Posts by OneEyedJoe

71

Expect more Crazy as JW.ORG trims the fat and fills the coffers.

by donuthole in

jw
friends

when rutherford assumed the presidency of the watchtower society he instituted series of sweeping changes to the teachings and practices of the bible students.

some of these changes were at complete odds with what had been taught previously.

a key example was the elevation of the watchtower society as "god's visible organization on earth".

OneEyedJoe

While I love reading threads like this (especially since it all sounds so plausible) I sometimes wonder if it's not wishful thinking. When thinking about a grand collapse of the cult, I sometimes have the same feelings that I did when I was in and reading news stories and seeing everything through a lens of "we're in the last days" - looking for something to trigger the great tribulation or a cry of peace and security.

So while I love the encouraging thought that something will trigger JWs to leave en masse (and maybe my wife/family/friends will be among them) I wonder go back and forth on whether I think it's likely to happen. On the one hand we're living in an unparalleled time due to the internet, on the other hand, I hate to fall into the same trap that is often derided here - how arrogant are we to believe the end will come in our lifetime?

I guess 1914/25/75 show that a large decline at least has more precedent than armageddon coming, so there's a bright spot there.

Anyway, ignore my random musings and get back to the ever-entertaining speculation on the decline of this cult!

25

A few thoughts on the District, um, Regional... sigh....

by Apognophos in

i don't even know what the bloody event is called anymore.

i think it's still a district convention until it goes to two days, isn't it?

my convention program leaflet just says "convention of jehovah's witnesses", seemingly intentionally avoiding the change in wording.

OneEyedJoe

Very entertaining read, thanks. That's interesting that they mention 1925, I'll have to capitalize on that with the wifey.

24

An update on shunning (at the store).

by quellycatface in

jw
friends

i was called into a meeting by one of the department managers last week.

i had a meeting this morning.. anyway, to cut a long story short.

the people involved in this will be called into a private meeting and spoken to.

OneEyedJoe

They will be local celebrities, and if the story can get sanitized enough, they will be interviewed at the next circuit assembly.

That'll only happen if they end up getting a better paying job right afterwards. Oh how they love to end those experiences with "and that day I was offered a job that paid better and gave me more time off for meetings and service!"

27

Possible announcement in October....

by Skinnedsheep in

jw
friends

pure speculation for several reasons.. "friends, it has been 100 momentous years since christ arrived as king.

in the last 100 years a great shout of praise has gone up to jehovah.

technology has greatly changed the way people live and communicate and jehovah has made sure that his organization is on the forefront of these changes.

OneEyedJoe

I don't see this happening. Service is one of the most powerful tools that keeps people indoctrinated. It forces kids into awkward situations when they meet schoolmates, helping them to associate being uncomfortable with being around anyone who's not a JW. For adults, it similarly makes them see themselves differently from the worldlies, reinforcing the seperateness. This seperateness is important, because non-cult members can see through the BS and may enlightent members. It limits thier time and discourages hobbies that allow the 'real personality' to come out. Also, the metrics that they get (i.e. time slips) from it are an important tool for determining who may be spiritually weak (i.e. waking up) and allows the elders to initiate emergency indoctrination sessions for those ones.

34

Atheists lose latest legal fight 'In God WE TRUST".

by jam in

jw
friends

ok folks i'm an agnostic.

but to remove the motto from our.

currency is a little too much.

OneEyedJoe

Well to be fair, they wouldn't have to recall everything, just do like they always do when they update the design, start printing the new stuff and keep destroying the old stuff as it wears out.

I don't really care either way, like you. But I think a lot of folks are sort of bitter about god and become militant against religion when they become athiest. Like you see on this board, there's a lot of different reactions to realizing that you've been lied to.

50

OMG the Watchtower IS toast!

by kneehighmiah in

jw
friends

the waters are drying up!

a congregation of 110+ publishers will be contributing only $200 a month to the society in the new kingdom hall construction arrangement.

that's less than $2 a publisher!

OneEyedJoe

It's probably wishful thinking...much like when we were in the cult, we'd look to every world event through the lens of bible prophecy (there was an earthquake in haiti, the end is near! )

22

What has the WTS EVER "predicted" that has actually come true?

by integ in

you'd think they could point to something right?

obviously we're the one true religion".. i can't fathom how anyone of any intelligence would be willing to join up with this org after doing even rudimentary research.. for years they have taught that it's wrong to seek advanced education or to plan for a "worldly" future by trusting in this system of things and then this past sunday the watchtower article rips on people for not planning for the future in regard to their elderly relatives.

maybe if they hadn't been teaching for 100 yr's that the end was "just around the corner" and telling us we'd better believe that fact...or else, we would have planned better for a future that you said without reservation would not even occur.. what mind blowing prediction can they point to that would convince someone "oh yeah..these guys have it right"...?.

OneEyedJoe

The beginning of WWI in 1914 was the last thing that I held on to for a couple years that was the only reason that I thought it was "the truth." Then one day I heard a comment about 1975, and I asked myself "If WWIII broke out in 1975, would it now be a major doctrinal marker, like 1914 is?" Once that seed was in my head, it was only a matter of time.

4

Recordings of conventions and co talks

by GoUnion in

are the parts on conventions and the talks given at congregations at co's still under the orders not to be recorded by the members?

i seem to remember an announcement like this when i was in, but i paid very little mind to it.

after learning about some of the more outspoken talks given by co's over the years i was curious what their official reasonings were for these bans.. it seems clear to me though that the ban is simply to give themselves some sort of plausible deniabiltiy and allow the co's to go on their little rants.

OneEyedJoe

As far as I know any recordings anyone makes of anything are for personal use or for immediate family members only.

I always thought it odd how paranoid they were about recordings and literature. I remember my father saying about the origonal watchtower library software that it couldn't be installed on a computer that had a network connection because they were afraid that apostates could get a hold of it. I wish I'd asked the question I was thinking: "So what?"

Yet another in the long list of clues that it's a cult...

29

A Good Question To Ask JW to Get Them To Think

by sarahsmile in

why did you get baptized?.

what do you think they would reply?.

because it is the truth!

OneEyedJoe

Since it seems that this has turned into a discussion of why we got baptized, I'll play along:

My parents (mostly my father) started putting on the pressure in my early teens, which only had the effect of making me want to do it less. I couldn't understand why it was so important, if I was already going to meetings and out in service, how does going for a swim make me a better person? I also had been trained to resist peer pressure, which made me instinctivly resist anyone who tries to get me to do something I don't want to do. Or maybe I'm just a stubborn mule...I don't know. Anyway, I held out until I was 19 (my brother was 11 when he got dunked). I eventually caved to my father's pressure that he strategically applied right after my girlfriend broke up with me. In my late teens (as I'm sure is the case with many) the stance on dating coupled with a lack of available girls was a serious cause for hesitation on my part, then I met a girl at 19 and totally fell for her, but she eventually broke up with me, and a few days later my father and I had this exchange:

Him: Did she know you weren't baptized?

Me: It never came up.

Him: How do you think she would've reacted had she found out you weren't?

Of course in an emotional state, I took it to mean that god was calling me to the organization and I'd find a new girl (and happiness) there. About a month later I was baptized into the cult.

I still resent my father's behavior that day, but it's really the only thing he's ever done to me that I can hold against him, so I guess I'm lucky. I know it's small potatoes compared to what many have gone through, and he was just doing what he thought was best... Maybe it's the fact that he was always such a good father that makes it stand out so much.

5

Has anybody ever inquired about the scripture that says that "EVERYBODY" must die once, THEN a judgement?

by EndofMysteries in

hebrews 9:27 and just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, .

that scripture clearly says man must die once.

and if you combine that with .

OneEyedJoe

Anything that implies going to heaven only applied to the 144000