Posts by scratchme1010

5

oh witnesses

by zeb in

jw
friends

we attended an orchestral concert last night.

before the show there was have a drink mingle thing and my dear wife met some sisters who she sees so many times a week and got into a round x round conversation on......fs arrangements.. no commentary on the music to come, the beautiful venue or the opportunity to take in such a concert.

i went to the loo .....

scratchme1010

No commentary on the music to come, the beautiful venue or the opportunity to take in such a concert.

That may be just protocol, pretending to give an eff about each other.

45

So, is God a rapist!?

by stuckinarut2 in

ok, i apologise in advance if this seems irreverent to those who believe in god.. but, the bible says that god (jehovah) impregnated mary.

without her consent.

so that would seem to be rape...right?.

scratchme1010

...the bible says that God (Jehovah) impregnated Mary. WITHOUT HER CONSENT. So that would seem to be Rape...right?

Never thought of it that way, but to me the entire event compared to the way things actually happened... I think that those involved would be so surprised about what their story have become today.

59

What can the leadership at Watchtower do to turn things around?

by UnshackleTheChains in

let's play devils advocate here.. put yourself in the governing body's shoes.

they are well aware of all the issues they are facing.

they know their numbers (they 'do the math' as they say in the us).

scratchme1010

Put yourself in the Governing Body's shoes. They are well aware of all the issues they are facing. They know their numbers (They 'do the math' as they say in the US). They MUST do something (AND SOON) to end all the bad press and the consequential loss in membership.
So what steps do the leadership need to take in order to turn things around before it's too late?.

In another post I attacked what I believe are the worst operational things in that organization. I'm not going to repeat that post, but here are a few things I believe that are doing wrong now:

Trying to make a lot of money out of people that they themselves discourage from making money
They are obsessed with controlling the lives of their followers
They have no clue about anything related to early childhood education, child psychology, not a clue. Same thing for anything and anyone who reflects the diversity in this world
This is not only the WT, but they could use at least an introductory course in diversity and inclusion (baffles me that they are in NYC and still behave the way they do)
They have under-educated, unskilled, brainwashed people giving advice to people on important life events and decisions, hence, people are receiving horrible advice
They don't believe in referring to professional mental health when clearly some people need it
They are horrible at managing technology; they do not believe in innovation, and when they do, their controlling ways trump innovation
They are finally downsizing in the printed word now, because they have been bleeding money out of using a medium that over a century ago worked, but doesn't anymore
They cannot even start understanding the concepts of organizational development, change management, organizational psychology, those concepts are completely foreign to them. They insist in managing their organization the way they did in the 19th century
Their ridiculous pompous grandiosity about what they do and how they do things, making assess of themselves, makes them look just pathetic and unappealing to people
I didn't even mentioned how they divide families and take so many other actions and take no responsibility for ruining some people's lives

That's just the basics. If they can change a good 80% of that, they could be more successful.

6

I cry during the National Anthem now

by kairos in

jw
friends

after being a jw for 25 years and finding every weasel way to 'maintain christian neutrality', i now find myself in a completely 'new light'.. i quit abruptly, four years ago and have lived a jw free life with the exception of my born-in wife.when i see the ceremony of the national anthem, it not only reaffirms the absolute beauty of personal freedom, but it also allows me to see that most people are good and loyal to one another.

i treasure my life and have become a patriot.

now i feel ashamed that i was a government/authority rejecting, isolationist that benefited from living in the greatest country in the world.

scratchme1010

I don't cry but I like standing up during the anthem. Doing that is in fact, a great feeling. To me is more about reclaiming my choice and my sense of belonging in the world.

11

Witnessing Just After Sunrise

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

about everytime i go to the grocery store just after sunrise, i can see the witnesses sitting and waiting inside their cars to distribute literature.

it is not against the law for them to do that.

i was wondering do they allow parking lot witnessing in your area?.

scratchme1010

I was wondering do they allow parking lot witnessing in your area?

Some property owners allow them, some don't. Some think that having JWs nearby adds some kind of layer of security.

19

Alternative witnessing

by Zyron in

jw
friends

those of us still attending meeting are actively encouraged to use out tablets or smartphones to direct people to jw.org.

how about, after doing the standard presentation casually say to householder, you can also look at this forum to read of experiences of life as a jw as well as the official version?.

obviously you need to be working by yourself or with a pimo jw..

scratchme1010

That's a good idea. It reminds me of my first wordly friend. He was someone I was giving bible studies, and I started going by myself and one day i just told him that I am leaving the JWs. He then told me that he suspected that of me, and started asking real questions, and I started giving him real answers. He became a great friend.

So yes, counterpreaching works.

51

Witness Royalty and the last day at the "Towers"

by Lynnie in

my uber elder cousin and his wife got the "privilege" of having one last "toast" of wine at the rooftop garden at the towers in nyc since the jw's are vacating to warwick.

his oldest daughter and son in law are quite high up in the inner circle so they get invited to all the "inner circle" activities.

even though they aren't supposed to toast to anything it was pretty darn close.

scratchme1010

My uber elder cousin and his wife got the "privilege" of having one last "toast" of wine at the rooftop garden at the Towers in NYC since the JW's are vacating to Warwick. His oldest daughter and son in law are quite high up in the inner circle so they get invited to all the "inner circle" activities. Even though they aren't supposed to toast to anything it was pretty darn close. Saw it on Instagram!

I think it's just human nature to have some kind of closure to something that has been there for them for over a hundred years.

Good that they get their closure.

12

Facing My Mortality And Becoming A Donor

by pale.emperor in

this thread is quite morbid so i apologize in advance.. a few days ago i was having a conversation with my girlfriend in which she mentioned in passing that she's signed up to donate her organs after her death.

i was quite surprised because she mentioned it like it was no big deal.

i asked her which organs.

scratchme1010

I am donating my organs too. I see no reason for them to rut while another person may need it to live. If it's morally wrong, so are a whole lot of things that I've done, so...

40

Faced with the reality of mortality

by stuckinarut2 in

how have you all coped with facing the reality of our mortality?.

most of us were raised to firmly believe we would never get old or die... so here we are now having to face the reality that are getting older... we are going to die.. sometimes it really pisses me off that we were never helped to comprehend this most basic of facts.

we were given a utopian dream as a "fact", and hence never taught how to face our inevitable futures.... thoughts?.

scratchme1010

How have you all coped with facing the reality of our mortality?

Even though I am born in, that issue was never something that caused any fear or problem. I guess that since I was a little boy I was convinced that I wasn't going to make it to paradise, I grew up knowing that one day I will die.

I take life and death for what they are. I don't want to die too soon, but I accept that it will happen one day.

22

Unwritten Theory

by moreconfusedthanever in

have any of you heard some theories from jws that are not based on scripture?

i have, in the past few days, heard a couple that have me shaking my head.. first one is that since satan was around during the creation period and probably watched on as things were being made, it is possible that he is responsible for the creation of some of the more hideous and nasty creatures that live among us.

surely god wouldn't make horrible things.. second one is that satan already had a bad attitude before the creation of adam and eve and was collecting followers among the other angels early on and stirring trouble.

scratchme1010

Have any of you heard some theories from JWs that are not based on scripture?

Never heard those theories that you mentioned. I do know, however, that the WT makes up a whole lot of things in their teachings. If you are a believer in the Bible, this could be a great opportunity for you to research on your own and make your own decision about what to believe.