Posts by Magnum

27

New and improved?

by tenyearsafter in

i have a family member who had been df'ed for 15 years or so...recently they reinstated as a jw.

when i asked what motivated them to make that decision, the response was to be able to see family and old friends.

they insisted that things were different now.

The organization has changed drastically in the last few years... but NOT because of love. It seems to actually be more conniving, evil, and deceptive now than it was before. It changed because it had to. It is a dying cult, and it changed to try to prolong its life - to try to attract new members and retain current members.

It had to become far less analytical and doctrinal and to dumb down its literature because the internet exposed flaws in its doctrine. It can no longer be analytical and doctrinal because if it tries to, it will get shredded to pieces on the internet and exposed. It has to play it safe now. A few years ago, there was suspicion on this site that the organization had hired a PR firm to help it change its image. It produced a website, videos, & music (pop-like music). It began to have broadcast programs like those of televangelist religions it used to ridicule.

When I was a JW, I worked my ass off and slaved in misery for the organization. I don't think JWs do that anymore. The whole realm of JWdom is softer now. For example, back in my days as a JW, the organization and individual JWs were bold. Now, JWs run from questions and challenges and are cowardly.

So, the religion is still a harmful, deceptive cult. What some perceive to be its becoming more loving is actually a weakening.

P.S. They started to do Zoom meetings due to the virus, but, the organization is trying to get JWs to meet back in person now. And, concerning getting time in the ministry, it does seem that it's easier for JWs now. The pandemic changed that. I don't think JWs can or will ever go back to being the way they were in the ministry in the old days. The ministry was weakening even before the pandemic. That's because JWs face more obstacles in the ministry as time progresses. The internet has exposed the failed predictions, crazy past, looney teachings, corruption, etc. People are less tolerant of them, they have cameras everywhere, etc.

3

Meet Olivia Newton-John's Grandfather, Max Born

by DNCall in

olivia's maternal grandfather fled htiler's germany in 1933. he was one of the founders of quantum mechanics and a close friend of albert einstein.

it was max born who famously wrote: "the belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it, seems to me the deepest root of all that is evil in the world.

".

Magnum

That reminds me of an incident that occurred about 40 years ago. I was taking a university course in materials science as part of an engineering curriculum. The beginning of the course included some quantum mechanics. The professor was talking about Max Born and he asked "do you know who his granddaughter is?" In a big auditorium, I shouted "Olivia Newton-John." I'll never forget the look on his face; he looked at me in shock that I knew that.

I was a collector of math and science books and had read that in several books (no internet back then).

7

Woke Up Feeling Poetic, so an ExJW Poem

by Simon in

jw
friends

come here you heavy hearted who departed from the truth your youth and family trapped you in.. no need to fear that armageddons near and you will be forgotten as a rotten failure to your kin.. the freedom that you took is nothing that a crusty book can ever realistically replace.. so stand up tall, tell all who need to hear that it is them who fear to look you in the face..

Magnum

it is them who fear to look you in the face

That is SO true in my case. A few years ago, a prominent elder with whom I used to be really good friends came over and asked me to come back to meetings. He also told me that he was scared of me. He knew I could rip his beliefs to shreds. I know that other JWs in my area feel that way, too. Haven't heard a peep from them in years. If I see one in a store, he/she looks down and avoids me.

3

Magnum Actor died.

by Lost in the fog in

jw
friends

https://news.sky.com/story/magnum-pi-actor-roger-e-mosley-dies-after-sustaining-injuries-in-car-crash-12668467.

Magnum

That show brings back good memories. I have really nostalgic feelings about it. Loved that time period and that point in my life (had not yet taken the plunge and officially joined the cult). Sad about Mosley and Olivia Newton-John.

9

Online Lesson: Why does suffering and evil exist?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

bible teachings.

online lessons.

basic bible teachings.

Magnum

The issuing of suffering among humans and animals has always been the #1 issue to me. Some years ago, I was working in the door-to-door work alone and a nice, seemingly educated middle-aged man asked me about the suffering issue - how a loving god could allow suffering. I explained to him the textbook JW answer concerning the issue of universal sovereignty and how God has allowed suffering and is allowing it to prove a point. He completely understood the point I was making, but, he looked me in the eye and said "but, that is a hard perspective to keep."

His point was that what I said made sense, but when you see horrific suffering, it's hard to accept an answer like that. The suffering is not just, for example, a few headaches and some mild itching. It is often sheer unimaginable horror. There have been millions of years* of gruesome, horrible suffering. A few days ago, I downloaded as evidence of suffering a YouTube video of animals eating each other alive. I couldn't stand to watch it, but I did get a glimpse as I was downloading it. It showed a big herbivore lying on its side screaming in horror and terror as it was being eaten alive by predators. As one who is extremely concerned about animal welfare and who rescues animals, I have seen with my own eyes much horror. I have downloaded many videos and books and articles about it. Watch the YouTube video titled "Dominion"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQRAfJyEsko)

Read about some of the tortures humans have used on each other throughout history.

*Yeah, there is massive evidence that animals ate each other and suffered miserably for millions of years before any supposed rebellion in the supposed Garden of Eden. Completely blows a hole in the JW doctrine that suffering started after the rebellion.

29

Who really is the faithful and discreet slave?

by Fisherman in

“who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time?” — math 24:45. according to jw, the faithful and discreet slave are the “anointed” men of the “governing body” of the jehovah’s witnesses religion..

Magnum

I just read Mt 24:36-51 to get the context. It seems to me that the faithful slave is one who carries out his duties and is responsible and industrious. Verses 45-47 seem to be simply a lesson or parable about being diligent in the last days. What would make anybody think the passage is prophetic - that it indicates that there would be some specific entity that it's referring to?

13

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game.....And, An Assembly

by titch in

folks: well, here in the united states, tonight, july 19th, is when the mlb all-star game will be played.

and, it will be played at dodger stadium, in los angeles, california.

for those of you who don't know, the all-star game is a game in which members of the american league teams compete with members of the national league teams.

Magnum

Very sad to me. I believed it all back then, and it was so different then. I was nine that summer. I think I went to that convention in Atlanta, but not sure. Even though I hate JWdom now, I miss what I thought it was back then. I thought I was part of a special group that was going to live forever in paradise and that the end was imminent back then. No JW at that time could have even remotely contemplated the year 2022 with no "new world".

25

Did they read this today at the meeting?

by Jerryh in

.

Magnum

joao: "I'm not sure that when they say that "what is said in those messages applies to all of God’s people today" means that they are admitting that the NT was written to all, including the non-anointed JWs. Their use of language is very tricky."

I feel the same way.

7

What's You Favorite Castle?

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

mine is bouzov castle in moravia.

built in the early 1300's.

it wasn't too fancy, kinda rough hewn.

Magnum

Don't have a favorite, but am fascinated by them and have downloaded a bunch of photos of different ones. So many questions. Like... What did they do for foundations? What did they use for roofing? Did they use mortar or are the stones/blocks/etc. just held in place by gravity?

11

Memory Lane and Brooklyn Bethel

by new boy in

jw
friends

i spent monday walking down memory lane.

i went to the old brooklyn bethel.

the old towers hotel, were i roomed for 3 years is now a care facility for old folks.

Magnum

Though I detest the org now and really everything about JWdom, what you posted still saddens me. During a long period of my life, I loved being a JW. I felt so safe and secure. I had such a wonderful hope for the future. I remember not wanting to leave district conventions on the last day and go back into "the world."

I still feel a sense of nostalgia for those buildings. Now, it's all gone. The religion today would be unrecognizable to my JW grandfather. The religion that I once thought had divine backing is weakening, maybe even dying. It is now cowardly. Gone are the days when JWs relished deep questions and challenges. The literature is pathetically dumbed down. The religion that once focused on doctrine and prophecy and Biblical analytics has had to cease focusing on such because the internet provides a scrutiny that its teachings can't stand up to. The org has to play it safe now and has morphed into a televangelist-like lifestyle religion.

I miss what I thought it was, but I hate what I now know it is.