truthseeker

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Posts by truthseeker

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  20

  Help: project to gather statistics on JW congregation finances.

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many countries demand that charities publish a yearly summary of their finances.. where i live (netherlands), charities must publish these statements themselves, and jw do this at jw-anbi.nl.

  (i'm quite certain almost no jw knows about that site btw.).

  anyway i've been working on automatically harvesting data from all the congregation finance statements to gain more insight in how the borg is doing over time.. now it occured to me that i could do this analysis for more countries and get an even bigger picture.

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  truthseeker

  Anders check your pm
  
• 
  62

  Enjoyed the Memorial

  by ScottyRex in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  probably not a popular opinion on here....and haven't been actively attending meetings since 1988....(i know i know a submarine attender) however thoroughly enjoyed attending this evening...was good to see lots of people i remember whilst growing up in this faith, they were genuine and the whole atmosphere was one of love.

  sure if i suddenly wanted to become active again and didn't change my lifestyle they would drop me like a bomb.....however i haven't and won't and they didn't and don't.

  this works for me.. i cannot demonize the witnesses on what i have seen tonight.

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  truthseeker

  My last Memorial was in 2009. They didn't even attempt to love bomb me.

  In any case, none of it is real. It's an illusion based on getting you to conform.
  
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  20

  Help: project to gather statistics on JW congregation finances.

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many countries demand that charities publish a yearly summary of their finances.. where i live (netherlands), charities must publish these statements themselves, and jw do this at jw-anbi.nl.

  (i'm quite certain almost no jw knows about that site btw.).

  anyway i've been working on automatically harvesting data from all the congregation finance statements to gain more insight in how the borg is doing over time.. now it occured to me that i could do this analysis for more countries and get an even bigger picture.

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  truthseeker

  I also update when congregations close, are disbanded or Kingdom Halls are sold off.

  I have the annual accounts report for each congregation.

  What's interesting is the legacies left to the congregations - in almost all cases, legacies are sent from the congregation directly to WT HQ.
  
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  20

  Help: project to gather statistics on JW congregation finances.

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many countries demand that charities publish a yearly summary of their finances.. where i live (netherlands), charities must publish these statements themselves, and jw do this at jw-anbi.nl.

  (i'm quite certain almost no jw knows about that site btw.).

  anyway i've been working on automatically harvesting data from all the congregation finance statements to gain more insight in how the borg is doing over time.. now it occured to me that i could do this analysis for more countries and get an even bigger picture.

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  truthseeker

  Anders,

  I have the stats for the UK. I periodically update the spreadsheet.

  Truthseeker
  
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  15

  Serving where the need is great or serving where their needs are great?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have any of you come across this rare breed of jw?.

  i know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a caribbean island where he is an active jw and then he flies back to his home european country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again.

  he is an active jw in his home country.. he's not a missionary and has never been to gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s.

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  truthseeker

  I think in a way it makes leaving more problematic as you surround yourself with friends who love Jehovah and you're literally living the dream life, not just going to work and meetings but living the life you've built.
  
• 
  15

  Serving where the need is great or serving where their needs are great?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have any of you come across this rare breed of jw?.

  i know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a caribbean island where he is an active jw and then he flies back to his home european country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again.

  he is an active jw in his home country.. he's not a missionary and has never been to gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s.

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  truthseeker

  Thank you for sharing your experience Zindag. It's very interesting.

  Yes, he had to learn Spanish and is fluent in it and helps on quick builds in the island and has bible studies etc. I often used to wish he would wake up and see that he's in a cult but perhaps he's better off in it because he's built a whole lifestyle around "the truth" - he would be devastated if he found out it was all a lie because everything would be a lie including the reason he went there in the first place.
  
• 
  15

  Serving where the need is great or serving where their needs are great?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  have any of you come across this rare breed of jw?.

  i know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a caribbean island where he is an active jw and then he flies back to his home european country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again.

  he is an active jw in his home country.. he's not a missionary and has never been to gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s.

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  truthseeker

  Have any of you come across this rare breed of JW?

  I know a brother who spends 9 months of the year living in a Caribbean Island where he is an active JW and then he flies back to his home European country for 3 months to work and save up so he can fly back out again. He is an active JW in his home country.

  He's not a missionary and has never been to Gilead though he attended pioneer school back in the '90s. He's been doing this routine for a number of years. He's in his early 40s, unmarried and childless; though he has come close to tying the knot on a couple of occasions. He's not a bad looking chap and I find it odd that he's still single in his 40s. He grew up in the truth and he's fairly popular in JW circles. He is fiercely loyal to the org but has often sported an unkempt beard.

  To my knowledge, he is not an appointed man, because he does not stay in the same congregation all year round. The fact that he has to fly back to his home country to work and save up just to fly back again means either he can't afford to live there all year round or he doesn't have residency rights to live there permanently.

  A friend and I were talking about this and my friend says he is away from scrutiny and can pretty much do what he likes as long as he goes to meetings and preaches. He has quite a following on Facebook and Instagram.

  It's a strange, if somewhat enjoyable lifestyle, surrounded by sun, sand and sea and able to travel as he pleases and be an active JW but not have any position in the org because he's not in the congregation all year round.

  I sometimes wonder if the friends who go abroad to serve "where the need is great" are not simply going because "their needs are great."

  Truthseeker
  
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  4

  Gorby's generations

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  gorby's hobby is searching his family history.. since last week we found new information.

  family goes with a direct link back now to frisian royalty and goes back to 1245. .

  one of the family members was advisor of karl v and others were founders of the earlier netherlands state.. so, that's a lot better then the jw.org overlapping generations 😁😁😁.. g..

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  truthseeker

  This is my hobby too Gorby. The story passed down through our family is that we were descended from the Earl of Northumbria though I have not been able to find a definite link.
  
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  340

  Calling Cofty and others regarding evolution

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i have started down the path of trying to understand evolution, and to get the linear lies that the jws planted in my head out of it.

  i bought an audiobook called "evolution: what the fossils say and why it matters" by donald prothero.

  i heard it recommended on an atheist podcast that i listened to.

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  truthseeker

  Cofty,

  What are your opinions on this article?
  
  More than 1,000 scientists sign ‘dissent from Darwinism’ statement

  “A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism” is a simple, 32-word statement that reads: “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

  https://www.thecollegefix.com/more-than-1000-scientists-sign-dissent-from-darwinism-statement/
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  44

  Big Announcement in Montreal

  by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just got the heads up from montreal that 16 congregations will cease to exist from 1 april 2019. also 3 kh are no longer going to be used anymore.

  this was a major announcement for many and upsetting.

  wonder where the r& f are going to be dispersed with what sacrifices in the way!.

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  truthseeker

  JW GoneBAd,

  Maybe this is what they mean by the Memorial Season being a "special month of activity!"