Posts by pale.emperor

23

There is No Way Out For Me

by Addison0998 in

i have come to the conclusion that there is no way for me to ever leave.

although i have some friends at work, my whole social structure are witnesses.

even if i move congregations, my parents have contacts everywhere who will tell them if i’m not active.

pale.emperor

I can relate to what you're saying, as im sure many on here can too. A few things to remember:

You don't have to rush it. I was planning to fade out over a matter of years. You don't have to inform everyone that you're leaving and suddenly drop all attendance and ministry. Unless of course you want to. Different situations call for different tactics.
There are many, MANY PIMO's in the JWs. You just don't know of them because they're keeping it private like you are. And you know how scary it is to speak out. I know of at least one apostate in my old congregation who, like yourself, feels he can never leave because his wife, kids and entire social structure is JW. And i can name about 6 in that hall who don't believe it but just go along because they have to.
It's likely that, in years to come, friends and family you have will be DF'd or leave themselves. When that happens they'll be looking for someone on the outside that they can come to for support. That could be you!

If I were you i'd slowly reduce your ministry and miss the odd meeting. If people ask say you're going through depression or anxiety. Refuse elders visits and where possible talk about the bible and how wonderful the bible is - bible, bible, bible.

Keep us posted, we'll support you on here where we can.

226

Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

by SecondRateMind in

jw
friends

i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.

apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.

luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.

pale.emperor

I think many in public service would be thoroughly insulted by your assumption that the only incentive that matters is a selfish, financial one. On the contrary, such as soldiers, nurses and politicians develop their careers, say from sergeant to colour sergeant, or nurse to specialist nurse, or back-bench MP to junior minister, out of a sense of vocation. Given their skills and aptitudes, experience and contacts, there is no doubt that all these types could take home a bigger pay-packet each month in the private sector. Yet they stay. How do you account for that, in the tawdry, self-centred, money-grubbing little world you propose?

Im not suggesting for one moment that these people got into their vocation simply for the money. In fact, you raise the point of:

there is no doubt that all these types could take home a bigger pay-packet each month in the private sector

You're right, the doctors and nurses should indeed be earning more (certainly more than $33,000!!). Don't you agree? But they're not. Because, again, the system is set up to benefit the top 1% who are brokers/bankers.

The reason they're not in the private sector is that it's very competitive to get hired in private healthcare. You have to be the best. And the best in the public sector do indeed go over to the private sector.

You say that capitalism works. I agree that it works reasonably well for some. And for a few it works extremely well indeed. But it does not work at all for those in vulnerable penury, who are liable to die from entirely preventable starvation and hunger related disease. And we should not leave them out of the calculus, when congratulating ourselves on how well the system works, just because they do not have the currency to express economic demand.

The problem with poverty in lack of healthcare is simply a matter of their government not treating this as a problem. We know it is a problem, but some countries would rather spend their money on nuclear weapons or furnishing their lavish private residences while they're in power. There's absolutely no need for any African nation to be in poverty. As we know, the world has enough resources to feed everyone many times over. But giving everyone $33,000 would just make the people selling water and medicine bump their prices up.

I hope you understand, i dont wish the world to be like that, but it is like that.

11

Caleb and Sophia cartoons?

by stuckinarut2 in

we recently haven't heard much here about the caleb and sophia cartoon series.. is it still running?

or have the gb realised how pathetic they are?.

pale.emperor

Wasn't it one of the provisions they were axing to save funds?... I mean NOT save funds... no, I mean "make things simpler for our brothers"?

24

Mother is terrified over talks of peace.

by Searching in

just spoke with my mother about the summit for north and south korea, her face turned a ghastly pale and she refused to talk to me about it afterwards.

i know exactly what is on her mind, and i'm not sure if i can say or do anything to assuage her fears about this being a fulfillment of prophecy.

any suggestions on what i could perhaps tell her to try and steer her from her line of thinking?

pale.emperor

North Korea tests nuclear weapons - "Armageddon's close brothers!!"

North and South Korea enter peace talks - "Armageddon's close brothers!!"

Literally any world event is taken as proof of the big A.

226

Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

by SecondRateMind in

jw
friends

i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.

apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.

luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.

pale.emperor

BUT in a healthy economic society there MUST BE inequality.
Uh huh. Why, exactly? Why is it better that 1 person owns a million $ of shares, than a thousand people each own a thousand $ of shares?

Because that's how the world works. If someone invents the iPod and hires 1,000 Chinese laborers to put the pieces together to create 1 million iPods, then sells those iPods and uses the money to pay the workers and invest the money back into making MORE iPods ad infinitum it's only fair that the inventor should have the bigger share. After all, the inventor thought it up and put the plans in place to get it out there and he also created all those jobs.

If you were to say he only gets $33,000 and all the laborers also get $33,000 then he'd just not bother even designing and inventing the thing. Why would a Doctor or a nuclear physicist bother putting in all those hours of study, exams, hard work, late nights and no life when he could just become a litter picker or a mail man for the same wage?

IT TAKES AWAY INCENTIVE and incentive is the key. And that's, partly, why communist/socialist states fail 100% of the time.

Also, lets imagine we all have $33,000 and I own a grocery store. Why would i continue selling apples and bananas for £0.20 each? I'd immediately raise my prices to £5.00 each. Then guess what? Im richer than you because everyone is buying fruit for inflated prices because now the value of money is reduced.

Capitalism works. It's not always nice or fair for the individual but it works. The solution to poverty is government intervening and providing a system where no one will starve or have no home but at the same time gives people the incentive to find work and work hard. I myself started off in a dingy one bedroom flat in a rough neighborhood working in a crap job. THIS gave me the incentive to look for a better job, work hard and find better living conditions.

226

Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

by SecondRateMind in

jw
friends

i am interested in the approach this forum takes to money.

apart from sex, (which i am quite relaxed about) it seems to me that wealth is the surest divider between those who are moral, and those who are not.. it seems jesus thought so, also.

luke 16:19-31 kjv describes well enough his dusty attitude to the rich who do not succour the poor.. and this world has many poor: so many, it might seem that we can do nothing about it, and twist his words; 'the poor ye shall have always with you, but me, ye shall not have always.

pale.emperor

Funnily enough I wrote an essay about this very thing only yesterday for my university.

IT DOES NOT WORK. The economist Joseph Stiglitz (former director of world bank) confirmed that the divide of rich and poor is certainly at an all time high. The top 0.05% control over 85% of the worlds wealtg. BUT in a healthy economic society there MUST BE inequality. The extremes we're witnessing to today is systematic because government policies are set up to benefit the interests of the top 1% (banks, investors, stockbrokers etc). They pay higher taxes, sure, but the poor tend to spend all of their income whereas the rich have a surplus plus massive savings anyway.

You know what would happen if you took all of Richard Branson or Bill Gates money and gave them $33,000? In a few years they'd be billionaires again. Because people like this KNOW how to make money and they're innovative enough to actually get out there a make it happen. Society needs people like big earners to keep doing what they do - make money. So they can be taxed and the money funded into the public like roads, healthcare, farming etc. If you kept taking their billions off them and handing them back $33,000 that the road sweeper next door gets they'd just leave the country or stop bothering to make money for other people.

The answer is proving incentives to work hard and providing opportunities to actually work.

11

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia Interrogated by Masked Police

by pale.emperor in

http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-ban-police-903021?utm_source=quora.

i guess the gb's idea of writing to the russian government last year didn't help?

now they have their names and addresses in which to raid their homes.. i sometimes wonder if the gb knew this would happen and wanted it to happen to ensure they'd be persecuted thus creating their own fulfillment of prophecy..

pale.emperor

I really feel for the JWs in Russia. They have no idea that they're involved in a cult that does not care about them nor does anything for them.

But hey, at least Mark Sanderson could get his fat ass flown out of there the minute the courts banned them... and lets not forget Jehovah intervening to get them plane tickets, remember that one? Why, all they had to do was pick up the phone and call a travel agent! Praise Jah! It's a miracle!

I agree the religion should lose it's status as a "religion" but this kind of treatment is just awful. Taxing the hell out of the Russian WT branches would have put enough pressure on the borg without affecting the rank and file members much.

11

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia Interrogated by Masked Police

by pale.emperor in

http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-ban-police-903021?utm_source=quora.

i guess the gb's idea of writing to the russian government last year didn't help?

now they have their names and addresses in which to raid their homes.. i sometimes wonder if the gb knew this would happen and wanted it to happen to ensure they'd be persecuted thus creating their own fulfillment of prophecy..

pale.emperor

http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-ban-police-903021?utm_source=quora

I guess the GB's idea of writing to the Russian government last year didn't help? Now they have their names and addresses in which to raid their homes.

I sometimes wonder if the GB knew this would happen and wanted it to happen to ensure they'd be persecuted thus creating their own fulfillment of prophecy.

12

JDub with pink hair at a cart - Video from SW England

by Wakanda in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maenrmttb-u&list=plj1cxa6hnc11blsv8iz9lzlux_zz6onyd&index=109.

go to minute nine for the third clip.

what is up with that hair???

pale.emperor

Ah that's nothing, there were a few black sisters in my circuit with hair like that. It's not like its dyed completely pink like some "young ones" do nowadays.

This guy knows his stuff, but unfortunately he ruins it by going over the top on the offensive.

19

Help me with the disfellowshipping topic, how is it NOT scriptural

by LevelThePlayingField in

many have said that jesus never shunned anyone.

yet it seems that the apostle paul said to shun an unrepentant sinner, "stop keeping company" and "not even eating with such a man" 1co 5:9-12. it seems like shunning is what paul wanted us to do.

but honestly, it doesn't seem right to me.

pale.emperor

Vanderhoven7 has nailed it here.

And also dpq407 is spot on. Paul claimed to have been chosen by Jesus as an apostle. But many things he teaches are so unlike the character Jesus. Also, the letters he written to the congregations, were they shared among all the congregations or just for that one? Was he giving council to specific congregations or what?

At the end of the day, a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus, not Paul.