TonusOH

Joined

• started 1 topics
• posted 3,304 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by TonusOH

• 
  25

  Were any congregation '' special privileges'' ever taken away from you?

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you don't measure up to the watchtower society ''high standards''... you might lose some ''special privileges'' .

  miss meetings...lose ''privileges''.

  don't meet the monthly 10 hour ''field service'' ...lose ''privileges''.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TonusOH

  Jan, it's an insular community that revolves around devotion to the organization and its leadership. It is drummed into your head that serving the organization is a privilege, and for most people that happens at the congregation level. And for men, the long path to becoming a ministerial servant --and eventually an elder-- often begins with small privileges like reading the paragraphs during the weekly book/magazine study, saying the opening/closing prayer, and handling microphones. These are visible signs of devotion and also a sign that you are on the right track to gaining those important positions of 'service.'

  I can't describe how proud I felt to be named a ministerial servant, even though it came just before I began my long, slow fade. By the time it happened, I'd been conditioned to see it as a very high honor. And even now, so many years removed from it and from the organization, I still feel some sense of value from having been named one. That slow and constant conditioning stays with us for a long, long time.
• 
  11530

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

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TonusOH

  LMsA: Even if he gains 30 patrons by the end of the month, roughly an equal amount are exiting.

  Yep. He is no longer building a subscriber base; he is trying to stay ahead of the downward trend. The best way to deal with such a problem is to work harder and produce better content on a strict schedule, and make sure your supporters feel as if they are getting their money's worth.

  Or, you know... take a two-week vacation and then complain that you're too tired to fulfill the monthly obligations your supporters paid real money for. You know... the money that you can spend however you please. Nothing will motivate a paying customer like delivering less than you promised while spending a couple of weeks on the beach.

  I'm not worried that he has a small uptick in Patreon subs so soon after the beginning of the month. He needs to work extra hard in order to stem the bleeding. But he doesn't want to work, and he resents that his paying supporters have the nerve to expect something from him. The trend will continue downward. We just need to watch and wait.
• 
  32

  Do you play the LOTTERY?

  by Fisherman in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  jw view gambling as a sin and sadly people get addicted to gambling causing them financial and health problems.

  but is playing a couple of bucks a week on some lottery tickets actually gambling?

  what do you have to lose?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TonusOH

  I played the lottery a few times several years ago. Since I was out, it seemed like a bit of a guilty pleasure. I don't know if it was a DF offense, but I know it was discouraged. Whether it's a sin or not, I don't know. I'm not sure there is clear Biblical guidance.

  I do recall a news story many years ago, where a local (NYC) pastor's wife played the lottery and they won $250,000. The pastor was notorious for his anti-gambling and anti-lottery sermons, and so it was an embarrassing turn of events. But he did not even flinch. He called it "a gift from god." I suspect that he dropped the topic of lotteries in any future sermons, though.
• 
  5

  Trish Fancher, shunning experience, HuffPost article 9/3/2023

  by EasyPrompt in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  trish fancher experience.... .

  https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/i-flew-across-the-country-for-my-mums-wedding-when-i-arrived-she-uninvited-me_uk_64f1b6cce4b0fe066b17f93b.

  from article.... .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TonusOH

  Based on what she wrote, you cannot help but get the impression that this is also traumatic for her mother, who feels forced to choose between god and her daughter. Would salvation grant her release from this pain? Would she really spend an eternity in paradise as a happy person, knowing that her daughter was sentenced to death by that same god?
• 
  23

  How to Legally Dissolve a Religious Organization

  by EasyPrompt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  regarding the state dissolving a church organization.... .

  as posted in another thread, here is what is happening in japan, filing a court order to dissolve the unification church.... .

  https://www.eurasiareview.com/06092023-japan-seeks-court-order-to-dissolve-unification-church/.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TonusOH

  That article appears to be saying that Japan wants to dissolve that church for financial reasons. That's a bad look. You could squeeze any religion for additional funding with the threat of shutting them down?
• 
  11530

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

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  TonusOH

  LMsA: Something REALLY made him irate

  Didn't he post that rant in response to Kim calling him out (in this topic, I am pretty sure)? He quoted her challenge to him and then posted his lengthy screech screed.

  I don't remember if she posted her comment before or after his filing. I guess that, after filing a large stack of pages explaining how "Kim committed a crime by pulling back the curtain on my charade of a life" he was easily triggered by her post. Mental health is like balancing on a razor's edge, especially for gifted musician/comedian/activists doing the lard's work.
• 
  125

  Mandated Shunning is a Crime

  by Lee Marsh in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  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

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  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

  1. social
  2. humour

  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?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  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

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  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.