Posts by no-zombie

37

NO SUPPORT FOR EXJWS DRAFTED IN UKRAINE

by raymond frantz in

https://youtu.be/ulan2hhagz8?si=jpedzunzb5o_6axd.

here’s a cautionary tale for anyone counting on past ties with jehovah’s witnesses to dodge conscription: they’ll throw you under the bus faster than you can say “conscientious objector.” a man in ukraine learned this the hard way after refusing military service and hoping his old religious connections would save him.

spoiler alert—they didn’t.

no-zombie

I don't normally get involved in flame-wars, but if anyone can not see that the Dictator Putin and the FSB are the instigators and maintainers of the Ukrainian war, then such one know very little of how the USSR operated in the past like with in invasion of Czechoslovakia, how Russia operated in Chechnya and South Ossetia, nor do such ones see how Russia is operating in countries outside of Ukraine today.

Yes, I'm calling you out as dangerously ignorant.

Doubt what I'm saying talk to any Lithuanian, Estonian, Bulgarian or Fin on this topic for just a few minutes ... and they will set you straight.

26

What if JWs voted in elections?

by Las Malvinas son Argentinas in

all this political banter is exhausting, so i want to ask a question that has probably been asked before, so here it goes….

let’s try to keep this non-partisan - just give your opinion and why you think that way.. i’ll go first.

i think jws would generally lean to the right, but not by a whole lot.

no-zombie

Overall this is an interesting question, which could be answered one of two ways.

Firstly, we would have to ask if the Brotherhood as truly 'free' to vote, without the local branch providing 'recommendations' to faithful Christians. And if it was like that, I would imagine that the local branch would instruct Witnesses to vote for the political party, the political philosophy or the political candidate that offered the best set of kick-backs for the Organization. Which actually could change from country to country.

However If Witnesses were free to vote according to their own consciences, then I feel that most would vote for left or socialist parties because, as most of the Brothers are in the low income bracket, any direct and immediate financial support (as typically offered by these parties) would be highly desirable. In a similar vein, Witnesses are typically the kind of people who want instant help, rather than a people who would be happy to the government's long term strategic planing projects to help the economy, like the investing in ports, bridges or cleaning up the environment.

Thus ... not right, not center, not green ... but left political parties, would be my guess here.

72

Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

sad because these people expected to be lifers.

now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

no-zombie

There has been many Bethel staff purges over the decades, and so with their international army of lawyers, I'm sure that the Organization is covered against this kind of litigation.

I'm not saying that there might have been special cases where a very few exBethelites received a termination payment of some kind (like the case of our mysterious Brother Tony) however its highly unlikely that when some poor bastard from the printery get kicked out, that he'll get much more than pat on the back and a cardboard box for his belongings.

72

Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

sad because these people expected to be lifers.

now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

no-zombie

It's good that its happening this is happening. Why? Because these people who once thought they would be taken care of for life (those incidentally who would not hesitate in burning us at the stake) will very quickly become bitter and disillusioned ... and spread it into the congregations where they land.

Imagine a Bethelite wife who gave up her chance of having children and now having to live childless in some rented dump. She'll be letting other know how she feels, that's for sure.

But is it all the Organization's fault? Not really, as no promises were made and for them, its just a business decision. And besides, those Bethelites have had their kudos ... enjoying the title and privileges of being one.

It just didn't end up as they expected.

Welcome to the real world.

5

Distrust

by Gorb in

jw
friends

since the begin of this millennium, when i became pimo on the way to pomo, i started higher education and made some promotion that lead to a higher management position.. i'm a regional manager now, acting in a management team and stakeholder manager.. in this position, we do intense feedback, coaching trajects et cetera, that goes under the waterline.

a issue i have to deal with is distrust.

i made an analyse of myself and found out that i don't trust the intentions of many of my stakeholders.. i want to do something about this, to become a better person and making further progression.. could it be jw upbringing related?

no-zombie

Hi Gorby,

from my experience most professional people in the world are just trying to find their place in it. Yeh, I grant you that there are a lot of super-sized egos out there, but few who would deliberately stab you in the back. That being said, industries who measure people's working performance though KPIs (as compared to task competences) might be more susceptible to that kind of behavior.

my two cents worth.

20

Warwick sits on $70 billion?

by LaFrancia in

70,000 real estate properties at an average value of $100,000 and perhaps we can say (no one knows for sure) that warwick sits on $70 billion in real estate value.

in the video (deleted by jwborg but available on the avoid.jw website) of the 2018-19 coordinators' committee report (english) shown to all congregations at the mid-week meeting, we find several curious and interesting indications:.

- at minute 6.52 seconds you see some data .

no-zombie

Sorry to pop this bubble gentlemen, but whether it's 7 or 70 billion, it doesn't matter that much for two important reasons.

Firstly, the Governing Body can't sell them all because if they did, the Brotherhood would just evaporate, with no where to go.

And secondly, even if they were mortgaged, they would still have to manage the monthly repayments until their new investments turned a profit, which is easier said than done.

I grant you that it does sound very attractive, but leveraging a slow growth physical asset against the stock market ... is a recipe for an instantaneous implosion, with zero chance of recovery.

Doubt what I say ... then go mortgage your own home and try share trading. But the chances are, you'll be living in a tent within a year.

Besides that, has anyone considered what the Catholic Church is worth? Far more the 70 billion, I can tell you.

60

The Question of the "Great Apostasy" and the Historical Continuity of Christianity

by aqwsed12345 in

1. the continuity and visibility of the church.

the true church must be continuous from the apostolic age.

there is no room in christianity for a "gap" or interruption of thousands of years during which true christianity ceased to exist and then was revived in the form of another movement.

no-zombie

liam

You're are probably right. I'm a bit of a sucker though, on the issue of accountability ... that's my button unfortunately.

thanks

60

The Question of the "Great Apostasy" and the Historical Continuity of Christianity

by aqwsed12345 in

1. the continuity and visibility of the church.

the true church must be continuous from the apostolic age.

there is no room in christianity for a "gap" or interruption of thousands of years during which true christianity ceased to exist and then was revived in the form of another movement.

no-zombie

I's sorry to say ... but I have never read such BS reasoning in all my life. Saying that, if a Pope signs off on some horror, he simple looses his personal standing, but the Church remains unblemished, is plain stupid. Every Witness (and ex-Witness) here fully holds OUR organization accountable for its sins ... because every person or religion that claims a connection with God must be accountable for their actions. Its a fundamental tenet of the Bible.

As a result, its clear that you (aqwsed12345) believe that its possible to white wash the sins of your church away, as you no real understanding of justice at all.

152

Do JWs believe Jesus is an angel?

by slimboyfat in

i would suggest:.

the short answer is yes.. the longer answer is a qualified yes, with some caveats.

the short answer is yes because jehovah’s witnesses teach that jesus is michael the archangel, their leader, eldest and most powerful, and have taught this since the very beginning of the religion.

no-zombie

I would say yes ... for these simple reason.

In the Bible, every time we read of a regular angel, archangel, a cherub or seraph, we understand that these are role descriptors ... were only 'Michael' is used as a proper name. In either case, we have to come to the conclusion that all spirit creatures (a side from God) are all 'angels', as its a term to describe the nature of their metaphysical lifeforms.

Some may vary in power, but that's ok ... just as Arnold Schwarzenegger and you are still called 'human'.

17

Setting the record straight. CSA report in New Zealand

by joe134cd in

ok i just want to officially set the record straight about the report of csa in new zealand.

i have a pimo relative who lives in nz.

as far as public awareness, with regard to the jws, it was basically a big nothing burger.

no-zombie

I think that ultimately it doesn't matter whether or not this investigation makes waves inside NZ congregations. I had my doubts that it would, judging by the lack luster response by Australian Brothers and Sister over theirs. No, what does matter though ... or what is good about it, is the dollar cost the Organization has lost in fighting it. That money is not coming back and it will mean more Kingdom Hall closures or more begging for funds. And those are things that the Brotherhood does see and react too.