Posts by rmt1

25

Dinah's "friends"...

by Viva la Vida in

an example on how the wt gets things out of proportion.

this is all we know about dinah's "friends" from the bible: .

"and dinah the daughter of leah, which she bare unto jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land" (ge 34:1).. wt conclusion: .

rmt1

I couldn't raise a good amount of indignation reading the Dinah story (at 40 yo) in My Book of Bible Studies, because it rather just came across as, "Well, this is stupid."

And because of the stupid argumentation of the text itself, I have a hard time being persuaded that the book itself had a great power to overcome young people's minds. Rather, I believe, it was the air that young JWs breathed in from their parents that formed the basis from which they grew up mentally, emotionally, etc, mal-adjusted. I would be rating a young specimen of species homo sapiens very very low if I thought for a second that letting that child alone with My Book of Bible Stories would cause irreparable harm. I would say the book itself is merely a symptom of the malady or evidence of the bankruptcy. I would agree with allergic reactions to the book in that context. The book itself? It's just stupid. Stupider, I say, than a young reading person can be fooled by. Even, I think, if that's all the young person has to read. It REQUIRES a parent to pound these points of crap into their head.

Thank you for the exegesis, Adamah.

25

Dinah's "friends"...

by Viva la Vida in

an example on how the wt gets things out of proportion.

this is all we know about dinah's "friends" from the bible: .

"and dinah the daughter of leah, which she bare unto jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land" (ge 34:1).. wt conclusion: .

rmt1

Thank you, Scully.

25

Dinah's "friends"...

by Viva la Vida in

an example on how the wt gets things out of proportion.

this is all we know about dinah's "friends" from the bible: .

"and dinah the daughter of leah, which she bare unto jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land" (ge 34:1).. wt conclusion: .

rmt1

Is there a free web version of My Book of Bible Stories? I mentioned it, out of a recollection of 20+ years ago, with something approching toleration, and this site gave me nine yards of anti-aircraft fire. Which tells me, ah, perhaps I would have to go back, as an adult, and re-read this thing to know where all this allergic reaction comes from. I do not recall the nuanced arguments of the text.

33

"Why would everyone be included this time...unless something special is about to happen?"

by Separation of Powers in

jw
friends

so, i am talking to a long time friend, you know, the non-judgmental type that doesn't really mind that i don't go to many meetings and am never out in service.

he tells me that the annual meeting is coming up and that the whole congregation is invited...well, at least the active "approved" whole congregation.

he speaks with an excitement that puzzles me, like he just got invited to the locker room of his favorite football team when they won the superbowl.

rmt1

"racket and snare".

Hm, your usage is an example of Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin, who formulated the process, "to make strange".

Now all I can see is a snare drum and a tennis racket.

41

New Light not accepted by all..

by Dis-Member in

jw
friends

i came across 3 very long serving regular pioneers today in the street.

they are out preaching full time ever day.

they are at the forefront and spearhead the teaching of jehovah's witnesses on ground level.

rmt1

"proof that even dedicated WT workers do not read their mags as they come. (not eager for food at the right now time).

They study at the last moment. in the second hour of the sunday meeting.

The "FDS sans apostles" idea "we love", will be only studied at the coming meetings."

I confess I am not a practising JWologist, one who scientifically studies JWs ('dubologist', vernacular).

But this point you raise is more eye-popping than anything I've cobbled together about the recent change.

Are you saying that they are saying that all the apostles from the New Testament have been kicked out of the heavenly 144,000 club?

33

"Why would everyone be included this time...unless something special is about to happen?"

by Separation of Powers in

jw
friends

so, i am talking to a long time friend, you know, the non-judgmental type that doesn't really mind that i don't go to many meetings and am never out in service.

he tells me that the annual meeting is coming up and that the whole congregation is invited...well, at least the active "approved" whole congregation.

he speaks with an excitement that puzzles me, like he just got invited to the locker room of his favorite football team when they won the superbowl.

rmt1

"I think it's an opportunity to fill up the Assembly Halls and charge the circuits/congregations for their use. Sat & Sun. Easily 3 meetings each day. Six "assemblies" @ $10K or $20K or more from each Assm Hall? CHA-CHING! Funds raised at KHalls for those events may even be directed to be sent to the WTS."

Fewest moving parts, maximum occam.

67

3 more branches closed?

by Viva la Vida in

jw
friends

it seems the finland branch has taken over the work from estonia, latvia and lithuania (see http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/offices/finland/).

rmt1

Well, there are accounts where the crowds came to Jesus, for they only had dough and tomatoes and cheese, and he performed a great miracle that fed thousands.

33

"Why would everyone be included this time...unless something special is about to happen?"

by Separation of Powers in

jw
friends

so, i am talking to a long time friend, you know, the non-judgmental type that doesn't really mind that i don't go to many meetings and am never out in service.

he tells me that the annual meeting is coming up and that the whole congregation is invited...well, at least the active "approved" whole congregation.

he speaks with an excitement that puzzles me, like he just got invited to the locker room of his favorite football team when they won the superbowl.

rmt1

I have seen one employer who is a Picasso or Rembrandt of dabbing a bit of "we're all in this together" on your festering wound of real insult or injury that you sustained from him or some coworker or third party, and then skillfully redirecting your not-entirely, or even remotely, addressed boohoo to some grand painting of the future. He keeps the ball of the conversation, he keeps the air filled with his voice, he keeps your ear filled with words and more words, he keeps talking so that you do not have a space to insert your opinion or draw attention to what hurts, he speaks over your interjection as if you had not spoken and as if your mouth did not even exist, he redirects your attention to his goals, and his last move is to perfectly execute a structured retreat from the conversation, keeping his rifle of a mouth trained on you, keeping your ear filled, talking about his goals as if they were your goals, even if you aren't aware of it just now, and then SNIP, he is out the door, out of the conversation, out of your reach, the case is closed, the doctor's visit is over, what are you bitching about NOW?, didn't we just go OVER this?. Your injuries fester but he distracted you long enough to see the bright side of just going along with the general flow that he outlined that leads to his goals, which are, after all -and let's not be selfish or self-centered or paranoid or go off the rails or make mountains out of mole hills or cause undue trouble with others or indulge in imagined sleights or be immature- good for you, and good for the team. I love Big Brother.

25

Dinah's "friends"...

by Viva la Vida in

an example on how the wt gets things out of proportion.

this is all we know about dinah's "friends" from the bible: .

"and dinah the daughter of leah, which she bare unto jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land" (ge 34:1).. wt conclusion: .

rmt1

There's some law that if someone slept with a girl he could pay her father a shekel and that's that. Fiddler on the Roof. So there's a disconnect in this story. Either they are groovy and pound-wise and there's a mechanism to smooth over this event, so that neither father figure loses face. Or, they are not groovy, they are genetically arrogant, and they accuse the other side of rendering their sister a 'harlot' as if the face-saving shekel option did not exist.

67

3 more branches closed?

by Viva la Vida in

jw
friends

it seems the finland branch has taken over the work from estonia, latvia and lithuania (see http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/offices/finland/).

rmt1

My earliest recollections were ~3 million JWs during a period of ~3 billion world pop. Now 7.1 billion world pop and 7.8 million JWs. I don't know how you measure the error in the measurement of the world population. But has the definition of what goes inot the JW claimed number stayed the same from late 70's to now? I'd bet not. I would bet that their definition has diffused itself so they can count additional gray hues of JW. So while it may be that JWs have kept up a 1:1000 world population ratio, they may not have. Can the error / wiggle room in the JW tabulation be characterized?