OrphanCrow

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Posts by OrphanCrow

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  90

  $5.5 Million to be transferred to World Wide Work from Assembly Hall fund

  by Sour Grapes in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  a letter was read tonight in our kingdom hall that the money that the circuits in the indianapolis area had in savings to build a new assembly hall will now be transferred to the www to build kingdom halls in lands where they are needed and a new assembly hall for us will not be built.. we had a beautiful assembly hall near downtown indy that was paid for.

  it was sold a couple of years ago.

  we were promised a new assembly hall to be built in southern ohio near the indiana border but they can kiss that goodbye now.

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  OrphanCrow

  Coco: It was exciting as we anticipated the countdown to the Big A.
  No denying the craziness of the religion, but money and real estate were by no means the focus.

  Well, it might not have been the focus for you, Coco, but...

  The 60s and 70s were a buying frenzy for the WTS:

  https://therealdeal.com/2016/09/22/the-secret-to-jehovahs-witnesses-real-estate-success-maintenance-and-patience/
  

  When the rest of Brooklyn Heights was besieged by crime and blight in the 1960s and 1970s, the Witnesses snapped up properties and meticulously maintained them. “The Bossert Hotel, when they bought it, was a mess,” Citi Habitats’ TRData LogoTINY Christopher Havens told the Commercial Observer. “There were hookers there.”

  coco: What a total letdown, on all counts.

  Not so much for the WTS. They made lot$$$$$$ on their wise and prudent real estate foresight. While you and the other faithful JWs were concentrated on cleaning convention rentals, they were stockpiling real estate in Brooklyn that paid them back large.

  At one point, the Witnesses held 4.5 million square feet over 30 buildings. They’re down to nine buildings, having made about $1.25 billion on staggered sales since 2004, according to the CO.
  In August, a partnership between Kushner Companies, CIM Group and LIVWRK closed on the flagship Watchtower building for $340 million.
  “The selling off in a systematic manner worked to their benefit because they set the market,” said Timothy King of CPEX Real Estate. “Each sale almost set a record for one [transaction] but then raised the bar for the next one. This was very thoroughly thought out and executed.”
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  14

  When did JWs begin.

  by Lost in the fog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  " the contestant was useless as he said the 1700s.

  the correct answer the quiz master gave was the 20th century.

  and then he added, "they only began in the 1930s believe it or not.

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  OrphanCrow

  neat: As long as they claim 1919 as their year of official appointment by Jesus, that's all that matters.

  1919 was the year that Rutherford bought the printing presses for the WT

  It had nothing at all to do with Jesus and everything to do with the business of selling books

  Unless Jesus was the one who was the WT's $$$ source that bailed out the almost bankrupt company
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  16

  Session #8: "Bullet in the Head"

  by Brian J in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so at the phd today with my wife and me, and in slowly getting to the heart of matters (like peeling an onion if you ask me), the dialogue in part went like this: .

  phd: if it came down to it, would you take a bullet in the head instead of giving up membership in your organization?

  wife: absolutely, i would die for my faith.

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  OrphanCrow

  venus:
  God shows no partiality. Jews claimed they are the chosen ones which history shows God did not endorse. God knew that many would choose their faith according to their likes and dislikes which means no reasoning would work with them. It means God has permitted people to have their own faith which means we too must permit others to have their own faith no matter how unreasonable it may seem.

  "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires"
  

  - Susan B. Anthony
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  10

  Rolf Furuli Mental Health

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  rolf foruli, scandinavian academic and watchtower apologist, has come out with a video at times quoting figures on mental disease from the 1930's and 40's, in support of his allegation that the rate of mental problems and depression is actually only a third of what it is among the entire population.. there are numerous holes in his presentation.

  for one, when jw's are da'ed or df'ed they're no longer considered jw's and only active jw's are part of the results.

  those who were victimized and suffered the most mental trauma as jw's aren't even considered in the studies he mentions.. watch his video: "the mental health of jehovah´s witnesses" r. furuli, on youtube:.

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  OrphanCrow

  sparky: Sending out a survey for the congregation elders to make an assessment of individual witnesses mental health is not a 'scientific study'.

  Ooohhhh

  Is this the "study" that I have seen referenced in certain WT documents? In submissions to international courts, etc?

  Now that makes sense. I always wondered who it was that conducted such a stupid "study"

  And the org uses it liberally. Whenever they want to present 'expert" opinions. Pfffftt

  Isn't this the guy that was part of the production "In the Name of God"? The one that Reibling et al supported. Financially

  *to add - yeah

  Here is the background on that "independent" production. And I had the name wrong - "The Name of God"

  https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/exjehovahswitnessforum/the-name-of-god-documentary-film-t27746.html
  
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  27

  Fear of Dying

  by SplaneThisToMe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  did anyone else develop a weird fear of dying and death after leaving jw?

  i recently left and have realized for the first time in my life that i’m not going to live forever.

  anyone else have these same feelings toward discovering your own mortality?

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  OrphanCrow

  Splane: What do I make of this?

  That you were scared of dying before. It is what the primary "keeping in" doctrine of the JWs preys upon and will always endure - a human being's innate fear of death. The org promises no death. That is what keeps those who are scared of dying from leaving and learning of not to be scared of living. The org capitalizes on a primal instinct. Survival

  I would venture to say that you were scared of dying while you were a JW. Now you can start to be less scared of living

  Your fear is about the life you have left and how it will all end. 'Cause we all die. Dying is a part of our lives. Life is short. Live well and live large
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  18

  WT studied by all congregations 4th Feb 2018.

  by skin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  from the wt dated dec 2017 - study 1 para 11 studied by all congregations 4th feb 2018. the question asked on this paragraph is:.

  what did the physician luke report happened to a young man, and how did that affect others?”.

  paragraph 11 in this wt reads:.

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  OrphanCrow

  smiddy: Did they have glass windows in Jesus day ?

  No
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  25

  Is our universe just a hologram?

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was doing a shearch on physicist alain aspect, and came across this :.

  http://home.elp.rr.com/osiris/newpage1.htm.

  the universe as a hologramdoes objective reality exist, or is the universe a phantasm?.

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  OrphanCrow

  Science????

  Really? Where?? Where, in all that jumble of words and assertions, is the science?

  I can't find the science - not one scientific study quoted. Not one. I can't find anything at all that resembles science. Nothing at all that is scientific by any stretch of the imagination. Nothing.

  You can it a tuna fish sandwich if you want, but....if its black, got four legs, and has a white stripe down its back and walks low to the ground...it's a skunk.

  This is NOT science.
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  21

  Wait one minute here!!! Did the GB PURPOSEFULLY launch a D.O.S. attack on Russia? (aka the letter writting campaign)

  by GTSfromSY in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i know this sounds very outlandish by the title but hear this one out:.

  a few months back i spoke to an old friend of mine raised "around the truth", but never baptized and wanting nothing to do with the wt.

  he is very hip to what is going on in the wt however.

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  OrphanCrow

  Hey GTS, this thread could have the info you are looking for:

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4748746959093760/2015-letter-writing-campaign-called-wts-russia
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  18

  Superbly Written Article in Canadian Magazine

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  jehovah's witnesses cover-up.

  http://www.ucobserver.org/justice/2018/01/jw/.

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  OrphanCrow

  This article comes from the United Church Observer

  http://www.ucobserver.org/about/

  Founded in 1829, The United Church Observer is the oldest continuously published magazine in North America and the second oldest in the English speaking world. It has won international acclaim for journalistic excellence and garnered more awards for writing than any other Canadian religious publication. Editor David Wilson says of his mandate for the publication in contemporary Canada: “We seek to offer the United Church and Canadians generally a church magazine that exceeds people’s expectations of church magazines. As we move forward into a new era and style of faith-based publishing, we are constantly mindful of the traditions into which we are anchored.”

  And...

  Since 1986, The Observer has been independently incorporated, which makes it unique among major North American denominational publications. The magazine sets its own editorial policies and program and is overseen by its own board of directors. While it maintains a healthy relationship with The United Church of Canada, it does not speak as the denomination’s official voice, receiving only about 7 percent of its funding from the United Church’s General Council. Other funding comes from individual subscriptions, newsstand purchases, the Friends of the Observer Fund and government grants. The Observer’s financial and legal independence permits the publication to comment freely on matters within and outside The United Church of Canada. Says editor Wilson: “In the same way that The United Church of Canada is part of the Canadian identity, an independent Observer is inextricably part of the United Church identity — one of those unique features of the United Church that Canadians admire, whether they’re in the pews or on the sidelines.”

  I agree with everyone else - a well written and well researched article.
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  53

  Crisis of Conscience where to find?

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  does anyone know where i can get a pdf version of this book?

  i’ve always wanted a physical copy but those seem really hard to come by, and if you look online they’re super expensive.

  thank you.. -jules.

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  OrphanCrow

  nicolaou: but can I suggest donating your book to a library where many individuals can access it, discreetly if need be.

  That's a good idea. However, these books have a way of disappearing once they are part of library systems.

  I have encountered this problem a few times with local libraries - one day a book is there and the next time I go to take it out...it has vanished. From what I have heard (!!!), local JWs make it a point to make sure that certain books can't be accessed through public libraries by discreetly making them disappear