Posts by Splash

4

France bethel renovations

by Splash in

seems like they can't spend money fast enough these days.. the france bethel at louviers is having a construction and renovation project.this has become necessary "due to the acceleration of the kingdom work".. this branch constructs 20 new kingdom halls each year across 2000 congregations sharing 1055 kingdom halls in 13 countries with a population of 150 million.. the project involves a top to bottom renovation and construction of a 35 apartment residents building.part of the former printery will become a car park and the building itself will be converted for use as a bethel laundry, offices, new audio/video studio, and a translation department.a former warehouse building will become a mechanics garage.. this will be completed by summer 2018.. they are seeking volunteers, and the graphic of caleb happily dropping money into a box tells us we can also help with our contributions.. jw tv link.

Splash

Seems like they can't spend money fast enough these days.

The France bethel at Louviers is having a construction and renovation project.
This has become necessary "due to the acceleration of the Kingdom work".

This branch constructs 20 new kingdom halls each year across 2000 congregations sharing 1055 kingdom halls in 13 countries with a population of 150 million.

The project involves a top to bottom renovation and construction of a 35 apartment residents building.
Part of the former printery will become a car park and the building itself will be converted for use as a bethel laundry, offices, new audio/video studio, and a translation department.
A former warehouse building will become a mechanics garage.

This will be completed by summer 2018.

They are seeking volunteers, and the graphic of Caleb happily dropping money into a box tells us we can also help with our contributions.

jw tv Link

23

New video telling the R&F to be generous

by Splash in

bro sanderson has a 7 minute video up on their streaming website called "be willing to open your hand".. in it he tells us not to be "tight fisted" or "stingy" and later "regardless of how much we have or how little we have, we'll find something within our power to be able to do".

we have the responsibility to imitate jehovah's generosity.. there's a bit about giving to one another when we see the need, which is nice, then he drops in how 20 years ago the canada branch committee asked the bethel family for donations to the disaster relief fund, and promptly raised over $10,000.

i think that's pretty good going for those under a vow of poverty.. "the generous person will prosper" he says, then illustrates this using a made up story.

Splash

Bro Sanderson has a 7 minute video up on their streaming website called "Be willing to open your hand".

In it he tells us not to be "tight fisted" or "stingy" and later "regardless of how much we have or how little we have, we'll find something within our power to be able to do". We have the responsibility to imitate Jehovah's generosity.

There's a bit about giving to one another when we see the need, which is nice, then he drops in how 20 years ago the Canada Branch Committee asked the bethel family for donations to the disaster relief fund, and promptly raised over $10,000. I think that's pretty good going for those under a vow of poverty.

"The generous person will prosper" he says, then illustrates this using a made up story. If you grab a handful of grain and form a tight fist, you don't get as much as if you use an open hand.

The camera angle means we rarely see any of his bling, and just to be certain, the cameraman zooms in a little bit more at the 2:00 mark.

Think I'll call Bethel and tell them I'm facing a temporary financial difficulty.
I know their answer would be to trust in Jehovah, stay warm and well fed.

Then they'd phone my elders to form an investigation.

JW TV Link

8

JW Library app with convention releases ?

by Elisa1966 in

they are talking on jwtalk about this, but no details.

has anyone access to jw library ?

just curious... :-)

Splash

Just checked JW Lib on both android and iPad and I don't see those releases on there.

There's a whiteboard animation dealing with convention reminders which was played in all the halls recently, but nothing much else that I can see.

28

An experience at Bethel

by joe134cd in

i was just thinking of something i observed on a visit to bethel some years back, that at the time struck me as odd, but now that i look back on it, it might be revealing about their financial situation.

please feel free to agree/disagree with me and also bear in mind this is some years back so my memory may be sketchey.

i remember walking into the front entrance of the bethel to do a tour.

Splash

Ah. I've lived a sheltered life

28

An experience at Bethel

by joe134cd in

i was just thinking of something i observed on a visit to bethel some years back, that at the time struck me as odd, but now that i look back on it, it might be revealing about their financial situation.

please feel free to agree/disagree with me and also bear in mind this is some years back so my memory may be sketchey.

i remember walking into the front entrance of the bethel to do a tour.

Splash

SoCal101 "Here at Bethel we use nothing but the best for our brothers and sisters! As a matter of fact, our premium soap has loofa fibers already infused into the soap!"

It's not the loofa fibres that turn my stomach, it's the 'other' fibres.
Imagine being blonde but finding a dark hair in your soap.

Gross

29

Book Burning and other burning of materials done by JW. Any experiences Please post

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

as a very young child i have memories of several book burnings done by jw families.

it wasn't something arranged by the congregation, but elders did participate in it.

it was actually scary for me as a child of only about 8 years old.

Splash

A friend (not a friend of a friend, but my own personal buddy) bought some headphones from a market.
When he used them he got a splitting headache. He told his elder father who suggested it was demons, so he should burn them, which my friend did.

Another personal friend made the decision that his Bat out of Hell cassette was bad, so burned it.

22

New light on more parables

by Deltawave in

well after a full watchtower study last week about how we should not read to much into bible account as types and antitypes, we had a whole study article on what the 10 wise virgins now means.

interesting though is the fact that only in 2007/8 they taught that the discreet virgins were the annointed ones who waited for christ's return in 1914 and the foolish ones were the ones who fell away in 1914 because the end didn't come.

now though, we have new light!

Splash

There's an error in paragraph 4 on page 13 of that w15 3/15 article.

It states: "Note the similar directions that Jesus gave to his “little flock” of anointed followers: “Be dressed and ready and have your lamps burning, and you should be like men waiting for their master to return from the marriage.” (Luke 12:32, 35, 36)"

The error is that the apostles to whom Jesus was talking, were NOT the anointed little flock at that time.
This did not happen until later on, in 33 C.E. when holy spirit came down and anointed them after Jesus had died.

Yes Jesus called them a "little flock" in Luke 12, but they were not anointed.
He was speaking to a non-anointed little flock.

22

New light on more parables

by Deltawave in

well after a full watchtower study last week about how we should not read to much into bible account as types and antitypes, we had a whole study article on what the 10 wise virgins now means.

interesting though is the fact that only in 2007/8 they taught that the discreet virgins were the annointed ones who waited for christ's return in 1914 and the foolish ones were the ones who fell away in 1914 because the end didn't come.

now though, we have new light!

Splash

Probably this?

anointedjw

70

If They Stopped Shunning Tomorrow?

by cofty in

imagine that the cult decided to stop shunning family members on the proviso that the dfd person was not actively trying to attack the cult.. (please don't debate whether or not this is likely - it's hypothetical).

how would you respond to your family?.

personally i think i would be less than cooperative.

Splash

cofty My dad told me it would have been easier for them if I had died.

I've heard this so many times, that it would be easier if someone had died.
I don't know if they sincerely believe it or like everything else in JWdom they are just repeating 'the disfellowshipped stance' by rote.

So callous, it undermines basic humanity. No wonder there's so many mental health problems tied up with this group.

71

A big hello and thank you

by iwasblind in

i just wanted to introduce myself and say a big hello to all of my mentally diseased friends.. i say friends because i have been lurking for some time so it feels like home (us lurkers are a bit scared and cautious so it takes a while).

i won't bore you with too many details, but i am a born in, currently serving as the cobe of a congregation.

my wife and i have pioneered for the last 10 years and were shaken awake by that ridiculous 15th july 2013 wt about the generation and 1914.. my wife who is much smarter than me has questioned for years.

Splash

I still think it's incredible that when you are awake to how things really are, how different everything appears.

You see the WT articles, the people, the elders, the assemblies all in such a different light.

Seeing confirmation bias at work, refusal to entertain any thought apart from the current WT thought, fear and suspicions. How the nutty WT teachings are laughed about but in an "oh well, it must be right" sort of way.

Everything that drops from the GB's table is gobbled up in an effort to impress others and prove yourself more righteous, to gain more approval. It's all received with a hypnotic nod, a smile and "that makes sense" when it really makes no sense at all.

Labels, privileges, status, rank, standing, position. These are the spiritual goals that they work, work, work for.
There is no depth, but the shallow veneers are constantly polished with talks, answers, underlining, and hours.

Oh! The hours! The single metric which drives this worldwide organisation and segregates everyone into their respective caste.

When you are a part of this machine you cannot see it, but step away for a moment and it's a fascinating lesson in fraud, self deception and vainglorious pursuits.

Welcome, iwasblind, I look forward to hearing your experiences as you and your wife fade from the WT system.