respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  36

  Band Green Day and JWs

  by hardtobeme in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  a few years ago i heard of a story about two jw's being at a green day concert.

  i think that the witnesses were bethelites.

  the person that told me that story said that the band was about to play but they couldn't.

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  respectful_observer

  Random fact: The band Zebrahead used to tour with and open for Green Day. The lead singer of Zebrahead was raised JW.
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  25

  All quiet on the western front

  by campaign of hate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  recently it seems very quiet in jw land.. jw broadcasting has been in full swing for months now, nobody bats an eye lid at that anymore.. so the question is, what is next?

  the next organisation change, the next doctrine change.

  it seems like this is the quiet before the storm.. the way things are going, it's almost like they try and one up their last change, things in jw land get that bit more crazy every year.. i'm hedging my bets toward a monthly public talk broadcast straight from new york.

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  respectful_observer

  I think the next Nulite will be them proclaiming the great tribulation has begun, so expect imminent persecution.
  In reality they will just replace the overused "last days' with "great tribulation" to get people active and productive.

  I agree. It's a win-win for them:
  

  1. The Great Tribulation is of an indeterminate length. Therefore, they could milk this for DECADES.

  2. They don't have show any actual proof. Something along the lines of: "Only Jehovah's people were able discern that Jesus began ruling in 1914, even when world events made it obvious. As before, Satan has 'blinded the minds of the unbelievers'. The world does not yet recognize that its governments have already turned on Babylon the Great-- stripped her of the power and its wealth she once enjoyed. Her waters are indeed 'drying up'. Through their rhetoric, the nations declare 'peace and security', while the reality is anything but. Therefore it is with great confidence we can declare that we, as Jehovah's named people, are in fact living in the time period foretold in Revelation as the 'Great Tribulation!'"

  3. Such a grand revelation that "the Great Tribulation has in fact begun" would send the vast majority of J-dubs into a frothing-at-the-mouth frenzy. Conventions and assemblies for years following the announcement would be re-framed around the GT having already begun, and therefore we are that much closer to the Big A.

  There would be zero downside for them.
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  11

  Education Level of GB

  by The_Doctor10 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after seeing so many topics about the stupidity of the gb, just got me wondering, anyone know the secular education levels of the gb?

  are they high school level religious zealots or are they college educated manipulators?

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  respectful_observer

  I seem to remember Herd telling a story about going to college after he got out of the military (in Michigan, I think?). Even if he did, I'd be surprised if that made it into his printed life story in the WT.
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  37

  Reliable source - new round of US Bethel layoffs coming soon

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  was talking to an ex-bethelite who is still very well-connected to those in the ivory tower.. he says that there will soon be a(nother) large number of us bethelites who will be "reassigned to the field" as pioneers and special pioneers.. he did not give his source, but he is pretty reliable.

  incidentally, he was "reassigned to the field" in the last big purge about 7 years ago.. i imagine those so reassigned would be pretty teed off.

  let go just before the golden lakeshore palace was completed..

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  respectful_observer

  ...and he rides around in a car 6 hours a day with middle aged women who blather on about menopause or guacamole recipes or some such.

  Funniest thing I've read all day!
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  13

  Comparing JWs to Jews

  by CalebInFloroda in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some have asked how my views and convictions have changed over the past 15 years or so after leaving the watchtower behind to return to my familys roots and embrace judaism.

  the best way to explain things is to allow both the religion of the watchtower and my life as a jew today to stand side-by-side for comparison.

  while i cant guarantee this will help prove to others that the jehovahs witnesses are truly a crazy religious group, i am sure it will prove to most that jews probably are, and are quite aware of it.

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  respectful_observer

  The only difference between Jws and Jews , is, .........wait for it, .........the " e ".

  I was once told by a Jewish friend that being a JW is almost as cool as being a Jew...we are only missing the "e" for "exciting".
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  23

  My dear old Dad's (RIP) observation

  by punkofnice in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my dear old dad was the po of a congregation.

  he had been in the british marines during ww2.. one jolly day we were in the coach park at twickenham convention.. dad was watching the brothers and sisters getting off the coaches.. he looked at me and said quite pained: 'they all look like loonies.'.

  i kid you not..

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  respectful_observer

  An elder once asked me: "Why is the Truth like a crescent wrench?" Confused, I replied "Huh, what do you mean?"

  His answer: "Because it fits all the nuts."

  
  
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  29

  Royal Commission into Child Abuse - Australia

  by biometrics in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  saw this in the paper today:.

  the jehovah's witnesses church in australia is the latest religious group to come to the attention of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.. the child sex abuse royal commission will hold a public hearing into controversial christian group the jehovah's witnesses, next month.. the inquiry, to be held in sydney, will hear from people who were allegedly sexually abused within the jehovah's witnesses church in australia.. it will examine how the jehovah's witnesses church and its company, the watchtower bible and tract society of australia, responded to claims of child sexual abuse within the organisation.. a victorian inquiry into how churches handle child sex abuse claims has previously taken submissions from former jehovah's witnesses who alleged instances of paedophilia, sexual assault, blackmail and death threats.. the organisation has 64,000 active "disciples" in australia but has also been described as a cult.. jehovah's witnesses believe their church is the one true religion and all others are wrong.

  they are among a number of religious groups which have been examined by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse including the catholics, anglicans, australian christian churches and the salvation army.. the jehovah's witnesses australian headquarters has been contacted for comment about the inquiry which is scheduled to begin on july 27.. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/jehovahs-witnesses-to-appear-before-sex-abuse-royal-commission-20150622-ghue73.html.

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  respectful_observer

  Is it only former victims that will be present at these hearings, or does the commission have subpoena power to compel WT officials or representatives to testify as well?

  I think it's important for victims to be able to tell their stories and express their concerns, but I think it would make a much bigger impact on current J-dubs if they had to watch a branch rep (or similar) try to explain and defend the WT's policies in front of a TV camera.
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  30

  Re: Music at Theocratic Events

  by pixel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is a crappy letter from the watchtower.

  i'm only posting it to show how micro-managers these fools are.

  and at the end, they say: "we should avoid making specific rules about somewhat technical matters".

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  respectful_observer

  
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  17

  Convention Invites are Idiotic

  by cookiemaster in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so, like every year, there's a campaign going on about giving people convention invites and urging them to attend the convention.

  what an utterly moronic waste of time.

  we live 500+ kilometers away from the convention hall.

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  respectful_observer

  So, why do they keep this idiotic practice going year after year?

  1. Keeps the ordinary J-dub busy.
  

  2. It's easy hours for publishers, so they don't mind. That many fewer presentations to give.

  I'd be curious to know whether, since this invitation work began, there has been any marked increase in convention attendance. Same goes for the Memorial-- since the invitation work started, has there been a measurable % increase in worldwide attendance? If the "faithful and discreet slave" thought it was worth all that expense and effort, surely it must have reaped measurable results for the Master.
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  20

  Tsongas Center Lowell MA, Sunday Session of the Regional Convention 2015

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we're breaking up the regional convention event by going each of the days to a different weekend session.. the tsongas center lowell ma was a bit hard to find, we got lost and got there after the first song and prayer (just in time for the first talk)!

  we ran into so many from our home congregation who aren't even assigned to this rc!.

  i think it's quite common for publishers now to break up the convention weekend and attend at times when their congregation isn't assigned.. some families (3) were attending this particular convention so as to meet up with family members who are in another part of the region.

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  respectful_observer

  Hopefully the parking situation is better in Lowell than it was in Amherst.

  As for the lower attendance numbers, I think it's mostly because there aren't too many hotels that are willing to work with the WTS. I've never been to a DC/RC with more than 5K or so. Most are in the 4K range.