Posts by no-zombie

17

Do you think its stupid that JWs can't date regular people?

by nowawake14 in

jw
friends

that is absolutely the number one rule that i resent.. i feel sorry for some of those poor dependent minded jws who can't find anyone to marry.

all because they were only allowed to be with witnesses.

what a bunch of boloney!

no-zombie

Quite frankly I've always hated the word "dating", even when I was in mentally. What does "dating" really mean? Are people talking about "courting" or the casual or recreational socializing with those of the opposite sex? Even as an Elder, I always had the opinion (both personally and scripturally) that if a person is seriously looking for a mate and conducts themselves honorably in the sight of God, then its up to them ultimately who they marry. However, if "dating" is just an excuse for stretching sexual boundaries, then I've seen nothing good comes from doing it.

In our case, my wife and I, made the time while we were courting to personally discuss every private matter we could think of ... every thing, no matter how difficult and painful it was. We married as virgins and after over 30 years, we still have a good marriage together. As a result, I'm forced to believe that there is still something to be said for the traditional customs that many claim as restrictive.

So in summary, my little pearl of wisdom is this - If a person acts seriously about a matter, then they'll get a serious result ... but if they are just fucking around, things generally get fucking complicated. (Excuse my French)

no zombie

108

New Upcoming Changes - No More Publisher Record Cards & Reporting Hours

by thedepressedsoul in

publisher record cards and reporting hours will be going away.

.

coming soon.. made this post 4 years ago, it happened - https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/24020002/kingdom-consolidation-sales-coming-reliable-source.

no-zombie

Its not that hard to imagine this to occur, if it is linked to the unique publisher id number system, said to be in development. It could work this way. A global portal could be created where a publisher enters their id number, a congregational identifier and a password and login to submit their "time". Statistically it would be a boon the the Organization where a more direct accounting could be had. Bye passing the Branches (and their fiddling with the numbers as rumored in the passed) while still offering a way for the CO to make appointments of "spiritual men".

no-zombie

14

PIMO GB members?

by Half banana in

the gb individuals are chosen not by holy spirit as we well know but by being selected for one quality only, that of implaccable loyalty to the watchtower organisation.. to be up there requires the fixation that the org is being used by god -- even though now in the small print they claim they are not divinely guided -- what a laugh, what a puzzle?.

the more i watch their antics the more implausible they seem.

their function: to persuade as many people as possible to conform to their own whacky beliefs.. most jws eventually leave the fold, only one third remain as we understand, so will any of the gb become pimo?.

no-zombie

While is possible that individuals of the Governing Body could become a PIMO, I think that the chances of it occurring quite low due to the personality type most of those who become upper management need to be. Clearly most CEOs are nihilistic sociopaths. And normal people, with a reasonable amount of human compassion do give up climbing the corporate ladder unless they were willing to sacrifice their friends, family, even their own personal health for the endorphins of power.

While some point toward Ray Franz as an example (and while I do personally appreciate the work he did latter in his life for all of us) the question must be asked, would he have stayed as a member of the Governing Body if he was not "outed" and my feeling is that he would have, as the books he wrote only were written after his disfellowshiping and in part, to self-justify what had happened to him.

I feel this way because most PIMOs ultimately leave on their own accord (while the time may vary) because the whole Witness way of life, ultimately drives them/us/me mad. And there is the tipping point ... where the pain of shunning becomes less than the mental turmoil that person has because of being 'in', when he or she comes to the conclusion that its time to go.

In the case of Ray Franz, If he had voluntary disassociated and then wrote his memoirs, then I believe he would have been at some time, a true PIMO. The additional advantage he would then had for himself and his books, would be through having the moral high ground, instead of being portrayed as a disgruntled individual or senile old man by Watchtower Society through the pages of the magazines.

27

Do You Think Jehovah’s Witnesses Really Believe They Are Living In The Time Of The End?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think they talk a good game and that’s about it..

no-zombie

While I made a small comment about this before, I think that its rather clear from the actions of the typical Witness that they don't really believe that Armageddon is imminent, rather I think that they are 'hoping' (at best) that it's coming soon. Why do I say this? Well, if a person really believed in something with 100% certainty, that person wouldn't have a plan 'B'. But we see the typical Witness go on regular holidays, take out mortgages and lead sort of normal lives, trying to enjoy both worlds. Of course, most Witnesses when asked say its just around the corner, but their lives really belie their claim.

On the other hand, whether Witnesses believe that they are living in the Last Days, I reckon most probably do. This is because, their simplistic understanding of world events and trends fit their belief structure. And in actuality, it a quite safe position because it mentally easy to attribute a disaster, a war or a savage crime, to this teaching. As compared to comprehend all the good in this world.

42

Discontinue unproductive bible study - jw broadcasting

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

https://tv.jw.org/#en/mediaitems/latestvideos/pub-ism_2_video.

interesting video explaining how to end a bible study.. watch the kind of uber behaviour of the witnesses: make a choice or we leave.... so hard, so not christian.

no love for the person.. g..

no-zombie

When I heard this recently at the meeting, my impression for the Governing Body's intent is to once again ramp up the fear factor in the brotherhood to underscore the nearness of Armageddon and to energize the field service activity.

However, the Governing Body is beating a dead horse (or rather two dead horses) in this regard. Firstly, the global territory is clearly drying up, with most western countries being symbolic dust bowls. but secondly and perhaps more importantly, the Brotherhood (in my circle at least) rarely talk about the nearness of Armageddon, nor do people chat about their dreams of living in panda-world. Most are just going through the motions of being a Witness, doing the least they can get a way with.

23

Reflecting On Death

by Charles Gillette in

jw
friends

reflecting on death.

i can't remember, maybe steve jobs before he died.i thought i would share it with you and see what you think about it, and i'm quoting i think from his book.. "i'm about fifty-fifty on believing in god.

for most of my life, i've felt that there must be more to our own existence than meets the eye.. i might be overestimating the odds 50/50 out of a desire to believe in an afterlife.

no-zombie

CG ... I'm not a young person myself any more and as I learn of the people I've grown up with in the various congregations I've been in die, I've had the same thoughts. While not believing in the Organization or any "Organized" religion any more, I still think about the small possibility of life after death every now and then. Whether it happens or not, I don't know but what is strangely comforting for me, is the inevitability of death. Why worry about something that I cannot change. Of course I look after my heath and try my best to delay when that may happen ... but one day it will. I guess when I think about it, the feelings that do wash over me is sadness ... sadness for what my children will feel when I'm gone and a kind of sadness for what I'll miss in the future. If this makes any sense.

12

Printed vs Produced

by Rattigan350 in

in the january 1, 2015 watchtower it says printing each issue 52,946,000 in 228 languages semimonthly.

in that 2016 #1 issue watchtower it says produced each issue 58,987,000 in 254 languages monthly.

what is the difference between printed and produced?.

no-zombie

I didn't mean that they had given the rights for others to print their literature. I was just talking about the possible differences between the usage of the words "printed" vs "produced". However I do remember a post a few years ago here, that forwarded an idea that commercially printed Watchtower magazines may actually be cheaper than Bethel versions due to the lower overheads.

12

Printed vs Produced

by Rattigan350 in

in the january 1, 2015 watchtower it says printing each issue 52,946,000 in 228 languages semimonthly.

in that 2016 #1 issue watchtower it says produced each issue 58,987,000 in 254 languages monthly.

what is the difference between printed and produced?.

no-zombie

In one context, printed magazines are those printed by the Organization ... whereas produced magazine can those printed by someone else but distributed by the Society. Just as the cars "produced" by Ford, GM or Toyota are assembled from parts (or whole) from other manufactures.

12

More Developments In Australia

by jonahstourguide in

some results of the royal commission in australia.

catholic church ellis defence scrapped in 'momentous day' for abuse survivorsby michelle brownposted about 2 hours ago john ellis speaks to the media outside the nsw supreme court.photo: john ellis, a former lawyer, tried to sue the catholic church for negligence (aap: paul miller)related story: nsw child abuse survivors to be allowed to sue churchesafter an 11-year battle, survivors of institutional child abuse locked out of suing for compensation will be able to launch civil claims from today.key points:the ellis defence prevented abuse survivors from suing unincorporated organisations including churches and other institutionsthe move to scrap it came after recommendations from the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.from today, an institution must nominate a defendant with sufficient assets to pay a survivor's claim.the so-called "ellis defence", which prevented abuse survivors from suing unincorporated organisations including churches and other institutions, is today abolished after the nsw government removed a legal road block.the move came after recommendations from the royal commission into institutional child sex abuse.john ellis, whose failed court of appeal case against the catholic church in 2007 gave rise to the defence, has praised the government's action.

"it's fantastic news," he told the abc.

no-zombie

While I'm not a lawyer by any means (nor a current Elder privy congregational arrangements), I do think that legally the Australia Branch doesn't know what to do. Relatively recently, Kingdom Halls/Congregations became individual charities, to no doubt separate Watchtower assets from the Branch. Similar to what has been done in other countries, as I understand.

The paperwork for maintaining these charities is renewed every year. However I heard a few days ago that our congregation was told to hold off on doing it. Whether its linked to the Ellis Defense and the commencement date for the liability of parent organizations to assume responsibility for congregational child abuse claims, I don't know. But it does seem suspicious to me. But if that is linked, then perhaps paying the government fees for continuing the 786 individual charities in the country, rather pointless.

Regardless, it does seems that playing the shell game is over in Australia, and the attempts to legally hide its assets by deflection is not going to work any more ... as once more onus returns back to the branch to provide compensation. This, plus the retrospective ruling will making things a lot harder for the Organization here, which will undoubted lead to more civil actions against it and more sell-offs. Which may even include the Branch complex, which effectively does nothing more that administrative tasks, due to the fact that its printing work has be assigned to Japan and the Design office to an South Sea Island country. 2019 might be rather interesting, in our land down under.

no zombie

17

'Serving where the need is greater' - who does it benefit?

by eyeslice2 in

jw
friends

we have recently been in asia on vacation, travelling to a number of countries in this part of the world.

whilst in thailand, my wife, totally pimo, wanted to go to the english speaking convention in bangkok.

although i haven't been active for a very long time, i went along with her.. the first thing that slightly surprised me was the attendance, well over 900. i hadn't expected that many but they were from all over the country, which is a pretty big place.

no-zombie

I know that its a little off topic but I noticed that here in Australia, quite a few kids going on religo-holidays.

This is were they make all this noise that they are going to serve where the need is great but is in fact its more like an adventure holiday and stay until their money runs out, which is normally 2 or 3 months. South America seem popular, as does Hong Kong. And when they come back, they get their 15 minutes of fame, recalling their hardships and experiences in the field.