Posts by shepherd

25

Is the IBSA's charitable status in the UK vulnerable?

by cedars in

one thing that has occurred to me recently is how much money the society makes from being registered as a charity in certain countries.

in the uk, the government contributes 28 pence for every pound that is donated (referred to as "gift aid"), effectively increasing the value of each contribution from 1 to 1.28. not surprisingly, the society in the uk are doing very well out of this arrangement, and last year according to the charity commission's website they made a turnover of 25.7 million, with profits of 7.8 million.

i calculate that approximately 5 million of this must have been generated by gift aid.. the thing is, to my knowledge recent laws that have been passed by parliament stipulating that a charity must be in the "public benefit".

shepherd

"This is obviously why the official line from Mill Hill is that blood transfusions are a decision for each individual. If a JW was to get DFd for giving consent for their child to have a transfusion it could make an intresting test case."

Unfortunately this will never happen. No JW is DF'd any more for accepting a transfusion. Instead it is decided that the person has disassociated themselves by their actions. Of course, the announcement is identical and they will be shunned in just the same way, but the ORG can continue to claim they did not DF the ex-member.

The way it works these days in the Org., everyone makes their own personal choices and is responsible for the results. Of course, if you make a choice the Org. does not approve of you will be DF'd or disassociated so there is not really a choice at all. It's the same way they teach their God works. Everyone has the freedom of choice to worship Jehovah or not - but of course they will die if they choose not to.

18

FOUND JW EMERGENCY CONTACT LIST TAKE A LOOK!!!!!

by tiffy0212 in

jw
friends

looked into hubby's bag and found this paper.

they want to know person to contact in case of emergency , name of person in case of a disaster or evacuation-where would you like to go?

those who might be traveling with you (name, relationship.

shepherd

Where is the love? Where is the unity? In a real loving organization the local body of elders would be keeping some things at the KH to share with their spiritual 'family' if a disaster struck. But instead it's all handled on an individual level...well that's how I see it anyhow.

7

No longer feel nervous or guilty when I see a JW out in public...

by QuestioningEverything in

jw
friends

i used to feel nervous when i was out and would encounter a jw.

instantly, i would feel guilty that i wasn't doing more spiritually.

seems like the conversation would always go the the kh and jw's topic and the usual "we miss you, blah, blah, blah..." i am happy to say--- that is not the case anymore!

shepherd

That's great! I remember the first time I was shunned I felt so bad. Then later I realized as a disassociated person I was free, I could do what I liked. So the next time I made a point of going up to them and saying hi. I still got ignored, but all the awkwardness could be seen on THEIR faces. It was so good to see!

8

Do we really think that the WTS will lose their Non Profit Charity Status?

by Quarterback in

jw
friends

i just looked over some of the charities that exist as non profit organizations.. what surprised me was that wicca is also recognized there as a non profit status.

could the wts really lose this status?

.

shepherd

The chance they could lose charitable status is more or less 0% in my opinion. However, the publicity that is currently being generated is amazing and just announcing the police were involved (even if they decided to do nothing) has been a major PR success for non-JWs. So I think it's good to raise the subject at every opportunity even if in the end they will remain with charitable status.

55

As a JW - Did you See Meetings Continue in Spite of Medical Emergencies?

by flipper in

jw
friends

i was talking the other day with a fellow board member about medical emergencies occuring at meetings and how we both agreed that we ( while jw's ) had never seen a meeting stop or be cancelled due to medical emergencies experienced by a fellow jw.

the wt society trains jw' s to lose their authentic human feelings or any empathy towards others physical or emotional sufferings many times.

so many times at meetings , in spite of someone suffering a serious medical emergency it was " the show must go on " type of attitude displayed by congregation elders.. my first experience at seeing a medical emergency at the kingdom hall was an older sister who had an epileptic attack.

shepherd

I can understand that the show must go on at a convention. In fact it's reasonable to expect it.

However, in the local KH when someone collapses they are very possibly a well known member of the congregation. I remember a girl collapsing and having to be carried out. A few in the audience were her family members and they stayed listening to the talk. I think this is extremely callous of everyone in the hall.

In what possible way could this reaction ever be described as love?

32

Two & A Half Men - Without Charlie

by finallysomepride in

any one seen it?.

i just watched it, laughed all the way through it.. still not sure if ashton kutcher is the right actor for the part, but, time will tell.. .

kevin.

shepherd

I thought they did a good job with the script and I will not be abandoning the show just yet. I also enjoyed watching the roast of Charlie Sheen.

Charlie did not write his own lines, btw, for those who comment about Ashton's writing skills :)

26

You can be fined for holding Bible studies in your home in California

by Terry in

faith california city fines couple for holding bible study in their homeposted on september 19, 2011 at 1:36am by madeleine morgensternphoto via flickr user erwin vogelaar.

a southern california couple has been fined $300 dollars for holding christian bible study sessions in their home, and could face another $500 for each additional gathering.. city officials in san juan capistrano, calif. say chuck and stephanie fromm are in violation of municipal code 9-3.301, which prohibits religious, fraternal or non-profit organizations in residential neighborhoods without a permit.

stephanie hosts a wednesday bible study that draws about 20 attendees, and chuck holds a sunday service that gets about 50.. the fromms appealed their citations but were denied and warned future sessions would carry heftier penalties.

shepherd

"When does the activity elevate from simple bible study in the home to actually operating a church in the home. " - I agree, having 50 there every Sunday is not a bible study with a few friends, it's a church.

26

Victoria, Australia: Report on Sept. 13th hearing involving Steven Unthank

by AndersonsInfo in

i received the following information from the xjw in australia who agreed to keep us all informed of whatever takes place at court hearings that involve steven unthank and the five watch tower entities that were recently criminally charged in victoria, australia.. .

this is the report for the hearing held on september 13, 2011.. .

barbara.

shepherd

"I believe that technically Barbara, and the Australian XJW are absolutely right, that anyone in a position of responsibility is no longer irreprehensible if they have been charged with a serious crime, and this should include members of the Governing Body."

The GB itself determines what constitutes irreprehensible behaviour. If they decide that they are not being prosecuted for a legitimate reason but because they are being 'persecuted' then it does not matter what the opinion of the world is or what they get charged with, they remain irreprehensible, as far as they are concerned.

Even if they lose this case they will never accept they were to blame in any way. They will just shut down the Australian Bethel and run away like they did in France.

25

The Meetings Really Suck Lately

by Pika_Chu in

jw
friends

warning.....profanity ahead...wimps may want to leave this page.... perhaps it's stupid bringing this up when all you guys are up to speed with how the gb is full of shit anyway, but i just feel like complaining about it.

the borg is royally fucked up, and we need to call them out on it.. all the talks are about armageddon being close, closer than ever, etc.

you know, the usual crap...we've all heard a thousand times...puke puke.... then there's the added factor that everyone in my congo is actually convinced that they cannot miss even a single meeting.

shepherd

"How do I stay sane you ask? Therapy"

No!!!! You keep your sanity by stopping living a double life and get out of the Org. forever, whatever the consequences. Farkel is right - " Until you reach THAT point and re-claim the life that has been stolen from you, you haven't even begun to live again".

"You CANNOT live this way." - It's true.

Living a double life will tear you apart in the end.

The only way is OUT!

21

Watchtower.org Parody Site

by bottleofwater in

i'm still working on it.... http://antgly.bo.lt/84lvi.

shepherd

Suddenly everyone is a lawyer!

These pages are a parody. In Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., the US Supreme Court recognized parody as a fair use.

I think a couple might have missed the point of parody - it is SUPPOSED to imitate and then mock the original. It is not illegal in the USA, and whether or not you found it funny is not the issue, because all humour is subjective.