Posts by scratchme1010

12

Learning from History

by no-zombie in

i was reading the book 'five stages of collapse' by dmitry orlov, which discussed in part, people's attitudes toward the probability of societal collapse.

one group of people, those who dispassionately examine facts, like scientists, engineers and accountants ultimately become diametrically opposed to the group of people with vested emotional interests, like politicians, businessmen and economists.

and he made some interesting comments that parallel our situation when we consider how people are polarized over the future of the organization..

scratchme1010

Can we see the parallel with the Organization? Even by using the very rubbery figures issued in the annual report, it is clear that it’s past its peak. The age demographics of the average Witness, the lack of fiscal income, the increasingly hostile environment due to the child abuse and blood transfusion issues is has created and the incredibly naive and insulated Governing Body, all show that the Society … re-branded or not … is not going to last.

Hmmm, not sure if what the book mentions applies to the WT Society. First and foremost, again, the WT is not longer relying in its brand, nor in its people, nor in literature publishing, nor in people preaching. Once again, the WT IS IN THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS. It's not on the verge of collapsing. It is a thriving, solid real estate business. They got gazillions of dollars to start their real estate kiosk when all KHs were turned over to them FOR FREE.

The re-branding is just another smoke cloud and way of entertaining their crop from all the thing around child abuse (which they are handling beautifully since very little amount of JWs are leaving because of it) and the fact that they have a real estate business.

12

We need a more tolerant community to conform in.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

as a witness i now realise how little control we really had over our life.

therefore naturally upon leaving everything became less certain.

this is because really leaving only happened when i let go of that past.

scratchme1010

That's such a great post. It's real freedom fro all the rules, the fear, and all those things simply to buy into a false sense of security. Certainty about the future is one of the main reasons many people become a JW. The price for it is quite steep.

I always had a problem with the concept of spending this life preparing for the next, but never thought of your words about letting go of the past. Interesting thoughts. Thank you.

7

The less savoury content of the bible!

by Thisismein1972 in

i just found this on youtube.

it's actually really funny.

enjoy.

scratchme1010

I wonder why they left out the story of Lot, you know, the one that they love to talk about Sodom and Gomorrah to attack gay people. Of course, conveniently they tend to forget that in the same story Lot gets not one, but his two own daughters pregnant.

And they use that story to impose certain morals against gay people.

Cute.

11

So I bought a Harold Camping book.

by schnell in

jw
friends

https://www.amazon.com/1994-harold-camping/dp/0533103681.

i found this at goodwill along with volume 2 of the mahabharata.

call me eclectic.. i first learned about camping in 2011, when i saw his ridiculous billboard on i-8 in san diego about the world ending that december.

scratchme1010

Many professionals who study religion, cults and similar group dynamics, agree that many of the groups that tend to disband or end soon are the ones that predict the ent of the world and the ones who are based on recovery from addictions.

The first one is obvious, as the date where they predict always tend to be in the near future (to appeal to a sense of urgency), and then the date comes and goes and nothing happens. Hence, the group disbands. The WT has been excellent at keeping the date vague and at talking themselves out of a given general date.

The groups based on recovery from drugs die down because a second generation, that is the born-in have never been addicted nor have experienced any of the consequences of addiction. Therefore, they don't see why they should be recovering from something they never experienced.

26

Xmas / New Year - Time to Review Your Finances

by Simon in

it's that time of the year again, when most people spend too much buying too much crap for people .... it's also a good time to take advantage of the few days off to look at your finances and make sure you're not being "gouged" by the big companies that, well, like to extract as much money from people as possible.. for us, one of the biggest culprits was telecoms.. think about it: years ago you just had to buy a tv and probably paid to have a phone line.

nowadays you have cell phones for everyone in the family and a million and one tv channels (all showing crap or repeats of crap) and extra for movies and pay-per-view.

you can easily be paying hundreds of dollars per month.. it can all add up, quickly.

scratchme1010

Anyone else have any money-saving tips?

I love your money saving tips. I think they are practical and realistic, based on the actual way people live. Many times I see people talking about canceling services and IMO that's not realistic since it's pretty much something that people want/need to have.

So I guess my tip is have a nice attitude about money and be realistic about the lifestyle you want/can have vs an attitude of complacency and/or keeping up with the joneses.

Money is to be respected, and it also has to flow for it to grow. The right attitude about money and the business part of life is something that I as an ex-JW had to learn.

Prepare, save and plan for retirement

Increase credit car payments; use debit when possible

Pay your student loans, avoid defaulting on them and use the advantage of disbursement if/when necessary, but pay them off.

When it comes to technology and electronics, it's not wise to have the absolute latest (ask anyone who went ahead and got a Samsung Note S7)

Buy clothing that can be reused (ass opposed to trendy clothes that go out of style in three months)

Save to buy a house instead of renting

Stop credit diarrhea and borrowing money

A trip to the mall doesn't have to involve a large latte and other things that people normally don't plan to spend additional money on

Keep track of your expenses for one or two months, record every penny spent; that can give you a realistic idea of what your actual budget should be (You'll be surprised!)

13

Vatican launches website for preventing clerical sex abuse

by AndersonsInfo in

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/12/06/vatican-launches-website-preventing-clerical-sex-abuse/.

inés san martín .

december 6, 2016 vatican_correspondent.

scratchme1010

Looks a lot like the phony rules, laws, city ordinances and policies that exist all over the USA to protect minorities and do absolutely nothing.

12

Possible new light on 70 years

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

i may be reading more into this than is there, but here is what i've spotted from today's watchtower study (oct 2016 study edition) page 14 paragraph 8. concerning daniel it says "thus, some 70 years after his arrival in babylon, he was still known by his hebrew name" referring to an event in the first year of darius ie 539/538 bce.

however, according to the wtbts chronology daniel went to babylon in 617 bce - more like 80 years earlier.

could this (finally) be a step towards ditching 607?.

scratchme1010

Could this (finally) be a step towards ditching 607?

Who knows? Who cares? If it's already established that they say one thing and later say another, why continuing entertaining their nonsense?

10

Will the GB ever humble themselves as Jesus admonished in Matt 20 20-28

by UnshackleTheChains in

in his book crisis of conscience, raymond franz likened the governing body to the proverbial 'iron fist in a velvet glove'.

this would seem harsh if it weren't for the fact that there is ample proof that their policies and teachings have caused much pain amongst the friends.

for example, many families have been torn apart through their shunning policy.

scratchme1010

Will the GB ever humble themselves as Jesus admonished in Matt 20 20-28

No.

21

wt on a slide, " 1914's generation is not only overlapping, but also composite.

by prologos in

doctrines projected by wt writers can be compared to the slides in the old carousel slide shows, the jw audience was kept in the dark, but the next images' bright filtered new light had their rapt attention.

often these doctrine images came around again but modified, often totally changed, turned upside down.

think superior authorities, resurrection ----, .

scratchme1010

Really, I'd had a little respect for them if they actually said that they are wrong about that 1914 thing (granted, that can open the door to being wrong in pretty much everything else, including their own existence, but that's besides the point). They are so effing shameless in their stupid silly explanations. What a disgusting organization.

7

Have you been to Brooklyn lately?

by lrkr in

i happened to be in brooklyn yesterday and decided to take a spin around the old hq.. the factory buildings have cool retail at ground level and offices or loft apartments above.

the whole factory complex area looks very cool- now that it is not jw'd..

scratchme1010

Brooklyn, where's that?