Posts by OneEyedJoe

15

& They Say Privileges In The Congregation Isnt a Status

by thedepressedsoul in

im sure you all have heard at one point or read that being an elder or ms isnt a position higher up but rather that you work under the congregation.. anthony morris just threw that out the window!

i have privileges in the congregation and even i was offended and felt bad for anyone who was 23 or older and not a ms!.

he goes on to tell this story of how a sister wanted to marry a brother and that anthony morris discouraged it because he was 23 and not an ms yet.

OneEyedJoe

I don't have to imagine - I'm 30 and never was an ms. My wife jokingly said that she shouldn't have married me because I wasn't an ms.

5

Religious leaders buried Gods Law under a mass of man-made rules and regulations

by thedepressedsoul in

above is a quote from the close to jehovah book.. well, after last nights branch visit we can now add colorful socks, tight dress pants for men, yoga pants (he got the word very wrong), not being an ms by age 23, not working 8-5 fully at bethel etc.... that was just from two talks last night alone!

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OneEyedJoe

Don't forget that he went from saying we should decide for ourselves on what movies are appropriate to setting a bunch of rules about what movies are wrong - no twilight movies for the kids!

If your kids leave the cult, its probably because you let them watch twilight.

15

"Between the Lines" of the Branch Visit

by TTATTelder in

i am starting this thread to discuss the financial points i picked up during the branch visit.. firstly - as an elder we were told that all donations from the event - local and worldwide work were to be sent to the branch.

first of all - could the money-grab be any more obvious given these instructions?

is it even legal to take funds a person gave to a non-profit for one specific purpose (pay the light bill) to allocate them for another (www slush fund)?

OneEyedJoe

Truthseeker - they need money just to keep things going. The GB have a cushy life and want to sustain it (lord knows "cult leader" wouldn't look good on a resume if they had to look for a different gig)

We've also seen that some of the "translation offices" are beautiful, well-appointed homes that I'm sure the GB use when they travel. They've got it good and want to keep it.

443

Zone Visit: An Announcement That Will "Test Your Faith"

by breakfast of champions in

this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.

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OneEyedJoe

Had some family over afterwards and most of the talk was either mocking morris for being a tactless bitter old man or genuine criticism of his harsh tone and clear lack of love. Still, most will forget it, as its too uncomfortable to continue to call it to mind.

On the other end of the spectrum my elder father-in-law was waffling between criticising the hypocrisy of morris for saying about movies that they don't make rules for people, but that they should have bible trained consciences to decode for themselves - then he proceeded to make a bunch of rules (no vampires, etc). Then he'd jump back to piling on the homophobia. He was clearly trying to iron out cognitive dissonance the whole night, though. Still, once he's slept it'll be gone from his conscious mind and it'll be back to the daily routine.

What will remain, once the dust settles, are the two most clearly manipulative statements of the day. The first has been touched on here - the mental image of having blood on one's hands for skipping serve-us one morning. That part was clearly designed to bypass the conscious and critical mind to implant a phobia directly into the subconscious. Because if you can't motivate the flock to preach because of their jesus-like love of neighbor, you need to invoke the OT god and implant a little fear and guilt to keep 'em going. The second, contrasting manipulation was during the WT summary (I think) when we were told to imagine (again, if the audience complies, they are allowing their critical thinking to be bypassed, and even if they don't like what they're told to imagine or don't believe it's realistic, the image will nonetheless be implanted in their minds) themselves having a conversation in the new system. There were also a couple times that we were essentially told that we are going to live forever, and the way it was done implied that our current life would never end (I.e. it was a more subtle "millions now living..." type statement) not just that we'd be ressurected.

For all those thinking that this will help wake some folks up, don't get complacent. The indoctrination is powerful and subtle. If your loved one was made uncomfortable by something said, don't let them forget it. Ask questions that they won't be able to answer (can you imagine if Jesus had talked like that? Would Christianity exist if Jesus had been so harsh to his followers?) And make sure the uncomfortable part is called to mind. Every JW that has 2 brain cells to rub together will have been uncomfortable about something in that talk, but it's too costly to dwell on so they'll push it out of their mind and only the phobia indoctrination will remain. If you let that happen, then this wasn't a milestone in waking up your loved one, it was a step backwards.

Sorry to be a negative Nancy - but this is the time to be vigilant, not assuming they've done the work for you. Capitalize on the look behind the curtain before the oppurtunity is lost.

443

Zone Visit: An Announcement That Will "Test Your Faith"

by breakfast of champions in

this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.

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OneEyedJoe

Billy - shockingly, I didn't catch any. They could've snuck it in while I was chatting in the back with an elder (who was taking the lead in making fun of Tony's idiocy, no less) though, but I'm petty sure they skipped it.

443

Zone Visit: An Announcement That Will "Test Your Faith"

by breakfast of champions in

this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.

.

OneEyedJoe

Ok so a few more comments I'm sure you will all enjoy

In Tony's 2nd talk (aka closing prayer) he mentioned that the bethel family is undergoing a viscous attack right now - a reference to the pedo lawsuits?

Also he prayed to jah that we would accept the direction we'd just gotten because it came from Jesus, not the US branch.

Afterwards everyone looked bewildered by the sheer insanity of the closing talk. Lots of women saying things like "I'm glad I didn't wear my leggings today" my favorite comment though was from my wife: "that was the most bizarre meeting I've ever sat through"

Maybe it was a test of faith afterall. Tony needs to start checking out quarries for a good price on a millstone.

443

Zone Visit: An Announcement That Will "Test Your Faith"

by breakfast of champions in

this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.

.

OneEyedJoe

OK all done now. Finally. ¾ of a million suffered through this

443

Zone Visit: An Announcement That Will "Test Your Faith"

by breakfast of champions in

this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.

.

OneEyedJoe

Looks like the chairman has some concluding comments....ugh why won't this just end?

443

Zone Visit: An Announcement That Will "Test Your Faith"

by breakfast of champions in

this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.

.

OneEyedJoe

And that's all folks! After a long applause break for the god among us, of course.

443

Zone Visit: An Announcement That Will "Test Your Faith"

by breakfast of champions in

this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.

.

OneEyedJoe

Ahh he's trotting out the ol' you're blood guilty if you don't preach stuff - theyve noticed a downward trend in bible studies!