So... where they just trying to get my brain rebooted by using the secret passcode?
_Atlas
JoinedPosts by _Atlas
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11
www.un.org New Tab: Peace and Security What gives?
by _Atlas ini just being told by an jw of the new tab on the un web page... peace and security... what gives and what do they claim now?
is the un crying "peace and security" on their eyes?.
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www.un.org New Tab: Peace and Security What gives?
by _Atlas ini just being told by an jw of the new tab on the un web page... peace and security... what gives and what do they claim now?
is the un crying "peace and security" on their eyes?.
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_Atlas
I just being told by an JW of the new tab on the UN web page... Peace and Security... What gives and what do they claim now? Is the UN crying "Peace and Security" on their eyes?
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Memorial
by _Atlas inthe org boasts about the 18 million in attendance to the annual commemoration... in virtue of the fact that there are 7 million active publishers, there are perhaps several million children in attendance without mentioning the visit from former members (disfellowships, walkouts and faders) who pay annual hommage to the org due to their families and loved ones.... .
judging by your experience on your congregations weighting in the ratio of children, regular visitors and such...how much will you estimate the number of real 'visitors' to the commemoration?.
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_Atlas
The Org boasts about the 18 million in attendance to the annual Commemoration... In virtue of the fact that there are 7 million active publishers, there are perhaps several million children in attendance without mentioning the visit from former members (Disfellowships, Walkouts and Faders) who pay annual hommage to the Org due to their families and loved ones...
Judging by your experience on your Congregations weighting in the ratio of children, regular visitors and such...How much will you estimate the number of real 'visitors' to the commemoration?
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22
Full Text of Meeting Adjustment Announcement
by cinnamon1642 ini wasn't able to get a copy of the letter off the information board but here is the exact text of the letter that was read at our english meeting today.. to be read at the conclusion of the watchtower study of the week of april 21 - 27, 2008 from the governing body of jehovahs witnesses.
to all congregations:.
dear brothers,.
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_Atlas
Well this only proves I was on the right track. I allocated more time for my personal study 3 years ago when I downgraded from 5 meeting a week to zero...
They are on their way to catch me now, good luck to them because I got a headstart and I am not relinquishing the lead.
On a more serious note I think that the change responds to many factors... pure marketing purposes, low attendance on book studies and legitimate time constraints the JW's face every week due to the burden that 3 separate days imply. The gas price sounds really lame IMHO.
The question that begs to be asked is why did the FDS realized this now, after decades of practice? Also, should this mean that the end is being moved to somewhere beyond January 2009 since the Lord's sheep got to make use of that newly freed time to do a looooooooot of personal studying?
Too many questions, too few beers.
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I am finally back...
by _Atlas in... i've been away for a while (actually 3/4 of a year) without posting.. besides saying hi, i wanted to gradually get to speed in everything going on jw land.. in the last year, what are the relevant news, blunders and scandals coming out of the wtbts?.
i will greatly appreciate any links to relevant topics.. -atlas.
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_Atlas
Thanks for the replies; KW13, KWR, Watson, Honesty, Darth Frosty & Dobbie...
I am aware about the Awake and WT cut back and the 30 minutes public talk but I was completely unaware of the fact that researching Hebrew and Greek words was now out of bounds for the Dubs...
Can someone enlighten me when was this directly addressed? I know it is kind of obvious that they should prevent the R&F from researching anything... but to directly forbid biblical researching is something else... Was this published lately or is it one of those unwritten rules they tend to enforce?
Thanks in advance for the info...
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I am finally back...
by _Atlas in... i've been away for a while (actually 3/4 of a year) without posting.. besides saying hi, i wanted to gradually get to speed in everything going on jw land.. in the last year, what are the relevant news, blunders and scandals coming out of the wtbts?.
i will greatly appreciate any links to relevant topics.. -atlas.
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_Atlas
... I've been away for a while (actually 3/4 of a year) without posting.
Besides saying hi, I wanted to gradually get to speed in everything going on JW land.
In the last year, what are the relevant news, blunders and scandals coming out of the WTBTS?
I will greatly appreciate any links to relevant topics.
-Atlas
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Your $300,000 discount on Scientology
by _Atlas ini posted this site on another scientology thread but it went largely unnoticed.. .
just in case you are thinking on selling your house to fund your way to scientology heaven, i am posting a site that can save you up to $300,000 on advanced courses :-}.
http://www.xenu.net.
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_Atlas
I posted this site on another scientology thread but it went largely unnoticed.
Just in case you are thinking on selling your house to fund your way to scientology heaven, I am posting a site that can save you up to $300,000 on advanced courses :-}
It also has a Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit section that I find useful to copy and paste to some other religious apologetics…
I found about this site on a radio talkshow a while back while the owner of the site was accusing a scientology leader of causing the death of a girl on one ‘treatment center’ for free thinkers. Interestingly the leader never denied the incident only claimed that the ‘treatment’ has been refined and now it is safe. Also when comforted about the existence of Xenu the leader grew noticeably uncomfortable and launched a rant over the evils of dissenters…
Just in case your not in the mood of exploring too much here is some info on Xenu:
"Scientologists believe that most human problems can be traced to lingering spirits of an extraterrestrial people massacred by their ruler, Xenu, over 75 million years ago." -US Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema RTC (Scientology) vs Lerma
When you are quite comfortable with your Scientology IQ you can graduate to:
http://www.tomcruiseisnuts.comHope you enjoy your Scientology quest.
Atlas
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93
YOU "THINK" YOU KNOW.....BUT...YOU DON'T KNOW!!
by Terry inthe door to door work is a sham.. the central activity of the watchtower bible and tract society is not spreading their so-called "messege" about the kingdom of jehovah established in the heavens in 1914. that's a load of propaganda.. the door to door activity is feckless in producing converts.
in fact, it is an immense failure of mammoth proportions!.
but, it is a diversion.
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_Atlas
What the Watchtower elite preach does not match what the ACTUALLY DO THEMSELVES. That sends me a very strong signal that all is not what it appears.
I agree that it simply does not make sense.
It does not make sense that they keep buying property, that they do not use their resources to fund special interest programs, that they need shareholders and investors to lend them money… specially that there is a huge blackhole over their financial status.
It does not make sense that they do not use the advantages of television, the internet, radio or many other technological inventions that will help spread their message effectively…
Yet I do not think that they preaching one way and acting in another actually validates anything. They have way too many conundrums in their theology. They are notorious for their double standards on many issues. Usually these double standards apply to the individuals but not to the organizational procedures.
The planning and careful preparation for the financial future of the org IMHO is another of those famous and strangely ambivalent principles they abide by… the organization carefully plans for the future while the individual is told not to. In fact individuals are encouraged to live for today and only today since tomorrow is not certain.
But is that a sure sign that these men are motivated by something else than pure religious stupor?
Also one has to take into account that many of these men were actually around for the 1930s, 1940s, 1980s and specifically 1975. So I guess they know better than to put all their eggs on one basket… they personally have felt the disappointment of failed dates.
These men have lived modest lives preaching on the far reaches of the world for decades before they are selected to be part of the GB. During those days IMHO they become company men rather than avid capitalists. Company men so brainwashed that they are capable of the worst rationalizations humans are capable of.
Still the fact that although a lot of help is needed to run a billionaire organization and so far no one has been able to pinpoint the supposedly ulterior motives of the WT finances, clashes with my gut wrenching feeling that something is askew with their motivations.
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YOU "THINK" YOU KNOW.....BUT...YOU DON'T KNOW!!
by Terry inthe door to door work is a sham.. the central activity of the watchtower bible and tract society is not spreading their so-called "messege" about the kingdom of jehovah established in the heavens in 1914. that's a load of propaganda.. the door to door activity is feckless in producing converts.
in fact, it is an immense failure of mammoth proportions!.
but, it is a diversion.
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_Atlas
Well Terry I got my reserves on the issue.
Let me clarify that I am in no way a WT apologetic but some pieces of the puzzle are conspicuously missing here.
Why didn’t Ray Franz come clear of the destinies of the money when he rat them out? I suspect a member of the GB will be privi to all this. Yet he hardly mentioned the issue.
If the WT sole purpose was to accumulate wealth, would that be consistent with their promoting of illegal alien type jobs for their membership? Wouldn’t they be better with the ‘buy your way to heaven’ motto that other religious institutions have adopted successfully? Keeping their members in the dark intellectually could be a plausible explanation for preventing the R&F from educating themselves but you can just as easily promote greed without education and still benefit on the results. Other religions have a better ordered ‘donation’ system that still allows them to remain under the tax exemptions and maximize their gains.
Are these men who run this organization just a greedy bunch who like to sit back and count the money while they rust away in apartment complexes in NYC while periodically flying to Zimbabwe to be the star speaker at the international convention down there? If you ask me, these men do not look like the voracious type they supposedly are. Extravagant Rutherford would be a better example of the kind of person who craves money and is quick to expend it in queer ways. Are they just being kept in check due to the new structure of the GB? Are they just employees of a larger outside structure that scrutinizes their expenses? Possibly… but it is hard to imagine a Governing Body so gluttonous yet so cohesive thru out the years with out no one coming out suing for lost income or some other kind of compensatory reclamation due to his intimate knowledge of WT economic structure. Human beings are greedy by nature.
No one in the face of evidence can deny the lengths that they will go to when protecting or trying to enhance their economic resources. It is evident that there are very few boundaries (legal or ethical) to this practice.
But all this is also consistent with a bunch of zealots trying to make the best of their assets in preparation for that huge expansion in ‘business’ that is impending since the 1800s. Like a fellow poster once said: ‘Religious businessmen protecting their religious business…’
Perhaps those 300 Shareholders are the key that we should be looking for… Are they being compensated at all for their ‘investment’?
Until some hard evidence of the final destination of the money surfaces I will remain skeptical that they are more financially oriented than religiously.
All the theories mentioned here make a lot of sense but in the absence of any evidence they should remain as theories.
Besides, we got so many other things to pin them down with…
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I'm scared and I need help
by Chameleon infor those of you that don't know my story, read my first post here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/122526/1.ashx
so, i think next week is when i find out if i am approved to be an ms. if not, thank god, but if i am, i'm in deep crap.
elder dad is confident that i'll accept, but my plan is to try to get out of it by saying that i want to finish school and get an aa degree, at least, before accepting more responsibilities.
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_Atlas
I have to concur with the other posters, avoid being named a MS if you do not feel like it but don’t bring the U.N. issue. Find one of the many excuses given here to delay that appointment or just say no and don’t explain yourself.
If you do not want to hurt your parent’s feelings you can even accept the appointment, it will be real easy to get rid of it once you decide to. If you start missing meetings and staying home studying they will call your attention and maybe ask you to resign… This might be easier on your folks. You might even pretend thru college though that will be harder on your grades.
You’ll know best what will be better for them.
As the U.N. issue goes, I find that it is easier to use another topic once you decide to come up clean with your family (If you ever).
I think the issue of the Cross vs Stake is milder to their sensibilities since you can explain that you still do not believe that we should be wearing a cross. Tell them that besides being with the witnesses on that regard, you found a lot of evidence supporting the traditional shape of the ‘Crux’, and then you can refer them to the myriad of sites (non apostate ones) adding evidence in favor of the traditional cross. There is medical, historical, archeological & biblical evidence against the stake version of the cross.
At the worst this will earn you a soft slap on your hand and you can test the waters of their receptiveness and determine if you want to pursue this line of approach.
I think once you convey that you are WITH the witnesses on their position but do not find the evidence to support it they will assimilate your doubts much smoothly.
Atlas