Posts by slimboyfat

34

How to disorder a JW (family) chat

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

we all know the moment that a nice family chat is moving to the propaganda game.. sister in law saying that jw.org is the highest ranked website, cousing saying that the new hq is energy neutral, aunt stating that jw have the best education.... what can we say on these moments?.

that br splane just likes these new light ideas?.

that a jw.org video stated that jw use the name jehovah because people recognize this name?.

slimboyfat

Saying that the JW website only gets so many visitors because there are millions of JWs and they are expected to visit for important literature updates, kind of misses the points. There are millions of JWs, and apparently they faithfully follow the literature updates by visiting the website. That is the point, and apparently more so than any other religious group. Some of the competing websites are well known, like the blue letter Bible is well established. I used to use it often.

And I know JWs who don't bother with days text or broadcasts.

34

How to disorder a JW (family) chat

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

we all know the moment that a nice family chat is moving to the propaganda game.. sister in law saying that jw.org is the highest ranked website, cousing saying that the new hq is energy neutral, aunt stating that jw have the best education.... what can we say on these moments?.

that br splane just likes these new light ideas?.

that a jw.org video stated that jw use the name jehovah because people recognize this name?.

slimboyfat

I wonder if the popularity of JW.org is only a recent development, since the promotion of the website in the last couple of years.

45

The true meaning of "Jehovah" and the "overlapping generation" REVEALED!

by slimboyfat in

there has been some renewed interest in the meaning of the name jehovah on the forum in recent weeks.

combined with the ongoing discussion about the new "overlapping generation" teaching, speculation among the friends and among the ex-friends has been reaching something of a frenzy.

so it's perhaps appropriate that a little more should be revealed now about the meaning behind some of the perplexing events that have been taking place.

slimboyfat

I forget what the point of this thread was originally. But I find it oddly persuasive actually! lol

34

How to disorder a JW (family) chat

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

we all know the moment that a nice family chat is moving to the propaganda game.. sister in law saying that jw.org is the highest ranked website, cousing saying that the new hq is energy neutral, aunt stating that jw have the best education.... what can we say on these moments?.

that br splane just likes these new light ideas?.

that a jw.org video stated that jw use the name jehovah because people recognize this name?.

slimboyfat

That's amazing

36

What is the watchtower going to do when

by pepperheart in

what is the watchtower going to do when the money runs out ??

?.

slimboyfat

They spend quarter of a billion a year on missionaries, pioneeers and circuit overseers alone. How much more on HQ and branches?

Plus why assume there was no leverage on the properties they sold?

Plus how much did they lose in the 2008 crash?

Plus didn't Lett say the sale of one building only covers running costs for a a few months?

Plus are't JWs the least well educated, lowest paid religious group in the US?

Plus haven't JWs always boasted that they don't beg for donations and hasn't that bred a "receive free" attitude in many JWs?

Plus haven't they lost their biggest source of income which was book and magazine sales?

Plus don't they lack exactly the sort of political connections that other groups exploit for financial and other advantages of various kinds?

I could go on. There is every reason to suspect JWs are an increasing poor religion, and every evidence of panic in the leadership at the realisation they are running out of funds.

36

What is the watchtower going to do when

by pepperheart in

what is the watchtower going to do when the money runs out ??

?.

slimboyfat

Stop printing literature, sack lots of bethelites and DOs, close branches, consolidate Kingdom Halls, ask for more donations.

Hang on, has the money already run out?

36

White supremacy is an ideology of peace

by OneEyedJoe in

i'm tired of hearing these constant attacks on white supremacists after the events in charlottesville.

why are moderate white supremacists being lumped in together and sharing the blame for the actions of one reprehensible man that misinterpreted the ideals of white supremacy and became violent?

clearly the motivation of such attacks on white supremacists is nothing other than racism.

slimboyfat

Oh yeah, like this forum hasn't gone mental or anything. Not at all.

45

in retrospect: RBCs vs LDCs / the hype about a lot of new construction and subsequent abrupt halt to construction

by Magnum in

so, now that some time has passed, i’d like some input/thoughts/analysis/etc.

on the jw construction situation in the last few years.. first, why did they discontinue the rbc arrangement and institute the ldc arrangement?

was it for more and/or better control?

slimboyfat

Is there anything tangible left from these plans? Letters, videos, documents?

45

in retrospect: RBCs vs LDCs / the hype about a lot of new construction and subsequent abrupt halt to construction

by Magnum in

so, now that some time has passed, i’d like some input/thoughts/analysis/etc.

on the jw construction situation in the last few years.. first, why did they discontinue the rbc arrangement and institute the ldc arrangement?

was it for more and/or better control?

slimboyfat

My personal opinion is that they had a sudden financial reversal and had to change plans.

Remenber they produced a calendar praising increased construction, that was released in time to coincide with the halt in construction?

Nowadays they've stopped publishing calendars altogether as an unnecessary expense.

i hope someone has documented in full the hype that surrounded the "increased construction" and the subsequent climbdown, from elder letters, broadcast statements and so on.

7

Atheism is likely as old as Religious thinking - thinkers often doubted the existence of supernatural beings.

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

i've only just discovered an important book on the topic of atheism was published in 2015. it's title is, "battling the gods: atheism in the world.

" by tim whitmarsh, professor of greek culture at the uk's university of cambridge.. whitmarsh reviews a 1000 years of greek/roman writings and can demonstrate that the surviving writings of many famous ancient authors discussed disbelief in the god(s).that alone casts doubts on the concept many 'believers' today promote, that a belief in divinities is hard wired into the brain.

and, just as clearly, atheism is not just a modern view.. whitmarsh argues, " that early societies were far more capable than many since of containing atheism within the spectrum of what they considered normal.

slimboyfat

This book about seculatisation.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sacred-Secular-Religion-Worldwide-Cambridge/dp/1107648378

It seems robust methodologically and has been praised by other social scientists of religion such as Steve Bruce.

It uses social attitude surveys and compares them with a security and development index (from memory, I can't remember the exact term) to conclude that: religion thrives in societies that are unstable and insecure and it diminishes in peaceful societies with strong social security provisions.

So it concludes religion is declining in the west but is robust elsewhere. And because of demographic patterns in poor countries compared with wealthy countries, the percentage of atheists is going down globally while the number of believers is increasing.