Posts by GrreatTeacher

18

Do you sometimes bemoan the LOST idea, or Belief, that Someone Powerful was going to set all things right?

by pistolpete in

so it looks like about half of my jw relatives are not going back to the meetings once they open up the kingdom halls.

the main reason all of them give is that if we were truly living in the last days, jehovah would not have allowed the door to door preaching work, and kingdom hall meetings to stop for over a year.. the elders have talked to some of them and tried to convince them that letter writing is accomplishing the same thing as door to door, and zoom is the same as meetings-----------but my relatives just won’t buy it anymore.

just a note here, at first, the kingdom hall lock-downs, and the no preaching door to door was not that bad,the relatives still held on to their faith strongly because they believed it was temporary.

GrreatTeacher

Yeah, I do sometimes feel bummed that evil people won't get what's coming to them and good people won't get do overs. That's a tough one to get over.

I don't have any miraculous words of wisdom to help people get over it, either.

At some level they understand the reality that the world's a rough place, that might be what drew them in or kept them in the religion with its hopes of righting wrongs and making everything right one day.

But, now they have to sit with the fact that the world's a rough place and it's up to them to make the best of it. You live once and that's it. In some ways that's comforting because that leaves the effort to have a good life in your own hands and that's now allowable, unlike living life under the JW regime.

I'm sure your relatives can see that you've created a decent life for yourself so that means it is possible for them, too.

66

Jw spokesman Says door to door preaching not coming back!

by nowwhat? in

https://youtu.be/uaaztatkhkg.

hope link works.

GrreatTeacher

The ship's wheel is the Wheel of Dharma.

Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism use the symbol.

9

Social Trends - Male underwear as hot fashion

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

during australia's lockdowns and other reactions to the batty virus.

i've been spending more time studying my history interests via the internet and its many possibilities.

one area is quite interesting.

GrreatTeacher

Younger men do seem to be getting more accepting of fancy underwear.

My brother in law (totally straight) became aware of a certain brand of "ball hammock" underwear that has a special pouch for support and that come in crazy designs.

So, my son and husband were both gifted a 3 Month Underwear of the Month Club Voucher for Christmas.

Boxer briefs of all sorts began arriving in discreet packages in the mail shortly thereafter.

My husband didn't care for the "hug" and sent them on to my son who wears them.

But, in general, he's just looking for something clean.

Check out Shinesty on the web. You too may want to join the club!😁

Match your underwear to your pimp suit!

Now selling:

Kentucky Derby Themed Merchandise. Choose from these collections:

The Foal Throttle

The Bonnie and Clydesdale

The Dandy Derby Daddy

Matching women's outfits, too!

8

The jabberoonie

by punkofnice in

i had my 1st rona vaccination last saturday.

i had the one i jokingly call the asteroid xenomorph.. the whole thing was well organised.

i felt fine until the next day.

GrreatTeacher

Lucked upon my first shot yesterday at the pharmacy.

I was there picking up a prescription at 5pm and they had an extra shot left over in the bottle after all of their appointments for the day.

They will notify me for my second dose, which I will get about the same time I originally had an appointment for my first. I guess I'll wait until then to fold the fitted sheets. 😉

It's the Pfizer vaccine. Feel fine this morning.

21

What’s Your Favorite Type of Music/Songs/Singers???

by minimus in

jw
friends

i love r&b music, funk and soul, even some disco.

i’ve been listening to retro soul radio out of london lately and the music is without commercial interruptions 24 hours a day.

mostly 70s and 80s music.. i love everything from elvis presley to tom jones too.

GrreatTeacher

When I was in middle school, the two hottest albums to have were Michael Jackson's Thriller and Prince's Purple Rain. Funny both with the JW connection. I, of course, was gifted Air Supply instead.

I did listen to all of the songs from those albums on the radio. We didn't have cable TV back then, so I never got to see MTV, but I remember the scandal over the Thriller video. There were zombies and voice overs from Vincent Price about "the hounds of hell." All very inappropriate for a JW. So, MJ had a few second disclaimer before the video started stating that he had no belief in the occult and that the entire story was fictional. This was his bid to not get disfellowshipped. I know he did eventually but I'm not sure if it was in regard to this song in particular.

At any rate, this blew up a big storm in the congregation. Listening to that song was wrong because it was demonized. Then, once Jackson was disfellowshipped, listening to any of his music was wrong because the listening counted as bad association with a disfellowshipped person.

I suspect every hall was different, though. We invited the traveling speaker back to our home for lunch during this time, and my parents asked them what they thought about the Michael Jackson issue.

The answer was given with tight smiles and they announced that that is a subject that they wouldn't talk about. This is a perfect, assertive response. My parents just didn't understand why they were getting stonewalled for asking a perfectly nosey question for which they had no right to hear the answer!

Also, went to see Metallica in the same venue we had previously attended district conventions in.

Guess which was more fun?

Metallica have great concerts!

22

Whatever Happened To The Flu?

by minimus in

jw
friends

has the flu vanished?

has it been replaced by covid?

no one is talking about making sure you get you flu shots.

GrreatTeacher

Yes, Covid is a type of Corona virus. It is called a Corona virus because, under the microscope, you can see that it is in the shape of a corona (which means a crown).

The influenza virus when looked at under the microscope is in the shape of a sphere.

They have two very different types of body morphology.

True. The common cold virus is in the shape of a corona, or crown, also.

The name Covid19 comes from COrona VIrus Disease 2019 (the time the virus was first identified.)

BTW, Lysol kills them all. The can I've had for several years says it's effective against corona viruses. This can predates Covid19.

Fun internet rabbit hole: Lysol was first created as a Women's Intimate Hygiene Aid!

I know! I know!

28

The Wwatchtower turning into a real laughing Stock

by Overrated in

jw
friends

over the years watchtower has turned into a real joke in the world scene.

with the lawsuits, downsizing and decreasing numbers.

what they use to be is gone and they will never recover the numbers they once had.

GrreatTeacher

So.......they're living a double life, right?

The entire organization of 'em.

"Lying for the Lord"

66

Jw spokesman Says door to door preaching not coming back!

by nowwhat? in

https://youtu.be/uaaztatkhkg.

hope link works.

GrreatTeacher

They'll never admit it to the rank and file, but they can discuss it at their weekly meetings.

Their first job is to decide which way they want to push the organization.

Their second job is to sell it to the minions.

Their third job should be evaluation of results. But God knows they don't do that or they wouldn't be in the crisis they are in.

If they don't believe they're in crisis, well having a huge amount of their followers only in because of family should be ringing alarm bells. One black swan event could cause the whole thing to tumble down, donation money going with it.

And maybe Covid has been that event.

How do they know that people will show up again if they open back up the Kingdom Hall doors?

They should be very afraid.

22

Whatever Happened To The Flu?

by minimus in

jw
friends

has the flu vanished?

has it been replaced by covid?

no one is talking about making sure you get you flu shots.

GrreatTeacher

I got my flu shot.

Sanitary procedures like handwashing, maskwearing and social distancing have not surprisingly reduced the transmission of the flu virus.

66

Jw spokesman Says door to door preaching not coming back!

by nowwhat? in

https://youtu.be/uaaztatkhkg.

hope link works.

GrreatTeacher

I think WT needs to clarify what its goals are.

If the goal is to maintain a high control religion/cult then they'd better figure out a replacement for door to door work.

It keeps people too busy to think logically about the whole thing and keeps them in the organization. It's a great coercion tactic.

But, what if the goal is to simply keep the money rolling in?

That can be done successfully without needing high control or coercion. Plenty of religions stay in business with parishioners voluntarily donating money.

People need to feel like they are getting something, though. A feeling of community is something many people seek from religion. It seems to be the reason lots of JWs are stuck in.

It seems WT needs to fine tune the way to keep people in voluntarily and donating by giving them something of value. People want community. Find ways to provide that feeling, drop the religious coercion, and, bingo, the money will still roll in.

Most people are no longer interested in convoluted religious ideas and are still in because they are held hostage. That is WTs problem. That is the cause of their falling numbers and bad PR.

It's basic marketing. You have to create something people want before they'll buy it voluntarily.