Posts by joey jojo

28

Do we blame the Governing Body too much?

by no-zombie in

i'd like to start this post with a part from the movie 'v for vendetta'.

here in a dystopian state, the main character named v, explains why things have gone so bad ....

those who do not want us to speak.

joey jojo

Lee Marsh
There are couple or a few huge factors going on here.
The GB assumes total control over all JWs. JWs don't vote them into office. They take it and keep it.
It even tries to have control over those who have left.
The use the God-card and the death card to maximize effect. Fear of both is pretty powerful stuff. For people who do believe in a higher power of some sort, the need to believe in a God that protects them is an ace-up-the-sleeve for many people

The org acts like a totalitarian government. They maintain complete control over its members lives, censor anyone that doubts, even encouraging its members to turn in anyone they suspect may have doubts. If a member turns in another, they may feel some discomfort in doing so but overall they feel they have done the right thing. With that in mind, the members are complicit.

In any totalitarian regime, there are plenty of people that flourish within it and enjoy the prestige, status or power it gives them. While there are not experiencing any personal difficulties, why change anything?

Those of us that are out can see it for what it is, but as all of us know, losing friends/ family isnt easy, parrticularly if you are born into it. The fear of losing your social structure now and your eternal life later are 2 strong motivators to smile and pretend everything is ok for a lot of JW's.

83

Do You Think Trump Is Done?

by minimus in

jw
friends

certain forces appear to be trying to make sure donald trump never runs for president again.

some republicans are clearly abandoning trump and of course the democratic press has been saying trump is done!

is trump’s goose cooked?

joey jojo

It was always going to end like this. The only ones who didnt realise that are Trump supporters.

65

WT and Higher ED

by enoughisenough in

watched this video and was wondering if any of you recall seeing this video besides on this presenter's youtube platform.

anyway, watch it !

it is disgusting but enlightening.

joey jojo

ExBethelitenowPIMA
It’s very hypocritical though,
I know of Elders who went to Uni and now their sons are too.

I agree. If the WT is willing to deter young ones from a decent education, any elders who have kids going to uni should resign.

48

No more public WT & Awake?

by mikeflood in

have you guys noticed, this year 2023 no more public edition magazines...i wonder how they are gonna spin that fact.

joey jojo

It reminds me of this:

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-bart-simpson-at-least-you-tried-26ybwvTX4DTkwst6U

13

Did The Australian Royal Commission Actually Achieve Anything?

by NotFormer in

i've been going through past threads on here during the period i was not very interested in what was going on in jw world.

the australian royal commission era caused a great deal of excitement and inspired some hope, but did any good come of it?.

the 2 witness rule in child sexual assault cases still exists, and elders still don't call the police and try to handle things in house.

joey jojo

The Australian Royal Commission era caused a great deal of excitement and inspired some hope, but did any good come of it?
The 2 witness rule in child sexual assault cases still exists, and elders still don't call the police and try to handle things in house. So was it all just a giant nothing burger?

It caused a lot of bad press for the JW's at the very least. I know of a handful of JW's that were disgusted enough to become inactive, and stay inactive. They probably lost a few members because of it.

54

Is AI going to change the world?

by Reasonfirst in

jw
friends

had lunch with a friend, whose a lecturer in the accounting dept.

of one of australia's best universities.

he told me he expects to lose his job at some point in the next 5 years, as the accounting dept, will disappear, as all accounting will be done by ai programs, so why teach it.. if his fears are correct, that means that any profession that involves the mind, may one day face the same future.

joey jojo

For all its faults, A.I. is still pretty amazing right now. Businesses of all types are being encouraged to adopt A.I. into their models, or get left behind.

The danger might lurk in the future as A.I. becomes more advanced and bypasses human decision making. If various A.I. systems were talking to each other it might not be sentient or intelligent like Skynet, just that the potential for catastrophe might have increased.

38

Were Bible writers flat earthers?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

job 26:7 he stretches out the northern sky over empty space, well should it be the southern that has empty space under it?.

the north pole has the earth under it?.

the south pole has empty space under it?.

joey jojo

Fisherman
So the sun stood still and the moon did not move”

It could be argued that the sun does not move in relation to the earth but if you read carefully, the verse only says the moon did not move. There is poetic argument in relation to the sun.

The Sun standing still is exactly the same as the Sun not moving. I dont think there is any room for poetic licence in that statement.

Heres a confirmed false statement from the bible:

Gen 1:11-13: God creates vegetation on the third day.

Gen 1:14-19 God creates the Sun, along with the moon and stars on the fourth day.

As far as Im aware, vegetation generally doesnt grow and reproduce very well without the Sun.

38

Were Bible writers flat earthers?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

job 26:7 he stretches out the northern sky over empty space, well should it be the southern that has empty space under it?.

the north pole has the earth under it?.

the south pole has empty space under it?.

joey jojo

The idea of Raqia or firmament was apparently like a beaten, flat sheet, on which the stars, moon, sun were attached.

Even now, when you really think about it, its hard to believe the earth on which we stand is spinning at 1000 miles per hour and is orbiting the sun at about 67000 miles per hour.

Imagine trying to comprehend that if you were living in 3000BC.

15

Can the org's finances be viewed?

by BoogerMan in

does anyone know where to view the wtbts of new york and pennsylvania's financial records?.

i mean, they are registered charities aren't they, so surely their income/expenditures must be open to scrutiny?.

joey jojo

Here are the financials for Australia since 2013.

The last couple of years has seen a big drop in donations, from around $25- 30 million to $8 - 10 million per year.

https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/charities/77f70f2a-39af-e811-a963-000d3ad244fd/documents/

This from Canada:

About Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada:

Watch Tower is a 0-star charity with Low demonstrated impact. The charity does not have a website and reports very little about its $30m programs and their results. Watch Tower has large funding reserves and is not financially transparent.

For every dollar donated, 99 cents go to the cause, which is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. When a charity reports overhead spending of less than 5%, it sometimes suggests that the numbers are inaccurate or misreported.

https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/40-watch-tower-bible-and-tract-society-of-canada

17

Unbelievable Amount of PIMOS at Massachusetts JW Convention

by RESPECTFUL OBSERVER in

jw
friends

this comment was made on reddit, perhaps protesting is starting to get the witnesses' attention.. it amazed me how many jehovah's witnesses exiting the convention were reading the protester's signs.

some of the witnesses were taking pictures of the signs.

jws were going by and smiling and giving a thumbs up.

joey jojo

A JW gave me the zoom details for the memorial this year and so I tune into the meeting incognito for a few mins once in a while .

Tonights mid-week had 50 on zoom and only 3 with their cameras on. Worse than last time I checked.