Posts by OneEyedJoe

32

I think the WT believed their own "growth" statements - Financial Trouble Thoughts

by thedepressedsoul in

we've all read, heard and have seen in the videos where jw's and their leaders talk about the "huge" growth that is taking place.

they've talked about how many kh they needed, branches etc... .

our co last visit he mentioned how quickly the organization is speeding up and the huge growth they are seeing.

OneEyedJoe

There are honestly so many options. It all depends on how desperate they get. I could really seem them doing another donation slip except asking you to link your card so it's pulled monthly. You can already do that on JW.orgbut I feel this could be something that once you agree, they add it to JW.org and it's tracked.

Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, but the last CO visit I attended (about 7 months back) he was pushing this feature of JW.org. "It just makes everything so much easier! You never have to wonder 'Did I donate yet this month?' - it's all done for you automatically!" When you stop and think that this is being said by a guy who doesn't actually donate money to the cult it becomes somewhat comical that he was saying it like it was some big stressor in his life.

Another thought - the auto-donate doesn't actually give you a way to donate money to the local KH, does it? It seems to me that they're trying to make it easier to donate to "mother" but let more and more forget to donate to the local expenses, thereby off-loading the begging for money onto the local elders. Then when there's a local needs talk about needing money, it will be about local expenses and all the good little JWs will say "Well I don't like that they're asking for money, but that's just the local congregation - the organization as a whole is still good and doesn't solicit money like christendom"

29

"So you are an atheist. So would you kill me if it were to your advantage?"

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

i worked a different shift.

i knew the people i worked with, but not as well as i could have.. anyway, religion comes up.

one guy mentions in front of another that i wrote a book about my religious experience.

OneEyedJoe

Unbelievable. So he can't imagine why anyone would refrain from murder unless they feared God and eternal torment in hell. it sounds like he is the one with problems.

From the sound of it, he should be less worried about killing someone to claim an advantage than would be an atheist. An atheist would have to live with the memory of taking the life of another, whereas he could just assume he sent someone to heaven and Jesus would forgive him.

55

Should I Make My Wife Watch the May Broadcast?

by TTATTelder in

jw
friends

for some background, i am still in.

still an elder.

very much awake.

OneEyedJoe

if there are problems then jehovah will reveal them in time

What if he is revealing it? There are examples in the bible of god's organization going astray (mostly bad kings) but most of the time it resulted in the deaths of thousands that were just trying to follow along and remain loyal to god's organization. So it's not something to be unsure of or take lightly.

29

"So you are an atheist. So would you kill me if it were to your advantage?"

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

i worked a different shift.

i knew the people i worked with, but not as well as i could have.. anyway, religion comes up.

one guy mentions in front of another that i wrote a book about my religious experience.

OneEyedJoe

So he can do just whatever the hell he wants to and Jesus will forgive him, but you're the one without morals? I just don't even know what to do with someone who couldn't see the irony there. It sounds like his definition of morality is just to feel guilty about the stuff you do, not actually bother to be a decent person. Anyone that takes a course of action with the expectation that they'll be forgiven for it is about the bottom of the barrel as far as morality goes.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense that an atheist (at least a thinking atheist, not necessarily those that are atheist by convenience) would be more moral than a theist - atheists have no expectation in some sky daddy that'll come along and make things right, so we need to try to get it right ourselves. Theists assume that if they make a mess of things because it's easier/fun sky daddy will come in and fix it and forgive them.

36

"Be Kind to the Fornicators in the Congregation!" -- New August Watchtower

by FusionTheism in

have you noticed the article entitled "watch your associations in these last days" in the new august 2015 study watchtower?.

unless i'm reading it wrong, or somehow misinterpreting it, it is saying that we should be kind to intentional breakers of god's laws inside and outside the congregation, including fornicators, but that we must not be close associates with them.. are they already preparing for a shift in their disfellowshipping practices?.

here are the relevant paragraphs:.

OneEyedJoe

This is probably more in the line of marking and I doubt it will have any impact on DFing. This will probably be taken to reinforce the informal shunning of people that aren't showing up at meetings and such. DFing is such a central part of the cult's information control that I don't see it ever going away.

9

John Carpenter's "THEY LIVE!"

by cappytan in

jw
friends

so i'm catching up on r rated movies that i missed when i was younger.

"they live!

" was on the el rey network the other day so decided to watch it.. it was kind of eerie watching this being a fader.. here's a guy living under a controlling regime of elites and only he can see the control measures for what they are.

OneEyedJoe

Great movie. And the 'I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and km all out of gum' line is just classic. Actually watched it with the wife a couple years ago, and of course the parallels were lost on me at the time.

31

Something terrible has just happened

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

the neighbor child came over to play with my youngest child.

i think she's about 4 maybe 5. well anyway there was some strawberries out on the counter and she asked if she could have one and i said no.

when i looked over later i saw her sneak one.

OneEyedJoe

That was a great laugh. Thanks for that.

34

Are J.W.'s as Gullible as the Org's Writings Imply?

by The Searcher in

the latest watchtower certainly indicates that the org thinks they are!!

why keep in expectation?

watchtower august 15 par.

OneEyedJoe

They're not necessarily gullible, generally speaking but they force themselves to be gullible when the WTS speaks because the cost of examining things objectively is too high.

41

Paradise is going to suck!

by WasOnceBlind in

once you really start thinking about it, the whole paradise idea is kind of depressing.

i remember growing up as kids my sister was the first to tell my parents (admittedly very courageously) that she wasn't sure she wanted to live in paradise, it sounded boring living forever.

i thought she was dumb for thinking that, i mean playing with lions!!!!

OneEyedJoe

Yep. Trying to reconcile the fact that most of the things that I enjoy doing create some form of pollution or involve eating animals, etc with the promise that we'd be happy in paradise often left me wondering just how lobotomized I'd have to be to live in paradise. I could never look forward to paradise and imagine myself there because it would've just been a shell of a person, not someone that I can see as being "me."

10

I Felt Proud Telling People That Michael Jackson Was Raised a JW

by Tempest in a Teacup in

jw
friends

i just remembered this thing this morning:.

sharing the same faith with the king of pop made me feel important for belonging to this religion, even if he was never baptised.

we were not in america or anywhere close by.

OneEyedJoe

I was always embarrassed when someone name-dropped him or prince to a study or call. In my mind the truth should have been able to stand on its own without having to resort to "well so-and-so believes it so you should to" type arguments. Plus it seemed like a bad idea putting all your chips on one famous person that's liable to become a drug addict or something - and in the case of MJ it seems I was right.