hello folks.
i touched on this answering another thread and it made me think.
i remember seeing fairly often married couples at times verbally sparring in public at times in the kingdom hall or parking lot.
Not so much in my area. It always came as such a shock to me when a couple seperated or divorced... almost without fail they had put on a great act, giving the impression of the blissful happy union, when in reality it was anything but behind closed doors.
Either that, or there were a lot of couples who were extremely detached from eachother. They spent their time before and after the meeting on opposite sides of the building and didn't seem to really acknowledge the other too much.
17 yearts ago, it took 3,624,773 publishers to generate 263,855 baptisms (1990 yrbk).
however, last year it took 6,491,775 publishers to get 248,327 baptised!
exactly what work were those spare 3 million publishers.
And most of those baptisms were just the next generation doing what it took to make their parents happy.
I wouldn't say it's a hoax persay. I think at one time they really took it seriously and it was way more effective than now. It's now so much a part of the identity of being a Witness, and how they define themselves, you can't have one without the other. The whole hamster wheel is one big door-to-door training session. Without that, all they'd have is bitching about how bad the world is... and they can do that over their morning paper.
What a sad, pointless life to lead...
as a rule, i believe jehovah's witnesses treat females as sub par to the menfolk.
i knew a lot of women in the hall that were smarter than their mates.
they begrudgingly got respect from most of the elders.
I can't remember any Sisters who stood out because of their intellect. (not because there weren't any, they just didn't stand out to me) However, I do remember a couple of extremely opinionated ones. They had no fear of going against the grain. It was talked about for months when one went against something that was put up for congregation vote during a business meeting, or whatever they called them. It was something petty, something to have to do with redecorating the KH I think? But she was the only one who voted against and I remember to this day everyone being so shocked by it. I didn't understand, why do they hold a vote if you can't vote "no"?
it when you try to flick a big booger off of your index finger but it's too sticky to come off, and you eventually end up wiping it underneath the seat?
;-)
We realize that we have been eating boogers for a long time here at Bethel, so now we are sharing these "nuggets" of truth about it with our Christian brotherhood. Lets all thank Jehovah for this loving "food dispensed at the proper time!"
hahaha!!! Too funny!
Remind me not to shake your hand if we ever meet, John Doe!
hey all,.
just checkin' in.
been here since '01, but don't even have 500 posts.
Me
I call myself an "active lurker". I rarely feel as if I have anything constructive to add to any conversation and often feel forgettable. But that's ok... I receive so much just by reading.
i have read many post on here about abuse that goes on in the kingdom hall.
one abuse i use to see involved the denial of the bathroom to children during meetings.. .
in the kingdom hall i attended like most expected children to sit still for two hours during the meetings.
Eff, in this area all the restrooms are wired for sound and the kids can hear the meeting, and have been since I was a kid, many moons ago
Blondie (55)
I lived in Southcentral Oregon in dinky little towns for the most part growing up. There were a couple halls in the wider area that did have this, but not the specific ones I attended, with the exception of the new one that went in between Coquille and Myrtle Point when I was in high school. But the rule wasn't really about not hearing the meeting IMO, it was about control.
I think I had the luck of attending the decrepit old halls..... along with the heat pumps that didn't work and the "Mother's Room" that had been converted from a broom closet. In fact, I remember one hall didn't have sound in that either... just one of those wooden slatted doors. Yikes!
i have read many post on here about abuse that goes on in the kingdom hall.
one abuse i use to see involved the denial of the bathroom to children during meetings.. .
in the kingdom hall i attended like most expected children to sit still for two hours during the meetings.
This sounds strange, but it depended on the "spiritual strength" of the parents in my area.
More easy going, weaker in the faith parents allowed their children to go to the restroom, and the children usually did, multiple times. This was generally very much frowned upon. Stricter parents, (like mine, lucky me) did not let their children use the restroom, even during the song. You were expected to use the restroom right before meeting started, and wait until meeting was over to go again. This was not negotiable and we were smacked if we persisted in asking. There had been several special needs parts that basically told parents that children can't hear the meeting in the bathroom, and are missing out on spiritual food, and that there was no reason they couldn't wait.
My parents took great pride in the fact their children were motionless zombies during the meetings, unless of course we were commenting.
Just another level of control.
the italian mastiff.
also known as sicilian branchiero, sicilianos branchiero, cane di macellaio, cane corso italiano, italian corso dog.. i met a pair of them just last week and they were wonderfully behaved and anxious to be loved.
jeff.
I own a beautiful sweet purebred English Mastiff named Jade. We specifically sought out a Mastiff based on our experience with them. They're called "Gentle Giants" by fans of the breed and it's because they are by and large the sweetest, most friendly breed. Yes, she's a drooling, bomb dropping slobber bucket, but she wouldn't hurt a fly and our family adores her.
It's funny, because I own a Chihuahua also, and she is 50 times more agressive than Jade ever thought of being. I have to be more careful of the Chihuahua getting herself into trouble with other dogs when we go to parks than the Mastiff any day. I suppose there are cases of agressive Mastiffs... but I'd have to believe it was a matter of gross abuse/negligence by a bad owner that would cause it.
Our drool machine with my daughter, she's not yet full grown here. They are great dogs to have inside... they just love to flop down and your feet and stay there.
BlackSwan- You stole my script!!!
i just wondered if anyone has been to a church since fading, or getting out?
and how did you feel when you went?
Yes, and it's great!
I love hearing real gospel music and listening to sermons that are funny, exciting, and relavant. And my kids WANT to go, they have a great time in Sunday school and always look forward to Sundays rolling around. What a concept!
