Vidiot

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Posts by Vidiot

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  29

  Patterson New Visitor Centre & Museum Announced

  by raymond frantz in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://www.jwupdates.com/post/new-patterson-visitor-center-and-first-century-museum.

  january 1, 2024, marked the official opening of the patterson visitor center, located at the watchtower educational center in patterson, new york, u.s.a. the feature museum of the visitors’ center is entitled “first-century bible village.” brother isaiah miller, who works in the museum department at bethel, said: “the bible village was designed to provide everyone with a realistic and educational experience.

  studies show that interactive learning has a powerful effect on people of all ages.” after her tour, one visitor exclaimed: “this museum made me feel like i had been transported back to the land of ancient israel.

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  Vidiot

  “I also loved grinding the wheat to make flour…”

  …Said no six-year-old anywhere, ever.
• 
  56

  The Reason Behind Recent Watchtower Changes

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  eric wilson's video is worth a view.. https://youtu.be/iil4fryuczk?si=f566n0tdqgpqc2ok.

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  Vidiot

  LongHairGal - “…Everything they did was in response to outside threats to their ‘wealth’…”

  I agree, but with a caveat.

  The Org leadership doesn’t pursue wealth and “position” for its own sake… all available anecdotal evidence indicates that rather that greed-driven shysters, these guys really are, in fact, full-on True Believers (and IMO, the kind of ideology-based blunders they’ve repeatedly made over the years absolutely backs that up)…

  …i.e. they’re not having cocaine-and-viagra-fueled call-girl orgies on beds of cash (…at least… I don’t think they are).

  For the WTS, wealth is, first and foremost, a means to an end… an impenetrable wall to ensure its continued survival.

  It has to be.

  After all, if it lost its wealth, it couldn’t function…

  …and if it cannot function, it - ultimately - cannot survive…

  …and if it can’t survive, it can’t very well be “Gods Exclusive Earthly Organization”, now, can it?

  And from their POV, that possibility is unthinkable.

  Therefore, as you said, everything they do is, indeed, in response to outside threats to their wealth…

  …because, in truth, outside threats to the Org’s wealth are, in fact, existential threats to the Org’s very survival.

  And that simply cannot be permitted.
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  29

  Patterson New Visitor Centre & Museum Announced

  by raymond frantz in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://www.jwupdates.com/post/new-patterson-visitor-center-and-first-century-museum.

  january 1, 2024, marked the official opening of the patterson visitor center, located at the watchtower educational center in patterson, new york, u.s.a. the feature museum of the visitors’ center is entitled “first-century bible village.” brother isaiah miller, who works in the museum department at bethel, said: “the bible village was designed to provide everyone with a realistic and educational experience.

  studies show that interactive learning has a powerful effect on people of all ages.” after her tour, one visitor exclaimed: “this museum made me feel like i had been transported back to the land of ancient israel.

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  Vidiot

  Taking a page from Ken Ham’s playbook, huh?

  Worth a shot, I s’pose.

  😏
• 
  14

  Stop Funding Watchtower in Canada!

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is worth a look!.

  https://youtu.be/wxfczptd2n8?si=4jo-nuzmlvglbvkm.

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  Vidiot

  Yup, nobody’s coming to vouch for ‘em there, except lawyers who get paid either way…

  …they’re being called out on their increasingly uncharitable policies, and can’t justify or defend them to any convincing degree…

  … and the way they’re waging their fight is making them look dishonest, entitled, callous, and frankly, kinda stupid.

  Like I said, the perfect candidates for the system to make an example of.

  Christ, I don’t think they could’ve done it better if they’d set themselves up for it on purpose.

  😵‍💫
• 
  14

  Stop Funding Watchtower in Canada!

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is worth a look!.

  https://youtu.be/wxfczptd2n8?si=4jo-nuzmlvglbvkm.

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  Vidiot

  Blondie - “…religions in the US tend to believe that a privilege taken from one religion, could be taken away from all religions…”

  They do, indeed.

  However, there are some significant unique factors that suggest this might not actually happen here, though…
  

  a) …the vast majority of these other churches actually perform authentic charitable acts that benefit quite a number of people, whereas the WTS most definitely does not…

  b) …the Org has never really made an effort to make “friends in high places” who’d come to bat for ‘em if things ever went sideways…

  …and…

  c) …there’s always the chance that public opinion may compel the Justice System to “make an example” of an egregiously offensive group over institutionalized child abuse… and the WTS is the ideal candidate, for all the reasons.
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  56

  The Reason Behind Recent Watchtower Changes

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  eric wilson's video is worth a view.. https://youtu.be/iil4fryuczk?si=f566n0tdqgpqc2ok.

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  Vidiot

  Bias also plays a much bigger role that one might think.

  Griwing up, I had assumed that intelligence basically immunized one against bias…

  …imagine my shock and dismay learning that even the smartest folks can be as susceptible to bias as anyone else…
  

  …moreso even, because the self-awareness of said intelligence has a tendency to, in fact, reinforce said bias.

  😵‍💫
• 
  17

  Has The Interpretation of the Beast Changed?

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my understanding* is that the un is supposed to be the wild beast of revelation.

  the un only came into being after wwii, so what was the beast before the new light came about?

  i can't see a speculative organisation like the wt not having an interpretation of the beast before the un came into being.

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  Vidiot

  Kinda like the Religious Right in the US…

  …they keep winning elections, but keep losing the “culture wars”.

  😏
• 
  33

  Can you openly express doubts in the congregation these days?

  by Elena in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know of a lovely old sister who has been a jw for several decades now who openly expresses doubts about jw interpretations.. she does it in such a lovely way and everyone loves her.

  she is such a sweet old soul, makes everyone happy around her.. she has said things like- even if we have got it wrong about this and that i still believe the bible is gods word”.

  she answers up regularly and she goes on ministry groups but like most of us she is definitely jwlite, we don’t really do door to door work anymore.

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  Vidiot

  I’ve had a neatly-trimmed beard for a couple decades now, and all my old JW relatives and associates have seen it at one time or another over the years.

  I’ve never really been given any shit about it, and have, in fact, received compliments for it… one from an elder’s wife, in fact.

  Nevertheless, I have this overwhelming urge to go back to my old Hall in a shirt and tie…

  …completely clean-shaven…

  …just to see how they’d react.

  😏
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  56

  The Reason Behind Recent Watchtower Changes

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  eric wilson's video is worth a view.. https://youtu.be/iil4fryuczk?si=f566n0tdqgpqc2ok.

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  Vidiot

  Beth Sarim - “A sucker is born every minute… That’s how the Borg has survived as long as it has… As long as there are malleable, impressionable, naive, & gullible minds, people will buy into this crap.”

  To which I have two responses…

  a) …folks like that are, IMO, too far gone to save… as long as it’s some other collective instead of the Borg (and let’s be honest, most others would be a significant improvement, anyway), and…

  b) …if the people who do still buy in (after everything that’s been happening) are also still broke as shit, that’s a stopgap measure, at best.
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  56

  The Reason Behind Recent Watchtower Changes

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  eric wilson's video is worth a view.. https://youtu.be/iil4fryuczk?si=f566n0tdqgpqc2ok.

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  Vidiot

  Even if they don’t lose their tax-exemption…

  …the self-neutering they’d have to do to keep it would virtually eliminate all the things about them that they held up as “proof” they had The Truth.

  Either way, where’s the incentive to stay?