Posts by bemused

23

JWs - A View From Outside

by Joe Grundy in

jw
friends

i never was a jw (i make this point in - almost - every post) but having been brought up ('raised' for our us cousins) in a non-conformist fundy sect with 'rapture' aspirations, it wasn't that different.. i still have extended family members in it, or in that mindset, but we rarely discuss religion.

in particular, my sister and bil lost their son (my nephew) some years ago when he was just 13. their comfort is that he is in a 'better place' and i don't want to challenge that to them.. i keep up with all things jw here in this forum and maintain my academic interest and these are just my thoughts as an outsider, for what they are worth.. ime, those people who have heard of jws tend to lump them in with mormons and other crazies and have no knowledge or interest in them - other than to warn neighbours when they are about.. where i live should be prime 'witnessing' territory but they rarely come round, even in the recent leafletting campaign.

they are not as effective as the people who regularly call with the latest menus from the local curry/chinese/kebab houses.. on the occasions when jws have called, despite invitations to come in and have a cup of tea, etc., none has ever wanted to engage in conversation, far less progress to an invitation to a kh meeting or start a bible study (and i always present myself as an 'imterested householder').. my conversations with people in general and friends in the real world lead me to conclude that few people have heard of jws, those that have regard them as a minor irrevelant nuisance and that there is no interest in their message or beliefs.. a few months ago i did a 'drive-past' of the million pound seafront property in bangor, north wales that wt recently bought for use as a 'translation office' (ha ha!).

bemused

Couldn't agree more with Joe. I'm also a never-in (a close relative converted some years back so I use this site to keep up with JW developments in the hope that I can one day persuade them of the errror of their ways).

The vast majority of people have no knowledge of Witnesses beyond the fact that they knock on your door about once every three years. They don't know their beliefs, history or governance and have zero interest in finding out. If they stop going door to door then their profile will drop even lower. Any idea that people might choose to look at jw.org of their own accord is ridiculous in the extreme.

While it's good to see some mainstream media having a laugh at AM3's tight trouser issues, it's ultimately an irrelevance what the external world says. This at most confirms their view that the JWs are part of a minor crackpot sect that they can safely ignore. (Pantsgate is far more valuable internally as it has the potential to sow seeds of doubt in Witnesses's minds about the quality of their supposedly divinely inspired leadership.)

I can never really get my mind around why Witnesses are so convinced that their beliefs are right - if it's all so compelling then why does almost everyone ignore the message? Still, that's cults for you I guess.

25

The biggest sell off of Kingdom Halls in Britain :Update

by raymond frantz in

the biggest sell off of kingdom halls in britain.

hi guys last night i posted this here but only a few notes as it was quite fresh and only announced lasdt night at the meeting.i have now updated article and included a couple of useful links about this matter .

.

bemused

Interesting points above re the charity status. If each hall really is a separate independent charity in the UK it might be hard for the trustees (presumably the elders?) to justify transferring money elsewhere, although I guess it will depend on exactly what the trust deed says. No harm in dropping a line to the charity commissioners though to stir things up a bit.

19

HOW MANY drones allowed round an apathy trolley?

by hamsterbait in

i saw seven the other day - the girls on one side the men on the other.

a couple fo them were drinking their starbucks.. so for every hour, 7 of "preaching" can be counted.

truly jehoobie is expanding the work in this final part of the time of the end!!.

bemused

I think it's spelt lugubrious (UK anyway). Good word though.

142

Governing Body Member Gerrit Loesch Must Eventually Take The Witness Stand In Child Molestation Lawsuits

by frankiespeakin in

with many more cases in the offing the zalkin lawfirm will press the issue again and again and force gerrit loesch to testify.

what say you?.

.

bemused

Joe Grundy - In England & Wales, at least, each JW congregation is a separate legal entity, registered as such with the Charity Commissioners. The trustees (probably aka elders) are completely and personally and severally liable.

So they follow instructions without question from on high, but they themselves are fully responsible? Wow! I imagine there will be a few UK elders beginning to worry about their exposure (metaphorical or otherwise).

69

Evidence Regarding the Evolution of Cetaceans - Whales etc

by cofty in

this excellent little video sumamrises some of the evidence for the evolutionary history of cetaceans.. if focuses on comparative anatomy, embryology, fossils and dna.. .... .

.

bemused

Thanks Cofty - a very well put together video. It's good to be reminded just how overwhelming the evidence for evolution is.

I can think of a few instances on the football field in my youth when it would have been useful if humans had followed a similar evolutionary path to whales and developed internal testicles!

7

And The Lame Shall Walk

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-paralysed-man-walks-again-after-breakthrough-spinal-treatment-2014-10.

fantastic!

patient had a severed spinal cord.

bemused

Amazing. I saw the chief British scientist involved (who gave huge credit to his Polish colleagues) on the BBC. He cautioned that it could take 3-5 years to develop fully, but he was clearly delighted with the results so far. He was asked if it would work for everyone with paralysis and I fully expected to hear caveats about this being a special case, wouldn't necessarily work for everyone etc, but no, he said he saw no reason why it shouldn't benefit anyone disabled in this way.

This news must give great hope to those with spinal cord injuries - let's hope the treatment is developed and perfected as soon as possible.

12

JW Info-Commercial Memorial Service

by William Penwell in

i attended a jw memorial service about 2 years ago and the speaker i thought gave a good eulogy to the diseased even though he quoted a few scriptures.

just recently i attended another jw memorial and the sermon was about 10 minutes on the person and the rest a big info-commercial with a scripture quoted one after the other.

i did not keep count but i would think the speaker read about 10 - 12 scriptures.

bemused

I've no experience of JW funerals but I've been to a few Catholic ones. They follow a set service and may include a full mass. The priest will often have no personal knowledge of the deceased - many people choose to be buried as catholics because that's the faith they were born into but they probably hadn't seen the inside of a church in many years. Unless a friend or relative gets up to say a few words, then there will be little personal about it. Having said that, I've never know a priest to use it as an advertising opportunity.

8

Herald Sun: Let's not be witnesses to a load of elitist nonsense

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/lets-not-be-witnesses-to-a-load-of-elitist-nonsense/story-fni0ffsx-1227086665115?nk=b07e7946458087eb383b8c7efb0a06e1.

melbourne, australia.

lets not be witnesses to a load of elitist nonsense.

bemused

Thanks for posting - very interesting. As more and more people move away from organized religion, I expect we will see more articles like this (not just attacking JWs).

38

University Application Personal Statement dilemma - Should I mention my jw past?

by will-be-apostate in

jw
friends

i am applying to chemical engineering course in the uk through ucas (a lot of things changed since i've posted last time).. i have a lot of skills i developed while regular pioneering, like public speaking skills, ability to reason (even if it's bs), presentational skills etc.. i feel it would boost my personal statement a lot, but i'm also afraid they would say "this guy beleives in god, and loves science, he must be creationist.

away with him".. how could i mention that i gave interviews front of thousands of people and did voluntary work in my hometown without giving a bad impression?.

i don't want to go into details and start explaining myself that "however i don't beleive in god", or something like that.

bemused

Hi w-b-a. Couldn't you just say volunteering for your 'church' rather than 'JW'?

In any event, don't stress out about it. Exam results massively outweigh personal statements at UK universities, particularly for academic subjects like yours. Good luck!

PS - I don't know where you're applying to but I hear good things about Loughborough.

128

900 Top Scientists Sign Statement Skeptical of Macro-Evolution

by Perry in

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 .

bemused

Simon17 - I think you may be being a bit generous. I hope they do look at evolution further - nobody's stopping them. However if there is nothing more to it than they don't understand evolution fully, why make this public statement?