Posts by NotFormer

3

Nice topic on Linkedin

by Gorb in

jw
friends

i think we have to see jw.org like the corporations named in the topic on linkedin:.

jon davids.. 3e+ ceo of influicity | author of .... .

mcdonald's does it.

They used to be a publishing company masquerading as a religion. Now they're a real estate development company. The latter model isn't working well like it did. One: the payouts for all their CSA settlements must be eating into it in a big way. Two: even without the legal problems, simply sitting on large land holdings isn't viable without some cashflow. Without the cashflow from the publishing business, the real estate business probably isn't sustainable long-term.

Interestingly, all of a sudden, McDonald's business model doesn't seem to be working for them as well as it once did. A lot of similar businesses that once were coining it aren't doing as well as they did.

19

Is There Some Sort of Campaign Going on?

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

a pair of young blokes came to my door @ 10am (ish) today (wednesday, if that matters).

i opened the door a crack to : hi!

just asking a question: do you think that the world is getting better or worse?*".

NotFormer

Is it convention season globally? Are they rolling out the JWs everywhere? Is the question that they ask at the door the same every time?

19

Is There Some Sort of Campaign Going on?

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

a pair of young blokes came to my door @ 10am (ish) today (wednesday, if that matters).

i opened the door a crack to : hi!

just asking a question: do you think that the world is getting better or worse?*".

NotFormer

A pair of young blokes came to my door @ 10am (ish) today (Wednesday, if that matters). I wasn't up to it. I opened the door a crack to : Hi! Just asking a question: do you think that the world is getting better or worse?*"

I took a few seconds to think whether or not to entertain this. I felt, "No; not feeling it today", and closed the door, saying "No, thanks". He laughed a bit and said "Oh! Okay". Then they left.

After they left I looked out the kitchen window to see two young ladies engaging with my next door neighbour, for probably about 15 minutes.

Two more young ladies** came down the other side of the street knocking on doors. A bit behind them came an older gentleman on his own; he seemed to have a bible or something in his hand.

So at least 7 people out in field service just on my street alone.

Is there some major campaign going on? If so, is it global, or more local?

*I thought afterwards that I should have said something like "I'd love to have a chat, but you've got to promise that you won't run away!" (See my previous two encounters for context)

** As far as I could tell, the young ladies were all wearing skirts, no slacks/trousers.

20

What has the Spiritual Paradise of the WTS been over time

by blondie in

jw
friends

the first mention i find in the wts publications is 1958. although the wts says the index goes from 1930 to 1985, nothing appears before 1958 a search only found by using the phrase "spiritual paradise" not in the index.

in 2015 there was a clarification of the phrase "of course, we should not conclude that the terms “spiritual paradise” and “spiritual temple” are the same.

the spiritual temple is god’s arrangement for true worship.".

NotFormer

Shibboleth?

It's an interesting point, Blondie. If the vocabulary keeps changing, it allows them to see who's current. And if someone uses jargon that was once current, it would possibly be a warning sign of an ex.

6

photos not showing up

by was a new boy in

great photo, doykl.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6277858037596160/je-sus-making-comeback-2024-convention.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5102163622100992/visited-auschwitz-two-days-ago.

NotFormer

Avatars seem to be disappearing as well.

13

JW Leaders Do Intentionally Torture Their Members

by FragrantAddendum in

that's one of the reasons they're being shut down.

NotFormer

It's an exaggeration to say that.

However, since I've been revisiting the WT after all these years, I'm coming to the conclusion that there is a certain amount of psychopathy in the WT leadership. That they find a certain amount of enjoyment* when their loyal followers experience hardship due to following the unnecessarily harsh and uncompromising rules laid down by those at the top. That there are so many things that they could do to lessen the burden, yet they don't, unless, as Vidiot 😏 is fond of pointing out, their tax exempt status is called into question. I'm amazed at how little has changed in two decades, that could have been done decades ago.

* They haven't basically changed from being the same people who gloated, in an Awake! in the 1990s, over the large number of children who died from following their directives.

57

Holding a grudge

by LongHairGal in

i read something recently on reddit (not sure what thread) where a person related how some jw told them that ‘they hold a grudge’.. this reminded me of something an old jw acquaintance said to me some years back when i related my bad experience in the religion.. so, apparently, jehovah’s witnesses feel they should be forgiven for anything.

people should forget all about it and act like nothing happened and be charitable towards them, etc… when i read in james and ephesians i got the sense ‘holding a grudge’ was referring to the things average people do to offend each other.. i don’t see it applying to a religion that claimed to speak for god and who engendered hateful and unchristian attitudes towards people.. i know because i experienced this.. in addition, some people’s lives were damaged by listening to faulty teachings and interference in things that were clearly none of anybody’s business.. one case in point: them knocking worldly careers and now there are thousands of destitute jws in senior years with nothing.. then in 2023 the religion does away with a century old teaching about counting hours in the ministry.

meanwhile, i got judged over this.

NotFormer

One should always bury one's grudge.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/mads-horrifying-clichs-burying-a-grudge--69454019239178234/

But seriously, given the institutional level grudges held by the organisation, they are hardly leading by example. 🙄

25

Would there, or would there not be, lawsuits if they took away the blood transfusion ban?

by VerdadTJ2 in

jw
friends

i have heard or read, many times by many exjw's, that the org does not remove the blood transfusion ban because it would be crippled by the resulting lawsuits the minute that "new light" was made official.i am not a lawyer, but i would like to know what legal opinion lawyers have on that.on what legal basis would there be a lawsuit?

"i am suing the watchtower because my relative died because of a rule they had but no longer have"?am i missing something?.

NotFormer

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-07/donating-blood-plasma-money-red-cross-supply/103923554#:~:text=The%20commercial%20plasma%20industry%20has,market%2C%20according%20to%20most%20analysts.

This actually turned up in my feed yesterday.

20

What has the Spiritual Paradise of the WTS been over time

by blondie in

jw
friends

the first mention i find in the wts publications is 1958. although the wts says the index goes from 1930 to 1985, nothing appears before 1958 a search only found by using the phrase "spiritual paradise" not in the index.

in 2015 there was a clarification of the phrase "of course, we should not conclude that the terms “spiritual paradise” and “spiritual temple” are the same.

the spiritual temple is god’s arrangement for true worship.".

NotFormer

I wonder what a genuine conversation with a JW about this would be like. Firstly, I doubt that it would come up with a householder when they're out in field service. The "spiritual paradise" is, as I understand it, internal jargon used for mutual encouragement. I'd have to raise it as a subject.

Then, both those words would need defining. First, what do they mean by "spiritual"? The term itself is somewhat nebulous. Is there some sense of euphoria, of being closer to God, when they're in the Kingdom Hall? Or does "spiritual" mean "figurative"? In which case the "real" paradise would have to be defined. What is it like*? And how is the "spiritual paradise" like "actual paradise"?

I actually kind of miss the days when you could have a conversation like this with a JW at the door.

ETA: I should have read through the thread before posting the above. It seems that they have a definition in the literature, even going so far as to say that it is part of their "theocratic vocabulary"**. It doesn't preclude the above hypothetical conversation, however. I genuinely don't know the minutiae of their doctrine, and I doubt someone at the door will have that stuff memorised.

*For all those pictures of paradise published in their literature, what it entails is not very well defined.

** Remember the argument that the word Trinity doesn't appear in the Bible, so the doctrine must be false? I don't remember seeing the terms "spiritual paradise" nor "theocratic vocabulary" either. 🙄

39

JE-sus making a comeback at the 2024 Convention

by dropoffyourkeylee in

attended the friday sesson of the 2024 summer convention.. july 5, 2024 summer convention crowd photo; they invited quite a lot of empty chairs.. .

the facility usually has 5500-6500. they spun it saying that fewer congregations were assigned.

there were 6 of the smaller, more distant sections blocked off with tarps to lessen cleaning, which i understand.

NotFormer

"Could the picture be the Wright State Ervin J Nutter Center in Beavercreek Ohio?"

If it is, I'd much rather see WWE RAW on the 15th of July than the event featured in the photo.