Posts by OneEyedJoe

How long before jws start giving certificates that say "A donation in the amount of $xx has been made in your name to jw.org" for all their gift giving needs? If that happens, I predict birthdays will get the nu lite treatment!

53

What is their official explanation for not allowing beards?

by keyser soze in

jw
friends

i ask because my gf, who knows all about my jw upbringing, convinced me to grow a goatee, just to see how it looks.

we both decided it looked good so i decided to keep it.

i tried to explain to her that as a jw, i wasn't allowed to grow one, but then drew a blank when she asked me why.

OneEyedJoe

I'm sure it's been said or alluded to - but it's basically an unwritten rule based on a few letters about not having beards and a few references in the magazines that associate beards to negative things.

The reality of it is that it falls right in line with one of their favorite quotes - "those faithful in what is least will be faithful in what is most." They usually use this as an exhortation to be faithful in small things because you'll be strengthened, but there's actually a clear psychological effect that causes people who are willing to submit to a small display of obedience becoming more likely to obey more significant orders afterwards. It's a similar effect as the source of people "throwing good money after bad" at a poker table, or in business. They've made a small investment and rather than come to terms with the fact that this was a wasted investment, they'd rather make ever increasing investments.

I had a discussion with a friend of mine the other day and I got to talking about all the unscriptural rules that the GB puts upon JWs, likening them to the pharisees that jesus said had invalidated the word of god through their traditions of men. He maintained that they were there for the protection of the stupid/weak ones - i.e. no beards because it might stumble someone. When I told him that their order not to have beards stumbled me, he just stared at me and changed the subject.

42

Western Decline is a Reality - 2015 Memorial Attendance

by berrygerry in

as has been observed in western congos, the decline is real.. usa is 12.475 % less -2015 vs 2014.

OneEyedJoe

Yes, strictly speaking you are correct. But the increase in 2014 followed two years of far bigger drops in memorial attendance compared to 2011. That drop has now reversed but still represents much slower growth in memorial attendance numbers. As I said a few posts back, the best way to describe the US and territory patterns in recent years is "fluctuating" attendance patterns.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I was just striving to trace all things with accuracy and admit when my recollection had been wrong :)

I believe 2011's memorial was on Sunday April 17. A sunday memorial would have definitely explained the uptick in attendance.

42

Western Decline is a Reality - 2015 Memorial Attendance

by berrygerry in

as has been observed in western congos, the decline is real.. usa is 12.475 % less -2015 vs 2014.

OneEyedJoe

I stand corrected - there was a 0.36% increase in 2014 once the merged branches are accounted for, pulling numbers from the thread below.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/282591/october-2014-kingdom-ministry-km-10-2014-pdf

Even so I think it's clear that we've reached stagnation at the very least, and decline as a percentage of the population.

42

Western Decline is a Reality - 2015 Memorial Attendance

by berrygerry in

as has been observed in western congos, the decline is real.. usa is 12.475 % less -2015 vs 2014.

OneEyedJoe

I'm 99% sure they added some other stuff to the US branch for the 2014 numbers. I distinctly remember a thread about this time last year talking about the memorial numbers and when you stripped out the newly merged territories, there was a decline in 2014 in spite of all the hype.

33

Ever wondered

by NoIdeaWhatToBelieve in

i was very hooked on the rc videos, really interesting to watch.

i started questioning stuff a couple of months ago.. however there is still a scenario that makes me wonder.

considering the israelites as god's chosen people and the kings as anointed, the bible shows many bad decisions the people made, including the rulers that were anointed.

OneEyedJoe

You pose the exact example that I use to explain my stance to separate myself from the watchtower society. Many times in the Bible the ones who were "just following orders" so to speak were punished for following someone that they presumed was gods chosen representative, when that person or entity was violating gods commands. It happened with many bad kings and it happened in the first century when loyal Jews were killed when Rome destroyed Jerusalem.

Personally, I don't believe that the watchtower society was ever "gods organization" but explaining it this way seems to make it more palatable to active jws. I think there's plenty of examples in the Bible that demonstrate that each one is responsible before god not only for their own actions, but also for their allegiances. It would be wise, therefore, to examine the organization to determine if it really is the standard of moral purity that one would expect (and indeed that it claims to be) from gods chosen representatives.

11

Crisis of Conscience

by FreeGirl2006 in

do you think that any of the clueless, amnesiacs that appeared before the rc will have a crisis of conscience over the abuse situation?

seriously, with the grilling they received from our new heroes, they would have to be sociopaths not to do some long hard thinking about the lack of empathy and compassion the borg displays as a top down policy towards abuse victims.

i can understand these idiots not having an awakening within the confines of their daily lives since they stay cloistered in their belief system, but the rc forced them into the real world with their questions and one would hope, made them think.

OneEyedJoe

I think that typically the more people are forced to defend a belief, the more entrenched in it they often become. I think most of them will probably walk away content to see this as persecution for upholding god's righteous standards and give it no further consideration.

39

Why I have renounced Atheism and become a believer again

by cantleave in

i have always said that if a god showed itself i would follow the evidence and renounce my atheism.

i have now seen enough to start believing again, i am so happy, i feel a inner contentment, when he connected with me i really knew it was him.

if you are not a believer you will not understand this, but trust me, look at the evidence, open your heart to him, let him in and your life will change for the better.

OneEyedJoe

oh man I was so ready to be super annoyed by this post, but that was some good stuff, thank you.

Praise be unto him, the mighty flying spaghetti monster. May he touch you all with his noodley appendage.

20

November 2015 magazine covers

by wifibandit in

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OneEyedJoe

I had the same initial thought about the "is religion dying out?" cover as the one I had when my wife made a point of leaving out the "Is science replacing the bible?" magazine a month or so back. My thought was "Let's hope so."

I love the WT study articles. Train your kids to serve the cult! Good to see they're still loosing kids!