Posts by shepherdless

44

Simon's Forum Is More Than Just a Forum!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

friends:.

simon's forum is much more than just a forum where we come to expose the watchtower.

it is a place that simon wanted people to be able to come to, to receive help, support, or find a compassionate listener.. this forum has exposed the watchtower more times than any forum on the net.

shepherdless

I have only been on this site for about 3 years, but it really has been a godsend for me. So i am extremely grateful to Simon for that.

I have learnt so much and enjoyed the comments of many. I have used certain material, and one piece of material in particular from one poster (I have never told the story here) was instrumental in tipping my son out of the cult.

Best wishes to Barbara Anderson, Doug Mason, Nathan Natas, and Blondie. I have read many of their posts. Best wishes to you as well, Atlantis, and all the other regular posters; far too many to attempt to name.

12

JW Australian Finances

by Attewc in

i imagine someone has done this already, but i couldn't find it in a search.

feel free to move to another thread if i'm posting in the wrong one.. i've been watching leah remini's scientology show (eerily very similar psychological traits to jw's) and one episode talked about how australia now requires non-profit organizations to make their finances public, so i decided to look for jw's reports.. link to jw's reports:.

https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/db994d2f8dec3cdfdbca01e8c8e28da9#financials-documents.

shepherdless

I missed this when first posted. I am looking at the financial statements for the first time, but I am pretty certaint they don’t include the individual Kingdom Halls, as they have their own separate financial statements (and the numbers would be too low, otherwise).

What really stood out for me in the 2017 statement is that “Related Entity Loans” makes up A$16.8 million of the A$25.4 million of total assets (66%), and at the same time, A$9.4 million out of A$10.4 million (90%) of total liabilities. The notes to the statement give no explanation. However, some might recall that the UK accounts revealed the Aust branch did give the UK branch (IBSA) an interest free unsecured loan of £2,927,881 a couple of years ago.

Without details of these “Related Entity Loans”, it is hard to know what is going on.

5

Population growth and demographics

by dropoffyourkeylee in

some recent news articles stated that japan's low birth rates are related to their population decline, and gave a link to the following article which i find interesting.. https://www.thoughtco.com/age-sex-pyramids-and-population-pyramids-1435272.

the age-sex pyramid graph is enlightening.

it makes me wonder what the age-sex pyramid for jws looks like and how it compares to the population as a whole.

shepherdless

Someone rang?

Here is the link to the thread sbf mentioned. It is actually Australian Census data only; no NZ data included.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5260866569109504/jw-decline-additional-data-from-aust-2016-census

Here is the equivalent graph I prepared, for JWs in Australia, based on census data. More detail in the above thread.

Like Japan, it is top heavy (ie has too many old people), which indicates population decline in the future. Unlike Japan (or any other country that I know of), the tree is leaning over considerably; there are significantly more women than men.

By generational descriptions, baby boomer women are the biggest group, and the next biggest group are gen-x women. If you look back at the thread, you will see that there aren't that many women currently in the Borg that are below 40, which will inevitably reduce the numbers born into the Borg in the future. The thread also shows this is a relatively recent phenomenon that has crept into JW demographics. Further, I explain that the data matches the limited data from the US Pew report, which suggests a similar scenario is playing out in USA, and probably most Western countries.

20

Chaos at Gatwick Airport

by The Fall Guy in

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-46623754.

perhaps all major airports will eventually employ their own industrial sized drone, operated by a trained/authorised pilot who can track and pinpoint the nut-jobs who cause such disruption and possible catastrophe..

shepherdless

I own a couple of DJI Phantom drones. (No, it wasn’t me.) They fly for about 25 mins, and I have an aftermarket kit that gives me a range of about 5 km.

I remember when I got my first one, there was nothing in the drone preventing me from flying over an airport. However, there is a GPS system in them, and there were software updates a few years ago that added a restriction of flying in restricted airspace.

At one point (and I suspect it was because ISIS started using drones as mini bombers in Syria), DJI sent out some software signal that prevented a takeoff unless the machine had the next software update. For me, it came without warning, when I turned one on, trying to use it in a remote location with no phone signal. (I was pretty furious.)

The point is, the only way you could fly a drone over an airport these days would be to hack into and modify the software of a drone. I am no expert, but I think that would be way beyond the ability of most drone users.

30

Baby it’s cold outside...Is That Song Offensive To Ypu?

by minimus in

jw
friends

to think that this classic song is “offensive “.... is absolutely ridiculous!.

shepherdless

For those who haven’t seen it, here is a politically correct version:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CJB9GP5gyAw

39

This Is It?

by Nevuela in

i can't say much out of fear of getting caught, but i overheard a jw i know on the phone with a friend talking about "how close we are to the end.

" yeah, yeah, i know.

we've been on the brink of armageddon for well over a century, but what struck me about this particular instance was what she said next.

shepherdless

Yes, the UN’s year of “peace and security” was 1986; 32 years ago. What a farce.

7

Is my future mother in law Pimo?

by Addison0998 in

so my fiancé found out that his mom and sister, both baptized, went to a halloween party last night, dressed up and everything, with his step dad, who’s not a jw.

his mom hardly goes to the meetings or out in service, she’s quite inactive, his sister is a bit more active and serious about it.

i thought it was pretty bold even for someone who’s not a die hard witness.

shepherdless

Sounds POMI, not PIMO, to me.

I know a JW married to a wealthy unbelieving husband, who has big birthdays (no JWs invited), xmas decorations (supposedly only because her husband demands it), rarely goes to meetings etc, and does a few other things a JW is not supposed to do. But if you ask her a question or two, it is clear she is still a true believer. I suspect it is not that uncommon.

21

Muslims and the Jehovah's Witnesses

by Tameria2001 in

first i want to say that i don't know very much about the muslims, and what i am going to say is not attacking anyone, but instead, it was something that was said to me by a muslim man a few years back.. back in 2004 my husband and i found ourselves in a homeless situation.

his job had ended because the plant that he was working at, had shut down, and was sent off to china.

at the time our two sons were still very young, so we ended up staying at a couple of different homeless shelters until my husband could find another job, which took a total of three months before he found a new job, in a new state.

shepherdless

Mad Irishman,

please read my post, again. Of course most Muslims are very tolerant. However, in most Middle Eastern countries, you will be quickly locked up if you are caught trying to proselytize to a Muslim.

21

Muslims and the Jehovah's Witnesses

by Tameria2001 in

first i want to say that i don't know very much about the muslims, and what i am going to say is not attacking anyone, but instead, it was something that was said to me by a muslim man a few years back.. back in 2004 my husband and i found ourselves in a homeless situation.

his job had ended because the plant that he was working at, had shut down, and was sent off to china.

at the time our two sons were still very young, so we ended up staying at a couple of different homeless shelters until my husband could find another job, which took a total of three months before he found a new job, in a new state.

shepherdless

Mad Irishman,

I can assure you that most Muslims in the Middle East have never heard of Jehovahs Witnesses. Yes there are many Christians in the Middle East. Most Middle Eastern countries even have legal churches; probably only Saudi Arabia is the exception. (I am told there are even a few in Iran.)

In most Middle Eastern countries, proselytizing to Muslims is illegal. In many of those countries, Watchtower is banned, at least officially. Attempted proselytizing will not only get the individual in trouble, it would put anyone connected with the religion at risk.

Some places in the Middle East it is unofficially allowed, but only for expats (typically Westerners, Indian and Filipino). If you attend, you will see ZERO Arabs (except for the occasional Christian born Lebanese). Dubai, for example has quite a few congregations, composed completely of expats. Any major city that has expats will typically have a congregation or two. They meet in rented premises and don't sing Kingdom Melodies during meetings.

They don't door knock. The standard approach to witnessing is to go to a shopping centre or other shops and strike up conversations with Filipino shop assistants (on the basis that they must be Christian, and hence safe), and go from there. They NEVER EVER approach a Muslim.

In short, Smiddy is correct.

21

Muslims and the Jehovah's Witnesses

by Tameria2001 in

first i want to say that i don't know very much about the muslims, and what i am going to say is not attacking anyone, but instead, it was something that was said to me by a muslim man a few years back.. back in 2004 my husband and i found ourselves in a homeless situation.

his job had ended because the plant that he was working at, had shut down, and was sent off to china.

at the time our two sons were still very young, so we ended up staying at a couple of different homeless shelters until my husband could find another job, which took a total of three months before he found a new job, in a new state.

shepherdless

Arabs throughout the Middle East seem to be taught in schools that Allah and the Christian god are one and the same. Ask any of them, and they will tell you that. Conversely, Arabic speaking Christians in the Middle East (eg Coptics in Egypt) call god “Allah”. Also, Jesus is described as the second most important prophet in Islam.

B.t.w., I am just reporting what they think and are taught. I am not trying to get into a debate about the origins of Islam.