for many families, they received the golden ticket once a family member became an elder.
the glory and admiration of being an elder seeped right thru to all the elder’s connections.
if you got into some trouble, having an elder friend or relative could give you the stay out of jail card.
I was an adult convert appointed fairly young. I just thought an elder was what Jehovah wanted me to be. I was so gung-ho.
I did notice right away that elders family members got in less trouble, it was often hushed up. I was invited to ALL gatherings. I knew why.
most churches are back to in-person worship.
not jehovah's witnesses.
is watchtower still managing to fleece the flocks as the sheeple no longer get literature, no longer go to the kh, no longer walk past the donation box?
Very interesting thoughts here. I will say in rebuttal to some, that no matter how much people are donating electronically, it cannot possibly match what they raked in at conventions and assemblies in cash and checks. Even if I am wrong, it can't last. Children attending Zoom will leave faster than ever before.
Watchtower is dying slowly, but I think it is already picking up speed going downhill.
in my lifetime 9/11 was the worst thing that i can recall.
the effect it had was incredibly horrible!
almost everyone seemed to know someone that was either directly or indirectly affected by this diabolical act.
Minimize or maximize. True, it could very well be for the opposite effect for shock value in headlines. It's still apples and oranges.
my opinion is if possible fading is the best way to go..
It's pretty well covered here already. Different folks have different reasons for choosing different paths.
If someone chooses to fade and it doesn't work for various reasons (usually family asking too much), they can still just exit. But if you just walk away and lose contact with family, it is very difficult to get that back.
While I am a huge advocate of fading, if I had young children being indoctrinated, I would look for a path that allows them to be free to pursue education, after-school sports or music, celebrate holidays, enjoy a normal life. That path typically involves a clean break and maybe a disassociation letter.
But each person needs to decide what to do.
so all the bs and hyperbole aside, to me it really looks like the cult is in trouble.
shrinking member, selling halls.
the move to televangelism is really strange to me.
Watchtower found itself alongside of newspapers and print magazines. They are able to make a product that nobody is reading nowadays. Still, they would not care if money kept coming in. I personally believe that this giant printing corporation is not making much money on print. Further reductions in the Watchtower and Awake mags is enough evidence for me. I would bet that they are only printing enough material for the pioneer supporters of Watchtower Corporation to feel justified in continuing to support the corporation.
BUT,
Scientology finds itself with hundreds of thousands of members instead of the 4.5 million or so that they want people to believe they have. They are property rich. with such a low membership, the leader lives a richer lifestyle than the leaders of Watchtower. For over a hundred years, the GB had one goal in mind- protect and expand the corporation. But it might be possible that since GB 2.0 was filled with idiotic yes-men, they may be abandoning that effort to embrace a cult-leader lifestyle over expansion of the cult. If they shake out members that were not really contributing to their wealth, then they can sell their Kingdom Halls.
I am confident that when the presses get old, they won't be replaced. They will have a similar print system to desktop publishers and will have computers print softbound Bibles on demand.
All this spells a slow death for Watchtower. But I am glad that it is faster than I expected because of lawsuits and because young people have too much internet ability to discover the real truth and they leave. If the leaders would take the money that's left and run away, I would help them pack.
some people have thrown their support for the government while others show support for the rebels.
what’s your opinion?.
Cuba has been a dictatorship since communism took over. Cuba has many Soviet-era automobiles and many newer Asian-import vehicles, particularly buses and trucks. In 2015, the Cuban government opened the first public wi-fi hotspots in 35 public locations. It also reduced prices and increased speeds for internet access at state-run cybercafes. Less than 18 months later, nearly 40% of the population was on the internet. So that is so recent. As time has eroded the dictatorship and some Cubans have tasted a tiny bit of what the rest of the world is like, they fully realize that they have virtually no freedom to disagree with their government nor change their government. They probably found out that many poor people in backwards countries have more freedom than they do, or a better ability to acquire modern technology.
Cuba embraces a black market society where commerce takes care of people in ways that the government has failed. So, if the people finally are able to stand up in protest to such a failed government, of course I support them.
in my lifetime 9/11 was the worst thing that i can recall.
the effect it had was incredibly horrible!
almost everyone seemed to know someone that was either directly or indirectly affected by this diabolical act.
That is apples and oranges. One was an act of outsiders while the other was an act of citizens.
I think that what happened with the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami was far worse than both of the above events. World Wars and plagues of history were far worse.
Whoever originated this thought of comparing these was probably attempting to minimize the Capitol Riot.
suppose we were naïve observers, given the following data, and asked to draw a conclusion.
we see people gather at a busy bus stop several times a day.
at first one person, then another, and another, until they form a group.
All I know is that my brain hurts from following this thread.
Is it the thread that hurt my brain or is it my brain that caused itself to be hurt by not ceasing to follow this thread? Or maybe the hurt is just a chemical signal in my brain that is always there and I just notice it when we get stuck in silly logic circles.
SOShowdidigethere, the School is all voluntary. I can't tell you how to not rock the boat, but as a former school overseer, I knew that many members would not participate in the parts, or would only do it if they used their teen daughter or best friend as their "householder."
I suggest you just blow off your talk assignments. Just don't be there. Eventually, some elder will talk to you about it. Tell him you try but you just cannot do the parts anymore- "Please take me off the school." Don't take NO for an answer. As far as rocking the boat, just tell your spouse or parent (or whoever is concerned) that you just cannot do the public speaking thing anymore since ZOOM started. Tell them there are others who are not on the school. Even if you know, don't offer names. Stay off that school.
most churches are back to in-person worship.
not jehovah's witnesses.
is watchtower still managing to fleece the flocks as the sheeple no longer get literature, no longer go to the kh, no longer walk past the donation box?
Most churches are back to in-person worship. Not Jehovah's Witnesses. What's going on?
Is Watchtower still managing to fleece the flocks as the sheeple no longer get literature, no longer go to the KH, no longer walk past the donation box? Regardless of how they have tried to adjust the members to different styles of donations, I am sure the number one method was still dropping cash or checks in a box at Kingdom Halls and at Assembly Halls. And that is out.
Are they closing congregations now? Will they be closing congregations soon? Will so many never go back to the Kingdom Hall either because Watchtower won't open the Hall or because sheeples woke up enough during ZOOM meetings that they just cannot put on meeting clothes and sit through actual meetings anymore?
Any thoughts?
