Posts by TallTexan

29

Circuit Overseer Pensions and the Implications

by AlanF in

i just learned that the watchtower society has instituted a pension plan of sorts for circuit overseers.

this is a big change.. previous to this new plan, the various kinds of "traveling overseers" were pretty much on their own when they retired from the traveling work.

in a few cases, such men were invited to live out their lives in bethel, but in most cases they simply went back to being normal rank and file members who had to fend for themselves financially.. i can only speculate that the reason for this change was that the society has been having difficulty getting elders to become circuit overseers.

TallTexan

If I remember correctly, while growing up, my parents contributed to the CO via the 'green handshake'. I love that btw...that's funny. We had a small cong (about 50 pub at its max), so if every family head gave even $20, that's several hundred - and I know most gave more than that. Add meals and incidental work like doing laundry, repairing clothing, etc, and they made out pretty well.

9

"Ways to Mention the Donation Arrangement" Plus: Did you keep it instead?

by stillAwitness in

jw
friends

taken from january 2006 km:

donation today toward our worldwide.

worldwide work.

TallTexan

I never heard a JW ask for a donation except for demonstrations on the platform.

I heard very few. I know I personally never did unless they would ask how much the publications were. The funny thing is that I always got more than what we had been selling them for previously. Oh, and I never put it in the contribution box, because I was paying for the literature out of my pocket. I considered it a consignment deal - I'd pay up front and then get reimbursed. Even I was smart enough to see through the 'get paid twice for the same piece of literature' ploy.....

54

Anyone here have access to deer meat or sausage?

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

.

i haven't had access to deer meat for awhile and i'm hoping to find another source.

i'm hoping one of you might like to go deer hunting, or might know someone who does.. thanks!

TallTexan

Hey dude,

A friend that I work with hooks me up w/ all the venison sausage I can eat. If you're going to the aposta-crawfishboil in May, I can bring some to you then. If not, then maybe some alternate means of transportation.....

23

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 1-22-06 WT Study (Obey)

by blondie in

whom do you obey - god or men?.

2006 year's text--obey god as ruler rather than men.

(a) when ordered to stop preaching, how did peter and john respond?

TallTexan

By reading the context, we see that is NOT what he meant. H e was referring to the preaching about Jesus who is not even mentioned here.

Blindersoff,

As you well know, they are infamous for inserting "jehovah" where the scripture, when read in context, is clearly discussing Jesus.

Blondie,

Great review as always. Keep it up.

62

607BCE or 587/586BCE explained

by truth about the last days in

hello all to all my brothers of the faith.

i have some information in relation to the dates 607bce and 587/586bce, with the simple explanation of the 70years exile.

the wt still sticks with the 607bce due to the fact that the governing bodys explains that the jews returned back at about 537bce, assuming that they were finished with their bondage.

TallTexan

I DID NOT COPY AND PASTE THAT INFORMATION FROM ANYTHING THE WATCHTOWER HAVE PUBLISHED.WERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM?

Well, we KNEW you copied and pasted it from SOMEWHERE, because it had correct grammar, correct spelling, correct punctuation and sentence structure. Therefore we KNEW you did not write it.....

99

Many Questions

by urstruly in

hi i'm new to this forum.

i've looked at other websites to and i see all this about the jw's, now i'm not one, i was raised a jw but made my own decision and my parents respected that.

i've read so many horror stories, but my life wasn't like that at all, as a matter of fact, when they first knocked on our door and my mother accepted a study our life changed for ever, it was for the best in many ways.

TallTexan

Welcome to the forum. I know some of these points have been addressed, but I can't keep my mouth shut either. As a 30-year JW (ex), let me give you my $0.02.

I just don't know what could have happened with a mother in to drugs an alcoholic dad and many many other things going on.

Glad you had a good experience. However, JW's want to act like they are the only way people can change their life. AA has caused many hundreds of times the number of people to clean up their lives than the WT ever will. Similarly, I know people who have been 'saved' into mainstream churches that have likewise made wholesale changes in their lives. Good for your family, but you don't have to join a destructive cult to make positive changes in your life.

but it sounds like some of you are just upset for being "punished", if you knew the consequences why get into it in the first place? And if you weren't happy being there either in anyhow, why be upset now because you were DF and even appealing?

Number one, it is not a religions place to 'punish' anyone - that's God's place. Df'ing is supposed to be a method to keep the cong clean, but it is used for exactly what you stated - unbiblical punishment. Many, like me, were too young to understand the realities of life when we were baptized. I didn't choose this life - it was chosen for me. By the time I was old enough to make an 'informed' decision, I had been so indoctrinated that I thought it was the only way to salvation. Most people that study are NOT informed about the df'ing policy until it's too late. People don't want to be df'd, not because they think it's the truth, but because they don't want to be cut off from their family. BTW, 'shunning' is a classic 'cult' technique.

Also, I see many harsh comments about JW's themselves and some JW's responding rudely, but how do you really know that it is one of them and not someone else passing as one just making them look worse?

Why would the be any different on the boards then they are in real life? Most JW's are rudely defensive of their beliefs and tactless beyond belief.

All religions have there skeletons and all have there rules to abide by so what makes the JW's so special?

JW's present themselves as infallible to the point of not even believing it's possible for the GB to be deceptive or have interest counter-productive to the average member. Remember, absolute power corrupts absolutely. When called on a 'lie', such as the UN, they continue to lie. If they would admit their mistakes, then perhaps I would not be so angry. But they don't. They make life-changing decisions cloaked in 'new light' without disclosing the real reasons behind the change.

Besides who are we to judge?

Who are JW's to judge? Yet they do. By their unbiblical df'ing policy they judge and publicly humiliate their members who don't have a clue as to the true 'judicial' nature of the committee meetings, which are a joke. They judge everyone around them as unworthy of life if they don't accept a crappy 30-second magazine presentation. Please!

What does being free to you all mean? Being able to swear and live inmoral life? Like I mentioned before, I don't agree with many of their beliefs I do however admire the high moral standards which SOME of them really do try to live by, and even though I'm not one of them I live by those morals thought to me and I can assure you I believe I've "saved" myself from so much hardship. Believe me I should know, I work at gynecology clinic where you see 13yr old girls getting pregnant, I've seen a 14yr old girl who turned out to be positive with HIV, 20yr old who already has had 5 abortions, boys and girls with gonorrhea and chlamydia. Is that what being free is all about?

Please, please tell me you're joking. There is no proof that the JW community is any less immoral than the rest of the world. It's just all done in secret. Growing up as a JW, I saw all the hypocrisy and the double lives led by 90% of JW youths. There is rampant wrongdoing by many members of the congregation that is swept under the rug because of who they are. I know - I've seen it on countless occasions. JW's get AIDs, get pregnant, get abortions, use drugs, swear, smoke - you name it. Please get off your high-horse and look at the reality of the situation. And why do JW's perpetuate the myth that people only leave to lead wicked immoral lives? That is simply propaganda, reminiscent of the Communist propaganda about the West during the Cold War. It's a bald-faced lie meant to discredit the thoughts of ANYONE who pulls away from the org.

but there are some people in there that are honest and true to their beliefs regardless of what they are based on.

True, but that's not good enough for JW's. They don't allow others to be happy with their beliefs regardless of their sincerity. They believe that all 'sincere' persons of Christendom will perish just as the wicked.

About child mollestation in the org. I don't think there's any org. that's free of these cases.

True. The problem with the JW's is not simply that things occur within the org that doesn't occur elsewhere. It's that they act like it doesn't happen, that they are perfect, while they rail against other religions and organizations in their magazines for these things going on. They talk about the Catholic church and the rampant pedophila, act like it doesn't happen in their ranks, and df those who try to bring about a change in policy to protect the victims. They talk about other organizations being in bed with the UN, when they were also.

It is their deception and hypocrisy regarding issues that destroy lives and family that open them up to the efforts we put at getting people out. Everyone in a cult thinks they're happy until they are outside and realize how destructive that kind of control truly is.

5

Are you going to quit smoking in order to keep your jobs?

by prophecor in

jw
friends

a very intersting discussion on the world news, tonite.

scotts the manufacturer of lawn and garden products has given thier workers opportunities to stay healthy while in thier employ.

in an effort to cut down on the cost of health care they pay to cover thier employees, they enlisted sweeping policy changes and guidelines towards the betterment of thier workers.

TallTexan

It's all to do with company costs, they see smoking as a cause of lost time (due to physical illness) at work and productivity, and a factor that contributes to work stress because it poisons the body.

Obesity also causes lost time due to physical ailments, lost productivity. My point is not that one is worse than the other, but why pick on one unhealthy lifestyle and not all?

58

Osama: How You Like Me Now?

by prophecor in

osama bin laden says he's willing to call a truce.

bush administration says, " in a pigs eye, kiss @$$ !!!

is he manipulating the situation to his advantage, or does america have him on the run?

TallTexan

Two morons running the place. More worried about what everyone is Googling instead of actually catching a terrorist.

Ahhh...all you Bush haters just look for anything to pin on him....he's doing ten times more to deal with terrorists than his predecessor OR either of the two liberal idiots he beat out on election day would have done. They would have been too worried about international opinion and hurting someone's feelings to deal with OBL. It's hard to hug a tree when you're destroying it with a Tomahawk.

If the great liberal leader/Democrat Daddy Bill Clinton had taken care of business when he should have instead of selling all our defense secrets to China for a few $$, OBL wouldn't even BE a problem. Daddy Bill was too busy molesting interns, selling defense secrets, killing Whitewater witnesses, lying to Congress, slashing the military, pushing communist healthcare, and playing the sax on Jay Leno to deal with the Middle East....

14

Did you attend KH meetings under difficult conditions?

by greendawn in

as jws were you willing to attend meetings even in cases of difficulty such as bad weather, if it was really cold, rainy, snowy, or if you didn't feel really well, or if you had to spend a lot of time to get there by car or public transport?

.

any interesting experiences?

TallTexan

My grandfather was violently opposed to my grandmother and her children going to meetings in the beginning. He mellowed out by the time I came around, but it was very hard for her. She is still a stalwart JW.

When I was growing up, my parents would drive 30 minutes out of town to pick up a study, or an older sister, then 30 minutes back into town, go to the meeting, then take this person home.

That's not really hardship, just annoying...

17

New light for the Catholic Church

by TallTexan in

this may have been covered already, but i missed it if it was.. a lady i work with who is catholic told me that not too long ago the new pope changed the catholic doctrine on purgatory - in that now it no longer exists.

of course i couldn't help but think "hmmmm....new light....".

my question to her was "well, do all the people that paid to get their loved ones out of purgatory get a refund?".

TallTexan

This may have been covered already, but I missed it if it was.

A lady I work with who is Catholic told me that not too long ago the new Pope changed the Catholic doctrine on Purgatory - in that now it no longer exists. Of course I couldn't help but think "Hmmmm....new light...."

My question to her was "Well, do all the people that paid to get their loved ones out of Purgatory get a refund?"

What bothers me is that in spite of this, in spite of the rampant pedophilia, Catholicism remains a strong religion. It makes me think that all of our efforts to expose the WTS are a waste - they'll still believe what they want and we'll still be the 'lying apostates'. It's frustrating.....