Posts by BluesBrother

posted

9
No inetrest in Watchtower & Awake?
by Ardian in
1. watchtower
2. bible
the watchtower and awake have been listed as the most popular magazines.the figures are astonishing.

i am not sure whether it is based on reality or not.. source: https://tingtopten.com/2020/01/top-10-most-popular-magazines-in-the-world/.

i have seen the link on many social media networks.
BluesBrother

At the moment I don’t think you can say. I do not have any recent printed issues to see the figures that used to be on the inside page. It is not online.
Back in 2010 they were claiming over 40 million distribution for each mag, but they have reduced the frequency and the content since then. They have actually dissuaded the dubs from using printed material .
who knows how many read them online? The ones placed are given away on the street when they are able to do so so it is not a fair comparison with a regular magazine.
I cannot see the figures claimed in that original website as being true these days , especially with Covid stopping the distribution
17
The JWs don't like Chess
by mickbobcat in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i can remember when i joined the chess class in middle school.

my mother brought out an older watchtower article about how chess is a game of war.

since i left the cult in 95 i have slowly lost any connection to the cult.
BluesBrother

Not the case nowadays though. Just six years after the negative article was published , the Awake 1979 said this in an article on indoor games
"Contributing to backgammon’s popularity is the fact that it is easy to learn, yet is very difficult to master. And, of course, chess is another board game that has long provided many persons much pleasure."
No further comments were made. You would be hard pressed these days to find a dub that objected to a game of chess. ( I never could get the hang of it myself)
15
I've been shot
by FatFreek 2005 in
1. jw
2. experiences
yes, the long-awaited vaccine entered my bloodstream yesterday at 5 pm.. as steve martin humorously remarked, "good news/bad news.

good news: i just got vaccinated!

bad news: i got it because i'm 75.
BluesBrother

Well done Fat Freak.... I had mine, 1st dose, a week or so back.
It feels good to be immunized although I am still being careful .Best wishes , old son
18
The governing body KNEW
by FedUpJW in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
so i received an email from one of the used-to-be jw friends that now pretty much ignore me.

it was haranguing me about "getting right with gee-ho'-vuh", and how imperative it was to "return to the organization".

it continued on with the worn out argument that "the faithful and discreet slave know what we must do in order to be safe and to live, as gee-ho'-vuh brightens the light to them.
BluesBrother

True ....there have been many instances where the entertainment industry has done stories that strangely predict things that happened.
When I was young the Watchtower used to make a lot out of the fact that they predicted that the League Of Nations would rise again . I have since learned that at the time they said it, the thing was widely expected anyway
Crazy dubs who read too much into artwork are just silly people. Wiser heads would not say that. At least you can take the fact that they cared enough about you to write. We never hear a word from the congregation, and my wife was active up until lockdown.
19
Letter from local Kingdom Hall
by jhine in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
today l received a hand written letter from my local kingdom hall .

l say my local as the one nearest me , for those who don't know me l am not nor have ever been a jw .

as this letter was addressed " to the householder " l assume that everyone in the area ( tamworth , staffordshire ) has been sent one .
BluesBrother

They seem to be pushing the letter writing ministry in England these days, at the publishers own expense. At first they feared the data protection junk mail laws might prohibit it, but they had a re think. To me it seems a most boring way to count time. It is all about keeping the dubs involved in thinking about ministry and not going cold in lockdown.
What to say in reply? ....put it how you like but I would avoid contentious issues that show you to be “apostate “. The rank and file dubs don’t know about them anyway. I would ask seemingly interested questions that would make the writer look into some areas of faith that are thinly supported......if you want to.....
30
Thoughts on JW funerals
by Syme in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i recently had the sad opportunity to attend 2 jw funerals.

the first was a few months ago and the second today.

the first was my grandfather's and the second of an old friend back from my jw days.
BluesBrother

A lot depends on the speaker.. If he is one to go by the book he will stick to the printed outline and say little about the deceased. Others include more personal things .
At my time of life I have seen many old friends go, and their memorial services varied enormously.
Make sure you get the right elder to take it.
20
You have to admit if there were to be a 2nd coming of the Christ, now would be the time!
by nowwhat? in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i'm not talking about armageddon, but a chance for all mankind to "reset" and come together.

just sayin.

i know i'm going to get nailed, but that's ok. i still consider myself a christian..
BluesBrother

I am not “ nailing “ anybody but I also contest the viewpoint that America is the be-all-and-everything to the world today. That is the kind of thinking that led the Watchtower astray.
Covid is bad . No argument about that but it does not compare to Spanish Flu or Ebola and we have had worse pandemics in history.
The American disorder is actually local to the North American State. The rest of the world looks on and shrugs while getting on with our own lives.
I too believe that Christ will return some day but I don’t know when , he did not say.
5
Are the Canadian and US Kingdom Ministries different?
by HowTheBibleWasCreated in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i was cleaning out some old photos etc.

from my mother's stuff and landed on a small box containing 1980-2000 km.

my first thought was to toss it.
BluesBrother

Back when we used the “Kingdom ministry “ we always knew that the U.K. edition was different to the US one
20
Omg! The latest Caleb and Sophie video!
by nowwhat? in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
for those who think the organization is going more mainstream think again.

so eating a leftover birthday cupcake is as bad a sin as peter betraying jesus!

(see lloyd evans video) .
BluesBrother

We need to see the thing .
https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=share&prefer=content&applanguage=E&locale=en&item=pub-pk_40_VIDEO&docid=1011214
if I were a J W parent there is no way I would let the GB make rules for my kids or speak to them direct by video. That is a parent’s job. What to do with birthdays, how far do you go? That is a matter for conscience and in my experience the dubs can act differently.
15
Will JWs get DFed if they are caught with old JW publications?
by mickbobcat in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i was told that if a jw now gets caught reading or with old jw literature they can get dfed.

i doubt this is true but wanted to know for sure.

.
BluesBrother

Utter nonsense.. Wiser ones still have a library of old books. Once in a while the new articles refer to old issues....when it suits their purpose