Posts by freddo

17

Can we support Russian government's ban?

by intropist in

jw
friends

글쓴이: 류비 / 시간: 목, 03/30/2017 - 14:48. .

hi, i want to leave my personal opinion on the matter of russian government's banning on the activity of jehovah's witnesses in their territory.

i think it's more or less important because bearing a certain opinion is related with the quality of life.

freddo

Thought provoking post, thanks.

I have considered both sides of this and believe that if the Russian (or any other) government had the time and inclination then they should not ban JW's but tie them up tight financially as in no tax breaks and no siphoning money to New York and expose their wackier beliefs in Pravda or whatever has superceded it for ridicule. Maybe tighten legislation on blood and penalise them for shunning - but how I just don't know.

IMO the only government that can affect JW's is the US government but sadly there are proportionately more religious nutters with their own agendas in the US government than in any other "western" power.

If Trump and Co. attacked WT's property and money and grilled the GB on the stand like Australia managed to do with Jacko at the ARC then the GB would soon dance to their merry tune. Trouble is JW's are insignificant to most governments. No votes, no use, no help, no power, no nothing really.

14

What does CLAM stand for?

by QuestioningEverything in

jw
friends

i've seen this in a few posts and not sure what it means.

:) please help..

freddo

CLAM

"Crappy Lives And Misery"

10

Kindness and the corporation

by punkofnice in

i refer to the thread started by nikl quoting the daily text.

in which the comment said:.

kindness can help you to deal with a conflict of loyalties.. can anyone here (or there), give a verifiable example of when watchtower corporation has ever shown 'kindness' when it wasn't for some selfish gain?.

freddo

Yes of course I can! Ummm ... errrr .... hmmmmm .... let me think...

Gulp. Actually I mean no.

11

Born in baptisms to avoid embarrassment

by Spoletta in

i noticed a recent commenter mention an assembly that had only one baptism, a born in.

the last assembly i went to had three baptisms, of which two were born ins.

could part of the motivation for youth baptism be to avoid the embarrassment of an assembly with no baptisms at all?

freddo

We had a zero baptisms in the other half of my circuit for an assembly attendance of about 1000 in 2015.

My half circuit assembly produced 4 baptisms from 880 attending earlier this month.

So I make that less than 0.5% here in my part of the UK.

20

My mom is into "The Secret"

by BlackWolf in

jw
friends

lately my mom's gotten into all kinds of weird "power of positive thinking" kind of stuff.

she watches "the secret" and bob proctor videos all the time, and now she's trying to get me into it.

to me her being into this sort of thing seems kind of hypocritical.

freddo

I remember my Aunt telling off her self righteous Elder (as in he was an Elder) son. (my cousin)

In the UK the longest running (since 1960) and one of the most popular TV "soaps" is "Coronation Street" a gossipy load of nonsense set about folk living in a terrace of houses in the North of England.

My Aunt was an avid watcher and follower of storylines despite being a devout JW.

Well in the 80's and 90's one of the pet peeves of the GB was "TV soaps" and occasionally we would get an assembly item or Watchtower study haranguing the faithful not to watch such "worldly" entertainment.

My cousin being a self righteous prig would wag his finger at her in a semi jocular fashion until she told him that A) He wasn't her spiritual head and B) when he stopped watching James Bond "with all its sex and violence" then he might have freeness of speech to come and speak to her."

14

Latest elders meeting during circuit visit

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

for those not aware:- during the circuit visit there is a meeting with elders &ministerial servants based on an outline.

the mss are dismissed then local matters (eg new elders, meeting attendance etc) are discussed.

recently there has also been a part of the outline just for elders - one year it was about stopping anyone dressing in a "gender blurring" way from going on the ministry.. the latest visit has a section of the outline for elders.

freddo

Thanks Saltheart.

What was the MS outline about this time?

20

Special Video tie-in this week in Australia? Saturday April1st. A GB Speaker?

by stuckinarut2 in

i have been told that there is to be a special talk linked via video hook up all around australia this saturday april 1st?

a 3 hour program apparently?.

someone said it was a governing body speaker?.

freddo

Probably Geoff Jackson explaining why he couldn't appear before the ARC and how O'Brien and Spinks are going to take the lead in outer Fumbuck, Papua New Guinea.

Oh. And send your dollars.

25

Two (circumstantial) lines of evidence for the real motivation behind the Russian lobbying?

by doubtfull1799 in

1. in bro sandersons latest video (in which he shows a very impressive skill with russian) he mentions two likely results of the imminent russian ban: the liquidation of the branch office and its assets, and the individual brothers capacity to worship freely.

no prizes for guessing which one gets mentioned first!.

2. why have the gb never attempted in the past, and are not interested in attempting now, such a letter writing campaign in other communist countries where the work is under similar restrictions, like china, or vietnam?

freddo

Sometimes people do "genuine things" especially when there is no cost and it can make them look good. Add to that the prospect of losing property and control over it and you get a "something must be done" mentality.

Then the history - this present GB 2.0 would have been young men writing to Malawi in the 1970's and not involved in the decision making process of Mexico/Malawi of GB 1.0.

To them it is win-win. It has certainly lifted the local JW's out of their Memorial tract peddling apathy.

To the JW's in Russia (my having done a speed-read on Wiki about Putin, his background and his demeanour) I do not believe it will help one iota. Maybe make matters worse.

16

Happy To Report

by ctrwtf in

jw
friends

on my commute past 25 columbia heights, i noticed that the large 25'x25' jworg sign has come down.. i'm sure the sentiments of the entire brooklyn heights neighborhood are something like, "don't let the door hit you on the way out.

".

freddo

Don't let the door hit you on he way out mean I want you gone so get away from here fast as in don't dawdle or go so slow that the door (esp. a revolving one) would hit you as you leave.

E.g.

Teenager (stamping foot) : I hate this place I'm leaving!

Fed up parent (rolling eyes) : Bye, bye and don't let the door hit your rear end on the way out.

44

Red Alert - Propaganda is Being Used!!!!!!!!

by The Searcher in

check out the latest watchtower:.

"your defense?

be determined to stick to jehovah’s organization and loyally support the leadership he provides—no matter what imperfections may surface.

freddo

Hi Searcher,

Here's more of the quote in context. I wonder why WT didn't want it quoted in full?

WT says: "Therefore, it is likely to be most effective if people ... are discouraged from thinking critically.

Fuller quote: (Bold italics mine)

"Therefore, it is likely to be most effective if people do not have access to multiple sources of information and if they are discouraged from thinking critically. Michael Balfour has suggested that the best touchstone for distinguishing propaganda from science is whether a plurality of sources of information and interpretations is being discouraged or fostered."