Posts by RunningMan

8

Latest News You WON'T See in Awake!

by RationalWitness in

jw
friends

among the headlines on yahoo!

this afternoon:.

crime survey shows largest drop ever in 2000.

RunningMan

The reason that crime rates peaked in the 1960's and 70's, and has been on
the decline ever since, is because of demographics.

The population graph for Canada and the U.S. shows that there was a
disproportionate number of births between 1950 and 1965, otherwise
known as the post war baby boom. This group went through their prime
crime committing years in the 60's and 70's. So, crime went up during those
decades, and has been dropping now that this group is nearing middle age.

The Society has always distinguished themselves by their simplistic analysis
of world events. The rising, then falling, rate of crime has absolutely nothing
to do with the time of the end.

But, that doesn't change the fact that they should be thoroughly embarrassed
by their stupidity. The statistics just don't seem to be cooperating with their
theory.

54

Haven't you got anything better to do?

by tedcobb in

jw
friends

obviously a lot of you are no longer jws, for whatever reason, but surely you can find something better to do with your time.

you seem to spend a lot of your spare time slating the society or picking holes in your former beliefs.. if you've left and think what jws believe is a load of rubbish, thtat fine, you cn do what you want, but why you have to go on about it?

if being a jw means so little to you, why not just leave it behind and get on with your life?

RunningMan

Dear Brother Cobb:

Since your concience has not reprimanded you, I, as your loving Christian
brother must do so. In the interests of your spritual health, I must tell
you that you have put yourself in grave danger.

The Society has warned on many occasions about the dangers of the internet
and the even more dangerous poison of apostates.

Flee! Flee! Before it is too late.

But, if you insist on hanging around, I recommend some very interesting
research that can be found at:

http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/itow.htm

It contains nothing but 100% quotations from the Society's
writing, so you can be sure that it is upbuilding.

Agape,

RunningMan

18

Pioneer Meeting

by Liberated in

jw
friends

i apologize in advance if this has already been discussed here.. at my daughter's pioneer meeting they were told that leaving literature in phone booths and laundromats is "littering".. since when?

anybody else heard this?.

libby

RunningMan

I loved the comment about entire tribes being converted by a single page
found in a dumpster.

Every year, I toss around 150 mags. I have always wondered about
the dumpster/recycle controversy - should I save the environment, or
should I bag and garbage them so as not to bring reproach on God's
name. Now I know. I should gargage some of them, so that the
sanitation workers might be saved, and I should recycle some, so that
the paper recyclers will get a witness. I may even flush a few, just for
the edification of those in the sewage treatment plant.

My placements just went way up.

4

How Does Field Service Work?

by Stephanus in

jw
friends

is the territory to be covered announced beforehand?

is there a certain member of the congregation who keeps a roster of territories covered and when the next visit is due?

if so, how easy would it be for an outsider, particularly one with a contact inside, to find out where the next territory to be covered is?

RunningMan

If it's a crime to put flyers into mailboxes, how do JW's distribute tracts?
And what about leaving mags at not at homes. We do both of these things
in Canada all the time.

By the way, if anyone is trying to negate the effectiveness of the
preaching work, they can probably give up. No one in the territory is
interested anyway. All new converts are either JW children or some form
of social misfit.

If you visit or mail to any householders to expose JW's, you will only bring
attention to them. Your best strategy is to let the public stay asleep.

12

Fear and paranoia plague me again

by LostMyReligion in

jw
friends

i really like being here on this board.

i come to read it every day, and now i have the pleasure of reading others responses to my posts and commenting on theirs.

but, i am beginning to feel a resurrgence on that fear and paranoia that kept me from speaking up before.. after posting my notes on the convention, i began to feel a little guilty for ridiculing them when i know my son belives (as a result of my teaching) so strongly, and when i know so many good sincere friends at the kh who also believe so.

RunningMan

Several people here have stated that they could be identified by the
contents of their posts. Yet, we all still continue to include this type
of information.

Could it be that we have a secret death wish? Maybe we WANT the
elders to show up on our doors so that we could, once and for all,
end the farce of going to meetings and writing student talks.

I'm not so sure that a pogrom wouldn't be rather liberating.

13

Wouldn't have so many converts huh.

by esther in

jw
friends

ok, so i got my idea from bugeye's wife's thread.

if the wtbts decided to change its doctrine so that the age for baptism was 30 years, the same age as john and jesus, would everyone who was baptised under that age have their baptism invalidated?

if so, what would happen to any disfellowshipped ones whose baptism was invalid?

RunningMan

All this talk about undisfellowshipping and unbaptizing sparked my
memory about a series of events that occurred back in the early 80's.

The congregations in my area got the idea that if a person was an
approved associate, and then took up an unclean lifestyle, then they
could be disfellowshipped, even though they were never baptized.
Numerous people that I knew or went to school with were tracked down
and dfed. Of course, by this time, they were long gone and couldn't give
a rat's ass. So, the actual event was rather anti climactic, but there was
a regular stream of announcements for a while.

The congregation really scraped the barrel out. They dug back to anyone
who had been associated for decades. Then one day, it dawned on someone
that you couldn't kick out a person who never really joined. So, the practice
was dropped, and the involved persons were quietly un-df'd. I don't know if
they were ever informed, but their families were told that they could once
again associate with them.

So, strange things happen when everyone follows the leader and no one thinks.
There is probably nothing that would surprise me about them.

12

Fear and paranoia plague me again

by LostMyReligion in

jw
friends

i really like being here on this board.

i come to read it every day, and now i have the pleasure of reading others responses to my posts and commenting on theirs.

but, i am beginning to feel a resurrgence on that fear and paranoia that kept me from speaking up before.. after posting my notes on the convention, i began to feel a little guilty for ridiculing them when i know my son belives (as a result of my teaching) so strongly, and when i know so many good sincere friends at the kh who also believe so.

RunningMan

When someone tries to limit the information that you receive, or tries
to get you to avoid persuing certain ideas, because they can be
dangerous, a red flag should automatically go up. There is only one
reason why anyone would want you to avoid certain information - because
they have something to hide.

The more that the society protests that you should avoid certain web sites
or books, the more you should realize that they are hiding something. Actually,
this site IS dangerous - to them.

As far as being traced by your web site, I have been posting occasionally for
about a year. There is more than enough information in my posting history to
identify me. So far, no one has even attempted to track me down. And, I am
still an active, regular, publisher.

I must admit, though, that I succumb to the same paranoid ideas that you
mentioned. For example, a while ago my cong secretary told me about
two noteworthy cases of financial fraud in nearby congregations. These were
extremely juicy stories, and I couldn't help but think that I was being set up.

I guess we will remain paranoid, at least until they come to get us.

11

JW's a sect? Comments Please. WARNING-LONG

by lookingnow22 in

jw
friends

first off, i want to say that i am very grateful for this place where i can speak whatevers on my mind.

ive often been amazed at the role that the wtbts & gb put themselves into, all the while claiming that they are not promoting their own standards, and understandings.

heres just a little research ive done lately on what it means to be a sect.

RunningMan

The WTBS fits the definition for a cult in many ways. However, there is a difference
in the severity in which they utilize their techniques.

For example, although JW's seek to control a person's behaviour and access to
information, the member still continues to live in their own home (usually). Cults will often
use sleep deprivation and total immersion techniques (such as not even leaving
a person alone to go to the bathroom). Cults will also try to physically isolate a
person on a retreat in order to indoctrinate them, whereas JW's seek to emotionally
isolate them while still living in society. Also, cults usually have an individual,
charismatic leader. JW's have had this in the past, but are now governed by
a corporate structure.

I have read Steven Hassan's book, and I was struck by how closely their tactics
resembled those of the Moonies. Another book listed JW's, Seventh Day Adventists,
Mormons, and Christian Scientists as "The four major cults".

However, I still stick with the traditional sociologists definition of JW's being a sect -
but on the borderline of culthood.

11

JW's a sect? Comments Please. WARNING-LONG

by lookingnow22 in

jw
friends

first off, i want to say that i am very grateful for this place where i can speak whatevers on my mind.

ive often been amazed at the role that the wtbts & gb put themselves into, all the while claiming that they are not promoting their own standards, and understandings.

heres just a little research ive done lately on what it means to be a sect.

RunningMan

According to a sociology book that I read a few years ago, religions
are divided into six categories, ranging from mainstream denominations
to cults. Sects show up in category 5, between established sects and
cults.

Each category is marked by several characteristics. As I recall, sects
are marked by the following features:
- Separation from the outside world, rather than participation
- Belief that the end of the world is imminent
- Their main concern is internal, with their own well being as
the focus, rather than the improvement of society as a whole

There are also some other characteristics that I forget.

The book specifically lists Jehovah's Witnesses as an example of a
sect. So, not only are JW's a sect, but they are a textbook example.

The book also points out that sects grow well in territories where
there is either economic deprivation, or rapid social mobility. This
explains their growth in eastern Europe and Africa, as well as their
slow recent performance in the western world.

22

2001 District Convention Program

by Osarsif in

jw
friends

teachers of god's word.

district convention of jehovah's witnesses 2001-2002

fridayinspired scriptures beneficial for teaching -- 2 timothy 3:16morning9:30 music.

RunningMan

My ass is already starting to hurt.

By the way, has anyone noticed the plethora of symposiums that
have popped up over the past few years? As near as I can tell,
a symposium is just three regular talks, packaged as one big
talk. It sounds like a futile attempt to break up the monotony by
convincing the audience that these are not just talks, they are
"special" - almost like a drama, but not quite.