My poor nephew got baptized this summer. He's 11.
neverendingjourney
JoinedPosts by neverendingjourney
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44
More WT Propaganda: 10 Year Old Children Should Get Baptized!
by Oubliette ini just caught this in an upcoming study article which will be "studied" in the congregations the week of 11/18-24/13:.
he and his wife were elated when their eldest daughter, age ten, told them that she loved her parents, loved the brothers and sisters, and loved jehovah very much.
she said that she wanted to dedicate her life to jehovah and get baptized.
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The Current State of the Watchtower & The Cynicism of Soviet Communism
by cofty ini am reading a book by victor sebestyn called "revolution 1989 - the fall of the soviet empire".
if you lived through the astonishing collapse of communism in the late '80s i highly recommend it.. what has struck me is the description of life under communism in the six soviet satellite states of east germany, poland, czechoslovakia, hungary, romania and bulgaria.. here is a couple of paragraphs that really stood out to me as a possible parallel to the current climate in the regime of jw.org.. ---------------------------------------------------------.
once idealism or revolutionary fervour had disappeared - certainly by the soviet invasion of czechosloakia in 1968 - the system stagnated.
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neverendingjourney
I think we're just using "cynic" in different ways. To me Benny Hinn is a cynic. The guy doesn't believe an ounce of what he's saying but he's acting in his self interest by using the gullible masses to line his pockets handsomely. Joel Osteen is a fantastic businessman. He get's what people are looking for in religion and he's supplying a product for that market.
What you're describing, I think, is more of situation where religious truth has become irrelevant to the men who head the Jehovah's Witnesses today. That concern has been supplanted by the desire to maintain their authority and to preserve the structure that allowed them to ascend to such power in the first place. Perhaps they were once ardent believers, but they are now less concerned about truth and almost solely focused on maintaining power.
The latter doesn't require that they be great businessmen or evangelizers and I hope they never become either. They're certainly not particularly good at it today.
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The Current State of the Watchtower & The Cynicism of Soviet Communism
by cofty ini am reading a book by victor sebestyn called "revolution 1989 - the fall of the soviet empire".
if you lived through the astonishing collapse of communism in the late '80s i highly recommend it.. what has struck me is the description of life under communism in the six soviet satellite states of east germany, poland, czechoslovakia, hungary, romania and bulgaria.. here is a couple of paragraphs that really stood out to me as a possible parallel to the current climate in the regime of jw.org.. ---------------------------------------------------------.
once idealism or revolutionary fervour had disappeared - certainly by the soviet invasion of czechosloakia in 1968 - the system stagnated.
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neverendingjourney
Which is my point. They have a free labor source at their disposal. Any businessman with half a brain would put that force to use in ways that are financially renumerating. You could accomplish both goals at once: make money and keep the r&f busy.
By maintaining the ineffective field service program in place, these guys act more like brainwashed buffoons who keep the status quo in place because that's what other "inspired" servants of god set up in their day and by gosh they're gonna keep doing god's will.
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39
The Current State of the Watchtower & The Cynicism of Soviet Communism
by cofty ini am reading a book by victor sebestyn called "revolution 1989 - the fall of the soviet empire".
if you lived through the astonishing collapse of communism in the late '80s i highly recommend it.. what has struck me is the description of life under communism in the six soviet satellite states of east germany, poland, czechoslovakia, hungary, romania and bulgaria.. here is a couple of paragraphs that really stood out to me as a possible parallel to the current climate in the regime of jw.org.. ---------------------------------------------------------.
once idealism or revolutionary fervour had disappeared - certainly by the soviet invasion of czechosloakia in 1968 - the system stagnated.
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neverendingjourney
I don't buy into the GB-as-cynics theory. If this were true, why do they continue to deploy a free labor force of millions into a service that provides next to zero results (field service). If the GB were cynics and businessmen, wouldn't they deploy the labor force into projects like building kingdom/assembly halls or otherwise deploy that labor in a way that strengthens the bottom line?
Now that being said, if they continue to beef up their online presence and show true business savvy in other ways, I might begin to change my opinion.
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Elders receive a report that I am openly displaying false religious symbol
by confusedandalone inwhen you look at the image above what do you see?
a sneaker or an outward display that i am now following after another religious group?.
well yesterday i had a 10 minute conversation with an elder who finally got the balls to call me.
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neverendingjourney
What about driving a Mercury?
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39
The Current State of the Watchtower & The Cynicism of Soviet Communism
by cofty ini am reading a book by victor sebestyn called "revolution 1989 - the fall of the soviet empire".
if you lived through the astonishing collapse of communism in the late '80s i highly recommend it.. what has struck me is the description of life under communism in the six soviet satellite states of east germany, poland, czechoslovakia, hungary, romania and bulgaria.. here is a couple of paragraphs that really stood out to me as a possible parallel to the current climate in the regime of jw.org.. ---------------------------------------------------------.
once idealism or revolutionary fervour had disappeared - certainly by the soviet invasion of czechosloakia in 1968 - the system stagnated.
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neverendingjourney
The constant "churn" of membership has historically helped isolate the Witnesses from succumbing to the same fate, I think. It has re-supplied the organization with a fresh set of true believers to prevent it from becoming completely ossified.
I suspect that's coming to an end, though. The growth has slowed down tremendously over the past 20 years. If the constant stream of new believers dries up and leadership doesn't do anything to instill a renewed sense of vigor, I have no doubt they'll eventually go the way of the USSR. Actually, the Worldwide Church of God is probably a better example, but that's a topic for a different thread.
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Unconfirmed 2014 Year Book Numbers - Peak Pubs, Baptized, Hrs, Reg Pio & Studies
by OwnAccord ini bethelite sent this email out - can't really give out names.
we wrote these figures as quickly as possible, but could not keep up 100%).
you get to check these figures out when you get your 2014 yearbook.
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neverendingjourney
Perhaps even ask the mormons how they actually spend time in more useful things such as having 10,138 Welfare Service Missionaries mssionaries in 179 countries providing relief in projects such as neonatal resuscitation training, clean water projects, wheelchair distribution, vision treatment and measles vaccinations.
Why help people who'll be destroyed in Armageddon soon?
<sarcasm>
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Unconfirmed 2014 Year Book Numbers - Peak Pubs, Baptized, Hrs, Reg Pio & Studies
by OwnAccord ini bethelite sent this email out - can't really give out names.
we wrote these figures as quickly as possible, but could not keep up 100%).
you get to check these figures out when you get your 2014 yearbook.
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neverendingjourney
I didn't know that about "peak publishers."
As with the 15 minute arrangement for the infirmed, there are games the society can keep playing to massage the numbers, but you gotta think at some point they'll run out.
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Unconfirmed 2014 Year Book Numbers - Peak Pubs, Baptized, Hrs, Reg Pio & Studies
by OwnAccord ini bethelite sent this email out - can't really give out names.
we wrote these figures as quickly as possible, but could not keep up 100%).
you get to check these figures out when you get your 2014 yearbook.
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neverendingjourney
Interesting. If the numbers are real, they're still outpacing the global population increase rate.
Again, assuming the numbers are legit (by that I mean they weren't fudged by the Society), the growth has to be coming from the third world.
All evidence seems to suggest that in the developed world the "growth" is coming from within, children born in the religion. But you would think this wouldn't be enough to keep pace with those publishers who die every year and those who are DF'd or simply fall away.
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Wasting Time In The Ministry--How Did You Do It??
by minimus ini know of a couple of elders that regularly went out in the ministry throughout the week.
no matter which street they were on, they always seemed to be near the same spot.
someone here talked about the michael jackson moonwalk.
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neverendingjourney
I struggle with serious, deep, chronic depression.
I would not ring the bell or knock at all .
There was an MS/Pioneer at my hall who battled through serious bouts of depression himself.
Handing out tracts during the very early hours of the morning at the parking lots of local grocery stores and gas stations was popular in my area. On one occassion I found him sitting in his car, alone, no tie, with the windows up just sulking.
Other times he would arrange the group so that he would be the odd man out. Rather than fake knocking he would drive around making sure "the sisters were okay." Kind of like a rent a cop.
I used to really loathe the guy (he was an a-hole in a lot of other ways), but with time I've come to realize he was suffering from something he couldn't really seek treatment for.
He eventually went to MTS and found ways of skirting difficult assignments. Last I heard he'd been DF'd. I lost touch with him about a decade ago.