Posts by TonusOH

125

Mandated Shunning is a Crime

by Lee Marsh in

mandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.

shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.

mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.

TonusOH

jhine: So , if a member of someone's family does something that warrants shunning and their family doesn't shun would there be no comeback on them ?

When I was in, they judged this depending on a few factors. If it was a close family member who was living in the same home, then they were expected to avoid spiritual topics or discussion, but otherwise could interact as normal. For those who had relationships that required some contact (business dealings, health issues, etc), they were allowed to communicate only as necessary, and also avoid spiritual discussion.

Aside from that, members were expected to avoid any interaction with disfellowshipped persons. If you were found to be talking with someone who was DF, you probably got a 'reminder' the first time, with the understanding made clear that continuing on this course of action could lead to you being DF as well.

If it seems odd that they specifically forbid spiritual discussion, remember that they expect such guidance to come from the GB and through the elders and ministerial servants. I don't think the WTS trusts the rank-and-file to handle such matters.

125

Mandated Shunning is a Crime

by Lee Marsh in

mandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.

shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.

mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.

TonusOH

I agree with Vid- reduce/withhold subsidies or tax breaks for any group that enforces a shunning policy.

As for 'shunning is a crime,' I don't think it's possible to make it a crime on an individual level. Perhaps you could make it a crime for it to be an official/documented organizational policy, and require organizations or businesses to remove/amend such policies or rules. But individuals shun one another all the time, for any number of reasons. It would be impossible to legislate.

165

Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool - October 2023

by DerekMoors in

it's not too early to place your bets for how many patrons his royal thighness will lose in october.

as of this writing, his tally stands at 457. so, where do you think he'll be on october 2?

lucky number 420?

TonusOH

Nice! Put me down for 430, a slightly more modest drop after Evans decides to go door-to-door to ask for Patreon support.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

T5: Congatulation TonusOH !

LOL thanks! I am still stunned at the size of the drop, I thought I was being a bit silly by going as high as I did with my guess(!). I wonder how many of them are people who signed up after his 'things are bad' video and then felt like they had been scammed when Evans got the support he asked for and then failed to do his part for his patrons.

As always, I blame Kim.

60

Sign of the Last Days

by Fisherman in

in the sermon on the mount, jesus foretold that earthquakes “in one place after another” would be part of the sign of the last days clímaxing in the great tribulation.. what could jesus possibly have meant?

using a phone app nowadays, there are earthquakes detected in one place after another but is this what jesus meant and did they have so many earthquakes throughout the centuries affter his prophecy or are these modern day detected earthquakes unique to this epoch?

how can we be sure unequivocally that modern day earthquakes are part of the sign fulfilling bible prophecy?.

TonusOH

I guess if the sign doesn't manifest in any notable fashion, one must reinterpret the sign.

124

Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool - September 2023

by DerekMoors in

come join the fun and place your bets for how many patrons lloyd evans will lose for september 2023. .

this month, we start the count at today's tally, 487. we'll check his stats on september 4th (to allot for the weekend after the 1st) and see who gets the closest.

your prize is bragging rights for a full month!.

TonusOH

I thought I was pushing it by going as high as 29.

So, on the bright side for Lloyd, he proved a lot of us wrong.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

It's a reminder that he is incapable of empathy. He cannot place himself in the shoes of other people and see himself from the outside. And so, when he returns from a two-week vacation and bails on his supporters, he doesn't understand why any of them would use that as a reason to stop sending him money. He is probably disappointed that they 'just don't get it.'

7

FACT: The "faithful slave" was personally selected in 1919......

by BoogerMan in

.........by the elite in the wtbts, who then became the self-proclaimed "faithful slave.

" (sans divine interference!).

as attested to countless times in decades worth of literature.. all succeeding members were then "personally selected" by existing "slave" members.

TonusOH

I'm trying to imagine Jehovah/Jesus checking things out in 1919, and deciding that Joseph Rutherford was the right guy to lead Christianity into the future.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

I'm curious to see if he skips any Patreon rewards in September. Once you lose the passion for something, it gets tougher and tougher to do it, and at some point you can't even do the minimum needed without feeling heavy stress. If he really skipped all of the activities that he promised his paying supporters in August -while posting pictures of his vacation, no less- that's not a minor thing. It could be a sign that he is struggling to stay interested in what he is doing.

And part of that could be that he does not have the staff around to do some/most of the work. Having to do it himself requires more time and energy. And he must feel some loss of prestige, that instead of having his 'team' he now has to do a lot of the 'grunt work' himself. Once you start down that slope, it can be extremely difficult to avoid a crash.

47

Retirement savings

by TxNVSue2023 in

what's the current jw stance on retirement savings?

i know it changed.

pre1975 it was an attitude of "don't worry about retirement, this system is ending soon".

TonusOH

It would benefit the organization to encourage frugality and responsible money management, since that would leave most people with some disposable income that could be donated to the cause. I think they have long since learned not to specifically promote the idea of assuming that their futures are assured by the closeness of Armageddon.

I guess it's a bit of a conundrum- if you advise the rank and file to prepare for a future in the present system of things, they may lose the urgency that comes from the "sooner than you think" message. But a following that places little value on financial success and long-term planning will find itself unprepared when they are of retirement age. And then they have less to put in the coffers.