OneEyedJoe

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Posts by OneEyedJoe

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  33

  78 to go and hopefully something good comes of it. Please do your part and sign up. Thanks

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  only 78 signatures are needed in order to send the request to the irs that they revoke or at the very least investigate the borg.

  come'on guys, support it.. click here to support and sign up!.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Signed it.

  It would probably be beneficial if the statement also included a mention of the fact that the WTS actively encourages its membership not to do charitable works.
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  19

  Could they make not donating a disfellowshipping offence?

  by purrpurr in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm wondering at how far the borg could go in begging for money?

  their halls are already resembling the"money changers in the temple".

  as they get sued more and more due to their pedophilic paradise their coffers will be ever more drained.

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  OneEyedJoe

  They can do whatever the hell they want. That's part of the allure of being a cult leader. Though I don't think they will, mainly for the reasons already stated here. They'd have trouble selling it, and there are enough of those that are donating that would stop if they push too hard and in the wrong way.

  They've already shown their plans on how they're going to try to raise the funds, and they're fairly clever. Things like the congregation-level tithe work perfectly because it puts the pressure on the elders to pressure the members. The elders aren't getting directly beaten up about their contributions, but since they have to give local needs parts and announce the shortfall, many will give more to avoid seeing themselves as hypocrites. At the same time the members see the pressure from the elders as a local issue, not a systemic one and they have their excuse for the hypocrisy.

  They're doing the same thing with the assembly hall costs - raising per-publisher rates to create a group debt, then pressuring everyone to pay it off. They're also doing more special events with live streams and ordering that any funds donated at the kingdom hall for those events be sent in to the org. They do a pretty good job of keeping everything a group debt and letting elders do the legwork. They also do a pretty good job of making the R/F think they're actually getting something whenever there's a money grab - assemblies, "forgiven" loans and the LDC handles your remodel, etc. Of course they don't actually get anything, but as long as they create the appearance most JWs will go along because they don't want to see it for what it is.

  In line with what Vidiot was saying - they'd probably not make it a DF offense anyway, because the whole point of such a policy would be to get people to donate more, they would probably use punishments that are more easily revoked once it has the desired effect.  If you started DFing people for not donating (especially those that just couldn't raise the cash at the time) a lot of those would never come back.  If you use social pressure, they'll stick around and start donating when they can.
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  6

  Quick question...

  by Vidiot in

  1. forum
  2. tech-support

  ...why the f**k do i so often see banner ads for "jehovah's witness dating" here?

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  OneEyedJoe

  We sometimes get people that wander in here thinking this is a site full of active JWs, do you really think the automatic systems that serve banner ads by keywords are going to do so much better?
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  45

  Medal of Valor given by Obama to JW Grandmother - Check her Lapel Pin

  by Da.Furious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this grandmother found the best way to advertise jw.org by wearing a huge lapel pin.. .

  some of the comments are really interesting.. link to article:.

  http://www.phillyvoice.com/obama-award-medal-valor-family-slain-philadelphia-police-officer-robert-wilson-iii-monday/.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Her grandson couldn't have possibly been a JW if he was a cop, right? That was always what I was told, anyway - you couldn't work in a job that required you to carry a gun and that might require the use of lethal force.
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  13

  what more cuts might be in the pipeline

  by pepperheart in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there have been so many cuts in the past few years in the jw world what do you think might be next?

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  OneEyedJoe

  2 day conventions will probably still generate 90% of the income of a 3 day, with lower costs.

  Asking individual JWs or congregations to print study literature themselves if they don't have an iPad.

  On the flip side (revenue generation) I expect the number of zone visits and special broadcasts like that to increase, since the boe is instructed to forward all donations from these events to HQ
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  40

  New Article - Watchtower View of Homosexuality

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have thought about writing this article for many years, and the awake!

  2014 no.4 was the final straw.

  there it states that jehovah's witnesses show no prejudice towards homosexuals, and "they neither mock nor mistreat people whose practices differ from their own.

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  OneEyedJoe

  It shows how all-controlling Watchtower leaders want to be, when a well dressed man in a business suit can be counselled for their clothing.

  Either change this to read "when well dressed men" or change "their" to "his" in order to make the pronoun match what it is referring to.

  In the video, Sophia does not appear judgemental of Carrie's parent's

  Just parents, without the sky comma. It's plural, not possessive.

  </Grammar Nazi>

  I can't find it, but I do recall a thread a while ago about some videos shown in the elder's school that addressed the issue of non-practicing gays. If I remember correctly elders were told to be on the lookout for those that act gay and this would disqualify that person from holding "privileges" in the congregation. This is in direct conflict with their claim that they are not bigoted against gays, and are only upholding the Bible's moral guidelines. The implication, again, is that homosexuality is a choice and in order for someone to be accepted they have to go beyond not acting on their desires but root them out entirely - in other words, they must become heterosexual.
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  35

  What should I visit while in New York

  by wannaexit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am planning a trip to new york and trying to develop an itinerary.

  t will be my first time.

  what do you suggest i see?

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  OneEyedJoe

  Definitely swing by please don't tell. Great cocktail bar.
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  9

  Children, you can go to Bethel when you grow up!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/caleb-sophia-visit-bethel/.

  for those who haven't watched this, enjoy!.

  hang in there for the very last comment from caleb!

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  OneEyedJoe

  The best family day out ever? Are they really gearing up to make a fun experience for young children? Or are there going to be a lot of very disappointed kids out there?

  Par for the course. Tell kids that it's the best day with family ever, get the parents to tell their kids that too, and then when it's dull and drab and boring the kids have to decide whether their parents lied to them or if it's just that there's something wrong with them that caused them not to enjoy it. Most kids, relying on their parents for everything, can't tolerate the thought that their parents would lie to them, so they'll internalize it and decide it's their fault they didn't have a good time. One more step towards blind obedience because any dissident thought is always a sign of personal failing, not a sign that there might really be something wrong with the cult. The cult continually tears down self confidence and trust of one's own truth by constantly telling you that boring things are fun, obligations are privileges, leaders are slaves, trials are blessings, etc.
  
  
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  6

  Entertaining Guide to Bad Science Journalism

  by cofty in

  1. social
  2. current

  healthy skepticism and a bit of effort is essential to avoid believing bad science.. ....

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  OneEyedJoe

  My father in law needs to watch that. There's one public talk outline that he gives often and always opens with "so can anyone tell me - is coffee good for you or bad for you this week?" Then goes on to use morning show science reporting as evidence that science is unreliable. The (laughable) contrast is then drawn with Jehovah/the cult in an assertion that it's consistent and reliable.
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  11

  How many JW 'anointed™'...........

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  ...actually believe they are chosen by god to go to heaven, as opposed to how many do it for attention seeking/presige reasons?.

  i know we have nom way of really knowing.

  however, your thoughts interest me..

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  OneEyedJoe

  I don't think it's necessarily an either-or situation. There's probably a lot of factors that go in to someone deciding they're anointed - I suspect a lot of it has to do with who they've seen partaking (if they're anointed, surely I must be) or with a desire to be anointed (either to rule in heaven or for the prestige now) or other environmental factors. They take that and eventually rationalize their way to thinking they're anointed. I would guess that anyone who's partaking probably genuinely believes they're anointed, but that doesn't mean that the process that got them there was altruistic. People can convince themselves of all sorts of things just because it would be convenient if they are true.

  One thing that seems to be true in my limited experience with partakers - they all seem to have a pretty high opinion of themselves. I guess you'd have to - JWs already think they're the best 0.1% of the population. To think you're anointed, you have to believe you're the top 0.1% of that.