Bumping this, just to make sure the new ones who are here from JWR have seen it.
Even if we have seen it before, it's worth reviewing again as it helps us endure in this wicked old system of things.
a member of the writing department was gracious enough to allow me to interview him about the "overlapping generation" doctrine.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eo1o5qmagu.
Bumping this, just to make sure the new ones who are here from JWR have seen it.
Even if we have seen it before, it's worth reviewing again as it helps us endure in this wicked old system of things.
everything that is done at the midweek meeting can now be done at home.
the videos are online, the first talk is scripted, the bible highlights are scripted.
you could get the same experience by just reading and watching the material from your tablet.
I envisage that eventually they will adopt the tried and tested system of mainstream Churches. Hold the main sermon on Sunday for everyone to come and socialize, and drop midweek meetings. Keep the hall open throughout the week, manned by retirees, looping videos, so the lonely and religious zealots have somewhere to go and meet or meditate.
I think this could happen within the next 5-10years. They will have regular assemblies at regional cult complexes at least a few times a year to drill for fear and raise a few dollar$.
I see them cutting to just one meeting a week in an effort to make the religion easier and more appealing and keep inline with more mainstream religious cults (I'm talking about you Mormons). It's hard work trying to make a pseudo Jewish/Christian cult stay viable in this age of information.
no early warnings or anything, just gone!
anyone else notice or are members there?
any info would be nice.
I heard you can buy bread that is already sliced.
i’ve been reading it for a few of years off and on, but have been a little too ... maybe ... timid to join.
i left the watchtower organization almost 20 years ago but never abandoned my faith and belief in god.
i knew the gb/organization didn’t represent god, so when i lost my faith in them, i managed to keep my faith in an all wise benevolent creator.
I believe God is good, wise, loving, and the first cause of everything. I believe his purpose in creating man is for man to learn to become like God experientially (perfect as he is perfect). And I believe that our life on earth is just the first leg of a long journey Godward.
Ah, sounds like faith to me. It's nice to have baseless convictions that provide an alternative to the inevitable eternal death that awaits us. I am not really into make believe style stories but whatever floats your boat. If I were to have faith, I would think of some really cool shit to believe in.... afterlife would be awesome.
The Australian aborigines have some amazing 'Dreamtime' legends which are extremely old. Not a bad alternative to the more traditional God has a plan, soul-afterlife stuff most people seem to go for. The Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime legends are much like the Flying Spaghetti Monster stories of today, only 50 000 years old. My children enjoy that type of cultural-religious story telling more so than the Bible. The bible can get harsh at times for small children, with the incest and genocide, raping, general killing and fucking that takes place throughout.
i heard today about a former jw/now apostate who is dying in hospital.
this information was accompanied by the comment of "wouldn't be awful to be lying there in hospital,dying as an apostate!
knowing that you have no hope!?
Because lying there in hospital dying as a JW is just an awesome way to go.
i’ve been reading it for a few of years off and on, but have been a little too ... maybe ... timid to join.
i left the watchtower organization almost 20 years ago but never abandoned my faith and belief in god.
i knew the gb/organization didn’t represent god, so when i lost my faith in them, i managed to keep my faith in an all wise benevolent creator.
Hi Believer.
I have read through this entire thread and I have no idea what exactly you believe, who you perceive to be God or why or what exactly you believe this God is. It's all become vague and incoherent to myself. Talking about the truth in scripture whilst discarding the bible and something about belief coming from the soul..... I can't follow it. I will try and sharpen up though because it sounds like a fascinating conversation.
I was believer when I first lurked here. I was eager to contribute to the debate but I noticed something as I read through the countless pages of different threads. If I wanted to have a meaningful contribution to the conversation, I needed to increase my knowledge and understanding. So that I did.
As my understanding increased, I became very aware of my ignorance. I didn't know shit. But that's fine, I live by this now, and it serves me well. I don't know shit.
It's easy for those who cherish and gain great comfort from their religious beliefs to get scared away from this place. Those believers usually don't offer any logical or coherent explanations, do not present any evidence but instead refer to some internal 'knowing' or some other untestable form of evidence that exists with them or inside them or something, yada yada ....... basically they don't know shit, get offended and leave.
in behalf of the horrific events of saturday night, i just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that islam is a religion of peace.
it doesn’t matter that the quran explicitly says that homosexuals should be stoned to death (7:84) - it’s still a religion of peace.
and it doesn’t matter that the scriptures say that all gay men should be killed (sunan 1:152) - islam doesn’t in anyway condone violence.. it doesn’t matter that every mainstream imam calls homosexuality a sin "worse the adultery" - it’s not a religion of bigotry.. it doesn’t matter that 61% of muslims in the uk think gay acts should be made illegal - islam has nothing against the gay community.. it doesn’t matter that countries with sharia law actively persecute the lgbt community - islam is all about peace and love.
The only difference is Christianity is about a century ahead of Islam in ignoring and explaining away similar texts.
Unless Islamic fundies are still executing infidels in 200 years time...
Australia is one of the west's most homophobic countries.
You could also add a moderate dose of racism to describe many Australian people to be fair.
just wonder since that video about a child giving up his dreams of being a great musician do to competition .
i had to give up all my dreams and now work in a very competitive industry just to get by.
how many people not work in a competitive job?
I would imagine that being leaders of a cult is a full time job.
if jehovah hates magic, why is it ok to go to magic theme parks such as disney land the magic kingdom?
i grew up a jw and we all went to disney land and magic mountain.
if jehovah hates magic then why are these places not forbidden?
Theme park before bethel = Satan worship.
Bethel and theme park = selfish pleasure seeking.
Bethel only = Jehovah's friend.
https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/commercial-real-estate/what-makes-the-jehovahs-witnesses-portfolio-special-and-what-the-latest-property-to-hit-the-market-could-become-60632 .
“i’ve never seen any properties kept in better shape,” tim says.
“anyone who buys them will be happy that they did and they won’t need to spend a dime on upgrades to infrastructure.” tim, who tells us he attended a breakfast at the white house about a decade ago, goes as far as to say the buildings are better maintained than the presidential residence..
Those volunteers sure have been slaving hard for Jehovah, haven't they?!
First they slave and build for free, then they slave to maintain and keep buildings in their ultimate condition. It can all be afforded of course from the vast sums of money that the other slaves donate.
Why do these people willingly subject themselves to this form of slavery?
Blessings from Jehovah!