seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.
it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.
it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.
Let's consider a hypothetical going the other direction.
A couple who belong to the Church of the Holy Hooded White Guys go to an African-American baker and try to order a wedding cake with a burning cross on it. Can the government compel him to do so because he offers cakes of all sorts to the public?
one of this things that constantly reminds me of the extent and the reach the organization has into our lives, is the fact we all need pseudonyms to have a conversation or to make a comment in this even here in this place.
even when people have left the society (by however it has occurred), its rare to see somebody change their online presence to their personal name.. now i'm not expecting people to do that of course, fore we are all free to do what we like (which is the real beauty of this forum) but the fact that it doesn't occur that often, shows how much we've all been effected by being told over and over again, "not to be critical of god's organization".
of course there could be an number so side issues at play here; with some people not wanting to burn their bridges in an attempt to keep what reputation they have left intact and sadly a small minority others, do enjoy the anonymity to just talk trash ... but if a person can not feel free to stand up and respectfully make a critical comment or ask a thorny question without fear of repercussion from their religion, then doesn't it show that there is no real freedom in that faith.
My name is Jeff Thomas and that's my real picture over there. I've been out since 1988 and I don't care if the WTBS wants to come look me up. I'll be happy to talk to them. My real identity has been on this board for a long time, as well as my Facebook page etc. I hope to publish a novel one of these days and I consider this advertising. I don't know if that attitude makes me brave or stupid.
But I'm and exception, and I well understand why so many do not want to reveal themselves. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have given them a fake name the first time I went to the Kingdom Hall.
okay, they cheapened the product by getting rid of hardcover books.
they reduced printing of mags.
they drastically reduced the number of pieces of printed paper that members would "place" in people's hands in various ways, the biggest one being that they put them on a cart and don't encourage people to take them.they cut d.o.
A charity can charge fees for services without jeopardizing tax exempt status. I've been thinking for some time that they will try to figure out monetize the web site. A modest fee (even just a few dollars per month per publisher) would generate a good cash flow.
so the recent topic about film franchises got me thinking.
sure, we all love the big budget, mainstream releases that are so successful they spawn never-ending (it sometimes seems) sequels.
we could watch marvel and star-wars movies for the rest of our lives (and we might just ...).. but y'know what i love?
posted here:.
https://docs.zoho.com/sheet/published.do?rid=740aq85115d1a04174c4d867e056351ad6836.
biggest changes:.
The only financial statement that would actually tell us what's going on is a consolidated statement for ALL of the Watchtower's related entities. A thin slice of the pie (which is what these numbers represent) don't tell us anything about the pie as a whole. Transferring money from one operation to another may look like money disappeared if you're only looking at the outgoing transaction. We need to know where the money WENT.
Morpheus: thank you. I think some people here let their desire to see the Watchtower go down cloud their judgement.
posted here:.
https://docs.zoho.com/sheet/published.do?rid=740aq85115d1a04174c4d867e056351ad6836.
biggest changes:.
Without a lot of research, for which I don't have time; we still don't know what's in a lot of those numbers. They list $55,000,000 in "other liabilities." Who do they owe this money too, I suspect its other Watchtower corporations, where it would be listed as an asset. I used to work for an international real estate investment company that had all sorts of interlocking separate corporations. One of my jobs was making sure everything evened out.
They also list an expense line for $60,000,000 for "supplies and other purchased assets." That's a lot of supplies. Again we don't know who they paid the money to, or for what.
I'm not arguing in favor of any position on the Watchtower's financial status. We don't have the information needed to formulate a proper analysis.
posted here:.
https://docs.zoho.com/sheet/published.do?rid=740aq85115d1a04174c4d867e056351ad6836.
biggest changes:.
Where did these numbers come from? This isn't an actual financial statement, its a spreadsheet. Without the notes its useless.
it has been said by some that an enlightened being came/happened once every 500 years, but now they seem to be popping up all over the place.. the buddha had to meditate like hell, he even starved himself to attain it.
monks spend many years doing some are successful some are not.. i think with science looking into these nirvana states of mind that they will figure out a way to end suffering for the human species which will usher in a whole different way of life with higher intelligence running things.
from my understanding of enlightenment it is a sort of rewiring of the brain where the signals go up pleasure side of the amygdala where as painful emotions and sensations go up the other side.
Be about it, not talk about it means, essentially, actions speak louder than words. This thread contains a total of 15 comments, 10 of which are yours. Five of those are basically (if not completely) videos.
it has been said by some that an enlightened being came/happened once every 500 years, but now they seem to be popping up all over the place.. the buddha had to meditate like hell, he even starved himself to attain it.
monks spend many years doing some are successful some are not.. i think with science looking into these nirvana states of mind that they will figure out a way to end suffering for the human species which will usher in a whole different way of life with higher intelligence running things.
from my understanding of enlightenment it is a sort of rewiring of the brain where the signals go up pleasure side of the amygdala where as painful emotions and sensations go up the other side.
I went to college in the sixties, when lots of people ran around talking about being enlightened. In the eighties I worked for a company that sent all of its employees to EST and its offshoots. A few years ago my wife taught in a school run by a religion that was all about mindfulness. Now people are talking about being "woke." It is my experience that all of the above groups contain some nice people, but all of them are remarkably self-absorbed and talk about their supposed (but not noticeable to an outside observer) intellectual and spiritual superiority.
In my opinion, you need to be about it, not talk about it.
it has been over a year and a half since my last ceremony.
which was way to long.
my son came up from scottsdale for the ceremony.
I would like to say that Ayahuasca is drug as you say, but to many around the world who have tried it is a sacrament, and medicine.
That's what they said about LSD, peyote, and marijuana in the sixties. Later they said cocaine wasn't dangerous. I'm a recovering alcoholic/addict. I work in a 28 day rehab facility. I think you're doing drugs.
