I wonder if they're going to just be done with it and realign the FDS with the anointed, but by saying only the GB are anointed today. That'd put them ahead of the R/F in every way possible, which I'm sure they'd enjoy.
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
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THE WATCHTOWER (STUDY EDITION) JANUARY 2016
by wifibandit inpdf .
this issue contains the study articles for february 29 to april 3, 2016.. what about the number of those partaking at the memorial?12, 13. why should we not worry about the number of those who eat the bread and drink the wine at the memorial?12 in recent years, we have seen an increase in the number of those partaking at the memorial of christs death.
that trend contrasts with the decrease in the number of partakers that we saw for many decades.
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OneEyedJoe
Cover: Why Be Honest?
1st page: Seriously, does anyone know? We sure can't think of a good reason.
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Do you have J-dar?
by JWdaughter intoday at work i had an interesting set of co workers.
one was telling us about her side job selling sex toys(also a l&d nurse).
the other one, very beautiful, intelligent woman told us of her 2 kids.
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OneEyedJoe
It makes sense that they'd be easy to spot. That's somewhat by design. The cult trains people to be clones, using the same speech patterns and talking about similar shallow things. They spend so much time listening to the WT literature being read that their speech begins to mimic the phrasing used therein. Plus there's always their casual use of the WT loaded language. They dress a certain way and their makeup/hair is rather plain. Any one thing by itself would be dismissed but when you see it all together its unmistakable, especially to someone who's been around it for so much of their life.
One of the things that our brain is best at is recognizing patterns and matching them to previous experience. You've had a lot of experience developing a template of what a JW is in your head and you've still got that there. It doesn't take long for your brain to match someone to that template.
The ease with which JWs are able to identify one another creates a virtual cult compound wall keeping members in because it works both ways. JWs instantly recognize one another, but that also means that when they're talking to a non-JW they're acutely aware of it and it makes them feel separate and out of place. This mechanism operates subconsciously and helps to keep them from forming strong bonds with non-JWs.
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What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?
by John Aquila inits been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.
in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.
carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .
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OneEyedJoe
Doesn't matter what they "cost" nowadays because the don't announce the costs or donations for the 3 day RCs anymore. At least, they haven't at any of the ones I've been to in the last 2-3 years. They simply make an announcement that you can donate if you appreciate the convention.
I was joking about it costing more, you're right that they don't do an accounts report at the conventions. When they went from 2 day assemblies to 1 day, it did end up "costing" more for the first 1 day assembly, though.
While we're on the topic, though, I wouldn't be surprised if they started announcing at the meetings (or passing one of those "unanimous" resolutions) that there was a deficit at a recent convention and that they needed to send some amount of money to the branch to help "offset the cost." This will then be broken down to a per-publisher figure and suggested that they donate to offset the money that they're already sending to the branch.
Since they invite the public to conventions, though, they can't do the accounts report there.
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What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?
by John Aquila inits been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.
in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.
carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .
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OneEyedJoe
I believe someone posted some information as to what goes on behind the curtain during assemblies. Ever wondered where the "cost" of an assembly comes from? Someone claims that there is a per publisher cost to be included in the "deficit" report that is read out in assemblies. It is not always met but is counted as deficit for the next assembly and any other money that comes into the circuit account ( I am sure) has to be used to cover that first. I could be wrong, but I've always wondered, especially after we got our own AH in TX, why did the assemblies all of a sudden got so much more expensive. They used to be cost around $2,500 for a one day assembly, renting a school gym for example. As soon as we moved into our AH, the last one day assembly had a reported cost of $8,300. The last 3 day assembly, $13,000
The "per publisher" cost is definitely real. The last assembly that I went to, they gave the accounts report to an idiot (or maybe he's a genius if he's awake....but he definitely seems like an idiot) from my former congregation. He literally got up there, announced the cost and then explained that the reason it was higher was because the branch had increased the per-publisher cost for our assembly. This was his first (and probably last) time doing the accounts report at an assembly and I think what happened was that he didn't realize how the cost was done and he asked and got this answer and thought it was some interesting trivia to pass on to everyone.
Instead of the Awake going away, I think the public watchtower will go away and only the Awake will be used. It makes more sense for them to do this because there's so much more baggage associated with the WT name.
Conventions will go to 2 days but will somehow cost more. The trend of more and more videos will continue and I expect that soon the public talk will be a talk from a GB member or helper that will be played on Sunday (probably starting with a few "special" occasions and then going to once a month)
I agree that the stats report will probably change like what they did in the KM. Before it was all the statistics for the previous month (publishers, pioneers, studies, placements, etc) and now it's just one or two highlights so that they can cherry pick the good stats and ignore all the stats that demonstrate their decline.
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Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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OneEyedJoe
you guys think im defending them because im not attacking them. I refuse to attack them and I refuse to attack you also. I want to see both sides of things then i can conclude myself what I belive. I respect all your viewpoints.
No, we see you as defending them because you've only issued counterpoints and never given a single piece of evidence that they are a cult. Now, there's a difference between defending a thought and accepting it, so I can't say what exactly it is you believe and it's understandable that for the purposes of debate you would defend since basically everyone here is going to be on the opposite side. Make no mistake, though, you are defending them.
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Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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OneEyedJoe
If you can find one cult that advertises on their website that they're a cult, then maybe the jw.org entry would have some validity to this discussion. Cults don't like to be called cults. They redefine the word so that it doesn't fit them or they'll lie (we don't look to a human leader!) to obfuscate the truth. It's telling that they use what "some think" as their definition of a cult, not what cult experts think.
You've got some reading to do if you really want to educate yourself on why JWs are a cult. Combatting cult mind control is a good book, as is when prophecies fail, and Robert Jay Lifton's books (especially thought reform and the psychology of totalism).
Assuming you are or were a JW, I think it could profoundly benefit you to really fully understand how you've been manipulated. It certainly has been enlightening and useful in my experience.
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Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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OneEyedJoe
On the topic of Jesus as a cult leader, Matt. 10:35 is another succinct argument for this:
For I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
He wasn't shy about breaking up families due to some accepting him and others not, and this is one of the fundamental elements of every cult, including the JWs.
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Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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OneEyedJoe
Finklestein - you were a little conservative with the highlighting. I think ones below also apply (my comments added in blue)
3. When, how and with whom the member has sex No sex until marriage, strict control over who is acceptable as a marriage mate (women shouldn't marry someone who's not an MS by 23, encouraged to ask elders about the potential mate's service time, etc)
7. Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence Not universal, but due to the ban on higher education and strong encouragement to avoid bad association many JWs seek employment from other JWs and upon waking up find themselves financially bound to the cult.
8. Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time How often were we told not to let leisure time interfere with service time? Also, you're expected to attend meetings even while on vacation.
9. Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet Meetings, service, studying the WT publications, encouraged to meditate on bible passages (i.e. find ways to fit bible passages into the WTS doctrine) and discuss "spiritual things" with one another
10. Permission required for major decisions Encouraged to ask elders before you date someone.
12. Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative "Privileges" given to people that spend more time in service. Ostracism, shunning and removal of rank or "privileges" to those that need punishment.b.Critical information Encouraged not to read any literature a householder might give. Encouraged to stop reading anything that's critical of the cult
d. Keep members busy so they don’t have time to think and investigate Service, meetings, personal study, family study, etc.
a. Impose a buddy system to monitor and control member Fathers are considered to be responsible for the "spirituality" of their family. New converts often spend a great deal of time with their study conductor and are monitored by them.
b.Report deviant thoughts, feelings and actions to leadership Encouraged to seek help from elders for doubts, or "immoral" thoughts
b. Withholding forgiveness or absolution Repentant ones that were DFed are often made to jump through hoops for years before being reinstated
b. Instill black and white thinking I don't think this needs any further explanation....everything about the cult is black/white thinkingc. Decide between good vs. evil Apostates/worldlies are evil, JWs are good. Only JW "morality" is good, other philosophies are flawed/evil
2.Change person’s name and identity constantly encouraged to "put on the new personality" - I
4. Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts Frequent reinforcement of Jesus' saying that someone who longs after a woman has already committed adultery in his heart. This is applied to everything - even thinking about doing something that the cult advises against is considered tantamount to actually committing the "sin"
5. Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member This one isn't huge but it could be argued that boring meetings are used to bypass critical thinking, especially in the case of conventions where the insane doctrine ramps up daily as people get more exhausted from the ordeal. Frequently JWs are told to be like the children (age regression) that accepted Jesus immediately and wanted to learn from him.
a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking "closest thing to the truth" "where else will I go?" "They were eager to see the Jehovah's name vindicated" (in response to 1975) on and on
d. Praying Pray incessantly. Urged to pray habitually any time a bad thought should come up or any difficult situation should arise.
f. Singing or humming Singing before/during/after meetings. The songs are often used to implant thoughts into JWs that would otherwise be rejected as ridiculous. "Listen, Obey and Be Blessed"1. Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish Justified anger/resentment towards a JW is seen as wrong. Any "negative" emotion towards the cult is quickly criticized.
f. Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish Want to go to college? It's only because you're prideful and seeking recognition. Want to have a drink? Be careful that you don't stumble someone. Don't selfishly insist on your rights.
c. Enemies Fear of apostates
f. Other’s disapproval "fear of god" is rendered "fear of displeasing god"
b. Terrible consequences if you leave: hell, demon possession, incurable diseases, accidents, suicide, insanity, 10,000 reincarnations, etc.Constant "experiences" told of JWs that left and joined gangs, became drug addicts, lost hope for paradise and committed suicide, at an assembly last year they even related a story of a kid that left and ended up in jail for murder. -
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Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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OneEyedJoe
The only flaw i can see right now is its all negative. one could argue that for example someone could have been a wife beater and a drunkard and the wife because of cultural or other reasons put up with that situation. Then the husband studies the bible and turns his life around and becomes a great husband. His interpretation has a very positive outcome so in his particular case the said religion or cult has not been DANGEROUS but has been greatly beneficial to him and his family.
Things aren't always so black and white. Yes, in this case it's possible that the cult could actually help someone. That said, it is my strong opinion that there is always another avenue of support/help that would be of greater benefit than the cult would be, without the strong side effects from being in the cult. There are groups that will help a person who beats his wife or who drinks that don't also, for example, require you to sign a card that states that you will give your life in support of the group should you need a blood transfusion.
The cult is like heroine. If you need to undergo emergency surgery and heroine is all you've got, it might save your life if the surgery is performed while you're doped up. It would, however come at a risk of addiction that could later ruin your life. It would be immensely better if modern anesthetic were used. Just because heroine could help someone in this case isn't a reason to advocate for its frequent use.