Posts by cookiemaster

29

Congregation memorial stats

by nowwhat? in

2 congregations met together attendance 355 which is close to exact number of combined publishers.

only saw a couple of new faces.

so it looks like once again the invitation work was a complete failure and relatives of jw's couldn't be talked into coming anymore!.

In my congo the attendance doubles every memorial. There are lots and lots of submarine witnesses in this area. Lots of young people too. The thing is, they never attend after memorial. So, it's only a once a year affair. There's people I've only seen once a year for decades almost. Also a cute girl I've been meaning to date. Too bad she doesn't attend more often.

Anyway, all the preaching and invitation work before the memorial is pretty pointless from what I can see. Doesn't really boost the numbers in the long term. Just once a year.

49

VIDEO - Memorial toast stuns Jehovahs Witnesses congregation!

by John_Carter_1912 in

i applaud this great and holy man!

do you?.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fstqepi9iu.

cookiemaster

Yeah, I remember going in door to door preaching on Christmas Eve one time. We're a small town where everyone knows everyone and I was so fuckin' embarrassed because I was disturbing people right as they were setting up decorations or some were drunk. It was a really inappropriate time to pester people.but I was just a kid and older idiot JWs pressured me to do it.

Anyway, I think there's a right way to do these disruptive protests at JW events. The way to do it is like this guy started. Calmly and respectfully addressing everyone. No crazy shouting or crazy claims. Just expressing concern about some things, dropping 'red pills' on them and inviting them to do their own research about these issues online.

While I'm sure this will fuel the persecution complex of some old timers, let's be honest. Most old timers have invested their lives into this cult and aren't going to give it up no matter what. However, some of the young ones might be tempted to go online in secret and research the issues mentioned by the 'crazy apostate', and that might wake them up.

Finally, I'm surprised that KH was so empty during memorial day. Here in Romania our hall is just as empty and populated with geriatrics during regular meetings but it's absolutely chock full during memorial. Not that it matters because zero of the people attending the memorial continue to come to the regular meetings.

18

How many would leave the organization right now if the shunning rule was removed?

by HiddenPimo in

dream scenario: everyone is made aware of all the wrongs, the false prophecies / csa problem / double standards - .

and they would not shun, how many would jump ship?.

my parents are fully aware of the sins of the org.

cookiemaster

If they made it clear that shunning was not an approved behavior and you could be certain nobody would shun you if you left, I think at least 20-30% would leave. Maybe not outright leave, but many would stop caring about following all the rules and as a result they'd be excommunicated. Maybe many would still come to meetings sometimes and associate with JWs for spending time at the social club of friends and family, while still not following the rules. Some already do that to some extent. I knew several families in which the husband attends but just to socialize and doesn't participate at all and breaks the rules all the time (drinks, watches porn, etc) but somehow has managed to escape disfellowshipping.

Basically it would be like any other Christian religion. People would start doing as they please and only a "spiritual" minority would follow all the rules. People would be lax about attending or doing any kind of effort or participation. It would basically be modern Protestantism 2.0. It would take decades but a vast majority of members would simply become uninvolved or fade away like it has happened all over the developed world. That's why shunning is essential for a cult to exist and why they'll never drop it.

5

Population growth and demographics

by dropoffyourkeylee in

some recent news articles stated that japan's low birth rates are related to their population decline, and gave a link to the following article which i find interesting.. https://www.thoughtco.com/age-sex-pyramids-and-population-pyramids-1435272.

the age-sex pyramid graph is enlightening.

it makes me wonder what the age-sex pyramid for jws looks like and how it compares to the population as a whole.

cookiemaster

I know this isn't much in the way to statistical evidence but for some anecdotal reference, I'm in Romania in a congregation that used to have 60+ members in the late 90s early 2000s and now it has 35 and I'm the only male under 30. For females, there are two children and two teenagers. The only new baptisms have been from a 60+ lady and a middle aged woman who has cancer. They are keeping this congregation alive with imports from other congregations, but even those are just temporary middle aged pioneers. They haven't recruited someone young in forever.

You know what the funniest thing is? I'm supposed to be the great hope of the congregation for future male leadership and I'm completely inactive. This drives them insane.The elders (now 60+) and CO are all frantically asking me to get more involved and I don't even bother giving answers on watchtower study. I literally just sit there and do nothing and it drives them crazy because they know there will be no male to take their place and lead the congregation. None of the JW kids I grew up with are still in. I just don't see them having much of a future IMO.

12

Plagiarized song?

by cookiemaster in

hey guys, so, i went to the hall today with my parents (they needed a ride) and there was this song that i wasn't familiar with.

must be a new song or i might be simply ignorant of jw songs (i hate them).

to my surprise i actually liked this song.

cookiemaster

I resonate with much of what you guys have said here. It does sound like a song you'd hear in some blockbuster movie. I honestly thought it was a rip-off from the soundtrack of the The Hobbit or of the artist on YouTube Brunuville, if you're familiar with the work. Anyway, I found it to be very atypical for a JW song and as Slimboyfat mentioned, it is highly peculiar how this song does not contain any reference to Jehovah, Jesus, obedience, and other JW buzzwords. It's very unusual and devoid of context you really could think it's not a religious song at all. That's why it grabbed my attention.

12

Plagiarized song?

by cookiemaster in

hey guys, so, i went to the hall today with my parents (they needed a ride) and there was this song that i wasn't familiar with.

must be a new song or i might be simply ignorant of jw songs (i hate them).

to my surprise i actually liked this song.

cookiemaster

Hey guys,

So, I went to the hall today with my parents (they needed a ride) and there was this song that I wasn't familiar with. Must be a new song or I might be simply ignorant of JW songs (I hate them). To my surprise I actually liked this song. About the only JW song I've ever liked ever. The song in question is called Light in a Darkened World. I think it was number 77. The thing is that I'm pretty certain I've heard it somewhere else, maybe in a fantasy movie or game. For some reason, big chunks of it seem plagiarized to me. It's not the usual JW song and seems very cinematic. What do you guys think?

Here's a link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIDv7MroYeM

12

Are they clones?

by cookiemaster in

anyone else notice this about jw public speakers.

they all seem like clones.

they have the same mannerisms, try to use the same style of speaking, similar jokes, etc.

cookiemaster

Anyone else notice this about JW public speakers. They all seem like clones. They have the same mannerisms, try to use the same style of speaking, similar jokes, etc. It's like none of the speakers I see lately have a distinguishable personality of their own. They all seem to be emulating the same person. It's very weird and gives an automaton/clone vibe. I guess this means they're better integrated into the corporate cult, becoming corporate machines. I can't describe it otherwise. It feels so unnatural. In every area of life where you have public speaking, you see people of all speaking styles and manners, with various approaches. Normal people can all deliver the same message but each in their own individual way. Some are funny and charismatic, some are serious and fact oriented, some are quirky but compelling. Not in JWdom. At least not in my experience. Might be a local thing but all the speakers here try to act and talk the same way. It's very weird and kinda unnatural and disturbing.

15

They are increasingly appealing to emotion

by cookiemaster in

they always have but lately, they've taken it to a whole new level.

the new convention video about the end, the many videos at conventions and meetings, the new songs, all highly emotionally manipulative.

and they're working.

cookiemaster

They always have but lately, they've taken it to a whole new level. The new convention video about the end, the many videos at conventions and meetings, the new songs, all highly emotionally manipulative. And they're working. At conventions, I see people in tears. It's pretty worrying to me. They make the average JW so emotionally enslaved that they'd pretty much do anything. I almost feel like they'd drink the cool aid if an emotionally manipulative video at a convention asked them to.

26

What Should I Say?

by cookiemaster in

i need a bit of advice.

i've been pimo for a long time and fading more and more.

i occasionally attend for family but never give any answers or actively participate in any way.

cookiemaster

Okay guys, so I thought I'd offer a quick update. I told them we can't meet at home as I would be busy into town but they insisted so we met at the hall. Apparently, the old elder that had me pegged as an apostate is leaving to become a CO and a new elder has come. He's only come to the meetings a few times and seems really nice (compared to the old one). Anyway, they already had made up their mind about me before the meeting. They are sure I'm suffering from depression because I'm always serious at the hall and don't talk much with anyone.

I really didn't have to say much at all. They told all the excuses for me and only asked me if their suspicions were right. I said yeah, and that I was very busy with work too. They just said that I can only get encouragement at the hall and they think I should set myself the objective to talk more to the brothers and get involved with spiritual activities. I told them I would think about it. That's about it. Apparently, they think depression can be cured by being more of a slave to the borg. Yeah, no thanks!

They're just desperate because we're a small dying congo. When I was a kid there were 65 members. Now 35 and most a elderly and dying quickly. I'm the only male under 40, and I don't give a crap about it, so I bet that this congregation will be extinct in a decade, unless they give some artificial member infusions from other congos. It's the only congo on a 50 mile radius too, so JWs are really becoming extinct here. It's great. They're really desperate for members and the only new members they can get are very old lonely ladies.

26

What Should I Say?

by cookiemaster in

i need a bit of advice.

i've been pimo for a long time and fading more and more.

i occasionally attend for family but never give any answers or actively participate in any way.

cookiemaster

Thank you for all the replies. They truly are helpful. Unfortunately Morpheus, they do have me pegged as an apostate. You see, years ago when I started fading and still was stupid enough to have JW friends on social media, I made a comment to a worldly friend's post about how I can't wait to get my family out of this cult. Of course, a JW friend saw it and turned me in to the elders. Fortunately, the account wasn't exactly with my real name, so I denied I was the one that made the comment, but ever since they've been conducting periodic witch trials against me.

Every few months the gestapo comes for another round of interrogations, and it was all fine because I kept denying everything and kept up appearances to be a regular JW. Lately however, I have not felt like keeping up appearances in meetings anymore, so now if they'll ask me why I don't comment or go to field service, I'm not sure what the best response it not to get all the alarms ringing, as I've started making a tiny bit of progress waking up my parents and other JW family members and don't want to be branded as an apostate and be instantly dismissed by everyone.

I can postpone the meeting them but they'll search for me at home and keep insisting. It's what they do. The elders in this congregation are a bit more gestapo than your average elders.