Posts by observador

19

I have also returned.....

by SanFranciscoJim in

jw
friends

.

after being absent from this board for a couple of years, at the gentle prodding of rayzorblade, i have come back.. although i am still going by "san francisco jim", i've since left california and am now living in pennsylvania.. while i am here, please allow me to make a shameless plug for the new message board for gay & lesbian exjws at: http://frost.bbboy.net/acommonbond.

kind regards to all...... jim.

observador

Welcome back Jim.

I was reading your story and found it interesting. The part when you say your student laugh a little louder was hilarious.

But what a surprise I had when I clicked this link http://www.gayxjw.org/censor.html and read about the picture of the knowledge book.

So you believe that the picture of same-sex folks embracing is subliminal? What a stretch of imagination, Jim.

No doubt when JWs go to that site and see the link above think 'Ahh, now I know why this guy was disfellowshiped'. No wonder.

Jim, tell me you don't believe that, please. These guys took many years of your life from you, but don't allow them to take away your sanity.

Observador.

Here is the "offending" picture:

if not shown below click here to see

46

Preaching Slowdown

by cornish in

.

i can remember numerous talks and study articles about how the preaching work would get more and more intense as we near the end.. one so called prophetic illustration that stands out in my mind was when joshua and his men marched around the city each day and then just before the city fell they marched seven times signifying a quickening of the preaching work.. it seems starkingly obvious that the preaching,is in decline amonst jw's,the jw's are seen less and less often in my neighbourhood,it is very rare to see them out street witnesing around the town centres and railway stations,the average jw spends far less time preaching than a decade ago.. it seems like their chief brag is definately on the wain,in favour of other recruitment methods.

observador

willyloman,

man, you crack me up. Still rolling on the floor, laughing. :) :) :)

Observador.

6

save dogs from vivisection in Brazil

by Tammie in

i got the following email:.

(names/emailaddresses removed).

this petition is not in english but we all know what vivisection (surgery performed on a living animal in medical reserch) involves so please show your support against it by signing this petition.

observador

Prisca, I couldn't say it better.

There are more homeless children in Brazil than dogs, and I don't see many people concerned. And I know what I'm talking about.

Observador.

26

How more vague can the society get at the assemblies?

by be wise in

jw
friends

his is a quote from the give god glory district convention showing how they avoid their own questions and provide the usual vague answers that no jw understands.

we don't want to be personally refuting these untruths unless jehovah's organisation assigned us to do that, publicly.

now, are we talking people in our ministry or elsewhere about points about what they have heard, read?

observador

It was probably accelerated after the pre 75 fiasco, where brothers got up on stage, and starting adding their own comments to outlines. Comments like ' Brothers in the overall scheme of things, Armageddon is just minutes away'

I know you didn't mean this, but the above sounds a little defensive of the WT.

But keep in mind that those "brothers" were basically COs and DOs, and even when they were not, they were long time elders in the congregations. All of them were representatives of the WT. And where did they get the idea of 1975 from?

In other words, if the WT doesn't want to create any excitement about something it should not do it itself. Those "brothers" did what they did with the approval of the WT, imho.

Observador.

17

new light on churches??

by gspradling in

jw
friends

my very jw mother went to my daughter's wedding in a mainstream church this summer.

this is the first time i ever remember her going into a church.

she refused to attend my wedding in a methodist church and also my brother's in a mainstream church.

observador

No,

I don't think there has been any new light on that, but I friend of mine pointed out to me a very interesting situation where the Watchtower is listed side-by-side with a number of other "religions" on this web site: http://www.religlaw.org/ngos.htm

So, I tend to agree with Czar that this seems to indicate that the WT "religion" does not have the same grip on the mind of JWs anymore, maybe because of things like what the above link shows. Membership for the WT seems to have become the main focus now!

Very sad indeed!

Observador.

50

Watchtower Legal's letter to Dirtclod.com (faxed image)

by Jourles in

jw
friends

i am starting a new thread so folks do not have to search through several pages of posts to find this image.

the original thread was here.

i received the following fax this morning from my old isp(dirtclod.com was coincidentally moved the same day i received notice regarding this copyright infringement for bandwidth purposes) and was seven pages in length.

observador

Jourles,

Yours is a good candidate for chilling effects
<http://www.chillingeffects.org>. One of our IP attorneys say that you
have got a very good fair use defense. There is some chance we can find
you an attorney, in which case you should write your ISP back and give a
counter-notification under section 512 that you are not infringing. The
problem is, of course, that without a lawyer the Jehjova's Witnesses
have a lot of money and would have a good chance of prevailing in court
and that could lead to a very expensive judgment against you.

just as I thought. Good to hear that. Keep us informed.

Observador.

50

Watchtower Legal's letter to Dirtclod.com (faxed image)

by Jourles in

jw
friends

i am starting a new thread so folks do not have to search through several pages of posts to find this image.

the original thread was here.

i received the following fax this morning from my old isp(dirtclod.com was coincidentally moved the same day i received notice regarding this copyright infringement for bandwidth purposes) and was seven pages in length.

observador

Jourles,

you most likely have heard of http://www.chillingeffects.org

They maintain a database of companies/organizations who send out those "cease and desist" letters. As far as I know there is no entry of "Watchtower" in their database. You might consider sending them a message with this WT letter attached and request this be put up on their online searchable database for the whole damn world to see.

I'd love to see the Watchtower making company to the Scientologists on the db, and also making some headlines there.

They also have quite a few interesting links on copyright issues.

I read on the other thread you mentioned some people suggesting blacking out some portions of the letters, or maybe even showing just part of them. I, personally, don't like this idea since it takes away what makes them REALLY interesting, namely, the full context and content, proof of its authenticity, allowing the reader make a judgement by what he/she reads and not by what someone else thought would be the point worth exposing.

Whatever you decide please keep the original, unedited ones. I agree with others here who said that, if you don't, someone else will end up hosting them somewhere and the end result will be worst for the WT.

Man, I love those letters and am already missing them. They are truly damning as they show the WT has a lot to hide and a lot to be concerned about.

ADVERTISE. ADVERTISE. ADVERTISE.

Long live the internet!, the truly deliverer of the long-promised power of the information age.

Observador.

64

Subliminal Images in Watchtower Literature

by BornAgainGirl! in

subliminal images in watchtower stuff:.

http://watchtower.observer.org/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=subliminalimages and there are many more than this.. what i want to know is - why?

what purposes do these images serve?

observador

I know I'm not convinced. I think the face in Valis' photograph is more convincing.

rem, I agree.

Valis, you're a truly subliminal artist. :)

Which tool did you use?

64

Subliminal Images in Watchtower Literature

by BornAgainGirl! in

subliminal images in watchtower stuff:.

http://watchtower.observer.org/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=subliminalimages and there are many more than this.. what i want to know is - why?

what purposes do these images serve?

observador

Gamaliel,

thanks for the insight. I am very skeptical of this subliminal img conspiracy theory as well.

I think that things get a little confused sometimes: hidden images versus subliminal. Russell having used masonic symbols, which are not hidden, but are in plain sight for everyone to see, is different from these alleged hidden images. And quite often the former is put as proof of the latter.

Observador.

37

Next New Light??? Heaven's Doors Closed in 1935

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

the persistent passage of time has forced the borg to literally redefine the word "generation" to suit their needs (it now means any group of people within a span of time that can go on indefinitely).

i'm starting to get the impression that they are going to have to do something with the 8000 or so people who insist on partaking of the emblems every year, thereby identifying themselves as "anointed" and heaven bound.

in recent years they have tried to discourage people from partaking by emphasizing that they could be crazy or diluted or puffed up with pride if they partook (don't ya just love my jw speak!?!?

observador

Elsewhere,

The WTS can say that they did not make the statement; it was the personal opinion of the overzealous person that was interviewed. Of course that pesky overzealous person will not be DFed for apostasy even though they managed to slip their evil apostate views past the editors of the magazine.

Very good points. And thanks for the laugh!

Observador.