I think we only had it at the Memorial, but I lived in a pretty low-crime area. Except for higher crime areas, where it may have been necessary, it wasn't a big thing that I was aware of. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they had instituted it even in low-crime areas to prevent apostates from coming in and pamphleting cars during the meeting.
NeonMadman
JoinedPosts by NeonMadman
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Did you / do you have KH Parking Lot Security Duty?
by Alfred injust wondering if this is only a regional thing.... i've been in two kingdom halls in the 90's where the parking was basically shared or public... so every 15 minutes, baptized publishers (who were not irregular or inactive) were rotated and had to stand outside in all kinds of weather just to watch everyone's vehicles.
when the weather was nice, it was a good opportunity stretch out to take a break from the borefest.
but i always thought that this was so contrary to their belief of "putting kingdom interests first"... i even approached an elder one time about this and asked: "why are we putting material things ahead of listening to the public talk?
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NeonMadman
And if you were born in certain secular areas of Europe, you'd probably be atheist or agnostic.
None of which says anything about the truth or falsity of the given belief systems. The argument presented in this graphic is often used against anyone who believes that their particular belief system is true, but it really is no argument. The prevalence of belief or unbelief in certain geographical areas is unrelated to the validity of those beliefs. Citing the cultural, emotional or psychological reasons why someone believes only tells you something about that person, not about the truth value of his or her belief system. As an argument, this could actually be seen as a form of the genetic fallacy, since it seems to imply that belief systems are wrong because of how they were acquired, and not because of their merits as truth claims.
As C.S Lewis wrote,
" Suppose I think, after doing my accounts, that I have a large balance at the bank. And suppose you want to find out whether this belief of mine is "wishful thinking." You can never come to any conclusion by examining my psychological condition. Your only chance of finding out is to sit down and work through the sum yourself. When you have checked my figures, then, and then only, will you know whether I have that balance or not. If you find my arithmetic correct, then no amount of vapouring about my psychological condition can be anything but a waste of time. If you find my arithmetic wrong, then it may be relevant to explain psychologically how I came to be so bad at my arithmetic, and the doctrine of the concealed wish will become relevant — but only after you have yourself done the sum and discovered me to be wrong on purely arithmetical grounds. It is the same with all thinking and all systems of thought. If you try to find out which are tainted by speculating about the wishes of the thinkers, you are merely making a fool of yourself. You must first find out on purely logical grounds which of them do, in fact, break down as arguments. Afterwards, if you like, go on and discover the psychological causes of the error."
In the same essay, Lewis also wrote,
You must show that a man is wrong before you start explaining why he is wrong. The modern method is to assume without discussion that he is wrong and then distract his attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became so silly. In the course of the last fifteen years I have found this vice so common that I have had to invent a name for it. I call it "Bulverism". Some day I am going to write the biography of its imaginary inventor, Ezekiel Bulver, whose destiny was determined at the age of five when he heard his mother say to his father — who had been maintaining that two sides of a triangle were together greater than a third — "Oh you say that because you are a man ." "At that moment", E. Bulver assures us, "there flashed across my opening mind the great truth that refutation is no necessary part of argument. Assume that your opponent is wrong, and the world will be at your feet. Attempt to prove that he is wrong or (worse still) try to find out whether he is wrong or right, and the national dynamism of our age will thrust you to the wall." That is how Bulver became one of the makers of the Twentieth Century.
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Power Supplier Fired Jehovahs Witness For Wanting One Day Off to Attend Religious Convention
by Bangalore inpower supplier fired jehovah's witness for wanting one day off to attend religious convention.. http://thejobmouse.com/2012/01/27/power-supplier-fired-jehovah%e2%80%99s-witness-for-wanting-one-day-off-to-attend-religious-conven.
bangalore.
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NeonMadman
I had a job where I used to get hassled that way. Frankly, as much as I think it's a bad idea to be a JW and to go to those conventions, I'm on the side of the JW woman on this issue, at least in principle. At one job in particular, I always got hassled when I requested a day off for the convention, yet other guys who wanted a day off to go to the beach or run personal errands had no problem at all. Fortunately, I always (grudgingly) was allowed the day in the end, but I could probably still have made a case for religious discrimination. This woman has the right to believe what she wishes, no matter how wrong it is, and she should be given the same freedom to practice her beliefs that other employees have. If other employees are allowed days off for personal reasons (and I'm sure they are - what company today doesn't make at least some PTO days available?), then she should be too.
What actually crossed my mind when I read this story, though, was that she may have been a problem employee in other ways, and the company just used this issue as an excuse to get rid of her. Probably a bad management decision, if that's what it was, since they are likely to lose the inevitable lawsuit.
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Star Trek - the Borg
by finally awake init just occurred to me that we use the term "borg" when talking about the organization.
it's a cute play on words, but i wonder if the writers of star trek who came up with the idea of the borg had some experience or connection with witnesses.
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NeonMadman
Actually, I think it was ex-JWs who co-opted the expression from Star Trek, then picked up on the fact that "Borg" makes a decent contraction of "Brooklyn Organization." Maybe in a few years we'll have to talk about the "Worg" instead?
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Looking for ex-JW in Upstate NY
by Anony Mous inanyone living in the upstate ny area?
i am looking for expert witnesses (ex-jw) to collaborate my story regarding jw doctrine.
i will pay for time lost, travel etc.
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NeonMadman
That's a pretty good hike for me, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. What exactly are you looking for someone to do?
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Looking for ex-JW in Upstate NY
by Anony Mous inanyone living in the upstate ny area?
i am looking for expert witnesses (ex-jw) to collaborate my story regarding jw doctrine.
i will pay for time lost, travel etc.
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NeonMadman
How far upstate are you? I live in northern NJ, right next to the NY state border.
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are these publications legit?
by emanresu ini was searching the 'net for collections of watchtower literature and i came across these.
has anyone ever heard of them?
are they legit?.
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NeonMadman
Yes, they appear to be genuine. Not everything is actually a WTS publication. I see some early Bible Student materials and a few opposition pamphlets. But mostly, these are actual WT pubs.
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I have never felt at home at a bar
by sabastious inlast night i went to the casino for a friends birthday, we played blackjack and some slots, it was a 6.5/10 on the fun scale type of night.
i got up from the blackjack table to go to the bar to get myself a drink.
i sat down at the bar and ordered my favorite drink: a long island iced tea.
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NeonMadman
I know the feeling; I've always felt out of place in bars. My daughter competes in a lot of karaoke contests and likes me to come see her, but I've never been comfortable on the few occasions when we've gone. Even when I was young and single, I never enjoyed being in bars. Not sure if it's the JW thing or something else.
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where are these words in the bible?
by bigmac ini may have asked this before.. i dont have a bible in the house ( or want one ).
can anyone tell me --where--in any translation---these exact words or phrases occur?.
jehovah's witness.
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NeonMadman
But, of course, the fact that the word "Trinity" doesn't appear in the Bible PROVES beyond doubt that the doctrine is false.
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Why didn't Jehovah ??
by Phizzy inas jehovah said to the israelites "you are my witnesses" and was happy to let them get on with things without major interference by him, he must have broadly approved of what the nation was doing, until jesus came and changed things.. for hundreds of years before jesus the jw's (israelites) had decided that the name of god was too holy to pronounce.
had he been upset by this he would have sent a prophet to sort this out, but no, it continued as practice,for 200 years at least,and remained uncondemned by jesus.. if jehovah had really wanted his people to use his name, would not a prophet, at least would not his son, have said so ?.
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NeonMadman
Since the Septuagint was the Greek translation in common use at the time of Jesus and the apostles, and since the name YHWH is absent from the Septuagint (which is why YHWH is translated as "LORD" in modern Bibles, not because the 'churches removed the name'), one would have to ask why Jesus and the apostles never complained about the Divine Name having been removed from the Bible, as JWs do today. If they used the Name in those days as JWs would have us believe, you would think they would have said something about that deficiency. Instead, we have the apostles quoting from the Septuagint without modification, using the Greek word "Kyrios" ("Lord") where the name YHWH would have appeared in the Hebrew. It just doesn't seem like it was a big deal to them.