Posts by john.prestor

14

G.B.Are they Manipulative Lying S.O.B.`s / Not Genuine in their Beliefs ?

by smiddy3 in

i raise this question for many reasons really ,thinking back on their past history and how they have responded to past failures .that they explain away as human imperfections.. on the one hand they claim to be gods spokesperson on earth .the only true religion god is using to dispense his truths at the proper time.

and that members of the gb are the f&ds class assigned to do this.. or do they deliberately manipulate witnesses vulnerability about world events ,disasters ,earthquakes etc ,to prey on those fears about the gt /armageddon.. that they are constantly warned about .

and that it is impending.. producing videos that show how jw`s will be persecuted round up and imprisoned simply for being a jw .on a worldwide scale .. the bunker video ?.

john.prestor

It's a complicated situation and I tend to weigh in on the side that they kind of know they're full of it but they kind of believe it too.

It comes down to Orwellian doublethink. In the novel 1984 the inner party which controls the government of Oceania riles up the outer party about Oceania conquering their enemies to distract them from the horrendous treatment they receive at their own hands, torture, malnutrition, no freedom of speech or assembly, etc. and the considerably better lifestyle the inner party enjoys, better food, larger apartments, chauffeurs and servants, so on and so forth.

Later on in the novel a guy named 'Goldstein' writes that the inner party knows Oceania can't and won't conquer their enemies, they're too formidable and there's too many of them and if they do the outer party will turn on the inner party, but at the same time the inner party believes they will anyway.

You can't get onto the Governing Body without spending decades 'slaving' for Jehovah (their term), which means keeping your mouth shut and doing whatever the present leadership says (so during the present Governing Body's time that was Knorr and then Franz and then the first Governing Body). So they have to believe it at some level, or they couldn't get into that boardroom. But at the same time, do they know that they continue to enjoy a pretty cushy, leisurely, sonewhat luxurious lifestyle because they convinced the faithful that the end is near, and they're they're such wonderful stewards of Jehovah? Yeah, they know that. They know that damn well, and that's why they keep getting so freaked out about the lack of donations and begging for more and more as they begin to grasp that the end may really arrive, their end, not this system's.

10

what are the craziest or most daming watchtowers ever printed?

by Tobyjones262 in

so what is your favorite crazy or most damning watchtower?

i can think of a few but one i went out and bought the bound vol for was the 1984 the generation that will not pass away.

.

john.prestor

I see your point Beth sarim, they definitely printed that not inspired or infallible thing as a get-out-of-jail-free card for whatever situation. I don't see them orchestrating another Jonestown, from everything that's gone on with child sex abuse it's pretty damn clear these people want to stay away from the courts (and prison...) as much as possible, so I dont see them ordering a mass suicide even if the thought occurred to them, and I don't think it does. They strike me more and more as men who love constant adulation and glory, and they lose all that the second they order their faithful worshippers to kill themselves.

85

''Special Letter'' to be Read In Canada Week of Feb 3,2019

by Beth Sarim in

i have just been informed that there is a 'special letter' to be read at the meetings week of feb 3,2019 in canada.

anybody heard of this!!

just a heads-up!

john.prestor

Honestly, they say special this and special that all the time, and it's (almost) always the same old thing, the kingdom's close, the work's expanding, the chariot's on the move. Don't hold your breathe.

22

this weeks video on older ones stepping down

by road to nowhere in

what i caught was how they were baffled by having to be in "the world".

then any and all help came from friends offering money, food, apartments, jobs.

can't anyone see how they people are used up and then discarded?.

john.prestor

That fits with some of the Witnesses I ran into during my study, a guy who did everything in the congregation, and I mean everything, admitted to me behind closed doors that he worked part-time for most of his life but started working full-time recently, because, he implied, he got the sense he would need it come retirement (a sure sign he didn't see Armageddon as just around the corner). Most Witnesses I spoke to took the head in the sand attitude, they just went with what the Governing Body told them whether in talks or magazines, they didn't seem to question it much less even think of questioning it. I don't get that mentality either.

I can't listen to that kind of stuff for very long either it's so... grating, I can't imagine letting someone talk to me like that long-term. The Baptist pastor I grew up with used to preach like that, he wasn't quite that bad but you could hear it in his voice from time to time, he talked down to us. A lot of high-ranking Brothers, those "taking the lead," seem to delight in talking down to the faithful.

49

The King of the North has now entered into the 'land of decoration' (the Spiritual Estate of Jehovah's People) - Annual Meeting

by Listener in

the final part of the october, 2018 annual meeting has now been released of jw org tv.the following includes a transcript of mark sanderson's speech for those that don't want to listen to the broadcast.. we have long held that the land of decoration is the "spiritual estate of jehovah's people"... now brothers what can we say about all these events that have taken place (referring to recent events in russia) in such a short period of time?

well, truly, if you're a student of the history of god's organization, you can say these events are unprecedented in our history.

we've never seen a country or a territory with 175,000 witnesses of jehovah go under ban.

john.prestor

Yeah, it sure is interesting how Sanderson and his buddies tell Russian JWs to endure persecution and keep preaching and meeting and what not, but as soon as they might throw him in jail... goodbye Russia.

22

this weeks video on older ones stepping down

by road to nowhere in

what i caught was how they were baffled by having to be in "the world".

then any and all help came from friends offering money, food, apartments, jobs.

can't anyone see how they people are used up and then discarded?.

john.prestor

I'm glad you mentioned that Spiral, you're picking up on something I also pick up on but can't describe exactly, the kind of tone or almost "feeling" you get from their videos, like you said the pacing comes across as juvenile, and I think the voices do too at times, some of them speak in a kind of patronizing tone of voice. The videos they make for adults often come across as awfully childish, like they make them for school kids.

I don't get it either man, I mean, the Governing Body always claims to be so humble and discreet and then they live like that, I know Warwick ain't a palace but I mean, it looks like a pretty nice place to live. Maybe Jehovah's Witnesses just believe them and leave it at that, and just go on pretending or believing Armageddon will come tomorrow. What do you think?

15

Whom shall we follow for Bible-based truths?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

watchtower february 15, 1981, pages 16-19 .

do we need help to understand the bible?.

true, the brothers preparing these publications are not infallible.

john.prestor

"Faithful and discrete slave organization"? Jesus, that's so creepy, an organization of slaves? I mean how else do you read that, I don't think the author meant it that way but it sure... unsettles me, even if it's pretty accurate.

10

what are the craziest or most daming watchtowers ever printed?

by Tobyjones262 in

so what is your favorite crazy or most damning watchtower?

i can think of a few but one i went out and bought the bound vol for was the 1984 the generation that will not pass away.

.

john.prestor

Yeah that one freaks me out too Beth sarim, I don't want to jump to conclusions but its creepy to say even if what we tell you doesn't make sense do it anyway, I mean why would you even say that? What kind of 'life-saving direction' did the author have in mind?

22

this weeks video on older ones stepping down

by road to nowhere in

what i caught was how they were baffled by having to be in "the world".

then any and all help came from friends offering money, food, apartments, jobs.

can't anyone see how they people are used up and then discarded?.

john.prestor

You're right Spiral, and whether it's because the Governing Body 'makes' them poor by telling them not to go to college so they don't get good jobs or they join up because they didn't go to college so they feel welcome, they're not rolling in the dough. Certainly cant afford to live in a huge new compound next to a lake in a national forest...

22

this weeks video on older ones stepping down

by road to nowhere in

what i caught was how they were baffled by having to be in "the world".

then any and all help came from friends offering money, food, apartments, jobs.

can't anyone see how they people are used up and then discarded?.

john.prestor

I didn't see the video, what's it show? In general, yeah, I don't know how they don't see it either, they devote their life to "Jehovah" (the Governing Body) and then "he" throws them out in middle-age or even old-age with nothing to show for their decades of "sacred service." It's shameful. Maybe some of them do but they can't say it, and they'd never let people who do on JW Broadcasting.