Posts by AnneB

27

Are JW's coached to be vague?

by InterestedOne in

jw
friends

i recently emailed my jw friend a couple of questions about jw beliefs, and she gave a generic, vague response that did not answer my questions.

are jw's coached to answer in vague terms?.

i have been attending the tm "school," and although i see the "demonstrations" teaching jw's to give misleading opening lines at the door and canned answers to questions, my friend's response was not exactly canned.

AnneB

Google "squinting modifiers" or "two way modifiers". Essentially, it's all about writing in such a way that you can't be sure if a sentence means one thing or another thing. WT is great at that! JW's are vague because the literature is often vague. There are many such techniques designed for "wiggle room" instead of clarity. Quite useful when doctrine changes or elders want to "beat" a publisher into submission, eh?

Is it done purposefully? At one time I would have thought "no", but then I read something Barb Anderson wrote concerning the magazine article "Women Deserving of Respect". Does it mean that all women deserve respect or that *certain* women deserve respect? Apparently there was quite a bit of dissent around publishing the material at all. The result was an ambiguous title and vague material. The Writing Department knew all along that they weren't presenting a clear message.

10

The Chicken Dance

by zoiks in

jw
friends

so... how many of you participated in this at a jw wedding?

tell us, don't be shy!

i'll go first: i participated in the chicken dance on at least 3 separate occasions, all jw weddings .

AnneB

The Chicken Dance and The Elecric Slide...what *were* people thinking???

14

Do you believe in censoring information at all?

by sabastious in

jw
friends

as witnesses we all grew up with our information heavily censored.

it has got me to thinking: do i think censoring information is ever a good thing?.

i had this bethelite friend back when i was a witness and he would be careful who he told about the craziness behind those doors.

AnneB

IMO, information (more properly, data) should never be censored however it should be presented at an appropriate time in an appropriate way (if possible).

Example: When my son was six we discovered that a child molester lived two doors away. He began to follow my son to and from school every day. As soon as I became aware of it I walked him to and from. When the molester tried to accost my son while he was in front of our own home we had to explain quite a lot of things that a six-year-old commonly wouldn't learn until he was much older. We wanted him to understand what the danger was, not just comply with our wishes blindly since, doing that, he might be put into a situation that we hadn't covered thus wouldn't know how to handle. Had we censored (held back information) he would have been even more vulnerable, more likely to be victimized. BTW, we moved soon after.

Give people information. If it's too much or too deep it will go right over their heads and no harm done. If, though, something comes along later they may just remember some of what they heard and it may be of assistance.

20

Good apostate

by phoebed in

jw
friends

guys, i have a little time and i wanted some advice.

i really like to be "good" and "super good" in everything i ever do.

i am kinda "perfectionist".

AnneB

If you want to be a reeeeeally good apostate ya hafta outthink 'em.

Start here to learn how it's done: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Clear_Thinking/clear_thinking.html

7

What does it mean to be found faithful?

by kes152 in

jw
friends

when he said his servants are to be found faithful, what did he mean by that?

whom does he consider faithful servants?.

if you have ever seen the movie willy wonka and the chocolate factory (1971), in that movie there was a man named willy wonka who was seeking a young, honest, loving child to take over his factory.

AnneB

"...faithfulness cannot be determined only by what one does. The faithfulness that our Lord seeks from us is that which adheres to the things he believes, the things he values (because one can have faith in anything). If we want to be found faithful, our loyalty, our faith, our direction should be to do and practice what he has told us, to love one another even as he has loved us. And in order to do this, we need to keep looking at him as we are dealing with others..."

Faithfulness has a lot to do with obedience. They're not identical since, as aGuest mentioned, a person may have problems (in comprehension, in situation, etc.) which stand in the way of doing as the person may desire, that is, to obey, to be obedient.

This is a huge issue in my own experience, "thanks" to the dubs. How to keep loving people (even close family members) who have shown themselves more "faithful" to organizational teachings than to the God that organization claims to represent?

I remember a long-running debate among a group of dubs many years ago: Which is more important, loyalty or obedience? This thread seems to me to be along the same line.

6

Jehovah's Witnesses Seek New Building Property In Brooklyn

by Bangalore in

jehovah's witnesses seek new building property in brooklyn.. http://blog.cleveland.com/parmasunpost/2010/11/jehovahs_witnesses_seek_new_bu.html.

bangalore.

.

AnneB

They must envision closing other area Kingdom Halls and consolidating all the meetings at the one property.

Three KH's of that size would accomodate just about all the JW's on the west side of Cleveland!

That area is not exactly the most prosperous part of town. I wonder if JW's from more affluent areas will even drive there to attend the meetings.

26

What kind of spreads do you like to put on the bagels?

by asilentone in

jw
friends

.

AnneB

As I sit here munching on a sesame seed bagel, I'll tell ya what I like:

Combine any kind of chocolate with soft cream cheese, warm it up until you can stir the two together, then spread it on a buttered bagel.

The chocolate cream cheese tastes kind of like the filling in a chocolate croissant...which I love dearly but don't get too often. This I can make myself so can have it any time!

14

Random chance or design?

by goddidit in

i don't read too much jw material because it's pretty much all the same old rubbish and the constant lies and propaganda drives me nuts.. however, i've noticed a common theme with the 'argument from design' articles.

you know, look at the eye, isn't it complex, evolution is wrong, blah blah.

all the ones i've seen end in a question like "what do you think, is this a product of random chance or design?".

AnneB

Maybe the larger question is "purpose or plan?"

20

Reinstated Males Serving as Ass'y Attendants

by doinmypart in

jw
friends

at the circuit assembly this weekend i noticed two guys reinstated within the last year were both serving as attendants.

i thought brothers had to be "exemplary" to do that kind of work.

have the requirements changed?

AnneB

Sometimes elders will use such appointments to inform the congregation that they are not/were not in agreement with the decision to disfellowship.

Using a recently reinstated person in any position of responsibility or extending any priveleges (field service, commenting, etc.) can mean that in their eyes the person was not guilty was guilty of a much less serious offense, or had a properly repentant attitude at the time of the JC, one that would not have called for disfellowshipping.

It's all politics and, like any other political matter, it helps to know how to interpret what you see and hear.

2

"The truth "may not be enough ! An Epiphany moment

by caliber in

the whole idea of "the truth " .... is not enough!!!

too much wiggle space , assumption and twisting or hiding of true facts.

this is the oath said in court since the time of the middle ages in the anglo-saxon world to promise (oath ) to tell.... the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

AnneB

Good thinking!

If you're interested, try Googling for the definition of "disingenuous". It goes right along with the track you're on.