Posts by TonusOH

68

Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool - December 2023

by DerekMoors in

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?

TonusOH

There are many ways he could do that. But that would require self-reflection, humility, a willingness to admit his faults, accepting that his critics were correct, and so on. He doesn't want to humble himself and rebuild, he wants to conquer and crush those who are not completely subservient to him.

It would probably also require him to roll up his sleeves and do some hard work on his own, instead of building a brand off of the unpaid efforts of others. I'm not sure he can do that, even if he somehow gained enough self-awareness to realize what a lousy person he is.

124

JWLITE

by Teddnzo in

jw
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..

TonusOH

Hi Leathercrop. I am referring to a god who wants for everyone to be saved, yet creates an environment where most will not achieve salvation. While it is true that such a being could exist, I find that possibility frightening. A being of unlimited power who wants good things for everyone, yet who undermines his own desires and condemns large numbers of people to eternal suffering? What else is he capable of?

27

Pornography in the Marriage

by LostintheFog1999 in

the magazine that they are studying in the congregation this month has an article at the back about how pornography in a marriage could damage the relationship.. there's one piece of advice that sounds rather scary, the wt suggests that the couple should "consider asking an elder with whom you are both comfortable to sit in and guide your discussions for a time.".

how many of you would want an elder present in your home while you and your partner discussed your personal sexual cravings and the type of porn videos being watched?.

TonusOH

Disney probably wanted to buy Pornhub, when they realized how much Disney-related porn there was on the site.

Diogenesister: only to bring them home to watch & give away to family & friends for their collections

So... what did you think about Cannibal Holocaust?

3144

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

As far as I know, he is still married to Dijana.

I wonder if that is one of the reasons that a threat of divorce rattled him so much, though.

30

CIVILIAN SERVICE

by blondie in

how many remember when the wts changed their policy on alternative service; changed it to alternative civilian service so jw men could choose it because it was not supervised by the military.

shows how the wts quibbles with words to advance a "new teaching.

" flag salute, voting, civilian service p. 212. civilian service.

TonusOH

I believe that In the USA, a prior felony conviction must be reported if a prospective employer requests such information. Needless to say, that can be a red flag for any company looking to hire. Best case scenario, they will ask for details and give you the benefit of the doubt. But it gets the process off to a bad start.

Edit to add: and some employment opportunities may automatically reject any applicant with a prior felony conviction.

68

Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool - December 2023

by DerekMoors in

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?

TonusOH

I'm gonna YOLO this one and predict 398.

20

Women in JW Ministry

by NotFormer in

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?.

TonusOH

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

You... you haven't encouraged them?

124

JWLITE

by Teddnzo in

jw
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..

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?

124

JWLITE

by Teddnzo in

jw
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..

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.

20

Women in JW Ministry

by NotFormer in

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?.

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...