Posts by Juan Viejo2

6

Everyone here should see this video

by Juan Viejo2 in

i'm sure that many of you here are familiar with ted.org.

if you're not, you should check it out.

there is a wealth of information on every kind of subject located there.. i stumbled across this short (6 minute) talk by a former moonie turned deprogrammer.

If you were in the Governing Body, how would YOU change the generation prophecy?

by sabastious in

i personally would lose the overlapping terminology and just say that the generation refers to the entire jehovah's witness movement.

jesus is basically saying that the movement would not be gone when end comes to fruition.

this will give us hope during the great tribulation because there will be times when our extermination seems imminent.. what about you?.

Admit that Rutherford pulled a scam when he took control of the WT Society and published a bogus Volume 7 of Studies of the Scriptures. Admit that Fred Franz was the ghost writer for most of Rutherfords books and those published between 1942 and 1970 - and that he was not a "Rhodes Scholar." Admit that the blood-transfusion doctrine was started by Clayton Woodward, fine-tuned by Franz, and then used by Rutherford to "set the Witnesses apart from all other religions" and to create controversy.

Tell everyone that Russell had it right. Start reprinting the oldest Russell Watchtowers. Contact the Millenial Dawn, Russellites, and Bible Student groups and propose a merger. Clean the slate so that everything looks and works like it did during Russells best years.

Then they could update all of his old books and sell them all over again. After all, they are all public domain, even the ones that the WT did not print for one reason or the other.

Here's the kicker! Update "Photodrama of Creation." Do it in widescreen 3-D! Have an actor like Ian McClellan, Anthony Hopkins, or maybe even Russell Crowe - play the part of old C.T. himself. Have professionals like Will Lyman (Frontline) or Liev Schreiber (HBO Documentaries) narrate the voice over.

Most importantly, return to Russell's concept of local groups of active Bible Students, using their time together to actually study the Bible, not go to Kingdom Halls and sit through the rereading of boring magazine articles.

Just wipe the slate clean and start over from where the WT was 100 years ago. Then do it right and be honest about how the truth of the Bible is discovered.

51

Ex-Elders please advice on my first Public Talk as a MS.

by african GB Member in

the topic is- "young people: serve jehovah wholeheartedly".. i'd appreciate various points that would make this talk appealing to my cong.

youths, but please keep it within jw boundaries because i don't want to give my elders any hint of me being an apostate yet.. i have to say that i am still enjoying my newly given "priviledges'', and am still so surprised that holy spirit has'nt pointed me out yet.. agbm.

.

Juan Viejo2

Three points:

1. Does anyone here remember when the "public talk" was an hour long (actually 55 minutes) and was designed for the public?

2. AGBM, just go up and give it your best. No one will care if you make a mistake - because no one cares and no one is really listening to what you are saying.

and,

3. All public talks are basically the same public talk which is the same as the funeral talk, etc. First few paragraphs restate the title and the proposed theme of the talk. Then,

God created everything.

Adam and Eve sinned.

Jesus died as a ransom.

God set up his earthly organization (now the WT).

We live in the end times.

Armageddon will come and burn the bad.

New Heavens and New Earth...

The End.

6

Everyone here should see this video

by Juan Viejo2 in

i'm sure that many of you here are familiar with ted.org.

if you're not, you should check it out.

there is a wealth of information on every kind of subject located there.. i stumbled across this short (6 minute) talk by a former moonie turned deprogrammer.

Juan Viejo2

I'm sure that many of you here are familiar with TED.org. If you're not, you should check it out. There is a wealth of information on every kind of subject located there.

I stumbled across this short (6 minute) talk by a former Moonie turned deprogrammer. Like many of us here on this forum, she has seen both sides of a cult. Like she says in her talk, she "gets it."

You could substitute Reverend Moon for WT Governing Body and the story would be exactly the same.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ex_moonie_diane_benscoter_how_cults_think.html

1

Assembly Halls

by Juan Viejo2 in

can i get some updated info about the assembly halls owned or leased by the jws?.

is this just a usa practice, or are they doing this everywhere now?.

who owns the halls?

Juan Viejo2

Can I get some updated info about the Assembly Halls owned or leased by the JWs?

Is this just a USA practice, or are they doing this everywhere now?

Who owns the halls? The local Circuit or District - or WT HQ? Who actually holds the titles?

Who pays for the utilities and general upkeep?

Are they used for anything else besides Circuit Assemblies? How many Circuits might share a AH, or does each one have a Hall of their own?

Do they ever get rented out to other non-Witness groups for special occasions?

What are they used for during the off-seasons when there are no assemblies scheduled?

Have the JWs abandoned the use of public facilities (convention halls, community auditoriums, local ball parks) everywhere?

Are all of these halls exempt from property taxes?

I noticed that a couple in Southern California are in Industrial Parks? Where does everyone park?

I also read that some of them have apartments that can be used by Circuit, District or traveling Overseers? Do they all have that arrangement? Is this how they provide housing for a CO and DO now?

If there are apartments, and the building is in an area zoned for commercial or industrial use, how do they get around local housing restrictions (mixing residential with commercial)?

The first real Assembly Hall I was aware of was in Los Angeles, CA back in the mid-1970s. They bought up the old Leimert Theatre across from Leimert Park in the Crenshaw District. Was a questionable neighborhood, with a lot of muggings, break-ins and car theft. Does anyone know if that building still owned by the JWs?

82

Instrucitons for using the toilet at the convention (pic)

by maninthemiddle in

jw
friends

this was posted in the men's room stall, i hear the instructions in the womens room was more detailed.. this was in addition to having a "bathroom attendant" handing out 1 paper towel per person.. i haven't felt so childish since i was in grade schooll, i had to wonder if all the tall people around me were really grown men and women.. .

Juan Viejo2

Lines for the ladies room were so long at a concert in Irvine, CA in 1996 the they had to takeover a couple of the men's rooms to help out. As the concert was about to start again after the break, I walked into one of the more remote men's rooms to relieve myself. A gal about 30 had dropped her jeans and actually backed up to one of the off the floor urinals. Yep, everyone of the toilets was taken - by women. Surprisingly, the guys that were in there just did their thing and basically ignored her.

When she was done, she asked one of the fellows to grab her a paper towel. About ten guys all went for the dispenser at the same time. Finally, she pulled up her jeans, gave them a little twist, turned around and backed away as the autoflush went off.

Actually it was no big deal. She didn't show anything, no one saw anything, and she never spilled a drop on the floor. She clearly was never in danger and not one of the fellows made a remark or said anything off-color. She wasn't drunk. There were security guards right outside the door and they never said a thing about the guys and gals using the same bathroom. The whole episode was pretty much a non-event.

12

WOW! Complete magazines in PDF!

by Titus in

.

from july!.

http://www.jw.org/index.xjp?option=qryqcsvrgznt.

Juan Viejo2

There may be one or both of the following outcomes:

1. Now that PDF versions of their books and magazines are online and can be downloaded, we'll all have copies to share for years to come. They are giving us the documentation that we need to bring their house down.

And / Or

2. They hope that by making their literature widely available, that more people (including us apostates) will read "the truths" they publish and will be converted or reconstituted back into the JW organization.

My money is that #1 will happen before #2...

In any case, it would be a lot cheaper for them to just publish online and then short runs of hard copies for local congregation libraries, annual compilations, and special handouts. They can do that easily enough with Print On Demand - which I understand is already in place and available on the printing machines they have in upstate New York.

33

Rutherford Interviews about Beth Sarim

by brotherdan in

but i thought it was very insightful as to the craziness of rutherford.

in these articles, he is interviewed by the san diego sun and time magazine.

i'd like to know what everyone thinks!

Juan Viejo2

The local press must have thought Joseph Rutherford to be certifiably nuts.

Can you believe that this guy had any credibility?

Why would the princes of the Old Testament show up in San Diego? If they were going to be resurrected, wouldn't it be logical for them to pop up out of the dirt or appear on a mountainside somewhere in the Middle East?

And Samson? Shaving? He was specifically ordered by Jehovah not to shave his beard or cut his hair.

The WT Society, especially during Rutherford's time, was run by loonies. The whole religion is based on insanty.

23

What is the point of praying?

by hoggieman in

hi, i dont post here too often, but i was reading the other post about why bad things happen, and i am curious for everyones thoughts on this: i have recently left about 9 months ago.

at first i thought i was closer to god and was reading the bible more than ever.... praying asking for help, clarity, etc.....but after a while i started to ask myself why would god answer my messily little prayers when hundreds of thousands were dieing in haiti?

the witness mindset that i remember was not to pray for things to happen, but for strength for yourself to do something.

Juan Viejo2

1970's Los Angeles radio comedians, Hudson and Landry, had a ongoing routine about the First Church of Throckmorton. "Emperor" Hudson was the high priest of the church and would ramble on about some "great religious truth" or answer Landry's questions about the teachings of FCoT.

Landry asked if believers "prayed."

"Of course, we pray to the Great God Throckmorton!" Hudson replied.

"Are your prayers ever answered?"

"Just the same as in any other church, but we're a lot cheaper."

"Well, what if I prayed for peace in the world?"

"Then somewhere in the world there would be peace! Might be only on Antartica, but there'd be peace."

"Do you ever pray for good health?"

"All the time. In fact, just the other night over at the church we were having a little taste of the grape and all said 'Here's to your health'! We were all feeling really good later that evening."

It was funnier listening to these two go through their routine - but there was a lot of truth to what they were joking about. They were clearly making a point.

Prayer is really about talking to yourself - getting off alone and clearing your head. I'm sure a lot of prayers were said in Haiti and Chile during the earthquakes, but still people died by the hundreds. What saved people was not prayer, but modern reinforced building construction - or being in the right place at the right time.

Can you really imagine Jehovah or Jesus actually paying any attention to the sleep inducing prayers given by the brothers before and after a KH meeting? They never really say anything or ask for anything substantial, but just drone on seemingly forever. Don't you think that just going to the KH and spending a couple of hours is enough to prove to God that you give a damn? Do you have to also tell him twice what He already knows?

63

A Question To All on this Board

by kes152 in

jw
friends

hello,.

i have been reading this board for some time and would like to ask: why you come here and post?

what do you all hope to accomplish by being here?.

Juan Viejo2

This is a great resource for updated news and gossip. I find that I can get more direct information about what the JWs believe and do now than I can from the WT CD. This is a great place to visit, and with only a few exceptions, everyone is friendly, helpful, and eager to share what they know.