Posts by TTATTelder

23

FAITH is another word for OPINION

by Terry in

i strive to understand things by standing in a different spot and looking again.

i like to recontextualize things everybody seems to accept automatically and comfortably.. why?

to be able to see it for the first time, again.. .

TTATTelder

As a side point, where I am from in my corner of the U.S, when people say "So and so is a man of faith or a women of faith" they typically are saying that he or she is a religious person with morals or ethics. It is their way of saying that the person is a good/decent individual.

Personally I think saying "So and so is a person of true character or ethics" would carry more weight.

In many circles religious people are assumed to be more ethical because the person supposedly answers to a prescribed moral code.

We on this forum typically know that a person can be far more ethical as a non-religious person, but that is not necessarily the norm.

I think people assume (especially religious people) that if they dont know what your "moral code" is then you either must not have one (heathen) or have one that is inferior. This is ignorance at its best of course, but there are a lot of ignorant people out there.

Interesting post Terry.

I get what you're saying about "Person of Opinion" in actuality meaning more than "Person of Faith" because at least opinions are real. When I read "Person of Opinion", though, I hear "Opinionated" and my feeble little brain can't get past it. LOL. Oh well maybe I'm just tired. Night Night.

-TE

16

UNDERSTANDING money and the history of the Watch Tower

by Terry in

today the watch tower corp. is changing a long-standing policy in regard to donations which had been in place a long, long time.. to understand the original policies (about money) and the changed (new policy) we have to take a peek into the past.. .

i don't want to bog you down in history.

you can research on your own using google.. here are salient facts.. _________________________________________________.

TTATTelder

I have seen the pictures of the new digs for the WT and they do seem flashy to me. - nonjwspouse

I haven't seen any pics yet, but with the new luxury-property purchase in Wales recently, I can believe it.

They will probably not be able to resist throwing their billions around in the coming years, especially with the constant reduction of expenses.

-TE

16

UNDERSTANDING money and the history of the Watch Tower

by Terry in

today the watch tower corp. is changing a long-standing policy in regard to donations which had been in place a long, long time.. to understand the original policies (about money) and the changed (new policy) we have to take a peek into the past.. .

i don't want to bog you down in history.

you can research on your own using google.. here are salient facts.. _________________________________________________.

TTATTelder

Thanks Terry.

I never knew Rutherford was Russell's lawyer. I guess I missed that along the way.

This organization has been "big business" from the start.

They have done a pretty good job of not getting too flashy with it (besides Rutherford's mansion and cars), but it is always a focus. The GB like the security of sitting atop billions today, and so do all the other high ranking staffers.

-TE

70

How do you shut your mind down so you can get a good night sleep???

by jam in

jw
friends

the more i learn about jw's the harder it is.

to sleep at night.

the wife hit the pillow and within 5 min.. she is snoring.

TTATTelder

Nyquil...

I usually read myself to sleep, but some nights I do the Nyquil thing. I have some sinus issues so the cold meds aren't a bad thing for me.

I know the feeling though. Take care...

-TE

25

A few thoughts on the District, um, Regional... sigh....

by Apognophos in

i don't even know what the bloody event is called anymore.

i think it's still a district convention until it goes to two days, isn't it?

my convention program leaflet just says "convention of jehovah's witnesses", seemingly intentionally avoiding the change in wording.

TTATTelder

Thanks Kate

25

A few thoughts on the District, um, Regional... sigh....

by Apognophos in

i don't even know what the bloody event is called anymore.

i think it's still a district convention until it goes to two days, isn't it?

my convention program leaflet just says "convention of jehovah's witnesses", seemingly intentionally avoiding the change in wording.

TTATTelder

Apog,

Thanks so much for the play by play! I have been waiting for a nice overall take on this convention. Very funny read as well.

.

I'm going to the convention soon. I know it is going to be a spectacle. It will be a setback I'm sure temporarily with the wifey, but I think my progress with her is farther than they can completely reverse, especially with my "balanced" take on the program that I will be sharing incrementally.

.

I get what you're saying in part 6 about Brains Not Wanted. Thinkers are a liability for them. They want 100% blind-faith'ers. They want cheerleaders. It's like in any other business. They want to attract and keep "their customer".

Their customer is the "low information voter" (political lingo) or maybe a better term would be "low information worshiper."

Their customer could also be someone who has been through something so traumatic in their life that they can't bear to face reality without the hand-holding of the JW belief system. False hope is still hope for some people. They don't want to know they're wrong even if they are.

OTOH...Thinkers are sceptical. We want proof. We want to be convinced. We want a quality explanation. We want to lose the debate in order to be sold on the new idea. These guys don't even allow a debate. Actually they punish you for having one. They just plain ole - don't want us in the audience, period. The quicker they can run us off the better.

On some level, I think it's funny that we have them scared.

-TE

9

I just noticed this tactic

by problemaddict in

in reading terrys latest post, if made me think of something that exists and many of us have experienced but i have not really put into a logical thoughts process before.

in terrys 4 facts everyone should know about jw's, the second one referrs to the walsh trial where unity is said to be more important than truth, in no uncertain terms.. this made me think about how one would bring up this fact.

my mind wandered to the beginning of my fade, when inevitably, many of us open up our mouths and say too much.

TTATTelder

Yeah I have seen this tactic used.

Typical thought stopper.

If it came from apostates then its poison...

I have wondered recently what would happen if you replied:

"I got the information from Satan.

Jesus refuted Satan.... so.... surely you can too....right?"

What's crazy is - I really think the dubs are more scared of apostates than Satan! How nuts is that!

-TE

72

I am on the edge of a freak out ..... I think???

by DATA-DOG in

jw
friends

so the rc really sucked, but i made it through.

the propaganda was mind blowing.

i don't know if the crap will be available on the official website or not, but hopefully it gets leaked somehow.

TTATTelder

Remind your wife that the GB lives off other people and live in a bubble.

It's easy to tell other people to "do without material things" when you aren't having to do without yourself.

I just read Animal Farm for the first time.

At one point the leader of the farm (a boar named Napoleon) said to the other animals:

"The truest Happiness lay in working hard and living frugally."

Of course he and the others at the top were "living it up" while convincing the lower class animals to live by these other principles.

Classic double standard. That's the GB. No humility. No empathy.

Keep the r&f barefoot and pregnant. That way they are easier to keep under thumb.

-TE

23

Drama: Not ONE word has failed! Regional Convention 2014

by OneDayillBeFree in

jw
friends

looks like the borg spent all it's money on hd panels, gigabit internet connections and ipads cause this is by far the lamest and most stupid drama ever in the history of the org!.

apart from the worse than porn-without-the-porn acting and dialogue, the special effects consist of square painted panels and a crappy blue screen.

also the lighting looks like it was made using flashlights.. even the die hards we're laughing at it and mentioned how silly it looked.. i envy all of those that aren't attending this "historic 100-years-since-christ's-reign" convention.. .

TTATTelder

The drama was uber-lame. The only way it could have been worse, was if Loesch was the narrator. One more boring talk from him and I would have gladly drank Kool-aid. - DD

If I pretend to be an accountant, but can't add up, or if I pretend to be a doctor but don't know my head from my ass, then the bluff is called out! - stuckinarut2

Ahhhhhhahahahaha lolololol !!!!!! Very Funny Stuff!!

I sooooo need this convention to be lame. It will help me and hopefully the wifey to see things clearly.

If this thing is half as lame as y'all describe, they will drop numbers next year. If they can't brew up some holy magic on this anniversary year special convention yadayada, people will walk away with buyers remorse. Some people are spending thousands of dollars to participate in this stuff!!

Anyway, thanks for the laughs and the reports.

-TE

25

Australian Government publishes on official web site the current Jehovah's Witnesses "Handling of Child Abuse" confidential letter to all bodies of elders (October 1, 2012)

by jwleaks in

the current jehovah's witnesses official child abuse handling procedure letter to all bodies of elders (october 1, 2012) has been placed into public domain by the australian (victoria) government "inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious oganisations".. official government web site link to letter:.

http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/child_abuse_inquiry/submissions/steven_unthank_supp_a_appendix_1.pdf.

short link:.

TTATTelder

What I think is so cool is that the JW's are going to be "attacked" way before their "Babylon the Great -world empire of false religion" ever gets destroyed.

Their storyline goes something like this: Governments turn on religion, wipe them out, loot them, and then when the dust settles, they notice a small group of "Jehovah's People" still trucking along despite the religous bans or whatever.

Then the governments turn on "God's People" and God considers this a poke in his eyeball. God gets pissed and Armageddon breaks out.

.

EVIDENTLY ... that's not how it's going down.

I guess new light will be coming out that "Jehovah's People" get attacked first instead of last. LOL

-TE