I Should Have Just Kept Avoiding Their Videos

OnTheWayOut

I have a 2011 New Year Resolution to avoid reading JW literature or watch their videos.
I am not "religious" about it, and will watch/read excerpts, but pretty much stick with that resolution as it only angers me when I read the stuff.

Well, someone posted their video of Philippines Disaster Relief due to a 2013 typhoon as a response to a news article to demonstrate that they are not really helping and that it is just propaganda. I watched the video and was immediately able to see what the hell is wrong with JW's and their leadership and, as I figured- I was angered.

So I will post this link, but then go back to not watching/reading. It just isn't worth it.

In the video, when they knew the storm was coming, the pre-planned disaster relief people texted elders to warn them to evacuate. Now, I know the elders should text EVERYONE ELSE, but the video doesn't mention that. The video is lying about it anyway. If they had pre-planned the way the video leads you to believe, they should have been able to tell everyone where to go, helped them get there.

One family, held out as an example, empties their refrigerator of FOOD to put their precious literature in there. Apparently, that's the strongest/heaviest/safest box in the house. What a load of crap. After the disaster, they could get more literature later should it all be ruined.

One family, not moved or helped in any way before the storm, on their own sought refuge at a Kingdom Hall. God didn't protect that building as the sea water swept through it. One older woman was swept out and the Kingdom Hall floated several meters, but the year text strengthened the woman's son and everyone survived. While they do not say Jehovah did that, it is implied.

At the Guiuan Congregation, Jehovah did not prevent the roof from blowing off the Kingdom Hall where many were taking refuge. The brothers put the plastic chairs over their heads to protect themselves inside the hall from roof materials and they ALL survived. Another Kingdom Hall had one last standing wall where members survived by crowding against it.

More than 6200 lost their lives. 33 were JW's. (They lead you to believe that 10 more JW's are missing and probably dead.) I am pretty sure that's supposed to sound like Jehovah DID protect the Witnesses. but that just seems like a statistical norm. They show Mark Sanderson of the GB coming after the disaster, and, earlier in the video, they made sure that he took a video/photo op with a little girl that lost her whole family and home. The elders told her it was okay to cry and made sure she got right back to the meetings.

I won't belittle their humanitarian efforts after the storm. That's because caring people made sure that suffering people got help. But the video leaves out how Watchtower has to approve any outsiders visiting and how much money they get in disaster donations versus how much they spend. The district overseer credited Jehovah for the relief efforts of people. Mark Sanderson said the great faith got them through the aftermath. Makes you assume all other groups must have just perished.

Anyway, here's the video, also found at http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/activities/help-community/video-philippines-typhoon-haiyan-survivors/:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlbNB7HaN8I

OnTheWayOut

Notice this, previously said about the storm and the poor decisions of JW's from
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/279535/they-died-because-they-stayed

The government had told people in these areas to get out but the JW's stayed for thier Thursday night meetings and then spent the night in thier kingdom halls to weather out the storm. Two of the 3 congregations even though their halls were destroyed they all survived but the third a hall in the worst hit area was not so lucky. A storm surge of water killed 22, in all 43 died. Despite the gb's spin if all the JW's would have listened to the authorities and left they would all have survived. But hey jehovah will protect esspecially if your in one of his holy kingdom halls. This is why this cult really scares me.

millie210

They were saved because they were in "sacred" buildings but those same buildings were used in the States for dance rehearsals with the reasoning that they are just buildings - the same reasoning used when they are sold to Christendom for church use?

Did I get that right?

Thank you OTWO for such an objective rendering of this whole sad account. You did it with greater clarity than I could have as you can see by my first paragraph. I can get a little snarky with stupidity at times.

runForever

I totally suspect foolery between the philipines branch and the local congregations that did not evacuate but where is the direct link that the congregation was following orders from the WTBS branch to hide in the kingdom hall?

Was it their own superstition to hide in the kingdom halls? Even though I suspect it was the philipines branch fault and more largely the whole organization for instilling the attitude of divine protection I don't see the evidence of the branch in the philipines advising sheltering in the KH.

OnTheWayOut

millie, yes. They are two-faced about the buildings. Good point about them being "just buildings" once they get rid of them.

runForever, I do not know whether they were told about staying or not. I don't suggest they were told to stay and seek protection in their KH. I do suggest they didn't leave like they should have if there were really a decent pre-planned effort. I have a strong suspicion that the video says there was an effort to answer to those that say there wasn't one, but they say only that they texted the elders because they really didn't do anything else. I imagine some elders were texted by someone like a C.O. or D.O. and told to get out if they can.

Crazyguy

I think it pretty clear that the elders told the congregation to come to the hall for meeting then stay after. Why else would there be so many people in these halls at 4 am in the morning of Friday when the storm hit.

OnTheWayOut

Crazyguy, that is a good point. Do you know (since it was your post I refer to above) if the surge that killed 22 killed them at the Kingdom Hall?

OnTheWayOut

Oh, both to Crazyguy and funForever:

If the government said everyone should evacuate, shouldn't the elders have cancelled the meetings that night and said, "We're supposed to evacuate." ? Shouldn't the branch have insisted on that?

Well, they had the meeting. I can imagine them laughing at everyone running away because they didn't have faith like the JW's have in Jehovah and "His" Kingdom Hall.

runForever

Yes that would be telling if we knew when that typhoon hit tacloban.

It seems there are some clues though. Rodney Barcenas the elders says: "we are preparing for the typhoon because the news said we need to prepare. So I text everybody so I text everybody every elder in every congregation I text they need to evacuate to the separate place." Seems his story is cut off at this point in the video.

It seems here that he was texting them to find a safe place for shelter. The question is - was that advice from the branch? I agree though that the branches "preparedness" was not even as good as the general advice from the government.

Crazyguy

Yes it was the storm surge that killed the 22 plus in the last Kingdom hall hit by the storm. I'm curious how many total died from injuries, ones listed as missing,etc .On the way out,that's whatmakes this scultso scary they just tell people to whatever and they'll just do it

I Should Have Just Kept Avoiding Their Videos

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