i think it was when it was announced that an elder arrangement would be practiced.. that shook the foundations of a lot of congregations..
I'm not such an "old timer" organazationally speaking...I was "phased in" during the late '70s-early '80s, after all of the 1975 hysteria, 1980 "Great Apostacy", etc, when I was young.
So most of the "big announcements" have come the last couple of years, (since I've been out). But, the elimination of the BS is the biggest, from my standpoint.
j
heard today that the nov 15 issue has two of its four study articles targeted at helping inactive ones.
get ready for the phone calls to start up.
has the scans of this been posted yet?.
It's times like these that make me glad that I'm df'd.
I d/a'd just avoid this kind of campaign.
j
why do i get the feeling they are about to tell us all is well?.
why do i get the feeling they are about to give out a false sense of security?.
why do i have the feeling we are about to hear the big lie...the "peace and security" announcement?.
Avoiding it doesn't mean buying into the bailout - it means using the best means available to defuse the situation. Nobody wants a recession or depression - but they are coming. Slow or painful - quick and hard hitting - that's the only difference.
Yes...but what are those means? It seems to me, if we can smooth this out, even a little bit, that can buy us some time to work things out. I'll take slow and painful any day...that's more like the '70s than the '30s. We eventually overcame the '70s.
I completely agree on your points about not being dependent on credit, at least on a personal level. However, macroeconomics, like it or not, is completely dependent on credit, and the only way that would change is if we went back to the barter system. 'Taint gonna happen...
Sure, there are some real problems with handling things this way, inflation, not the least of which, (shadows of the '70s once again). We will be in for some tough times either way. That said, it's still better than waiting in line at the soup kitchen. As Shamus said in another thread, "it not the dirty '30s yet".
j
why do i get the feeling they are about to tell us all is well?.
why do i get the feeling they are about to give out a false sense of security?.
why do i have the feeling we are about to hear the big lie...the "peace and security" announcement?.
Well, if you had a government in any form that people trusted - they might be more inclined to believe that. I don't see it. You have no idea if the bail out will work and it's doubtful that it will work entirely. People who have lost their jobs and their homes already know the US has been in a recession despite what Bush, McCain and Paulson kept telling people. If it works - the upswing will most certainly be temporary and global economists are predicting that but they every one of them predicts a long, harsh recession - perhaps running years - with a high predicatability of a depression no matter what is done.
I haven't heard anyone in the government say 'gee, it's costing us 10 billion a month in Iraq (minimum) - let's leave now and put that money back into the American disaster relief fund" - that's 120 billion a year. I did hear them commit a million here and 12 million there..a billion over there - that doesn't equate in any way with trying to save families because that would have to start at home...sammieswife.
I understand your point. But my point is, people are taking that distrust way too far for their own good. You are absolutely correct to say that I have no way to know if the bailout will work, but there is enough support from both parties to at least see that there exists some ring of truth to the fear being generated by the politicians over this. Again no one in the US wants a $700 billion liability. I, for one am not willing to take the risk of not going along with the plan, here.
It's easy for those who are already out of work to say "The hell with it all, tell the govenment to go f*ck off!" But that really just seems to show a great deal of jealousy for the the other 95% in the US that are working. Surely you can figure that out. Do you really want to risk another Great Depression? Wouldn't it be better to at least try to avoid it?
j
why do i get the feeling they are about to tell us all is well?.
why do i get the feeling they are about to give out a false sense of security?.
why do i have the feeling we are about to hear the big lie...the "peace and security" announcement?.
Why would your government rush to bail out banks and financial institutions and yet not help a family save themselves from being thrown out into the street?
Everyone is missing the point here. No one wants to do this, (the government first and foremost), the issue must be addressed some way, however.
Bottom line, if the US government does not take these measures, we are all at risk of being in line at the soup kitchen in 6 months.
If that's not at least trying to save families, I don't know what is.
j
with the us economy tanking and on the verge of a major collapse if the right steps aren't taken, the average person is probably a little concerned.
i haven't seen anything like a panic yet, but it has been a source of discussion with collegues and neighbors.
to be honest, i'm a bit worried.
Most dubs only want to see a full economic meltdown because most are destitute themselves. No sweat off their backs. This helps even the score. The envy is purely disgusting. Thank god I'm out.
j
here's the text of the letter:.
christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.
to all bodies of elders.
Keeping the dictators in the same position as a "coordinator" only renames the problem, and actually draws attention to it.
Exactly what I was thinking when I first read this. This really, in some passive-agressive WT kind of way, gives them more power, not less. Just watch.
j
just sent my letter to the headquarters.
what should i expect now?
Depends on what is in your letter. I basically told the BOE to go bite it, so they never called me.
j
a certain witness,kind of close to me,is insistent that this article confirms her conviction that the wt teaches that jehovah will judge hearts at the "end" and both j w's and non j w's may be saved ....i say that it teaches the opposite.
what do you think?
how do you read it?.
The article is quite clear. No real reading between the lines required.
Your buddy has the typical jw response to the article. He choses to read into it what he wants to.
I will agree, however, it seems the "intent" of the article may be to somehow "soften" the position in a WTS kind of way...
j
will you be joining another forum or leaving it all behind?.
i took to heart simon's thread about moving on past the "ex-jw" phase and i've been spending less time at the computer.
it's comforting though, to come back on here occasionally and see how my cyber friends are doing.. so i'm glad there are options - i've noticed some familiar faces on new forums - there may be access to jwd in some form..... .....and there's a whole world out there!.
I'll continue to post here until I can't anymore. But, after that, it will be time to move on. I have been out for three years, and pretty much have an entire new life now. It's time to let go...
j
