To which I got the canned response, “Jehovah’s Organization is full of good people all meaning to do the right thing. There are some bad people in it.”
Sounds like that defense, if valid, could be used for absolutley every religion on the planet.
~Q
Posts by Quotes
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3Skeeter's Flipper Moment (talking with a current JW)
by skeeter1 ini had a flipper moment (i.e.
actually speaking with a current, non-baptised jw).
usually, i avoid talking about the organization with jws, and this one person in particular... but it was just perfect.
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60
Who REALLY IS the Faithful and Discreet Slave?
by TimothyT inim 23 and im still a jw.
the jehovahs witnesses claim that god is using their earthly organisation in the last days!
im realy not too sure.
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Barging in on this ancient thread to add my $0.02
"Who really is the faithful and discrete slave?"
IMO that question deserves as much (or as little) deliberation as the following equally salient questions:
"Who really is Helen of Troy?"
"Who really is Jason, who are The Argonauts, and what does the Golden Fleece represent?"
"Who really are the 72 Virgins? And would't it be more heavenly for those hard working martyrs if those women were at least a little bit experienced in the ways of the flesh, if you know what I mean?"
"Who is the real Tom Sawyer, and what does the parable of the White Washing of The Fence(tm) represent?"
"How much wood would a Woodchuck chuck, if a Woodchuck could chuck wood?"
"Who really is Evil Kirk, and where does he come from? Transporter accident splitting Original Kirk's persontality? Or from a parallel universe, consistent with the multi-verse hypothesis?"
~Q
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25
Do you still call it The Truth"?
by mamamo ini spent sometime with a fellow ex jw yesterday.
we had grown up in the same congregation and left within a few years ago.
she referred to it as "the truth.
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Quotes
Invariably I now refer to both the religion and the adherents as "Joe Hoes".
Never, ever, never ever, as "The Truth(tm)". I laugh and cry a little bit when I hear someone use that loaded terminology.
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Quotes is going to TAM7 in Vegas
by Quotes inhi gang!.
my wife and i will be attending "the amazing meeting 7" (tam7) in las vegas, july 9-12.. tam is the annual gathering of skeptics, science nerds, and promotors of reason.
i've never been before, but am really looking forward to it.. more info on tam: http://www.amazingmeeting.com/.
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Quotes
Aw, nuts! I missed drwtsn32 by one year.
Hopefully, this won't be my last TAM, so maybe I'll see you at TAM8 or TAM9 or TAM10.
Anyone else going to TAM?
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Quotes is going to TAM7 in Vegas
by Quotes inhi gang!.
my wife and i will be attending "the amazing meeting 7" (tam7) in las vegas, july 9-12.. tam is the annual gathering of skeptics, science nerds, and promotors of reason.
i've never been before, but am really looking forward to it.. more info on tam: http://www.amazingmeeting.com/.
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Quotes
Hi Gang!
My wife and I will be attending "The Amazing Meeting 7" (TAM7) in Las Vegas, July 9-12.
TAM is the annual gathering of Skeptics, Science Nerds, and promotors of reason. I've never been before, but am really looking forward to it.
More info on TAM: http://www.amazingmeeting.com/
Is anyone else going to TAM?
~Q
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10
Gotta love that Sherri Shepherd
by ShirleyW inshe made another comment on the view that the jw's believe only that 144,000 will go to heaven, in her own way she is definitely getting the word out that the dubs are totally off the wall.
so whoopi gives her that wtf comment like, how do you know you're one of the chosen?.
i remember when she mentioned she had to go before the elders when she was a teen for sexual conduct and had these grown men questioning her about all the "details" and her father just sat their just looking down and keeping quiet, i remember the audience actually gasped when she relayed that story.. keep up the good work sister sherry, with all the people that watch the show, she's definitely gettin' the word out they are total nutjobs !
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I see a potential problem here: Sherri Shepherd has very little credibility, IMO, due to moronic things she has said in the past:
"Nothing predates the Christians"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psGLXqW1kUs
Doesn't know whether or not the earth is flat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNC117UYsHs
~Q
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38
We're not a cult because we don't have communes
by carla inhave you ever heard a dub say that they are not a cult because they don't live in a commune?
(aside from all the other reasons they are a cult- see other thread about wt mind control) my question is, isn't bethel rather like a commune?
and what about the wt farms?.
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Good point, I've used that in the past: "So then, by your 'commune is necessary ingredient for cult' rule you would agree that for people in Bethel, it is still a cult".
The Reasoning book's answer the the question "are jws a cult" is classic case of redefining a word. They say "we don't follow a single human leader", ignoring that slavishly following the whims of "The Society" is the exact same thing. They say "we don't live in communes", ignore both Bethel, and also the self-imposed virtual commune they live in by having "no part of the world".
Another way to make the point: if they agree that Scientology is a cult, is it a cult for every member? Or only or those that live in the "Sea Org" or other commune?
Usually at that point the JW just gets angry and offended and ends the discussion.
~Q
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41
Does the rapid end of paper news forbode a crisis for the WT?
by jamiebowers inaccording to this article, not all papers will be gone, and some that are gone was due to mismanagement more than the bad economy: http://www.slate.com/id/2215154/?gt1=38001.
that being said, i'm sure the wb&ts will do whatever is most profitable for them, as usual..
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WTS's business model has been, in the past:
- book and periodicial publisher (with non-traditional distribution channel, using slave labour)
- real estate developer (i.e. the KH shuffle, wherein congs are split, then merged, every couple decades; plus Brookly fixer-upper; again with non-traditional slave labour)
- event promoter (i.e. assemblies, again with non-traditional slave labour)
We do not know how much each Business Group contributes to the bottom line -- in fact, it is difficult to even know what the bottom line is.
Periodical publishing is almost dead; the cost of putting information on wood pulp is rising; the cost of putting that same information on the "inter tubes" is tiny. (Yes, I love reading the paper in the park too, but the loss of tactile experience is a different conversation). I heard recently that *IF* the New York Times purchased an Amazon "Kindle" book reader for every one of it's subscribers and eliminated print completely, it would save millions of dollars even in the first year. I don't know if that is true or just Kindle hype, but the numbers sounded correct to me. I also heard the New York Times recently had to mortgage it's property to get operating cash.
Now consider: if the New York Times -- which produces content that people want to consume which can monetize its operation using paid advertising (something the WTS has not done since the Miracle Wheat and Miracle Motor Oil days) -- is having trouble maintaining financial viability, I think it reasonable to assume that WTS is also having a severe cash flow squeeze.
Traditionally, the cost of production was covered by "voluntary donations" (or by set prices prior to the early 1990s) for the dead-tree rags with which they were choking the planet. I posit that this business model is untenable in the post-print age. The New York Times (sorry to use them again) previously tried to have a "paid" section on their website, but it simply didn't work: people do not want to pay for internet information, even from the NYT. People that would pay $2.00 for a newspaper do not want to pay even $0.02 for the same information online. It seems the perception of value is different. NYT has since abandoned online paid subscriptions and are using web advertising.
A counter example: Consumer Reports is able to successfully sell web site membership; they might be able to transition away from magazine publishing and survive. Also, PBS & NPR are able to survive without traditional advertising by using "membership drives" and "corporate sponsorship" of content. In some ways, the WTS has already shifted partially to the PBS model: sitting through a 30 minute "WTS needs more money" talk is like sitting through the PBS membership drive; the difference you are not rewarded with an interesting show at the end of the begging session.
So the question is this: is the Publishing Business Group in WTS like the New York Times? Or more like Consumer Reports & PBS? Or like none of these?
Yes, I realize WTS has one HUGE advantage over these real business examples: ZERO TAXES. That makes it easier for them to remain viable, but will it be enough to save them through a paradigm shift?
Are the Cheese and Cracker men going to be able to make the strategic decisions necessary to replace a dead Business Group with a new, viable one? Or will they sit on their hands and pray to jahoobee and hope for a destruction of the world to solve their financial problems?
"Only time will tell" ~ Kent Brockman, news anchor, The Simpsons.
~Q
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Video: "StudiousJW" comes out of the shadows, briefly
by Quotes inrather long to get through all of these, but some of you will enjoy this.. .
studiousjw responds (parts 1 - 3).
studiousjw responds (parts 4 - 7).
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Quotes
Rather long to get through all of these, but some of you will enjoy this.
Calling out user WithSpiritAndTruth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbDKyHifP9E
Private Message from StudiousJW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0EKP5Z8Xk8
Response to StudiousJW (parts 1 to 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKoNify39lo
Response to StudiousJW (parts 4 - 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcXAPIChdII
StudiousJW Responds (parts 1 - 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OM8qnE1m_Q
StudiousJW responds (parts 4 - 7)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H02z6Qt2mU
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How to Install WT Library on Ubuntu Linux
by leavingwt insomething for the linux geeks among us.... http://www.computechgroup.com/?p=313.
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Quotes
At last, the WTS bulls* can reach the land of the penguin. I guess WTS can add another country -- Antarctica -- to their proud list of "lands where the Nood Gews is preached!