Posts by Socrateswannabe

36

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 02-09-2014 WT Study (QUICKLY SHAKEN)

by blondie in

jw
friends

the wts?.

we request of you not to be quickly shaken from your reason.2 thess.

(1 tim.

Socrateswannabe

I think paragraph 2 might have been accidentally omitted from your excellent summary. This paragraph was the one I found to be most odious:

"Misleading statements and outright lies about Jehovah's servants and their beliefs are sometimes featured in the media. Newspaper headlines, televison documentaries, and Internet Web pages are used to propagate untruths. As a result, some people become disturbed, gullibly believing such lies."

These guys are the ultimate spin doctors. If people who believe what they read in the media are gullible, what word can be used to describe those who believe what they read in the pages of the Watchtower? I'm not sure there's a word for that.

48

What is with the WT obsession with King David??

by BU2B in

it seems like at least once a month he is brought up as a good example in the study wt.

it seems like he is given more praise than jesus.

have you noticed this?

Socrateswannabe

Oh sure David killed his "ten thousands", cut the foreskins off a couple hundred dead enemies so he could add another goodbody to the old harem, bedded down a loyal friend's wife while he was out killin' Philistines for him, then murdered the guy before he could find out, but hey--we're not striving for perfection here, are we? He was simply practicing the "follow a boob" theory.

A friend of mine says that if a true moron proceeds you in anything you attempt to do, no matter how badly you screw up you'll still look better than him. In my opinion, old Lot--maybe one of David's ancestors I guess or at least somebody he had heard of--made David look like a choir boy. "Righteous" Lot did nothing more than offer up his daughters to a ravenous mob to be raped and murdered, and when that didn't work out, he decided to have his own fun with the girls once it was lights-out in the cave. And face it, Lot was just unlikeable. What a drip! At least David had some charisma!

Seriously, it took some twisted minds to create these fictional characters like David and Lot. Makes you wonder if the writers of the bible weren't more heinously demented than the characters they created. And you're right, the WT writers are obsessed with both of them! They can't pick role models any better than that?

179

Were you 'alive in '75' and how was that year for you?

by punkofnice in

i was a junior borgite in 1975. i remeber looking at the calendar at work in october and thinking: 'armageddon isn't here yet.....and it doesn't feel like it will be here anytime soon either!'.

i was surprised that jehovah hadn't obeyed the superior command to bring the big 'a' as instructed to him by fred franz.

how dare god disobey the jw leader!!!!!.

Socrateswannabe

I was a teenager and I remember all of the hype leading up to it. Scared me enough to join the regular pioneer ranks right out of high school. I was at the summer convention at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1973 when one of the WT heavies (either Knorr or Franz but I can't remember which) gave a talk that left no doubt that 1975 was the end. The GB has blamed the hysteria of the time on the R&F but the craziness definitely came straight from the top.

27

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 01-19-2014 WT Study (8 DUKES)

by blondie in

and princes and mighty men.. *** w97 5/15 p. 19 par.

shepherds and eight dukes.

upon the words of hezekiah the king of.

Socrateswannabe

I just posted this on Billy's thread that deals with the same article:

This is a small point compared to the bigger issues that have been brought up here, but I found an interesting article that discusses the whole Isaiah/Emmanuel/Mahershalalhashbaz thing. The Society continues to primarily apply Isaiah's prophecy of Immanuel to Jesus, but this article tears that theory to shreds, IMHO.

http://infidels.org/library/modern/farrell_till/prophecy.html

Scroll down to the section, "Prophetic Chicanery"

74

Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-19-2014 WT Study (7 Shepherds, 8 Dukes)

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

16-20. we shall also have to raise up against him seven shepherds, yes, eight dukes of mankind.mic.

what is the most important thing that you can do now to prepare for any future attack on gods people?.

all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.. .

Socrateswannabe

This is a small point compared to the bigger issues that have been brought up here, but I found an interesting article that discusses the whole Isaiah/Emmanuel/Mahershalalhashbaz thing. The Society continues to primarily apply Isaiah's prophecy of Immanuel to Jesus, but this article tears that theory to shreds, IMHO.

http://infidels.org/library/modern/farrell_till/prophecy.html

Scroll down to the section, "Prophetic Chicanery"

279

Golden Age Goodies

by Leolaia in

recently i had the pleasure to examine a stash of 1920s and 1930s golden age magazines, among the rarest of watchtower publications.

i thought it would be a fun idea to have a thread in which i share with you some of the amazing, ridiculous, hilarious things contained therein.

hence, this is the first post of a series of excerpts, scans, etc.

Socrateswannabe

Good god! I knew there was some kooky stuff in the early publications but this is some of the wackiest stuff I've read. And I thought the 8 donkeys in Brooklyn were tops at spreading crap. They are not fit to carry Rutherford's slop bucket. This guy had gonads galore, plus it helped that he was just wild ass crazy. What a horrible legacy we have here, those of us who are still stuck in this organization of the insane. Thanks to whoever bumped this after all these years. Also, I miss Leolaia!

24

What if the GB hired you as the new CEO of Jehovah's Witnesses?

by kneehighmiah in

i'm pretending the gb decided to hire a ceo to combat dwindling membership and overall apathy.

here is a list of the changes i would make to the organization if i were hired as ceo.

feel free to list your ideas (serious and humorous)!.

Socrateswannabe

As a (reluctant) active JW, I would love to see just about any of these changes take place. But your question is what would I do if the GB hired me as the new CEO. That assumes that the GB would still be in charge, much like a corporate BOD can hire/fire their top executive. So although I would certainly push for reform, I would also have to try to please my bosses (the GB) so that I could keep my phony-baloney job (quote from Blazing Saddles, sorry). And CEO's have learned from fiascos like J.C. Penny's attempt of wholesale change by a new CEO--it almost drove them out of business. Lesson learned: Don't alienate your customer base. So truthfully, if you don't cut the head off of the snake (the GB), very little will change.

82

Who are the real WT puppet masters ?

by cookiemaster in

a few days ago i posted my estimations about how much the wt actually makes a year.

you guys were all really helpful and provided a lot of useful info.

a good estimate would be 2-3 billion dollars a year.

Socrateswannabe

Apognophos, I see your point. None of us can know the motivation of the GB now or in the early times, when much of the JW doctrine was formulated. And the reference to Hitler was not meant to paint the GB with the same brush as the Nazis. They simply understood the same, time-proven formula--no one clings to an organization without some sort of conflict being present, and organizations that understand that theory actually create the conflict, saving themselves from the uncertainty of fate. Yet I'm sure you're right--they just went with what worked. I probably wouldn't characterize their intent as malicious, rather more calculating than anything else.

82

Who are the real WT puppet masters ?

by cookiemaster in

a few days ago i posted my estimations about how much the wt actually makes a year.

you guys were all really helpful and provided a lot of useful info.

a good estimate would be 2-3 billion dollars a year.

Socrateswannabe

Apognophos said: Though I wonder, if the changes have always been in reaction to something practical, what purpose did the blood teaching serve?

In order to remain viable, a cult or a totalitarian regime must create a enemy for itself. The menace of an enemy causes its members to band tightly together and stick close to the organization's heirarchy for protection, thus strengthening the regime. Hitler realized this, and it's possible that the GB understood the concept early on, as well. If you look at WT doctrine, it is formulated to piss people off--to create hatred toward itself and its members. The Witnesses won't fight for their country, they won't celebrate revered holy days, they let their children die before submitting to blood transfusions, etc, etc, ad nauseam. So what purpose would the WT religion serve if it was conformist? No purpose at all and it would have ceased to exist decades ago. An earlier poster said no blood and other such doctrine supports the WT brand, and that is accurate. The "brand" creates cohesion and helps the organization perpeteuate itself.

186

Just out of curiosity, how many elders (current & ex) do we have here?

by mrquik in

jw
friends

me.

Socrateswannabe

Currently serving as an elder. Makes me feel like I'm leading a double life but in reverse. I feel untrue to myself and long for an authentic existence. Backroom politics running rampant through elderdom shows that this organization is no different than any "worldly" one. JW doctrine is so screwed up that it takes a very naive person to swallow the drivel.