OneEyedJoe

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Posts by OneEyedJoe

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  22

  baptism regional Convention

  by antes8080 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello friends during the weekend i was in the san diego regional convention and the number of baptisim was way down.. there were 51 who got baptise thats the lowest number i ever seen, the attendance was 14,000 plus .

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  OneEyedJoe

  No IC last year? Wow those numbers are abysmal then. I hope the trend continues as AMIII and Lett get more air time.
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  14

  Are they banning college again?

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wasn't alive for this but my parents and many old timers told me that at one point it was pretty much a rule that you couldn't go to college.

  some of you may remember that from that time.

  over time they relaxed that rule to that you did what you had to do in order to provide for yourself.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Yeah, as others have said, this has been back in full swing for about a decade now. I managed to get through my degree just before the ban was re-instituted. Sitting in meetings and conventions and hearing them rail on higher education was intensely uncomfortable for me - especially when they'd resort to outright lies like saying that it's of no monetary benefit (in my case it paid for itself within a year after graduation) or is only pursued out of greed (bit of kettle logic there - I thought it was of no monetary benefit?) or pride. The horror stories of debauchery were also false - it's not hard to avoid if you want to, for the most part you'll only get in trouble if you're looking for it.
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  22

  baptism regional Convention

  by antes8080 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello friends during the weekend i was in the san diego regional convention and the number of baptisim was way down.. there were 51 who got baptise thats the lowest number i ever seen, the attendance was 14,000 plus .

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  OneEyedJoe

  I'm guessing there was an IC last year in the area? I'd be willing to bet that areas that were assigned to an IC last year will see a sharp decline in baptisms this year as the trend corrects itself.
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  45

  New Thought About Active J.W.'s

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  from my own observations & conversations with selected active j.w.

  's, here are my conclusions:.

  's are very rapidly falling into two distinct camps -.

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  OneEyedJoe

  oppostate -

  I think you're right, but I would argue that this larger group is very much at risk of falling into category #2. That's exactly how it went with me, anyway. The more they try to assert control and impose guilt on everyone, and the more that's asked to prove loyalty (all the while there's nothing but failed doctrine coming out of the WT) the more people will move from the apathetic group to the disillusioned group.

  
  
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  34

  There is no right and wrong

  by campaign of hate in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i am a little tangled up in this train of thought, as it can go quite deep.. as a jw, albeit fully awake, we are taught that there is right and a wrong.

  smoking is wrong.

  going on the ministry is right.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Both events led to untold suffering and death. So surely the argument of right and wrong, and good and bad is invalid?
  

  This is a bit of a leap, if you ask me. Isn't it possible that both events are deplorable, and the people that think they're good are wrong? It is true that without some supreme score keeper, morality becomes a bit subjective and arbitrary in some ways, but you can still get to a useful definition of good and bad. It may never be perfect since we can't always work out all the consequences of an action, but we can do a much better job of defining it than the god of the bible ever did.

  You might enjoy the video below. Someone posted this here a while back and I found it to be pretty well thought out.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=550nhrMNImI
  
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  11

  Another Elevated Group of J.W.'s Now?

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  why are only pioneers allowed to do "metropolitan witnessing"?

  why do they need "special training" to stand like a zombie for hours, speaking only to their fellow elite?.

  even a pioneer's mother couldn't answer me!.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Cults have a hierarchy for a reason - if you put someone new or someone that's less indoctrinated/invested in a position that exposes the cult in some way then it's more likely that they're going to wake up from it. I think the cart witnessing is like that - it was always fairly apparent to me as a lowly publisher that we didn't use methods of preaching that were likely to be very productive, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Just imagine what a publisher that already thinks that a little would think after a day of watching people pass by him. This could be enough to wake someone up a little, or at least send them on a path of inquiry.

  Also, it seems that they intend to trumpet the success of the cart witnessing at conventions and such, so it's best of if only the super indoctrinated are aware of the fact that these experiences are either fabricated or by far the exception.

  Plus, as others have said, it's a reward for the pioneers and might make some strive to pioneer thinking that it will be easier now because they can just stand by a cart. The pioneers are more likely to just be thankful for the easy time and not ask questions.
  
  
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  21

  New Light on HOLIDAYS and BIRTHDAYS? (September 2015 Watchtower)

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  watchtower-- simplified study edition, september 2015, "is your conscience a reliable guide?":.

  in ancient rome, some christians had different opinions about certain foods and celebrations.

  what advice did paul give them?

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  OneEyedJoe

  This is just the standard article about how you're guilty if you stumble someone, but if someone stumbles you it's still you're fault that you got stumbled. There's just not enough guilt for them to heap on you if you're only responsible for yourself, so they make you responsible for everyone else too.

  Then, for good measure, they tell you to make your own decision on health care, and accept responsibility for it. I guess they're a little uncomfortable being responsible for the needless death of thousands, and they're trying to convince everyone and themselves that these deaths were the personal decision of the victim and that the responsibility lies there.
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  52

  i committed the unforgiveable sin

  by 060702015 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  everyday i wake up with knots in my stomach and trouble breathing.

  my life continues to go into a downward spiral.

  in the past, i had my dependence on god.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Thanks for sharing your experience.

  First of all, you're not bad or evil or without value. You've had the grave misfortune of having been raised in a toxic, controlling and stifling environment. While you're upbringing is by no means a normal situation to have had to endure (and the resultant extreme emotional turmoil is therefore completely understandable) it's not unique. What's more is that there are many, many people (quite a few of them, here) that have been through a very similar experience and are now living happy, healthy, productive lives. If you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, you'll get there too.

  I highly recommend you educate yourself on Steve Hassan's BITE model for control (www.freedomofmind.com) as this is the weapon that's been used against you. The good news is that just understanding it and recognizing it's use will do the bulk of the work of disabling it and undoing it's effects. A portion of the control you've been under has been designed to influence your thoughts and convince you that you are guilty of some crime for the mere act of thinking something. This is an incredibly stifling way to live and is designed to prevent you from seeing a way out from under the control.

  I hope you stick around here for a while. If your experience follows mine, you'll find many people here who will show you greater love and genuine support than you've ever found from your parents or in a kingdom Hall. Please know that you're an individual with intrinsic value. You're not going to be punished for lashing out in a difficult situation - and any god that would enact punishment for that would not be worthy of your worship even if he would reward you for it. I wish I had something of greater value to say to help you... I'm sure you'll get lots of support from the many kindred spirits you'll find here.

  Keep going and you will find the peace you deserve.
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  18

  Passive aggressive circuit overseer talk

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went and listened to the circuit overseer talk last night.

  he started off by saying how many jws are in prisons in other countries and how we need to be prepared for when we are persecuted by the governments because it will happen "soon".

  near the end of the talk he got into how our own minds often imagine the very worst case scenario and that this isn't good.

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  OneEyedJoe

  The lingo about Satan luring more away from the org by material things. I remember how they said that jws would be faithful when in prison and then when they got out fell away to material things.

  Both sides of the mouth

  Which if you think about it - it fits perfectly into the CD model of how cults control people. When they're currently sacrificing everything for the cult (i.e. being in prison for it) they can't possibly come to terms with the idea that it's false. When they're out and free and comfortable, it's an easier thought to deal with and they're more likely to explore it.
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  18

  Passive aggressive circuit overseer talk

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went and listened to the circuit overseer talk last night.

  he started off by saying how many jws are in prisons in other countries and how we need to be prepared for when we are persecuted by the governments because it will happen "soon".

  near the end of the talk he got into how our own minds often imagine the very worst case scenario and that this isn't good.

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  OneEyedJoe

  There's got to be some term for this: one who creates a bad situation, then offers to "fix" it. I don't know what it is, but WT is very good at it

  When the mob does it, it's called racketeering.