i guess the wtbs needs the $ ...............http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=10816501.
donations are waaaaay down and they have to feed the machine.
Colin Taylor, the NZ Herald's journalist who wrote that article (cited by mann377), is under no illusions about what those "charitable activities" amount to.
Although not stated in his NZ Herald report, he readily volunteered in a private email that these charitable activities would be dominated by the likes of the Candace Cotti case!
Bill.
i posted this on another thread and am pasting it here to start a new one because i would be interested in getting others' thoughts on it.. there has been a downward spiral in the quality of the written publications since the death of fred franz in december 1992. whatever else can be said about franz, the man did have some education and his writing was of good quality.
others in the writing department also had some skill and command of language that gave cogency to their work.
but since franz's death, a huge leadership vacuum has opened in the wts.
Unfortunately, even at their best, WTS publications were nothing more than well written nonsense.
Let the facts speak for themselves!
Bill.
i was just thinking that out of the 200 jws that i actually know, at least 4 of them to my knowledge are pedophiles.
i know for a fact, through personal confidences.
that means, as far as my circle of jovo friends/acquaintances goes, 2% of them are kiddy fiddlers.. without mentioning names or details, how many do you know of for a certainty to be pedos, and what percentage does it work out at, considering all your circle of jovo friends?.
One only, and this only came out in the open several years after I had parted company with the JWs:
- I only discovered that my former close friend was a pedofile when I read of his court case in the local newspaper (he received a prison sentence of six years). It also came out in the same court case that he had had a previous conviction for a similar offence some twenty years beforehand, while he was a JW of good standing; and which I never knew about.
Scary thought - when you consider that he had four daughters of his own. The only consolation in the whole sorry business is that he never laid a finger on any of my daughters!
Biil.
will we ever see another governing body member leave the organization like ray franz did and speak out against them?.
one can only imagine the kind of dirt that's been concealed behind those gb sessions since the 1980's.. what are your thoughts?.
There was, of course, always this unshakeable belief (or desperate hope, perhaps?) that "The Society will correct itself - given time":
- accompanied by stern warnings and dire threats about "Moving ahead of the Society!"
Around about the same time period that Ray Franz spoke about, I heard others rationalize their actions on those grounds. To an extent, this attitude probably had a hold on him, too.
However ........ the reality is that - as they say down here in this part of the world - there is "Buckley's Chance" of that ever happening!
Bill.
will we ever see another governing body member leave the organization like ray franz did and speak out against them?.
one can only imagine the kind of dirt that's been concealed behind those gb sessions since the 1980's.. what are your thoughts?.
King Solomon,
No wonder he had a crisis of conscience!
Bill.
we have seen hundreds of examples of where the watchtower uses the word "evidently" to make their doctrinal point.
(page 9, para 6).
(page 19 para 5).
Without a doubt, their new buzzword is "clearly".
Bill.
i was a regular taxi for alot of people.. we (wife & family) pick up one sister and her 2 children for many years ...he husband had walked out on her and we did'nt mind.. however when we were asked by the cobe wife to pick up and elderly and infermed bro a 3 day assembly (we had 3 young children) i said no.. we pased her and her daughter traviling alone to the assembly.. .
Early on, I was a regular taxi driver for the congregation - or felt like I was, anyway!
Furthermore, my car of that time was a two door ( not a sporty job, though; purely the economy model ). Not that anybody complained - they were only too pleased to have a lift. That's why I have difficulty understanding the fuss there appears to be these days amongst the JWs about "Christendom's cars."
Bill.
last saturday i was home with my wife,having a leisurely brekky pottering around in the kitchen ,then i noticed her standing still pondering ,what`s up i asked , wife :i thought i heard someone knocking ,i looked out the window to see two middle aged guys exciting my front drive.why didn`t you tell me they were their,i didn`t hear them.
i would have engaged them in conversation , but my wife doesn`t think i ought to,just let it go ,is her motto.. but my point is : i`m not deaf , and i didn`t hear them at the door , we were both in the front room ,my wife only thought she heard someone at the door only to be proved right observing them leaving i was in my pj`s and dressing gown so was not going to pursue them.
we have been living here nearly 5 years now and i can honestly say they have never been on our doorstep more than 4 times if that , i personally have only encountered them 3 times at the most.
smiddy,
The scene that you just described is very similar to what I have noticed over the last several years:
- Firstly, as they approach your door, their body language very much gives the impression that they really hope nobody is going to be at home.
- Then, at the first hint of opposition, they definitely give the impression of being only too pleased to have an excuse to disengage the enemy and flee the field!
Bill.
that might seem odd, but it really suited my personality.
even before i became a jw i was annoying people with personal questions.
the thing is that it's sort of ok in normal land to do that as a cult member, but not as a "normal citizen".. .
What else is there to say, but "each to their own!"
Bill.
PS: When anybody buttonholes me now - whether at my door, on the street, or by telephone - and tells me that they are "going around asking what people think of such and such?" , I feel like replying:
"Why do you want to know, and why should I tell you?" (In other words, "ever hear of minding your own bloody business!")
i was cleaning my bookshelf earlier this week and got rid of all the wts magazines.
as for the books i haven't decided yet.
what about you?.
In a word, no.
All I had was disposed of by means of a box of matches, and several litres of kerosene.
In some ways, rather regrettable, as I no longer have anything available for research purposes. But I tell you what, at the time the act of torching the lot was therapeutic!
Bill.
