Posts by Terry

48

Any Senior Citizens, Retirees here?

by AlwaysBusy in

jw
friends

howdy....well, what do you think?

of everything?

is it all crazy?

Terry

I'm 67 and I retired at the earliest age I could.

I started work at the age of 12 helping my Uncle John who was a bricklayer.

To suddenly NOT work was a shock to my whole way of thinking!

I'd say it took me about 3 years to swim into a new CONTEXT.

__________________________

I am no longer a slave to a schedule. That's the BIG deal!

I wake or sleep as I choose (or as weariness overtakes.)

_________________

I eat approximately twice a day with maybe one binge day a week.

_________________

I ride my bicycle 7 days a week a minimum of 10 miles per day. The exception is bad weather days.

_________________

I do considerable research and I write a great deal. That seems to be a passion, so far.

_________________

After I divorced in 2006 I had a two year hiatus from any females of the species.

I temporarily tried casual dating for about three months and stopped for another couple of years.

_________________

In around 2009 I tried dating again and gave up on it. I've been extremely single for 5 years.

I see myself dying alone. If that sounds sad--well, it isn't intended.

I had been married 4 times, fer gawd's sakes! Whatdaya want from me?

_______________________

I watch a lot of movies.

I love Survivor and the Amazing Race.

_____________________

I use to be a Political Junkie. Now I pay absolutely no attention to any of it.

Why? It only disturbs my sense of peace and happiness. I can electively skip that and remain happy-go-lucky.

_______________

I use to be a NEWS JUNKIE, reading every word of the newspapers.

Then, newspapers turned into crap.

I haven't read a newspaper in years. Good riddance!

____________________

I spend a lot of time communicating with fence-sitting JW's, faders, Ex-JW's and, as the opportunities arise,

devote time to visiting terminally ill people in hospitals or clinics.

________________

My 7 kids and grandkids give me a ton of satisfaction. None of them is a serial killer, so far.

61

THE IMPONDERABLES TOPIC (Enter at your own risk)

by Terry in

i suggest taking this slowly .

.. consider the difference between taking a poll about an upcoming election and the actual vote itself on the day of the election.. the information gathered about what the vote will be is provisional.

the vote on the day of the election is actual and official.. it is the one that counts.. now, carefully ask yourself what the specific difference--if any--there is between the poll information and the election result as an identical knowledge of.

Terry

Could God create a rock so huge he couldn't lift it? <<I once saw a stupid short film based on this

__________________________________

God is tumbling weightless in space/time along with billions of planets, stars, asteroids, etc.

The majority of them are too heavy to lift. However, due to the fact God already set them in motion

the question becomes moot due to the fact "lift" could be variously interpreted.

61

THE IMPONDERABLES TOPIC (Enter at your own risk)

by Terry in

i suggest taking this slowly .

.. consider the difference between taking a poll about an upcoming election and the actual vote itself on the day of the election.. the information gathered about what the vote will be is provisional.

the vote on the day of the election is actual and official.. it is the one that counts.. now, carefully ask yourself what the specific difference--if any--there is between the poll information and the election result as an identical knowledge of.

Terry

I do try to eschew obfuscation whenever appropriate!?!

Be sure and floss afterward!

45

HELP ME COMPILE A LIST OF DISCARDED WORDS AND PHRASES from the WTS

by Terry in

jw
friends

in fort worth, texas around 1959. gradually i became aware of the argot.

special, private language).

jw's had these phrases they used over and over again.. upon first hearing, these words and phrases stood out as odd, weird or awkward.. however.

Terry

SIDEBAR:

When I was in Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville during the Vietnam era because of the

ORGANIZATION's nit-wit interpretation of "neutrality" all the 40 or so brothers who were inmates

conducted 8 meetings a week.

Once each month, a Brother Bourgeosie, who was the big shot elder from the Dallas congregation visited us

in the capacity of a Circuit Servant or Traveling Elder might.

Inmates in prison didn't like calling the Brothers JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, so they shortened it to J. W.

Guess what--we started referring to each other that way, too. After all, it was easier.

______________________

Brother Bourgeosie heard this and prepared a special talk he presented in which he read us the riot act.

Here is the gist of it.

"Superstitious Jews refused to honor the holy name of Jehovah by shortening it to a mere 4 letters! You

are supposed to be JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES and undo the damage! Instead, you have obscured the

majesty and significance of God's holy name by reducing it to JUST ONE LETTER: J!

Blah-blah-blah.

We were embarrassed, contrite, penitent, red-faced. . .

FAST FORWARD. . .

_________________

Oh how I would LOVE to run into Brother Bourgeosie today!

I'd ask him how he feels about the ORGANIZATION'S BLASPHEMY for reducing down to JW.org??

61

THE IMPONDERABLES TOPIC (Enter at your own risk)

by Terry in

i suggest taking this slowly .

.. consider the difference between taking a poll about an upcoming election and the actual vote itself on the day of the election.. the information gathered about what the vote will be is provisional.

the vote on the day of the election is actual and official.. it is the one that counts.. now, carefully ask yourself what the specific difference--if any--there is between the poll information and the election result as an identical knowledge of.

Terry

You guys crack me up!

21

DEMONS: the torment I suffered

by Terry in

jw
friends

when i was in my teens i wanted a room of my own, but i lived with my grandparents whose house was very small.. my uncle had been living in a little one room bed-sitter way out in the backyard.

he married and moved away and i moved in.. it was quite isolated and the ceiling was six feet from the floor.

unfortunately, the top of my head was four inches higher than that!

Terry

In my congregation in Fort Worth, our Assitant Overseer (as they were then denominated) was a good-ole-boy named Wally Coulter.

He told a story about going to a woman's door and presenting her with the sermon du jour only to have her curse him out and

order him off her property!

According to Wally, "As I was about to shake the dust off my feet as I turned and walked past her back fence, I happened to glance

in the backyard where I saw something that scared the bejeebers out of me! There was a goat shaped demon with a collar around its neck sitting in the middle of the backyard in a rocking chair! I got outta there as fast as I could praying to Jehovah!"

We all repeated that story, of course.

I sure as hell don't know what it means--but--that's the level of wacky word-of-mouth urban fear-mongering JW's at all levels repeated.

56

A Brief History of Racism in Watchtower Publications

by cedars in

i've just completed a lengthy article on the history of racism in the society's publications.

many people (including myself, until recently) aren't aware that the society's early publications were brimming with racist rhetoric, and this only calmed down as the public mood towards racism changed, most notably with the civil rights movement in the 50s/60s.. a few "headliners" from the article are:.

russell segregated blacks from whites for viewings of the photodramarussell believed that the skin of a black man would turn white during the millennial kingdomunder russell, the society's publications portrayed the black races as "degraded" and the white race as "superior"rutherford viewed the blacks as a "race of servants", and spoke of "sobering the southern negro" in an article against prohibitionunder rutherford, the golden age slammed uncle tom's cabin (a work that helped end slavery) as being "the work of satan"; the same article branded spaniards a "backwards race"rutherford accused "jewish business men" of "oppressing the peoples of many nations"in 1929 the golden age (acknowledged by the society as essentially the same magazine as the modern awake!

Terry

At any point in time, the culture of each and every social group is on a path from ignorance toward enlightenment and wisdom.

IDEALLY this is a steady continuum. We all know from experience it seldom works this way.

Nobody has ever been free of ignorant prejudice of "the other."

___________________________

If you read Mark Twain's classics you will find language quite disrespectable--BY TODAY'S MEASURE.

However, we cannot IMPOSE today on yesterday and imagine we are doing history a service!

_____________________________

With the above in mind--let's STOP THE MUSIC!

As the resident old man among you I am the de facto curmudgeon which means my duty is to keep my

historical knowledge (and or interpretation) alive as long as I can.

If you will bear with me for just a second. . .

___________________________________

When I was a boy in the 1950's, it was AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WORLD.

I do not exaggerate.

Old views people held and what behaviors they exhibited are--BY TODAY'S MEASURE--quite repugnant.

Please be mindful I'm not excusing anything or anybody--but those "good old days" were NORMAL for them.

_________________________

What is important is this:

Through good intention, activism, sacrifice, persuasion, kindness, empathy, and heartfelt desire for PROGRESS---things do change.

_____________________

I had asthma as a boy. Terrible choking fits and this was before there were inhalers or steroids.

My parents--the entire household--smoked cigarettes and cigars indoors, in the car--everywhere.

NOW HERE THIS: everybody smoked in elevators, airplanes, movie theaters, restaurants . . . and I was in tortured agony!

________________-

So what?

So a therapist listened to me rant about how badly my family treated me and she nodded and then asked:

'ARE YOU SAYING THIS WAS DONE DELIBERATELY TO HURT YOU?'

I had to answer, "No."

The therapist then said, "Context is everything. Sometimes people who hurt you are DOING THE BEST THEY CAN according to their view of NORMAL."

As we now know--public smoking has been all but completely stamped out in my lifetime! This is human progress. I rejoice!

______________________________

I lived in a white neighborhood which suddenly experienced 'white flight' in the civil rights era. I was about thirteen. Suddenly, I lived in an all black community. My best friend was the black kind across the street.

My grandmother and mother were from New Orleans and had no discernable prejudice at all toward "colored folk."

When the kids at my all white school saw me playing with a "colored boy," I was called "NI**ER LOVER!"

________________________

The purpose of this---call it a rant if you like--is to INFORM rather than lecture.

Old days bygone are IGNORANT DAYS bygone.

People did what their parents and grandparents said was "okay."

IF WE MATURE WE FIND A BETTER WAY.

_______________________

CONCLUSION:

The Watchtower Society was no better or worse, but perhaps a lot more progressive about minority inclusion by the time I

attended Kingdom Halls. There were LAWS ON THE BOOKS in many states (in the south) against MIXING races. It was seen

as prudent to exercise awareness of your local situation.

ASSEMBLIES always included people of color as far back as I go.

In the 60's, black brothers and sisters were welcomed. None of us thought anything of it that I recall.

I'M NOT EXCUSING idiots who treated minorities badly. All I'm doing is asking you to put the pitchforks down and the torches

and think before you assume the level of hatred which was present among the KLU KLUX KLAN, when you extrapolate

today's social "norms" backward in time.

I REPEAT: We cannot IMPOSE today on yesterday and imagine we are doing history a service!

END OF SERMON.

29

Origin of Black Skin - JW.org Noah Movie

by Bloody Hotdogs! in

i've never seen this discussed here, so thought i'd bring it up:.

as far as i can figure, jehovah's witnesses no longer teach that black skin is the result of a curse from god.

instead, they seem to teach that canaan was already dark skinned when his father, ham, brought the curse of servitude upon their family.

Terry

This may be slightly off-topic, but I want to say something about skin-color and verisimilitude in movies.

1. Movies aren't real unless they are documentary.

2. Movies are a kind of artistic simulacrum or interpretive opinion made from materials OTHER than reality.

3. Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST went as far as I want to see a film go toward authenticity.

4. Romans didn't speak in British English, but damn if I don't prefer Brits to play those parts in historical films.

5. Zombies are dead and yet they are hungry. Go figure!

6. We DON'T KNOW the skin color of the majority of people who lived on this earth throughout history.

7. There is no such thing as the "origin" of skin color any more than there is the origin of the color chartreuse. Color

is the way our brain interprets certain micro vibrations of light.

8. In order to properly appreciate a movie you actually have to understand the intention of the Director, best obtained from an

interview.

9. Biblical films are all always fictional, imaginative, interpretive and bollocks.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!

45

HELP ME COMPILE A LIST OF DISCARDED WORDS AND PHRASES from the WTS

by Terry in

jw
friends

in fort worth, texas around 1959. gradually i became aware of the argot.

special, private language).

jw's had these phrases they used over and over again.. upon first hearing, these words and phrases stood out as odd, weird or awkward.. however.

Terry

Great stuff--keep them coming.

SUMMATION SO FAR:

1. The Organization (replaces The Society) and was called 'Mother.' Also, Branch.

2. District Conventions are now called "Regional Conventions."

3. This Old System of Things is now "this Wicked System of things."

4. Jonadabs became "Other Sheep."

5. New System, New Order, New World Order

6. Servants are now Elders (Circuit Servant=Circuit Elder) or is it traveling Elder?

7. Book study night--I think--became Bible study night, but is now extinct. Is this correct?

8. Worldly person, Egyptian, goat, DP (disinterested person)

9. Evil Slaves=Apostates

_____________________-

Are these correct so far or do we need to make, uh hem, "adjustments"?

45

HELP ME COMPILE A LIST OF DISCARDED WORDS AND PHRASES from the WTS

by Terry in

jw
friends

in fort worth, texas around 1959. gradually i became aware of the argot.

special, private language).

jw's had these phrases they used over and over again.. upon first hearing, these words and phrases stood out as odd, weird or awkward.. however.

Terry

I began associating with Jehovah's Witnesses at a local Kingdom Hall

in Fort Worth, Texas around 1959. Gradually I became aware of the argot. (i.e. special, private language)

JW's had these phrases they used over and over again.

Upon first hearing, these words and phrases stood out as odd, weird or awkward.

However. . .

after the thousandth hearing, the most natural familiarity makes it all acceptable and eventually invisible.

____________________________

Now, I realize most of you aren't as old as I am. (67) You weren't a part of Jehovah's Witnesses 'back in the day.'

It would not be startling if you are unfamiliar with the idea of Brothers and Sisters speaking and thinking in a certain

language no longer spoken or even recalled to mind.

WELL, I WANT TO CALL ATTENTION to these extreme changes and catalog them, if I can with your help!

________________________

To start off, JW's had a period of time where the theology was really saturated with phrases connected to DISPENSATIONAL

teaching. Everything in scripture had a primary and secondary prophetic meaning.

There was Moses and "the Greater Moses" (i.e. Jesus Christ) for example.

The "greater" this and that was a constant drone!

____________________-

Next we have catchy terms for Paradise.

THE NEW ORDER

THE NEW WORLD

__________________

Ex-JW's were called EVIL SLAVE CLASS or just EVIL SLAVES

__________________

If you passed by a church out in service, your group would hold their noses and exclaim: 'GOAT SHED!'

__________________

The people who were JW's could alternately be referred to as "the friends.'

___________________

If you left magazines at a house out in service you'd later make a BACK CALL which morphed into RETURN VISIT

Door to door work was (maybe still is) called "out in service".

The quota for preaching for everybody but Pioneers was 10 hours per month AND THERE WAS A BIG DISPLAY BOARD

HUNG ON THE WALL IN THE KINGDOM HALL with your name and your total hours for the month!

_________________________

I think you have the idea by now what I'm asking for.

Some things have remained constant such as referencing the religion itself as "the Truth."

I'm looking for discarded ideas, phrases, words, terminology, etc.

WHAT CAN YOU RECALL?