FFGhost

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Posts by FFGhost

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  28

  David Splane's apostate warning convention talk

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i know this recent video has been talked about already but i just watched it and here are a few things that got me annoyed as usual:.

  splane says that if a bible student says he saw some negative information from apostates and asks us to explain it, we shouldn't look at it or address anything specifically, but instead we should tell them to go to meetings and hear what we have to say about ourselves and also tell them to befriend people at the hall.

  for any person with integrity and/or intelligence, this is not a satisfactory answer.

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  FFGhost

  The question I always have about this sort of talk....

  What if the "negative information" comes from a non-apostate source?

  They create this near-hysterical revulsion toward "apostates", then conflate the idea of "apostasy" with "presenting any information that reveals the organization saying or doing something that is wrong or harmful" regardless of source.

  So, the argument becomes "negative information is, by definition, apostate information. If you hear negative information about us, it is always false and it always comes from apostates."

  That is wrong. The really evil part is that they know it is wrong, yet they say it anyway.

  Every time I am inclined to give them "the benefit of the doubt" on the question of "are they evil or just deluded", they come out with a talk or article like this which answers the question in full.
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  6

  A conversation that could have occurred between Jesus and a crowd he taught

  by BourneIdentity in

  1. social
  2. humour

  jesus: "so that is why you all get sick and die, because adam and eve grabbed an apple from the tree that god told them not to.".

  a man from the crowd: "but why are we punished for something we didn't do, we don't even know that man and woman, that was thousands of years ago!".

  jesus: "my father exercises perfect justice, believe me when i tell you when i say you got what was coming to you.

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  FFGhost

  "Blessed are the cheesemakers...."
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  18

  Ralph Walls implausible 2021 Convention field service story

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  another implausible field service story told by ralph walls at the 2021 convention.

  get ready for this unrealistic, stupid, dull and boring, made up fiction that is presented at this assembly.. some years ago ( tells a story but doesn't know exact date ), a brother ( doesn't give his name ) in mexico ( doesn't name the town) from the rurals, dressed in a very simple garb ( to show he was not showy ) knocked at the door of a palatial mansion.

  ( a very rich ''worldly'' person must live here ).

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  FFGhost

  I have never heard the expression "the rurals" before, and I am a native English speaker.

  That WT writer from the 80s needed a capable editor.
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  9

  Can a person order a free bible through the JWs?

  by jwundubbed in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was researching the easiest bible to read (which the jw bible is not) and the best way to buy one online at low cost and it got me thinking.

  the jw.org is doing videos and has a website.

  have they joined the order-online phenomenon that is going on in the world today?

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  FFGhost

  I think you mean, as in send in a request and they'd mail you a Bible?

  No, they don't have anything like that.

  You can read the NWT online, or as Jeffro suggested, fill out the online form to get a JW to visit you. If you manage to convince them you are "sincere" and not an apostate, and request them to hand-deliver a printed Bible to your door, they probably would.

  Well at least they would have pre-pandemic...for now probably the only way to read the NWT is online, if you don't already have a copy.
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  5

  Are Jehovah's Witnesses counting service time in Seconds yet? Like 8 seconds?

  by was a new boy in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  jehovah's witness gets 8 seconds total in new 52 minute video,.

  'in their own words pope francis'.

  closeup picture of (fuzzy 1:00-1:01), 43:48-50, and 44:54-59. .

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  FFGhost

  what benefits are there from Aux pioneering?

  Your name gets announced from the platform. You get a round of applause. You appear to be "spiritual" for a month. If the CO is visiting you get the "privilege" of sitting in for his hour long meeting with the regular pioneers.

  Short answer: Temporary prestige and an ego boost.
  
  
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  5

  Are Jehovah's Witnesses counting service time in Seconds yet? Like 8 seconds?

  by was a new boy in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  jehovah's witness gets 8 seconds total in new 52 minute video,.

  'in their own words pope francis'.

  closeup picture of (fuzzy 1:00-1:01), 43:48-50, and 44:54-59. .

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  FFGhost

  You've probably read about the "15 minute" provision that's been in place for probably 10 or so years - elderly / infirm JWs, with "permission" granted from the service committee, can count their "time" in 15 minute increments. Just 15 minutes in a month keeps you from being "irregular" or "inactive".

  Since the COVID lockdown began, they've waived both the "15 minute" and "permission" pieces. If you have "witnessed" for any amount of time (yes, even 8 seconds) you can report simply that you were "Active" in the ministry for that month. On your (now electronic) publisher card, the secretary will enter "active" for the month and you will be considered an active publisher.

  If you had more time (that can be measured in hours), you are still expected to provide the number.

  I don't recall if this "even one second is enough" policy was announced just to elders, or to everyone in the congregations.
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  7

  Do the WT lawyers now dictate what the GB now do and say ?

  by smiddy3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after all that has been happening these past years and changes that have been made on many fronts in the religion ,beliefs ,practices ,policies child abuse ,shunning ,etc, and different countries now taking a closer look at the religion ,i just wonder if the lawyers are now pulling the strings on how the organization functions and operates.. what are your thoughts about this ?.

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  FFGhost

  I don't think they (legal) create anything themselves, but I'm 99.9999% sure they have "veto power" on any doctrine, policy, practice, or guideline that might possibly have legal repercussions.
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  16

  Drinking expensive drinks - seriously looked down upon as a JW

  by Anony Mous in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember when i was a jw, drinking a good wine or other liquor was looked down upon.

  it’s better to put that money towards the worldwide work donations i always got told.

  so the best thing i ever got was johnny walker red back then (johnny walker is cheap blend).

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  FFGhost

  If you get counseled for consuming [X] drinks, it's a pretty safe bet that the elder giving the counsel regularly consumes [2X] or even [3x] at a go.

  "Ability to hold your liquor without appearing to be drunk" is one of the top "unwritten" requirements for being an elder, along with "10+ hours of field service per month" and "does his family do anything embarrassing?".
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  18

  Do the dubs do the songs at the Zoom Meetings?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any takers?

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  FFGhost

  They do the music, but everyone is on mute (or at least they are supposed to be).Everybody just sings along at home.

  It sounds really awful, due to differing bandwidth and connection speeds, to try to harmonize 60, 70, 80 devices that typically join in for a meeting. So they just mute everyone.

  What's funny is to watch them sing as they are muted. Some folks really apparently get into it. I think to myself "poor neighbors..."
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  14

  Eye-Opener

  by ElderStuckin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  each eye-opener in my awakening had nothing to do with apostates.

  it was always by looking directly at the so-called spiritual food that helped me awaken.. in 2019 they changed the wording of the second of two baptismal questions which are answered aloud before the audience.

  now i realize that these questions have been adjusted over the years.

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  FFGhost

  Do you understand that your baptism identifies you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with Jehovah’s organization?

  Full question, with the implied part fully written:

  Do you understand that your baptism identifies you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with Jehovah’s organization, and therefore you voluntarily and completely agree to give us carte blanche to use the threat of disfellowshipping and the implied subsequent loss of association and affection of all of your family and friends as emotional blackmail to coerce you into doing what we demand?