lucky

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Posts by lucky

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  93

  SHOULD I PIONEER OR COLLEGE?

  by stillAwitness in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  do you think the wt has become more lenient or stricter over the year?.

  i am 21 and i remember just 4 years ago going to college was looked at as something negative.

  girls my age, we had plans to be ft pioneers and become secretaries.

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  lucky

  Definitely go to college. I started college when I was 21 after 3 years of pioneering, too. I graduated when I was 25, and even though I felt really old at the time, I think being a few years older was actually a benefit, because I was a bit more serious and wasn't taking college for granted. I didn't have a declared major when I started and I didn't know what I wanted to do for my first year and a half of college, but I tried to take classes that would apply to any major and I didn't take too many electives so that I wouldn't be too far behind when I did figure out a major. I talked to other students in my classes and asked what their majors were, and when I found one that seemed interesting to me, I volunteered half a day a week for a semester at an organization that did what I was interested in and tried it out. Once I made up my mind, I was able to finish up with my newly chosen major on time, got a job right after graduating, and eight years later, I'm still happily employed in my chosen field.
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  29

  Were there any professionals in your congregation?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  i was just wondering if you had any doctors, lawyers, pyschologists, psychiatrists, engineers or any highly educated ones in your congregation?

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  lucky

  
  I can't say that I entirely agree with Blondie, at least according to my experience. I grew up in one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S., with a highly educated general population. I believe that my mom was one of the very few in the three congregations in my town who had been to college. Only two of the many elders and ministerial servants had college degrees; one was an accountant, I'm not sure what the other one did exactly. Most of the brothers in the congregation were janitors or in construction trades.

  I went to college in a typical "college town". I think only one of the elders and ministerial servants in the two congregations there had a college degree.

  When I moved to "where the need was greater" to a dinky community of a few thousand in the middle of nowhere, three of the four elders in the congregation had graduated from ivy league colleges. Of course, they had moved to where the need was greater, too, and none of them lasted too long.
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  4

  New Watchtower artists?

  by lucky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  the website worth1000.com recently held a photoshop contest, asking for entries that depict mass destruction.

  it looks like some of these entries could have been taken straight from the pages of the watchtower publications..

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  lucky

  
  I think these images can still be considered "art" because they are photo montages done using Adobe Photoshop software.

  I realize that the Watchtower artists create original drawings and paintings, and that the publications often use "stock" or purchased photography when appropriate. I wasn't trying to imply that the Watchtower was purchasing art; I was just struck by the similarities between the contest artists' depictions of mass destruction and the pictures of mass destruction that have appeared in the various watchtower publications, such as the Revelation book.
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  4

  New Watchtower artists?

  by lucky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  the website worth1000.com recently held a photoshop contest, asking for entries that depict mass destruction.

  it looks like some of these entries could have been taken straight from the pages of the watchtower publications..

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  lucky

  The website worth1000.com recently held a photoshop contest, asking for entries that depict mass destruction. It looks like some of these entries could have been taken straight from the pages of the watchtower publications.
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  20

  Interesting statistic about JWs in this week's Newsweek

  by lucky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just got this week's newsweek in the mail.

  the cover story is "spirituality in america".

  page 54 has a table listing change in religious self-identification between 1990 and 2001. the four bottom religions, with negative percentages, are jehovah's witnesses (-4%), jewish, rastafarian, and protestant.

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  lucky

  Sorry, for some reason, the statistics didn't post the first time! Second try:
  
  
  
  

  55% of those listing "Jehovah's Witness" as their religion are "official" members (I would assume that means baptized, or maybe a publisher) 27% of witnesses are single 3% are single and co-habiting (THAT's an interesting statistic) 30% live in a "mixed" (divided) household with at least one non-witness adult 24% are ages 18-29 10% are 65+ 71% were female in 2001 vs. 60% female in 1990 (that's an interesting one) 46% are white 37% are black 14% are hispanic

  Here's another interesting set: 2% identify themselves as republicans 10% as democrats 34% as independents 54% say they have no political affiliation

  I would have to guess that the 12% who are democrat/republican are inactive or in the early stages of studying. My guess would be that the 34% who identified themselves as independents were confused about what an independent is (maybe they thought it meant "independent of the political system" as opposed to "independent of a political party").

  Again, here's where I got these: http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm
  The website says that the survey was conducted by telephone, of 50,000 households in the 48 contiguous states.
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  20

  Interesting statistic about JWs in this week's Newsweek

  by lucky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just got this week's newsweek in the mail.

  the cover story is "spirituality in america".

  page 54 has a table listing change in religious self-identification between 1990 and 2001. the four bottom religions, with negative percentages, are jehovah's witnesses (-4%), jewish, rastafarian, and protestant.

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  lucky

  I just got this week's Newsweek in the mail. The cover story is "Spirituality in America". Page 54 has a table listing change in religious self-identification between 1990 and 2001. The four bottom religions, with negative percentages, are Jehovah's Witnesses (-4%), Jewish, Rastafarian, and Protestant. The source is cited as a City University of New York survey in 2001. I looked the survey up and found the site:
  
  http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm

  It has some pretty interesting statistics about Jehovah's Witnesses, including the estimated number of witnesses in 1991 (1,381,000) vs. 2001(1,331,000), the number of Witnesses who have "switched in" (517,540) and "switched out" (380,983), and the percentage of JW's who are divorced (6%). They are weighted estimates based on a survey of 50,000 people, but it would still be interesting to do a comparison of some of the statistics with the "official" available WTBTS statistics.

  I'm sorry if this study has been posted before, but it's the first I've ever seen of it and I thought it was pretty interesting.
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  8

  Google Earth - Brooklyn

  by Ozner in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with the google earth software-aplication, it is possible to "fly" above brooklyn and have good possibility's to inspect the watch tower buildings there.

  maybe someone can put pointers on the google earth maps on every wt building there?.

  ozner

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  lucky

  
  there's not much detail for Patterson in google earth, but here's an aerial photo from the new york state GIS clearinghouse, flown in spring 2004. As you can see in the second photo, you can zoom way in. Here's a link to the website: http://www1.nysgis.state.ny.us/mainmap.cfm

  Click on the binoculars button to do a search for the town of Patterson. The facility is on the east side of route 22, I believe, although I think they own some property on the west side, too.
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  2

  $250k to prove that Jesus is not the Son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

  by lucky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's in interesting recent entry on boingboing.net:

  boing boing's $250,000 intelligent design challenge yesterday, i posted an item to boing boing about the growing popularity of pastafarianism, a new religion that worships flying spaghetti monster, initially created to protest the kansas state school board's decision to teach "intelligent design" in schools.

  a suprising number of i.d.

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  lucky

  Here's in interesting recent entry on boingboing.net:

  Boing Boing's $250,000 Intelligent Design challenge

  Yesterday, I posted an item to Boing Boing about the growing popularity of Pastafarianism, a new religion that worships Flying Spaghetti Monster, initially created to protest the Kansas State School Board's decision to teach "Intelligent Design" in schools. A suprising number of I.D. supporters wrote in with comments like this from reader Anne Kenny:

  Okay Xeni

  I read your Blog about Intellegent Design and the spaghetti monster. Ridiculous. I'd like to know what you think should be taught in the schools.

  Certainally not evolution considering there is not one single fact that proves it. No missing links, not even common sense. Lies are still being printed that were proven wrong in the late 1800's but they're still taught as fact.

  If you're so positive that you came from a monkey or a rock or whatever you think it is I suggest you debate Dr. Kent Hovind.

  Dr. Hovind is willing to pay any individual a quarter of a million dollars to anyone who can give any empirical evidence for evolution. He has had this offer up for a long time but even this country's top scientists have gone up against him and lost the debates.

  I suggest you offer this to your avid readers... I'm sure one of them would like some extra cash. You can call 850-479-3466 (8-5 Mon-Fri CST) for more info about the $250,000. Please blog this I'm interested in what you think about evolution and all of its lies.

  Well, I've discussed the matter with my blog colleagues, and we would like to hereby issue a challenge to Dr. Hovind and his supporters.

  We are willing to pay any individual *$250,000 if they can produce empirical evidence which proves that Jesus is not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

  You may submit entries here, and please, no meatball attachments.

  Suggested reading in Scientific American, "15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense: Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up." Link to SciAm article (paid sub required); Link to a subscription-free PDF copy. (Thanks, Dan Strunk)

  Previously on Boing Boing:

  Pastafarianism: Flying Spaghetti Monster cult grows

  Dear Kansas: Why stop at "Intelligent Design?" What about Spaghetti Monsters?

  * Prize to be awarded with Intelligently Designed currency; void where prohibited by logic.
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  23

  Mental illness among JWs: cause or effect?

  by kid-A in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is compelling, published evidence (see link below) to suggest higher rates of mental illness among jws compared to other religious sects, and the general population.

  what is your opinion, is this because people with "susceptibility" to mental illness are more likely to be attracted to the lifestyle and psychology of the wts, or after joining and being an active member for years, the jw psychology and lifestyle are simply enough to push any psychologically healthy individual into psychopathology?

  http://www.premier1.net/~raines/mental.html

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  lucky

  HL,

  My mom majored in religion before she converted. She was baptized when she was 26 or 27. She was living across the country from her family and lonely and not too happy with her marriage and pretty vulnerable. I think that she was really drawn to the "black and white" aspect of the witnesses. Thirty years later, she's still lonely and not happy with her marriage and is suffering from depression and anxiety as well.
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  23

  Mental illness among JWs: cause or effect?

  by kid-A in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is compelling, published evidence (see link below) to suggest higher rates of mental illness among jws compared to other religious sects, and the general population.

  what is your opinion, is this because people with "susceptibility" to mental illness are more likely to be attracted to the lifestyle and psychology of the wts, or after joining and being an active member for years, the jw psychology and lifestyle are simply enough to push any psychologically healthy individual into psychopathology?

  http://www.premier1.net/~raines/mental.html

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  lucky

  My mom and my aunt are identical twins. My mom has been a witness for most of her adult life. My aunt is not and has never been a witness, although she is deeply religious. They both have some fairly serious, although slightly different, mental problems. The twins were not raised in a religious household, but both chose to major in religion in college and they have both chosen to lead very religious, although different, lives. I think there is an inherent personality trait that attracted them to religion.

  I think it's a whole different story for those who were raised in the truth, though. I think I'm inherently unreligious and now I'm stuck with all this mental baggage leftover from 24 years of brainwashing.