Posts by Pete Zahut

27

Help Me Undertand...

by DarioKehl in

according to the 2014 annual report:.

"worldwide, there are 115,416 congregations of jehovahs witnesses and 8,201,545 publishers.".

i don't understand how the borg is facing financial difficulty.

Pete Zahut

I believe this is 100% intentional. It will spook the average JW into thinking, "holy shit! we need to fork over even MORE $$$--they're obviously in trouble" when they're actually back stroking in cash like Scrooge MacDuck.

In my mind, just the opposite could happen. All those having doubts prompted by the recent doctrinal changes or financial grabs or those who view any success the organization experiences, is related to Jehovah's blessing, may begin to smell a rat and feel justified in withholding any financial support until everything is sorted out and explained thoroughly to them.

75

Brooklyn Layoffs and Halt to Kingdom Hall construction projects

by James Jack in

a good source just just told me that at morning worship today that the governing body announced that a total of 1600 bethelites will be let get go and not transferred to warwich when the last property is sold in brooklyn and all kingdom hall building projects are on hold for at least a year so that all the focus will be on the preaching work.

Pete Zahut

I never understood (even when I was a Bethelite) why they needed soooo many people to run a printing facility.. Most of what went on there was work they created for themselves, They even had in house furniture finishers tailors barbers and they grew all their own food and dairy. It might have made sense back in the C. T. Russell days to do that but it had long since become a very convoluted and time consuming way of getting the urgent message spread. The time and money spent on their lavish methods was astounding but everyone seemed to think it proved how much Jehovah was blessing them.

It was the same with the assemblies. They had full on meals, including desserts. served on trays and tons of volunteers cooking it and dishing it all up and washing dishes instead of listening to the assembly program.

I don't understand why this huge complex is being built in upstate New York when printing has become more automated and less in demand. It reminds me of a bunch of spoiled rich kids who have inherited Daddy's business and are about to run it into the ground while they play Monopoly with it. I'm not holding my breath but I won't be surprised if we see things come to a head soon.

50

Is the WT SLOW-ly Changing the importance of the Door to Door preaching work to something more profitable?

by John Aquila in

its been a couple of weeks since a new c.o.

was appointed to the circuit and im starting to hear tidbits of his talks..

one brother told me that in one of his talks he asked the question; .

Pete Zahut

I don't know what the future of the door to door work is but nothing would surprise me at this point. As far as the carts are concerned, I'm sure there is more profit in having the Publishers load their carts full of literature every week or month, instead of the few pieces they can typically carry in their little book bags. Whether the literature is or isn't "placed", is immaterial.

Decades ago when the topic of using television as a means of reaching people with our "life saving message" was broached, they said going from door to door was a commandment and they didn't want to look like the TV televangelists. It doesn't seem to make a difference to them now that the televangelists are also on the Internet just like they are. They even look like they use the same set designers and jewelry suppliers.

72

The bridge burning has begun.

by sparrowdown in

jw
friends

i was feeling particularly hopeless about the whole jws being assholes thing and sick to death of pretending so ....

i rang my sister and told her that i no longer believe jws have the truth and the phone went silent, when i asked her to say something she just said if that was the case then she would have to hang up on me and then proceeded to indeed hang up..

so i texted her back immediately with fu..

Pete Zahut

Ok, so it may be the adrenaline talking, but I think many of us would like to believe that our loved ones won't respond like a rabid JW when or if we reveal our true selves to them, and it's very difficult to accept that our loved ones are indoctrinated.

As I read this I couldn't help that some (I don't mean you sparrowdown, I mean me) would be disappointed if there wasn't the ensuing drama of relatives and friends who became rabid or they would feel hurt if the elders didn't hound them and try to take judicial action. Looking back on when I made my exit, I have to wonder if the part of me that claimed to want a clean break actually wanted to burn bridges and get back at "them" for all the unnecessary crap and wasted years they put me through for nothing. It would be anticlimactic to slip away quietly and let them off the hook, yet that's just what I did. We made a clean break in every sense of the word. After 30 years of regular attendance, the elders took 3 years before they came a-lookin'. We faded undramatically but instead of taking complete advantage of it, every time I had a chance, I let them have it with both barrels and undid a lot of the benefits I had from having faded. I guess sometimes we want it both ways.

Just a thought.

13

Been encouraging my husband to contact his DF'd brother

by atacrossroads in

jw
friends

my husband has a brother he has not spoken too in years not even when he became an adult.

there is a big age gap between them and when his brother was df'd he was still a small child.

his brother was 17 when he was df'd for sex and when he turned 18 he left home and never looked back.

Pete Zahut

Maybe you can contact the older brother and tell him just what you've told us. Perhaps he may have some suggestions or will at least be pleased to know that his brother hasn't forgotten him.

78

Need Help with Blood Transfusion Illustration

by Dissonant15 in

please, who can provide an intelligent rebuttal to the following illustration?

i always thought it was bullet-proof:.

"if your doctor directs you to 'abstain from alcohol' would you be ok to have it injected into your veins rather than drink it?

Pete Zahut

I haven't read all of the posts but the first thing that comes to mind is that the bible says not to eat blood. Transfusing blood for medical purposes hadn't even been thought of when the Bible was being written. The special regulations about blood were intended to show the sacredness of the life of the animals that were being used as food and to remind the Israelites not to take the killing of animals, lightly.

As far as the alcohol / eating blood analogy is concerned, It isn't logical. If you transfuse blood into the veins of a starving man, he'd still be starving because he needs food and the nutrients it contains. whereas injecting alcohol and drinking it, would have the same effect on a person who was told to abstain from it. If you eat blood, the body digests it however If you transfuse blood, it continues to be blood to do the job of blood is intended to do, within the body.

The comparison of drinking alcohol VS injecting it into ones blood, isn't a valid one. It sounded somewhat plausible when we were taught it as children or were new ones willing to limit our thinking abilities, but really what they are doing is comparing apples to oranges and in this case it's a deadly comparison.

34

Blurring of genders

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

as sometimes happens at elders meetings with the co, he has a letter from the branch to read out.

this rarely is made available later so any policies have to be acted on from memory.

this visit a letter was read about blurring of the genders and in particular brothers dressing in a metrosexual style - tight clothing was mentioned again.

Pete Zahut

I think it's likely a case of certain Governing Body members seeing young men in tight pants and having difficulty suppressing their own homosexual urges and or it reminds them how out of shape bald and unattractive they are. It's easier to get rid of the ones reminding them of their own insecurities than it is to admit that the problem lies within themselves.

21

Silly Bible things you notice when your awake.

by Crazyguy in

i sure you guys can list others but here is a thought about the exodus story.

in chapter 1 the pharoah is concerned that the israelites are becoming to numerous.

and just as a side point we can assume pharaohs were not to dumb and even if they were the smart people of egypt studied in the temple 40 years and they studied all things not just religion.

Pete Zahut

Ok with that said would it not be way more effective to kill the girl babies of Israel not the boys? If you don't get my point a rancher if wanting to grow his herd he will have many females, yet only needs a couple of males.

My understanding was that Pharaoh was afraid because the Israelites were growing in number and these male babies would one day be grown men who could form an army and rise up against him.

14

Nice little summary by Barbara Anderson re dear old Geoffrey GB and "presumptuousness"...

by umbertoecho in

jw governing body claims to be the faithful slave.

did you know how (in sworn testimony during the recent australian royal commission hearing) governing body member geoffrey jackson responded to the question, do you see yourselves as jehovahs spokespeople on earth?.

jackson replied, that, i think, would seem to be quite presumptuous to say that we are the only spokesperson that god is using.. really?

Pete Zahut

In fairness, when reading those old quotes from the Watchtower, they indicate that Jehovah is indeed using them but they never actually say that they alone are the only ones he is using. They indicate that they are the "faithful and discrete slave" but they never say that there aren't individuals in some other organization that he may be using as part of that "slave"

You and I and every JW out there know that they view themselves as the one and only channel but technically I suppose they could get around this when pressed for an answer because (like so many things) they never come right out and say it....rather they only make heavy implications.

33

Why isn't demon possession a DF offense?

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

let's review: it's a cult!.

allrighty--got thinking about it in this thread.

isn't it odd that, of all things, that isn't on the list of df offenses?

Pete Zahut

They have medication now that cures "demon possession". Most JW's see a doctor before it gets to the point of being disfellowshipped.