Posts by FatFreek 2005

72

Menlo Park KH - Elder Tells All - and more

by Juan Viejo2 in

i've published part one of a three part series about the menlo park kh scandal.

http://ex-jw.com/menlo-park-elder-tells-all-1.

this has been a tough one for me.. the original federal case was dismissed in january.

FatFreek 2005

" the connection between Menlo Park KH and smaller magazines should be"

Hear me out on this one. And please correct me if I've made incorrect assumptions.

Local Kingdom Hall is built, paid for, and occupied by the locals but (since early 90's) now a miniscule piece of Watchtower Society's immense real estate holdings.
Kingdom Hall's condition becomes shabby or it is too small so a recommendation by Watchtower-appointed committee is rubber-stamped by vote of the local membership to build new Kingdom Hall
Local membership funds the new building by way of donations and a loan, usually from Watchtower Society.
Once paid for, new KH ownership reverts to Watchtower Society.
Old KH is sold and proceeds go directly to Watchtower Society.

The above 5 step sequence actually represents a timeline of events -- a period wherein certain real estate is procured, developed, then deemed inadquate. That property is replaced -- with no penalty or loss to Watchtower. The burden of expense rests entirely on the shoulders of the local membership. The gain -- entirely that of Watchtower headquarters.

Conclusion: the more frequently that headquarters needs to reinforce their coffers, they merely shrink that timeline.

One scenario assumption: Let's assume that at present costs, the older Kingdom Hall is disposed of for $1,000,000 and that it was in use for some 20 years. That's some $50,000 annually which headquarters has harvested for their worldwide fund.

The following Awake! experience from 8 years ago indicates there may now be some 100,000 congregations, many of them in single-occupancy Kingdom Halls.

"Saturday, June 7, 2003, saw the dedication of the Chinle Kingdom Hall. The dedication talk was presented by Gerrit Lösch, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In his discourse he described the great expansion that has been taking place worldwide in the number of Kingdom Halls, and yet, he explained, thousands of additional halls are still needed to serve the more than 94,600 congregations. He also took the audience of 165 through 15 reasons why they should appreciate their new Kingdom Hall and the benefits of regular attendance at Christian meetings." Awake!, 2004, 1/8 p. 22

I invite you, dear reader, to do the math.

Len

47

Latest AWAKE claims most College students consider Prostitution/Stripping to pay for education!!! What the?

by Witness 007 in

"watching the world" in awake has always been used as a tool to promote certain doctrines like blood, the u.n etc.

in the new "step-parents" awake magazine, it has an article claiming how 1 in 3 college students would consider stripping or sex work to pay for it!!!

anti college propaganda????

FatFreek 2005

I'm with Open Mind on this one.

Topic: Latest AWAKE claims most College students consider Prostitution ...

"... Awake magazine, it has an article claiming how 1 in 3 College students would consider Stripping or sex work ..."

Fact: 1 in 3 does not equal MOST -- and one does not need college to know that. The heading for this topic is dishonest, irresponsible, and gives apostates bad reputation.

Fats

27

DISCUSSION WITH A JW; YOUR INPUT PLEASE...

by Mary in

jw
friends

i'm 'talking' with a jw on another site who of course, does not believe that they are 'false prophets' and says that:.

"...prophetic inspiration and being filled with the spirit ( to use a common expression) do not mean the same thing.".

"...again the wts is using the term "prophet" in the basic sense of a spokesman.

FatFreek 2005

"...(1)Does every Christian foretell the future by divine revelation, or (2)simply speak about what God has revealed in Scripture about the future? We have always made it plain we are speaking of (2) when describing our activities..."

I don't recall Watchtower ever explaining it this way. Can he quote Watchtower literature that supports these two points? Or is he becoming some self-appointed apologist by giving his own spin?

Len

20

States of hypnosis - getting people to face facts

by Qcmbr in

was looking at hypnosis ( always wondered why it works so well on some people - not because i want to convince everyone i meet to be my slaves - honestly ;) ) and i read something that stopped me in my tracks.

the articles author stated that most of the time we are in a state of hypnosis which is no more than our automated systems taking over from our conscious ones for example, when we drive home and realise we didn't think too hard about driving we just 'arrive home' we are in a mild hypnotic state; when we get immersed in a movie and lose our sense of where we are we are in a suggestible world where we potentially get moved by what we see etc.

all these are indicators of our conscious self focusing in such a way that our actual behaviours are handed over to our sub-conscious brain which is also our long term learning process.

FatFreek 2005

Hi Quke,

You make some very good points. Most make sense to me.

Len

31

JW World Record - Youngest Baptism

by soiledumpling in

jw
friends

please let me know the age of the youngest child getting baptised.. i knew of a girl of 11 years.. .

FatFreek 2005

That six year old number is not speculation. There are no less than three Watchtower publication examples.

In the summer of 1946, I was baptized at the international convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Although I was only six years of age, I was determined to fulfill my dedication to Jehovah. The Watchtower, 1992 3/1 p. 27

In 1934, Mom and Dad were baptized. I too wanted to get baptized, and I kept insisting until Mother asked an older Witness to talk with me about it. He asked many questions in a manner that I could understand. Then he told my parents that I should not be prevented from being baptized; it might harm my spiritual growth. So I was baptized the following summer, when I was still six. The Watchtower, 1996, 8/1, p. 21

A survey of the publishers in Ghana showed that 12 percent of the more than 50,000 publishers were between 6 and 20 years of age. Yearbook, 1998, p. 14

Len Miller

17

I remember how I always preferred working alone door to door

by gubberningbody in

jw
friends

i'd just stand at the door and not knock on it or ring it.

if someone came, i'd make a presentation - "here's your tract!".

otherwise i'd just wait a couple of minutes and then go to the next door and not knock.. .

FatFreek 2005

I always dreaded the challenging householders and would reflect for days what I should've said differently. There were times that I would write the Society with the dreaded questions but never getting a satisfying answer. That was many years ago.

Today, if I were still a JW, I'd hate to be presented with information from a handout inside THE GREAT WATCHTOWER CONTRADICTION.

Len

10

Saturday Morning Service

by Celestial in

a couple of months ago, i thought out plans to go out in field service because i was stimulated by my cousin who's married and has recently been appointed a ministerial servant.

i thought to myself, if my life-long newly appointed ministerial servant cousin can knock on doors and present the watchtower and awake!

so can i. so, i can at least progress toward a status other than inactive.

FatFreek 2005

I'd do what I have several times in the past year, bring up THE GREAT WATCHTOWER CONTRADICTION. That linked essay asks a very profound question which perplexes even the most dyed-in-the-wool JW.

Ooooh -- I'm so glad I don't have to go to the door any more.

Len

7

Doomsday prophet admits error!

by 00DAD in

doomsday prophet admits error.

harold camping, the elderly california preacher who found fame when he predicted the end of the world admits he was wrong.. "events within the last year have proven that no man can be fully trusted.

even the most sincere and zealous of us can be mistaken," wrote mr camping, in a letter to listeners of his evangelical family radio program.. .

FatFreek 2005

My late brother stuck with the original Worldwide Church of God when, in 1995 (circa), they made a major split. The new ones admitted a bunch of errors because in the form of doctrinal changes. Some 5,000 stuck with the original group. Like Camping, I believe they used the "apology" word.

Yes, apology is one word that is not in WTBTS vocabulary. With the sheeples, however, that's different. That word is very important for them as they are in front of a judicial comittee. The GB, however, are exempt from wrongdoing and apologies.

Len

47

Feb 2012 public WT - they dare to comment on Harold Camping!!!

by Mickey mouse in

jw
friends

.

FatFreek 2005

In the morning's news, Harold Camping admitted (on his web site) that he was wrong.

Len

25

Hello Jehovah's Witnesses. I was in class 119 of Gilead in 2005

by AllTimeJeff in

jw
friends

my picture is in the january 1, 2006 watchtower.. why am i telling you this?

consider this my small weekend contribution to the cause of real truth.

any jw who has been one for a while, or a born in, knows the regard that pioneers, elders, bethelites and missionaries have.

FatFreek 2005

Good post ATJ. As many contributions as you have made here I would have thought you were an old-timer EX. We're all (well, most) very proud of the steps you must've taken to make your exit.

As for me, my exit came as a result of the 1975 yearbook. I invite any here to check their own from the WT Library CD, looking for Anna McDonald's comments.

Keep in mind this yearbook was obviously intended to stem the tide of disappointment -- that is, if the 1975 hype failed -- which, of course, it did. Poor old (yes, she was recounting her feelings of some 50 years earlier about the disappointment of the 1925 prediction) sister McDonald and how they used her fuzzy recollection of those years, the Rutherford predictions and how, in his words, "certain" they were about that date.

Oh, Watchtower could have quoted Rutherford exactly from their vast library. Instead, they chose an elderly sister and her charming (and inaccurate) recollection of what they really said about 1925. This, knowing full well (and conceding that fact) that Rutherford had "made an ass of himself".

That was the very thing that got me to thinking whether we had the truth or not. From there it was like a snowball tumbling down the mountain.

Len