Balaamsass2

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Posts by Balaamsass2

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  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

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  Balaamsass2

  I thought about this a bit more. Since the advent of the internet, there is no excuse to be in the dark about what is happening at Watchtower. If someone has been at Bethel for more than a couple of years they are going to be aware of the child abuse issue, UN issue, financial lies, Billions in reserves, Etc. If you are a male serving at Bethel and over 30 you will also be an Elder, and no doubt have dealt with these issues directly or in your congregation.

  As an ex-Bethelite serving in US congregations, I took heat from Circuit overseers and local elders for speaking out against Child Molesters, writing letters DIRECTLY to the Governing body, and taking cases to the State Police. I took heat for speaking up about financial fraud in the circuit. I was amazed at how indecisive, anemic, and weak some circuit overseers and MOST elders were when it was time to stand up for the most BASIC moral principles that most children would understand. There is too much fear of man in the Borg.

  If someone is still tying their wagon to the Watchtower to support them, they deserve what they get. My 2 cents.
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  15

  JWlite can be the purple pill

  by Teddnzo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i really like the red pill analogy in the matrix.

  the one guy wishes he didn’t take the red pill and would have preferred to take the blue pill.. many used to be pimi which is the blue pill and then they wake up to the fact that the gb are not who they claim to be which is taking the red pill.. they go through conflict and confusion as to what to believe now?

  does god exist?

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  Balaamsass2

  I have known a few "Purple Pill" people over the years. Actually PI/O M I.

  They want to keep family ties usually. Miserable existence IMO.

  The only ones that SEEM to pull it off "discover" they have a disease that forces them to cut out meetings and field service with no outward diagnosable signs. (Fibromyalgia, Epstein Barr, tick fevers, etc.) or better yet, they move out of the District and become inactive (for work, etc), keeping a low profile. They only attend meetings/assemblies when they have to while visiting JW family members. :) I have known a few people who have done this for 20+ years. A LOT of extra work if you ask me.
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  24

  The HLC do not pressure JWs

  by usualusername1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the hospital liaison committee (hlc) for jehovah’s witnesses does not pressure members to refuse blood transfusions.

  rather, their role is to support jehovah’s witnesses in adhering to their pre-existing religious beliefs, which include a strict prohibition against accepting blood transfusions based on their interpretation of biblical scriptures.. jehovah’s witnesses are well-informed about their stance on blood from an early age, and refusing blood is a deeply ingrained religious conviction, not something imposed during a medical crisis.

  the hlc’s purpose is to provide assistance in accessing bloodless treatment options, facilitating communication with healthcare providers, and helping ensure that the patient’s choices are respected.. while the hlc strongly supports adherence to the beliefs of jehovah’s witnesses, the ultimate decision remains with the individual.

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  Balaamsass2

  "Gullibility is a failure of social intelligence in which a person is easily tricked or manipulated into an ill-advised course of action. It is closely related to credulity, which is the tendency to believe unlikely propositions that are unsupported by evidence.[1][2]

  Classes of people especially vulnerable to exploitation due to gullibility include children, the elderly, and the developmentally disabled".[2][3]

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullibility
  
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  22

  The fading of a well known American religion. Could this happen someday to Jehovah's Witnesses?

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  new york times 9/5/24.

  " there are only two shakers left.

  they've still got utopia in their sites.. "by jordan kisner.

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  Balaamsass2

  I have always found the Shakers, Amish, Quakers, and Mennonites fascinating. I was surprised the Shaker membership had dropped to TWO seniors- no wonder I never met one in field Service.

  My wife's (3rd Gen) German maternal ancestors were from a Germanic Mennonite/Lutheran group.

  When I first went to Bethel, I almost expected an almost ascetic environment. I was quickly disabused of that notion after my first week of breakfast announcements of "family member" disfellowshippings. :)

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9kig2y91s
  
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  22

  The fading of a well known American religion. Could this happen someday to Jehovah's Witnesses?

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  new york times 9/5/24.

  " there are only two shakers left.

  they've still got utopia in their sites.. "by jordan kisner.

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  Balaamsass2

  New York Times 9/5/24

  " THERE ARE ONLY TWO SHAKERS LEFT. THEY'VE STILL GOT UTOPIA IN THEIR SITES.

  "By Jordan Kisner

  Jordan Kisner is a contributing writer for the magazine. She spent almost two years interviewing the last two members and their group of friends for this article.

  • Sept. 5, 2024

  The youngest Shaker in the world is 67 years old, and his name is Arnold. He lives alongside Sister June, 86, in a magnificent brick building designed to sleep about 70 — the dwelling house of the last active Shaker village in the world, at Sabbathday Lake in Maine. Together they constitute one of the longest-running utopian experiments in America.

  It’s a triumph, as utopian experiments aren’t known for their durability, though the impulse — to start afresh apart from the mess of mainstream society, to reinvent society with like-minded people — has always been strong here. Out of the many that America has fostered, this is one of the most abiding. Out of the tens of thousands of Shakers who have lived out their faith in the last quarter-millennium, these two remain.

  Brother Arnold Hadd and Sister June Carpenter live in an active village that is also a museum — they are inhabitants and custodians and exhibit all at once. Sabbathday Lake is a tidy, elegant configuration of buildings anchored by the brick dwelling house, constructed when the brethren numbered around 200. The Shakers maintain a small farm, with a herd of 70 sheep and four cows, and they sell herbs and teas harvested from their garden as well as furniture, beeswax candles and other “fancy goods.” Curious members of the public drive through even when Sabbathday Lake is closed to visitors, and pop out of their cars to wander up and down the dirt driveway, squinting at the Meeting House. Brother Arnold — Shakers go by their title and first name only — frequently comes out to greet people who show up, though he no longer offers tours. One weekend, two teenagers knocked on the kitchen door to ask if they could hunt turkey in the Shakers’ woods. He told them to go ahead."

  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/magazine/shakers-utopia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ik4.4mTp.P3Kqp4nPEf_E&smid=url-share
  
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  8

  Jehovah's Witnesses in the news again. Wise use of publisher's donations? New Zealand News

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  do jws feel this is a wise use of their donations?

  does this bring honor to jehovah's name?.

  9/1/24 :"new zealand abuse in care.

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  Balaamsass2

  And some more stories about this issue in the New Zealand press: "Making Jehovah's name known" by Watchtower.

  The Spinoff July 25, 2024

  These are the stories the Jehovah’s Witnesses went to court to stop you reading

  "The inquiry expressed ‘concern about the faith’s overall approach to the safety of children and young people in its care’.

  The stories below include accounts of sexual abuse.

  It was the early 1980s and Ms SC, then 15, was a member of the New Zealand Jehovah’s Witness community. Elders in the church – a fundamentalist Christian group, which adopts a literal interpretation of its bible and believes Armageddon is imminent – were concerned about her behaviour. She was required to attend an Elder’s home for extra religious study, led by his wife.

  “I would often be at their place after school or to go on outings. In addition to one-on-one bible studies with the Elder’s wife, I would join their family regularly for their family bible study,” she recalled.

  When the tuition was over, the Elder “would drive me home”, said Ms SC. Except that, “instead of going home, he took me to another area nearby where there were no houses or anything at that time. This was when the abuse took place. It happened many times over a period of four to five months. At first he touched my genitals, then he digitally penetrated me, then he had full sexual intercourse with me.”

  Ms SC’s story appears as part of a 64-page case study focused on Jehovah’s Witnesses in New Zealand, part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care, tabled yesterday in parliament. The church unsuccessfully applied to the Court of Appeal at the 11th hour to halt publication of the case study pending an application to the Supreme Court to appeal an earlier ruling. The application was denied. "

  https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-07-2024/these-are-the-stories-the-jehovahs-witnesses-went-to-court-to-stop-you-reading
  
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  8

  Jehovah's Witnesses in the news again. Wise use of publisher's donations? New Zealand News

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  do jws feel this is a wise use of their donations?

  does this bring honor to jehovah's name?.

  9/1/24 :"new zealand abuse in care.

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  Balaamsass2

  If the volume of cases around the world has caused you some confusion, here is a bit more backstory that New Zealanders read.

  "

  Former Jehovah's Witnesses welcome inquiry's findings of 'credible evidence' of abuse

  8:07 am on 27 July 2024

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  "The Jehovah's Witnesses fought hard to avoid the scrutiny of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. Now the inquiry report has found 'credible evidence' that child sex abuse occurred within the faith - and no evidence that it was reported.

  Victoria waited 50 years to be believed.

  The former Jehovah's Witness suffered decades of sexual and physical abuse from her father, a respected Elder in her congregation, that started from childhood through to her teens.

  It wasn't until her early 20s that she attempted to tell another Elder about the abuse.

  "I wasn't believed. It was because of the two-witness rule. I was asked, 'Where's your other witness?'"

  The rule, based on the Jehovah's Witnesses literal translation of their Bible, says there must be two witnesses to a sin before an Elder - equivalent to a minister - can determine if there has been 'wrongdoing'."

  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/abuseincare/523286/former-jehovah-s-witnesses-welcome-inquiry-s-findings-of-credible-evidence-of-abuse
  
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  8

  Jehovah's Witnesses in the news again. Wise use of publisher's donations? New Zealand News

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  do jws feel this is a wise use of their donations?

  does this bring honor to jehovah's name?.

  9/1/24 :"new zealand abuse in care.

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  Balaamsass2

  Do JWs feel this is a wise use of their donations? Does this bring honor to Jehovah's name?

  9/1/24 :"New Zealand Abuse in Care

  1 Sep 2024

  Jehovah's Witnesses must pay $48k in court costs for failed bid to be excluded from abuse inquiry"

  "The Jehovah's Witnesses must pay $48,000 in court costs to the Crown for a string of failed cases brought against the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.

  The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses Australasia sought a judicial review in 2023 in a bid to get out of being part of the inquiry.

  The legal action was launched after three years of legal wrangling with the inquiry behind the scenes to avoid its scrutiny.

  The bid was declined and the faith appealed the decision, but in April the Court of Appeal dismissed its argument.

  The church has agreed to pay $32,321 in court costs to the Crown for the high court judicial review and $13,212 for the claim made to the Court of Appeal, according to Crown Law documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act.

  The faith has since applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, but a decision on this has not yet been made.

  In June, the church tried - and failed - to get an advance copy of the inquiry's final report into the faith after filing an urgent claim at the High Court in Auckland.

  It has agreed to pay the Crown $2629 in court costs for that action.

  Just days before the final report was due to be released publicly, the faith made an unsuccessful last ditch-effort to block the case study in the final report about them. Crown Law said these cost were still being calculated.

  The Jehovah's Witnesses was the only faith to file legal action against the Abuse in Care Inquiry.

  It has taken legal action against similar inquiries that have occurred around the world, including in the United Kingdom and Australia."

  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/526749/jehovah-s-witnesses-must-pay-48k-in-court-costs-for-failed-bid-to-be-excluded-from-abuse-inquiry
  
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  5

  Distrust

  by Gorb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since the begin of this millennium, when i became pimo on the way to pomo, i started higher education and made some promotion that lead to a higher management position.. i'm a regional manager now, acting in a management team and stakeholder manager.. in this position, we do intense feedback, coaching trajects et cetera, that goes under the waterline.

  a issue i have to deal with is distrust.

  i made an analyse of myself and found out that i don't trust the intentions of many of my stakeholders.. i want to do something about this, to become a better person and making further progression.. could it be jw upbringing related?

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  Balaamsass2

  Trusting or Gullible? Hard to differentiate. :)

  For the first 40 years of my life MOST poor decisions on my part were from being TOO trustful. I tended to believe most people. Including Employers, the government, Watchtower and JW Elders. lol.

  I like Ronald Regans use of the common Russian saying. "Trust but verify". "Trust, but verify (Russian: доверяй, но проверяй, romanized: doveryay, no proveryay, IPA: [dəvʲɪˈrʲæj no prəvʲɪˈrʲæj]) is a Russian proverb, which rhymes in Russian. The phrase became internationally known in English after Suzanne Massie, a scholar of Russian history, taught it to Ronald Reagan, then president of the United States, who used it on several occasions in the context of nuclear disarmament discussions with the Soviet Union."
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  33

  Sorcery = Pharmakeia

  by KerryKing in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  rev18:23 '....you deceived the nations with your sorceries'.. the interlinear for sorceries reads pharmakeia.. bible hub has some interesting definitions, i'll try to share screenshots below.

  the gist of it is that sorcery involves drugs/medicines/poisons, with or without spells, sorcery is not the same as witchcraft or divination, or white/black magic.

  i have long wondered about the connection between the medical/pharmaceutical industry's symbol of the serpent wrapped around a pole/stake, and the use of the word pharmaceuticals/pharmacy.. considering the common use of fluoride in public drinking water, nsaids with side effects such as depression, brain fog, dizziness, and opioids, mrna gene therapy, vaccines and so on, i wonder am i going mad, are these all coincidences??

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  Balaamsass2

  Healing plants? What about the "Tree of Life" in Eden? Or the Prophecy in Revelation the 7th day Adventists featured? Rev. 22. [2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

  Opium Poppy was prized since ancient times. Alexander the Great used it for his armies. It not only stops pain, it also stops dehydrating and dying from uncontrolled diarrhea common from polluted water in ancient times. Common in medicine cabinets around the world until modern times.