TonusOH

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Posts by TonusOH

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  177

  Charles T Russell -a freemason and the connection to the illuminati...

  by dolphman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok, i'm not one for conspiracy theories but lately i've uncovered some interesting facts that i think warrant some attention.. first of all, russell was a freemason.

  all the early watchtower and books he authored have freemason symbology and art throughout them.

  not a big deal i thought, until i read more about freemasons and the so-called "illuminati", a group of 13 families that supposedly control the world.. supposedly these 13 families, such as the duponts, mcdonalds, kennedys, .

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  TonusOH

  So... what does Russell's foray into freemasonry mean? What is the takeaway?
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  18

  "You Can't Handle The Truth!"

  by FragrantAddendum in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  ...or can you?.

  (we'll see...).

  https://youtu.be/ckk850qhgws.

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  TonusOH

  The most important presupposition for JWs is that the GB is guided by Jehovah through his holy spirit. Everything they say is good/right/true because it is from god, not men. Any guidance they offer and any interpretations they make are thus divine and questioning them can be a sign of apostasy.

  The potential problem is with their admission that they're imperfect men and don't always get things right. The implication is that god always gives them the right guidance, but they are flawed humans and don't always figure out the message until much later. But this makes it look like either god is not good at getting his guidance through to them, or they are bad listeners. Either should make even a loyal JW go "hmmm..."
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  3043

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

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. 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.

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  TonusOH

  LMsA: look for yet another begging stunt, this time threatening to quit altogether.

  He will have a tougher time of it now, since his output has decreased. I think he will be looking for donations from people who feel sorry for him, instead of people hoping to see more content. That's fine. That's another step closer to bottom.
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  22

  Do JWs Get Excited About WT Publications Any More?

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  memory from long ago: my old mate from high school lived next door to a jw and was often "treated" to the latest jw literature.

  when the "you can live forever in paradise on earth"* book came out, this neighbour waxed lyrical about how good this book was and how powerful the message was.

  he acted really keen about it, like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

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  TonusOH

  Vidiot: I think that to recent (non-overlapping) generations, the idea that the World could End just doesn’t seem possible.

  One reason for that is the reach of always-on media and quick access to news or to sites that cover those bits of news. It doesn't take long to find long lists of end-of-world predictions, and many of those are within thirty years of the present. If people constantly predict something and it doesn't happen, confidence in those predictions will --predictably-- falter. Harold Camping may have been the straw that broke that particular camel's back.
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  13

  Kingdom Hall Insurance

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  that the wt "self insures" kingdom halls has come up in occasional conversations on here.

  how exactly does that work?

  do they* actually set aside a portion of the monthly remittance from each kingdom hall and save into a pool to cover damage etc.

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  TonusOH

  I love that they realize how dishonest it is by putting quotes around the word "accident." It looks like a way to hide that info. I don't know of anyone who ever sued over a judicial action, but it must have happened (or been threatened) if they included it.

  It's just so blatant. Weren't there any elders who read that and realized how underhanded it sounds?
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  13

  Kingdom Hall Insurance

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  that the wt "self insures" kingdom halls has come up in occasional conversations on here.

  how exactly does that work?

  do they* actually set aside a portion of the monthly remittance from each kingdom hall and save into a pool to cover damage etc.

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  TonusOH

  Grandpa to the rescue! Thanks, Atlantis.

  Wait... what???

  
  
• 
  3043

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

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. 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.

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  TonusOH

  If you look back at the archives in this forum, a lot of people gave Evans the benefit of the doubt. Only a handful of people saw him for what he was, and they got as much grief from people defending him as they did from Evans himself. Go back to the start of this topic (the first thread) and you will see some pushback even after the livestream.

  As a social species, we tend to trust people and give them the benefit of the doubt. Lloyd's aggressive and arrogant posture also tends to put people on the defensive and most will back down. It's not surprising that he got away with it, since he always played it out as if he was just defending himself from attackers and 'haters.' It was only his arrogance that led him to overreact to Kim's actions and make that disastrous livestream. Had he taken the time to assess the situation and made a reasoned response, he might still have most of his support.

  I don't blame most of his supporters and helpers --Kim included-- for being there as long as they were. I do agree that anyone who supports him now is somehow ignorant of what has been going on (how?!?), or simply doesn't care. The latter boggles my mind. It's not as if Evans is doing much of anything these days that could be considered activism. Who is he saving? Who is he helping, aside from himself? What does he do that is worth throwing money at, anymore?
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  15

  Watchtower Campus

  by Gorb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  information about the new watchtower campus, ready in 2027.. https://www.brplusa.com/projects/watchtower-bible-tract-society-new-headquarters-campus-development.

  g..

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  TonusOH

  They may have been required to use certain environmentally-friendly methods in order to satisfy the local township, perhaps? I recall that there were some environmental concerns that they had to deal with when they were preparing to purchase the land.
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  13

  Kingdom Hall Insurance

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  that the wt "self insures" kingdom halls has come up in occasional conversations on here.

  how exactly does that work?

  do they* actually set aside a portion of the monthly remittance from each kingdom hall and save into a pool to cover damage etc.

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  TonusOH

  I wonder if there are any places where the law requires that such structures be insured?

  It would make sense to insure them, since the cost of removing the debris, cleaning up the site, and building a new KH would be substantial. Didn't they request that congregations should send everything to the HQ aside from whatever was needed for one or two month's expenses? If they still do that, then no congregation would have the means to even clean up the site, much less rebuild.

  And the WTS would probably get a bargain-basement rate, since they could insure thousands of properties instead of just one. I don't think they could use this to skim money by using cheap labor, since that would be fraud in at least a few countries. But I don't know if the potential cost-savings of not insuring them is worth it.
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  7

  1874, 1914, 1919...Watchtower Time Countdown

  by FragrantAddendum in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  watchtower time - what has the jworg said about 1874, 1914, and what time is it today.

  https://youtu.be/rcu1l-ye9be.

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  TonusOH

  Everytime I see that chart, I just feel embarrassed for them.