what are you thoughts on this?.
i find this alarming because jones was very outspoken and had great guests on discussing topics most other media outlets wouldn't go near.. the fact that many have restricted him access to their medium what does this say on our freedoms of speech?.
From what I gather, in addition to insane satanic conspiracies, he also accused public people of crimes such as murder with abandon. I wouldn’t host him if it was my choice. Why should YouTube? They’re under no obligation to host anyone. Their decision to ban him says nothing about freedom of speech. They were more cautious and deliberative about it than they need have been.
What would it say about freedom of speech if youtube was compelled to host someone who slanders people regularly?
figures from that latest 2-weekend convention in caridff (wales) reveal jw “growth” now in decline.
baptisms are discouragingly low (21, combined), and circuit overseers have been primed to deal with assemblies where there are no baptisms; see these leaked 2018 instructions:.
pdf summary: https://1drv.ms/b/s!arekzxkzlp8ybsl45pov7y6k26a.
They could start counting the overlapping baptisms from previous conventions?
Or allow baptism fractions: get baptised one body part at a time.
what is the strangest picture drawn or other you ever saw in a jw article?.
Has no one mentioned the Rutherford book “Creation” page 265?
what could you say to prove to a witness that they simply do not have the truth?.
Two things:
1. So many people are realising JWs don’t have the truth, they are leaving, and getting on with their lives. Haven’t you noticed? Even the ones still in don’t believe it any more.
2. Nowadays information is too widespread for Watchtower to be credible any more. Experts have debunked Watchtower chronology and 1914 for example. The only reason Watchtower has kept it in the face of all the evidence is because they don’t know how to drop it without undermining their own authority.
from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.
obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.
can anyone confirm this?.
Morph are you serious? You ask for evidence that hundreds of KHs have been sold. Let me see.
1. We have this thread about lots of halls in different parts of Ohio
2. You yourself said a lot have sold in Washington
3. At least 3 (out of about 80) have closed/sold in Scotland in the last year
4. I know cities in Germany in Austria have sold sold and combined many congregations.
5. We have reports from many parts of England where KHs are being sold: Isle of Wight, Birmingham, London to name a few.
6. More reports from Australia on this forum of KHs closing.
7. Even the KH that was used in the film “Apostasy” was a KH in Oldham which was sold!
And to be honest my contacts are very limited and I haven’t even been paying to all the threads about closures on this forum. These scattered reports a very small sample of what is going on.
8. And to top it all off, we have a leaked video where Watchtower themselves stated their own intention of selling 3000 properties in an attempt to get themselves on a stable financial footing.
So are you joking? What more evidence do you need?
from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.
obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.
can anyone confirm this?.
Morph do you really still believe that?
“Some local Halls”? Why the weasel words? Every Hall is “local”, right? Try hundreds of KHs that are being sold in lots of different countries. And those are just the ones we’ve heard about!
Yes they are changing alright. They are in a period of swift transition from a functioning worldwide religion into...
Why is your faith in the organisational and strategic abilities of Watchtower so implacable? That the idea that the current mess is truly as bad as it looks is not an option for you?
from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.
obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.
can anyone confirm this?.
I don’t think the GB would ever voluntarily lose membership or contract their presence if they had any other option. If there was any possibility of growing and remaining afloat they would pursue it full on. The idea that you can have a controlled decline of the religion is probably a bit like trying to have a controlled fire in a barn full of hay. Anyone stupid enough to attempt it will soon have a pile of ashes for their trouble. Because loss of morale can take on a decisive downward trajectory of its own and declines can compound before you know it. Credibility, once lost, can be difficult to impossible to regain.
Plus as former Witnesses I think there is a tendency to overstate the strategic prowess of the GB. If it looks like they are presiding over an incompetent almighty mess, then that’s probably because that’s exactly what it is. Arguing that it’s really part of some ingenious strategic plan is just another variety of exceptionalism akin to the pedestal of “faithful and discreet slave”.
from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.
obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.
can anyone confirm this?.
How desperate must the org. Be to have to do this?!
They are in existential crisis. It’s not clear if KH sales will be enough to reverse the situation. Selling KHs will bring in some quick money, but it will also result in a pretty swift reduction in donations. They are on a downward spiral, and the amazing thing is that the financial cost of settling abuse cases is bound to get much worse before it gets any better. If they are already in this much trouble, is there much chance the organisation can survive this crisis?
from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.
obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.
can anyone confirm this?.
They are in serious trouble. I told you so. (Where’s Morph?)
Closing KHs is an absolute disaster for morale and long term growth. And they know this. The only possible reason they would be doing this is because they have absolutely no other option. The money has run out.
Will KH sales bring in enough money to save them? That’s the question.
from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.
obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.
can anyone confirm this?.
1975 - no light bulb
A generation is "2 overlapping groups" and can span 180+ years - no light bulb
Taking blood "components" is a sin worthy of eternal destruction, but taking blood "fractions" is A-OK - no light bulb
Your Kingdom Hall loan is forgiven, replaced by a never-ending monthly demanded payment - no light bulb
Dozens of branch offices closed, Awake magazine reduced from 768 to 48 pages per year, 100+ year tradition of Yearbooks abandoned, etc etc. etc. ad nauseum & infinitum - no light bulb
Why would "we're closing your Kingdom Hall, drive somewhere else" cause any such "light bulb" moment?
Because each of the other changes involve just accepting abstract changes or a reduction in what you are receiving.
Actually rearranging your life so that you can travel greater distances to make meetings involves you actively having to do something.
Plus it comes on top of all the other changes you mention. So there is likely a cumulative effect as well. For many the additional ask will surely be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
