Flipper I think your post is a gem.
Having a realistic grasp of oneself s abilities and limitations is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself.
Good for you!
( I like how you think too)
having recently read orwells 1984, i was impressed with how he understood that both politicians and people abuse language.
this further confirmed to me how the w.t had deceived me by using words to distort reality.
the book 1984, also contains many other great thoughts of george orwell.. of course there have been many other great thinkers, buddah, darwin, freud, einstein and marx come to mind.
Flipper I think your post is a gem.
Having a realistic grasp of oneself s abilities and limitations is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself.
Good for you!
( I like how you think too)
pdf.
why won't watchtower tell abusers "i'm going to tell on you!
" and follow through with the proper authorities?
Is this new?
it embarrassed me.
when i was young my folks made me wear one and i opened it up and took the paper out making it look like it fell out.
after my folks ask what happen i said i dont know.
Not really. I didnt like poking holes in my clothes!
The more I look back, I wasnt a very cooperative JW in many ways.
Its probably why I lasted so long and retained a modicum of sanity.
having recently read orwells 1984, i was impressed with how he understood that both politicians and people abuse language.
this further confirmed to me how the w.t had deceived me by using words to distort reality.
the book 1984, also contains many other great thoughts of george orwell.. of course there have been many other great thinkers, buddah, darwin, freud, einstein and marx come to mind.
The Rebel
A) Who do you consider the great thinkers are who have influenced the way you think today and why?
Bertrand Russell.
I like the way his thoughts evolved throughout his life.
B) Do you think great thinking often comes about by average thinkers debating together?
No, but I guess it would depend on what one calls "average". I do not believe great minds exist only in the realm of the well educated or affluent.
Money and education are enhancers that may unleash a great mind that is already there but so can other things such as exposure. Travel is one form of exposure for example.
I think there are great minds all around us, the way to find them is to be open eyed and eared enough to recognize them and focus on them. Just like the empty tin can makes the most noise - so it is with people. We have to really be aware to seek out the treasures amongst us.
as the song goes..."the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls"
the recent buzz that has hit the online communities concerning the watchtower society and their evil offspring - the jw org - revolves around their apparent financial difficulties.
many factors have been discussed - the real estate flips (and flops), the changes in meetings and field service, the need for donations to cover expenses, the push for donations.
where does the money come from to operate the hospital information network?
Good point Vidiot.
They probably think that God is protecting them.
well, well, that was quite a heartfelt welcome on this site four days ago.
thank you all for the encouraging replies.
one of them was this one from magnum: "hey now, don't just pop your head in and disappear.
How interesting your observations are.
You are getting more "truth" now from people than you were before when you served as a Shepard.
If that is not an indictment of the "doing business model" of the Org I dont know what is.
Looking forward to more from you, so glad you are here.
this is my first post here (not being comments) but i still have to tell my story but for that i need to get my mind together in other to give as much detail as possible to be able to share it.
will do in a future post.. anyway i had to share this.. so i went out on service this morning (i never do i always end up excusing myself because i hate field service) reason i did was to see what the new c.o had to say and he sure did say something.
he was saying what we had to present and he went over the watchtower magazine.
this weeks meeting under the section - living as 'christians', starts off with 'repentance makes a difference', which is a talk given by an elder taken from w06 11/15 27-28 par 7-9. in a nut shell it discusses those who have been disfellowshipped and then show repentance.
it then goes on to discuss reinstatement and how a certain amount of time must pass by before this can take place.
it makes the following point in the paragraph.. 'a disfellowshipped person is not automatically accepted back into the congregation after a certain amount of time has passed.
In the original post it is mentioned that merely restricting privileges would be more appropriate than DFing.
I agree.
However, the restricting of privileges is a "lesser" punishment used on those who dont turn in enough field service hours or who have less than perfect meeting attendance or who are guilty of some other minor infraction, such as dress, grooming etc.
Its all about layers and levels of controlling behavoir.
given recent posts on the forum and discussion, maybe we could play this game: would i lie to you?
in the uk we have this tv programme where minor celebrities tell weird or embarrassing stories about themselves and the rest of the participants have to guess if it is a true story or made up.
when the others have voted then the person reveals if the story is true or false.
I dont know Anders...those both sound perfectly plausible to me but I am going to guess
1 is false
2 is true
I am only basing the above on a question...why would you be quoting Rutherford?
recent developments make me think they might be.
the problems they are facing are not just lack of funds but also draining authority, and the two could be a heady and explosive mix.
one of the best analyses ever written of the watchtower was a book called "trumpet of prophecy" by sociologist james beckford in the 1970s.
I agree with all the well thought out points above,
I wanted to add 2 things. As to the apparent money crisis (if there is indeed such) once you start selling assets but dont have your volunteer funded cash flow, you would feel like there is a crisis if your smart.
The Org is used to its cash coming from the ranks below NOT selling of property.
As stated in the OP if that is drying up then I suspect they are very nervous, in spite of some high priced real estate they own. Its a way of life that is no more....book and magazine sales are flat. Their website has not lit the world on fire like they hoped. What next? They dont seem to know.
The other thought I wanted to add is that another change is weakening of respect for elders in general. In history, when you dont have respect for the law you get chaos and anarchy. Perhaps they worry more about that within the ranks than they do indifference?
People fading in chronic indifference or fighting back with lawsuits and websites that tell the real truth. Its going to be one or the other - perhaps both.