besty

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Posts by besty

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  32

  Is asking questions of logic about a Global Flood effective in waking loved ones?

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking about using a tactic of asking questions revolving around "noahs flood" to try to start my wife doing some serious thinking.

  unlike doctrine that cannot often be proven one way or another, this issue can be proven beyond the slightest doubt that it is impossible.. i was thinking about asking a question something like this "i was reading about coral reefs today, and they sure are amazing!

  what amazed me the most is how long it takes for them to build the reef, and how long they live!

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  besty

  http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/part-1-general-description-of-flood.html

  this did a lot of damage to me when I was leaving - fantastic resource

  good luck with your wife - see how she feels about The Mediator issue as well...
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  25

  New "Generations" WT Study Article in 2014??

  by daringhart13 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i see people mentioning this and have visited the site looking at all posted wt's.......i see no paragraph's discussing 'generations'....does anyone have any direction?.

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  besty

  I doubt Mark Sanderson was claiming to be anointed at age 20 - that would have prevented him making progress in the Borg at that time for sure.

  More likely they will rationalize it that 'he was always of the heavenly class' he just didnt know it earlier - therefore he is an overlapper.

  There is no way they could have a GB not be in the special club.
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  54

  Hello, its good to be back, seriously!

  by AllTimeJeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for the last year or so, the opening lyrics to gloria estefan's "always tomorrow" have been howling at me.. i've been alone inside myself, far too long.

  never really wanted it that way, but i let it happen..... .

  (btw, the message in that song is great for former jw's, if you want to think about the lyrics that way....).

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  besty

  hi Jeff - good to see you back -you know - like friends :-)
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  34

  A radical direction for the WTS - speculation thread.

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what might the wts do to counteract growth stagnation and attrition?.

  of course they could ditch certain teachings and practices such as blood, shunning and homophobia.. how about if they closed the kingdom hall network (all proceeds back to mothership) and built out more regional mega-churches?

  <assembly halls>.

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  besty

  thanks for the link bizzybee

  dd - you funny guy :-)
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  1

  Interview with an apostate - Mum

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  ell us a little about yourself and your family.. .i am an american from the heart of appalachia (tennessee-kentucky-virginia border).

  i lived with my grandparents until i was about 11 years old.

  both of my grandfathers were fire-and-brimstone country preacdhers.

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  besty

  Drum roll . . .
• 
  34

  A radical direction for the WTS - speculation thread.

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what might the wts do to counteract growth stagnation and attrition?.

  of course they could ditch certain teachings and practices such as blood, shunning and homophobia.. how about if they closed the kingdom hall network (all proceeds back to mothership) and built out more regional mega-churches?

  <assembly halls>.

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  besty

  That is their ultimate goal.

  The ultimate goal of an organization is firstly self-preservation. Usually growth/profitability feature close behind.

  They have closed a lot of regional branches recently - whats your take on that in light of your KH in every town theory?
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  34

  A radical direction for the WTS - speculation thread.

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what might the wts do to counteract growth stagnation and attrition?.

  of course they could ditch certain teachings and practices such as blood, shunning and homophobia.. how about if they closed the kingdom hall network (all proceeds back to mothership) and built out more regional mega-churches?

  <assembly halls>.

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• 

  besty

  I don't think they will move to mega churches as control is easier in smaller groups

  It was widely speculated the reason for abandoning the CBS was small groups being more difficult to control. If you look at how the talks have become much more manuscript and outline driven with less and less room for personality, it would make sense to continue that trend. This is also borne out by the AGM arrangements to hook up lots of venues to a live event.

  I think consolidating to larger venues hides the decline effectively - megachurches maybe a step to far to soon now, I'm thinking 5-10 years out. I bet they have lots of plans for when that compound gets to be finished...
• 
  34

  A radical direction for the WTS - speculation thread.

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what might the wts do to counteract growth stagnation and attrition?.

  of course they could ditch certain teachings and practices such as blood, shunning and homophobia.. how about if they closed the kingdom hall network (all proceeds back to mothership) and built out more regional mega-churches?

  <assembly halls>.

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  2. 
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• 

  besty

  What might the WTS do to counteract growth stagnation and attrition?

  Of course they could ditch certain teachings and practices such as blood, shunning and homophobia.

  How about if they closed the Kingdom Hall network (all proceeds back to mothership) and built out more regional mega-churches? <Assembly halls>. All day Sunday worship and weekday events for the whole community. Combine 20 KH's and you could have a vibrant community going...

  Follow that up with converting JW.org to a social network - every JW has a profile (approved and moderated). New members are found and converted online only - the bookstalls are pop-up stores driving brand awareness same as any retailer.

  What do you think? it fits in well with their property development and donation business model. (they just have to accept a teensy move towards the mainstream in exchange)
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  17

  Interview with TD

  by TD in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm not an 'apostate' in the technical sense, but many of these questions did strike a chord:.

  tell us a little about yourself and your family.. grandparents were contemporaries of russell.

  one pair liked what they heard and were loosely associated with the bible students.

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  besty

  great stuff TD - thanks for sharing,,,
• 
  11

  Interview with an apostate: besty

  by besty in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  tell us a little about yourself and your family.. early 40s married with 2 boys.

  scottish born living in london since 1997.

  (except for 3 years in la).

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  besty

  I see the WTS membership continuing to grow. The demographic will continue to gravitate towards blue collar/3rd world. Its not a religion for intelligent converts with Internet access.

  Combined with the revolving door of membership attrition, I believe their move to a new compound upstate NY is driven by the new reality of their economic base. The jw.org strategy is interesting. Might they eventually offer online study courses with a minimal affiliation in person required for baptism? "Now man this bookstall for 10 hours a month"...."and if you can make 6/10 monthly meetings that would be awesome"... That could take them back to double-digit growth in a stroke...

  The other interesting thing is the cognitive dissonance displayed by members. "The end is coming any day soon now" and "We aren't serving for a date" is an awesome piece of bait and switch.

  My role in all this is to make information available that helps JW's think about what truth really is, and what that means for them.