Posts by zarco

10

How to Keep Nosy JW Relatives at Bay

by Open mind in

jw
friends

my family is in the process of reaching out to establish friendships outside the jw religion.

at some point we will likely be ready to fade into total jw inactivity.

when we do that there will inevitably be numerous well-intentioned attempts to snatch us from the jaws of satan.

zarco

OM -

I think relatives figure things out. We usually just say something like, we hope you are right, time will tell, I have been thinking about that and still can't get my head around it.

We had a family gathering recently and come to find out, none of the family were active (we all live in different parts of the country). We also invited a few friends from when we were young and they are not really active either. It was funny to find out that we were all in similar circumstances. We had a healthy discussion about how harmful it is to be isolated from educational, sporting and similar activities growing up. The two families that still have school age kids allow them to participate in sports and other activities. All of the kids have plans to go to college. We were all in agreement that none of the kids should consider baptism until they are finished with college.

It was a surreal experience.

Zarco

22

Selling Sacramento, CA Convention Deal to Skeptical Public

by dannyboy in

jw
friends

i live near sacramento, ca and earlier this week the local convention authority held a big deal press conference announcing a "deal" with jehovah's witnesses (see clip below).

based on comments to local news media on their websites, more than a few people are not too crazy about the idea..... i heard an interview on a local station where the head guy [of the convention authority] was defending (sounded very defensive) the city's deal with the dubs, by saying "well, they'll bring hotel dollars, food dollars, and they'll be visiting all of our local museums, evening life, and entertainment attractions.....so the monetary impact will be huge for us...".

specifically discouraged from doing any of those "extra" things..... hope those attractions aren't hiring more employees to handle the witness "crowds"........ also, during the interview, he said that the convention authority would be able to select the dates for the various conventions.

zarco

Open mind -

I stare at all the faces on the street for the flashing "666" and have not been able to spot you yet :)

zarco

63

The Elder Bag. Going the way of the Dodo?

by Open mind in

jw
friends

another time & place.

20-25 years ago in a conservative "god's country" us state.

a look around the kingdom hall could easily identify the theocratic pecking order.. .

zarco

This might be the best thread of all time.

29

What does an MS do?

by deemoo in

right... so i've hung around on jwn for a while now, but i simply can't figure out where an ministerial servant stands in the hierarchy scheme of the wts.. there's the r&f or rank & file.. then there seems to be the microphone handlers, sound checkers, donation bin watchers, index card for territory managers, person who is in charge of the books, etc.. then there are elders.

circuit overseers.

bethelites.

zarco

I have been both and being an MS is a lot harder than being an elder. It is really a strange organization.

15

First Ever JW to attend ETON College. Boy's father steps down as MS.

by ThomasCovenant in

jw
friends

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education-news/2009/09/03/winning-a-scholarship-to-eton-91466-24595339/.

eton college is possibly the most famous public school in the world and they have recently accepted their first ever jehovah's witness.

the link above is a local news item.. i am reliably informed that the boy's father 'stepped down' from his 'position' of ministerial servant as some in the local congregation were not too happy with the example being set.. .

zarco

Gayle - the letter was read at the BOE meeting with the CO. It presented a couple of scenarios to determine if an appointed brother was setting a good or bad example. I don't have a copy of the letter. But as you would expect the good example had the young person auxiliary pioneering and attending school part time and the bad example had the young person not fully involved with the congregation and attending school full time, possibly living in the dorms. The appointed brother in the "bad" scenario would no longer qualify.

zarco

9

former JW now Rhodes scholar - daddy let her think for herself

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

university of louisville graduate named rhodes scholarhttp://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091121/news01/911210361/university+of+louisville+graduate+named+school+s+first+rhodes+scholar.

monica marks grew up among fundamentalist jehovahs witnesses in eastern kentucky craving books and learning in a community where education wasnt valued.. today the university of louisville graduate is the state's latest rhodes scholar, the winner of one of the most coveted awards in academia.. growing up, the discussion wasnt about what college you would go to, it was whether or not you were even going to college, she said.

the idea of going to university and getting a degree, much less getting a rhodes, didnt even fall within our purview.. at 23 years of age, her studies in islamic law have already taken her around the globe to places like jordan, tanzania and tunisia.

zarco

A wonderful report. Thanks for posting it, Randy.

18

Does JW Upbringing Result In Inferior Adults?

by minimus in

jw
friends

if a person is raised a witness, does it mean they are inferior to everyone else?

is it necessarily better to be raised a catholic, a jew, or even a non religious person, in the long run?

does one's morality and quality of life suffer because of having been a jehovah's witness?.

zarco

I know many well-adjusted adult witnesses, but I think they are in the minority. The “witness-way” of focusing short-term because god is going to fix everything soon is very damaging. It distorts the cost/benefit analyses that one uses to make long term decisions like buying a home, getting an education, working in a community and with environmental matters. Why make such investments if the end is just around the corner?

For similar reasons, witnesses are sometimes not the best business owners, as any successful business must think long term and cultivate customer relationships that last a lifetime. The teachings of the WTS do not encourage such a view, rather employment or a business is to make money in the fewest hours possible so that one can pursue spiritual goals.

I believe the consequences of short-term thinking are severe and harm the emotional and financial health of witnesses. Some are able to rise above it by deciding, some without not even realizing it, that they do not believe the end is coming and build - family, relationships, businesses - with a lifetime in view. The consequences of WTS teaching are probably unintended, but very real.

Zarco

34

would there be any reason for you to attend another church?

by highdose in

jw
friends

i don't mean go back to a kingdom hall, i mean other religons any of them.

can anybody think of a reason that they might do this?.

i', begining to feel curious about the church up my road, just curious, thought about popping in there one sunday, i will probably run out screaming 5 mins later but there you are....

zarco

I doubt we will ever join a church. We have been to a couple of Catholic weddings. One was incredible in which a liberal Priest from Berkeley handled the service for our liberal friends. We had a blast. At the reception we ended up seated next to the Priest and sipped wine with him and talked about all sorts of subjects. It was interesting to us how well educated and worldly-wise the Priest was. We had been conditioned to expect less.

The second Catholic wedding was a traditional Latin Mass combined with a wedding. It was beautiful, but a little too scripted for our tastes and the Priest seemed a little pretentious.

We have decided that Yosemite is our new church, although we will attend at the California Coast from time to time. No tithing and we feel as close to god there as we do anywhere.

zarco

128

Are There Certain Posters You Trust Here?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i've been on this site for a number of years now.

i don't easily trust just anybody.

having said that, there are a few persons here that know my real identity and i'm comfortable with them.. are there certain posters that you trust here?.

zarco

I always trust my own postings until I read the same post a few months later:). For those of us making the transition from being an active Witness to being what we are now, the emotions are sometimes extreme. For the record, I trust my posts that I made today and the poster that made them.

Best,

30

Please help re:objections to Thanksgiving?

by M.J. in

what are the standard jw objections to thanksgiving?

do they claim there is any kind of a scriptural basis for condemning it?

i plan on asking someone about this and i'm curious what types of reasoning they might try to throw at me.

zarco

Also, Witnesses should never say 'Sunday' or 'Monday' because they are derived from the sun's day and the moon's day. They should stay at home reading the Revelation book instead so as not to recognize or have a part in false worship...

Isn't the thinking about Thanksgiving adsurd?

zarco