Island Man

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Posts by Island Man

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  21

  KM - another evidence for the leaked letter

  by fastJehu in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the december kingdom ministry (km) is online.

  .

  no schedule for the first week in january 2016 - as in previous december kms.. so another evidence, that beginning with january 2016 the org will change the mid-week-meeting.. -----> download link: http://download.jw.org/files/media_publickm/72/km_e_201512.pdf.

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  Island Man

  Interestingly in the presentation section it gives options to offer 'this months offer of the Watchtower' or 'this months offer of the Awake'. I thought starting in January there would only be one of the magazines available and the other magazine being published and offered the next month.

  I think the intention is to release a new issue every month, That issue will rotate between being a Watchtower or an Awake. But remember, the issues will no longer be prominently dated. So even if, for example, the new magazine published in February is the Awake, publishers will still be offering the January Watchtower in the month of February. The intention is to have the magazines date-less - like pseudo-brochures. That way there will no longer be "back-issues" for publishers to discard because of being wary of placing an old magazine that shows its date by virtue of it being prominently printed on the cover.

  Watchtower knows that many magazines stay back and are wasted because of being back-dated. By making the magazines seemingly dateless, they hope to eliminate the "back-dated" stereotype so that much more magazines are placed and congs. monthly demands will thus reduce a bit, saving them on printing costs.

  But I suspect that this latest change is just a transition to another change - eliminating one of the magazines altogether and printing a single named magazine every month, or maybe printing a single 32-page quarterly - once every 3 months, maybe even with a new name that includes the word "quarterly" to make it sound meaty - which will effectively reduce their magazine printing by 33%, the equivalent of printing less than 11 pages per month!

  I suspect this to be the case because the latest change just seems too unorthodox to be a well thought-out long term adjustment. It seems more like an emergency stabilization/transition measure until they come up with a better long-term strategy.
  
  
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  312

  Mass disassociation pact...

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  any takers?

  we can pick a date and pull the plug?

  lol .

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  Island Man

  I just thought of something else that might be interesting to do. When discussing shunning of those who disassociate, the letter can also mention the United Nation's human rights article that deals with freedom of religion, to make the point that shunning violates the spirit of that human rights article. It would also present a good opportunity to mention the JWs' teaching that the U.N. is the wild beast of Revelation that will attack all the world's religions in the future. That bit will help the media to understand what a truly kooky and delusional cult, Watchtower is. Some might even contact the U.N. for comment. lol.
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  312

  Mass disassociation pact...

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  any takers?

  we can pick a date and pull the plug?

  lol .

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  Island Man

  I also want to make an important point regarding information sent to the media. When responding to the media, Watchtower will likely use "theocratic warfare" to deny or mask the whole truth regarding issues like shunning of those who disassociate.

  It's very important then that the media receive documented evidence from Watchtower's own literature, to substantiate the issues mentioned in the letter. That way the media will get to see that the protesters are speaking The Truth about The Truth, while Watchtower is behaving like a spinning politician.
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  312

  Mass disassociation pact...

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  any takers?

  we can pick a date and pull the plug?

  lol .

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  Island Man

  "Incorrect Doctrine"

  I would be very careful about highlighting this aspect for the simple reason that the bible is open to multiple interpretations and notions of what is correct or incorrect can be somewhat subjective.

  However, it can work well if the intention is to highlight how Watchtower's teachings have changed over the decades and continue to change, thus demonstrating that their policy of shunning those who openly disagree with a particular teaching not clearly and explicitly stated in the bible, and which is subject to change in the future, is grossly unreasonable and amounts to coercing members to conform to teachings purely for the sake of conforming.
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  312

  Mass disassociation pact...

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  any takers?

  we can pick a date and pull the plug?

  lol .

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  Island Man

  "Also the not given of names that Eden suggested is a good idea although they will use this & call us cowards " Unlike us who stand in full view & do not hide our faces, these cowards haven't even the courage to write their names. They do these things in secret because they are untrue"

  Yes they will likely say this. It is a good idea to think of as many of the common JW rebuttals as possible and address them in the letter. Make it as hard as possible for Watchtower to find something original to say in response. Regarding the allegation of cowardice it can be addressed in the letter by stating the reason why, maybe with something like this:

  "No doubt, you or others may be tempted to discredit what is stated in this letter by virtue of my anonymity, calling me a lying coward who refuses to give his name. I would not have to be a "coward" if this organization was truly benign - if this organization did not withhold a disassociating member's Jehovah's Witness family from him through the cruel and manipulative practice of shunning, as taught by Watchtower. It is precisely because this organization cruelly punishes those who leave, that I feel coerced to withhold my identity.

  My anonymity is thus an indictment of this organization as it exposes it as the real coward; the coward who is afraid to give members the freedom to disassociate without punishment; the coward who uses the threat of family shunning to coerce unwilling members into remaining as captives on its membership roll because it is afraid of losing many members if members are given true freedom of membership without the undue influence in the form of the threat of family shunning."

  
  

  
  
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  37

  Theocratic Ministry School . . . is still there AND longer?

  by warehouse in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i made a timeline based on the leaked letter, it is as follows:.

  edit: updated chart with color, because the html version was crap.

  so i know i might be crazy, but is the theocratic school still there, just called apply yourself to field ministry?

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  Island Man

  "The "gayest" part of the TMS is the part where a brother has to give a lowly "sister" part. It's soooo Gay!!!!!"

  What's wrong with being gay? Why are you using gay as a denigration? And what's wrong with a brother giving a sister part? Are you implying that women are beneath men and being gay is to be ridiculed? Tsk, tsk, tsk!
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  312

  Mass disassociation pact...

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  any takers?

  we can pick a date and pull the plug?

  lol .

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  Island Man

  I think it would also be a good idea to send a copy of the DA letters to the media. Get the media clued in to the fact that JWs and ex-JWs around the world are staging a protest action against Watchtower. Get the media to read some of the grievances that the letter protesters are citing. It would be a great way to share some brief nuggets of TTATT with the public and sensitize the public to the fact that Watchtower is a cult-like organization with controversy swirling around it just like Scientology and other manipulative organizations.

  The DA letters sent to the media should focus on the practical harmful policies of Watchtower such as poor handling and cover up of child abuse, shunning by family of members who leave the religion, the fanatical refusal of blood transfusions and the shunning of those who unrepentantly accept them, etc.
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  312

  Mass disassociation pact...

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  any takers?

  we can pick a date and pull the plug?

  lol .

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  Island Man

  I think it's a great idea. And for those who are awake but not in a position to actually disassociate why not send in an anonymous, unsigned disassociation letter - just as a way of making a statement.
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  8

  Need some links to pro-jw sites that mention, bethel lay offs and the leaked letter. thanks

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hi everyone i need some links to pro-jw sites that mention the letter to be read out and also about the bethel lay offs .

  can be face book or anything as long as it's for jehovahs kingdom, but mentions those 2 things.

  thanks guys.

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  Island Man

  Borean Pickets: Article: Jehovah Blesses Obedience- the B footnote

  Borean Pickets is not pro-JW.
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  15

  Facebook post by a JW on Pope & President & May 2012 WT

  by rosyray in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  long time no post.

  couldn't help myself when i saw this in my facebook feed.. .

  the caption that followed:.

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  Island Man

  Someone should get an old news picture of a Pope or other religious leader waving with a politician from a balcony - a picture that pre-dates the Watchtower issue. Then they can say that the Watchtower issue is not a prediction but merely a portrayal of a very probable occurrence that has happened before in the past.

  rosyray, you can do it without fear. Just try to come across as being a level-headed JW following the FDS's admissions of not being inspired prophets. Throw an ice cold cup of cold reality on their delusions of Watchtower prophecy. lol.