Posts by Athanasius

37

Abandoned literature carts, maybe the end of them?

by sp74bb in

jw
friends

an innocent picture of a city in my country, spain.

the pic says everything.

many jw are really disgusted about everything, even their new preaching cart.

Athanasius

I often see the JWs with their literature trolleys at our local shopping centre. Usually they set up two trolleys about 30 or 40 feet distance from each other. However, instead of one or two JWs attending each trolley, here they always have three JWs minding a trolley.

Why the local JWs here feel they need three persons at each trolley is strange, as hardly anyone pays attention to them. On occasion if I have some time to kill, I'll stop and chat with the JWs. Surprisingly one older JW lady admitted that business was slow.

20

Business Slow at JW Literature Trolley

by Athanasius in

yesterday i stopped at a local shopping center to pick up a few things.

i arrived at 9:45 am and two jw ladies had already set up their literature trolley and had opened for business.

but i didn't see anyone stopping by and taking advantage of their free literature.

Athanasius

Yesterday I stopped at a local shopping center to pick up a few things. I arrived at 9:45 AM and two JW ladies had already set up their literature trolley and had opened for business. But I didn't see anyone stopping by and taking advantage of their free literature. So I visited one store and purchased a few items, but as I was leaving here comes two more JW ladies with their trolley.

I visited a couple more stores, then stopped at a thrift store that has a huge selection of books. I spent over an hour there, so It was 11:30 AM when I left the store and stopped and visited the first JW literature trolley. It was attended by an older JW lady and a teenage JW girl. So I asked them: "How is business?

Surprisingly the older JW lady was honest about the public's lack of interest in their work. Because in a rather dry tone she replied: "We gave away a Watchtower this morning."

So, pointing to the other JW literature trolley only thirty feet away, I said: "Looks like you have some competition."

To which the JW lady explained: "They have Spanish literature. We also have Spanish literature, so please take what you like."

Not being a Spanish speaker, I took one of their English Watchtowers and told the JWs that I was surprised at how thin it was. To which the older JW said printing costs forced them to reduce the size of their magazines.

Both the JWs looked bored, and didn't seem at all excited about what they were doing. Still one would have thought they would have been excited because in two hours they had given away two Watchtowers. Now both JWs could record a Watchtower placement on their time sheets.

16

The Guardian: In Russia, the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses begins all over again

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2017/mar/09/in-russia-the-persecution-of-jehovahs-witnesses-begins-all-over-again.

in russia, the persecution of jehovah’s witnesses begins all over again.

giles fraser.

Athanasius

The sad thing about this potential ban on JWs in Russia, is that the Watchtower will play this up to draw attention away from their child abuse scandals.

18

School bus driver accused of telling boy he would go to hell because of moms.

by ToesUp in

school-bus-driver-accused-of-telling-boy-hed-go-to-hell-because-of-his-mom/.

Athanasius

That is a possibility Village Idiot. But it's not accurate reporting. Moreover, it makes me wonder what else have they misinterpreted about the incident.

18

School bus driver accused of telling boy he would go to hell because of moms.

by ToesUp in

school-bus-driver-accused-of-telling-boy-hed-go-to-hell-because-of-his-mom/.

Athanasius

Something about this story is suspect. If the bus driver is a JW, she doesn't really know what her religion teaches, or more likely she's someone's Bible Study, as JWs don't believe in Hell, nor do they believe everyone goes to Heaven. A fanatical JW would have told the boy that he'd be destroyed in the Great Tribulation and wouldn't make it into the New World. But the way the news clip describes the encounter, I doubt the bus driver is a JW.

Also it's possible that the boy or the mother is embellishing their story.

While I don't approve of the JW religion or the way they treat persons whose lifestyle they don't approve of, reporters who fail to get their facts straight lose credibility, causing their story to be suspect.

26

Bethel Library moving to Warwick, are older items 'vanishing'

by Lostandfound in

in a post re dates etc from fatfreek reference was made to huge library at bethel with items dating back to pastor rs day.

like the year 1975 which has vanished from wt theology, are gb using move to let them put all old and inconvenient items into some sort of cold storage and off library shelves.

already the revelation book has gone from the orgs website, and that was quite recent relatively, we studied it 3 times at congregation book study, yet now, like type and antitype it mysteriously was never there.

Athanasius

The Watchtower might find it helpful to put an expiration date on their publications, like one finds on the milk cartons. So if the Watchtower published and released a new book at their 2017 conventions, they could print on the cover: "Best if read before 12/31/2025. Discard after 12/31/2027."

12

USA: NYPD undercover cop resigns as he struggles with grief from killing innocent man

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

from the new york daily post - tuesday 21 february 2017, page 14. the headline in the newspaper is: exclusive - cop quits in grief - undercover traumatized over killing innocent man.

nypd undercover cop resigns as he struggles with grief from killing innocent man.

an undercover cop who fatally shot a bystander during a gun-buy operation has resigned from the nypd — too distraught to remain on the force, the daily news has learned.. the former detective, who sources say suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder, left the nypd in october with a tax-free disability pension.

Athanasius

Unfortunately the above posted links don't say much about the medical treatment Mr. Kumi received. All I could find was this information: "A married father of two and devout Jehovah’s Witness, he died at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx the next day."

No doubt the doctors did all they could to save him. But what if , due to JW regulations, Mr. Kumi refused a medical procedure that could have saved his life, would he not also share responsibility for his own death?

25

More fun! Did you know that Judge Rutherford had a daughter? I sure didn't......

by sparky1 in

.

i have too much time on my hands.

my investigations are turning up some neat historical facts..

Athanasius

Joseph F. Rutherford's wife was Mary Malcolm Fetzer, and they were married on December 30, 1891. See the January 1, 1892 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, page 1.

The couple had a son, Malcolm, born on November 10, 1892 and weighed twelve pounds. See the November 11, 1892 Boonville Advertiser, page 1.

JFR had an older sister named Mary Virginia Rutherford, who was born on October 18, 1859. She was a school teacher by profession and didn't get married until 1905, when she would have been 46. On November 8, 1905 she married Asa L. Ross. See RECORD OF MARRIAGES, Morgan County Missouri.

Back in 1988 when I began research for a biography of JFR, an ex-JW friend told me that JFR had an illegitimate daughter who was born in 1929. According to him the daughter was still alive in 1988 and lived in Ohio. This was a rumor and must be treated as such. But then in 1991 I had a telephone conversation with another exJW, who told a slightly different account. He said he would send me more information, but never did.

JFR's wife Mary, outlived him by 20 years, dying in 1962. In my files I have an exact date for Malcolm Rutherford's death. But at present don't have the time to dig for it. But he died sometime during the 1980s. I wrote the executor of his estate for information on Malcolm's papers, but never received a reply.

78

Did you know that J.F. Rutherford was part of the Knights of Pythias? There's PROOF for this!

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

wow.

wow.someone just sent me a scan of the boonville advertiser newspaper in which it mentions j.f.

Athanasius

The Boonville Advertiser of March 17, 1899, page 1 under the title "KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS BANQUET, reads:

'On Monday evening Golden Gate Lodge No. 91, K. of P., of this city, conferred upon Mr. Henry Sombart the rank of page; upon Wilbur T. Johnson and Chas. Sombart the rank of knights, and upon William T. Lionberg, Dr. P. L. Hurt and Carl Ames the rank of esquires. The Ceremony was conducted by Prof. H. Clay Harvey, of Glasgow, assisted by members of the lodges of Fayette and Boonville. Although we are not a knight, we understand that the work was very impressive and beautiful.

'Between the conferring of the second and the third rank of delicious supper was served in the large banquet hall of the Knights' castle. Mr. Joseph Rutherford acted as toastmaster. Dr. P. L. Hurt responded to the toast, "Our Guests:" Prof. Harvey, "Pythianism:" J. W. Jamison, "Our Candidates:" Stonewall Pritchett, of Fayette, "Influence of Pythianism on Society."

'The following out-of-town knights were present: From Fayette--Guy Holly, Oat Marlow, Dr. U. S. Wright, Al Besgrove, Al Besgrove Jr., A. M. Rollins, Paul Wolfson, Dr. J. R. McGraw, Stonewall Pritchett, Dr. O. F. Burton; from Glasgow--W. D. Settle, editor of the Glasgow GLOBE, Walter Layman, E. E. Roll, Charles Shackelford, H. Clay Harvey; from Franklin--A. L. Green, editor of the Franklin NEWS; from Tipton--Messrs. Hayne and Logan.

'Prof. Harvey arrived Sunday afternoon and was entertained by Mr. Charles Miller and Mr. Eugene Windsor. While here he visited the Reform school and other places of interest, and says Boonville is the best town in the state of its size.'

The entire column is quoted for all to examine. Note that the Rutherford in question is listed as Joseph Rutherford, not John. He is not included among the out-of-town Knights who were in attendance at the banquet. Joseph Rutherford was the toastmaster, a position that would not be filled by a non-member who would be unfamiliar with the Knights' rituals. Moreover, of speakers at this occasion, only one, Stonewall Pritchett, is listed as not from Boonville.

Despite the evidence, and there is much more, Watchtower apologists will no doubt argue that perhaps there were two Joseph Franklin Rutherfords living in Boonville and the one who belonged to the Knights of Pythias was not their guy.

21

What is the name of this specific book?

by QuestionAskerPersonMan in

i'm taking a class, and we are learning about jws.

my teacher is talking about a "big brown book" that is used for any questions or scriptures quoted by the person who jws are talking to.

he used it in the context that if they don't know the answer off the top of their head, they look for the verse in this book.. what is the name of this book?.

Athanasius

If it is the same size as the Reasoning book, but thicker, perhaps it is the old Equipped For Every Good Work, a Watchtower book published in the 1940s. It had a dark brown cover and was the same size as the Reasoning book but thicker .

The first Make Sure book had a brown cover, but it wasn't thick.