Terrible. No matter how crazy an idea is, it shouldn't be banned. Now, people should be held responsible for their actions and the WTS has gotten away with harming people via their shunning and blood policies. They should pay for that, but banning them or any other religion is not the answer.
Doubting Bro
JoinedPosts by Doubting Bro
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55
JW.org to be banned in Russia
by redvip2000 inmy facebook was "lit up" today with all the out cries about the possibility of the organization's website being banned in russia.. as many of you recall this past august a court in russia banned the website and sought to make accessing the website in russia illegal.
well tomorrow the appeal by the org will be heard in court.
if the appeal is denied, jw.org will no longer be available in that part of the world, causing endless lamentations and cries of "persecution", only to bolster the idea that they are truly hated by the world because they are true christians.
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Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-19-2014 WT Study (7 Shepherds, 8 Dukes)
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in16-20. we shall also have to raise up against him seven shepherds, yes, eight dukes of mankind.mic.
what is the most important thing that you can do now to prepare for any future attack on gods people?.
all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.. .
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Doubting Bro
Great thread!! I'm marking so I can reread. Wasn't at this meeting and I'm beginning to think we didn't go because my wife knew what I would say if I heard the comments.
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Doubting Bro
I'm with the crowd that says there is no way conventions/assemblies lose money. In my mid-sized city, we have an assembly hall. The rent for that is higher than what we paid for other venues before the AH was built. Granted, the facility is more user friendly in terms of layout, AV equipment, etc. But, it's not like they are losing money on it. I argue they are getting higher than market rates (or at the high end of market rates). Of course, they say some of it is for maintance and the like, but other venues would face the same thing. Plus, add on that they aren't really charging "rent" but rather the elders vote on the recommended donation based on the projected number of publishers assigned and you have a profit generating operation which DOESN'T PAY TAXES.
Now, on the international conventions, depending on the venue, I could see maybe some of them not turning a profit. Like some of the ones here in the US this year. It will be interesting to see if those cover the expenses. My guess is if donations don't, there will be a bill back to the individual districts/circuits to make up the difference.
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2014 DC: Fewer, but larger venues in the U.S.
by doinmypart inin the u.s. there are fewer venues this year, but they will be held in larger facilities.
as long as i can remember my family travelled no more than 2 hours to attend and in the last few years the dc was local (within a few minutes travel).
this year my family is driving 6 hours to a major u.s. city.
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Doubting Bro
Regarding the hotel rates, I booked one (during the meeting) last night using their web based list and it was much cheaper ($50 at least) from the last time I stayed in the same hotel for work about 4 months ago. Granted, they only had a block of maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the rooms but the rates are similar to what I would pay if I went to a business convention.
The WTS does lots of bad things. I'm sure they get some free rooms for their reps but that's common for anyone putting on a convention. I have never seen any evidence that they are somehow inflating the rates and getting a kickback. That just doesn't make any sense.
As a side note, this whole situation really sucks and most folks in the hall I attend are less than thrilled about the venue and the timing.
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Doubting Bro
LOL at the increase in partakers!! Growth still in positive territory but not real dynamic. No wonder they don't put them in the WT anymore.
I'm shocked they are still reporting the number of partakers. I can't imagine why they continue doing that. just makes them look bad
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2014 DC: Fewer, but larger venues in the U.S.
by doinmypart inin the u.s. there are fewer venues this year, but they will be held in larger facilities.
as long as i can remember my family travelled no more than 2 hours to attend and in the last few years the dc was local (within a few minutes travel).
this year my family is driving 6 hours to a major u.s. city.
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Doubting Bro
I know the venue that I normally attend rents the facility for next to nothing. The facility is owned by the local city and the department of tourism (or economic development can't remember which) kicks in on the bill due to pulling in people to the area over 4 weeks.
Not to say this is the case everywhere (although in the US I think its the case more often than not).
I've heard that folks in my area are having to head out about 2.5 hours to an outdoor venue instead of staying locally in an air conditioned venue. I see a major problem with rooming. I'll bet they will have people driving over an hour from their hotel.
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Why do the Governing Body do it ??
by Phizzy inwhen i was an active jw the constant demands for loyalty and obedience to the gb used to really annoy me, and mrs phizzy.. why on earth do they do it in such a shrill, screaming and obvious way ?.
they sound like spoilt kids, "you must play the game our way".. it was partly that constant harping that really helped me to wake up, i came to see just how much they had usurped the place of jesus.. surely it is counter-productive to do the demands as they do, loud and blatant.
they could get the same results with a seemingly humble attitude, after all, the new pope is the vicar of christ by title, but he comes over as humble..
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Doubting Bro
SOP - nice explaination.
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WTS HQ: Look At The Map
by metatron inhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/04/1263154/-what-s-the-most-jewish-congressional-district-in-america.
take a good look.
provides support for my theory that the society wants to 'hide out' in an area dominated by jewish enclaves - who quietly are a publically unchallenged 'law unto themselves' as they dominate or largely control wide swaths of ny territory right down to local pta elections.. this is not politically correct stuff, folks but power brokers in ny state gov.
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Doubting Bro
So you're saying that Orange County, NY was chosen because the village of KJ has been able to carve out a "theocratic" village that also has political power? Is your theory that the end game with the Warwick location is to essentially crave out a village that is close to 100% JWs and run it like a normal village? A little glimpse of the new system in this wicked world?
They would really need to make some theological changes to make that work. Not that making changes would be a big deal given the number they've made. But, I think it would cost them too much to do that. I'm sure they could get JWs to move there, especially pressuring those already in the NYC area to consider the move so they could keep their current jobs albeit with a much longer commute.
I don't see the advantage for them doing that. It won't save them money, won't make them money and while it would give them more control over the folks living there, would do little to improve their power over the 7 million JWs around the world.
If they were smart, which they are not, I would make Warwick Rutherford University or some such name. BYU has worked for the Mormons pretty well. Just slightly change the current restriction on "higher education" to say that this University would all JWs get the education necessary for todays world while not having the currupting influences of "the world". Get JW professors (may be a challenge but you could send some to various universities to get a teaching degree similar to what they do with the lawyers in their legal department). Charge a high tution (providing long term financing to "exemplary" publishers or kids of elders/ms). It would be another not for profit entity so another place to generate profits without paying taxes.
I used to think this was a company attempting to maximize profits under the guise of religion. I guess this project will really tell us if they are simply downsizing to ensure their future survival or if they indeed are looking to establish another revenue stream with either a universtiy, retirement community or some other sort of project at Warwick in addition to their world HQ.
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Why do the Governing Body do it ??
by Phizzy inwhen i was an active jw the constant demands for loyalty and obedience to the gb used to really annoy me, and mrs phizzy.. why on earth do they do it in such a shrill, screaming and obvious way ?.
they sound like spoilt kids, "you must play the game our way".. it was partly that constant harping that really helped me to wake up, i came to see just how much they had usurped the place of jesus.. surely it is counter-productive to do the demands as they do, loud and blatant.
they could get the same results with a seemingly humble attitude, after all, the new pope is the vicar of christ by title, but he comes over as humble..
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Doubting Bro
And I really think they believe their own hype. They've deluded themselves into thinking they are God's mouthpiece on earth. They can't be doing it for the money because they seem to make bad decisions when it comes to money (such as not charging for literature to avoid sales taxes in the US, banning college for members, etc). Sure, they do implement some recommendations from business type folks but I know I could maximize profits much better with a few tweaks.
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Are You Embarrassed Because You Were A Jehovah's Witness?
by minimus ini am not.
everyone makes mistakes..
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Doubting Bro
Extremely embarrassed. Even when I was a full on believer, many folks I worked with or knew outside the JWs were not aware that I was one. Even when I was an elder. I recall trying to fit in as a kid and learned that to make and keep friends, I needed to keep my JWism under wraps.
Now, since I have one foot out and one foot in, I really go to lengths to avoid telling anyone. Interestingly enough, I came out to someone I work with who I've known for many years. We are good friends and he knows I'm a JW. I've apologized to him for any stupid JW remarks I've made over our friendship. It was a relief to tell him all the crazy things that go down in that cult. He was shocked but now I have someone I can make jokes with.
I really thought he would think less of me because I was in a cult, but I think since I was a born-in, he really doesn't. He does not understand why I think my wife would leave me if I left and although I explained the ramifications of leaving, I don't think he realizes the extreme shunning that goes on.
I believe because most non-JWs don't have a clue what it means to be a JW (other than distributing mags, not celebrating holidays/birthdays and not taking blood), most think it's just another religion.