Posts by OnTheWayOut

8

Legally can WT forcibly remove money from KH bank accounts with out the signees permission

by joe134cd in

i just wondered if the wtbts could legally remove the money from the congregation accounts with out the signees permission.

are the bank accounts deemed society property with the change of realestate ownership into the societies name.

legally could they get away with it if the situation arose , and if not how could they manipulate the situation so they could.

OnTheWayOut

Once something like Menlo Park or Bonham, TX (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/197640/real-story-on-why-watchtower-society-lost-kingdom-hall-bonham-texas?page=1) happens, Watchtower changes some things. Those were so rare anyway. Most all of the members of a particular group are going to stay with Watchtower and override some "crazy independent elders."

I hope some radical things can happen that prove that wrong. I really do. Some scandal in high places maybe.

But "they" appoint the leaders locally and organizationally. It would be hard to get a majority of the elders to do something against them most anywhere. It is possible that it is brewing right now, though. There may have been some holdout congregation that kept it's money from Watchtower and haven't been found out yet. But keep in mind that Watchtower sends the C.O. who goes over the books and money is the most important one to cover. They can't hide it, so that congregation, if it exists, is defying openly or embezzling. It would be fun to see it.

8

Legally can WT forcibly remove money from KH bank accounts with out the signees permission

by joe134cd in

i just wondered if the wtbts could legally remove the money from the congregation accounts with out the signees permission.

are the bank accounts deemed society property with the change of realestate ownership into the societies name.

legally could they get away with it if the situation arose , and if not how could they manipulate the situation so they could.

OnTheWayOut

Under most arrangements established before they wanted ALL the money, NO. They could not just take the money legally. But it's one big trusting family. It's for the trusted leaders to do the best with it. Plus, the local kiss-asses could be removed or demoted if they don't go along, then some new kiss-ass would send the money.

32

Would you call JW HQ???

by DATA-DOG in

i have a friend who is still in.

this friend is a partaker, but has serious doubts about the org.

this friend wants to stand up as a man, and wants to call wtbts hq.

OnTheWayOut

Seriously, when the receptionist doesn't patch him through, then what?

Will he see that the anointed are not all one big happy family? There's a youtube of John Cedars calling a GB member directly (tight pants Tony). If there were a chance of some random calling, I am sure that recent call ruined that for him.

19

Having a hard time holding my tongue...

by problemaddict 2 in

jw
friends

...recently.. i'm normally pretty calculated.

my fade is done, my wife is out, my family and friends know, i maintain quite abit of the friendships of those closest to me jw or not, my family isn't shunning, and the few people we have kept it from for other reasons we are calculating how to break it.

(elderly matriarch that we are simply not going to tell so she doesn't die).. but.....all these facebook meme's and stupid feeds about reliance on jehovah, distraction, staying close to his organization, persevering against satan.....its driving me nuts.

OnTheWayOut

The problem is Facebook. It leads to divorce and to young people posting things that will haunt them in college or their career. I am on facebook but I am cautious. Despite that caution, it may not be enough to blow my cover. If you have a problem, just walk away from it. You can keep your regular account to keep in touch and share photos, but if the meme's and jokes, serious cultish stuff bothers you, either ignore it and walk away or get a second account anonymously and address those things anonymously.

I choose to be fairly open on facebook, but don't allow any JW's as friends. There's still a back door that friends of friends could be JW's, so I have to watch out. I don't post personal info. and I comment on the woes of other ex-JW's whose friends wouldn't know me. Other than that, I wouldn't be able to post about it at all.

99

Golden Rule: Pure Garbage?

by willmarite in

on another thread a poster made the comment that the golden rule was garbage.

she said it was arrogant and made assumptions.. i didn't want to derail that thread so i started another wondering if this is a common thought about this belief on this forum.

i guess i naively thought the value of doing to others as you want them to do to you was generally accepted as positive.. i understand people have different opinions of jesus as a person but i don't want to get into that here.

OnTheWayOut

Rather than assume people want the same thing you want, you could always ask them.

I think the Golden Rule doesn't omit this. I would want someone to ask me how I would like to be treated instead of just assuming. This is in line with the Golden rule.

Flag Dislike LikeI have to go with that. The Golden Rule is short and simple, but allows for "Assume you don't want what they want and ask what they want." It's not garbage, it's just not completely everything in all situations. It's a great place to start when you need a place to start.

72

Coping With Atheism (Long-ish Post...sorry!)

by humblepotato in

jw
friends

long time lurker (2009-ish), first time poster.

first of all, i want to say thank you everyone who contributes to these boards and provokes stimulating conversations and thought processes.

all the opinions and different perspectives are very enlightening.

OnTheWayOut

Oh, I will suggest one thing for your coping with atheism. Nothing helped me more than youtubes of George Carlin's thoughts on God and religion.

72

Coping With Atheism (Long-ish Post...sorry!)

by humblepotato in

jw
friends

long time lurker (2009-ish), first time poster.

first of all, i want to say thank you everyone who contributes to these boards and provokes stimulating conversations and thought processes.

all the opinions and different perspectives are very enlightening.

OnTheWayOut

Sound, Stage, and Mics were dumped on me the first week, then a month later I was assigned as a Watchtower and CBS reader, and I was put on the schedule to pray at the meetings. (Which I felt really bad about because there were brothers who had been in that congregation their whole lives and hadn't got to do any of that stuff!)

REALLY? Everywhere I went, they couldn't hand those assignments out fast enough to any baptized males, young or old. They might have taken away reading the Watchtower if the "brother" wasn't tolerable, but the rest of that is ordinary privileges. Why do you suppose your congregation is so different on that?

Anyway, I think I get what you are saying. While I don't say anything like "coping with atheism," you concerns are similar to what I went through. Jehovah supposedly saved my life (long story) and gave me a purpose. But to come to the realization that He wasn't even there threw me back into a depression over issues I avoided from before I was a JW. It took me time and serious soul-searching. I went to counseling, but it wasn't over the atheism, rather it was over those issues.

For atheism, I read many books and watched many videos. Everyone has to find their own path, so enjoy it rather than "cope" with it. My wife is not "hardcore" in many ways, but she does seem to be in the JW's for the longhaul, so I have to cope with that also. I slowly shifted to more freedom to be myself and ran into some snags with my wife. I honestly think I would have divorced her and had nothing else to do with JW's were it not for the need to try to keep contact with my JW mother, so I faded out from the congregation. Don't get me wrong- I love my wife. It's just that I might have thought both of us would be happier if we went through all the pain of divergent paths all at once. Since that did not happen, we have learned to be happy and not discuss religion and beliefs. I don't really say anything to her about being atheist, but I am sure she knows.

52

Questions for those that believe in Electricity

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

you can't see electricity or hear it or feel it.

well, there are sparks and lightning bolts and heating elements and the light and heat of filaments.

and somehow, it lights up neon in a tube.

OnTheWayOut

Hey, I started this thread on a lark. Great that it lumbers on.

Some of the explanations for electricity make it more difficult to understand.

I will back off and say this now: I know that something powers my laptop computer and my smartphone. I don't have to understand it to believe the power exists. Whether I get that electrons don't flow like water or that it's a fair analogy to describe the results to a layperson, it doesn't matter.

Some have to be told this in order to apply it to other things.

Even as I write this, knowing that leaving off the obvious conclusion will cause people to go both ways: YES, WHAT I BELIEVE IN IS OBVIOUS AND HAS PLENTY OF EVIDENCE. EVOLUTION IS TRUE, EVOLUTION IS FALSE. THE GOD OF CHRISTIANITY EXISTS, THE GOD OF CHRISTIANITY DOESN'T EXIST. ETC. ETC.

53

questions

by DanielC in

i've been dating a jw girl for about 4 years and we've recently had a lot of issues with the fact that her family doesn't like that i'm not a jw.

i've been looking into the religion and am interested in it.

but is it wrong to join just so i don't lose her?

OnTheWayOut

In the movies, they show one of the chief recruitment methods of dangerous mind-control cults is to have pretty girls out there gaining the interest of young men. Jehovah's Witnesses do not intentionally use that method, but it happens. The young girls are often seen as pure and innocent. The young man sees the only way to have her is to join her religion.

If she's slightly bad and dates outside the religion, she typically won't "go all the way" and that makes the guy want her more.

She's violating JW rules by dating you. If she allows any touching or sexual contact of any kind, she's violating more rules. Eventually, she will feel guilty about it and drop you or go to the elders about her guilt or she may leave the JW's. Either way, you are making her near future a crazy one.

If you care for the girl, find out the truth about her religion and tell her. If she chooses her family and friends in the religion over you, try to understand it's all she knows and let her go.

24

Went to a Catholic Funeral Today

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

it was for a dear friend of the family that i have known all my life.now, bear in mind that i was born and raised jw, so my experience with catholic ceremonies can be counted on three fingers, a wedding, a "regular" mass, and this funeral mass.once they got down to the actual speaking about the deceased, i felt emotionally involved, but prior to that, i was watching and had questions about aspects of the services (these i have seen in common for all three times i have been in an rc church):why the "sing-song" voice during the prayers?

does god hear it better if you sound all spooky tenor?i observe that every time a reading from one of the gospels takes place, it is preceded by a big musical number:"alleluiah!

alleluiah"( "and nowwwwwwwwwwwwwww, heeeeeeeeeeeeeere's jesus!".

OnTheWayOut

Why the "sing-song" voice during the prayers?

I think the real reason is because white people are too uptight to really let loose in church.
At a Catholic funeral, what freaks me out is that my non-practicing relatives still know when to say "Lord, hear my prayer" whenever it's supposed to be said.