Posts by Phizzy

17

"Everyone Wants To Leave"

by NotFormer in

a thread about steve hassan re-emerged and got me looking him up.

his wikipedia entry had a point under "criticism" that there is an underlying assumption in his approach that all members of high control groups ultimately want to leave*.. while it is generally believed that there are a lot of pimos still attending, doing field service and giving lip service to the wt, i doubt that everyone within the congregations want to get out.

it's not always internally and logically consistent, but it's been around long enough for enough workarounds to make it tolerable to emerge.. what do you think?

Phizzy

I think if people in such High Control Groups realise it or not, deep. deep down they DO wish they were free.

This is how Cognitive Dissonance works, if thoughts about this begin to get nearer the surface, they are immediately pushed way back down again.

So everyone does want to leave, even if the closest they get to expressing it to themselves is something like "I wish Armageddon and the New System were here", that means they wish the regime they live under was over.

To criticise Hassan because his Books etc. assumes everyone wants to leave is silly, that is why they would be reading his books etc. !

And deep down everybody wants to leave, even if they think they don't, and think they are perfectly happy.

86

Prediction: no more changes for a long while

by slimboyfat in

i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

Phizzy

" will call to check on your "spirituality".

When I was just beginning to wake up, I cancelled our Direct Debit, I didn't hear a word from the Elders or anyone else.

That was circa 2006, I had been donating £40.00 a Month at the time.

I guess it is very different now !

12

First Half of the Book of Hebrews (Study Edition) Now Available Online

by Wonderment in

april 11, 2024 (source: jw.org) .

first half of the book of hebrews (study edition) now available online.

the first half of the bible book of hebrews (chapters 1-7) is now available in the study edition of the new world translation of the holy scriptures on jw.org and in jw library.

Phizzy

I see they are still claiming this was written by Paul. A consensus of Scholars date this Work to many decades after the death of Paul.

86

Prediction: no more changes for a long while

by slimboyfat in

i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

Phizzy

I have been out for so long that I don't know such details as contribution levels, but I would guess the young don't contribute that much as a group. But they are thought of by the org. as the future contributors, as the old ones die off, and no doubt the org. will be guilting the young earners to contribute more.

When I was young, and also a Reg. Pio. for a while, my thinking was the same as yours, plus I only had enough to live off by Part Time working, to run a car, run a girlfriend, she was always skint, and to have a bit of Beer Money.

I shall be fascinated to see how all of this goes for the Org. To a degree they are being unusually reactive, looking to the near future at least, but I wonder if any of the measures they take will stem the loss of members due to the less obvious stuff, like the spreading availability of easy Internet access around the world, improved Education, and how Society in many Nations is increasingly seeing no need for organised religion in their lives, also the relaxing of things so much will make it much easier to "fade", either deliberately or unconsciously.

86

Prediction: no more changes for a long while

by slimboyfat in

i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

Phizzy

" If they were in serious trouble...... " I agree LV101, but we have been told, perhaps not based on actual facts, that they have a Ten Year Plan.

So, being aware of the demographics of their adherents, they know that a Cash Flow problem, though not critical for a number of years probably, is a fact, and can only get worse if they don't retain the younger ones. Hence "baby steps" makes sense in introducing the changes, appease the young first with the minor stuff, allow some "fun" back in to the Org. and strengthen its function as a Social Club.

The more delicate matters of major changes both in Doctrine and Practice can be fed in slowly over a number of years, but they will do this over the next 7 or 8 years maybe, and then assess the success of the Ten Year Plan at the end. Success being enough $$$ flowing in again.

27

Quality of jw.org translation?

by Wonderment in

someone asked the following question to an artificial intelligence (ai) website:.

how does the most translated website ensure accuracy of translations?.

answer: .

Phizzy

Thank you Anony Mous !

excellent points, and what you say is the reason that the NWT is not taken seriously as a Version for reference by the Academics in the Field of Biblical Studies, although some have rightly praised certain verses for the way they are rendered, so Ol' Freddie did do quite well indeed, for an Armchair Scholar........... in places.

27

Quality of jw.org translation?

by Wonderment in

someone asked the following question to an artificial intelligence (ai) website:.

how does the most translated website ensure accuracy of translations?.

answer: .

Phizzy

Sea Breeze, I found this on an old Thread, confirming what you say.

" However, according to Mr. Franz’s college transcript, his major language studies were in classical Greek (21 semester hours), not Koine Greek in which the New Testament was written. The Greek Franz studied has different grammar and syntax from that of biblical Greek.

At that time, there was only one course in biblical Greek even offered at the University of Cincinnati.

According to the 1911 university catalog, page 119, that course was titled: “The New Testament – A course in grammar and translation.” Although Franz did take this class, this was not a full 3-hour college credit course. This was simply a survey course of New Testament Greek. Therefore it could legitimately be said that Franz never completed not even one typical college course in New Testament Greek. The one short course he did take was in a sense, well….anti-typical; if I may use a favorite phrase of his."

Just as one example of where Franz was probably lacking, the N.T use of the word "Logos" is very different in the Christian use of it , to that in Classical Greek. Many other Greek words in the N.T have new or more nuanced meanings, of which fact Franz may well not have been aware.

27

Quality of jw.org translation?

by Wonderment in

someone asked the following question to an artificial intelligence (ai) website:.

how does the most translated website ensure accuracy of translations?.

answer: .

Phizzy

Yes FF was obviously competent on some level, but what that level was can only be guessed at ?

86

Prediction: no more changes for a long while

by slimboyfat in

i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

Phizzy

It may be more about retaining existing Contributors of $$$ than a way of of gaining more $$$.

But getting more in $$$ flowing in remains something they will obviously have to address, and soon !

27

Quality of jw.org translation?

by Wonderment in

someone asked the following question to an artificial intelligence (ai) website:.

how does the most translated website ensure accuracy of translations?.

answer: .

Phizzy

They have subtly already done something similar Marky, not using the word "Organisation" obviously, but twisting Scripture to infer that is what the Bible Writers were referring to !