Pets and hobbies were very specifically mentioned in the "idolatry" talk, inferring that these could be a distraction, on par and in line with idolatry.
Tech49
JoinedPosts by Tech49
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Is the GB against JWs having pets?
by NAVYTOWN indoes anyone know what was said at the recent ras about jws owning pets?
was it discouraged strongly?
hopefully jw pet owners will tell the organization to f-off!
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Tech 49: the 3 F's...Fading, Field Service, and Friends
by Tech49 inhere we are, the family and i, moving along in our slow journey to freedom.
although they are unaware, for the most part, our ship is slowly veering off course.
not enough to cause attention, not enough to trigger alarm bells, but just enough.. since the summer dc, i have watched carefully, as the new releases remain on the coffee table, in plain sight, not touched, more of a decoration that anything.
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Tech49
Hampersterbait, after reflecting on your comment for a bit.....you are 100% correct. I AM resentful, and bent out of shape a little bit that they have left us alone. I will admit it, freely.
But you see, therein lies the hypocrisy. They arent "supposed" to leave you alone. They arent doing their HolySpirit-Appointed job. And THAT is what makes me angry...the pure hypocrisy, sillyness, and stupidity of it all. If you dont serve the interests of, and cower in front of the congregation, or the elders, or the organization as a whole, then you are nothing.
Myself and my family are not DF, or DA, no JC, or restrictions, or anything.... we just "do less". We do what we want, when we want. That's it! Still, its enough out of "line" to be labeled as "lacking spiritually", or "non-appreciative of spiritual provisions". Gag.
Sure, it still hurts. Especially after so many years being a "front man" myself. Thats what conditional approval for so many years does to a person's psyche. People who claim to be the "happiest people in the world", or the "most loving brotherhood ANYWHERE"... they are not, and they dont. I know I am not alone in this observation. They honestly dont know HOW to be real friends, or even to REALLY care in a way that goes beyond the obvious.
There are a few families that I really do/did care about. And now, they continue to just be busy with whatever WT tells them, and they are oblivious to the reality surrounding them. Gotta go pass out more "god-given" district convention invites! (Last week, at the Service Meeting, the elder giving the part said that G-HOVAH PROVIDED THESE FINE INVITATIONS FOR US TO USE!!) No time for social activities!
I guess its all part of the process though. Do I care what the elders do? Not as much as I used to, and less and less every day. Someday soon, I wont care at all. Its all a part of rebuilding myself, and continuing this journey wherever it may take me and my family.
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Tech 49: the 3 F's...Fading, Field Service, and Friends
by Tech49 inhere we are, the family and i, moving along in our slow journey to freedom.
although they are unaware, for the most part, our ship is slowly veering off course.
not enough to cause attention, not enough to trigger alarm bells, but just enough.. since the summer dc, i have watched carefully, as the new releases remain on the coffee table, in plain sight, not touched, more of a decoration that anything.
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Tech49
I thought about this post, and wanted to share a several little gems that I feel goes along with the general theme discussed earlier.
Recently, at a weeknight meeting, the CO told us this: (I wrote it down, it was so crazy...) "If we arent at the meetings, we are showing our family and our brothers that we don't care about them."
In the same talk, he RAKED the congregation over for its meeting attendance, a whopping 40% during the week, only a little better on the weekends. So the next meeting, his Sunday talk, meeting attendance was WAAAAAY up. However, next Tuesday, after he left, it was back down to normal. About half the servant body gone too.
Apparently, they dont care about their families or their brothers either!
Secondly, it just amazes me how conditional and fickle "friendships" can be. I have probably mentioned this before, as have many others. Just as soon as they dont see your face darken the doorway of a particular window-less building in the area (the KH), suddenly its as if you are invisible. Elders and servants cant be bothered to even join you for dinner! Just too busy, they say! Not long ago, several got it into their minds that our home was a convenient "potty break" spot while out in the field. They started just dropping by, and knocking on the door, asking to pee!
My lovely Vic got tired of that after about the second time.... these pretentions folks have the nerve to ask to piss in your toilet, but can't just be a friend and check up on you if you arent seen for a while? Or accept your dinner invites? She told them to call first next time... so they did, and she said NO. Oh my gal! She's a hoot!
Anyways, carry on.
Jack Harper, Tech49
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Complete list of how "The Watchtower" make money
by usualusername ini have been reading this forum for umpteen years and have heard of so many ways that the watchtower is making money.. .
would you mind contributing to help me compile a list?.
to start:.
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Tech49
Long ago: "Mandatory" parking tickets at the District Convention.... Tacoma Dome, Washington, USA
More recently: Disaster zones, rebuilding the brother's homes for "free", then sticking their hands out for the insurance check.
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The Books are Cooked: Grossly Misleading chart and graphic
by Tech49 inare the charts and number graphics you see in the wt and awake articles factual?
or are they misleading?.
many have already discussed how verses, quotes, and facts are cherry-picked to fit a particular situation.. i came across another blatant misrepresentation of facts, in a grossly misleading chart-graphic.
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Tech49
Here is yet another example of misleading charts/graphics, pure scemantics to make the "increase" look INCREDIBLE !!! :
In this weeks Study Edition of the WT, April 2014, inside the cover, we have a brief overview of the country of TURKEY.
Population: 75.6million
Publishers: 2,312
Bible Studies: 1,632
Publisher/Public Ratio: 1:32,711
And then there is this little sentence: Since 2004 the number of Regular Pioneers in Turkey has increased by 245% !
Praise G-hova !!
That sounds INCREDIBLE !! Surely Holy Spirit is making the work increase like WILDFIRE !!!
Wait, Look again, oh all ye faithful.
Let's take just a second to look at the figures, and in particular the last sentence. The 2014 YB shows the stats for service year 2013, there were a total of 278 Regular Pioneers. Quick math will show you that, without having a 2004 YB on hand, there would have been about 113 Regular Pioneers in 2004. So over 10 years, an increase of 165 or so. Ok, so then why dont they just say that? Why must we use a different number to make things look EVEN BIGGER!!? We know the answer. It's all scemantics, using a twisted reality to make things look shiny and brighter than they really are!
The bigger question I immediately had, was WHERE IS THE INCREASE? For 75.6 MILLION people in Turkey (roughly about 1/4 the population of the USA), and with only 29 congregations of 81 publishers each (on average, according to the 2014 YB)? A quick comparison would be like having just over 100 congregations in all of the USA....
What is everyone doing? Look at that publisher ratio..... 1 witness for every 32,711 people !!!?? Isn't that a HUGE territory? Shouldnt it be a land RIPE with increase, given the population of worldlings, those just BEGGING for someone to show them the path to TRUE HAPPINESS!?? In this modern day society, why isnt there a REAL increase in Turkey? (I dont have the answer, just wondering out loud...)
True, Turkey has only legally recognized JW's since 2007, but there have been "pioneers" there for over a hundred years.!
Apparently, G-Hovah doesnt like Turkey as much as the rest of us.....
Jack Harper, Tech49
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CONGREGATION FLEECING RESULTS?
by The Searcher inhow much did your congregation and its bank account get taken for?
share your horror story!.
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Tech49
$650/month over here, is the amount the congregation has pledged to send every month. No lump sum, as we dont have but about $3,000 in the bank right now.
The part that gets me though, is that we typically send around $400/month to the WWW, and about another $50 to the KHFund. Some months the friends dont contribute enough funds to cover the few bills we do have, and we pull from the small balance that remains, ending in a "deficit" to the contributions. So now we will be sending MORE?
I think the "pledges" were a great sparkling hope, one that will die quickly as reality sets in. The 75 (at best) in attendance every week will NOT be able to keep up. I see a LOCAL NEEDS talk coming in the next 6 months, when the cash flow dries up.
All I heard was... " HOW WONDERFUL this new arrangement is.... I mean we will need new carpet and roofing and landscaping SOON, and how WONDERFUL it is to not worry about where the funds will come from!!!"
Oh boy, are they going to be in for a shocker...
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Midweek Meetings no longer Necessary
by Tech49 ini am sure we have all seen the recent letter to the boe concerning the change that will take place to the meeting arrangement during the week of the co visit.
to recap the basics: the meeting that usually contains the cong bible study (book study) and a co talk will be discontinued, publishers are encouraged to use their family worship night that week to cover book study material.. so here is a point that i think has been missed, or not even considered:.
if that particular meeting is hereby deleted from the schedule, the co and his wife will never ever have to participate in or go to another "book study", or "bible study" night again.
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Tech49
I dont want my original point to be lost: this new "arranagement" is a direct statement speaking to the lack of importance of the weekday meeting, as demonstrated by your fearless leaders in the GB... If it was important, they would keep it during the week of the CO visit. If it is so unimportant as to justify scrapping it and the accompanying talk by the CO, why should anyone attend the first 30 minutes of the meeting night any other week? If the CO and his wife NEVER have to attend the Bible Study portion again, why does anyone else?
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Midweek Meetings no longer Necessary
by Tech49 ini am sure we have all seen the recent letter to the boe concerning the change that will take place to the meeting arrangement during the week of the co visit.
to recap the basics: the meeting that usually contains the cong bible study (book study) and a co talk will be discontinued, publishers are encouraged to use their family worship night that week to cover book study material.. so here is a point that i think has been missed, or not even considered:.
if that particular meeting is hereby deleted from the schedule, the co and his wife will never ever have to participate in or go to another "book study", or "bible study" night again.
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Tech49
I am sure we have all seen the recent Letter to the BOE concerning the change that will take place to the meeting arrangement during the week of the CO visit. To recap the basics: The meeting that usually contains the Cong Bible Study (Book Study) and a CO talk will be discontinued, publishers are encouraged to use their Family Worship night that week to cover Book Study material.
So here is a point that I think has been missed, or not even considered:
If that particular meeting is hereby deleted from the schedule, the CO and his wife will NEVER EVER have to participate in or go to another "Book Study", or "Bible Study" night again. They will not be considering the material with the congregation. The brothers and sisters will not get to hear their insight, or thoughts on the material being presented.
So by extension, why does anyone else need to attend? Can't we all reflect on the material privately? If its not important enough to warrant a meeting that week for the rank and file, and not important enough for the CO and his wife to EVER be a part of on a congregation level, then why bother?
Second point: I thought that the purpose of the CO visit was to encourage and get to know the congregation, to be a part of it, to show kindness and consideration, to be a real breath of fresh air to the brothers and sisters, to the families that work hard just to make a living? So how are they supposed to do that in 1 jam-packed night a week, with wana-be elders and ministerial servants breathing down their necks and vying for positions and appointments, and another ultra-jam-packed Sunday meeting where the CO does his best to hurry up and get the hell out of town while he has some time for himself before the next congregation requires his attention? Sounds to me like they are cutting cutting cutting at the expense of the flock (big surprise, right?). So its a 30% cut in meeting times, and opportunities for average folks to take advantage of the "grand spiritual banquet" that is so lovingly provided for them. How is that loving? Arent we continually admonished to "not forsake the gathering together"?
(of course, the obvious fallacy in all this, is the belief that these "grandios ones" are really that effective and encouraging in the first place anyway..)
My personal feelings are that eventually the "Congregation Bible Study" will be done away with entirely, and relegated to "personal study time". Its already a rush-rush hurry-up 30 minute Q&A as it is.
Yours truly,
Jack Harper, Tech49
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BOE: Re: Midweek meetings during visit of circuit overseer
by pixel inyou read it here first!.
to all congregations.
re: midweek meetings during visit of circuit overseer .
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Tech49
So heres an interesting point that I havent heard yet....if the Congregation Bible Study meeting is now cancelled on the week of the CO visit....that means that the CO and his wife NEVER will have to attend a formal meeting to discuss the material on a congregation level. It is ok for them to study it privately. I thought that the purpose of their visit was to encourage and build up the brothers, to get to know the congregations. Pretty hard to do that with 1 evening meeting, ya think?
So then, by extension, "evidently", is it ok for everyone else to skip that part of the meeting, on "regular" weeks, as well? What happened to "not forsaking the gathering of one another?"
Tech49
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Tech49
Ha! I agree, that photo is NOT of their meeting room. That photo is staged to show their humble digs, $129 plastic office chairs, in a small little conference room. Even that photo above, depicting them at the other conference table, is so far from reality it is just silly.
When I visited 2 years ago, I got an insider tour, and was in the "Most Holy" conference room, in the Service Department. Yes, there is an ENORMOUS wood table, worth easily $50k. There are probably 20 chairs around it, each a HUGE leather monstrosity, easily worth $1200 each. There is a flat screen TV/Monitor on the wall that is at LEAST a 96", with remote wireless computer hooked up to it. I was told that NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, gets to see that room, unless you are there for a very specific reason.
Edit for P.S....... we were NOT allowed to photograph anything beyond the standard tour. On the flat screen monitor, they had GOOGLE EARTH pulled up, with a display showing EVERY SINGLE Circuit Overseer in the WORLD. If you zoomed in on him, it showed his congregation/territory. Kinda cool, kinda little bit creepy. Some big wig came in while we were in there, frowned alot, asked why we were being shown this room, grumbled something, and went on his way.
Staged photos, make-believe statistics, its all for show.
Tech49