Posts by Anders Andersen

58

When did WT lose the spirit?

by Smiles in

at what time would you say that the watch tower schema lost the spirit?.

like the ancient nation of israel which struggled maintaining divine blessing due to a long series of grave errors that eventually culminated in definitive loss... how and when did watch tower lose the spirit?.

can we pinpoint a time or event?.

Anders Andersen

One premise can heap blame upon self.

The other premise allows us to blame Watch Tower.

This is a false dichotomy, and unhelpful too.

I am now an atheist. I do not believe in any kind of spiritual entities. And I can still blame Watchtower for deceiving me with lies and half-truths, and blame them for taking JWs minds hostage.

With or without 'the spirit' Watchtower can still be blamed for what they do.

And (former) JW can also still wonder what biases and flawed mental processes made them join or stay. Once they recognize the mechanics of that, they are better equipped to not fall for something similar later.

Watch Tower lost the spirit...
Blame Watch Tower, not yourself.
This is an important valid coping mechanism for those of us that have suffered stigma and abuse at the hands Watch Tower.

Is it really helpful for people to continue believing half of what harmed them before?

Those who continue to believe in 'the spirit' and Watchtower having it at some point in time, may fall for the same trap again: they may join yet another (harmful) religion that claims to be the sole possessor of 'the spirit'. Or they may go back to Watchtower if they perceive JW 'have the spirit' back again some time from now.

Either 'the spirit' exists or not. If not, it's not helpful to pretend it does.

If 'the spirit' does exist, some evidence about its whereabouts and activities would be welcome.

You're right though in that some ways to approach (doubting) JW may be more helpful than others. It heavily depends on the person though. Some may be sensistive to contemplating whether or not Watchtower 'has the spirit' as you suggest. Others are more sensitive to other topics, such as evidence that mankind existed long before 4026BC, dishonesty and coverups, (lack of) evidence for the existence of JHWH, evidence for the (lack of) divine inspiration of the Bible, etc.

There is no 'one size fits all' approach.

62

"The Best Convention Ever" - 2020 starts today

by bats in the belfry in

dress up for the show.

... and now please be seated.

proudly presenting your 2020 convention program.. ... and, thank god, for the ff button on my player.

Anders Andersen

Most likely devout JWS will wear their meeting cloth while watching the video.

Yes, they will (and must). Elders have also been doing the rounds handing everyone their convention name badge....and the Dubs will wear those too! Apparently the convention program will be so dull and mind numbing that Dubs will even forget their spouse's name by watching...

62

"The Best Convention Ever" - 2020 starts today

by bats in the belfry in

dress up for the show.

... and now please be seated.

proudly presenting your 2020 convention program.. ... and, thank god, for the ff button on my player.

Anders Andersen

2021 no convention, too

For now Watchtower has only canceled the 2021 international and special conventions. No word yet about regular conventions.

58

When did WT lose the spirit?

by Smiles in

at what time would you say that the watch tower schema lost the spirit?.

like the ancient nation of israel which struggled maintaining divine blessing due to a long series of grave errors that eventually culminated in definitive loss... how and when did watch tower lose the spirit?.

can we pinpoint a time or event?.

Anders Andersen

Please do not reply with 'JWs never had the spirit'....

Ok.

What convinces you Watchtower at some time in the past 'had the spirit'?

What exactly does it mean to 'have the spirit'?

What convinces you Watchtower doesn't 'have the spirit' now?

9

Restrictions imposed by the government that affect our activities should be followed. —Rom. 13:1.

by Anders Andersen in

in their covid19 related instructions watchtower writes:.

restrictions imposed by the government that affect our activities should be followed.

what changed?

Anders Andersen

In their Covid19 related instructions Watchtower writes:

Restrictions imposed by the government that affect our activities should be followed. —Rom. 13:1.

What changed?

What's the difference with restrictions on JW activity imposed by Russian and other authorities?

Why pick and choose which directions to obey, and which not?

8

Telehealth Doctor's Visits Provided by JW Drs. - Coming Soon?

by JWTom in

jw
friends

there is a zoom meeting in our area this coming weekend to educate anyone with a healthcare background about "volunteering" to be part of providing health care through online zoom doctors visits.

evidently jw doctors across the us are volunteering to do free zoom consultations that are technically real doctors visits.

don't have many details other than i saw some of the letters from petra where people could sign up for this.. wondering if this is already happening in some areas or if anyone knows more about it?

Anders Andersen

Some letters and forms about this were leaked recently. The patient must sign a waiver that says something like 'I won't sue Watchtower or the JW doctor/nurse'

It's basically a 'best effort, no guarantees' thing.

13

Letter writing question

by carla in

so the jw's are no longer goind d2d but instead are writing letters- my question is what return address are they putting on the letters?

their own or the kh?

the kh's in our area have no mailbox and therefore no mail can be delivered or returned to a kh.. thanks in advance!.

Anders Andersen

Isn't it strange?

All JW are ambassadors for Christ and represent him with everything they say and do. They must freely share Christ's words and thoughts, and explain them to all people.

But they must never ever even give the impression they are ambassadors of Watchtower inc. or speak on Watchtower's behalf.

13

Letter writing question

by carla in

so the jw's are no longer goind d2d but instead are writing letters- my question is what return address are they putting on the letters?

their own or the kh?

the kh's in our area have no mailbox and therefore no mail can be delivered or returned to a kh.. thanks in advance!.

Anders Andersen

Official instructions say:

On the outside of the envelope, always provide a return address—preferably your own postal address. If you feel that it would be unwise to give your own address when witnessing by letter to strangers, ask the elders if they would approve of your using the return address of the local Kingdom Hall. The Watch Tower Society’s address should never be used for this purpose, as this would improperly indicate that your correspondence was sent from the Society’s offices and would cause confusion. If no return address is provided and literature is included, this too may give the wrong impression that the Society is the sender.

6

Cookies.

by Lost in the fog in

i went to have a look at the jw.

org website recently and i was asked if i would agree to accept cookies.

i don't remember being asked that in the past.

Anders Andersen

@biahi,

No.

15

IT experts

by Youngaposthate in

good day former jdubs, i'm a new member, particularly looking for it experts whome can verify if the jw apps track its members and record audio, particularly the khonf app.

if you download app on google play store and click the headphones, a pop up requiring user to click pop up to enable audio recording is displayed.

i'm minorly aware of the evolution of tech and tracking scandals.

Anders Andersen

Btw the audio recording privileges the app asks for are because it's possible to comment during a meeting with KHconf.

Hardly anything suspicious for an app designed for.....listening to and commenting during JW meetings...

The icon next to it (microphone) is used to comment. When you toggle this icon on, the ring turns blue, and your voice is heard across the conference bridge (assuming you used the comment PIN to connect). Tap the microphone again to mute yourself and turn the microphone back off.