I made a comment in paragraph 11, which begins by saying, “As earth’s new King, Jesus Christ soon began to deliver his anointed followers from captivity to ‘Babylon the Great.’” I mentioned that they didn’t completely separate themselves from Babylon the Great because for quite a time after 1919 they were still celebrating Christmas at the Bethel and the Watch Tower magazine had a logo of a cross and crown on the cover at the top-left. I was hoping that some in the audience would either think that Jesus’ cleansing of his earthly temple must of really taken a long time or that perhaps the WTS wasn’t really his choice after all. I always try to plant some kind of a little seed in people’s head.
Posts by SAHS
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10Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 09-28-2014 WT Study (JESUS WIT)
by blondie incomments you will not hear at the 09-28-2014 wt study (july 15, 2014, pages (28-32) new testament jesuswitnesses.
review comments will be headed outside the boxes.
wt material from today's wt will be in quote boxes.
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2015 special talk outline-A PROMISE OF PERFECT FAMILY HAPPINESS
by suavojr injw's are such a happy group .
let's see how this talk addresses the internal issues that we find within the jw's such as:.
courtesy of jwfacts.com.
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SAHS
“PERFECT FAMILY HAPPINESS”
Just think for a second what that word, “perfect,” really means. Just hear me out: There have apparently been around 20 billion people who have ever lived up until now (not including our evolutionary ancestors – that statistic, I believe, is assuming 6,000 years of human existence, as in Christianity). Now – definitely playing Devil’s advocate here, folks – let’s say that a good number of the over seven million Jehovah’s Witnesses currently alive today make it through Armageddon into the “new system” Paradise. Then, let’s say that a fairly significant number of that 20 billion or so people who have ever lived and come back to life during the “resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous” end up being faithful under Paradise and pass the “final test” at the end of the thousand-year reign of Jesus. However many people there would likely be left remaining by that time, including whatever offspring would be born during that thousand-year reign and beyond, that would be, for lack of a better expression, a lot of people.
Now, to my point: What would you say are the mathematical, statistical, logistical odds of all those people (however many that would likely be) having, not just ho-hum, not just pretty good, not just fairly awesome, but perfect family happiness – supposedly for all eternity? (Assuming that the sun won’t be doing its red giant/white dwarf thing.) Now, I don’t know about you, but I would say that the idea of many billions of people worldwide throughout all eternity having perfect family happiness, or perfect anything else, for that matter, is just a tad, well, f^@#ing retarded! (And, yes, I believe that the sun will eventually get real nasty nasty, putting the damper on perfect anything, indeed.)
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JW's and depression
by FeelingFree ini was wondering how many of you suffered badly with depression when you were in "the truth" and if you feel your depression was related to being part of the organisation?
are you better now you have left or still have issue's?
whatever your experience's i would be very intrested to know (if you feel you can talk about it.).
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SAHS
“hoser”: “It is hard on the mental health if it is repeatedly implied that you are not good enough.”
“Apognophos”: “I felt like life had pretty much no point and I did nothing to plan for my future because I thought I was going to be destroyed at Armageddon.”
“FeelingFree”: “. . . the whole doom and gloom dieing at armageddon, not ever being able to do enough and what you are doing isn't good enough blah blah is extremely negative and can't be good for anyones mental well being!”
Those above points illustrate a common theme experienced by JWs, especially born-ins (as I am, born 1966): People, especially around the age of puberty, often begin to feel that they are simply “not good enough” and subsequently are in line to be “destroyed at Armageddon.” This fosters insecurity and anxiety, which manifests in various ways – some of which we aren’t even aware of, as in the case of general “free-floating” anxiety.
I myself couldn’t say exactly what I would be like if I had never been a JW, because that is all I have ever know (there was no “before” being in a JW family for me). My long-time and well-known elder dad used to scare me about sinning against the holy spirit since I was a young child, and I had a reoccurring dream about a dark, tornado-laden storm slowly but steadily approaching from the distance. Around the age of puberty, I more prominently began having some unnatural fantasies (of the naughty kind), and this certainly exacerbated the situation. Around the time I started community college (right after high school), I developed a rather severe form of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), which is very much an anxiety-related condition. It was then that I also accelerated by alcoholism. Now, I have professional help, as I am under the care of a psychiatrist, and I am also recovering in AA (with a lot of relapses).
So, yes, the teachings and policies of the WTS have a lot of negative and harmful aspects to it, which does do tangible harm to families, especially children. But now that we know the real truth about the “truth” (TTATT), the challenge is to explore and learn new ways to rise above it and try to be able to just walk with our heads held high and get on with the rest of our lives with some degree of serenity and contentment. We just need some practical healing.
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Spiritually strong people don't care what others think of them.
by hoser injesus is a good example of this.
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SAHS
I believe that it is a matter of balance and what kind of “care” someone has about other’s opinions. The title of this thread could more accurately be: “Spiritually strong people don’t care overly much about everything others think of them.” Obviously, a sane person would care about what others think of them if they were to, say, run outside completely bare-naked, or have sex with a little child on their front lawn while wearing a Donald Duck mask on a Saturday afternoon in front of everybody, or play an Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album at deafening volume through speakers facing outward on their window sill at three o’clock in the morning on a Sunday night in the middle of the month of June. No, sir. I think we would all care at least that much about other’s opinions.
But, at the same time, a spiritually strong person – or, more scientifically, a psychologically/emotionally healthy person – doesn’t care inordinately or unreasonably about what others think of them. Such a person has the confidence and security with their ego to go about their lives within a fairly broad range of what is socially/legally acceptable without internalizing and worrying about other people’s parochial and narrow-minded tenants of etiquette, as they see it. I myself don’t judge anybody based on their income, clothing, vehicle or house (or lack thereof), or their ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, or sexual orientation (unless that involves harmful sadism or rape), but the thing that I do judge people on is how they treat others. (I never cared for bullies.) Other than that, I just accept everyone for who/what they are – and I wish and hope that others will likewise be that way with me.
So, while “spiritually strong people” do have some basic “care” regarding fundamental logical social norms, they also, nevertheless, are able to walk with their head up and be proud of who/what they are. The basic “spiritual” principles, I believe, are: Live and let live, love and not harm, respect yourself and others.
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Why I hate Tuesdays
by kneehighmiah inall throughout my life tuesdays were my meeting nights.
well tuesdays and thursdays to be more precise, when we had book study but book study was at my house so it wasn't terrible.
anyways as a kid i hated coming home from school, doing homework and then going to the meetings.
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SAHS
I used to hate all the meetings (still do!), but the big midweek meeting, usually Tuesday, was always harder to bear – I think because of it being later in the day than the Sunday meeting when you’re already naturally starting to feel tired and want to begin gearing down.
The thing that really pissed me off (still does!) is when the circuit overseer visited and always had his little whip-cracking meeting on Friday. I used to hate his guts since childhood, since all my favorite TV shows were usually on Friday night. I thought it was such an ego trip for the guy to always have the meeting schedule changed just to accommodate him.
Of course, I treasure the day (whenever that will be) when I never have to set one foot into a Kingdom Hall ever again. That will have to be when my fade is completely accomplished, which will obviously involve getting my debts paid off so I can finally move out from my elderly parents’ place and live on my own. (Time and money are my two longtime enemies as far as that goes.)
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2015 special talk outline-A PROMISE OF PERFECT FAMILY HAPPINESS
by suavojr injw's are such a happy group .
let's see how this talk addresses the internal issues that we find within the jw's such as:.
courtesy of jwfacts.com.
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SAHS
“Jehovah’s purpose to have one large happy human family without factions” . . . but evidently not without fractions!
(Sorry. I just couldn’t resist.)
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" Do not ask permission, just play the video--" service meeting instructions.
by prologos inthis statement startled me out of the pleasant mental absence during this week's "service" meeting.. pushing the org.
explanation: "the listener has time to interrupt, if they want--" .
together with an incredible boring "study" of an hand held device, or it's stored content, i will be a totally new crop of orgies at the halls,.
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SAHS
“prologos”: “"The listener has time to interrupt, if they want--"”
Well, maybe next the WTS will instruct publishers to bring along an amplifier system with high-efficiency speakers turned up to a volume that will override those “interruptions.” My mom told me that in the early days, publishers were instructed to read a rather lengthy sermon and not allow the householder to interrupt until they were finished. Looks like the WTS is coming full circle in that regard.
“westiebilly11”: “Suspect the video approach is because the org don't trust the witnesses to deliver a message....because basically they don't know why they're calling on people anymore...”
The WTS is probably being hyper-vigilant in considering the potential image damage and legalities of their rank-and-file publishers misrepresenting the organization by, let’s say, less than polished presentations. Now everything is canned, not just the piano music at the Kingdom Hall.
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The height of delusion on display at last Tuesdays meeting...
by BU2B ini literally just sat there with my mouth open.
sometimes the delusional mind of jws takes steroids.. it was during the draw close to jehovah study where they praise the mosaic law and how perfectly wonderful it was.
you should have seen the almost giddy attitude the conductor had and the comments from the audience.
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SAHS
I too felt sick when going through this latest material in the “Congregation Bible Study.” The book mentions how the Israelites apparently didn’t kill wantonly or rape women. Yah, right. But when those old assholes blew the war signal in their silver trumpets, the out-of-control hockey team known as the Israelites went to work doing what they did best: killing as many men, women, children, animals, non-fruit-bearing trees, Smurfs, or anything else they could get their hateful, greedy hands on. The only exception was that they weren’t to kill young girls who had never had sexual relations with a man. (No, they would be the ones to turn them girls into real women.)
As far as ‘not raping,’ the truth of the matter is that the Israelites captured females and then, after waiting for a “a whole month” (to allow the poor girls to grieve for their killed parents), they could “have relations with [them]” and take them as their wives. (Deut. 21:10-13) And I guess they had to bloody well like it or lump it – literally. (Lumps, black eyes, knocked out teeth – well, you get the idea.)
Such a loving God, ain’t he?
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More WTS cash-grabbing: "Funds on Deposit" program for Circuits
by sir82 inat a recent circuit assembly "business meeting" for elders, a new program was announced: "funds on deposit".. here's how it works:.
each circuit determines a "floor" and a "ceiling" for an amount to hold in their circuit checking account.
when the "ceiling" amount is exceeded, the amount above the threshold is wired to the wts and held by them.. if the circuit checking account drops below the "floor" amount, the circuit can send a request to the wts to request that some of their "funds on deposit" be returned to them so that their checking account resumes a "safe" level.. as explained by the elder explaining the program,, "in other words, the branch is acting exactly like a bank - the circuit will make deposits and withdrawals as needed.
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SAHS
This “funds on deposit” thing kind of reminds me of the operation of a car’s battery and alternator. The WTS is like the battery, which constantly sucks in more excess current from the alternator. The circuit (no pun intended) acts like the alternator, which is constantly spinning and pumping out more current to keep that hungry battery topped up with juice (electric charge). And that busy, spinning alternator is like a hamster wheel, which is powered by all the rank-and-file members (the little rats) scurrying along with their little feet by pounding the pavement giving out their new little tractizines.
And so the little rats’ feet scurry away, the hamster wheel of the alternator, which is the circuit (again, no pun intended) spins, making more current to give to top up the big, heavy, hungry battery of the WTS. Only the little rats in the circuit don’t really realize how much they’ve been endlessly spinning the hamster wheel to perpetuate the satisfying of the WTS’ operation, which, in reality, is a nest egg for them, but nothing but a big scam and a rat race for everyone else down through to the bottom.
In other words: Lots of huff and puff for more fluff and bluff!
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JW.ORG signs on Assembly Hall
by Nosferatu inwhat the hell is going on here?
i drove past the assembly hall today and noticed the square blue jw.org signs on the building.
coupled with the steel gate that keeps worldlings out, it really looks quite cultish.. so is that the new name for the kingdom halls or something?
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SAHS
It kind of reminds me of those commercials for that new investment bank, ING Direct, now called “Tangerine.” It shows a somewhat youngish guy holding a tangerine-colored coffee mug saying, “It’s that simple!,” and they highlight the color tangerine. The WTS should make some sort of similar commercial – only their catch phrase would be, “Think blue: JW.org.” I can just imagine such a commercial with a governing body member holding a blue-colored coffee mug with the JW.org logo on it.