Posts by Reefton Jack

23

Are they idiots??

by nonamegiven in

on my years as a jw i have always had doubts.

i have dismissed these as me being overly critical or some such nonsense.

now i'm on my way out the door, well i"m out the door i'm just working on shutting it right now.

Certainly, one of life's mysteries how otherwise intelligent people can let themselves be deluded like this!

My first encounter with doubts and "Apostates" came (not surprisingly!) in 1976
(i.e. the year after 1975!)

The response to this by one of the congregation's elders - a man, incidentally, with an exceptionally high IQ - was that:
"The Society will correct itself, but who will correct these people?"

As far as he was concerned, that was the start and finish of the matter - no matter how many may have got hurt / badly hurt while the WTS was making up its mind.

Jack.

6

King Solomon's Wealth - WTS versus the World Gold Council

by Reefton Jack in

jw
friends

while i was someones "bible study", i recall being assured that king solomon was so wealthy, that .

"most of the gold in circulation today was originally owned by him!

this supposed fact was even stated in one of the wts publications.

Reefton Jack

While I was someones "Bible Study", I recall being assured that King Solomon was so wealthy, that
"most of the gold in circulation today was originally owned by him!"

This supposed fact was even stated in one of the WTS publications.
I must admit, that - at the time - I saw no reason to question that claim.

However, since starting work a year ago with a major gold-mining company, I came across some information compiled by the World Gold Council.
Not surprisingly, these figures tell quite a different story
(Without,of course, in any way denying that King Solomon was certainly wealthy).

According to the World Gold Council:

- more than 90% of the gold that has ever been produced has been mined since the year 1848 (i.e. following the first discovery of gold in California).
- 64% of the gold ever produced has been mined since 1950.

(This data is available from the website www.gold.org/discover).

Once again, the AWAKE university certainly keeps a person well informed!
(If you are studying for a Diploma in Idiocy, anyway).

Can anyone remember in what publication that claim was made concerning King Solomon's wealth?

33

Did You Think Elders Should've Been Able To Be "Elders For Life"?

by minimus in

jw
friends

some of the stupidest witnesses are elders.

i've known more than a few that were basically "nice guys" but as dumb as a stump!

some never knew when to keep quiet and the other elders always had to cover for them.

Reefton Jack

None of the elders that I knew were stupid in the sense of being as thick as the proverbial "Two Short Planks." In fact, most would have been of slightly higher than average intelligence. All - it almost goes without saying - suffered from a lack of education. However, given the WTS downer on education, that is hardly surprising. One elder I knew had an IQ level shared by only 5% of the population. How he managed to let himself be sucked in by the WTS is evidently another matter! Jack.

20

Help Me Understand Something-Education/Dating

by tarhillsblue in

jw
friends

anyone that can help me understand this scenerio please explain.

i am relatively new in "the truth".

i am struggling with some logical things here.

Reefton Jack

We were told often enough that "reading the Watchtower and Awake magazines was the equivalent of gaining a university degree!"

Bachelor of Stupidity;
from the M.T.Head Campus of Awake University.

10

Australia vs. New Zealand

by zagor in

jw
friends

in last couple of weeks since in new zealand i was struck by really stark differences between australia and new zealand.. well lets start with simple things.

what are australian national colors, what colors do fans on rugby match paint themselves with?.

well anyone who was ever in australia knows the answer, these lively colors such as, white and blue; blue and gold; and green and gold.

Reefton Jack

With reference to wearing rugby jerseys in a black colour: Rugby always used to be a sport played only in winter. Wintertime,in New Zealand at least, means playing on sports grounds that range from being muddy, to being very muddy - through to being outright #^*$@y muddy! Add to that the fact that a rugby player ends up down on the ground much of the time, and it makes practical sense to wear a dark-coloured uniform. The name "All Black" was first given to the New Zealand Rugby Team on 11 October 1905. This term was an invention of an English newspaper, the "Daily Mail." However: Even that was evidently someone's typing error. According to Billy Wallace, one of the players in that team, another newspaper reported that the NZ team appeared to be playing like they were "all backs" -i.e.rather than a team composing of eight forwards and seven backs. Someone else saw the story and added to it - but somehow the statement 'all backs' ended up 'all blacks" - and the name stuck. Following along from that, other New Zealand sports teams have adopted similar names (The NZ Soccer Team, incidentally, is known as the "All Whites"). As for spooky experiences,or those that can only be explained by the supernatural,I have had a few of those - but that was while I was living in Papua New Guinea. Those are for another time, however! My observations,anyway. Jack.

8

A Catholic Response to The End of False Religion is Near!

by jschwehm in

jw
friends

if you are interested, i have made a podcast that responds to the jws' tract campaign on the end of false religion.

you can download it at the following link:.

http://catholicxjw.blogspot.com/2006/11/end-of-false-religion-is-neara.html.

Reefton Jack

I have a friend who is both a Catholic and a Mason. When I quizzed him about this, he assured me that there are no problems with being both. Jack.

11

Did you like your High School years?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

recently i got a e-mail on my myspace account from someone i went to high school with.

of all 400 people in my graduating class, i keep in touch with one and it is maybe a e-mail or christmas card once a year.

i was a very shy person in high school, graduated in 1989, a mix between a person wanting to be a witness and someone wanting to have some worldly fun.

Reefton Jack

I definitely DID NOT like High School - even though I did well there. Little of this dislike had anything to do with religious issues. I think that it was more from the frustrations of being penned up: - when most young men at least need an outlet for their (almost boundless - and usually destructive!) physical energy. School holidays were great! For myself and all the other boys I was at school with, it meant gut-busting work on the family farm; yet we never viewed that as work. I can recall being assured that " your school days are the best days of your life" - and thinking at the time that whoever said that must have something wrong with them! Now, I can understand how those feelings can develop i.e. far enough away in the past that you tend to forget about the bad, and only remember the positive things. However, I dont include myself in the category of those who view their High School days as the best time of their life! Jack.

170

Let's just get something straight about 1975.

by WTFBBQPWNT in

jw
friends

nobody ever said that the end was coming in 1975.. all the hype about this date that has continued all the way down through today came from a talk in the early 70's by fred franz.

in this talk, franz pointed out the significance of the 7 creative days and how they correspond with 1,000-year time intervals.. he then said, "could the end come in 1975?

there's so much wrong with jehovah's witnesses from their rigid legalism to their faux love, but let's call a spade a spade about the 1975 thing..

Reefton Jack

The observation that the WTS never actually stated in writing that the "End of the System" would come in 1975 is true enough as far as it goes: - the only trouble is, it does not quite go far enough! From mid-1966 onwards,the Watchtower Society's publications repeatedly left the thought hanging there that 1975 would see the end "of the system." - Alan F's excellent post of October 5th on this subject lists in detail instances where the Society did this. Starting from 1966,for 28 years I was an avid reader of whatever the WTS published. I well remember reading (unfortunately with intense interest!)all those articles about 1975. If this was a one-of instance, you could maybe, just maybe, put it down to a case of inept communication. However, by repeatedly leaving that thought hanging there, it is obvious that the Society wanted its readers to conclude that 1975 would see Armegeddon. Certainly, that is what readers of these articles did conclude: - I can well remember my first introduction to the matter of 1975. It was just after my mother ( never a JW) had finished reading the article about 1975 in the Oct 8 1966 issue of the "Awake" magazine. Her first remark from reading this was that "Armegeddon is going to happen in 1975". The issue here is not so much what the WTS actually wrote: - It is rather the (calculated) effect that this had on its readers. In this, as with many other things, the WTS wuld like to rewrite history. But, rather like the apologists for the Holocaust, their own written records condemn them. My five cents worth, anyway! Jack.

17