The Big Machine

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Posts by The Big Machine

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  155

  Survey: How long were you in the cult vs what year you were baptized

  by ILoveTTATT2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi people,.

  i want as much data as possible on the effect of the internet on the time captured by the cult.. please answer the three following questions about yourself or about someone you know (for example, if your parents or grandparents were jw's and left).

  1) were you raised as a jw, or did you convert?.

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  The Big Machine

  1) Raised

  2) Baptized: 2000

  3) I started waking up in 2003 but didn't actually leave until 2015.
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  33

  Canada zone visit March 2016

  by Richard_I in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  canada's getting a zone visit in march 2016, but no mention of who's doing the visit.

  praying it's anthony morris and we get our own tight pants talk.

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  The Big Machine

  David Splane was at the international convention in Montreal sometime in the early 2000s (I can't remember what year it was).

  He also visited one of the local congs in Ottawa a couple of times over the past 10 years since his wife is related to one of the elders there.

  Anthony Morris gave the Canadian zone talk a few years ago. I can't remember exactly what he said in it other than he appeared very smug and I left the assembly hall thinking there's no way I'm surviving armageddon since I'm not pioneering. Luckily, I was already on the way out at that point and his talk just hastened my waking up.
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  23

  Fade update...

  by StarTrekAngel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have attended only one meeting in the past 3 weeks.

  i know there is no way to leave this cult fast enough, but is my fade too fast?

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  The Big Machine

  What worked for me is I had already been in a congregation outside my territory for 10 years because of "work reasons". Though the real reason I originally moved to that cong was because most of my friends went to it. I eventually woke up to the TTAT. When the time came to fade I started looking at other congregations in the area, trying to find one where I wouldn't know anyone. I found one and moved there because of "work reasons" again. I think this was probably made easier since I was coming from a congregation that was outside of my territory as well. Once my records were received I stopped cold turkey. It's been 5 months and haven't heard anything yet from the elders in that congregation. Probably helps that they hardly met me and I live quite far outside the territory.
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  5

  Rest In Peace Scott Weiland

  by freemindfade in

  1. social
  2. current

  bummer news, another amazing music talent and rock legend leaves us.... shockwaves were felt through hollywood and the rock community when news hit that scott weiland, frontman of the stone temple pilots, was found dead in his tour bus in minnesota..

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  The Big Machine

  As you might tell by my avatar and username (a velvet revolver song), this news really shook me up yesterday. STP is my favourite band and Weiland is my favourite singer. Thought he was going to die 16-18 years ago so the fact that he lasted a lot longer should make me happy. But still really sad about it.
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  72

  CEDARS (Again) Is it really about religious beliefs?

  by Listener in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  john cedars has posted his latest blog "the trouble with apostates (and why it shouldn't put you off becoming one)".

  i acknowledge that he is entitled to his opionin just as we are ours but i am disappointed in some of his comments.. at this stage i'll try to be objective about it.

  he is defending his own position after all.. what bothers me most is his comments about athiests and christians which he seems to identify as being in conflict with each other.

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  The Big Machine

  In my personal opinion, JW Survey and activists like Cedars are what helped me wake up. Mike and Kim just came off as crazy apostates, like the ones you hear about at the assemblies. With that said, activists shouldn't be attacking each other whether they're religious, atheist, aggressive, or non-aggressive. Getting people out of the Borg is the most important thing, not how it's achieved.
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  54

  Does the W.T have financial problems are are they just rebranding?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it is evident that the w.t has recently re-branded itself, and has become fairly modern in its marketing techniques.

  so the organisation is in that respect forward thinking, and the former way of doing things has past.. .

  but this rebranding has been done by marketing experts, who maybe realise progress is progress, and that with modernisation many bethelites " even as free volunteers" are possibly no longer required.

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  The Big Machine

  That would be really interesting too. My money would be on Mark Sanderson since he's lowest on the seniority totem pole.
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  54

  Does the W.T have financial problems are are they just rebranding?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it is evident that the w.t has recently re-branded itself, and has become fairly modern in its marketing techniques.

  so the organisation is in that respect forward thinking, and the former way of doing things has past.. .

  but this rebranding has been done by marketing experts, who maybe realise progress is progress, and that with modernisation many bethelites " even as free volunteers" are possibly no longer required.

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  The Big Machine

  To me, the fact that they unveiled this whole new kingdom hall design plan with much fanfare, then a few months later cancelled or delayed it all after explicitly saying in a JW broadcasting episode that "more funds are going out than coming in", means there is actually trouble in Watchtower land. They wouldn't flip flop like that unless they didn't see it coming when the new kingdom hall designs were unveiled.
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  90

  Kingdom Consolidation and Sales are coming – Reliable Source

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i heard form a reliable source that a kingdom hall consolidation is going to be happening in the us.

  currently they are looking at every kingdom hall to see if they could and should sell it.

  any kingdom hall that has not been updated and is in a bad location (long driveway, not in a visible location etc...) will be sold.

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  The Big Machine

  Deleted
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  37

  Do You Think 10% Tithing is Coming?

  by xjwsrock in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  firstly, there are cash flow problems in wt town.

  i don't think it's necessary to list all the cutbacks and layoffs, but there have been many.. their thirst for money seems higher too in my opinion.

  more entitled may be a better way of putting it.

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  The Big Machine

  I think if the financial problems are serious, they will introduce personal tithing. They won't have any other choice. I really hope it happens, because like many here, I think it would wake a lot of people up.
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  48

  Where has all the money gone?

  by gingerbread in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a number of years ago when i was still active, our service group was having a coffee break with the visiting circuit overseer.

  during the conversation he mentioned that the "society" was now being run like a business.

  being raised in the "truth" i thought that rather odd (and my eyes began to be opened!

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  The Big Machine

  I can't see the Watchtower saying that there's more funds going out than in like they did in the May broadcast unless that were actually true. They have to know that kind of soliciting would have angered a lot of people. I think there is a problem and we will see tithing similar to the Mormons. Tithing would wake a lot of people up.