TonusOH

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Posts by TonusOH

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  68

  Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool - December 2023

  by DerekMoors in

  1. social
  2. humour

  put in your bets as to where you think lard i mean lloyd evans will land after december's drop in his patrons.

  in september he started at 457 patrons, did his whiny begging fest and peaked at 478, but then dropped down to 439 at the beginning of october.

  as of this moment (nov. 6), he's at 427 paid members.. so, where do you think he'll be on december 2nd?

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  TonusOH

  I'm gonna YOLO this one and predict 398.
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  20

  Women in JW Ministry

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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?.

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  TonusOH

  NotFormer: my cats [...] don't attend Kingdom Hall meetings

  You... you haven't encouraged them?
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  124

  JWLITE

  by Teddnzo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  even elders can be part of the new jw lite brigade these days.

  they don’t need to go on door to door anymore and there is no requirement for anything really.. taking meeting parts is all dead easy you could turn up on the day with zero preparation because it’s all in the meeting workbook.. quarterly elders meetings are just old men having a good old natter just like old men do down the pub.. congregations could be likened to pubs or bars these days just without the drinks, those come at other times.. no need for territory maps, these almost went away with covid letter writing now they are extremely slow getting finished as those who still go door to door only do ten mins.. you could even voice your questions these days about things the gb say and then just say “we can’t be dogmatic we just don’t know”.

  i predict they will say this about 1914 soon..

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  TonusOH

  ExB: How would you know if you are deliberately lying to yourself?

  Because it's deliberate. I'd love for there to be a god and an eternal future and a universe that makes sense on that level. But wanting something to be true doesn't make it believable if the evidence doesn't convince me.

  ExB: there is nobody like God to care?

  Ah, but there is someone like god to care. Human societies have developed hierarchies and governments and legal structures backed by force. Tell me, when someone commits a crime, who is it that arrests them, tries them, and jails them? God? Or the state?

  If I had no restraint and went about my life harming others, what would happen? Would god step in and prevent me from taking action? Or would it be the people around me, from the average passer-by to the agents of the state? People commit crimes all the time and it isn't god who steps in. How many of those criminals will claim to believe in god? Why didn't that belief stop them from doing wrong?
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  124

  JWLITE

  by Teddnzo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  even elders can be part of the new jw lite brigade these days.

  they don’t need to go on door to door anymore and there is no requirement for anything really.. taking meeting parts is all dead easy you could turn up on the day with zero preparation because it’s all in the meeting workbook.. quarterly elders meetings are just old men having a good old natter just like old men do down the pub.. congregations could be likened to pubs or bars these days just without the drinks, those come at other times.. no need for territory maps, these almost went away with covid letter writing now they are extremely slow getting finished as those who still go door to door only do ten mins.. you could even voice your questions these days about things the gb say and then just say “we can’t be dogmatic we just don’t know”.

  i predict they will say this about 1914 soon..

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  TonusOH

  Re: the meaninglessness of life: our lives have the meaning we give it. Knowing there is no 'after' just gives those lives more meaning now.

  Re: Guilt/doing wrong: human societies have been developing moral codes for as long as there have been human societies. Being able to figure out what works and what doesn't is part of our nature. Human history bears this out, with moral codes developing and changing through the centuries (something that would be unnecessary if we'd gotten a 'correct' code right from the start).

  In any event, I didn't choose atheism just as I did not choose to believe when I was a JW. Being wrong is one thing. Deliberately lying to myself would not work.
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  20

  Women in JW Ministry

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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?.

  1. 
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  TonusOH

  Jan: It's like children getting excited about being trusted to do some " grown up " job by Mom and Dad .

  That's a good analogy. It does seem different since I got outside of it. I think it works because of the attitude that the end is very close, and you have these opportunities to score some extra points with god as his kingdom approaches. Thus, even the smallest things become unusually meaningful, and you don't really think about how silly it is.

  It is why I wonder how the changes will work out. Becoming more like mainstream Christian churches means the urgency of "the last days" will continue to be de-emphasized. At that point, the main difference will be that JWs don't celebrate holidays. Who will want to stay in for that?

  Hmmm... I think I know what the next big change is going to be...
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  33

  Why is the Faithful Slave Now Admitting Ignorance?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  dbm writes on the question: will sodomites get a resurrection?.

  i guess it depends the date that you asked this question.

  here is a screenshot from a video which gives an overview of the changes (new light) on this question:.

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  TonusOH

  According to the Bible, god already tried a reset by emptying the world of life with a massive flood. Just a few generations after, things were already going so poorly that god decided to introduce new languages so as to create divisions and prevent people from working together to achieve amazing things.

  Now, we're supposed to believe that god needs to bring massive global destruction because humanity is divided and always in conflict? It sounds as if the previous plans were complete failures. Why would anyone think the next plan would be any better?
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  110

  Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool - November 2023

  by DerekMoors in

  1. social
  2. humour

  let's get the fun started and put in our votes for how far down the pumpkin patch lord of the fries will fall in november.. for those keeping score, last month he started at 457 patrons, did some begging and managed to bump those numbers up to 478, but as of this writing he's down to 439.. so, how well do you think the grift will continue this month?

  let us know where you think he'll be on november 2. lucky number 420?

  will he drop back down below 400?

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  TonusOH

  So... anyone want to predict when the next emergency begging video/message will be posted?
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  14

  Israel vs Hamas

  by Riley in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  we might have russians involved in the middle east and are attacking israel.. wait.. i thought the watchtower and tract society was the central figures in the end times.

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  not that i believe in any of this nonsense but any news in jw world about how the evangelical narrative might be playing out closer than the wts stupidity.

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  TonusOH

  If it's inevitable and part of god's plan, why do people get so worked up over it? I thought the whole idea was that it would come like a thief in the night, and that it would happen when everyone was celebrating peace and security. Maybe the idea is for people to stop looking over their shoulders and live their lives.

  End-of-world nutters are the jumpiest people ever. Relax. If it's all going as god intended, then what's the problem?
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  124

  JWLITE

  by Teddnzo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  even elders can be part of the new jw lite brigade these days.

  they don’t need to go on door to door anymore and there is no requirement for anything really.. taking meeting parts is all dead easy you could turn up on the day with zero preparation because it’s all in the meeting workbook.. quarterly elders meetings are just old men having a good old natter just like old men do down the pub.. congregations could be likened to pubs or bars these days just without the drinks, those come at other times.. no need for territory maps, these almost went away with covid letter writing now they are extremely slow getting finished as those who still go door to door only do ten mins.. you could even voice your questions these days about things the gb say and then just say “we can’t be dogmatic we just don’t know”.

  i predict they will say this about 1914 soon..

  1. 
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  3. 
• 

  TonusOH

  Keep in mind that if it is all just a wager, the odds don't look very good. Those who choose to deny religion, along with those who sit on the fence, and also those who choose the wrong god(s), have to hope that the actual god is one who is forgiving of such choices (in which case, why even put humanity through all of this?). If it is one of the many gods who are not forgiving --say, the kind who threaten eternal suffering for anyone who did not meet 100% of the requirements-- then we're all doomed to an eternity of suffering at the hands of a very cruel being.

  With so many religions and religious denominations --many which demand exclusive and rigid devotion-- the odds are that most people will fall short. On the other hand, the idea of a god who wants everyone to be saved, but allows such splintering of support over time, doesn't make sense. Such a god really can't exist.
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  33

  Why is the Faithful Slave Now Admitting Ignorance?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  dbm writes on the question: will sodomites get a resurrection?.

  i guess it depends the date that you asked this question.

  here is a screenshot from a video which gives an overview of the changes (new light) on this question:.

  1. 
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  TonusOH

  It's kind of weird that this would be an issue of such import to them. Was it really that important to try and figure out if the people killed at S&G were going to be resurrected or not?