Posts by Analysis

29

Who really writes the talks

by anglise in

hallo everyone.

the earlier thread about the min school reminded me of the number of times that i researched and at least partly put together items and pub talks for 'he must be obeyed'.. this was necessary because he worked full time in a demanding job which left very little leeway for cobbling the many assignments together.

at first being a good dub wife i felt guilty at doing this but in talking to others whose husbands also worked full time and were not part time cleaners or window cleaners i found that several other elders wives had always done this.. not only the talks but also sorting out the school assigments, the schedules, field service arrangements, sorting the auditing, coach and accomodation for the dc and ca, checking the accounts etc.. lots of these sisters also helped their children put together their items.. rather makes a mockery of the male privilege of "taking the lead".. most elders and ms are unable to cope with all the pressures and work if their wives dont do most for them.

Analysis

In some areas I can see where the wives would be asked to take on the responsibilities of brothers. Besides some of the Elders and MS wives are really more able to handle some tasks. When I was a MS and Elder I would ask my wife to proof read anything that was to go on the assignment board, but that was all.

Now granted there were times that I prepared service-meeting parts during the TMS. And at times on Q &A parts, I found the answers while the paragraph was being read. And being Book Study conductor is a breeze the 2 nd or 3rd time through the book. But, I am a salesman and have learned to be rather quick on my feet. And giving talks at the KH is not the stuff where Rocket Scientists are required.

I stepped down almost 5-years ago. I marvel at times when Elders from the platform make statements about how deep the material is for a particular meeting. What would they do if they had to handle the books Freddie wrote in the 1950s and early 60s?

Latin

Where I live the Elders are normally the best educated and have the best jobs. They drive the best cars and live in the better areas. So it is not the same everywhere. How else do the pay the simony? Now that is not the case in the Spainish Congregations in the area. But, even then they are rich compared to the others in their Congregation.

20

How do you manage your money?

by Billygoat in

jw
friends

as a child, i used to baby-sit kids in the neighborhood for money.

it wasnt much, but $2 or $3 an hour to a 14 year-old back in the early/mid 80s was pretty big stuff.

on new years eve when a lot of parents were clamoring for baby-sitters, the price would go up to $5 an hour, which was awesome.

Analysis

For basic financial advice Suze Orman on CNBC on weekends gives some good basic advice. She at one point in her life was deeply in debt. So she speaks from experience. She states that it should be people first, then money then things. Having money is of more value then the things most westerners spend their money to obtain.

The best advice ever came from Ben Franklin in his autobiography. Simply spend less then you make.

As for my story:

I came from what I thought was a very poor family. In fact we were just lower middle class, living in one of the most affluent areas in the western world. But, the fear of being poor was stronger then any faith I had in being a JW. It took over 20 years for me to progress from being a very good MS to making elder. They thought I was materialistic and that the rare occasion I time missed a meeting it was because of work. So I was not the proper example for the rest of the congregation.

As to simony, I guess they thought I had more to give. I gave money to every CO for that 20 years and it didn’t help me. I guess $20 in the 1970s growing to $100 in the late 1980’s just didn’t keep up with inflation. But when I was a child $20 would buy food for my family for a week. $20 will not buy a dinner for a family of 4 at a fast food restaurant in my area today. So maybe I am just a cheap. Which in the book "The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy" -- Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko, basically shows that in the US most millionaires are just thrifty people who work very hard and save their money. They tend to drive older cars and they do not wear the latest in fashions.

264

Furuli's New Books--Attempt to Refute COJonsson

by ros in

jw
friends

i just heard that the norwegian watchtower apologist, rolf furuli, who esteems himself a biblical scholar of semetic languages, has completed the first of two volumes he plans to publish on the societys chronology, assyrian, babylonian, egyptian and persian chronology compared with the chronology of the bible.. title of this first volume is: persian chronology and the length of the babylonian exile of the jews.. i hear that although carl olof jonsson is not mentioned by name, or reference made to his book "gentile times reconsidered," it is nevertheless apparent that these volumes are an attempt to refute jonssons excellent study which has exposed the watchtowers 1914 date as total folly.. .

the book can be ordered now from furulis new personal website:.

http://folk.uio.no/rolffu/.

Analysis

AlanF

"I've presented arguments that prove conclusively that 2 Chronicles 36:20 and Jeremiah 25:11, 12 together are absolutely conclusive that Watchtower chronology is wrong, and that these are completely consistent with standard secular history. You just don't find such close correspondence among independent archaeological sources unless they all point to the same conclusions."

Could you briefly restate what 2 Chronicles 36:20 states. In the bible edition I have I don't see what the conflict is.

25

Does anybody know how to establish Credit?

by Nomad Soul in

i'm 19, i'm in the real world now.

i went to the dealership to buy a car, but was turn down, no credit history.

i have tried to apply for credit cards, but been turned down.

Analysis

As some have already stated Secured Credits Cards from Banks is sometimes the best way. I also found that Gas Companies were easier then Banks to get a credit card to purchase gas.

The last option is look for sub-prime lenders. They will take a chance on you and charge you 25% interest, but if you pay it off every month it is not a problem.

33

Help! Spouse thinks JW religion the most logical

by bittersweet in

my husband and i were discussing what makes some people become jw's last night.

i was saying that if i hadn't grown up in it, i would have never been drawn to it at all.

i'm not a very spiritual person.

Analysis

hooberus

You have read too much into what I have written. I am not attempting to prove or disprove Evolution. I am not attempting to prove or disprove a global flood.

My point was that Modern Man is older then 6,000 years and that the last large flood took place 7600 years ago. And it was not global. JW’s believe that the flood was about 4600 years ago, man was created 6000 years ago and that the flood created the Ice Caps.

The Ice Caps prove that the World had a warming period and a wetter climate at about the same time the Radio Carbon Dating dates the objects found near the suspected flood site between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. That is not me making things up, it is People from noted research organizations such as Woods Hole.

The rate of change in DNA allows Scientist to place an age range on Modern Man. Whether one believes in Evolution or Creation the Rate of Change in DNA proves that Modern Humans have been around for more then 6,000 years. Research has been done on DNA samples and they have proven that all of Modern Man is derived from less then 50 females (I think it is actually 37). This is documented the Book Seven Daughters of Eve.

37

What are the benifits of DA? Should I DA?

by zucker in

i'm wondering if i should just "come out of the closet" and tell my family i don't believe it anymore and da myself or don't make any noise and fade out?

what are the benefits or problems with either choice?

additionally, some have expressed concern over da.

Analysis

If you have family or friends that you want to maintain contact with the only choice is to do the fade.

The best way is to fade and move to another area. If you can not move, yes the Elders will stop by every couple of years. I still consider some of them to be friends, so it is not really a problem for me.

Am I any different then a person of another religion that goes to church once or twice a month? No. Most Catholics while the may admire the Pope, do not let him run their life.

33

Help! Spouse thinks JW religion the most logical

by bittersweet in

my husband and i were discussing what makes some people become jw's last night.

i was saying that if i hadn't grown up in it, i would have never been drawn to it at all.

i'm not a very spiritual person.

Analysis

Bittersweet that is funny.

I have a question, did he have his BS in marine biology before he became a Witness?

Or did he get a higher education against the direction of the FDS?

If it is the later then somewhere deep inside he does not really believe that they speak for God. So there is hope.

33

Help! Spouse thinks JW religion the most logical

by bittersweet in

my husband and i were discussing what makes some people become jw's last night.

i was saying that if i hadn't grown up in it, i would have never been drawn to it at all.

i'm not a very spiritual person.

Analysis

Hamas you asked; "Can you please expand on some of the things that you wrote? Why is all that important?"

The reason I would ask those questions is that it helped me to determine the proper perspective of the Bible itself.

Was man created 6000 years ago and placed in a Garden of Eden where all of creation lived in harmony? Then did a Global Flood wipe out mankind and all of the animals except those in the Ark? Thereby causing the Polar Ice Caps.

Scientist from Woods Hole and other locations have done a great deal of research on the age of the Ice Caps. In addition to Radio Carbon dating, they can now date certain events via the layers of Ice. DNA Scientist have also used changes to date DNA to determine how long man has been on the earth.

I came to realize that man has been around for a great deal longer then the 6000 plus years of the Bible. I also found that a few Scientist have proved that a major flood did occur in the Middle East about 7,600 years ago and could be the event that the Bible’s Global Flood was based. But, it was not global in nature!

This caused me to realize that the Bible maybe based on History, but it is not a History Book. After carefully reading the Bible after this realization, I came to see that it was not even written by contemporary authors. And much of the prophetic portions of the Bible most likely were written or edited after the fact.

That is not to say I do not put any value in the Bible.

33

Help! Spouse thinks JW religion the most logical

by bittersweet in

my husband and i were discussing what makes some people become jw's last night.

i was saying that if i hadn't grown up in it, i would have never been drawn to it at all.

i'm not a very spiritual person.

Analysis

Since he thinks it is so logical get him to explain some of the following.

What did sharks, lions and other predators eat in the beginning before Eve sinned? Why did God design them with the abilities that they have to hunt?

Have him reconcile the Ice Ages with their belief of the flood?

How does he explain how Kangaroos survived the flood? How did they get to Noah in the Middle East? How did they return to Australia?

17

"Special Meeting" on Sunday 4/27/03. How special?

by robhic in

a friend of mine who is a jw told me last night that there is a special meeting today that she wanted to attend.

since her health in the last few months has prevented meeting attendance (other than the memorial) i wonder why she is so determined to make the meeting today, sunday april 27, 2003. could it just be a local thing?

do the jw do that or is every meeting in lock-step with all the meetings in the country if not the world?

Analysis

The 6-1 Watchtower is talking about the King of the North.