Posts by TonusOH

17

"Everyone Wants To Leave"

by NotFormer in

a thread about steve hassan re-emerged and got me looking him up.

his wikipedia entry had a point under "criticism" that there is an underlying assumption in his approach that all members of high control groups ultimately want to leave*.. while it is generally believed that there are a lot of pimos still attending, doing field service and giving lip service to the wt, i doubt that everyone within the congregations want to get out.

it's not always internally and logically consistent, but it's been around long enough for enough workarounds to make it tolerable to emerge.. what do you think?

TonusOH

On the one hand, there are people who prefer for every decision to be made for them. If it's a group of men claiming to be god's direct channel, and they do all of the heavy lifting (interpreting the Bible, behavioral rules, general guidance), that is good enough for these individuals.

On the other hand, there are so many people who chafe at not being able to develop relationships with "worldly" people. Especially when it is so onerous that you realize you are looking bad, such as not taking part in a charity drive or other helpful community activity. Or not observing holidays to such a degree that you respond to "Merry Christmas" by either offering a flat "thank you" or pretending you did not hear them. I think there is a part of us that feels left out socially, and that hurts because we are social creatures.

The WTS may be afraid that allowing the rank-and-file to develop normal friendships and observe common activities will weaken them, but I think they are wrong.

27

Quality of jw.org translation?

by Wonderment in

someone asked the following question to an artificial intelligence (ai) website:.

how does the most translated website ensure accuracy of translations?.

answer: .

TonusOH

Being surrounded by adoring yes-men probably didn't help.

86

Prediction: no more changes for a long while

by slimboyfat in

i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

TonusOH

If they are dependent on contributions, then the more people they retain and attract, the larger the pool of potential contributors. Times are changing and they are being forced to change along with them.

Of course, the other part (and perhaps the more important one right now) is that they're looking to change or remove anything that gives governments a reason to restrict them somehow. Especially if it involves not giving them money, as in Norway. Or changing policies that are costing them via court cases and lawsuits and bad press.

First, stop the bleeding. Then, build the base of paying customers. I mean loyal witnesses.

21

OJ Simpson Died today

by 3rdgen in

thoughts?.

TonusOH

I saw a comment elsewhere to the effect of "the Juice has expired."

19

Super Duper Awkward

by Slidin Fast in

jw
friends

did anyone else find the teen section on the meeting tonight massively cringeworthy?

i saw two kids who will be laughing stocks for life after their world wide exposure.

complete exploitation in my opinion, unforgivable..

TonusOH

JW teens aren't going to mock those two. They know it is just an acted part.

But this just makes the WTS seem painfully out-of-touch. Is that what they think happens in high school? "You're a Jehovah's Witness? That's HOT! Let's do it right here, before the next class-- wait! Don't leave! Please come baaaaaaaaa..."

21

OJ Simpson Died today

by 3rdgen in

thoughts?.

TonusOH

I guess he'll never find the real killers now.

3059

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

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

I think the "my book" shirt is pretty funny. Good use of the classic color scheme. I wouldn't buy one, though.

I don't have an issue with his desire to create a merch shop. I would ask why it took so long, but I think he realizes that it's not a great idea. exJWs --particularly the newly-out who are likely drawn to his channel-- will not be inclined to advertize their situation with merchandise. Especially t-shirts. They will probably recognize it as a tasteless or tone-deaf move. So this isn't for them.

This is for the remaining saps who still send him money and haven't given up yet. It's a way to take even more of their money while he continues to struggle to produce content. In order to draw more interest and sales, he'll need to branch out. But what can he add that isn't JW-related? Merchandise attacking religion? Promoting atheism? Pushing his vendetta? What? What can he produce that people would want to buy?

I can't think of anything. And a merch shop will not resolve the issue of the slow content rollout and the lack of enthusiam and lack of direction he has been showing for months, now. It just means that when the grift finally ends, the amount of money he will have drained from people's wallets will be that much larger. I can't say it enough: this is the man you are supporting with your dollars. At this point, you deserve to get ripped off.

24

Murderous Jehovah's Witness bludgeoned female customer before leading meeting. Spiritual paradise?

by Balaamsass2 in

1/31/2024 in the strange but true category.

confused holy spirit appoints killer servant.

"" a twisted jehovah's witness bludgeoned a woman he rowed with over incomplete building works to death with a hammer, then merrily whistled as he packed up his tools and went to lead a service at the church where they met.

TonusOH

We might be reading too much into this. The guy sounds like a certifiable maniac. It's tragic that this wasn't discovered until he murdered someone. I wonder how those JWs feel that were at the meeting he led, knowing that they were in the presence of a deranged psycopath.

153

When JW.org drops 607BCE...

by Nathan Natas in

probably everyone else thought of this long ago, but i, being an "independent thunker" thunk of it just a coupla weeks ago.. we all know that since the year zero (on the fredfranzian calendar) the wtb&ts has defied archaeology and insisted that jerusalem was destroyed in 607 bce, even though the physical evidence shows that 587 bce is a more likely date.

in fact, the book "the gentile times reconsidered: have jehovah's witnesses been wrong all along about 607 bce?

" by carl olof jonsson and rud persson made this conversation public.. it is a difference of 20 years.

TonusOH

PetrW: But I think your question was mainly directed at whether Christ was somehow deliberately hiding the time of His coming.

I was trying to show a flaw in the JW approach. The concept of an invisible presence seems odd until one learns of the attempts to set dates in the 1840s and 1914. In both of those situations, the concept of an invisible presence was used as a way to imply that the prediction had not been completely incorrect. The claim was that the event (Christ returning) had indeed occurred, but it had happened so quietly that even those who expected it hadn't noticed.

It's the sort of obvious nonsense that we normally see through, when the stakes aren't as high as we believe them to be. If our hopes and dreams are dependent on a prediction coming true, we are willing to extend our credulity surprisingly far.

20

Spiritual Paradise? Jehovah's Witness cons JW seniors out of life savings.

by Balaamsass2 in

3/28/2024 central california coast.

found guilty of $1.2 million scam targeting seniors.

ex-insurance agent brett e. lovett convicted of fraud, elder abuse, grand theft, and money laundering".

TonusOH

Yep. That concept --that witnesses should not take one another to court and handle matters in-house-- gives con men and scammers a distinct advantage. They are able to carry out their schemes with a reduced risk of being reported, until/unless it is established that they are not JWs.