Posts by Palimpsest

17

List of Branch Offices being closed?

by ThomasCovenant in

jw
friends

hi, i've tried searching for some recent posts on rumours or otherwise of branch offices being closed but cannot easily find anything.

does anyone readily have a list of the ones earmarked for closure?

i did read about central america but also recently some european too.

Palimpsest

I'm really, really curious about the Caribbean Bethel locations -- Antigua, the Bahamas, Barbados, Curaçao, Haiti, T&T, etc. I've spent some time at one of those and know several Bethelites in the Caribbean region, so I'm fairly anxious to find out. Anyone have word? I've heard they might be absorbed into the Mexican branch, but that doesn't make any sense to me since they're primarily English- and French-speaking branches.

I'm thinking they might keep the Bahamian one as a centralized outpost since it's the largest facility they have down there (or at least, it was) and they have such a strong presence in that country, but that's just my own theory.

44

Meeting topics that cover sex

by Libelle in

occassionally the mr will say that "some visitors are shocked because we will talk about sex, even with children in attendance.

" what exactly are they talking about in these meetings.

things like "don't masturbate" or things like if you position yourself like this, and your woman like this while having sex, then you're fornicating?.

Palimpsest

One of my older friends told me as a teenager that she used to fixate on the pants of the elders in her KH when they were giving talks about sex and romance to see if they were enjoying it a bit too much. She swore up and down that one elder seemed to "raise his hand to Jah" whenever it was his turn.

Sadly, our podium was too wide to observe this myself. But I don't doubt it. ;)

32

Do you think your baptism is still valid?

by karter in

jw
friends

i got baptised about 25 years ago and was told the new system would be here by now.. along with a lot of other false promises.. so the answer for me would be no!!

!.

Palimpsest

I don't feel like it ever was to begin with. I was 11, the elders coached me through the answers to the questions, and I only did it because my mother made me. I don't owe them anything.

52

Racial question about the annointed aka 144,000...

by Joliette in

as an african american associate of jehovah's witnesses (since the age of 5, actually i remember going to the kingdom hall as young as 3).

i've always wondered why most of the annointed were and are white.

i know there are a lot of white people on here so why is it that there are.

Palimpsest

1) The anointed are the "elites" of the congregation.

2) Racism exists.

It's pretty much that simple in my view.

And don't get me going on the dearth of proportionate representation on elder committees, DC/CA speaker agendas, the GB, etc. The WTBTS is like any global conglomerate -- a small, privileged group of white men benefits off the labor of low-income and/or minority worker bees.

33

I can't believe how many people are leaving now...

by mac n cheese in

jw
friends

(sorry if this is a double post - i haven't been on in awhile).

so spouse and i are completely inactive.

it's great!

Palimpsest

It's harder to tell over here, so I'm not sure if it applies to JWN, but at least at JWR, explosive growth has been noticed this summer. It seems that a lot of people have gotten fed up as a result of their DCs and have finally either fully called it quits or begun to doubt and fade. DCs used to be all about "energizing" the flock, but it seems like something about this one is pushing people straight out the door. Impressive.

10

Ray Franz books hard to find

by mamalove in

so i guess his books are collectors items!

if anyone has any they would sell me or loan me, please pm me.

thanks!.

Palimpsest

Whenever you're looking for used books, use BookFinder4U.com. It checks 130 different sites to find the lowest prices. There are literally hundreds of copies of his books for sale, and most are reasonably priced. You just need to be flexible with your search terms.

38

Is it okay to be antisocial?

by AwSnap in

jw
friends

ever since i was a kid, my father would tell me to quit being antisocial.

to me, i was just playing with my favorite best friend in her room after the bookstudy.

i had no desire to sit amongst the bookstudy group and listen to things that didnt interest me.

Palimpsest

Being shy doesn't mean you're ani-social. Shyness is benign; anti-social behavior is malicious.

Although I don't know that I'd go so far as to say it's "malicious," I agree with this overall sentiment. There's a difference between being introverted and being wholly opposed to spending time with others. I do think it's unhealthy to never interact with others or to deliberately hide from all social settings, but there's nothing wrong with preferring your "alone time" over company.

Spending time with others doesn't have to involve developing life-long friendships or becoming committed to other individuals. Do some volunteer work. Join some clubs that meet once or twice a month. Take some continuing education classes through your local community college or town recreation center. Anything like that will provide you with opportunities for human contact without requiring you to devote yourself to others. And maybe that type of structured setting would be more comfortable for you than a cocktail party or something where everyone is expected to mingle.

(Of course, it sounds like you're already doing things like that, so this is general advice for people who are feeling more restricted.)

Its not that I didnt like her. Its that I knew we werent going to be long-time buddies and I didnt want to waste my time with shallow conversations. My husband came out with the "You want friends but you dont give people a chance" bit. To me, I work far too much to waste my play time, and I could sense that there was no connection.

I do feel that that part of what you said is a bit troubling. It's fine to not want to enter into some intense relationship with someone, but that doesn't mean you should sacrifice being polite and decent to others. I think maybe you're misunderstanding small chat and its purpose. :/ Besides, it's those little interactions with others that help us understand the world better. You might be missing out on some great conversations -- or hell, some great people-watching opportunities -- by refusing to engage with them. There's no occupation that's so important that you can't spare a few minutes here and there to be cordial. So in that particular case, I do think that was an unhealthy reaction, but I don't think it makes you mentally ill or anything.

19

These words really made me mad!!!

by Sour Grapes in

a couple of months ago the brother giving a talk was bragging about all of the good work.

that the wtbts does thru their missionaries.

he said that all that the christendom's missionaries.

Palimpsest

This is one of the reasons I was so supportive of the exjws4haiti.com initiative. It was so nice to see real altruism for a change, after experiencing a lifetime of the pathetic JW version that's more about recruiting than any true desire to help others.

And metatron makes a great point about how they often don't even care for their own. There are few things sadder than watching elderly Bethelites get put out with no support system to turn to and no medical care that's worthwhile. I saw that happen in a few cases and it was heart-wrenching.

9

non-believer RANT

by loosie in

i know i live in the bible belt but why is it such a big deal if a person doesn't believe in god, why do christians get personally offended by it?.

i have friends that are christians, taoist, mormon, wiccan, buddists, catholic, athestis and agnostics.

i like my friends for the qualities that they have not the god or lack of that they believe in.. what i don't understand is why christians take it so personally when you tell them that you are an athesist?

Palimpsest

Because, unfortunately, a large number of people on all ends of the spectrum find it hard to believe that anyone could disagree with them, because obviously they're right about everything. It's why you have so many hardcore evangelical Christians and evangelical atheists and why both sides hate each other so much. Most Christians and atheists aren't like that, fortunately, but you get enough of them that it stands out. And if you happen to align with one side or the other, you're not going to see the flaws in your own side as much -- hence people often being quick to point fingers in the other direction. ("It's your side that's mean!" "No, it's the other way!")

Where I live, we're very socially liberal but also have significant Catholic and Jewish populations. In my personal experience, both of those religious groups are pretty accepting of atheists and agnostics, especially since there are many doubters within them. So it's really not an issue here. People say they're religious and no one cares...just like people say they're atheist and no one cares. It's a good life.

1

1 in 8 Americans Switched Out of Christianity

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

satan is really working overtime!

survey: 1 in 8 americans switched out of christianity .

about one out of every eight adults is an "ex-christian," a new survey reveals.. these include those who left the protestant or catholic tradition that they were a part of as a child and who now report being atheist, agnostic or some other faith, according to the barna group.. meanwhile, those who switched from a non-christian faith or non-belief (from their childhood) to christianity as an adult represent three percent of the american population.. findings are based on telephone interviews derived from a random sample of 2,004 adults in the u.s. the interviews were conducted in the fall of 2008 and summer of 2009. participants were asked to identify their childhood faith and their current faith allegiance.. a second survey asked respondents if they had ever changed to a different faith or significantly changed their faith views or if they were the same faith today as they were as a child.. according to the christian research group, the most common reasons for leaving christianity included life experiences, such as gaining new knowledge or education; feeling disillusioned with church and religion; feeling the church is hypocritical; having negative experiences in churches; being in disagreement with christianity about specific issues such as homosexuality, abortion or birth control; feeling the church is too authoritarian; wanting to express their faith outside of church; and searching for a new faith or wanting to experience other religions.. the top motivations for becoming a christian, meanwhile, were going through difficult life events; getting older and seeing life differently; wanting to connect with a church and grow spiritually; discovering christ; or wanting to know what was in the bible.. the median age at which respondents changed their faith was 22. sixty-eight percent of respondents had a major faith change before the age of 30.. david kinnaman, president of the barna group and director of the research, emphasized the importance of "staying in tune with peoples questions and doubts.".

Palimpsest

Thanks for sharing this. Barna always has some really interesting religious polling results, and even though they're considered a Christian group, they're generally well-respected for their numbers.

Also, it's interesting to note the ages they cite -- median age for change being 22 (when students are graduating college and are no longer under the influence of their parents) and 2/3 having a change by age 30 (by which point the majority have married and may have started families). Big life changes can equal big religious changes.