Posts by scratchme1010

15

Attitude in Kingdom Hall vs. in church

by Yesu Kristo Bwana Wangu in

so, today i went to a different church than the jw's for the first time in over three years.. it is a protestant african church.

my first thoughts: for people who are 'trapped in babylon the great (according to watchtower) these people really seem genuingly happy and sincere in their adoration for god.

what a freedom compared to the witnesses!

scratchme1010

Do other people have the same thoughts?

I have similar thoughts but not exactly the same as you describe. I have seen people truly, genuinely happy and fulfilled by becoming members of a church. However, what I have learned from my experience in life (I celebrated my 30th anniversary of being your age), I know that many people join and become happy because the church gives them a lot of things in addition to answers to questions that people most commonly have regarding God, the bible, etc. They look for a community they can belong to, for a healthy way of socializing, to find people who share the same values for friendships or for romantic purposes, and many others.

Those are as valid reasons to become part of those churches, which is the main difference between many good organized churches and religious denominations a high demand, controlling groups like the WT (and others). If you notice, the leadership of those organizations are accessible, open, and socialize with their members as much as any member of their church.

The biggest difference however, is the fact that in many of those churches you don't feel a lot of pressure if you decide to leave, if you ask questions, if you question your faith (or theirs), even if you don't believe everything they say many of them are ok with it. Not so with the WT.

14

JW guilty on all accounts & bond revoked for sexual abuse in FL

by LevelThePlayingField in

this news article has a news video inside it straight from the station.

finally the judge doesn't hold back.. http://wjla.com/news/nation-world/jehovah-witness-teachers-aide-sex-scandal-guilty-on-all-counts.

scratchme1010

Can you imagine that girl living eternally next to that piece of --it? Some paradise.

38

I spoke to 2 Jobos on a cart but I refused to discuss religion

by punkofnice in

i was in a good mood yesterday (makes a bloody change, i hear you say).

i was meeting an old buddy for a meal.

he was never a jobo.

scratchme1010

punkofnice, it's interesting that you mention the black and white thinking. Actually, even the fact that they force people to call something using a name they choose, those two things are actual signs of them being a harmful organization.

I have read a few books on spiritual abuse, and the black and white mentality is the number one manipulative tool used to spiritually and mentally abuse people.

Indeed, life is fragile, short and precious. It's very sad seeing it wasted in that nonsense, especially those who believe that they have to spend it all preparing for the next.

70

Pseudo history in Watchtower today 😂

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

gorby went to the kh for family reasons today.. and landed right away middle in a pseudo history watchtower article.

just that aspect of the jw belief he is so sensative about.. so 1918 and 1919 are changed with one mark of a pencil.

the argument of change was in the past the argument of the doctrine.

scratchme1010

So I had to laugh nearly loud when they anounced the theme of next weeks gathering: "do you believe in God or science?". I looked into the KH and I knew the answer all ready.

Great ending.

58

Women's March on Washington

by azor in

jw
friends

my support is with the marchers in washington and around the country today.

i was raised through my formative years by my mother and sister while my father was out of the picture.

they gave me the compassion i have today.

scratchme1010

...It is hard for the left to win: The right elects Donald Trump and somehow the left gets blamed...

That's the very definition of the right.

48

Dose Wt really have that much cash.

by joe134cd in

i realize that wt has got a wind fall of cash through various means.

so my question is in the greater scheme of things is it really that much.

for example let's say with all their real estate and cash on hand they are worth about $20 billion dollars.

scratchme1010

...What am I missing here
I just don't understand
It's like everyone is under a spell,...

Nobody is under a spell. That's what indoctrination and brainwashing is all about.

Please understand that accepting that they are lying about this means accepting that they are lying about other things, which means accepting that they have been fooled, which means that accepting that many have made a great deal of important life decisions based on their lies, which is too much for them to accept and handle, hence, they rather choose to believe the nonsense or pretend to do so. (I know, I too hate run on sentences).

36

How do JW's determine a person is anointed?

by thinker11 in

i've always wondered about this.

when a person believes they made a spiritual connection with god and proclaims themselves as anointed, how do they determine whether this person is anointed or not.

does a group of elders look at the person's spiritual resume and check off the person's pioneer stats, bible knowledge, attendance, work ethic, personality, etc and then believe in the person if they have a good track record?

scratchme1010

I'm thinking if the person seems sane and is considered spiritually strong, they would usually believe the person is anointed.

My experience is that JWs tend to stay out of it altogether. They tend not to ask too many questions about people who claim to be anointed, nor do they question it. They feel uncomfortable questioning anything in the first place. They pretend to be ok with it and carry on with their JW duties.

13

NY Daily News: Gov. Cuomo unveils plan for Child Victims Act that would do away with statute of limitation

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cuomo-unveils-plan-child-victims-act-article-1.2943920.

cuomo unveils plan for child victims act that would do away with statute of limitation .

cuomo wants to get rid of statute of limitation for child victims.

scratchme1010

Forget fifty years ago. Unless there's a LOT of corroboration. Get the monsters NOW and make it count. Communicate with your kids. Be vigilant. Prosecute. But presumption of guilt prevails in this courtroom and we should be better than that.

Maybe they could catch some repeat offenders that have caused harm in the past and got away with it.

8

Attention all leaders of corporate organisations under threat!

by Half banana in

imagine you are on the governing board of a religious organisation with around eight million subscribers and an annual income of approximately a $billion (well it used to be!).

you are about to be handed a mass of legal cases against you for concealing your negligent practice of concealing paedophiles in your congregations---followed by the prospect of a cascade of damning publicity?

do you admit you were wrong and apologise unreservedly?.

scratchme1010

Do you admit you were wrong and apologise unreservedly?
Make private compensations to the victims?
Make public statements that you were “caring” all along?
Change your beliefs with sudden “new light”?
Or what?

This is not something new nor it is something uncommon. Companies and nonprofit organizations go through all this, being it by merit or not. Some times there are unfounded accusations, and sometimes they have to do some damage control.

That's why many large corporations have their own legal departments or hire legal firms to handle everything. For starters, all members of an organization, whether they are aware of it or not, enter a legal agreement between them and the organization. The terms of that relationship have been legally determined and established before people even join.

Then there's this thing called the burden of proof. For as many legal protections that people have today, they still have to prove that they were in fact done wrong. That's where organizations spend a lot of money in legal counsel, that is protecting themselves from being proved wrong.

Than there's the way we live today. Even if it's completely proven that they did something wrong, in the event that the wrong doing comes to light, that is when there is no settlement with strong non-disclosure clauses, then they either make a statement, no statement, or do anything and everything possible to tarnish the credibility or reputation of the accuser. The folks at the WT are masters at doing that; that's exactly how they keep their people in place.

Finally, even if none of that works and they still have to save face, them there's the way we live today. Chances are they will try to restore their reputation by doing something that makes them look good, or make a mockery of the entire thing (where do you think reality shows come from?). The reality is that people are not going to be outraged. they will just hear the news and immediately go to their next cheap thrill.

6

Fancy becoming emotionally attached to a pair of Jeans...

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

and it was with great sadness that today my favorite pair of dirty denim, armani jeans were thrown in the bin.

they cost me £260 to purchase, and were value for money, as they were worn for many years and together we shared some wonderful occasions.they were stitched on numerous occasions, and loving repaired.

but today, and to my wife's relief i finally binned my amani jeans.

scratchme1010

Do you have any material possessions that are of only sentimental value. I think these are our true material possessions...

I have a personal address book that I got in 1980. It has names and phone numbers of people I don't even remember.