Posts by TonusOH

12

Consequences for actions. A high fat / sugary diet

by joe134cd in

i want to illustrate my point about where many x-jws go wrong.

to illustrate, imagine a morbidly obese person goes on a calorie restricted diet.

subsequently he loses the excess calories and his health improves.

TonusOH

If the only thing the WTS did was have a few beneficial rules regarding health and good living, that would be great. But they also prohibit blood transfusions. They encourage shunning of those who are disfellowshipped. They demand --under the threat of being disfellowshipped-- that the leadership be obeyed unconditionally, even when they are wrong.

If every JW followed this advice and was a paragon of clean living and good health, those latter rules would still be a reason to leave the organization. No one gets disfellowshipped for being obese. They probably don't even get any friendly counsel. The rules they enforce the most are the ones that make the organization such a bad place to be in.

Is the occasional success story worth the suffering that their policies inflict?

100

The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

by ukpimo in

as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

TonusOH

It almost seems like they are saying "now that we cannot use the field report as a cheat sheet, we will need to get to know the flock better." I wonder how many MS and elders will resent actually having to become engaged with the rank-and-file instead of just reading some numbers and throwing a bunch of Bible verses at people.

3053

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

When you are used to taking several vacations a year, along with one or two paid trips abroad, a couple of months can feel like "too long."

Maybe his patrons can post "it's been too long" as a comment on his next YT video.

52

The MYSTERY of the Society's BETH-SHAN secret cult compound

by Terry in

1945 black and white photo of beth-shan (now hand colored):.

beth-shan house built in 1939, ten years after beth-sarim on adjacent property.

beth-shan, which means "house of security" in hebrew, was literally a house of security -(cult compound)*- it was accessed by a single dirt road that was guarded and gated.

TonusOH

I didn't know that Beth Sarim was granted status as an historical landmark. That's interesting.

3053

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

Another in a long line of reminders for his supporters- this is who you are supporting with your money. Frequent vacations, infrequent content uploads. I am thinking that it is now possible to see his Patreon support dip under 300 before the end of the year. I thought we were down to the hardcore supporters who would keep sending money no matter what. But perhaps the recent slowdown only means that future drops will be more erratic.

88

Who Was The Biggest Jackass Circuit Overseer You Ever Met?

by Sea Breeze in

there was on older white-haired circuit overseer in houston around 1989 or 1990. last name started with a w i think.... not sure though.

even the most brain-dead robotic elders told me he was offensive.

.

TonusOH

Foolednomore: Seems like uber jwdub make the biggest assholes.

Well, that just makes them like most people. Those who are most dedicated to something will judge others as falling short of their standard. And the more fervent they are, the harder it is for them to hide it. I have to say, though, that most of the uber JWs I knew weren't MS or elders.

I don't recall any particular overseer who stood out as a jerk during my time as a JW. But there were a number of elders who definitely fit the mold. Some people will see the promotion to MS or elder as a chance to serve, and others will see it as a position of authority. The latter are often very difficult to deal with, as they tend to do the least (to help the congregation) but demand the most (deference and respect). They were usually very vain men, the sort who spent more time worrying about their hairline than about the congregation's needs.

177

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

by dolphman in

jw
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, .

TonusOH

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

18

"You Can't Handle The Truth!"

by FragrantAddendum in

...or can you?.

(we'll see...).

https://youtu.be/ckk850qhgws.

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..."

3053

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

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.

22

Do JWs Get Excited About WT Publications Any More?

by NotFormer in

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.

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.