Posts by eyeslice

39

The Top 3 Things A Witness Can Never Understand

by metatron in

jw
friends

facts and reality can get so distorted in the witness subculture that huge blind spots.

are created.

as the current saying goes, "they just don't get it".

eyeslice

The Kingdom Ministry has to tell them (yearly) not to cook in hotel rooms during the assemblies, not to let their out-of-control kids bother guests by the pool and so on.

As an elder, I used to dread being assigned these sort of parts on the Service Meeting. Even then, I considered them to be insulting to the average intelligence.

My top three things, plagerised from the existings posts;

1. Unconditional Love

2. People are more important than time

3. That the SYMBOL of life (blood) isn't more important than life

Eyeslice

12

America - Beware the next Tsunami?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

a wave of destruction will .

destroy america's east coast

by ian gurney .

eyeslice

as Dr. Day explains: "It's not a question of "if" Cumbre Vieja collapses, it's simply a question of "when".

Then again, the earth could be struck by an asteroid and the sun will run out of hydrogen one day.

What the popular press always fail to do is give a balanced assessment of the risk. My guess is we are far more likely to see more devastating earthquakes and resultant loss of life in earthquake-prone parts of the world, than a tsunami wipe out the east coast of the USA.

Eyeslice

19

A "Sobering" idea for New Years: to benefit Asian Tsunami Victims/Survivors

by Fleur in

jw
friends

i just had a rare moment of clarity and i wanted to share this idea with you all.

i plan to pass it along to everyone i know, hoping that it might, just might, catch on.

i am proposing a totally painless way for people to reach into their hearts, and wallets, to help those so desperate for aid following this weekend's tragedy in asia.

eyeslice

Hi Fleur,

I agree with some of the posts here that the New Year celebration might not be the occassion that people want to give up.

How about a variation on the basic idea. People returning to work in the new year will have over indulged over the Xmas and New Year break. Why not organise a lunchtime 'fast' a over the first couple of weeks?

I don't mean every day but perhaps one day a week. People could do without lunch, they could lose a little weight, they get to feel in just a small way what it is like to feel hungry and contribute their lunch money to the Red Cross or similar aid agency.

Eyeslice

22

What's next for the Watchtower in 2005?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

after all the events of 2004 regarding the botchtower, what do you think will happen next year?.

i can think of a few events.. first of all, 70 years will have passed since rutherflawed took on the name "jehovah's witnesses" - a gross misapplication of that scripture in isaiah.. all the new man presses will be operational - already, the wt have increased their watchtower circulation.. "godly obedience" district convention next summer - we all know what that will be about; and don't forget the layman's km article on how to book a hotel, and not just any hotel at that either.. a new book to replace "organised to accomplish our ministry".

bro barr of the governing body turns 100 (i think this is correct).

eyeslice

And because they are governed by time, things HAVE TO HAPPEN,

I think you are spot on here Truthseeker. And, this explains a lot of the dumbing down in the literature and magazines. Since 1975, the world if anything has got safer and certainly in the west, more prosperous. On the other hand, the WTB&TS predicted, and would have liked to have seen, global anarchy.

True, we have global terrorism, AIDs and disasters on the scale of this week's tsunami in Asia but these things seem to cast less of a shadow than the post WWII years and the subsequent cold war.

As a result, we see zero or negative growth in most westernised countries, including Japan.

Eyeslice

16

Am I doing what's needed??

by Dawn in

jw
friends

this question would seem funny to non-jw's - but i bet some of you x-jw's will understand.. i look at the world around me and see so much need.

i look at my own life and see so much blessings and wealth.

i give to charity - but i always think - "is it enough?

eyeslice

Hi Dawn,

Thanks for a nice post.

I think I know exactly where you are coming from and I have often felt the same way myself. It could well be a legacy of the old Witness mentality of "you should be doing more".

On the other hand, perhaps it is simply frustration with our own human limitations. We would all single-handedly like to put right all of the world's problems. However, we have to accept our own limitations. If we can only spare a few dollars to give to charity, then that is all we can do financially.

I lived, worked and served as an elder a while back in an extremely poor country. I could have given all my worldly wealth away in a single day, and this would have made no difference to the overall situation. What I tried to do though, and taught my kids as well, was to treat all people, no matter how poor or repulsive, with good manners, respect and simple human dignity. This surely must be the greatest lesson that Jesus taught us.

I believe that if, in the first instance, we treat all people in this manner and secondly do what we can financially, we have nothing to feel guilty about.

Eyeslice

44

WITNESS MENTALITY TOWARDS THE TSUNAMI DISASTER

by Mary in

jw
friends

i feel like screaming right about now...........the dickhead who takes our bookstudy group just came over and said "...i wonder how many brothers and sisters died in the tsunami disater.

" while that's a natural concern, his next comment blew me away "....it figures that the media hasn't bothered mentioning jehovah's witnesses helping out in this disaster!

" i looked at him stunned for a minute and said "and why on earth would they mention jehovah's witnesses?

eyeslice

She went quiet and then said that there would probably be a collection at the KH.

As others have said this will never happen in a month of Sundays. The only collection I ever saw was for a "cell saver" to be used on Witnesses refusing a blood transfusion. This collection was officially 'sanctioned' by the Society, HLC and the local elders.

Partly, the problem has to do with the paranoia that JWs have with not being associated with any false religion. They are unlikely to give to Oxfam, the Red Cross or Save the Children because of association with either the UN or Churches. So it just doesn't happen.

Eyeslice

18

Does God Really Care

by Undecided in

.

when i read of the many natural calamities that have killed billions of people over the centuries i wonder if god is interested at all?

when i see the importance that the bible makes of just one death of god's sons, when he was resurrected and given a higher position just 3 days later, what about all those millions of human sons.. i guess we are like an ant hill to god, if you happen to step on it, who cares.. ken p.

eyeslice

when I think of all the billions of hours being given by witnesses in what they think is a great service to others -and that turns out to be just a sales pitch for an organization -wow - it boggles the mind what good we could have done as witnesses if good was what the organization had directed us to do - All the hours I put in service over 30 years - I could have really done some good for people with 'real' works of aid to them

AK - Jeff - ditto my friend.

I actually lived in the part of the world affected by the recent tsunami. My wife and I are planning to return to Asia when we retire in a few years time to do some kind of voluntary work. Like you I lost years pounding the streets as a JW.

Eyeslice

16

Places where you can donate for the tsunamis victims

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

http://www.cnn.com/2004/world/asiapcf/12/28/tsunami.aidsites/index.html

(cnn) -- international aid organizations are accepting donations to help victims of the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunamis that caused widespread destruction in parts of south asia and east africa.

the groups include:.

eyeslice

Nice one Elsewhere.

Come on everyone do what you can.

Eyeslice

41

RE: SASSY'S PLEA FOR HELP WITH TSUNAMI DISASTER

by azaria in

jw
friends

convince me that i'm wrong.

i am extremely disappointed with the response.

but the same thing happened during the crisis in the caribbean (haiti etc) a few months back.

eyeslice

I have just made a donation online and got other members of my family to chip in.

I would urge all others on this board to give what they can - making a donation online nowadays is easy and secure. The situation in SE Asia is desperate.

Eyeslice.

18

Does God Really Care

by Undecided in

.

when i read of the many natural calamities that have killed billions of people over the centuries i wonder if god is interested at all?

when i see the importance that the bible makes of just one death of god's sons, when he was resurrected and given a higher position just 3 days later, what about all those millions of human sons.. i guess we are like an ant hill to god, if you happen to step on it, who cares.. ken p.

eyeslice

Well summed up by freedom96

As witnesses we were always taught that the WTS had all the answers, therefore we did too.
Now, we don't have all the answers. Though I have questions too, I feel that I will find them out one day. But I cannot think to myself that God doesn't care, though I might not understand why bad things are allowed to happen.

I think I now believe that God (if that what you call him/her/it) put in place a world of infinite possibilities. As a result, we see the infinitely tragic and cruel; the Tsunami this week in SE Asia, the massacre of 6 million innocent Jews during WWII.

On the other hand, we can see the infinitely altruistic and humanitarian; people are often prepared die (e.g. fire-fighters in 9/11 disaster) to give others a chance to live, aid workers will work themselves into the ground over the next few weeks in SE Asia.

Perhaps great leaders such as Jesus, the Buddha, Mohamed and Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela greatest contribution to mankind is to help us see the infinite possibilities for good.

Eyeslice