Posts by Whiskeyjack

16

What if "the end" happens in 2150?

by JustTickledPink in

jw
friends

just a question.... what if the wts came out with a for sure prediction based on new light that without a doubt armeggedon will be here in 2150?

well, that means that our generation will all die, but we can hope for a resurrection and we have to continue to preach and our grandchildren or great-grandchildren might actually be the ones to walk through the "end" into their "new system"

the question is how many jw's would there be?

Whiskeyjack

What would probably happen is the conventionalization (a new word?) of the religion to a more user frindly org. (the only ones that can survive in Western Society at least. The org. was really agressive and confrontational in earlier decades (placards, cars with loudspeakers, etc...) compared with today's kinder, gentler version when dealing with outsiders.

Voluntary service, more holidays, less career restraints, etc...

I don't think an apocalyptic religion can survive without its apocalypse! This conventionalisation process will continue unitl JW's are more like your average American bible belt morons.There will always be people who'd rather be told what to do than think for themselves -Hey- that's what religions are for anyway!

22

I promise to stop after this one, one more rant...

by wanderlustguy in

jw
friends

is not talking about the planet or why we are alive, but why are you reading this?

why have you sought out this place?

only you know those answers, and i definitely don?t know anything about anyone, but here is the answer for me.

Whiskeyjack

Wander,

There is definitely a we....

We are a very, very unique community (even if we rely on electronices and phone lines) just like grizzled old combat veterans who can't talk about their experiences but to a peer. Very few people can comprehend our collective experiences (my own pales in comparison to yours of course).

Just as Mr. Ellis wrote (from the movie Nostradomus Kid), "I looked out at a world I still couldn't feel a part of" - this was years after he left the Seventh Day Adventists. I still mourn the loss of my life mission to help change the world for God and that lack of a sense of purpose creates a fair amount of depression for me at times (my personality type identifies with causes, fights, etc...).

14

ok, door to door question.......

by freedom96 in

i am always teasing my wife about having a "country club" upbringing as a witness.. in the hall i grew up in, and those i attended for a few years after turning 18, were pretty hard core.

i tease her about how easy she had it.

which, in my mind was clearly the case, but that is another story.. this case involves going out in service.. in my halls, you went out almost regardless of weather.

Whiskeyjack

My dad was hardcore and felt if you were in service, you were in service. No coffee breaks (only a few in our hall took mid-morning breaks) and a minimum of two solid hours and actually trying to get them to come to their door.

I lived in a small town (20,000 plus) in Atlantic Canada so we had some rural territories as well (my dad was the MS in charge of territory distrbution so I was able to finnagle a couple of great rural territories for myself when I aux. pioneered in the summer months (we'd drive for hours playing tunes if we had a "cool" group" when I was a student.

Between the walking and driving, you hardly talked to anybody. Unfortunately, my dad also made us work the "undesireable" urban territories as well so it evened out.

Has anyone ever "faked" knocking on a door?

3

Has anybody seen the Australian film The Nostradomus Kid?

by Whiskeyjack in

i need help from all you aussie's out there.. most people i know have never heard of this movie.

it was written by john ellis (i believe) and deals with a young adolescent man's loss of faith (seventh day adventists) during the early sixties.

i never laughed so much.

Whiskeyjack

Darry,

The movie was probably made in the late eighties. It was shown on canadian television a couple of years back (came across it by accident while cruising channels-showcasee channel). I've never gone to the trouble to see if it can be specialy ordered but I would definitiely pay a hundred bucks plus to get it fot my personal collection.

You gotta see this movie then (you'll never cring and laugh so much at the same time)! The camping assembly scenes are worth it alone, it's not just some dumb "coming of age" movie as the google description makes out (the author's real life experiences).

Again, has anybody else seen rhis movie?

3

Has anybody seen the Australian film The Nostradomus Kid?

by Whiskeyjack in

i need help from all you aussie's out there.. most people i know have never heard of this movie.

it was written by john ellis (i believe) and deals with a young adolescent man's loss of faith (seventh day adventists) during the early sixties.

i never laughed so much.

Whiskeyjack

I need help from all you Aussie's out there.

Most people I know have never heard of this movie. It was written by John Ellis (I believe) and deals with a young adolescent man's loss of faith (Seventh Day Adventists) during the early sixties. I never laughed so much. The man could have been a witness.

Does anyone else remember it?

25

Can you ever forgive your family for shunning you?

by jeanniebeanz in

jw
friends

?

Whiskeyjack

I guess I'm lucky since my parents have bent over backwards to "be cool" with us. As I've mentionned all of my sibs (5 of us) still have a slightly strained relationship with our folks (hard workers who while diligent in their programing obligations would also stand up for us. My 2nd brother was esttranged for several years with no contact and it nearly broke their hearts but he's reconciled with them 3 years back.

We do our part in being "descreet" in our visits by keeping a low profile around other JW relatives/associates and events to make it less awkward for them. My dad never agreed with sending people to Coventry (shunning) even though he was a "by the book" type of man.

Point is though, Dozens of relatives partied with my sibs and parents when we visisted them out east this summer. Most are still JW's and it was this thread that just made me realize how unusual their behaviour was. One of them is an elder to boot but has experienced a little reality with his own grown children in recent years.

I was interested in Taylor J.'s comment of shunning his relatives instead. I've talked to others in the same boat as many of us and agreed that we have an ethical dilema. Do we let them break the rules and maintain contact or shun them instead until they renounce the org.? (it rankles a little to let them have their cake and eat it too don't you think?)

So, in addition to Jeannie's query, I would ask if anybody broke off contact for reasons similar to the above.

17

A JWD / Knowledge Jones ...

by Taylor S. in

i've been thinking about it in my sleep ... can sleep.

it's been less than a month since i stumbled onto this site while researching the roots of jwism for a character i'm writing on.

since then, i haven't written anything, haven't done much recreationally .... i've just been digging deeper through this site and simultaneously .... digging through my memories of growing up dub.

Whiskeyjack

I know how you feel Taylor J.

As a former lifer myself, I'm embarassed by how much internal organizational stuff I never even heard about. My sister passed the board's address two weeks ago and I've been lurking and now posting sever since- so if I'm an addict that makes her the pusher.

My blood boils when I think of genuine people like my parents investing their lives and taking unquestionning direction from the GB.

5

Do You Know Any of These People?

by xjw_b12 in

top seven idiots of 2004. .

i am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at.

the poison control center.

Whiskeyjack

These guys were dumb enough to be executives! Thanks.

97

WATCHTOWER AND TOBACCO INDUSTRY???

by chuckyy in

.

i have heard recently that the society has some sort of financial connections with philip morris the tobacco giant.. is this true???

chukyy

Whiskeyjack

An interesting ethics management question. Those of you that have taken an ethics course know that it can leave you feeling dizzy.

The question, IMO, is is the WTBS exercising a stringent enough examination system to identify ethical boundaries and have appropriate decision matrices for its personnel? This is not easy to do even for a small organization (I was in a financial services watchdog program-compliance cops).

Do those of you with mutual funds (even "ethical" ones) request quaterly portfolio listing and review the activities of each company-do you own part of haliburton, tobaco companies, arms manufactueres and so forth? All they do is in your name.

In this case, I do find it bizarre that this type of donation would be accepted but it does not constitute a relation with PHM Tobacco any more than you investment holders (I screen those companies myself but I'm an anal, contrarian bastard!). To say there is a relationship is misleading missing the true issue which is acceptance of the income offered by the trust-I'm aware of no law forcing receipt of trust payments up in canada (I'm an ex-investment funds advisor and banker)

Eduardo is technically right.

46

My first post and THANK YOU to all

by xjwms in

jw
friends

this site has been a place that i have visited many times.. i would like to make some friends and meet local people.. to blondie ... words cannot explain how much i appreciate.

the reviews.

i can see so clearly how the studies keep members.

Whiskeyjack

Welcome fellow newbie.

Packers Suck, Argonauts Rule!