Posts by Magnum

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Magnum

AndDontCallMeShirley - you have a PM.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

I just watched the Mormon promotional video you linked above. Yes, same look and feel. "Look at us Mormons. We're so normal, fun-loving, and exciting." JWs are trying to be that way since they realize that the door-to-door work by mostly clueless Puritan-looking folks who can't answer questions is not working.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Magnum

AndDontCallMeShirley:

Really??

According to WT, there isn't enough time left for a "major cleansing". Armageddon is imminent, remember??

Besides, by your reasoning then, John, this puts every JW in a conundrum, doesn't it? IF the WT is "God's Organization", and a JW has no choice but to obey the WT unquestioningly to stay in Jehovah's™ good graces, then, by following the rules, every JW must be at odds with Jehovah™ in order to obediently please Jehovah™.

Suppose (hypothetically), that JWs are God's people as were the Israelites of old. At times, Israel strayed so far from true worship as to be unrecognizable as the people of God. At times they had idols right in the temple! Same (and this still is a hypothetical) could be true of JWs. Sure, according to them, the end is imminent, but, according to them a generation was eigthy years and the end should have been here at the latest by 1994. As far as the conundrum issue goes, what would have been the case with a righteous Israelite in a time when the nation as a whole had strayed? He would have sort of stayed on the sidelines and watched and sighed and waited for correction - pointing out the wrong... not obeying leaders who might have instructed him to follow the crowd.

I'm not saying that's true. I'm just thinking about that. I don't think there is a conundrum when you consider what I said in the paragraph above.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Magnum

kneehighmiah - in response to your last post - . I agree with it all.

it's no wonder they want to fire dinosaurs like Fred Franz and Milton G and are booting DOs and old people. They need to make being a JW cool. The website shows young adults traveling the world to preach and cool stuff They're are almost taking a page out of the us army and navy recruitment playBook. I'M not surprised that the focus is not on spiritual things but on having the time of your life. It's a different org. I think it will backfire though. It's hard to be totalitarian and secular at the same time. Just ask the Soviets. The org was founded on the belief that Armageddon was imminent. Once people stop believing that, what do they have left besides the social aspect?

Very good points. It does seem that they are trying to make being a JW cool. I think that is the underlying principle behind a lot of what we're seeing. It is a different org. It's interesting to watch the developments; it's like some kind of study in sociology or psychology or cultural anthropology. I hadn't thought about the fact the website shows young people preaching in a way that seems cool and exciting - so different from the way I preached - sweating, getting eaten by bugs, looking down the barrels of guns, etc. in boring neighborhoods. It is like they're taking a page out of the army or navy recruitment literature.

So maybe they are trying to morph into something hip and cool and they want all the old schoolers (who, although not perfect, seemed more spiritual and noble) gone. Maybe they knew that a lot of the older DOs woudn't go along with this new feel, so they gave them boot.

Interesting analogy to the Soviets. It didn't work. That's why I believe Putin is trying to go back to the old totalitarian ways.

"Once people stop believing that, what do they have left besides the social aspect?" It does seem that JWs don't have the sense of urgency about the end that we had when I was at my prime as a JW, and especially in the pre-1975 era and the pre-1994 era (1914 + 80 year max generation). So, I think you're right; they're focusing on social things and entertainment and appealing to people in other ways.

If they were Israelites in the time of ancient Israel. they would be due a visit from a prophet who would give them a major scolding and a prediction of major punishment.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Magnum

AndDon'tCallMeShirley - in response to your last post above - I think you're right. Something is going on. This is so weird. I'm just having difficulty wrapping my head around it. Who would have thought twenty years ago that JWs would be like this now? I wonder what the serious, sincere, hardworking, old-timers are thinking.

If what you say is true (and I tend to believe it), then I think that the GB and others at the top know they don't have the truth. They're just trying to make the best of what they have. If they're following what Mormons do, then they must know they're not guided by a superhuman deity. They're starting now to just go with the flow - to be more mainstream and entertaining and secular.

see KateWild's post: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/entertainment/280563/1/Detroit-Style-Ballroom-Dancing#.U5Mbj6PD-ig

39

Detroit Style Ballroom Dancing

by KateWild in

trying to make rcs less of a snorefest.

not exactly award winning either, but worth a laugh.

kate xx.

Magnum

My god. I am just baffled. The org has changed so much. What is going on????????????????

Was the man with the microphone in the beginning telling delegates that that they could sign up for Detroit-style ballroom dancing in many different places? Since when do JWs promote such? When I was active, every available minute was supposed to be spent in the ministry, studying, meditating, etc.

And the dancing was laughably amateurish.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Magnum

kneehighmiah - I take your word for it (that the video is for congregations only). It just seems so odd that it would be for congregations only. It seems so commercial and secular and mainstream and worldly. I agree with ThomasCovenant; this is a religion different from the one I was in. I second what steve2 said. They talked more about the entertainment than the Kingdom or Jesus or the end of the world.

zound: OMG. The last 5 seconds are crazzzzzy!!!! The little girl turns to the camera and says - "Listen, obey and be blessed."

CULT!

Yep, I felt the same way. That was weird - so creepy and cultish.

What the hell's going on? This is so weird to me. I just don't understand. What has happened and what is happening to/with JWs? What are they morphing into? They are just so different from what they were.

Suppose for a minute that JWs are Jah's chosen people. It seems that if they are, then they are paralleling some time in the history of Israel when the Israelites strayed from true worship and needed a major cleansing/discipline. If there is a Jah and the Bible is true, I actually feel safer outside the JW religion. I feel that I (and some of you) are sighing and groaning (Eze 9:4) over the situation. I have the ability to see the truth and discern that something is wrong... and something is wrong. If the end truly is near as they say, they should be doing the equivalent of somberly marching around Jericho - not focusing on entertainment and becoming more light-hearted and more like the world.

Wow, these developments are interesting to watch.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Magnum

GreatTeacher & Apognophos -

I don' know of any JWs in my entire circuit who live in homes like those. Living in homes like those, esp in the Atlanta area, requres a lot of money. I can't imagine what the taxes and insurance would be. We must be on different planets. The org has stressed living simple lives and pioneering for years. It has suggested working part-time. It frowns on higher education. One can't work part-time cleaning houses or even at the local bank and live in a house like one of the ones depicted in the video. Are you sure you were JWs? Did you read the lit and go to meetings? Did you go to assemblies and conventions? I can't believe you don't find it odd that they would show those houses in the video. It was always stressed to me that this system was dying... was like a sinking ship and that we needed to live accordingly. The Watchtower in the late eighties said something like "Can you justify before Jehovah why you're not pioneering?" It was all about sacrificing and not being materialistic.

I remember a (1990's?) modern-day district convention drama about a young man who was pioneering in an area where the need was greater. He was struggling financially and needed new tires for his car. He couldn't afford them. He was about to decide to go back home. But it finally worked out that he was able to get some tires for his car and he stayed in the territory.

So this pioneer had a hard time just getting tires for his car, but he continued to pioneer. He couldn't afford a used mobile home. That drama illustrates the general message that I got from the org in the eighties and nineties about pioneering, lifesyle, etc.

GreatTeacher: I just never saw people giving up everything to pioneer

Did you see people pioneering at all? If so, how'd they do it? Did they have inhertiances? I did give up everything. I quit jobs, passed up others, had nothing.

173

Atlanta Int Convention 2014:The Big Party. Does this look like WT believes Armageddon is coming "soon"?

by AndDontCallMeShirley in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=potrr2qxhue.

.. if armageddon is "imminent", why is wt focused on sight-seeing, entertainment, travel, etc.

instead of preaching and saving people??.

Magnum

A couple of posters think this video was intended for “congregations only”. I don’t think so. It had too much of a commercial, worldly feel to be just for congregations. It seems to be designed for the public. It’s too much of a promotion of Atlanta. There’s too much emphasis on the city, its sites and attractions, etc. There’s too much emphasis on entertainment. They’re trying to appear more normal.

I think it was meant for YouTube release. However, I think they realized (maybe from monitoring this site) what we were saying about it and they pulled it.

I think they’re testing the waters – trying to become more mainstream – mabye trying to be more like Mormons with their slick commercials.

twice shy might be onto something. Atlanta was featured and promoted so heavily and in such a positive light... maybe they're getting some kind of monetary incentive from the city.

22

Something I Just Learned ...

by snowbird in

black don't crack - asian don't raisin.. meaning?.

black and asian people usually have firm facial skin..

Magnum

I actually still use petroleum jelly on my shins in the wintertime; it's about the only thing that will stop the itchy dryness. I will have to try shea butter.