a long, long time ago, when i was young, i became a 'special' pioneer.
it meant that i had to spend 150 hours a month, and i received a small allowance.
i was then assigned to a small country congregation, in western nsw (australia).
Sounds paradisaic to me - similar to the dysfunctional congregation I was born into. It was filled with the outcasts of society for the most part. Drunks, weirdos, at least one pedo, anointed nutters who were such bad examples that they could not be given parts on the meetings, and the wildest teenagers imagineable, who brought so much reproach that almost all were DFd. A REAL PARADISE!!!
Can you see yourself there? I bet you can if you just look at your own congregation :-)
the watchtower—study edition | september 2023. study article 39. let mildness be your strength.
11 if a workmate asks, for example, why we do not celebrate birthdays, consider: could he be wondering whether we are allowed to have a good time?
or might he feel that our position will dampen the company’s team spirit?
R&R - can you also add that JWs don’t celebrate because they are contrarians, Debbie-Downers, who can’t help but poke others in the eye with a stick at every opportunity, going so far beyond what is written that they are indistinguishable as a Christian religion.
Thanks! You are the best! THE BEST!!
LHG - by golly you nailed it exactly!!!! You are the best! THE VERY BEST!!!
it feels like the change in reporting of hours becomes a fundamentally bigger deal every day.
the weight and importance placed on quantity was enormous, and now it's just gone.
even tho most witnesses really didn't keep "accurate" records so to speak hehehe.... this could very well be a precursor to even bigger doctrinal changes, like 1914. damn, would would happen then?.
WTC is an end-times religion. Everything they do, teach, believe, must somehow dovetail into the end-times eschatology that characterizes them. If 1914 went away, they would have to replace it with something else. Timing the end is 2nd nature to JWs, even though they have a 100% record - OF GETTING IT WRONG.
However, they really painted themselves into a corner on 1914. It would not be sufficient to simply stop mentioning it because there are so many people reminding them - it is a millstone around their neck.
Suffice it to say that they have a hot mess to handle along with all their other problems like CSA, loss of religious status in other countries, investigations into to shunning, selling KHs without proper legal proceedings, and on and on and on and on…
As for 1914, it just won’t go away. It reminds me of the meatloaf at Bethel (“repeatloaf”). It makes for endless obnoxious belches that can’t be hidden.
Great Teacher - I expect fewer on Zoom and even fewer at in person meetings. Recently a Brother who used to shun me started speaking again. That spoke volumes to me.
fear !.
since they won't mention the name they're referencing, i will.. .
willem a. vangemeren (born 7 april 1943) is professor emeritus of old testament and semitic languages at trinity evangelical divinity school.
Beth Sarim - I think you are right.
They are actively devouring each other by their internal bickering, politicking, jealousies and envies. The conflicts at headquarters trickle down to the congregations where they fight one another over trivial matters. There is no thread of genuine love among them - the identifying mark of true Christians. And yet, they do not fear the internal fighting.
1. They fear the ones who leave.
2. They fear losing their tax exempt status.
found this on fb from the recent losch talk.
time for a new business model?.
.
The Jimmy Swaggart Ministries case spooked WTC. They joined him in court as "Friends of Jimmy Swaggart" which gave them insights into how the gov't might come after them. They got out of the contribution for literature business and began mentioning the donation arrangement. That did not generate enough cash for an ice cream cone, so they gradually got out of the publishing for money business and began to focus on their real estate business.
They are selling real estate to cover CSA settlements (In-Court and Out-of-Court) and probably have KH's leveraged as collateral for loans they take. Donations are not coming in as they desire, so they have their linguists feverishly working on a strategy to implement tithing without calling it that. Like shunning, they will claim that they don't, even though they do.
And now the elephant in the room: Loesch looks awful. Do they really think that his face will move the R&F to empty their wallets?
As for the movie studio, I think they are tossing dust in the air to generate excitement and possible donations. If I am wrong, call me out. Like Garrett, my skin is really thick.
breaking news | highlights of 2023 worldwide service year report.
on november 15, 2023, the service committee of the governing body shared highlights of the 2023 worldwide service year report with the bethel family.
the following exciting increases were announced: baptisms: during the 2023 service year, 269,517 persons were baptized.
Call me skeptical. WTC lacks transparency about all the problems they are experiencing, yet they shout loudly when they claim to be having any degree of success. Morale is low, especially at Bethel. I have to believe a report with some bright spots was needed desperately to curb the negative talk internally about the decline of the religion.
In this case, I seriously doubt that the numbers are accurate. The culture at WTC is well known - "Lying is OK when done for Kingdom interests".
OK - go ahead and say it - "Thomas - you were bound to say that no matter what the case!"
Well you are may be right. As a personal recipient of WTC lies, I distrust everything they say now. Like a hunting dog, I trust my nose to sniff out their lies, subterfuge, obfuscation and spin. And like WTC, I do not apologize.
i've been experimenting with artificial intelligence as a research tool and for its lightning quick ability to summarize and convert information about the watchtower org into an essay.
the following is the result of 2 separate text prompts.
the first is in the form of a final argument before a jury.the second is a breaking down of the analogy between legal liability in healthcare and tying it in with religious authoritymalpractice.
So are you saying that Marshall Applegate and his faithful followers DID NOT catch Hale-Bopp as it passed earth? Next you’ll be telling us that Scientology is stretching the truth!
women make up the main population of the kingdom halls, and the pool of young males willing to step up to "serve" is drying up.
what is the likelihood of "new light" on jw women in ministry roles formerly held only by males?.
Teddnzo,
As I understand it, the hierarchy is:
baptized brothers
baptized sisters
unbaptized brothers
unbaptized sisters
potty trained children
babies in diapers
service dogs
plain dogs
cats
tony morris
women make up the main population of the kingdom halls, and the pool of young males willing to step up to "serve" is drying up.
what is the likelihood of "new light" on jw women in ministry roles formerly held only by males?.
DOYKL - I don’t think WTC was that long left, given what I am seeing. I could be wrong - but I don’t think I am.
