Posts by Spiral

4

"We are confident Jehovah will bless this new arrangement and provision!"

by nowwhat? in

so let me get this straight, emphasis on cart witnessing and jw.org website with their flashy videos and such has brought in about 680 new publishers in the united states?

out of which 600 are probably children?!

well that certainly speaks for itself!

Spiral

Yes. Most watching the website for the first time would probably be turned off. I certainly would/am. As for the cart witnessing, it's a real non-starter.

29

Anxiety, OCD, Hoarding, and the JWs

by Spiral in

i'm noticing what seems to be a higher incidence of the above among the local jws than in the "general" (read: worldly) population.

i don't say this lightly, my wanderings around the fringes of jw society locally is revealing an alarming trend here.

the poverty doesn't help (there are good jobs, but you need a degree or qualifications to get one).. anyone else see this?

I'm noticing what seems to be a higher incidence of the above among the local JWs than in the "general" (read: worldly) population. I don't say this lightly, my wanderings around the fringes of JW society locally is revealing an alarming trend here. The poverty doesn't help (there are good jobs, but you need a degree or qualifications to get one).

Anyone else see this?

17

Can't believe we are still here

by moreconfusedthanever in

just this week i had the jws knock on my door.

sisters from my old congregation.

we exchanged the usual polite conversation.

Spiral

I have heard comments like this three times lately. Each time it surprised me, given who was saying it.

I do think people are having doubts, but are too invested in the lifestyle (if "style" is the correct term) to leave.

Also, I think the "resurrection hope" is perhaps the cruelest thing of all. If someone is staying in only because they want to see a loved one again, how sad is that.

29

Will The Watchtower Ever Give Up Mandatory Shunning Of DF'd Members?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

i think the wt will never give up this practice unless forced to by the courts, even if they are financially failing terribly they will keep it because the moment they do get rid of it the whole thing will collapse even faster and they know it(or afraid of it happening).

they have painted themselves into a corner of financial ruin.

.

Spiral

They know if they allow full communication between those that are in and those that are out a lot of people will leave, either because they haven't believed in years, or because they are helped to see the folly of the bOrg.

But, I think this is what will ultimately make the religion collapse. It's not sustainable.

33

Whole families leaving the Org has increased

by pomo6780 in

i have noticed in the uk a few families i used to know while in the borg have exited together.

some include former elders and ministerial servants.

i observed on social media pages that the kids have 'worldly' boyfriends and girlfriends and they look so much happier than they did in the org.

Spiral

I don't know what the statistics would be, or how to find out, but my whole family left once we all realized no one wanted the religion any more. Woohoo!!!!

31

What's destroying Watchtower!

by UnshackleTheChains in

for me, beyond any shadow of a doubt, it's the extreme shunning policy.. at a recent sunday meeting, i listened to a complete brainwashed sister saying how important it was that we stick to the shunning policy even if it is a close relative.. i just thought.

wtf.

there is a big difference between the brainwashed and the awoken class!.

Spiral

I do think the shunning policy will have an effect, intensified by the push to baptize kids younger and younger (something that would have been unheard of decades ago). Apparently the brothers are going around pressuring parents to get their children baptized young. Then as teenagers or early twenty-somethings they either don't want to be in the bOrg or they do something to get DF'd, and then the family is torn apart.

Many failing dictatorships all through history have made a similar mistake. They frequently tighten the screws on the population when they see they are failing (call it encouraging "loyalty"). This bumps up their power temporarily and then it collapses. I think this will happen to the JWs too.

24

The New JWdom - Vew of Older Publications? (and other related questions)

by Magnum in

i feel that there aren’t many of that type anymore, but there have to be some – mostly old-timers.

how do they study?.

when i was active, i collected all the old publications i could find.

Spiral

I've wondered about this, because back in the day we knew a lot of brothers and sisters who took great joy showing how much research they did. One sister in particular had notebooks that she had created herself about prophecy, all indexed and cross-referenced. Impressive (if not overwhelming) to studies. All of it for nothing, after the bOrg decided they weren't in to types/anti-types anymore.

I know she's still in, so I wonder how she feels about the changes. I don't have much meaningful contact now but it doesn't seem like anyone takes doctrine seriously. The younger generation doesn't have a doctrinal mindset at all. Let's face it, you don't have to know much (such as it is) to stand by a cart or show someone a video on a tablet.

I don't think anyone reads or thinks about anything before the 90s, as they have been conditioned not to. But - I'm intrigued to think that there are "underground" groups of people trying to discuss research. I wonder what they really think.

Has the bOrg just thrown out the "Revelation" books and given up on interpretation of what used to be considered the most important prophecies in the Bible?

52

Are Beards becoming more acceptable due to decline in membership?

by UnshackleTheChains in

i noticed a young brother with a beard being given more privelages within our hall.

when he first grew his beard, he lost his privelages.

but more and more recently he has been helping out a lot more.. the cobe is old school and a stickler for rules, but with the hall becoming more empty these days, and the need for young brothers, he seems to have relaxed on this particular watchtower/man made rule.

Spiral

I think there's something else to consider, maybe the brothers growing beards just don't give a sh*t any more about striving/competing/groaning after privileges. Here the elders (who are all really old) have been having a hard time getting brothers to care enough about competing for privileges. A bit of a shift, methinks, from the old days.

Once you don't care about privileges, they have much less control over you. And if you're a brother, you grow a beard! If they still want to give you a privilege, you keep the beard, and read that Watchtower.

11

stupid questions

by road to nowhere in

paragraph 4 today: "what are we gonna consider?

" maybe that is the article title?

the other is: "what will we consider next week?

Spiral

I think the OP is referencing the question to paragraph 3 which is: "What will we consider in this article?" The word "gonna" might have been said from the stage.

I agree that the studies are so dumbed down they ask repeatedly things like what are we studying, what will we study next week, let's review what we just learned, or this item from today's study in paragraph 1: "Why can there be no doubt that God's word exerts power? (See opening picture). A staged set of pictures! Everything is directed as if the audience were small children. The questions really make the meeting slow and boring.

I find this article interesting because it's about reading scriptures in the ministry, even though they've pushed everything toward showing people something on the tablet (which is also shown in a picture). They also mention meditating on the scriptures, as if just reading a scripture and thinking about it was really meditation.

35

Is All The Bad Publicity About The Watchtower Pedophile Lawsuits Causing Contributions To Nose Dive Worldwide?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

i think with all the child molestation lawsuits the watchtower corporation is and has been hit with is the main reason for all the prime property sell off recently.

the silent lambs protest back in 2001, and the dateline prime time expose probably was the death knell for the watchtower's hey day in brooklyn.. their membership is drying up, young people are leaving in droves, the situation is no doubt far worse than the annually published yearbook figures show and so they ceased it's publication permanently.

and those left remaining are experiencing a huge grab of money from their congregations accounts and now are required to make pledges about how much they can contribute which i think is a last ditch effort by the governing body to squeeze more money out of the rank and file watchtower indoctrinated drones.. i think all this is happening because even those still loyally attending are hearing reports of these tremendous pay out that the watchtower is making to the victims of their self serving policies that put young ones at great risks so that even the rank and file don't want to contribute to pay court costs and so are withholding giving contributions to a very great extent.

Spiral

I can't say that anyone in my Mom's congo (US) knows about the lawsuits. They are so busy trying to survive with little money, poor health, taking care of family members (elderly parents, family with chronic illnesses, etc.) that they can't see the forest for the trees. Not a lot of global thinking going on around here.

Having said that, the exhaustion is palpable. There is no further money to give - I don't think there are any big contributors remaining. (Good thing I have my hands on the checkbook, there's nothing coming from us.) There is awareness that the "special people" in Warwick have beautiful lodgings and a care home and I think that is resented, quietly and anonymously. The thought that they've done all that and are now short of money would really trouble people here (who live such a modest life style) but they probably wouldn't admit it publicly.

I haven't been approached or challenged in any way about my status, or asked for a contribution, or even about why I am (obviously) inactive. That tells me quite a bit.

Question, though, do I understand from a previous post that Lett actually mentioned or hinted at legal costs in one of the broadcasts? Is he trying to cover the GB's collective backsides when even just the news about the lawsuits in California become more well known? I've been wondering when that would hit the collective consciousness of the US JWs.