this has possibly been posted before (i hadn't seen it) - i found it a fascinating read - well done alanf for fronting it up..... it can also be found online at http://www.reexamine.org/wtobserver/apps/pbcs.dll/article86c8.html?aid=/20040309/history/204007.
interview with a watchtower society author on wednesday, 27 august 1997, i met with harry peloyan for about 1 1/2 hours in the lobby of the 25 columbia heights bethel office in brooklyn, new york.
my purpose was to discuss problems with the creation book with him, since he is its main author.
I found this very interesting, and I had never read it before.
I wonder many times what happened to some of "apostate heavies" if you will. Maybe its just gotten to be too much. So many great contributors here of course, but it seems to leave something to be desired at times. I feel like I missed out because I was still in in the first decade of the new millenium.
not many shows left.. was a fan from his nbc days when he had a lot of innovation.. no question, he has a quick mind, which to me, is a key to comedy.. a distinct memory was awakening my poor pre-teen daughter when dave was back on the air after his heart surgery.. no matter what, is a changing of the guard (if only the wt could do the same)..
someone may have linked to this already, but the this interactive page in the pew religion study is pretty interesting, especially when you look at the trends for jw between 2007 and 2014. here's what it shows:.
jws are increasingly non-white.
in fact, the percentage of white jws has decreased from 2007 to 2014 by 12%, while hispanic jws have increased by 8%.
There is quite a bit of data to mine, but I found one thing interesting.
They asked "Christian" religions if they identified as evangelical or born again. JW's said no 3/4 of the time. I'm just thinking about the JW on the phones head exploding when they heard the question, thinking about what the right answer is to a fundamental part of their faith.
Also the lack of retention reflects what it did in the 2007 survey.
i've just signed up two days ago, but i've been lurking for about a year and a half.
here's my story if you're interested:.
my parents converted when they were in their first semester of college.
One day you will be able to tell the story.....and be free of the pain. Many more than you know the things you know, but simply choose to stick around because its easier on some level for them.
You took a principled stand. Good for you.
What part of the world are you from?
And....welcome!
golden age 1930 apr 2 p.446.
question: will husband and wife live together after the resurrection is completed, if both are in harmony with god?.
the most that we know is that here will be no children born during the last 100 years of the millinnium (isa.
Yeah I'm with flipper. It was bait and switch......kind of. :)
at the end of april, there was a zone visit in france, with tv broadcast in all kh.. g. losch told he received a letter from a girl, 10 years old, baptised at 5, reg pioneer since 4 years !
what a fine example, he said....... let s imagine the faces of the parents in the kh!
i was happy to see i was not the only one to find it crazy.. if you have a child, you know how mature he is at 5. how can a child preach 2.5hours/day after 7hours of school and homework to do??
I don't mean to throw a wet blanket here....and this is far from unbelievable.....but has anyone actually verified this?
I mean....it seems highly unlikely even by JW standards. Context? Video? Corroboration even? Otherwise its really hard to "use". Know what I mean?
after reading that great post about the june 1 article on science i got to thinking.
although it is great to believe there is this huge group of guys in the jw writing department that are constantly looking to mislead us by twisting the words of scientist etc... i really think it is more likely they are google researchers that do not have the ability to grasp the thoughts that are being expressed in the scientific article they quote mine from.. i honestly believe the reason that this happens is because of the individuals they use to write these magazines.
these are not college educated men.
The writing dept is not a hive mind. Its close.....but it isn't. It is made up of individuals. Some are no doubt a little more willing to stretch meaning and mine things with confirmation bias, more than others who may want to keep it with the "basics".
The issue is that as the WT tries to tackle things such as science, continued rise of secular ideas, cultural/moral evolution such as acceptance of gay marriage, etc..., they do so very clumsily. This is because their writers are not writers at all. They are no doubt oblivious to the fact that they need to check sources, and make sure they quote with integrity.
This reminds me of a recent FB post from someone I know, where they reference a LIST of people that feel the NWT is an extremely accurate translation. If you didn't know any better you may not catch that some of these people are taken out of context and some are JW's themselves.
In short, they have dumbed it down tot he rabble, so when it is even SLIGHTLY complex they end up looking to those whom the magazine appeals to as half way literate.
Its a shame really. But is it intentional? Not really. they feel they are justified because they have no idea what confirmation bias even is. :)
the gbs 2015 doctrinal spring cleaning is a gift to all faders.
when we were fading they were grappling with the dying generation.
their ensuing explanations made our diminishing meeting attendance and service easily explainable.
I actually agree with WWW. But the caveate is that this is very subjective. It all has to do with your local BOE. My old hall, and the elders, and some people really gunning for me.....all leave me alone. Why? Because I left for reasons of conscience. I am "taking my life in my own hands" to them, bt to me I am taking my life back.
Now if I wanted to put up Christmas lights, or post my sons birthday photo....that is a different deal. Maybe I will get there. But until i feel the urge, I haven't claimed depression, made excuses, or even been shunned by my close friends, despite my "stand".
Maybe that is the key. Taking a principled stand while letting others live. Exactly what we WISHED JW's would do......we can do ourselves.
the first ever billboard has been crowd funded on reddit and will be going up.
i'm curious to know if it will cause a spark in any jw's who already have questions or doubts and lead them to research into the child abuse cases and lead them to the thought that the wt and gb are not inspired or gods mouthpiece.
at the very least it will provide people a topic of conversation and questions to the jw's who knock on their door: "so whats this whole sex abuse in kingdom halls thing about i saw on the billboard down the road?
This is a fine idea. It was crowd funded so nobody came out of pocket too much. The more negative messaging out there the better. The cost is the cost. Saying it may have been better used elsewhere is pointless. Its done, and it going to be seen by 70% of the people going to the convention at least by what I can tell. Many may not have even heard of such a thing. Maybe it will shock some enough to look, or their kids will google the link int he back seat on their phones.
I do agree "kingdom hall" could be over the public s head.
dear friends,.
i would like to hear your comments or suggestions on the following:.
a little background info.. i managed to fade completely.
I think you got great advise. I am sorry things are working out with your wife the way that they are. Your greatest weapon in court, and you should not shy away from it, is the open ended question of weather or not if a doctor required her son to receive a blood transfusion, she would allow it, or not.
Don't tell them what she would do, make her say it. Some people find it so unbelievable that they don't take it seriously. This should get you all the visitation you want, and even custody if you really felt like it.
