Posts by DT

4

Blog Updated - Please Visit!

by Dead Man Joaquin in

jw
friends

howdy folks,.

new blog here: http://devinewill.blogspot.com.

please have a look and let me know whatcha think..

DT

I don't know if it's my computer or my eyes, but I find it too difficult to even attempt to read .

It looks normal to me for that template. The white words against a black background bothers me if I read for a long time. Otherwise, it's not a problem. It's a cool template. It just has a trade off in readability. You can change the colors without changing the template in Blogger. Maybe words that are a slightly duller white would work better. PM me if you need any help. I have a few blogs with a similar template. I may have to do some experimenting.

13

Anonymous protests Scientology worldwide. Will this work against JW's too?

by mavie in

jw
friends

over 9,000 protesters, media coverage worldwide, scientology embarrassed all over the internet.

.

can the ex-jw community pull this off?

DT

Just a few more comments and observations. A primary goal of the Scientology protests seems to be to educate the public. This appears to be a higher priority than influencing current members. I think we can learn from that. It's usually pointless to attack a person's religion. However, if you educate the public about them, then they will probably feel embarrassment and it's not easy to reconcile that with their belief that they are
representatives of God. I think Jehovah's Witnesses are particularly vulnerable to this kind of approach because of how they interact with the public in their ministry. If more of the public knew about the pedophilia scandal and their false prophecies it could make the field circus a real challenge to their faith.

The more I think about it, the more I suspect that the common approach of picketing the memorial may not be the best approach. I wouldn't say it is counterproductive, but it's dark and just isn't going to have that big of an effect on the community. It can also make the JW's look and feel like victims. It might be more effective to picket a Sunday meeting during the day and concentrate on passersby, rather than the JW's. It might prompt them to think about the public reactions to the information instead of just dismissing it. Even if they do dismiss it, they will hear
about it later.

It's probably more effective to attack the leadership than to attack their beliefs. The Scientology protesters I have talked to made it clear that they aren't protesting a religion or its beliefs. They are protesting the corrupt practices of the leadership. If the members are to be viewed as victims. It's much better if they are viewed as victims of their leaders. If the protesters can be seen as advocates for the membership, then the movement will be viewed more favorably by the public.

13

Anonymous protests Scientology worldwide. Will this work against JW's too?

by mavie in

jw
friends

over 9,000 protesters, media coverage worldwide, scientology embarrassed all over the internet.

.

can the ex-jw community pull this off?

DT

Any proof that its "working" against Scientologists? Seems like most people consider them an odd sect that they wouldn't go near. Those that are "in" seem to act like they dont care what anyone thinks. Kinda like JWs

I guess it depends on how you measure success. It appears that public opinion is changing from viewing Scientology as an odd sect to a dangerous sect. It will be much harder for them to prey on uninformed individuals. There are reports coming out of individuals rethinking their association with Scientology and others building up the courage to leave in response to these protests. I don't know if the number is significant or not, but it's having an effect.

I saw some videos about how Scientologists have tried to disrupt earlier protests. For this protest, I just saw a few stare at us from inside their church. They're losing control and they know it. I almost felt sorry for them.

13

Anonymous protests Scientology worldwide. Will this work against JW's too?

by mavie in

jw
friends

over 9,000 protesters, media coverage worldwide, scientology embarrassed all over the internet.

.

can the ex-jw community pull this off?

DT

I don't know. I hope it's possible. These protests were sparked by Scientology's repeated attempts to remove the leaked Tom Cruise video from the Internet. If the WTS did something stupid to irritate enough people, then it's possible that something similar could happen.

It may be worth pointing out that a good number of the Scientology protesters aren't ex-scientologists. Many are just concerned citizens. If we could get that kind of public support for our cause, the effects could be powerful.

This could have a big impact on the Watchtower Society. I'm sure that a few at headquarters are concerned about how much public outrage can develop in such a short period of time over the damaging practices of a cult. Anonymous is trying hard to get Scientology's tax exempt status revoked. If this happened, it would make it much more likely that the WTS finances could come under scrutiny.

I attended the last protest. It was very interesting. These people are committed. I don't think they are going to give up any time soon. They already have another big protest scheduled for March 15.

There's a lot we can learn from this movement. It's an unprecedented social experiment and who knows what the result will be. I actually think that if you are interested in fighting the power of the WTS, then supporting these protests may be one of the better things you can do. When I went, I had a chance to talk a little bit about how Jehovah's Witnesses have some similarities, especially with their shunning policy. A few are even talking about who to hit after Scientology.

15

ANNOUNCEMENT: My website is now up!

by B_Deserter in

if you'd like, head on over to http://skepticsannotatedwatchtower.org to check out my new website chronicling the logical flaws in watchtower literature.

i plan to do this with multiple books.

as always, comments and critique are welcome!

DT

I know your site is brand new and you may already be planning on this, but I think your site could benefit from a nice link page. Otherwise your site can turn into a dead end. People read your site and then move on to a different topic. Also if you link to others, some might link back.

38

WTBTS refuses to return 100,000 pound donation from DF man

by dozy in

jw
friends

watchtower society declines to return disputed 100,000 legacyby emilie filou, third sector, 13 february 2008 .

the charitable arm of the jehovah's witnesses should return a 100,000 legacy from a man it expelled for trying to convert call girls, one of the man's relatives has said.. martin davis said the watchtower society should return the money left to it by his cousin donald kennett so it could go to kennett's nephew, who is autistic.. accepting money from a member who had been expelled would damage the charity's reputation, said davis, of dulwich, south london.. kennett was befriended by a jehovah's witness in the 80s when recovering from a serious car crash and joined shortly afterwards, davis told third sector.

he was 'disfellowshipped' from his group in stockport in 2001 after members discovered that he was contacting call girls.. when kennett's mother died in 1994, she had left half her estate to him and half to his autistic nephew.

DT

It appears that the WTS might have a legal right to the money. I just hope that there will be a big cost in terms of public relations. Maybe it will remind some disfellowshipped millionaire to change his will before it's too late.

15

ANNOUNCEMENT: My website is now up!

by B_Deserter in

if you'd like, head on over to http://skepticsannotatedwatchtower.org to check out my new website chronicling the logical flaws in watchtower literature.

i plan to do this with multiple books.

as always, comments and critique are welcome!