Posts by OneEyedJoe

40

What Was Your Body of Elders Like?

by minimus in

jw
friends

were they pretty much a good group of men?

we're they jerks?.

OneEyedJoe

Mine is made up of:

1 Nazi (a genuinely caring man in many cases, but VERY hardline on the rules when it comes down to it) who is well known for neglecting his wife due to constantly volunteering for anything/everything "theocratic" that he can. Like ditching her on their aniversary to go to a sheparding call type neglect. very sad.

1 super-zealous pioneer (service overseer) who is super annoying and makes any conversation about "theocratic" things.

1 very intelligent and humble man who got pulled in by his super-controlling wife in the run-up to 1975. (Previously, he was agnostic...)

A couple are sort of non-existant and always in the background

1 86 year old "honorary elder" who's completely senile and has absolutely no responsibility in the congregation (I don't think he's even been regular in service for a few years)

12

Want to email a bunch of local JW's something about TTATT anonymously but don't know their email address?

by EndofMysteries in

post a cl add looking to contract some window washers and house cleaners, 98% of the 200+ respondents will be your local jw's.

OneEyedJoe

I chuckled. I think even being in the wrong category, your hyperbole made it clear that this was meant tongue-in-cheek.

30

Will the Societies tighten their grip even more with the power slipping?

by thedepressedsoul in

i think its pretty clear that the gb are power hungry.

you cannot listen to the branch visit and not see clear as day that there are some of them that are loving the power.

it showed the clearest with anthony morris.. now all these sex abuse scandals and news media are taking their power away.

OneEyedJoe

I agree, I think as they see that they have less and less control over the "world" and it's media, they'll instinctively tighten the grip on the thing they can control. To go along with Vidiot's comment - I love the saying (I'm paraphrasing) 'the harder you squeeze the more there is that slips through your fingers.' It's an apt observation that applies to essentially all authoritarian power systems. They'll have to be careful to avoid a runaway feedback loop - losing members causing tighter control that causes them to lose more members, etc until only a few remain. That is, if they actually do want to avoid such a scenario.

21

I'm Shocked The Jehovah's Witnesses Even Allow Their Kids To Go To Mainstream Schools.

by Jehovanomics in

judging by the material that my kid brings home on a daily basis in copius amounts.

everything about everything in elementary school goes against the doctrines of the jehovah's witnesses.

how do jw's expect to make any money if all of their kids are defecting the jw's?

OneEyedJoe

The Jws allow secular schooling because there is no money in it for them to provide schools.

Plus it keeps parents from the preaching work.

So there is no upside for not allowing kids to go to school.

I suspect allowing secular schooling has more to do with legal implications of an outright ban on it - in some countries this may be illegal or otherwise problematic. It would be difficult to justify (though I'm sure they'd manage if they wanted to) such an action from the scriptures, so any government (aka superior authority) would have the final say. That's why I'd expect any action against public schooling to at least start with talks (conventions or CO visits) so that they'd have deniabilty if parents start getting in hot water with the government.

I don't think they care about it actually keeping parents from preaching - the preaching work is more about keeping JWs busy so if they allow homeschooling they'd actually be better off since parents would still have to "get in their time" and they'd have to deal with homeschooling and would thus have even less time to think critically about their belief system.

The upside is (probably) that they'd have a higher retention rate of JW children, and thus better long-term profitibility. That said, they're going to be at least profitable enough, long enough, for the existing GB to live out their lives. That may well have something to do with why the GB doesn't seem to care about youth retention.

3

JW.ORG Poker Game

by The Searcher in

come and join the jw.org worldwide poker game.. all you need to join, is all you have.

just put it all on the table.. you can play as little or as often as you want - as long as you play.. if you decide to fold and walk away, you leave everything you brought to the table, as well as everything you gained!.

.

OneEyedJoe

Sounds legit, where do I sign up?

21

I'm Shocked The Jehovah's Witnesses Even Allow Their Kids To Go To Mainstream Schools.

by Jehovanomics in

judging by the material that my kid brings home on a daily basis in copius amounts.

everything about everything in elementary school goes against the doctrines of the jehovah's witnesses.

how do jw's expect to make any money if all of their kids are defecting the jw's?

OneEyedJoe

A great number of the parents in my area have begun homeschooling their kids for just this reason - they want to avoid "worldy influence." I think homeschooled kids in my congregation outnumber the ones in public school.

I wouldn't be surprised if homeschooling began to be encouraged by the WTS in the years to come. They'll probably start by mentioning it off-handedly in a convention talk and giving it subtle positive recognition (we all know how the uber-dubs will find every minor detail of a convention and just run with it). Once they see how that goes over they'll throw it into CO talks or KMs and maybe the WT a couple years later. That way if they ever need to make it required, almost all of the JWs will already be doing it, or they'll just say "I thought that's how it always was."

14

"Material Objects"

by J-DUBBED in

jw
friends

i've heard before about the j-dubs saying they are not to have too many things..............it's just "material objects".

not to have tattoos on their skin also.. what about a full blown born in j-dub getting breast implants??

is that allowed??

OneEyedJoe

Don't be surprised when you find hypocrisy among jws. Most of the "conscience matter" type rules are just used when convenient to judge others or to proclaim how good you are.

30

Funeral for an atheist

by Stealth in

jw
friends

99% of all funerals that i have attended have been the wt version, where they preach about the resurrection into paradise and say little about the person who passed other than they were loyal to jah.

the other 1% catholic for grandparents.. now that i consider myself an atheist, i got to wondering what do atheists plan for when they die?.

if you are a non-believer what are your plans for when you die?

OneEyedJoe

I agree that most traditions for for the living not the dead. So you won't mind if they throw up a JW funeral for you? That is the last thing I would want.

Obviously I wouldn't want that, but more because it would mean that I still had mostly/all JWs in my life upon my death. Hopefully that won't happen unless I die much too young. I honestly don't care about anything that happens after I die, with the exception of ensuring that my dependants are taken care of.

30

Funeral for an atheist

by Stealth in

jw
friends

99% of all funerals that i have attended have been the wt version, where they preach about the resurrection into paradise and say little about the person who passed other than they were loyal to jah.

the other 1% catholic for grandparents.. now that i consider myself an atheist, i got to wondering what do atheists plan for when they die?.

if you are a non-believer what are your plans for when you die?

OneEyedJoe

I'll be dead, so I don't really care much. I'll let whoever I leave behind decide what makes them feel best. Funerals aren't for the desceased, they're for the bereaved.

20

what would happen If?

by sowhatnow in

i submitted a letter to the local k hall, explaining that i no longer believe my baptism as a jw is valid, based on my current bible knowlege.

and i wish to be no longer considered a baptised [in this organization], jw, but simply a christain who studies the bible.. and then would continue to attend meetings?.

they couldnt prevent me, its open to the public.. .

OneEyedJoe

They'd announce that you'd DA'd yourself and everyone would shun you. You going to meetings (why the hell would you do that?) would just cause them to feel like you're prideful and trying to draw away followers after yourself - aka textbook appostate (according to the WTS). So in short, you'd be shunned but still wasting your life sitting at cult meetings. The worst of both worlds.