OneEyedJoe

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Posts by OneEyedJoe

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  49

  Lowering the standards: The sign of a cult struggling for survival

  by Hidden-Window in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many of the recent changes in the jehovah's witness organization are a clear sign of a cult that is struggling for survival.

  the internet has change the scenario in a very dramatic way.

  many of us who for years struggled alone with doubts and cognitive dissonance thinking that we were the only ones, that we, as individuals were the issue, now know that there is a large community of individuals who see the organization as what it is, a mind controlling cult that is not only false, but also dangerous.. the governing body clearly understands the consequences of this awakening.

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  OneEyedJoe

  To qualify to serve as a MS, is there something lower than

  1) worshipping the GB, and

  2) having the ability to "fog a mirror"?

  Doc

  Doc - you forget that there are lots of unwritten rules to qualify as an MS - reported service time must be above 8 or 10 hours a month on average. Meeting attendence must be high, and I've been told that I need to comment regularly at meetings in order to qualify as well. I'm sure there are more/different rules depending on the BOE in a particular congregation, too.

  It's pretty funny, they once sat me down and read the scripture about what's required to qualify (1 Tim. 3:8,9,12) and they asked me what of those qualifications do I not satisfy. I honestly said "none" and they asked me why I wasn't an MS. I said "I don't know" (at the time I was still mentally in and this seemed like a better response than "It seems like too much trouble"). They then told me that I didn't comment at meetings enough and I didn't get enough time in service. I left the conversation wondering if we'd read the same scripture...
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  49

  Lowering the standards: The sign of a cult struggling for survival

  by Hidden-Window in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many of the recent changes in the jehovah's witness organization are a clear sign of a cult that is struggling for survival.

  the internet has change the scenario in a very dramatic way.

  many of us who for years struggled alone with doubts and cognitive dissonance thinking that we were the only ones, that we, as individuals were the issue, now know that there is a large community of individuals who see the organization as what it is, a mind controlling cult that is not only false, but also dangerous.. the governing body clearly understands the consequences of this awakening.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Aren't there studies which show that, counerintuitively, the more harsh & strict a religion is, the more its adherents tend to be fiercely loyal?

  I can't point to one in particular, but I believe you're right. This is sort of the core of cognitive dissonance - the more people invest in a belief, the more resistant they are to changing that belief. The continued lowering of the requirements will result in the R/F investing less and less time/money/energy in their belief that the WT is the only true religion, and they will therefore be primed for awakening.

  The other problem for the WT will be that any one with 2 brain cells to rub together that actually has fully bought into it will have no choice but to start questioning why everything is slowing down if we're so close to the end. At a certain point the questions override one's joy at having to do less and, again, they'll be primed for awakening.

  Punky - thanks for the antimatter quotes, that really made my day. That's the sort of stuff that I enjoyed when I was a child, but now I look at it and realize that it was all based on some cursory sci-fi understanding of the way the world works. If Jehovah used enough antimatter to clean up even one skeleton, the radiation released would be sufficient to annihilate all life on earth many times over. It would essentially be the power of every atomic bomb on earth going off at once. But, by golly it sounds good, and it sounds smart, and it sounds like we researched, so let's put it in!
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  2

  what WAS the 'buisness' at the buisness meeting??

  by sowhatnow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it sounds more like a we want to get into your buisness , buisness meeting .

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  OneEyedJoe

  Technically it's called a branch visit... Not sure where this business meeting stuff came from, I never heard it called that outside of this forum.
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  7

  WT recent public news release showing emergency support for MEMBERS only.....“

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  under news alerts on the borg website, i noticed 2 stories, 1 about the bus crash in honduras, and it's interesting that it seems that non jw agencies have helped out when you see this statement...."we appreciate the outpouring of support from the community and the various agencies that have come to the aid of those affected by this tragedy.

  so on this instance, it seems the wt welcomes aid from outside sources.

  now the 2nd story, is about the hurricane in mexico, and we have this statement...."in the aftermath of hurricane odile, which hit the coast of baja california sur on monday, september 15, 2014, jehovahs witnesses from the surrounding area provided food, water, and medicine to their members affected by the storm.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Sorta like how members can use products derived from donated blood, but they cannot fixate blood themselves.
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  11

  Thank Jehovah for Ipads!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  seriously, i am so thankful that the org has officially allowed the use of ipads and tablets at the kingdom hall!.

  it is the only thing that keeps me sane while sitting there....being able to log on to this site while pretending to follow along with the program!.

  i think i would have literally lost my mind without this lifeline!.

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  OneEyedJoe

  I'll give an Amen to that.

  I usually end up on mic duty, so it's not too hard to screw around in the back while they're reading.
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  61

  Zone Visit feedback, from ones still in??

  by Crazyguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just wondering if any one has heard from ones still asleep, what their feedback has been and what comments have been made by the rank and file??.

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  OneEyedJoe

  I think he was referring to one (or more) of the other speakers besides herd and AMIII. There was at least one speaker that was introduced as being a "Helper to the governing body"
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  10

  i have a theory about the long term doctrine of wt!

  by purrpurr in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can see no reason why the gb would want to loosen their grip on their cash cow/ cushy life.

  but what will they do in 20,30,50 years?

  well i suspect that at some point they will claim that the promised paradise is already here but that it has come in spirtual form.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Personally, I suspect they'll just keep kicking the can down the road with new definitions of "generation" and new start points for the generation. If the paradise is already here, people won't be motivated to preach about it's coming and they won't have the imminent threat of armageddon to keep 'em active if it's already come.

  Even if you're thinking they'll switch to saying everyone goes to heaven (which I can't see happening, but who knows) people will slow down. If you have to die to get to paradise/heaven, then that means you should plan for a long life in this system, which means working, saving for retirement, education, etc - all these things will make people slightly more likely to wake up and leave the cult.

  Though, I will admit, they have been saying that we live in a "spiritual paradise" for a while - when we're close to the congregation
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  61

  Zone Visit feedback, from ones still in??

  by Crazyguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just wondering if any one has heard from ones still asleep, what their feedback has been and what comments have been made by the rank and file??.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Can someone confirm this:

  The JWs were told to not record the talk or take notes?

  I won't claim this to be verbatim but we were told:

  No flash photogrophy, don't block the aisles to take pictures without flash (or something like that)

  No recordings are to be made

  You should not stream any audio or video of the event to another location

  Though you may use some of the points mentioned in the talks to encourage others, you should not share any of your notes with anyone.

  This was without a doubt the most comprehensive and paranoid sounding disclaimer at the beginning of a talk. I'm used to the stuff about not posting video online at the conventions, but this was well beyond that. I may even be leaving out something in there.
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  40

  Armageddon will be here in less than 4 years!

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that's the word according to my mil.

  mrs hoser is starting a new career and the college and work training will take her four years to complete.

  her mom is giving her a hard time telling her that the system will be over before she graduates.

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  OneEyedJoe

  It's hard to make out the mentality of people who repeat these "prophecies" when they have a history of failed claims behind them. Do they really believe it themselves or is it just a coded way to express their frustrations or fears at other people's choices?

  For me, I never really believed it, but I would find myself saying it just because that's just what you say. I was taught how to interact by JWs and when someone says X is 6 years away, you just have to say "if this system lasts that long." Its sorta like the JW version of please and thankyou. You just say it out of habit at a certain point - especially if you're socially awkward like me and looking for a formulaic way to interact with people.
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  40

  Armageddon will be here in less than 4 years!

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that's the word according to my mil.

  mrs hoser is starting a new career and the college and work training will take her four years to complete.

  her mom is giving her a hard time telling her that the system will be over before she graduates.

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  OneEyedJoe

  I remember once my (very judgmental) JW mother going off about a young sister in our congregation that wanted to be a doctor. She just couldn't understand how someone could go to school to be a doctor, and invest 8 years in schooling before you could even start practicing. Armageddon would surely come before she had the chance to be a doctor, and we wouldn't even need doctors in the new system. That was 15 years ago. I guess that schooling wasn't so ill-advised.

  Meanwhile my hypocrit mother now has a masters degree. I guess armageddon wasn't so imminent that she couldn't go to school to be financially stable.