Thanks for the translation, yknot!
Once again, saving money takes precedence over the livelihood of the members. No surprise there...but this is sad considering that the Spanish paid for this out of their own pockets.
SirNose586
JoinedPosts by SirNose586
-
42
Letter from Spanish Branch regarding Governing Body's decision
by Lost-In-Translation inthe spanish branch office sent a letter to all congregations in spain explaining the governing body's decision to stop all printing, storing and shipping of literature in spain.
the spanish government recently ruled that all bethalites are entitled to a pension after having worked at bethel for many years.
the ruling of the government sent the governing body scrambling.
-
-
-
24
Does the WTS say Facebook is a bad thing?
by lavendar in.
do the elders try to advise members against using facebook for some reason??
curious......
-
-
SirNose586
They have a big problem with MySpace, so Facebook is also verboten. I know because my sis has a Facebook profile and doesn't want the elders to know...
-
18
'LOVING' JW RAPIST GETS 3-20 YEARS
by Mary inthis just warms the coggles of my heart to know that this scum sucking pig is still described as a "good man" who "attends the jehovah's witnesses meetings" regularly and helps "build kingdom halls".
the fact that he's a rapist with an extremely short fuse is a tiny flaw in an otherwise perfect character: .
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20080807/news01/808070375/1002/news01.
-
-
SirNose586
His friends and family are shooting themselves in the collective feet by making comments to the press. No wonder the GB doesn't like Witnesses talking in an unregulated manner--they can say some pretty damning things about Witness mentality when left to their own devices. It's embarrassing and only strengthens the public resolve to ignore the message.
KEEP IT UP!!
Good looking out on the article, Mary...
-
1
"EXPELLED" Exposed. What Ben Stein Isn't Telling You About "ID"
by FireNBandits infrom: http://www.csicop.org/evolutionsummary.
in practically every scene, expelled insults the science of evolution and the scientists who study it, accepting the long-ago-debunked criticisms and conspiracy theories of the intelligent design proponents as valid.
on the contrary, evolution is well accepted in the scientific community, where it is considered the organizing principle of biology and central as well to the field of geology.
-
-
SirNose586
It's amusing to chat up the local dubs who really champion this movie. Good thing there are no more than a handful of them...
-
35
All Americans are going to be fat in 40 years!
by digderidoo inupdated 3:34 p.m. et aug. 6, 2008new york - if the trends of the past three decades continue, itas possible that every american adult could be overweight 40 years from now, a government-funded study projects.
the figure might sound alarming, or impossible, but researchers say that even if the actual rate never reaches the 100-percent mark, any upward movement is worrying; two-thirds of the population is already overweight.
agenetically and physiologically, it should be impossiblea for all u.s. adults to become overweight, said dr. lan liang of the federal governmentas agency for healthcare research and quality, one of the researchers on the study.
-
-
SirNose586
All black women could be overweight by 2034
WHOA, what a coincidence, the same year that Jesus comes back!
-
2
Thoughts on "Miracle Checks from God" and Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
by SirNose586 ini really have a problem with all those "miracle checks from god" stories they'd feature in the litterature.
you know the ones i'm talking about.
sister impoverished is out of a job, having to feed 10 kids, and the very next morning after she sends in her application to pioneer, then presto!
-
-
SirNose586
Some of the stories are truly bizarre. I think it was a DC where a penniless pioneer couple are almost ready to quit when he inherits money from an uncle. Everybody claps? Horray, his uncle just croaked so they can keep knocking on doors for a few more months. I bet the uncle would have changed his will when everyone clapped for his death.
Ugh, how despicable that the non-productive members of society get applause...that money could've been spent on rent so that the husband could find a job, but nooooo....
-
14
How many of us are on the JW dating sites......
by IreallydidwalkoutofaKH ini thought maybe the gb got one thing right.
that is stating that only spiritually weak brothers and sisters would go on those sites.
however, to my shagrin....almost everyone i met was quite strong in the organization, but just wanted more friends.
-
-
SirNose586
Well of course the r&f can't be trusted. There's no control in the online world.
I used to be on jw-connect, but was told to stop going there. "Really?" I wondered. I used it more for penpals than anything. I chatted with an African brother whose parents were special pioneers. Shame that such people were the "dangerous association."
-
20
Parental FAILURE.
by easyreader1970 inone thing i really hate.
the wbts basically says that if your child does not grow up a productive members of jehovah's witnesses, in spite of everything else they may be capable of achieving, you fail as a parent.
this bothers me.
-
-
SirNose586
Guilt and shame are the WTS's best tools. Guilt brings you back to the meetings. Guilt gets your hours up. Guilt never lets you feel good. Anything that encourages guilt is good for business.
-
2
Thoughts on "Miracle Checks from God" and Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
by SirNose586 ini really have a problem with all those "miracle checks from god" stories they'd feature in the litterature.
you know the ones i'm talking about.
sister impoverished is out of a job, having to feed 10 kids, and the very next morning after she sends in her application to pioneer, then presto!
-
-
SirNose586
I really have a problem with all those "miracle checks from God" stories they'd feature in the litterature. You know the ones I'm talking about. Sister Impoverished is out of a job, having to feed 10 kids, and the very next morning after she sends in her application to pioneer, then PRESTO! Instant job interview while in field service, and a part-time job no less! Or in a slight variation, they'd get the exact amount needed to pay the month's bills, or a little more. The common thread would be that as soon as the person sacrifices something big for the WTS, they'll be rewarded.
There are several obvious problems with these kinds of stories. The initial concerns verification; due to the anonymity of the stories, no one can call the person and ask them to verify anything. No one can do a follow up. But this problem is sidestepped because it's in a Watchtower, and "therefore true." Most importantly, even IF these stories were true, how can that be representative of the average experience of JW down on his luck? There's simply not enough data to conduct a survey, but we can make an estimation. Would a "miracle check" story be appropriate if it were true 1 out of 10,000 times? Would it be appropriate 1 out of 1,000 times? What about 1 out of 100 cases?
I found it curious that in a way, the WTS was making a parallel to those "miracle cash from Jesus" mailings we'd get from churches in Tulsa, OK. Their message was direct: pray to Jesus, and you'll miraculous blessings. How could you not doubt this? Their letters contained dozens of breathlessly typed stories from the lucky people, replete with random bolds, italics, and underlines in the text. Although the WTS's approach was more subtle, the message was essentially the same.
Consider what happens when you put the miracle check story to the test. You're in a bind for the month. You decide to go out and pioneer, and yet you get no checks and no instant job offer out in the field. You slip further into debt. You're upset, perhaps at God, who should be rewarding your magnanimous decision. But the trained response is to get mad at yourself--somehow something's wrong with you, otherwise you'd be getting what should be coming to you. After all, Sister Impoverished was blessed, and it's true, because it was in a Watchtower mag. Maybe God isn't giving you what you want because you are worrying too much about it. And therefore this is a nice outcome for the WTS. They are free to post whatever kind of outlandish stories, and when the outcome doesn't occur, the blame is put on you, because you weren't righteous enough to get your miracle check.
It's all a giant example of post hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning. After you performed sacrificial act A, you were rewarded with gift B. It sounds very succinct, but no one looks for a natural explanation. Think about Sister Impoverished who goes to every door mentioning something about her out of work status. Eventually, if she talks to 100 people, could there be one or two who are know of open positions? It could be possible. I recall being offered work on a few occasions at my old job, and I didn't even mention looking for a new job! I turned them down because the ball was rolling in a previous prospect, but the point is, I have at least a small reason to say that this could happen without any sort of divine intervention.
The money is a bit harder to imagine happening, but once again, what if you told your sob story to 50 fellow believers? Is it unreasonable to say that at least one person could take pity on you? I had to shake my head at the CO for his life story featured at a SAD. He talked about living on next to nothing and getting a free car from the congregation, right when he and his wife needed one. Well, if you're a CO and you visit a few congregations of at least 50 people and tell them your sob story, how likely are you to find at least one person who can help you? And this case is even more favorable for the CO, given that JWs (and people in general) want to impress those in authority. I say that his story more confirms the generosity of people than divine intervention. Try that same trick if you're a publisher, and you go from congregation to congregation looking for a car. You'd have a smaller probability of success.
These miracle check stories are irresponsible, but I suppose anything combining the OT concept of sacrifice with the Gospel miracles in way that boosts pioneer numbers can't be bad for business.
-
-
-
SirNose586
Hey, it's not easy to listen to crap for 7 hours in a day, out in the hot sun....