Posts by OzGirl

I've always got some project or interest going on and I find that I meet new people through those ways. At the moment, I'm trying to teach myself how to play golf. I can't putt straight to save my life, so to speak. The other players at the driving range notice this and the conversations arise from there. People love to talk about themselves and their interests, so I ask them things like "how long have you been playing? What do you like about the game? Etc, Etc, Etc" The conversations go from there. (I don't ask personal questions and just keep the conversation about golf and the weather and so forth.)

You have the social skills and as has already been mentioned, you made friends in the congregation, so you just use those same social skills out in the community.

21

Constructive hobbies

by zeb in

hm have a hobby?

im not asking what.. hm have taken up a constructive hobby since leaving?.

OzGirl

My current interest/hobby at the moment is trying to teach myself how to play golf. Emphasis on the word "trying."

I can't hold my wrists straight yet so the golf balls go either left or right but rarely straight ahead.

I putt in Forrest Gump style - "you never know what ya gonna get"

13

It's all about appearances

by tamagotchi in

so far i've managed to keep service time to a minimum and i don't put my hand up to comment at the meetings and already certain ones are distancing themselves or not talking to me at all, i have to laugh!.

i wonder if they think i've commited a serious sin well sorry to burst their bubble i haven't, well not yet anyway lol.. i find it funny everything is measured on what they see, but yet i have too but my faith in 8 guys who i don't know or have never met, too stand a chance of everlasting life.. there was a part in the watchtower this afternoon saying we should be thankful we are 1 in 1000 of people in the world who have accurate knowledge, give me a break..

OzGirl

"I find it funny everything is measured on what they see, but yet I have too but my faith in 8 guys who I don't know or have never met, too stand a chance of everlasting life." - tamagotchi

I never understood this either.

36

Describe Your Favorite Breakfast

by minimus in

jw
friends

i am very hungry this morning and i want ideas..

OzGirl

Banana pancakes with loads of butter and maple syrup. English Breakfast or Earl Grey Tea.

34

Quick introduction

by OzGirl in

jw
friends

only have a few minutes to spare so thought i would throw this together.. been in for about 30 years.

questions and doubts gathered over that time.

i have a keen interest in the legal and financial matters of the watchtower.. came across this site about 5 years ago.

OzGirl

yes I did say the new tithing arrangement was like an everlasting loan lol...I was being facetious. - KateWild

Hi KateWild

I remember when I first read the phrase "everlasting loan" - it made me laugh.

So many people at my hall were saying how our congregation was now "debt free." I remember thinking at the time, that they had it wrong. The congregation is now locked into the "everlasting loan" and the Watchtower Society owns the hall.

I have the feeling that many brothers/sisters do not understand the financial dynamics behind this arrangement.

54

New "donation" arrangement begins to FAIL

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

so here we are, almost a year into the "new" congregation donation arrangement.

and its beginning, as was predicted, to fail miserably, and to have direct negative consequences on the poor sheep.. let me give you a little experience, directly from our congregation of about 80 publishers.

back in may, after reading the letter about the "new" arrangement, the elder body decided to "donate" the extra funds on hand to wt, as directed.

OzGirl

"They weren't ever gonna get the full amount of the pledge. I suspect they knew that." - neverendingjourney

My guess is that the Watchtower Society is counting on the fact that most congregations won't meet the full payment of the pledge. This would then make "new light" necessary and pave the way for tithing.

I hope I'm wrong on this point but I just "have a feeling in my bones" on this matter.

34

Quick introduction

by OzGirl in

jw
friends

only have a few minutes to spare so thought i would throw this together.. been in for about 30 years.

questions and doubts gathered over that time.

i have a keen interest in the legal and financial matters of the watchtower.. came across this site about 5 years ago.

OzGirl

How come the GB are allowed to run ahead of Jehovah but the untitled brothers/sisters(congregation members) are not allowed to?

1975 - the GB accused the untitled brothers/sisters of having false expectations about what 1975 would bring. Who was responsible for encouraging the untitled brothers/sisters to think that the end would come in 1975? If the expectations of the untitled brothers/sisters were false, where did they get those thoughts and ideas from? (None of the untitled brothers/sisters are allowed to think or speak in a manner that conflicts with whatever the GB teach. And how did such an expectation become so widespread?) I personally didn't live through the 1975 time period, so I had to read up on issues of the magazines that were from the 1970's, to get a sense of the type of mentality that was being promoted during that time.

This next point is not a doctrinal one but more of a procedural one. In case of emergency at a convention/assembly, the only person permitted to call 000 (or the equivalent of the emergency number, depending on where you live) is the brother who is in charge of first aid. That's not what CPR/First Aid training says - if the person is unconscious and not breathing, the very next step is to call for emergency help. Then you start CPR. (Suppose the brother in charge of first aid can't be located for whatever reason.) I think that this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. It is not a case of "if" but "when."

The "apostates are mentally diseased" Watchtower study article. I've never seen the Watchtower Society publish a written apology and retraction for the printing of this article.

The direction to "obey us even if what we say sounds crazy" - Nah. I don't think so. Not here........ If the faithful and discreet slave is struggling to figure out who it is and its status before Jehovah and can't figure out the basics, I certainly will not be following any "crazy directions."

The other point which crosses my mind here is why would the GB feel that they need to say this, at this point in time. Is there something that they know that they are not sharing with the untitled brothers/sisters? (They claim to have the role of "watchman" - aren't they supposed to speak up if they know of something that will affect the congregation?)

"Whatever things you may bind on earth will be things bound in heaven, and whatever things you may loose on earth will be things loosed in heaven." - Matthew 18:18. So in the case where there is a miscarriage of justice in a judicial committee case, how does this scripture work?

Why aren't judicial committees held in public, in following with the Biblical precedent of "having your case heard at the gates of the city?"

Why doesn't the reinstatement procedure follow the time frame in which the prodigal son was welcomed home? (Luke chapter 15)

Why is only one witness needed to establish "proof" of adultery but two witnesses are needed in the case of child abuse?

If the internet was to be an instrumental tool in the preaching work, why wasn't it used years ago when it first came out?

Why is Matthew 24:45-47 phrased in the form of a question? ("Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?")

Criticism of higher education.

UN NGO affiliation. If the Watchtower Society felt that this wasn't an issue, then why were they so secretive about it?

Child abuse court cases. The Watchtower Society shows more fear of apostates than it does of pedophiles.

How come people are allowed to raise questions before they get baptized, but are not allowed to raise questions after they are baptized?

In what way does the building of the headquarters at Warwick advance Kingdom interests? I think it is just a retirement retreat for the GB.

The merging (read: another word for closure) has been described as a means of "removing national barriers from Jehovah's people." Does that mean that the act of building the branch buildings, was a means of placing national barriers within Jehovah's people?

If the GB were planning to "go digital" why didn't they use the funds that were spent on printing the revised version of the New World Translation, to fund the provision of electronic tablets for congregation members? (This is a question that I have heard several elderly ones ask.)

Those are the highlights for me personally - if I think of any more I'll post them as they come to mind.
I also have to credit Kate Wild for coining the phrase "the everlasting loan" - I saw that phrase on the forum a little while ago but couldn't remember who used it.

46

What comforts you when you no longer believe in a ressurrection ?

by EdenOne in

our family just lost someone dear and very close, a faithful jw.

as we went through the entire funeral services and meeting long time brothers and sisters, who in general have been very kind and warm towards us, we realize that the hope of resurrection is a meaningless utopia for us, like a fairytale for little children.

we don't have faith in it anymore, and serves us of no comfort.

OzGirl

Hi EdenOne

Just wanted to say that I am sorry to hear about your loss. I keep a memorial garden in my yard for those whom I've lost in death. As each family member dies, I add a new flower to remember them (as Scully described in her post)

34

Quick introduction

by OzGirl in

jw
friends

only have a few minutes to spare so thought i would throw this together.. been in for about 30 years.

questions and doubts gathered over that time.

i have a keen interest in the legal and financial matters of the watchtower.. came across this site about 5 years ago.

OzGirl

Have to post a correction here - I made a blooper with the figures about the 1914 "equation." Sorry. Oops!

5 days x 2520 = 12600 days. If I worked that out correctly, that comes to 34 years and 190 days.