Posts by ThomasMore

51

Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

i still read on reddit.

(though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

it's been a long time.

ThomasMore

LHG said: "no young person years ago invited to a pioneer dinner and patted on the back had ANY idea their financial security in old age was in jeopardy and they were being lulled into a sleep mode..."

By now, some of those who basked in the praise from WTC for trading their future for full time service, must surely realize that they got nothing in return. Worrying about bills, a roof over your head, and medical coverage is a wakeup call from that indiced sleep.

I took a lot of grief for focusing on my future, and some JW's won't speak to me now. No one forced them to stay at Bethel until they were kicked to the curb, but it rubs them wrong that they were duped. Sadly, it is too late to make a dent in their budget deficit. My heart goes out to them but my donations do not.

22

The Rapture

by Sea Breeze in

when i was pioneering, i don't remember ever addressing the rapture question.

does anyone know how a jw would respond to this verse?

for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god.

ThomasMore

Rattigan - you wrote:

"As of right now (or rather 1995) all of the 144,000 have been anointed and sealed."

Can you please elaborate on this comment. I have never heard that JW's ever felt 1995 was pivotal.

25

Trump assassination attempt??

by Diogenesister in

it happened at a rally in pennsylvania, apparently.

he seems ok i've seen a photo of him bleeding from his ear.

this is absolutely nutso....if it's too it doesn't surprise me the way they constantly describe him as "far right" and that his supporters are "maga republicans".

ThomasMore

Biden was quoted Monday on a call to Democratic donors that they needed to put a "bullseye on Trump". Of course he was not recommending violence, but it was irresponsible nevertheless. Tempers are flaring on both sides, but radicals don't know when to check their anger - so here we are.

I heard commentators say that we still have months before the election, but the real attacks against Trump started AFTER he was elected. Is this what we have to look forward to if he wins again?

Now an attendee has been killed and two others are in critical condition, yet some are still using inflammatory rhetoric to describe both candidates. We need civility.

27

Awake 1976 - Should a Pocket Calculator Be in Your Pocket?

by Ron.W. in

awake 1976 - should a pocket calculator be in your pocket?.

somehow this totally zany 'bible based' article passed me by first time around!.

anyone remember it?.

ThomasMore

Cell phones now have calculator apps so I wonder how calculator sales have been affected?

I also found that the more I used my calculator, the less adept I was at doing calculations in my head. I decided to limit using the calculator to complex math like determining depreciation, compound interest, and CSA settlement totals.

51

Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

i still read on reddit.

(though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

it's been a long time.

ThomasMore

Grandpa Atlantis - thanks for all you do mate!

I think that they say they are unsure about how many KHs they have because:

1) Some KHs in foreign lands are homes where pubs meet - not dedicated KHs

2) They are selling so many so quickly that the number from day to day is different

3) They leverage KHs for loans used for operating expenses and to pay CSA settlements, so technically the bank owns them :)

It is a moving target that they view as semi-liquid assets. They are not emotionally attached to the KHs like the publishers who built them, paid for them, maintained them, and worshipped in them.

22

The Rapture

by Sea Breeze in

when i was pioneering, i don't remember ever addressing the rapture question.

does anyone know how a jw would respond to this verse?

for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god.

ThomasMore

The JW answer was that it prophesied the resurrection of deceased anointed ones in 1918, all at once. However, they never addressed verse 17 with any finality which says "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

They did offer that it 'could' be that the annointed still alive prior to Armageddon could be taken to heaven all at once, but they waffled back and forth as to when this might occur. While saying that all anointed would share in the battle of Armageddon as brothers of Christ, they later said that some could live through Armageddon and be taken afterward. Clearly, they have no insight on the matter, per their usual 'make it up as they go' method of muddling through scriptural explanations.

I recall some 'heavies' saying that that 1 Thess sounded like Christendom's version of the rapture, but they did not want to use the word. Typical WTC spin.

WTC also uses these verses as proof that Jesus is Michael the archangel.

I always found it puzzling that they claimed that the Kingdom was established in 1914, but had no officials other than Christ until 1918. Details, details - don't bother Watchtower with details.

51

Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

i still read on reddit.

(though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

it's been a long time.

ThomasMore

dropoffyourkeylee - I think your points are all valid.

However, if WTC is banking on growth in Africa to save them, they are truly desperate. African publishers do not donate enough to offset the costs and risks of doing business there. Currently, WTC is not sending investment funds there as one might expect, given the interest being shown by the people.

Political tides turn quickly in most African nations. US based religions are seen by the governments as a drain on the nation, and are viewed with growing suspicion. Historically, moving money out of those countries back to the US has been problematic, placing the JW Branch personnel in those lands at risk of imprisonment and/or persecution.

African interest in the promise of paradise is to be expected. However, the cultures in those lands are not aligned with JWism at all. CSA, domestic violence, fraud and other practices are deeply rooted. Immigrants from African lands bring all those problems to the US where they manifest themselves in judicial hearings. I don't see any help for WTC coming as a result of interest on that continent - and I think WTC has serious doubts that growth there will ever be profitable.

36

Big News: August English Watchtower released on servers

by ukpimo in

big news.

just in from a friend who is fading.. disfellowshipping will no longer be a term used by jws.

study article 35, paragraph 4 footnote says this:.

ThomasMore

Well that settles it. I am going back!

12

The "Baby Boomers" are starting to die off, and the effects

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

i was born in 1964, so, i was 10 when the buildup to 1975 was happening (and watched the subsequent failure of that).then, when i was a teenager, i got to see the fallour of the big apostacy events in the 1980s.during all of this, i was told by my parents and by people of my parents' peer group that "this old system won't last much longer, and won't the new system be great!

"it is now 2024. i am going to be 60 years old in a few months.

over half a century.my mom died two months after her 80th birthday last year, after suffering for years of chronic poor health (some of it brought on by a very sedentary lifestyle, but also plagued by emotional and mental issues and family drama which did not help overall.

ThomasMore

Vidiot describes WTC perfectly as trying to stop leaks in the dam with no hope of succeeding. Members watch and some still hang on.

I recall how some supporters of Bernie Madoff were unwilling to accept that he had duped them. Regulators finally arrested him but some investors were still supportive of his ponzi scheme.

WTC has run a multi-generational religious ponzi scheme for 145 years.

20

Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower provide Shelter and relief to poor of NYC...by leaving...

by Balaamsass2 in

after over 100 years...watchtower helps the poor of nyc...by leaving!!

jehovah's witnesses hotel becomes affordable housing.

developed by breaking ground, 90 sands brings new housing opportunities to brooklyn.. .

ThomasMore

It may be time for the AG to examine WTC's tax exempt status.