i watched an entertaining german film on cable last night called run.
lola, run.
the plot revolves around how a young woman named lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 marks or her boyfriend gets executed by the mob.. the film cleverly replays a 20 minutes running scene in which lola reacts differently each time to things which happen on her run(s).. one incident has lola nearly knocking down an old woman pedestrian as she rounds a corner.
Ahh...memories....
Just for perspective the following spoof on the Spielberg movie "JAWS" "aired" around the time of the WTBTS 1975 push. As I watched the skit I suddenly realized how serious the world was "taking" "our" ministry.
Garrett Morris played the JW.
The punchline is ...where else...at the end of the skits transcript.
... http://snltranscripts.jt.org/scripts/75djaws.phtml ...
Flip
post title - jungle fever in the borg or inter-racial relationship dynamics in the borg.. back in the the day inter-racial relationships were frowned on, especially if you wanted to advance spiritually (climb the corporate ladder).
i remember at bethel a few of the brothers in service department used to always tell brothers that it would be beneficial to marry in their own race if they wanted to be used in the circuit work.
the premise was that the society is not biased but rather the world is and to avoid conflict, they only prefer to use couples of the same race.
...I even remember being "pulled over" by an elder at a District Convention one year while we were cruising the hallways and he asked my friend for his identification....they felt he had been lying about his age...
Hi bwoga, insightful post.
If you have time could you please clarify your quote above? I didn’t get the part about age and identification. What’s that all about?
Flip
i "stormed" out of a meeting for the first time in my life tonight.
well, i really just walked really fast, but inside myself i was storming.
anybody catch some of the insolent comments made in the 6/01km?
Hi Homme Noir,
::The concentration needs to be on taking an encouraging and NON-JUDGEMENTAL stance and focusing on how to be the best you can be and maintain have a spiritual focus. Spirituality is applying BIBLE PRINCIPLES and not serving the selfish interests of a publishing company.
Your pragmatism is all well and good but first you have to ask yourself, is the WTBTS and it’s affiliates actually serious about helping as many individuals as possible or are they a business that has nothing to do with some cosmic spiritually other than use a self expressed declaration as an excuse for the same lucrative tax breaks any other religion receives.
Alternatively, do those who control the WTBTS purse strings feel that they have to be financially successful and then one day when they get around to it act as you described?
By their actions over many, many years this corporation has had every opportunity to make a choice of direction…they chose capitalism instead. Not necessarily a terrible choice, after all it’s the American Way is it not?
Let me be the first to wish everyone a Happy “First of July” (for our Canadian Friends) and “Fourth of July”(for our American Buddies)!
Flip
interesting profile in the 2/15/2000 watchtower (pp.26-29) praising a 17th-century orthodox church patriarch who was murdered and thrown to the sharks for attempting to effect reform in his church.
quote:.
cyril lucaris (b.
Hi Ros, it was Venice’s response to your post that got me thinking alternatively about this subject.
The WTBTS is a publishing company.
The most current article the writing department is authorized to publish carries more influence than articles written in the past.
Lets face it, WTBTS publications have a limited shelf life and the historical retention time span of loyal Jehovah’s Witnesses is manipulated to be very short.
This one article will supersede all others, and call into question any and all validity of “apostate” arguments that condemn Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t recognize or support freedom of religion within the WTBTS community. And will be referred to as written proof that they do, at least for a while.
Those who actually control the WTBTS are very smart cookies…you’d almost think they monitor these boards like hawks.
Flip
what if the borg sent out a letter adressed to all congregations in the united states and it said this.. dear brothers:.
the faithfull and discreet slave in which you know is directed by jehovahs holy spirit has directed us to request that you immediatley begin to rid yourself of any and all unnecessary material items, and we are requesting that all moneys from the sell of these items be sent to the wbts as soon as possible.. after you rid yourself of these burdens it should be no problem for all of the brotherhood to begin the full time preaching work as regular pioneers.
you can rest assured that jehovah will provide for all of your needs since you are putting his kingdom first.. best wishes from your fellow slaves at the borg.. .
Hi Big!
They've been doing it for years. However, with a little more subtlety and less panache than expressed in your fictitious letter.
Flip
i was just thinking about this.
having been raised "in the truth" post-1975, i didn't grow up with any specific year in mind.
yes, there was the notion of "this generation will by no means pass away," but by the time i was old enough to think about that concept, the people who were born in 1914 (to stretch it out as far as possible, as the society ultimately did) were still only in their 60's.
I was born into the “truth”.
As a child I would wake up at night in a sleepy haze to the slow moving, engine sound of a wayward jet airliner flying high over my parents house.
Although I was too young to realize at the time that it was just an innocuous commercial flight rather than a military aircraft, I would sweat profusely while pressing my body as tight as I could into my mattress and slowly grasp the edge of my blankets and pull them towards me as if they would protect me once the bombs of the “King of the North” or “King of the South” and Armageddon began to drop from the aircraft.
As the sound slowly began to dissipate into the distance to finally fall silent, I would be much relieved that I was not to die tonight and prayed sincerely to Jehovah thanking Him for sparing me.
Fortunately, while growing up, jet aircraft were not as prevalent flying overhead as they are today otherwise as a child I was sleep deprived enough as it was and I attribute many a sleepless night as a small child directly to my parents association with the WTBTS.
I don’t blame my parents for being so ignorant by choosing to become Jehovah's Witnesses; I blame those controlling the WTBTS for being so devious and devoid of humanity for their own sake.
Flip
while i was an active jw, i remember so often that whenever we had a question that couldn't be answered, we would hear: "just wait a little bit and you can be sure it will be brought out in an article soon.
" and sure enough, it happened just like that, time and time again.. my topic title question has been rolling around in my head ever since hearing the talks and the drama dialogue as i posted earlier on the topic "dc subtle propaganda".. the wts obviously knows many of its members are lurking here and other sites, and their lies are getting more exposure than ever before, and i feel as though the org is keeping tabs on these sites.
many here have been telling their experiences and life stories revealing many skeletons from the wts closet, openly criticizing the attitudes and harsh actions of the org.. these are just a few of the phrases hammered at repeatedly as reminders at the dc this past weekend:.
This is the time of the end, alright, the time of the end of the WTB&TS, and it couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of bastards. And I will be standing on the sidelines cheering in celebration of their demise for all the pain they've caused in my life. Fuck 'em, I say.
Sadly to say Francoise, although I’ll echo most of your sentiments, I’m of a different opinion in so far as how and why the WTBTS utilizes less than flattering information found on the internet, or any other media for that matter.
If I were pulling the strings at Paterson, I’d be pro-actively using the corporate critique found on the internet as an informational barometer to gauge just how much to tweak current dogma or policys that are a little over the top. Then make it more palatable to the those they’re trying to influence which should be a simple matter, after all the rank & file are Jehovah’s Witnesses, not MENSA and the “worldly” media is, in most cases, much to fragmented not to be manipulated.
Sure you may lose a few of the more thoughtful and empathic rank & file along the way, but it’s the dysfunctional steadfast Jehovah’s Witness who are the real bread and butter of the WTBTS. Otherwise who else, in the long term, would buy into their drivel and try to recruit their own family members and others?
The upper echelon executives are not affected the same way because they’re motivated differently. They’re going to stay regardless because that’s where the power and security is. And don’t think negative information surprises them, the Internet is not telling them anything they don’t already realize about their corporation, it’s the rank & file who need to get a clue.
As for losing quality Elders, there are only two, over riding principles Elders need to understand.
· First, if you want to be a Jehovah’s Witness and gain “Everlasting Life”, you need to buy (donate) WTBTS products.
· Second, motivate others to buy (donate) WTBTS products through FUD.
Any WTBTS adapted Multi Level Marketing techniques learned by Elders will suffice.
Finally, and until such time as G7 governments decide to review how the heck this organization deserved tax-free status in the first place, if the WTBTS combines the captive ‘cash flow’ audience made up of actively publication purchasing (donation) Jehovah’s Witnesses along with compounding real estate and investment returns, those guys from Brooklyn will be laughing all the way to the bank, for a long, long.. long… long time.
Flip
as ive mentioned in other posts, i felt obligated to go to the dc (in hamilton) this weekend to help my family with my aging mom, who in my opinion just goes for the social outing because she is physically not able to stay awake for more that 1/5 th of the whole sessions except intermissions.. i know others have posted their observations of the dc they attended but id like to make an addition from things that just jumped right out at me and made me go argggghhhhh!.
and btw....i felt some of the comments made seemed to be as though they were answering their justification of some of the things being brought out on the internet, including here.. on friday, even in talks that were not about higher education, they managed to slip in their subtle propaganda, as in:.
- bob alton, said peter and john were outspoken about gods word and were unlettered and ordinary men they didnt need higher education to speak wondrous things of god.
Hello Had 'Enuff', thank you for the information!
I find your following observation clearly illustrates that, because Brother Alton was most likely repeating the WTBTS script verbatim, the executives controlling the organization are either sadly lacking understanding or absolutely disingenuous by expressing a fallacious argument in the attempt to promote a corporate agenda.
- Bob Alton, said Peter and John were outspoken about God’s Word and were unlettered and ordinary men – they didn’t need higher education to speak wondrous things of God. - right…we need an education to live!
However the WTBTS has obviously become a wealthy thus influential commercial enterprise, and the few who control the publishing company didn’t achieve their financial goals because they lack understanding.
Unless, of course as any loyal Jehovah’s Witness would exclaim in the effort to squelch reality, “…the comments were taken out of context”.
Flip
all of a sudden this day, my spirits tumbled, my usual inner peace, turned sour.
it was like a veil or cloud that decended on me, a feeling of intense sadness.. anyone visiting or posting to this board over the last few days, has witnessed the 'wars' waging around us.
i was very much a part of them, feeling a sense of relief that they were over.
I hear ya DannyBruin! I simply try not to get involved in social politics.
I think my attitude in this case is a throw back to my days as a Jehovah Bystander.
Flip
hey all!!
i got to see prince, last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he was totally and .
Fuh.ged.abow.dt
Flip
