Posts by Magnum

for those who haven't come across furuli before , he is a 77 year old norwegian professor and is ( or was ) one of the few "scholarly" jws used by the society and used as a source on various matters ( especially 607 bce ).. however recently he has fallen out with the gb and has published an interesting book - like many recent scholarly apologists , he seems to be going down the road of disagreeing with the authority of the gb but still holding that the jws is the one true religion.

kind of "lions led by donkeys".

whether this view will continue is anyones guess.

Magnum

Can't wait to read it. You know the Great Leaders had to get rid of him. How dare anyone counsel them and/or challenge their authority! They can't let any holes open up to allow for any kind of challenging/questioning/etc. They are in the right hand of Christ! Just look at their history; it shows such ().

13

What does this video say to you about U.S. news organizations?

by Wasanelder Once in

this video was somewhat revelatory to me.

i knew that fox was a coordinated news outlet but i had no idea it was so rigid.

that's the iron fist of the corporate agenda.

Magnum

Interesting. I saw Fox, ABC, CNN, and CBS in the video - all saying the same thing. Why is that? How does it work? Are these local stations that are owned by the same company?

20

Pioneer School Funny Picture

by pale.emperor in

found this on one of the exjw reddit pages.

a "hilarious" group photo.

another sign that this isnt the same religion we remembered of the 80s and 90s - and i dont mean that in a good, progressive way.. you can just smell the virginity oozing out of the front and back row.. .

Magnum

This is JWs saying "Look at us. We're cool. We're hip. We're normal people. See, we like to have fun!" But, it just doesn't work. They still look like the corny, self-righteous, naïve, not hip, not cool, goody-goodies that they are.

A few years ago, in a previous job, I was sent a number of times to work on some equipment at a Walmart in a small town in the southern U.S. Every time I would see women who were obviously part of some local church or religious group. They had very long hair, usually in a bun or under some kind of head covering, they didn't wear pants (only skirts and dresses), and they just had the look of backwards hillbillies.

What was interesting, though, is that I would often seen their teenaged daughers wearing denim skirts and Nike shoes as if they were saying "Look at us. See, we're hip. We're wearing denim and athletic shoes." It just didn't work.

21

JW.ORG delivering food to JWs in California

by NikL in

jw
friends

so a couple of weeks ago my wife (who is an active jw) got a delivery of apples, oranges, potatoes, carrots and onions.. the story i heard was that the "branch bought a bunch of food that would go to waste and was delivering it".. i am in california and a friend of mine in another cong.

50 or so miles away had the same thing happen.. a few days ago we got another delivery and as a matter of fact my wife was asked if she could "help jehovah with delivering his gifts".

unfortunately she is in poor health and unable to so so.. anyway, the story seems fabricated to me and i am wondering what is really going on.. does anybody have any ideas?

Magnum

I highly doubt that the branch or any part of the org bought anything. Money flows one way in JW land.

24

new situation in world helpful to org?

by Magnum in

sometimes new situations can provide cover for one’s mistakes or intentions.

for example, suppose that i crack the windshield in my dad’s car one night.

i go home, park the car in its usual spot in the yard, and go to bed without telling my dad because i’m scared and i’m trying to think of a way out of the situation.

Magnum

Really good comments (I feel like I'm the Watchtower Study conductor commending the audience) with some differing opinions (that part wouldn't be allowed at the Watchtower Study). It's going to be interesting to see how it works out. Things got kind of stagnant the last few years. There were all the major changes and then we hit the doldrums. But now, it's gotten kind of interesting again to observe and see what happens..

24

new situation in world helpful to org?

by Magnum in

sometimes new situations can provide cover for one’s mistakes or intentions.

for example, suppose that i crack the windshield in my dad’s car one night.

i go home, park the car in its usual spot in the yard, and go to bed without telling my dad because i’m scared and i’m trying to think of a way out of the situation.

Magnum

Sometimes new situations can provide cover for one’s mistakes or intentions. For example, suppose that I crack the windshield in my dad’s car one night. I go home, park the car in its usual spot in the yard, and go to bed without telling my dad because I’m scared and I’m trying to think of a way out of the situation. That night, a big storm comes and blows the big old oak tree right over on Dad’s car and smashes it (including the windshield). Hallelujah!!! Now I’m free of my worries about the windshield!

Some of us on this site have conjectured about a possibility that the org wants to transform into an e-religion and sell off Kingdom Halls. If the org does desire such, it might have feared the consequences of just outright doing it. However, the new situation in the world (virus) could perhaps give it an excuse for doing so.

The org could present an argument such as the following: “The scene of the world is changing, we are deep in the time of the end, and Jehovah’s people will adapt. While Kingdom Halls have served a vast purpose in the past and we have appreciated Jehovah’s providing them, it seems that with the new world situation and newer technology, their purpose has been served. It seems much safer and more efficient for God’s people to use new means of receiving spiritual food and associating. Jehovah will provide direction as we transition into this new arrangement for worshipping him.”

A transition to e-religion could take place and the org could sell off all Kingdom Halls. I believe it would be much harder than it already is to make converts because I believe the physical association at Kingdom Halls, etc. played a large part in making them. However, I’m not sure the org is really interested in making converts anymore. I think the higher-ups know the days of making converts are over or are nearing their end. I think the org is just in survival mode.

I wonder whether in such a situation men would be motivated to become elders and ministerial servants because I think a lot of the motivation for becoming such is the prominence and glory and attention received at meetings by such ones. Younger or newer males see ministerial servants and elders giving talks, doing administrative stuff, etc., and they want to do such. How would that work in an e-religion? I don’t know. However, maybe the org is not really concerned about acquiring new appointed men, either.

Anyway, I was just wondering whether this new situation is falling right into the org’s hands and providing cover for something it’s been wanting to do.

15

Hello everyone 😊

by SuperMarioDiMaggio in

i was a jehovah's witnesses for 15 years (1983-1998) in pietermaritzburg and durban, south africa.

i was baptised in 1985; appointed a ministerial servant in 1987 (aged 21); refused military service on religious grounds in 1989 (served a three year community service sentence) and was appointed an elder in 1993 (aged 26).

i wrote to the governing body in brooklyn four times between 1992-97, respectfully questioning the nonsense they were publishing about science and evolution (you can see all my correspondence and their hilarious replies here: http://bit.ly/jw-md-letters ).

Magnum

Hey! Thanks for posting. I downloaded the material in the link you provided. Briefly looked over and I think it's going to provide for some interesting reading.

Thanks again.

14

Spiritual Paradise Watchtower Style

by Vanderhoven7 in

can you believe the presumption?.

https://youtu.be/1mamt-krcnc.

https://youtu.be/wjnk-mr_860.

Magnum

Thanks for posting. Just watched and downloaded a copy for future reference.