Black Man

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Posts by Black Man

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  72

  Bethel: Pathway to Apostasy

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at the 'big house' you go either one of two ways, company man or apostate.

  i think for many that went, it demystified the whole organization and you saw firsthand that there wasn't holy spirit influencing anything - only the muses of sheltered, out-of-touch old men and political bureaucrats.

  i work in the corporate world and i saw just as much if not more politics in bethel.

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  Black Man

  Tijkmo:

  The whole g-jobbing thing was a trip, because at the time that I was there, Bethelites only got $90-95 a month. If you had to catch the subway out to your congo, that money was gone with a quickness. Bethel was good financially if you had a sponsor (rich family, relatives who would send money, if your congo was financially supportive, etc.), but for the most part you are dead-broke. A lot of Bethelites did g-jobbing, but it was only the ones who didn't have the good connections who would get caught and/or asked to leave. I remember some of the brothers in electrical or photography who would g-job, but since some of them had been there for awhile and knew the loopholes, were able to escape being punished.
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  72

  Bethel: Pathway to Apostasy

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at the 'big house' you go either one of two ways, company man or apostate.

  i think for many that went, it demystified the whole organization and you saw firsthand that there wasn't holy spirit influencing anything - only the muses of sheltered, out-of-touch old men and political bureaucrats.

  i work in the corporate world and i saw just as much if not more politics in bethel.

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  Black Man

  LHG you'd be surprised.

  I'd say well over half of the Bethelites that come home usually don't do so of their own volition. Many have been "ASKED TO LEAVE" especially if it's before their year is up. I know before I left, Bethel was down-sizing (just like any corporation during tough economic times). So, instructions were giving to building, home, work overseers to keep a closer eye on any infractions that Bethelites may be violating (things ranging from being late for morning worship, to not being sociable with co-workers), and they were asking many Bethelites to leave - not so much for the infractions, but in reality because they were downsizing. So, little Johnny who gave up going to college and had that grand going away party and was the great hope of his local congregation is now being asked to leave under the veil of a minor infraction when in reality it's just a budget cut and downsize for the company.
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  14

  Did God lie about Satans rebellion to justify his own actions?

  by jeanniebeanz in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  keeping in mind that his followers malign the reputation of departing witnesses regardless of their reasons for leaving, do you think that god made up lies about satan's motivations for rebelling in order to justify his own harsh course of action?.

  just a rambling thought this morning.

  jeannie

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  Black Man

  I kind of think that the jewish writers of the bible created the scenario of universal sovreignty and satan's role in it. I mean, how do you get the whole sovreignty issue, human conflict, allowance for thousands of years of evil and injustice from the Genesis and Job account? While those accounts seem to highlight a certain degree of conflict, it doesn't tie ALL OF HUMANITY in it - just Adam, Eve, Satan and Job. The WTBS are masters of spin-doctoring as are many other religions who have adopted the same story.
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  72

  Bethel: Pathway to Apostasy

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at the 'big house' you go either one of two ways, company man or apostate.

  i think for many that went, it demystified the whole organization and you saw firsthand that there wasn't holy spirit influencing anything - only the muses of sheltered, out-of-touch old men and political bureaucrats.

  i work in the corporate world and i saw just as much if not more politics in bethel.

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  Black Man

  Actually in addition to going through your things they can also bug your phones. I had a buddy there that the powers-that-be were trying to get rid of and he was doing some g-jobbing on the side. Anyway, to trip him they bugged his phone and when his g-job employment called, they busted him and they gave him the boot.
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  72

  Bethel: Pathway to Apostasy

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at the 'big house' you go either one of two ways, company man or apostate.

  i think for many that went, it demystified the whole organization and you saw firsthand that there wasn't holy spirit influencing anything - only the muses of sheltered, out-of-touch old men and political bureaucrats.

  i work in the corporate world and i saw just as much if not more politics in bethel.

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  Black Man

  Oh, yeah....those housekeepers. Generally, I had some decent ones, but there were some horror stories with others. I know they went through my record collection to try and find anything objectionable during what we dubbed the "hip-hop witch hunt." Fortunately, I had a stash of hip hop records/CDs at some friends house in my congo, so I came up clean.
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  13

  Examples of JW's taking one scripture and EXPLOITING it

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jw's are expert at taking one passing thought in scripture and forming a whole belief system or control mechanism around it.

  ex: matt.

  24:45-47 faithful and discreet slave......one parable, illustration.....no other mention of it in scripture....but if you do a search of it on the cd-rom, it is one of the most talked about/written about subject in their history.

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  Black Man

  JW's are expert at taking one passing thought in scripture and forming a whole belief system or control mechanism around it. Ex: Matt. 24:45-47 Faithful and Discreet Slave......one parable, illustration.....no other mention of it in scripture....but if you do a search of it on the CD-Rom, it is one of the most talked about/written about subject in their history.

  Y'all think of any others?
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  72

  Bethel: Pathway to Apostasy

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at the 'big house' you go either one of two ways, company man or apostate.

  i think for many that went, it demystified the whole organization and you saw firsthand that there wasn't holy spirit influencing anything - only the muses of sheltered, out-of-touch old men and political bureaucrats.

  i work in the corporate world and i saw just as much if not more politics in bethel.

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  Black Man

  At the 'Big House' you go either one of two ways, company man or apostate. I think for many that went, it demystified the whole organization and you saw firsthand that there wasn't holy spirit influencing anything - only the muses of sheltered, out-of-touch old men and political bureaucrats. I work in the corporate world and I saw just as much if not more politics in Bethel. It wasn't a paradise, it wasn't God's House on earth, things weren't done by some mystical force (holy spirit). This is where my doubting first began. To this day, I wonder if I hadn't gone, would I still be trying to hawk books for the BORG? Bethelites, when in your time there did you begin to doubt?
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  27

  Creative House-to-House Time Wasting Manuevers

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anyone here master the art of pressing in the doorbell without really pressing it?

  how about knocking where it seems loud on the outside, but you know it can't be heard on the inside.

  or standing at a door for up to 5 minutes when you know nobody was there.

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  Black Man

  Anyone here master the art of pressing in the doorbell without really pressing it? How about knocking where it seems loud on the outside, but you know it can't be heard on the inside. Or standing at a door for up to 5 minutes when you know nobody was there. For brothers in charge of the group, it gets really sweet, because you can work a couple of doors then get back in the car and ride around the territory the rest of the time, checking up on the rest of the group. I'd have to say, that when I became a pioneer, I was able to master most of these subtle arts. Post your creative house-to-house time wasting manuevers here.........
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  3

  Bethel hires marketing firm?

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's been common knowledge in a lot of circles that bethel hired an outside firm to help market them, but who did they hire?

  someone help out here?

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  Black Man

  It's been common knowledge in a lot of circles that Bethel hired an outside firm to help market them, but who did they hire? Someone help out here?
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  62

  THE INFORMATION AGE AND NEW JW MARKETING CHANGES

  by seven006 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lately on this board there has been a couple of threads that show how much the watchtower is being effected by the open communication of the internet and web sites like this one.

  they are changing long time policy and trying new ways of getting their religious product to the market.

  no longer do their leaders hear the voice of god and then pass it directly on as unwavering guidance to their customers.

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  Black Man

  Dave:

  Once again a great post. I don't know how I missed it when lurking before. Eloquently sums up my feelings. Peace..........