Posts by DJS

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

DJS

@Viv: " . . . . .then he will get to go to orgies full of beautiful women that totally really absolutely happen."

Umm, you do know who you are talking to, don't you?

Of course you do.

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

@ John Mann: "We belong to an ancient kind of knowledge. One that have been around since the dawn of consciousness and it will be around until the end of times. We wrote the Bible, Viviane. The most influential book in human history. We are not afraid of any ideology from this world. We created your precious science. Even the language used by science is ours. We use science to achieve our task to name every specie so it must be in our holy language.

We call ourselves Ecclesia. And we know something about you."

I can't make up my mind. Is JM more of a bible writer (THAT certainly explains a lot), a yoda/obi wan (the Force, Luke) or is he just that creepy cop from Fried Green Tomatoes threatening Idgy (Viv)? I vote for the creepy cop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rWs4JBCqG8

29

dealing with religion after leaving the witnesses

by joker in

i’ve noticed many people posting on this site seem to have completely given up on religion/spirituality.. but some have attended services at another religion, or just follow their own heart regarding what to believe.. my question is how does anyone deal after leaving with all of the witness crap that we believed about babylon the great, the great harlot, spiritual prostitute, etc., etc.

i’m finding out that i seem to have built myself a pretty solid wall regarding religion.. some people can just chuck all beliefs into one basket saying that they are all basically garbage,,, and that is ok, no problem i respect that.. but for myself there is a certain part of my personality that needs a spiritual belief not like the witnesses in any way, but something to meditate on, and contemplate.. being a witness taught me how bad it is to actually think of god in any other way besides what the jw’s believe.

and now when i attend any other service, the dark jw side seems to pop out and seriously makes me believe that everything i see/do/say is wrong.

DJS

@joker: "Some people can just chuck all beliefs into one basket saying that they are all basically garbage,,,"

"Some People" can probably do anything. I don't know ANY atheists who fit your description. As for this atheist, as I've pointed out many times previously, my atheism was the result of a very long (decades) sojourn that included the time I was in the DarkTower. After I left the cult I continued my research, meditation, reflection, evaluation, and study of life, religion, god, and the bible.

It was only after many, many years and thousands of hours of contemplation that I arrived at the conclusion that religion is a man-made construct which grew out of the needs of humans to deal with all the hardships and heartaches that we experience. Life, for 100,000 years, for humans has been difficult; it's amazing we are still around.

Perhaps there are 'some people' who can chuck all their beliefs in an instant, as you say. I don't know anyone fitting that description. I don't know anyone who has 'given up' on god or religion. It's about the evidence. My atheism was calm, rational and well-thought out. Chucking and giving up had nothing to do with it.

Geesh. When are you all going to 'get it'? (Answer: When you stop projecting your emotional, irrational views and feelings onto others - in this case atheists).

28

Farewell

by WITNESS-FOR-WATCHTOWER-REFORM in

due to unforeseen circumstances, i need to say goodbye.

proverbs 14:16 nlt.

i have every faith that the governing body of jehovah's witnesses will bring about needed change very soon given the continuous pressure they face.

DJS

Hmmm,

Why would someone who has been on the site for only a few months, posted infrequently and the primary objective of his/her posts has been to point out how corrupt the DarkLords make an exit OP about going back to the Dark Lords rather than simply slip away silently in the night?

? Hmmm.

182

Major congregational quake in Southern California

by Hecce in

this notice is not official yet and it should be confidential until released thru the proper channels.

a friend of mine told me about a huge elders meeting in southern california.

the subject was the relocation and dissolution of some congregations; it seems that this is the result of some project that has been going on for some time and is going to be implemented right now.. please let me know if this is happening all over the country?.

DJS

Musings and reflections from an analyst (Me):

This site seems to come alive with any mention, regardless of how weak the proof, that the DarkLords are experiencing financial, legal or influential decline. Having said that, the data suggest that all religions, including the DarkTower, are indeed experiencing decline. Thank you. Internet (ty Jimmy Fallon).

Businesses, families and yes even churches typically suffer from something called decisional inertia. They are hesitant to make any changes to the status quo, even when the data suggests they should, until they have to - and sometimes it is too late to 'right' the ship. This is attributed to human nature: things will continue as they always have, because that is what they know and expect. And there is always the chance that changing anything will upset the apple cart and the data will prove to be inaccurate.

The DarkLords are no different. They have clearly been slow on the uptake to understand the power of the world wide web, including the power to shine an unwanted light of revelation on the stupidity of religions. All religions (when your underpinnings are "god is with me but not with thee" what can you expect?)

That they are finally embracing the www suggests that somewhere along the line these geniuses figured out the www was kicking their collective asses and it was better to join them if you can't fight them.

Since my brief stay on this site there have been dozens of OPs suggesting imminent failure of the DarkTower. Or at least suggesting stark, immediate decline. There has been evidence presented that would support this, such as the elimination of the DO, closing and combining assembly halls and KHs, RIFFing (reductions in force) the rank and file from the various Bethels, fewer and smaller publications, etc.

Religious entities are famous for thinking that god will continue to bless their activities until they are looking at the free fall in front of them. And even then they proceed full throttle.

Until she doesn't. And then, can I get an amen to the numerous biblical references, they typically blame the issue to some failure in their loyalty to god. Or some such nonsense. And they typically re-double their efforts to strictly worship the goddess, which means the rank and file must be beaten and sacrificed to appease the angry goddess. Bitch.

From a strictly business standpoint, closing 'non-productive' or 'unprofitable' franchises is a no brainer. If one considers the DarkTower franchises are nothing but regional distribution centers then closing lots of these and combining them into one mega-hall makes financial sense.

It also makes sense in other ways, such as establishing the corporation as a meaningful, powerful, enterprise level entity capable of playing with the big boys and on an international scale. The Mormons have known this for decades. Travel to any state and you will find that Mormon 'halls' are few and far between. But the ones that exist are very large and functional. In my travels to several W US states, the nicest (and greenest) buildings were often Mormon churches. I've seen the same thing with mosques in the ME, although the concept of the community mosque is still alive and well. (Some ME mosques will blow your fukking mind they are so big and amazing, but they aren't really designed for the rank and file).

Closing and combining KHs reeks of Mormonism. It also strongly suggests a broken financial and growth paradigm in need of serious and immediate change. Churches don't fix what aint' broken. Of course, based on what I see on this site, the DarkLords will build pathetic, unimpressive KHs with the funds, so they will miss the opportunity to show the world they are relevant by real estate. Those cheap bastards.

This is also predicted based on their reezin for beezin. They don't give a rats ass about the health and well being of the sheep; their regional distribution centers exist for one purpose and only one purpose:

To spread their infection.

I'm not at all surprised the DarkLords are asking for publisher data; the only thing surprising is that they didn't do this a decade ago when the mene, mene, tekel and parsin was all over the wall (see comment re: decisional inertia).

Another thing the DarkLords aren't considering - or aren't' giving enough consideration - is what SlimBoyFat has stated - closing KHs and making the pubs travel is one of the best fading strategies EVER. The DarkLords HAVE to know this, but are moving forward anyway.

Another issue of relevance is that a lot of recent studies show that mega churches can reinvigorate the sheep by creating a much larger reason for their be-sin as well as resources for all sorts of things that small churches simply cannot provide. Of course the DarkLords are missing one important component in this process: the mega-church will likely only succeed if those resources needed and desired by the sheep are included. Good luck with that.

So there. Lots of stuff to consider, and I would not doubt that they have run the numbers and realize the child abuse cases in the queue have the potential to bring them to their knees.

And that's where they belong.

7

Greetings

by jeanniebeanzz in

jw
friends

it's been some time.

wondering if anyone remembers me from the 'old days'.

:).

DJS

There's free beer? WTF. Why am I just finding about about this?

Welcome back Ms Beanzz. And your little dog, too.

22

Being nice to LGBTQ people is an affront to god?

by Viviane in

this should be titled "jerks for jesus afraid of their own shadow, sexuality".

seriously, someone thinks that a video on how to be nice to people different from him is an affront to his god.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/federal-worker-would-rather-be-fired-than-watch-lgbt-diversity-video-god-doesnt-want-me-to-see-it/.

DJS

Good for you EOM. if everyone was as decent as you there would be no need for diversity training.

22

Being nice to LGBTQ people is an affront to god?

by Viviane in

this should be titled "jerks for jesus afraid of their own shadow, sexuality".

seriously, someone thinks that a video on how to be nice to people different from him is an affront to his god.

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/federal-worker-would-rather-be-fired-than-watch-lgbt-diversity-video-god-doesnt-want-me-to-see-it/.

DJS

And STAY OFF EOM"s lawn!

EOM, cultural diversity is being practiced by corporations that includes everyone you mention. Google it. Not only is it the right thing to do, it leads to a more profitable and successful business, based on numerous studies.

It has become a part of the HR and corporate expectations for employees. You can lose your job for not going along, and legally you don't have much recourse.

There are other consequences. Just ask Donald Silver, Duck Dynasty Dude, and the Governors of NC and Indiana.

127

So......Obama IS a US citizen after all?!

by Black Man in

jw
friends

april 27th, 201110:06 am etobama releases long-form birth certificateposted by:cnn white house producer shawna shepherd.

by cnn's alan silverleib.

washington (cnn) the white house released copies of president barack obama's original long-form birth certificate wednesday, seeking to put an end to persistent rumors that he was not born in theunited states.. "we do not have time for this kind of silliness," obama told reporters at the white house.. obama's long-form birth certificate [pdf].

DJS

%LRG,

All apologies for the reference. I'm clearly confusing you with someone else.

BUT, and it's a big but (I like big buts and I cannot lie), The Donald is the king of conspiracy theorists.

It is a label he richly deserves, regardless of one"s political, or sexual, persuasion.

It is one of the reasons he plays well in the heartland.

Again, mea culpa for confusing you with someone else.

127

So......Obama IS a US citizen after all?!

by Black Man in

jw
friends

april 27th, 201110:06 am etobama releases long-form birth certificateposted by:cnn white house producer shawna shepherd.

by cnn's alan silverleib.

washington (cnn) the white house released copies of president barack obama's original long-form birth certificate wednesday, seeking to put an end to persistent rumors that he was not born in theunited states.. "we do not have time for this kind of silliness," obama told reporters at the white house.. obama's long-form birth certificate [pdf].

DJS

@LittleRockGuy: "Obama supporters and the mainstream media uses the term "conspiracy theorists" and "birthers" as buzzwords like the Watchtower Society uses the terms "apostates", which makes sense since both have cult followers."

Ouchie. That's gonna leave a mark. So witty. So creative. Cruel man, just cruel. Don't you have something better to do? Like hate on some gays? Or is that hit on some gays? I can't remember.