Posts by DocBob

63

GB MEMBER Herd Says Just Because You're A JW It Doesn't Mean Anything!

by minimus in

jw
friends

there's a tape circulating around the witnesses stating that when the separation of the sheep and goats happens, witnesses shouldn't think that they will automatically be saved just because they're witnesses.

if they aren't wholesouled, then they should not expect that having one foot in the "truth" and the other in the world will let them make it through the great tribulation....herd was trying to motivate the troops!

DocBob

Herd was trying to motivate the troops!

Two phrases come to mind.

One is the sign over the Auschwitz (or other ?) concentration camp entrance - "Arbeit Macht Frei"

The other - "The beatings will continue until morale improves."

15

Watching the World- church steeples used for cell phone equipment

by OnTheWayOut in

watching the world (articles at the back of awake!

mags) are usually offered.

with no comments.

DocBob

Watching the World (articles at the back of AWAKE! mags) are usually offered
with no comments. This one is no acception. It is from the April 2007 AWAKE!

Funny - we were just talking about these two Watching the World snippets at a gathering of exJWs yesterday. This is another example of the WT presenting information that the rank and file JW will assume is typical of all churches. They present the best examples of JWs and the worst examples of "Christendom" and "the world" as though they were typical of the whole.

As a contrast - several years ago the phone company approached my church asking if they could rent a small space in our basement for some switchgear for which they would pay very well. The church declined their offer. When the church was started about 20 years ago, the congregation decided that all the money to operate the church would come from donation from members and those who attened the church - no bingo, no bake sales, no commercial involvement whatsoever.

Jourles - is there any documentation about the cell tower at WT Farm? That would be a good thing to remind them of in a flood of letters, put on web sites, hmmmm, maybe a You-Tube video :-)

7

Anyone else get their bikes blessed?

by frozen one in

jw
friends

i went to a bike blessing today.

it started with a breakfast and then a ride to the church for the event.

the church had a band playing and they were pretty good.

DocBob

I'm a member of the Christian Motorcyclists Association and have been involved in several bike blessings over the past few years. All three pastors in the church I'm in ride and we have probably 25 or so riders. Many ride their bikes to church. We actually have several special motorcycle parking places in our parking lot.

I live only about an hour from Laconia NH where they have Bike Week. CMA runs a coffee shop in the basement of the church that is only a block off the main strip. Its a good place for bikers to get out of the madness for a bit and enjoy a cup of coffee, water or lemonade and some cookies or brownies (baked by local churches). I noted the first year I went up there for Bike Week that there were 8 different motorcycle ministries there. I had a bit of fun with the online JWs I am in contact with by telling them that and telling them that there were 350,000 bikers up there in need of the good news and there was not a Watchtower in sight. So much for them being "the only ones preaching the good news". ;-)

One of my favorite patches I see on motorcycle vests says "These ARE my church clothes".

Doc Bob

1994 Honda GL1500 Gold wing

1998 Harley Road King

60

1933 Letter from JW's to Hitler and Nazi Party

by kwr in

i was watching one of the extras on the knocking dvd and a woman commentator talked about a scandalous letter from the jw's to hitler and the nazi party in 1933. does anyone know where i can read this letter at?.

tia.

.

DocBob

rebel8 wrote:

A while back I was researching wts finances and came across this nonprofit which *seems* to have been formed to receive reparation funds for dead jws.

http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowFastResults.do;jsessionid=5859F44B3B491D5B32A32C5031600A76.web06Worker.web06Worker?partner=guidestar&source=homepage

You must register and sign in but it's free. Then you will see:
"JEHOVAHS WITNESS HOLOCAUST-ERA SURVIVORS FUND INC
144 KENILWORTH AVE
WEBSTER GRVS , MO 63119 learn more about Charity Check

I think the original financing for this fund may have come from when the WTS applied for funds from the Swiss Bank settlement. The text of their application is quoted below. Can you belive the unmitigated gall of these people?

======================================

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

In re Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation: Master Document No. CV -96-4849 (ERK) (MDG) Consolidates with CV-96-S161 and : CV-96-461

This Document Relates to All Actions :

Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation (Swiss Bank Litigation) Proposed Plan of Allocation for Jehovah's Witness Victims and Targets of Nazi Persecution

December 7, 1999

COMES NOW, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, (hereinafter Watch Tower), the corporate agency directing the administrative and religious work of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide, by its attorney, Carolyn R. Wah, requesting an allocation of a portion of the settlement fund for Holocaust education and remembrance as well as just and equitable compensation as outlined below:

As the attached report entitled "Spiritual Resistance and Its Cost for a Christian Minority: A Documentary Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Under Nazism, 1933-1945" will show, the Nazi persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses, which spanned virtually the entire Nazi period, exacted a heavy physical, financial, and emotional toll on that small religious community in all Nazi- occupied lands. The report also evidences that the Witnesses' individual and organized stance in opposition to the violent ideology of the regime was a decisive factor in the severity of the persecution, resulting in profound losses.

Although conclusive documentation may be lacking for the claims of individuals targeted as Jehovah's Witnesses; there are three factors that argue for a favorable hearing for the individual applicants, even where the elusive "Swiss connection" may be weak:

(1) Since Jehovah's Witnesses were among the earliest groups to be targeted for sentencing to concentration camps, they were often used in the actual construction of the camps. In some cases, the SS-run camps could, in themselves, be considered commercial enterprises that benefited from slave labor. Because the Witnesses had been in the camp system for long periods of time, they sometimes worked for the camp administration, but without due compensation, of course

(2) Witness literature often carried sharp criticism of flagrant human rights violations in Nazi Germany. This was true of Witness literature produced and distributed clandestinely within Nazi-occupied Europe, as well as Witness literature published internationally. The Gestapo was well aware of the critical and revealing content of the literature, and thus they expended extraordinary effort to expose and destroy the secret printing facilities. They confiscated printing equipment, burned stocks of literature whenever it was found, and hunted down and executed many of those involved with the underground work. Thus, the nonviolent resistance offered by the Witnesses increased the financial, material, and physical losses they sustained.

(3) The nonviolent, nonpolitical resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses to Nazi policies is distinctive for its duration and consistency. It is not possible to quantify the losses suffered by families whose mothers or fathers were given lengthy sentences in camp or prison because of their faith. Beyond the lost wages, lost property, and lost years are the intangible costs suffered by all victims of Nazi terror. Unlike other victims, however, most Witnesses had a choice. Generally, they were targeted solely because of their religious convictions. Witnesses were offered the opportunity to avoid persecution simply by renouncing their beliefs. Therefore, by virtue of the length of the persecution and the nature of their resistance, we ask that the court grant special consideration to the applications of Witness survivors or their heirs, which will no doubt be few in number. Further, the court may allocate a portion of the settlement to be used for purposes of Holocaust education and remembrance. Combating intolerance and indifference is extremely important work. The Watch Tower and individual Jehovah's Witnesses have expended hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote awareness of the Holocaust and its lessons. The Watch Tower and its affiliate branch offices have made educational and academic presentations, free of admission charge, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, and most countries of Eastern and Western Europe. More than 400 seminars and exhibitions have been held in

3

Germany alone, often in cooperation with concentration camp memorials, research institutions, and museums. Important research and archival work is being conducted in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Russia, Israel, and other places.

The few remaining Witness survivors have used their waning vitality to speak to young people, educators, and scholars about their experiences and those of their martyred fellow believers. If the court sees fit to allocate a portion of the settlement fund to the Watch Tower to continue this work of remembrance, we believe it would constitute fitting recognition of individual Witnesses who suffered and died while maintaining their faith and human values.

Some Witnesses died prematurely and left no heirs to make a claim to the Swiss Bank Settlement Fund. However, the legacy of spiritual resistance that they left behind is of great value in the education of future generations about the importance of standing up for the dignity and value of human life. Representing these individuals, the Watch Tower would be pleased to devote any allocated moneys solely to the interests of Holocaust education and the remembrance of the prisoners who bore the purple triangle, according as the court might stipulate.

Realizing that thousands of survivors and heirs will apply to the court to receive a portion of the Settlement Fund, Watch Tower is not in a position to recommend a certain percentage to be allotted for the purposes outlined above, nor are we able to suggest what portion of the Fund should be allotted to individual Witness survivors. Watch Tower acknowledges that no amount of money can fully compensate for the losses of any victims of Nazi persecution. However, if the funds provided by the Swiss Banks Settlement can symbolically or practically mitigate the human suffering of survivors or their families, or if it can advance the work of education and remembrance, the money will have been well spent. In this allocation process, we rely on the court's equity and fairness.

4

WHERFORE, in light of this information, Watch Tower, respectfully request an award in harmony with the just and equitable principles outlined in the settlement order.

December 7,1999.

Respectfully submitted,

signature

Carolyn R. Wah
Associate General Counsel
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
of Pennsylvania
100 Watchtower Drive
Patterson, NY 12563
Tel: (914) 306-0700
Fax: (914) 306-0709

60

1933 Letter from JW's to Hitler and Nazi Party

by kwr in

i was watching one of the extras on the knocking dvd and a woman commentator talked about a scandalous letter from the jw's to hitler and the nazi party in 1933. does anyone know where i can read this letter at?.

tia.

.

DocBob

www.docbob.org

6

Changed the progressive lenses today

by hambeak in

jw
friends

can't see with these darn things too blury went back to the old fashioned kind and can see great.. thanks all for the input.

i even got $18.00 back from lens crafters for the change in lenses.

DocBob

Can't see with these darn things too blury went back to the old fashioned kind and can see great.

I've been through three or four sets of progressive lenses over the past decade or so. They can be a pain. I had to have Lensecrafters remake every set I've gotten and then it takes me a couple of weeks to get used to them. All that aside, I would not be without them.

I remember the first set I got. I didn't realize how bad my near vision had gotten until I looked at my watch and realized for the first time that there was a date window on it. :)

44

WILL THE WATCHTOWER EVER DO THE RIGHT THING AND APOLOGIZE?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

will this arrogant, presumptuous organization that has ruined so many lives, that loves to talk about humility and modesty, ever present a formal apology to all those who've suffered at their hands?.

would it really matter if they did?.

nvrgnbk .

DocBob

Hi Nvr,

During my long exit from the Borg, I came across an apology that was written by Joseph Tkach Jr, who was then president of the Worldwide Church of God. The WWCOG had through its transformation from being a lot like the Watchtower to being a more mainline church. When I first read Tkach's apology, I wept, hoping against hope that I would see something like this from the Watchtower. As I researched the matter of the Watchtower's "apology" for the 1975 debacle, I realized that I would not likely see a real, heartfelt apology from the WT for anything. See my article "Apologies and Excuses" on my site at www.docbob.org.

Tkach's apology is at http://www.wcg.org/lit/AboutUs/media/forgive.htm

7

JW convention price breaks part of Police investigation!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

(please delete if already posted).

http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=19917&template=article.html $16,260 hole found in city auditorium booksby pam zubeck the gazettemarch 8, 2007 - 1:19am.

lying on time cards.

DocBob

...Rocky Horror and Jehovah's Witnesses...

1874 ... 1914 ... 1918 ... 1975 ----> Let's do the Time Warp again ...

18

what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones???

by What-A-Coincidence in

>i wonder what would happen if we treated our bible like we treat our cell.

>phones?.

>what if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?.

DocBob

It would also be a bit strange to have to turn your Bible off when you went into the Kingdom Hall

What? Like we didn't?

36

Internet warning

by mouthy in

click here: the real reasons why watchtower organization fears the internet

DocBob

The publications provided by Jehovah's organization stimulate our minds with up-building thoughts and train us "to distinguish both right and wrong" (Heb 5: 14) Can we say that this is achieved if others do our research for us?
This comment jumped out at me. Doesn't the WTS do the research for JW's? Aren't they only supposed to read what they spoon feed the publishers? The comments at the WT study are supposed to only be read from the paragraphs. There is no research for JW's to do except from their own publications - that have had the research already done for them!!

Good catch there BB. It reminded me of this:

***

w67

6/1

p.

338

Move

Ahead

with

Jehovah’s

Organization

***

We may think of study as hard work, as involving heavy research. But in Jehovah’s organization it is not necessary to spend a lot of time and energy in research, for there are brothers in the organization who are assigned to do that very thing, to help you who do not have so much time for this, these preparing the good material in TheWatchtower and other publications of the Society.