ok in the effort of full disclosure, i have had a couple of drinks and recently experienced a circuit assembly and a bad experience with a co.. i don't know where to effing begin.
first of all the circuit assembly was a joke.
half the assembly was about pioneering and selling your soul to be a no-pay salesman for the borg.
Thank you for posting your rant. It helps me see matters more clearly.
At the top, the Organization is drifting towards becoming a "denomination". At the CO level, you have men in particular who are driven into fanaticism by the terror of the thought that they wasted their lives.
This may explain why the Organization is moving in two contradictory directions.
metatron
ok in the effort of full disclosure, i have had a couple of drinks and recently experienced a circuit assembly and a bad experience with a co.. i don't know where to effing begin.
first of all the circuit assembly was a joke.
half the assembly was about pioneering and selling your soul to be a no-pay salesman for the borg.
There are many elders unhappy with the new arrangements from the Society. It's gonna be fascinating to watch.
You should claim illness and quit. You'll go nuts trying to exist otherwise.
metatron
i've spoken privately with some witnesses over the past couple weeks and it caused me to think about an analogy.
i turn to totalitarian examples because that's the basic structure of the 'truth'.. as nazi germany encountered defeat, several things happened.
some higher ups sought to escape into surrender in the west because they realized defeat was inevitable.
I've spoken privately with some Witnesses over the past couple weeks and it caused me to think about an analogy. I turn to totalitarian examples because that's the basic structure of the 'truth'.
As Nazi Germany encountered defeat, several things happened. Some higher ups sought to escape into surrender in the West because they realized defeat was inevitable. Even Rommel thought that, if D-Day was successful, it was just a matter of time.
Others, such as the SS, became even more fanatical, even while Berlin was surrounded. The common people were mostly deceived, right down to the end.
And what do we observe in the Organization currently?
There are changes to make being a Witness easier such as fewer assembly days, one less CO meeting, and some easing on counting time (defeat inevitable faction)
CO's now have absolute power and already (!) anecdotes are emerging about their abusive and fanatical behavior, especially behind the scenes. Many elders are already unhappy and this creates yet another burden. At the same time, countless rural congregations are fading away. (The SS, shooting the "disloyal"in the streets while the Russians advance on Berlin).
And of course, the average Witless is uncomprehending and clueless, spouting nonsense about the End coming (while often closing their wallets).
Well, I'm cheering on the Red Army in this war but the above is just my attempt to understand why they seem to be going in different directions at the same time.
metatron
wow.
you read about it here.
but, it still doesn't prepare you.. our hall passed a resolution to give about 15,000 to the wt.
Most congregations I know were sending $ for building Kingdom Halls before this - or paying a mortgage.
This new arrangement will suffer in 2 ways:
1) the WTS takes the money set aside and...... congregations stop savings thereafter.
2) Apathetic Witlesses and craven, sycophant elders pledge monthly payments they won't seriously pay.
Once upon a time, Assemblies had food services. The food used to be pretty good at one time. They used to let the cops patrolling stadium grounds eat too.
Then, the "voluntary donation' took over and the food vanished. It was embarrassing to watch.
With this precedent in mind, why would anyone think this new coercion will work over the long term? And with less mags and literature, why not reduce donations for these, if forced to pay donations otherwise?
metatron
which would the watchtower choose if it came down to this in the united states or europe?
losing tax free status would mean losing millions of dollars.
ending shunning means people would leave by the boatloads.
OK, if you want to stir up trouble about df'ing, I can only suggest:
Try hitting them about df'ing gays or "disassociation" for joining the military or how it relates to child custody cases.
Gay groups used to attend assemblies to check for hate speech. And the whole "DA" thing was invented by Fred Franz to dodge trouble involved with expelling Witnesses who join the military. It came in handy when they got caught with the Bulgarian Blood compromise (i.e. they lied to authorities and got away with it).
Yes, 1st Amendment protections are pretty strong. Try other legal systems.
metatron
which would the watchtower choose if it came down to this in the united states or europe?
losing tax free status would mean losing millions of dollars.
ending shunning means people would leave by the boatloads.
It came from an elderly couple (now passed away who told me about their "rebellion"). If you check old WTS books (written by Rutherford), you will find strong quotes about how Armageddon was so close, blah, blah, blah, wait for marriage.
Old timers thought 'woe to the pregnant women in those days' might apply to them. Also, that maybe they needed the advice of 'ancient worthies' in the resurrection to pick the right mate.
This idiocy mostly ended when Knorr got married. Suddenly, there were proposals in Bethel, I was told!
metatron
which would the watchtower choose if it came down to this in the united states or europe?
losing tax free status would mean losing millions of dollars.
ending shunning means people would leave by the boatloads.
I don't see a problem if they give up 'official' disfellowshipping.
They shunned people for getting married and/or having kids during the Rutherford era. Witnesses shunned each other in Nazi death camps, too. There was no official disfellowshipping back then.
Witnesses are downright eager to shun each other, in my experience as an elder. The Society could get rid of the announcement and judicial committees and it wouldn't change much.
The Jews in Jesus' day shunned zealously. Didn't make them compassionate or morally clean.
metatron
i realize that people from many cultures come to this site,though mostly english speaking.
i watched a bbc report about a 3rd country and wondered:.
how important is a sense of progress in your culture - and in the "truth"?.
I realize that people from many cultures come to this site,though mostly English speaking. I watched a BBC report about a 3rd country and wondered:
How important is a sense of progress in your culture - and in the "truth"?
Progress is a fairly recent concept if you consider how many centuries have passed while people lived in traditional cultures. You get born, suffer thru life, have kids and die while traditional religion dominates. That's just the way it is (or was)
Fast forward to the present and expectations change. Why isn't the economy growing? Unemployment? Injustice? Where's that cure for cancer? We can go to the moon but we can't (fill in the blank).
As American movies have been sometimes derided for usually 'having a happy ending' (by Europeans) I think this emphasis on 'progress' (however real) is mostly a part of US cultural influence.
Anyway, it seems to me that entire governments - or religions (that got started in the US) could fall if their constituents don't feel that 'progress' is happening.
The Organization better keep hauling in the broke and sick as publishers. Other signs of 'progress' might be hard to find.
metatron
yesterday i was trying out the hobgoblin from the wychwood brewery, and today i'm enjoying a cold bishops finger.. .
both are excellent, but i am a bit fond now of the hobgoblin ruby beer.
any other recommendations?
Two Irishmen get stuck in a rowboat after their ship sinks.
Searching the boat, they find a magic lamp. They rub it and a genie appears.
"I'll grant any wish you want",he says.
One of the men says, "Make the whole ocean into Guinness!"
Poof! The waves turn brown and foamy.
His companion in the boat says, "Oh, good thinking Sean! Now we have to pi$$ in the boat!"
metatron
it's happened before.
how much crap can any rational human being take before they just snap & walk away disgusted?.
Hmmm... sounds kinda like the Parable of the Wineskins, Vid.
Escalating commitment can be a sad thing, as Vietnam should have taught everybody. I suspect that many elders are swallowing hard and putting yet another bit of their manhood on the shelf these days, as they contemplate the CO's absolute rule coming.
metatron
