here's one thing to start off our list: jws can't stand for the country's national anthem (but they can rise for the flag salute).
1. Can't buy a 2-door car
2. Can't have a KH with windows
3. Can't have a firearm for personal protection [hunting use ok]
4. Can't really enjoy a good game of chess
5. Can't have a well-trimmed beard, not to mention a slobby looking one
6. Can't wear comfortable clothes to enjoy dinner after a DC
:))
---Dan
i need written proof in their own publications ..
Blondie,
I find that jws fall into 2 categories 1) those jws during the 1975 era from 1966 to 1976, and 2) those born after that time. Those adult and alive during that period were bombarded by articles, talks at assemblies, conventions, KH platform, private statements by elders, COs, DOs, GB members, Bethelites that 1975 was a done deal. After 1975, the WTS did damage control in print and stopped mentioning the date 1975 in publications. Unless a jw was the type to read more than the assigned material, they wouldn't have a clue. On top of that older jws would tell them their reinvented version. Who would want to admit they were fooled.
Exactly right. I, too was "alive during that period", and you accurately characterize congregational life then as being "bombarded by [all the pro 1975 stuff]....." ......yes, it was exactly as you describe.
I distinctly recall a "brother" who smugly/proudly told everyone in the congregation how smart he was in that he bought a new car with a loan that had a very large final "balloon payment" due after 1975 and how smart he was, 'cause he'd never have to pay it back etc.
It irks me to hear/read JW apologists try to minimize/change history either intentionally or because they weren't there and so don't realize the degree of "damage control" that has gone on since.....
----Dan
entry and exit papers: http://www.mediafire.com/?exrr1amq2st.
bethel life: http://www.mediafire.com/?itdnv159cxa.
info for the wallkill bethel family: http://www.mediafire.com/?b22smj2nbmt.
Thanks for posting this info.
I note that at Wallkill, Bethelites have to PAY FOR AIR CONDITIONING ! ! ! ! [that is, they have to pay if they want it] What a bunch of damn cheapskates. I hadn't heard about that.....Jeeeeeeez.
Of course nothing these Bozos do should really surprise me, I'm just shocked that in all my years with the "group" I hadn't heard anyone comment on that policy............
---Dan
just curious .
any symbolism or meaning to your avatar choice?
mine is actually a gif .
After I left the "organization" I was on my own, in the wilderness you might say, hence this avatar of my "coonskin cap" phase....
---Dan
so what was it like at the beginning of jwd?
was it lonely?
how does it compare to now?
I lurked on H20 (never posting there) for quite a while.
When I joined JWD back in 2001, there was much more doctrinal discussion, far less fluff. And of course far fewer posters. The doctrinal issues don't interest me now like they did then, I am interested in how my former group is changing/modifying beliefs, etc. I have no regular contact with Witnesses anymore, so JWD is an easy way to check up on things.
Yes, I'd say reading what others have experienced bolstered by own conclusions about Jehovah's Witnesses and the "Organization".
---Dan, who is very appreciative of Simon making this forum available all these years, through thick and thin!
We had a MS stealing cash from contribution boxes, same MO as was done in many places, remove a portion of the cash before it was counted in front of another.
Then we had a MS "prospect" whose "theocratic" career was cut short by embelzzing from his employer somewhere around $30,000 as I recall.
---Dan
the org will stop charging interest on kh building fund loans effective sep 1, 2008. current loan payment amounts will remain the same so the loans can be paid off sooner.. congregations should continue to donate to the kh building fund, and publishers can donate directly to the fund by sending donations directly to the branch.
congregations are encouraged to forward surplus congregation and operating funds to the branch until the time those funds are needed by the congregation (this was actually read to the congregation...talk about full disclosure).. this is for all branches and congregations, not just the u.s..
Speculation: The timing for this announcement is interesting. The IRS [Internal Revenue Service here in the US (the tax collectors)] just clarified a whole bunch of regulations relating to non-profits (effective March 28, 2008).
My musing was that they would NEVER give up an advantage like collecting interest without an even better reason/advantage. Perhaps (again just speculating) it has to do with not wanting government regulators snooping into their stuff?? Sort of like the reasoning behind discontinuing a specific "charge" for the literature was linked to a Sales Tax judicial decision.....
My two cents...
----Dan
i got the following from my daughter - jail time -- the way it should be.
maricopa county sherriff.
to those of you not familiar with joe arpaio, he is the maricopacounty sheriff (arizona) and he keeps getting elected over and over again.. these are some of the reasons why:.
He gets re-elected because he's very much "in tune" with the law-abiding, tax-paying, voting, general citizenry. People are absolutely fed up with stuff, and he has struck a nerve for sure, in a good way.
I disagree that there's anything "wrong" with his treatment of inmates. His approach is more about not coddling and not catering to those who are incarcerated then it is to try and be "mean" if you will.
I wish his policies were followed in the county where I live, but that's California, and that "ain't gonna happen"
Here's a link to the Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff's Dept website and a picture of the good man:
---Dan
i wind up sitting next to a friend of my wife.
the hall, but has no idea why.
nobody is doing the worldwide work except jw's.
[Oompa:
Ahhhh.... a humor-laden thread along the lines of what you suggest has already been done at least once:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/25/91042/1.ashx
---Dan]
i wind up sitting next to a friend of my wife.
the hall, but has no idea why.
nobody is doing the worldwide work except jw's.
The kind of reasoning/logic spoken of by the "pioneer sister" is so typical of Witness logic, isn't it. How frustrating to attempt to point out the flaws in such thinking.
The Witnesses start out with a flawed premise, than all sorts of conclusions can be inferred [the "strawman" argument as you mention]. A Witness could just as easily point to the following that "prove" they have the "truth":
1. They are the only group with men who don't have any facial hair except the odd mustache
2. The only group who have mostly 4-door cars
3. The only group with meeting places having NO windows.
4. The highest, percentage-wise of janitors and landscapers of any religious group
---Dan
