Posts by Journeyman

65

WT and Higher ED

by enoughisenough in

watched this video and was wondering if any of you recall seeing this video besides on this presenter's youtube platform.

anyway, watch it !

it is disgusting but enlightening.

Journeyman

don't get a sporty 2 door car or else you are a bad example to the flock-not to mention being materialistic

Ah yes, another case of the elders going "beyond what is written".

When I first saw comments about that from people in the USA I was surprised as I've never heard such a thing here in the UK. Generally, there's not such an emphasis on getting the 'right' car for ministry as we don't have such big distances to cover, so the concept of "car groups" doesn't really exist - although I suppose it might be an issue in some remote rural congregations. As someone who's always lived in cities though, I'd never encountered that particular elder prejudice before!

65

WT and Higher ED

by enoughisenough in

watched this video and was wondering if any of you recall seeing this video besides on this presenter's youtube platform.

anyway, watch it !

it is disgusting but enlightening.

Journeyman

Journeyman, you forgot KITT

Funnily enough, I thought about including KITT and a couple of other classic cars from TV/film like the Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino but figured they look too ordinary from the outside - need something more eye-catching for parking at the kingdom hall!

I suppose Herbie The Love Bug is a possibility too...

Or even this! 🤣

65

WT and Higher ED

by enoughisenough in

watched this video and was wondering if any of you recall seeing this video besides on this presenter's youtube platform.

anyway, watch it !

it is disgusting but enlightening.

Journeyman

Or how about pulling up beside the KH on a Sunday morning with the Duke of Hazzard General Lee or "Bandit" Trans Am?

... or maybe one of these? Ecto-1 would go down especially well...

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Journeyman

Don't forget the BMW he bought

You meant,He didn’t buy?

Yes, I thought I'd read that someone donated it to him for his 'activism'?
~~Nice work if you can get it.~~ Nice scam if you can work it.

I see he's just posted a short on his favourite subject:

I'm sure if he were giving the talk though, the "how to fight" bit wouldn't come into it!

68

Is JW.org going Broke?

by Vanderhoven7 in

https://youtu.be/e6gh6w7v03y.

Journeyman

However we hear the term "friends" used quite a lot these days, usually on US WT media. [...] It sounds so false.

Hear, hear! I hate that expression. "The friends" this, "the friends" that. Now that sounds a very 'culty' phrase to British ears!

It's sounds as false as the GB constantly saying "We all love you verrry much!" at the end of every broadcast! *shudder*

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Journeyman

Journeyman, Lloyd is churning out content. Please try to understand. It's food at the improper time

You're right, of course.

I'm humbled by my failure to recognise him as the foretold "frightful and indiscreet ~~slave~~ slob (with no) class"!

If I had a camera here, you'd see me weeping convincingly.

I'm so conflicted I now need a holiday in Thailand to restore my "mental health". For the scuba diving, you know.

🤣

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Journeyman

Good grief. He's only just released the Saturday PM of his convention rebuttals. Is it my imagination or is he dragging this right out? He released Sat AM nearly 2 weeks ago and Friday's parts a month ago!

At this rate, he won't have released all six parts until the end of August!

Most places have already had their conventions or are about to in the next fortnight.

Those rebuttals used to be his main output each summer, now they're slowly pushed out like a constipated stool. Another sign that he's just going through the (bowel) motions now!

65

WT and Higher ED

by enoughisenough in

watched this video and was wondering if any of you recall seeing this video besides on this presenter's youtube platform.

anyway, watch it !

it is disgusting but enlightening.

Journeyman

I realise how fortunate I was to be in a more liberal congregation

Schroeder asked him if she had ever given him any trouble before, and he replied that she hadn't. So Schroeder told him not to start any trouble with her now.

Exactly. These experiences show it's perfectly possible for the org to be 'itself' but still maintain a more 'human' side. It happened sometimes in the past, and it has happened (and still happens) in some pockets and places, so it can be done. So that's why there's no excuse. Contrary to the way some org higher-ups act, it's not fundamental (pardon the pun) to being "God's organisation" to behave the way they do and insist on some of these rigid policies at all costs.

When Jesus called out the Pharisees and they defended themselves by saying they could see the point and weren't blind, he said: "If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, ‘We see.’ Your sin remains."

The GB is the same. They know and can see things could be done differently, but refuse to act on that.

9

Half of disfellowshipped one suicidal?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

jw
friends

this ex brother says about half of disfellowshipped ones are suicidal at about 43 minutes into this video https://youtube.com/watch?v=otcdksnf4zo&feature=sharec.

it really is that brutal having your family and friends shun you that many unfortunately do actually take their own lives including steve letts nephew.. no wonder the drastic change in the elders book to not have any more judicial committees if suspected it would make them suicidal.. this is probably one of the largest changes in recent history that most rank and file don’t know about yet.. how it will work in practice i just don’t know.

what if someone keeps sinning but says it’s weakness not wickedness and they are suicidal?

Journeyman

Suicide (and depression and suicidal feelings) are a growing problem generally, due to the pressure of life today - finding and keeping work, paying bills, maintaining relationships, developing your own self-worth and identity, etc.

I just saw a news report literally minutes before reading this thread, that suicide in 2022 was at the highest level in the USA since WWII.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/11/us-records-highest-number-of-suicides-in-2022

So it's no surprise it would also be a growing problem in the JW world too.

As for JW judicial procedures, if they do begin to see a lot of people 'using' talk of being suicidal to try and 'dodge' being DFed (as they see it), they will probably adjust their procedure.

To be fair, that's no different to secular organisations such as police, courts or other bodies doing the same - adjusting their procedures to prevent people trying to 'get around' them. As an example, for years, British police had a policy not to engage in a car chase with criminals on motorbikes if they were not wearing a helmet, for safety reasons. So of course, lots of crims started ditching their helmets after committing crime so the cops had to stop and they could get away. So eventually, some police forces changed their policy so that they now use 'tactical contact' to lightly nudge the bikers off (a bit like a softer version of the US PIT manoeuvre). Now, surprise, surprise - bike crime has fallen by 50% in some areas.

It's just a cat and mouse game, and I'm sure the org will just see it that way if they feel the 'suicidal' clause becomes a 'tactic' in judicial cases. Eventually they'll either just say "disfellowship anyway" (as EasyPrompt says) or they'll introduce some other test or procedural hoop to make 'genuinely repentant' ones go through.

68

Is JW.org going Broke?

by Vanderhoven7 in

https://youtu.be/e6gh6w7v03y.

Journeyman

I agree with JW GoneBad.

Just because an organisation has a high turnover or seemingly large income, doesn't mean it's on a sound or strong financial footing.

Given the secrecy over the org's internal accounts, we can only guess at their level of outgoings, but I would not be surprised if it's substantial enough (especially when you factor in the costs of fighting legal actions - not just on abuse but also things like planning, 'freedom of speech', etc - and paying out 'hush money', compensation, damages and/or court costs whenever they lose, which is more frequently these days) that they are in a more precarious situation than most people imagine.

They have also 'invested' badly in recent years in expensive projects like NY and Chelmsford Bethels and now Ramapo, which are largely white elephants and do not in themselves generate any financial value or income.

Even if the increase in begging videos is just a tactic to get more money without actually needing it, there are other clues. Look at the things like printing cutbacks, the mass hall sell-offs, bethel closures, the seizing of local congregations' funds, the sale of second-hand Bethel equipment, the centralising of all construction and maintenance projects, and so on. These are not the actions of a cash-rich and financially secure organisation, but rather one that is trying to squeeze every dollar/pound/euro/etc out.