Posts by NotFormer

I'd better ask the question again, as it seems to have gotten lost: is compassionate leave a thing at Bethel? Is a family crisis easily attended to by a Bethelite?

I'm asking because if it isn't, then you're going to be just as "stuck" at Bethel (if not more so) as at uni.

26

not even as active as the jws (whom i have not seen for around a year now), nevertheless i get an occasional leaflet or other publication in my letterbox that seems to be seventh day adventist in origin.. the booklet i received the other day was entitled "national sunday law".

i also had received this book years ago when i had some dealings with the sdas.. from reddit: "national sunday law involves a conspiracy theory which alleges that the united states government is on the verge of enacting a national blue law that would make sunday a day of rest and worship.

the theory depends on the idea that the pope is the antichrist and the mark of the beast is worshipped on sunday.

NotFormer

"Another form of evangelism is through acts of service and compassion. As Christ Himself modeled for us, showing love and compassion to others is an important part of sharing the gospel message"

This was their approach with us thirty or so years ago. They always made sure we had transport to their church and back on Saturday. Invited us to church dinners*.They even offered to pay for our kids to go to their private school. The price of that: getting re-baptised into their religion and making a declaration at that baptism that Ellen G White is a prophet. A deal breaker, if ever there was one. 😳 But probably familiar to many here who went through a similar process when joining the JWs.

As for the local SDAs, I'm not sure if the occasional leaflet dropped into my letterbox is a church-wide campaign or some highly motivated lone-wolf**. I might give the church a ring today and find out.

In agreement with others here, I've always been struck by the similarities between JW and SDA literature. They are both branches of a similar doctrinal tree that took root during the restorationism era.

* Don't ever believe that those tasty looking chunks of "meat" in their casseroles and curries are real: back then, it was all TVP (textured vegetable protein). One taste and you know, instantly, that it's not really meat! 🍖

** I imagine that he's spending a pretty penny for those booklets, if he's letterboxing the whole town. Again, it might be the church, rather than one lone individual. I'll hopefully know after I ring them.

21

PIMA is best so it’s not a shock to the system if the tower collapsed

by JohnR1975 in

i know most people here are totally out and that’s fine.. many these days are staying physically in for the social life and that is also fine.. i feel being fully mentally in is dangerous as it could be such a shock mentally if or should i say when the tower collapsed.. im sitting in the fence like so many others here.

mentally agnostic if god exists or not and if the bible is his word.. when i talk to people who are physically and mentally still in i can tell that they so need it to be true.

i’m worried for them when they wake up to the fact that they have been lied to 1914 wasn’t true 1975 wasn’t true 1999 wasn’t true and now here we are 2025 it’s all not true.

NotFormer

I'm not sure painting Ray Franz as a baddie is a particularly sound approach. 🤔 You're just reinforcing wrongly held prejudices and stereotypes when you do that.

30

The Governing Body is Restructuring the Org.and encouranging young ones to REACH OUT!

by liam in

the governing body just doesn't let up on encouraging the young children to reach out to do free labor for the organization.

so another generation of young people with ruined lives.

another generation of young people that will get old and wake up in their 50s to realize they were in a religious doomsday cult.. and they are getting rid of some old workers that ran the branches of the organization, and giving them different assignments or maybe they are just sending them home, who knows.

NotFormer

Even abusive corporate employers give you pensions, superannuation, 401ks, whatever you call them in your home country. These wankers send their loyal "forever" devotees out into the cold with nothing when they're too old to do something else.

26

SDAs Campaigning in my Area

by NotFormer in

not even as active as the jws (whom i have not seen for around a year now), nevertheless i get an occasional leaflet or other publication in my letterbox that seems to be seventh day adventist in origin.. the booklet i received the other day was entitled "national sunday law".

i also had received this book years ago when i had some dealings with the sdas.. from reddit: "national sunday law involves a conspiracy theory which alleges that the united states government is on the verge of enacting a national blue law that would make sunday a day of rest and worship.

the theory depends on the idea that the pope is the antichrist and the mark of the beast is worshipped on sunday.

NotFormer

Not even as active as the JWs (whom I have not seen for around a year now), nevertheless I get an occasional leaflet or other publication in my letterbox that seems to be Seventh Day Adventist in origin.

The booklet I received the other day was entitled "National Sunday Law". I also had received this book years ago when I had some dealings with the SDAs.

From Reddit: "National Sunday law involves a conspiracy theory which alleges that the United States government is on the verge of enacting a national blue law that would make Sunday a day of rest and worship. The theory depends on the idea that the Pope is the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast is worshipped on Sunday. Sinister forces (read: the Vatican) are conspiring to enact a national Sunday law in the United States, which would be the trigger that unleashes the fulfilment of the prophecies found in the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation. In addition, this law would outlaw worshipping on Saturday, thus beginning a period of persecution of those who worship on Saturday, or Sabbath."

https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/198g3cq/national_sunday_law_book_return/

The above summary, although not identical in its conspiratorial religious undertones, may sound somewhat familiar.

16

From AFriend!2025RegionalConventionVideos!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

if you wish to download these videos for "free", then click on (slow download) when you get to the site.

the entire file folder is 8 gigabytes and will take about an hour to fully download in the slow download mode.

there is not much time left.. *****************.

NotFormer

Is there no sense of nostalgia that some former JWs might channel? Of course, I'd imagine that there'd be more triggered by this stuff than those who might smile fondly at a positive memory of such gatherings. So, to each his own, I guess.

Edited to add: I myself, even though I've not so much as attended a meeting in a Kingdom Hall, find these meetings and other broadcasts by the WT to be too heavy going and oppressive to actually sit through. But I was never born and raised in that particular briar patch.

54

The Most Tasteless Awake Cover ?? - Feb 8th 2003

by BluesBrother in

this magazine was disturbing to me at the time, but i lost track of it and only recently found it .

this is exactly as it was printed, no photo shop, i am not that clever.. it is credited to a newsagency, jan banning , panos pictures - so i do believe that she was a real child prostitute .

there is something that gets to me even now about this picture.

NotFormer

TonusOH: (after reading your link) constipation is the root of all disease? 😳 Always remember: "A bowel movement a day keeps the germs away", folks!