SEA BREEZE:
Yes.
NOT FORMER:
I do remember reading something like that. It read to me that they were sorry they could not.. It’s an evil of human nature that there would always be some idiot only too glad and too cruel to do this, IMO.
imagine if the watchtower had their own country where they could do what they wanted.
do you think they would actually kill people who disagreed with them?
would the elders be willing to carry out the executions?what say you?.
SEA BREEZE:
Yes.
NOT FORMER:
I do remember reading something like that. It read to me that they were sorry they could not.. It’s an evil of human nature that there would always be some idiot only too glad and too cruel to do this, IMO.
https://youtu.be/sbh213gbedo?si=ceeaip451t6i0zjp.
so as they say one picture is as strong as a thousand words and here you have it guys in the latest study edition of the watchtower for october 2024 that has just been posted on their website a middle aged jw window cleaner dreaming of the new system where things will get better.
why does the watchtower need to talk now about jws on minial self employed jobs?
KERRY KING:
Nobody is knocking any particular line of work. At least I’m not. And I am well aware that some window washers can do quite well… And, yes, we are all tax slaves even though it’s a little silly to compare a doctor to a window cleaner.
But, you are missing the point and over simplifying things - even doing a little gaslighting. The fact of the matter is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses (at least back when I was younger) criticized college, white collar and/or full time jobs.. They made it out to be that the ‘only’ work JWs should do was house/office cleaning and/or window washing. They made it sound like if you did other work you were not ‘spiritual’🙄. People who did were looked upon suspiciously even if it was pt time.
JWs were instructed to work part time only to meet their immediate needs. They were made to feel saving was not having faith (totally ignoring wise Bible counsel).. Over righteous Witnesses really went out of their way to make snide remarks to people like me who had a full time job.. Doesn’t matter that I minded my own business and did the best I could with meetings and going out D to D.. I was still criticized.
Fast forward to now: I am retired (but live carefully). JWs who did otherwise and have now reached retirement age may be in trouble if they believed and did every single thing the religion told them.. In plain English: those who did not save or have a retirement plan (whatever their occupation) are in a serious predicament today!!
https://youtu.be/sbh213gbedo?si=ceeaip451t6i0zjp.
so as they say one picture is as strong as a thousand words and here you have it guys in the latest study edition of the watchtower for october 2024 that has just been posted on their website a middle aged jw window cleaner dreaming of the new system where things will get better.
why does the watchtower need to talk now about jws on minial self employed jobs?
RAYMOND FRANTZ:
I already started a thread on this and it’s four pages long.
Many fine comments. Bottom line: I am ever so Glad I never listened to the JW religion and I kept my job until retirement.. People like the guy depicted in the article are going to have to ask somebody else for handouts!
this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.
it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.
in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).
BIAHI:
Yes, that’s true that there are plenty of users/losers outside the JW religion.. The person you describe I would only help once.
The difference is that people outside the religion don’t knock and shun people who work like the JWs do. JWs are very bad with this mentality…JWs think they can demonize responsible people who work full time and still imagine these people would give them charity!!! Sorry, but not in my book.
Even though I’m Out a long time, it still gets me that older hypocrite JWs with cushy lives who pushed poverty on gullible young people - are not even around to help anybody they misled. Those gullible young people would be senior citizens today.
So Glad I never listened to anybody back then. Maybe my ‘worldly’ upbringing saved me.
i'm interested to know the age demographics here.
it must be significantly different to other exjw forums.
it would be a damning report for watchtower if most of us appear to have left for decades.. you don't have to mention your exact age, you could always say "in my 50s".. i am in my 70s.
Like Blondie, I’m ‘old enough’.
Raised Roman Catholic, came in late ‘70s. So much didn’t sit well but I left after that 1995 Generation teaching.
They had lost all credibility at that point as far as I was concerned.
anyone have any anecdotal reports of individual congregation finances since the stealth takeover by the wt of their checking accounts?.
are donations up?
can they pay their bills?.
THOMAS MORE:
I have been Out like twenty three years, so I guess I must’ve read it on here about the JW religion taking possession of kh titles and congregation bank accounts, etc.
If the goal was them selling off halls, was this because of lawsuits or declining membership or a little of both?
Reading your No. 5: ‘displacement of congregations and individuals’, consolidating congregations.. This is like the game Musical Chairs, only when the music stops the people are left without a hall.. How many times can they rinse & repeat??
You are probably right that if somebody sees their hall is getting a major facelift there’s a good chance it will be sold. The result of all this happening too many times is the incredible shrinking religion. Is it the religion’s goal to go completely online with hardly any brick & mortar presence aside from an assembly hall??
If this is the case, there’s going to be some high & dry and disillusioned members that will be very upset.
this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.
it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.
in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).
HOSER:
Yes, I saw that the ‘popular’ JWs were so chummy.
Of course, I never realized what you said about buying new cars and getting them used up in ‘theocratic activities’ which is to say you were providing charity to everybody else! 👎 No good!
I was not raised a JW so this would be absurd. It seemed to me the JWs somehow ‘hypnotizes’ people to act against their better interests. I’ll tell you one thing - After I got all the hate and shunning because I worked, I was determined never give charity of any sort to anybody there. I also never did favors either.
This is why I really wouldn’t have pity for the fictitious window washing brother depicted in the article! His ‘spiritual’ friends would have to help him.
this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.
it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.
in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).
SKIN:
Yes, I remember it well about financially secure Jehovah’s Witnesses telling other gullible (mostly younger) people to pursue poverty. The poverty they were pushing was certainly not for them!
The Witness religion is filled with such hypocrisy.
Usually they were affluent because they were older and already earned their living and collecting a pension or had their own businesses and were doing very well. My pet peeve was married women who made stupid remarks. They never worked and were married to non-JW men who let them do their ‘thing’.
All these people did not relate to me as a person who worked full-time to support myself.. Most of these people are gone by now and went to their graves living a cushy life.. Me? I’m glad I never listened to any of them.
this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.
it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.
in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).
BETH SARIM:
Probably.
When all is said and done - after a further decrease in membership which will come with time and Boomers passing away and younger people leaving, there will be the inevitable sales of more Halls... Whatever is left of the religion will probably be online. They will have then joined the ranks of other obscure religions in the U.S.
Possibly the once bustling religion might similarly ‘disappear’ into the sky like Professor Marvel did at the end of the movie “Wizard of Oz” . There would be some very outraged and disappointed people but those are the breaks!
While this is conjecture, nothing at all would surprise me.
this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.
it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.
in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).
FEDUP JW:
Yes, and thank you everybody for the great comments …..That Menlo Park story is a tragedy and the world should know about this and what goes on in the JW religion (a brother being run off the road???). Sounds like a whistleblower movie.
Getting back to the diehard ‘brother’ portrayed in the picture: somebody on Reddit commented that in all likelihood this brother is shunning some people, maybe relatives.. Also, maybe he gave up having kids for the religion. Somebody thought he looked lobotomized…Maybe he’s happy and gets by with a little help from his friends(?)
But, as I have said before, nobody there was looking out for me. What a hostile and cold environment.. Thank God I held onto my job until retirement!!
What I do feel is going to happen: ..sell-offs of halls everywhere and consolidation of congregations, declining membership, etc. and people driving ridiculous distances to wherever; the JW religion will be mostly online.. That means there will be NO physical presence of the religion in their neighborhood. There will not BE somebody they can go ask for handouts and assistance of any kind like in the past.
They will have to go to the churches of Christendom for aid of any kind.
All the faithful Witnesses left over who sacrificed so much and did without who are needy in their old age will be HIGH AND DRY. The religion just won’t be there.. I would not be surprised IF this is the direction it is going!