Children Will Hurt Them Big Time In The Courts

by Brokeback Watchtower in

as the bad conduct of the governing body becomes widely known to both judge and jury i expect that will make lawsuits more profitable against them and easier wins against them and more plentiful.. i think probably one of the most damming videos out there on the net is the one where the parents show their loyalty to the wt corporation and shun their own flesh and blood in obedience to it cruel directives.

this video truely shows that the governing body don't give a shit about the children who symbolize their dedication to the corporation or their parents.. such a self serving corporation that uses it members for profits only and offer nothing in return no matter how much how much they claim otherwise.

they can't hide this it is plain as day so no matter how much they claim they are concerned about the youth in the organization their action thunder loudly and can not be hiden under a basket.

OneEyedJoe

In a related topic - My brother (a JW) and his wife (a non-JW) were trying to adopt. They were turned down a number of times because the case worker determined that (a) having a mixed-belief marriage with a high-control religion creates a harmful environment and (b) the dangers of the JW doctrines (e.g. Blood Issue, Shunning) would be a potential harm to the child.

It's always nice to hear when the system actually works as it should.

26

I want serious answers from WT leaders, possible?

by Powermetal4ever in

jw
friends

what would happen if i would write a physical letter to, for example, the branch office.

and ask questions about scandals like the ngo thing and other stuff?

or ask questions about wtbs economy, or ask for a annual report, which is something i would really like to read.

OneEyedJoe

I'm pretty sure they'll refuse to respond unless you give your name and congregation, in which case they'll respond to the BOE. Depending on what you write, they may send a response to the BOE that they'll read to you with additional information for the BOE to read only that they won't tell you about.

I doubt they'll give you anything good - probably just a bunch of crap about being humble laced with lots of out of context or misapplied scriptures.

75

What was your eye opening moment?

by WasOnceBlind in

if you had to pinpoint the time or experience that finally made you open your eyes, what would it be?.

i think for me it was the time i saw my dad shun his brother who he had not seen in decades just because he was a da'ed jw.

i thought to my self "no way jesus would do that.

OneEyedJoe

The misquotes in the creation book was the moment where everything flipped upside down for me.

60

Why don’t we have a better story?

by iconoclastic in

1. some say we are all gods, and god is omnipresent..

2. some say: god created his children who later challenged his sovereignty, who in turn asked his eldest son: go down to the world, do not resist the wicked, but be murdered by them, the value of which will be used to atone the sins of the world..

3. universe arose out of a big bang.

OneEyedJoe

Please educate yourself on evolution. You're making yourself look silly.

18

The monthly broadcast as an opportunity to wake up

by paradisebeauty in

i was thinking that maybe the monthly broadcasts are a occasion for some jw's to wake up.

before those broadcasts they probably imagined that the gobgoverning y members are some very special peopleand that you see in their behavior and words that they are "chosen".

but now all jw's can see them for who they really are: average men, some full of themselves, some ridiculous, some just normal men with nothing special.

OneEyedJoe

You forgot to mention the constant appeal for more donations. I think the new prominence of the GB will be yet another polarizing force - it will cause many to question things and it will cause many to double-down.

22

baptism regional Convention

by antes8080 in

jw
friends

hello friends during the weekend i was in the san diego regional convention and the number of baptisim was way down.. there were 51 who got baptise thats the lowest number i ever seen, the attendance was 14,000 plus .

OneEyedJoe

No IC last year? Wow those numbers are abysmal then. I hope the trend continues as AMIII and Lett get more air time.

14

Are they banning college again?

by thedepressedsoul in

i wasn't alive for this but my parents and many old timers told me that at one point it was pretty much a rule that you couldn't go to college.

some of you may remember that from that time.

over time they relaxed that rule to that you did what you had to do in order to provide for yourself.

OneEyedJoe

Yeah, as others have said, this has been back in full swing for about a decade now. I managed to get through my degree just before the ban was re-instituted. Sitting in meetings and conventions and hearing them rail on higher education was intensely uncomfortable for me - especially when they'd resort to outright lies like saying that it's of no monetary benefit (in my case it paid for itself within a year after graduation) or is only pursued out of greed (bit of kettle logic there - I thought it was of no monetary benefit?) or pride. The horror stories of debauchery were also false - it's not hard to avoid if you want to, for the most part you'll only get in trouble if you're looking for it.

22

baptism regional Convention

by antes8080 in

jw
friends

hello friends during the weekend i was in the san diego regional convention and the number of baptisim was way down.. there were 51 who got baptise thats the lowest number i ever seen, the attendance was 14,000 plus .

OneEyedJoe

I'm guessing there was an IC last year in the area? I'd be willing to bet that areas that were assigned to an IC last year will see a sharp decline in baptisms this year as the trend corrects itself.

45

New Thought About Active J.W.'s

by The Searcher in

from my own observations & conversations with selected active j.w.

's, here are my conclusions:.

's are very rapidly falling into two distinct camps -.

OneEyedJoe

oppostate -

I think you're right, but I would argue that this larger group is very much at risk of falling into category #2. That's exactly how it went with me, anyway. The more they try to assert control and impose guilt on everyone, and the more that's asked to prove loyalty (all the while there's nothing but failed doctrine coming out of the WT) the more people will move from the apathetic group to the disillusioned group.