done4good

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Posts by done4good

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  23

  How Jehovah's Witnesses could become a huge mainstream religion without harming people. Any thoughts?

  by JWchange in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if jws did the following, i believe they would grow exponentially and become one of the largest 'religions' on earth : .

  1. no more dfing or shunning......its up to your conscience who you like or don't like.

  in the same way if i was catholic living in ireland, i wouldn't hang out with my neighbor if she was a drunk fornicator, just had an abortion, had a taliban boyfriend and also supported liverpool soccer club.

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  done4good

  They would cease to exist as JW, plain and simple.

  FWIW, the organization in current form cannot withstand that type of change without serious repercussions to its business. It is structured to depend upon control of its membership. In a very real way this control aspect is part of its business model. Any removal of those attributes would cause major disruption, as members would leave for two reasons: 1. Many don't really want to be there anyway, and once the controls are removed, they will walk; 2. Many others would find the changes very disturbing, and leave because the changes themselves would be enough indication the organization is not the "Truth".
  

  Things are slowly reaching a critical mass, however. Change may be forced on the organization to survive for the long term. This will basically be the equivalent of hitting the reset button however, and require serious fallout before things begin to level off. Nothing will be the same for the organization after that, as they will basically be little more than a minor sect, comparable to what happened with the Christadelphians.

  d4g
  
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  21

  You have to admit, the carrot is pretty alluring.

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there were several families that were visiting my mom today and i was sitting in and just listening to all of them talk..

  they started talking about the recent shooting at the university.

  and its so easy for them because all they have to say is;.

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  done4good

  no-zombie - As a consequence, my new tactic is to only attack emotionally.

  While I do not know that I would consider it an attack, I agree with your reasoning. The current crop of JW will not respond to logical arguments formed against their beliefs. This is actually true for most people who have deep ideological positions on matters, including all religious fundamentalists. Their beliefs are not based on fact and reason to begin with, so using such as "proof" as to their beliefs being false is a fool's endeavor. It is an argument that cannot be won. Put another way, "belief" is one of those areas where people create their own reality. Nothing else is "real" to them. I was actually told this personally in so many words by a JW friend not too long ago.

  Using an emotionally angled position can work, however this can also backfire, so be careful.

  d4g
  
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  21

  You have to admit, the carrot is pretty alluring.

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there were several families that were visiting my mom today and i was sitting in and just listening to all of them talk..

  they started talking about the recent shooting at the university.

  and its so easy for them because all they have to say is;.

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  done4good

  You may right be with respect to the "have nothing else in life" type of JW. Religion has always preyed on these types of people, and some religions, (like JW), do their very best to make sure people stay in this state of misery.
  

  For any JW with a career, a family, and all of the "normal" things in life, any reference to the "new system fixing things" is nothing more than a way to resolve their cognitive dissonance.They really don't want any such "system" to be a reality.
  

  People naturally learn to accept that the world has problems, we eventually die, etc. When one has a normal and realistic view of such things, he/she will attempt to make the best life possible for themselves, and likely others as well, to the degree they can. No fantasy world needed.

  d4g
  
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  138

  My Mother Died Two Weeks Ago

  by Perry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  none of my jehovah's witness relatives called to tell me or my family.

  just found out this morning.

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  done4good

  Perry-

  That is just awful for them to treat you that way, yes even for them...

  Sorry for your loss.

  d4g
  
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  8

  When was the last time he had a dream you were chased by Demons???LOL

  by James Mixon in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have had dreams being chased by gang members, chased by jw's, my experiences.

  in vietnam, not one single horn chasing demons and the end of days..

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  done4good

  Demons??? Well..er...never...

  Hordes of beautiful women...well a few times, I think.
  
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  16

  Is Watchtower beginning to buckle

  by Truthexplorer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  is wt beginning to buckle under the weight of everything that is happening?

  heavy criticism from the media and the plethora of websites and youtube videos popping up; and now the obvious issues with finances clearly evident.

  the pressure for change must be immense and therefore necessary!

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  done4good

  It is more about long-term sustainability than anything else, but...

  1. Negative legal pressure and bad PR is hurting them.

  2. Money is a problem. The 25 year old "donation" arrangement is very long in the tooth, and beginning to show real signs of stress. JWs are not big donators to begin with, (most don't have much money to give), and those that do have the means are smarter than to give away money they see has no purposeful use.

  3. The are rapidly becoming irrelevant in a better informed society.

  They will be around for a while, but I am, (almost), convinced a real corner has been turned. The WTS does not like to appear to capitulate easily, and it is clearly appearing to be very desperate.
  

  d4g
  
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  12

  Sad Reality...

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  ...is that most jws don't know anything about the financial news that is happening right now.

  sure it has trickled down to the elders and those who volunteer for construction but the average jw has no idea.

  no one in my hall has said a thing about it.

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  done4good

  These types of things cause significant cognitive dissonance. This is expected behavior.

  Give it time to process, and as cognac mentions above, the effects to be experienced.

  d4g
  
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  48

  America Mass Shooting: 10/1/2015

  by adjusted knowledge in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since this will be the norm in america, perhaps we should put a date on each of these topics.

  can't really put school mass shooting because too many to choose from.

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  done4good

  As long as the anti-science, anti-math crowd control the conversation with respect to gun control with platitudes about "liberty", "freedom", etc., it will be difficult to get the message through that the gun violence we see in the USA is a product of probability. Too many are moved by such platitudes as opposed to logical discourse.
  

  Too many guns, and now an extreme right wing that breeds nutcases. This is fertile ground for what we are seeing.

  I suppose that the only silver lining in this is that most sane folks, (even traditionally conservative types), are beginning to wake up and realize something has to change drastically.

  d4g
  
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  12

  truth

  by Sabin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i`ve been thinking, a thread was put up about a month ago asking the question " why me?

  basically why some of us find out ttatt while others are so blinded, good, sincere people that we love.

  well after some consideration i have come to the conclusion that 1) some are in the truth 2) others want truth.

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  done4good

  Vidiot - I grew up valuing facts, evidence, and logic.

  The older I got, the more WT ideology seemed in conflict with those things...

  Ditto.

  I would add that a good reality slap helps though. Many intelligent people in the organization also value these things, however have it a bit too easy, so prefer to stay in their comfort zone, even if it means compromising their otherwise logical nature. A life changing event forces one out this comfort zone automatically, and often becomes the moment when the dissonance is truly resolved.

  d4g
  
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  45

  No the WT Borg is not closing! That's Wild Dreaming!

  by DwainBowman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  no the wt borg is not closing!

  that's wild dreaming!

  they have been changing directions for a while now, and for whatever reasons, what is happening now is a part of that change!

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  done4good

  No, it is not closing, not will it likely anytime soon. However based on very broad based anecdotal evidence, they are clearly having problems, and trying desperately to manage them. Organizations don't stop building and expanding because everything is just fine, especially ones that blindly pride themselves on that growth.

  I believe the problems started in earnest a few years ago, (JW.org itself was a turn on a dime out of desperation). Several rather drastic measures have been attempted to reign in costs, and keep revenue flowing. The organization also has been trying to change its image, (of course without any true social reforms). These tactics are likely not working as planned, (they are tactical, read reactionary, not strategic), and the panic button has been pressed. They don't want to do this. There is nothing in it for them other than savings in operating and capital spend. That does not make "The one and only True Religion" look so good, does it?
  

  What is not understood clearly is what broke all of a sudden and why.

  d4g