Posts by TonusOH

30

Know it’s not true but stay anyway

by Elena in

how many of the millions of jws know it’s not true but stay anyway?.

my guess is most jws know it’s not true on a subconscious level to an extent but they don’t want to think about it too much and would never ever voice it out loud.. but this is probably true with all religions around the world?.

TonusOH

We are unable to disprove the existence of anything that doesn't actually exist. Yet, we are not agnostic about all of them. In fact, we comfortably live our lives as if these things are not real. Even in some of the cases where we do believe, we still live our lives without constantly peering over our shoulders.

The "agnostic" part of PIMA is doing some incredibly heavy lifting, and it's a smokescreen. What the A really stands for is "afraid." Afraid of losing family and friends to shunning. Afraid of losing the only social support that you were allowed to build. Afraid of losing stature in the small, tight-knit community you can't seem to escape. Let's call it what it is: Physically In, Mentally Afraid. Agnosticism has nothing to do with it.

25

Is Belief in Jesus Enough to be Saved? Or Does it Include Believing Jesus?

by Sea Breeze in

i don't think it is possible to believe in jesus and then not believe what he said.

the purpose of the watchtower organization is to take as many people to hell as possible.

they do this by tricking people into rejecting the bare minimum requirements for the free gift of salvation that jesus offered to ”whosoever”.. one of the stipulations for salvation is belief that jesus was raised from the dead:.

TonusOH

JWs believe that Jesus and Jehovah are two separate persons, and that it was Jehovah who raised Jesus from the dead. They do not believe that they are two facets of the same being, or that Jesus returned himself to life.

13

Baptismal Failure Rates Among JW Bible Teachers

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

the 2024 data from the jw website indicates that jw teachers have an over 96% failure rate with their students : .

2024 average bible studies each month: 7,480,146.

2024 baptisms:296,267. number of bible studies it takes to produce one baptism : 25.25. this means that jehovah's witnesses have an over 96% failure rate with people who want to study the bible with them.

TonusOH

It's got to be much tougher to recruit in the internet age, when people can so quickly and easily learn more about the JWs. I wonder how many people who agreed to a Bible study did a Google search and learned that they would not be able to celebrate birthdays or holidays and that they would be expected to proselytize, just like the person who knocked on their door. It's like reading the fine print before buying or using a product; you suddenly don't feel so optimistic about it.

31

Babylon The Great

by EisMe in

babylon the great: a prophetic warning.

babylon the great is not just a city—it is the system that governs the world economy.

this was god's first judgment against economic babylon, but it would not be his last.. the three parts of babylon's economy.

TonusOH

Sorry, I missed this response the first time around.

EisMe: Should prophecy be dismissed simply because it predates scientific methods, or does its alignment with global events demand consideration?

Vague statements that are open to wide interpretation are useless as prophecies, because they can only really be validated in hindsight. Thus, you cannot make reliable predictions from them, as we have seen happen repeatedly for centuries. Every time someone predicts the end of the world, they are wrong. At some point, one must accept that these predictions are based on writings that are being misinterpreted or misunderstood, or which are themselves wrong.

Because of this, it makes no sense to believe anyone who is predicting the future based on these writings. Dozens --if not hundreds, or even thousands-- of people have tried and gotten it wrong. The only way to know for sure is after it actually happens. Which, as I already pointed out, makes the whole endeavor moot.

27

How many times did they say armagedon was coming?

by Witness 007 in

1914 1918 1925 1940s 1975 1914 generation what did i miss?.

TonusOH

The change in 1995 had a big impact because the WTS depends on a sense of urgency to push its message and control the rank and file. In the years leading up to 1975, the ranks grew quickly because people will hedge their bets 'just in case.' They had long been using the "1914 generation" teaching to show the urgency of the times, even in 1975 (the 1914 generation would have been in its 60s or 70s by then).

They designed that famous cover in 1984 talking about that generation, which would have been 70+ by then. By 1995 the sense of urgency would have been critical; the 1914 generation was now in its 80s and 90s. It is hard to see the "change in understanding" as anything other than a convenience; as a way to get rid of a growing problem. It should also be no surprise that many left around this time, because it's hard to avoid the feeling that you were being pranked.

But the loss of urgency is a problem. That's why they decided to revive the "this generation" teaching and came up with the "overlapping generations" abomination. I'd really love to know who decided that it was a good idea to do that. I wonder how many JWs who held on after 1995 saw this and realized that they were following a bunch of clowns.

4

1975 Quiz.

by mikronboy in

jw
friends

having been asked to prepare and present a general knowledge inter-pub quiz, i decided to include a question relating to jw's.

there were 12 teams in all, 4 persons to each team.

this was the question:.

TonusOH

Five out of twelve is 42%. Honestly, that sounds a bit high. I doubt that many people in the US would remember that the JWs were predicting the end way back then. Or that anyone was. It was a big deal for JWs, but not for anyone else. And it stopped being a big deal for JWs even before 1975 was over.

11

6 billion people to bury who rejected Witnesses

by Witness 007 in

so i guess the "paradise" earth is going to be stinky to the point of vomiting with 6 billion dead bodies of not witnesess.

how long would it take to bury these people?

maybe 2 years.

TonusOH

"Welcome back to life! Jehovah has given you a great gift. Now, here's a shovel and a hacksaw. We have a very important task for you..."

13

Those Who Ascend To Heaven - As Revealed By YHWH

by EisMe in

martyrs ascend to heaven, the 144,000 are preserved.

many believers wonder about who truly ascends to heaven after death.

some hold that all believers go to heaven, while others believe only the 144,000 ascend.

TonusOH

EisMe: The distinction matters.

No, it doesn't. It's just a way to try to confuse the matter. When Jan says she is a Christian, she is saying that she is a follower of Christ. In other words, a disciple. Trying to make it seem as if she is not a real follower because she uses one word instead of another is dishonest.

35

Reddit thread on convention video urging cutting off contact with Faders

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

i just read this.

don’t know if anybody here has seen the video.. the intended result of this is to obviously scare ‘faders’ out of the shadows.

now, they are being threatened with loss of association with their loved ones and friends.

TonusOH

LongHairGal: I don’t want this energy in my life

Exactly. I knew too many people (including relatives) whose viewpoint was that the world was ending soon and life would not truly begin until after Armageddon. They wanted to get to the end with as little effort as possible, because they felt it didn't matter what you accomplished in the 'old system.' The 'new system' is when they can finally begin to live.

My mother has wasted almost sixty years of her life, now. Still waiting, still doing nothing with her life aside from wondering what the new system will be like. She depends on others and has no compunction about taking advantage of them, since Jehovah will settle all debts in the end. She would never consider herself a 'taker,' but she drained a LOT of my time and money as she waited for an end that is now some 50 years overdue.

It is tragic, that the people who would shun me are the people I am perfectly happy being shunned by. This is what they do to families and to individuals. I'm glad enough I was able to get out mostly intact, but there is always a price that is paid when families become fragmented thanks to their policies and beliefs. I spent many years taking care of my mother, but these days we hardly speak. If there is no money to be squeezed from me, she would just as soon not bother.

7

NOT on JW.org. Massive growth of new congregations in Africa? Really?

by Balaamsass2 in

lady shares her experience attending a "jehovah’s witness church after accepting an invitation from one of their members".

a nigerian lady shares her unexpected and comically awkward experience attending a jehovah’s witness service for the first time after accepting an invitation from a persistent male friend, who was a member of the church.. a nigerian lady shares her unexpected and comically awkward experience attending a jehovah’s witness service for the first time after accepting an invitation from a persistent male friend, who was a member of the church.. .

she shared a video detailing her experience, with a caption that read;.

TonusOH

I don't think the organization will look poorly on this fellow. He appears to be a dedicated and loyal True Believer, and in places where there is almost no presence, a local with that kind of drive and dedication is worth his weight in gold. This also shows the potential of Zoom and remote teaching; this is the kind of thing they could not have done in the past, and this poor fellow would be required to walk long distances to attend meetings. That would make it very difficult to recruit others.

The WTS can't afford to be picky these days, but they're probably seeing it as a double-edged razor. It's nice to get more people to join, but there isn't much cash to wring out of them.