NotFormer

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Posts by NotFormer

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  125

  Mandated Shunning is a Crime

  by Lee Marsh in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  mandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.

  shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.

  mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.

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  NotFormer

  blondie, "Follow the money" is the Golden Rule where the WT is involved. 🙄
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  22

  The Watchtower Society Hedge Fund

  by TJ Curioso in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the watchtower society hedge fundseveral weeks ago it came to my attention via the e-jehovahs-witnesses discussion board that the watchtower society had devised a new money raising scheme.

  the scheme is to beg and borrow money from each individual congregation account, which they deem to be in excess of the congregation's actual expenses.

  i half jokingly responded to the topic then that the watchtower has become a hedge fund.

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  NotFormer

  "...the Irish Bethel was put up for sale by Mason Owen Lyons in 2011, but it seems that it was never sold, as Google Maps from June 2023 shows the JW.org sign still at the gate, and it is no longer advertised by Mason Owen Lyons."

  That raises many questions and possibilities, if it didn't sell*. Did they initially try to sell in a difficult market and then hang on to the property in the hope of a better price in the future? It surely must have appreciated in value by now, so why are they hanging on to it? Are they still occupying and using it in some fashion? Was it so purpose-built for WT use that it makes no sense for any sane investor to buy it**?

  *How does one find out who owns property in Ireland? The JW.org sign doesn't prove much; the new owner may never gotten around to removing it. Perhaps asking the agent if it sold?

  **That they want to sell it for the value of land and buildings, but anyone buying it would probably want to buy it for land value only, because they'd need to knock down the buildings?
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  42

  What would happen to a JW for celebrating Christmas?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  mark jones writes:.

  if they were spied upon and it was reported to the elders they’d be “invited” to a judicial committee whereupon they’d be cross examined in a locked backroom by three men acting as judge and jury to decide if they are guilty.. .

  if the elders decide that they are guilty, they’ll then decide if the person is sorry.

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  NotFormer

  jwundubbed, that's an interesting situation, that a congregation got so tired of the constant pressure to perform that they all pretty well gave up on applying the mutual self-enforcement that JW discipline depends upon.

  I was going to say that it's a pity that you don't know how things panned out, but then I realised that leaving them and losing contact was probably a part of your own healing process. That they sound like they were a "less bad" congregation still doesn't mean that hanging around with them is better than not. I imagine that Bethel eventually brought its forces to bear. Especially if there was an overseer already sniffing around.
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  34

  Jehovah's Witnesses came by today.

  by 3rdgen in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.

  2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.

  they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.

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  NotFormer

  "apathy cart"

  Probably true in many places. But in my town, the trolley witnesses seem to be fairly engaged in the whole thing. I've never seen them talking to passersby, but their conversations with each other seem to contain a fair bit of interest.
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  38

  Questions about WT illustrations

  by Beck_Melbourne in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was a kid....i used to look at the wt illustrations of paradise conditions and would day dream about life in the new system....i later used this same technique (shame on me) to brain wash bible students.

  however...as i grew up lol (apparently!

  ) the illustrations changed....and became more modern.

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  NotFormer

  "Stanley Tape Measure. They will still be making tools in the new system."

  I feel sorry for poor Brother Stanley 😞. He really has his work cut out, producing the tools to rebuild the entire planet!

  "The Bananas must have arrived from Central America on the "Big Sailboat" my mom claimed we would have in the New System."

  Cue "The Banana Boat Song". 🙄
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  34

  Jehovah's Witnesses came by today.

  by 3rdgen in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.

  2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.

  they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.

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  NotFormer

  "Still, sometimes a question can be posed that can cause a "Honest Hearted" JW to google. If they already have a doubt or something just doesn't sit right, they might look it up -even if it's just to try to prove it wrong. That's what happened to me so I figure it could happen again"

  You never know what might trigger something in someone, especially if the conversation is handled respectfully and kindly.
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  34

  Jehovah's Witnesses came by today.

  by 3rdgen in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.

  2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.

  they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.

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  NotFormer

  "Dressed as she was, its a wonder the elders didn't address that"

  None of their damned business! 😡
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  18

  First Church Service at 55 years Old

  by SouthCentral in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went to a christening at a church today, a black church.

  it was an incredible experience!!

  women were an active part of the service, and the people were very welcoming.

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  NotFormer

  "As a witness, the evilest thing in the world is a CHURCH!! It's incredible how at a church there is much love and forgiveness"

  "Love and forgiveness is for sissies!" - Diamond Joe Rutherford (probably 🤷)
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  42

  "We're in the last days!"

  by BoogerMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not just jw's, but countless others (evangelicals etc.

  ) are claiming that we're in the "last days.".

  but........bible students/jw's have been spouting this fake message since the 19th century!!!!!!.

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  NotFormer

  "Hey Jan, check out the FREESAT channels after No. 600 +.

  "When they're stop talking about "the last days," they start asking for your cash. Sound familiar?"

  Those "Christian" channels are inhabited by para-church and independent "ministries" that funnel funds away from the local mainstream churches and into the pockets of the promoters, more often than not. Jan's point still stands: you're not likely to hear the "time is short; give money!" message in your local Catholic, Anglican, Baptist or Presbyterian church. Those denominations have been around long enough to know better than to be date-setting. Even the Pentecostal denominations are steering clear of that sort of thing, these days.

  ETA: I didn't realise Jan said this: "As far as l know we , the British don't have these religious satellite channels. Brits don't go in for that kind of " give us your money for a blessing " stuff".

  That she is unaware of that rubbish is to her credit, IMO*. Every country has those sorts of channels. We have a couple here in Australia, mainly programmes piped in from the USA. But you're not likely to find mainstream church goers knowing about them or paying them any heed.

  *In this case, ignorance is bliss! Kenneth Copeland and his ilk make my blood boil; not knowing that they're out there would be great!
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  20

  Did your witness family have a 'Thanksgiving' that wasn't on Thanksgiving?

  by SydBarrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my family had several elders, ministerial servants, auxillary pioneers etc, so it certainly wasn't one of those 'barely in' families.

  but in certain small ways, i think mine were slightly less hard line than some other families i've heard stories about over the years.

  one example was the 'fall dinner'.

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  NotFormer

  "Every country has it's autumn celebration. Does the southern hemisphere have a harvest time festival in April or may?"

  Not really. In Australia and New Zealand we have ANZAC Day on the 25th of April, but it's not a harvest festival; it's more like Veterans Day.

  People have tried to get Christmas in July happening, to have the Christmas style festivities at a time of year when the temperature makes sense. (Have you ever tried eating a hot roast dinner in 40°C [104°°F] heat, with a side of high humidity?)