Posts by Axelspeed

4

Jermane Mayberry--Philadelphia Eagle--JW since 2002

by blondie in

jw
friends

posted on sun, dec. 12, 2004

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/10395173.htm

a massive man tries to come up big for his faith .

Axelspeed

Stories like this make me believe that the WT is mainstreaming, whether some at the top like it or not. Some may quietly be hoping and waiting for it while others grit there teeth, reluctantly tolerate it and wonder "what the hell ...?". The reason it is happening is that its mainstreaming from the bottom up, not the top down. So while the doctrines may be mainstreaming at a snails pace, the attitudes of the new JW are changing much faster. They are not buying a lot of this stuff whole hog anymore, its much more pick and chose ? belief ala carte. They love the ?built in friends?, but a lot of the crap that we put up with years ago is not flying, especially when it comes to careers and education. For a lot of the older ones, I know they cannot help but notice the change -- but they have nowhere to go they feel, don?t have the courage to leave, or use the JWs as much more of a social thing?while turning a blind eye to unmistakable changes, acting like nothing has changed and looking dumbfounded if you dare bring it up.

The JW that we know and grew up with is quickly fading. In a way that?s a good thing, maybe fewer will suffer as we did. A few strategic moves and a couple of drastic ones and the WT will be back in business again, growth-wise. I hate to say it but I think that ultimately we are going to have to get over it.

I knew someone in a very similar situation as above and gave it all up ? it was just expected and they were applauded and paraded around on the assembly circuit for it. The new JW ?aint giving it up? and they will still be a JW, no problem. The information available now, but especially the attitudes now are forcing the change. While people can still be gullible, they are a lot less compliant nowadays. All the JW of yesterday can do is shake their head. Change is coming, but maybe not from where we expect it. In a lot of ways, it is coming from the bottom up.

Axelspeed (of the Animal Farm class)

14

what does it mean to be "inactive"?

by kj in

what does it mean when a jw says they are "inactive"?

does it just mean they don't go door to door, or does it mean they've stopped attending meetings too?

kj

Axelspeed

Some use the term "inactive" loosely if a jw has stopped going to the meetings. But officially its when they dont report time for 6 straight months, which usually means they have stopped going to meetings anyway.

If a jw misses 2 0r 3 mos here and there they are classified as "irregular". Its all about the time...that is basically how a jw is measured anyway.

14

what does it mean to be "inactive"?

by kj in

what does it mean when a jw says they are "inactive"?

does it just mean they don't go door to door, or does it mean they've stopped attending meetings too?

kj

Axelspeed

It means that a jw has not reported field service time for 6 months or more

Axelspeed

39

Hi I'm new here

by embeth2525 in

jw
friends

i am so glad that i found this site.

i have been reading these posts and they have made me feel so much better.

my family was "in the truth" when i was little, and i feel like i really had a messed up child hood.

Axelspeed

Welcome embeth...take your time a look around. The more you find out and understand, the more the guilt will fade.

Axelspeed

4

Gilead a University?...

by Axelspeed in

jw
friends

in another post it was mentioned how the wt has no infrastructure (ie universities, hospitals, etc.

) they will be forced into some sort of mainstreaming or continue to be a revolving door of shrinking numbers, especially with the net.

true they are expanding the brick and morter realestate empire, but at some point you have to invest in the human capital and give people a reason to stay, especially kids.. do you think that it would be in their long term interest to consider transforming gilead/ patterson into a full fleged university at some point, open to all jws?

Axelspeed

In another post it was mentioned how the wt has no infrastructure (ie universities, hospitals, etc.) They will be forced into some sort of mainstreaming or continue to be a revolving door of shrinking numbers, especially with the net. True they are expanding the brick and morter realestate empire, but at some point you have to invest in the human capital and give people a reason to stay, especially kids.

Do you think that it would be in their long term interest to consider transforming Gilead/ Patterson into a full fleged university at some point, open to all jws? Do you think they would even consider something like that, and maybe push for some short term missionary commitment after graduation? The kids - even some jw adults - are already opting for college out of reality/ necessity. Just something I was thinking about.

Axelspeed

11

``Turning the Tables"Dept.: What About Doing Shepherding on Elders?

by Room 215 in

jw
friends

i wonder how the local elders would like it if a couple of of us ``weak ones" were to stop by their homes unannounced to discuss ``spiritual matters" with them and their families?

it may be an unfair generalization, but it seems to me that every encounter with an elder has to be on their terms.

locally here, few if any jws know the addresses of the elders or has ever been to any of their homes; this is especially true of any dub regarded as ``weak," ``irregular" or ``marginal.

Axelspeed

So the elders called on the wives (can't make a shepherding call on an elder, that's what elders meetings are for, you know). But the CO got wind of it and he ripped into those brothers telling them that the congregation should not get the idea that the elders or their wives needed "help" spiritually and that was the end of it.

I heard alot of this too. The pretense that all is well and being so hypersensitive to "how it might look"- on so many levels - is quietly taking its toll.

Axelspeed

22

Are blood fractions safer than primary blood components?

by IT Support in

i'm thinking through my new position on blood transfusions, and would appreciate your 'pearls of wisdom.

i now feel that, while a blood transfusion is still dangerous, i would accept it as a last resort, if all else failed.

i would not die, or allow any of my family to die, for want of a transfusion of plasma, platelets, or red or white cells.

Axelspeed

almost all JWs I have ever encountered in my practice would not hesitate to accept fractions if deemed necessary by a physician. Yet NOT ONE would consider donating their own blood for the extraction of blood fractions. I have asked discreetly. It's just maddening.

I usually pose it this way?

If you came across a bag full of money that fell out of the back of a getaway car running from the scene of a robbery. Would it be okay to scoop it up and use it for yourself, even if you felt it was for a good cause. Most good JWs will say "of course not!". Then ask why. They will normally say because its dirty money gotten illegally. Then I ask "And just how is that any different than using blood fractions that were obtained in a way (through blood donation) the WTS considers immoral, and thus illegal from gods standpoint.

Axelspeed

23

To what extent do the elders keep information on us?

by JH in

jw
friends

i remember a few years ago, i changed congregation, so the elders told me that they had to send my folder to the other congregation.

when i was baptized, i don't remeber them telling me they kept information on me, and that they would pass it around to other congregations if ever i moved.. i wonder what kind of information is kept in these folders.

probably everyone in the congregation has his hours listed and the privileges they had written in it, but maybe there is alot more written that we don't even know about.

Axelspeed

Agree with Blondie and Eyeslice. Unless you are pretty far up the food chain, this can be overblown. Most elders have enough on there plate and dread having to keep up with more paperwork or even track down inactives on there own initiative. Now when the COs visit is close, there may be some token effort, but that is usually short-lived.

Most Jws are just a cog in a much bigger wheel.

Axelspeed

22

Are blood fractions safer than primary blood components?

by IT Support in

i'm thinking through my new position on blood transfusions, and would appreciate your 'pearls of wisdom.

i now feel that, while a blood transfusion is still dangerous, i would accept it as a last resort, if all else failed.

i would not die, or allow any of my family to die, for want of a transfusion of plasma, platelets, or red or white cells.

Axelspeed

I believe it is very important not to get these issues mixed up. I recently had a hlc member state that the reason for the allowance for fractions was because of the safer procedures being used today. I pointed out that while that is true, the JW reason for not taking blood has always been stated to be built on the sacredness of blood, not the health benefits, and thus the need to pour it out to be returned to Jehovah". It has never been a stance built on the issue of health, though that has often been cited as a side benefit.

True some individual JWs have used the "good health to you" at Acts 10:29 in their reasoning, and the society usually does not discourage it, but officially they have stated that that refers more to a sign off greeting that was used generally at that time.

Always remind them that this is an issue of sacredness, not health, according to the society. To make this a health issue is to give wiggle room.

Axelspeed

33

Manpower problems at Bethel reason behind delay in annual report

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i was talking to a ministerial servant last week, and he said that a bethel elder told him the reason why the 2004 annual service report was .

delayed, was because of man power problems.

they simply don't have enough staff at the us branch, because the annual report is already .

Axelspeed

I agree that there is probably a manpower issue, but i think this is more than offset by the advances in technology which is shown by bethels own efforts to downsize/reorganize. And while less and less are signing up...there are still some who would give a arm and leg to go. I'm probably looking too much from the conspiracy angle, but I think that something deeper is at work. This kind of thing is not normal at all for bethel, a place that borders on the fanatical for numbers and reporting.

Axelspeed