DNCall

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Posts by DNCall

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  30

  My mother has nervous breakdown because we missed the memorial.

  by cookiemaster in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my parents insisted that i'd take them to the memorial.

  my cousin said he'd come too and another brother who doesn't have a car begged to join.

  i was dreading having to go through exactly the same thing again.

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  DNCall

  " . . . Superstition ain't the way." (Stevie Wonder)
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  31

  "Ones"

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  (i never was a dub).. this is something which has intrigued me for a while.

  i don't know whether it's dub-speak, or us-speak.. it's the use of the word 'ones' as in 'interested ones', 'worldly ones', 'disfellowshipped ones' and so on and so on.. in the 'normal world' we would probably use the word 'people'.. thoughts?.

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  DNCall

  I had been thinking of staring a thread on the same subject. I was a Witness for 56 years and I reside in the U.S., so a different perspective than yours; however, your take is exactly the same as mine. Whereas words like "person" or "individual" focus on the person being spoken of, "ones" always struck me as focusing on the collective of which that "one" is a part. The same is true of Brother or Sister so-and-so. Again, the focus is on the collective within which the person has a brother-like or sister-like relationship with other members of the group.
  

  I believe, even though subtle, this language is calculated to draw attention away from the person and any uniqueness or independence that person may possess. The organization takes center stage.
  
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  22

  Another one bites the dust...

  by StarTrekAngel in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so despite glimpses of hope here and there, the wife is just not seeing this cult for what it is.. so who is the one the bit the dust?

  i've not been feeling so well lately.

  a bit of lightheadedness.

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  DNCall

  STA: Sorry about your situation. Please see a cardiologist.
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  63

  A great suggestion from a current Bethelite on the chopping block

  by Gilbeath Haaraloth in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a very close friend of mine has gotten his letter.

  although he was planning to leave willingly, he told me that he can't help but feel a sense of being stabbed in the back by a bunch of self righteous traitors.

  he gave tours for years, always telling the visitors "this is the best way of life, i would never change anything here and i'll never regret making this decision to come here.

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  DNCall

  . . . so there's this guy who makes luggage out of foreskins. A potential customer asks him, "why foreskins?" He answers, "Watch this." He pulls out a small, shriveled wallet. He rubs it a few times and all of a sudden he has a garment bag!

  Fun fact: If anyone calls you a schmuck, you are being called a discarded foreskin (Yiddish to English).
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  16

  What makes a WORLD famous musician?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my brother attended a college for those who " f..led" up at school and got a second chance to do the exams.

  anyway george michael and andy ridgley, were two of those fu..k ups, and my brother was quite friendly with both.

  as a result i met george and andy before they found fame with wham.. geri hallaway ( spice girl) also came from watford when she grew up and was a friend of my sister ( her mum a j.w) and i once spoke with geri on the phone when she rang asking to speak with my sister.

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  DNCall

  From across the pond . . . having grown up in Los Angeles, the son of a music publisher/record label owner, I have known great musicians all my life and especially when becoming active in the music business. I'm not going to drop names of the many that I have known (you can PM me for that); however, I will give you the story of Otis Redding, whom I met when quite young. My father was the first person to record him. He was 18 or 19 at the time. His talent was fully realized at that age. Because my father didn't have strong promotion for his label and because he would not practice payola (paying radio program directors--it's technically illegal--he was a Witness), the records didn't go anywhere. Otis didn't give up. Within two years he landed a contract with a major label that did have the power to promote him, and the rest is history.

  I have observed that world class musicians have these things in common: a great deal of talent, drive, are allied with those who have drive, discipline and luck.

  The website LuteRecords.com is a tribute to my father's label. More information about my family's niche in the music business can be found there.
  
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  75

  "The way of the truth is the best way of living. No better way can there be found."

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  "the way of the truth is the best way of living.. no better way can there be found.".

  remember that?

  it's the opening line to 'make the truth your own'.

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  DNCall

  I missed this thread when it originally appeared. I left Jehovah's Witnesses after 56 years and I must say that my life has improved tremendously since leaving. The original lyrics were: "The way of the Truth is the best way of living, but no one can live it for you." I know because I wrote those lyrics along with the melody that goes with them.

  Many here, like me, are out after being in. We are in a better position to inform those who are still in as to how much better life is since leaving. I realize that this is as hard to understand for those still in as it would have been for me when I wrote those words. But if you are still in, please know that a better life can be found. And it isn't found in just one place. It can be found in as many places as there are people on this amazing planet we all share.
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  46

  Can somebody explain the songs and songbook obsession?

  by careful in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been out a while and have only put in a rare appearance at a memorial or brief visit at a convention/assembly to keep people off my back, so i haven't kept up on the songbook.

  but one thing i've noticed that the org.

  has been doing that they never did when i was in is all these "supplemental songs" that keep appearing.

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  DNCall

  Having worked in the music department for 20 years, from 1986 to 2006, I can say that all of your responses are correct and show excellent deductive skills.

  The only thing I can add is to reinforce that David Splane is the game changer. His approach was well received among the music people, as we had been clamoring for music to play a more prominent role as an emotional vehicle for some time. Other factors are that one of the professional arrangers used on occasion suggested adding new songs to see what the reaction would be. Any song that was a "hit" with the r&f would be considered for inclusion in the next book. The lead musician has long been of the opinion that group singing has always been a healthy pastime, and although not practiced as much in modern times, should be revived.

  What have always stifled the creativity and quality a number of the musicians are capable of, are the restrictions imposed by and musical taste of the GB. So long as the GB signs off on the finished product, you are going to have uninspiring, poor-quality music.

  As far as connecting with young people, I think the Pew studies show how effective JWs are with this. Kind of like the way George Burns described having sex as a 90-plus-year-old: "It's like shooting pool with a rope."
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  72

  My RC hearing brought forward. Will be in two weeks

  by umbertoecho in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  through this forum of wonderful freaks, i have met someone who is coming with me to my hearing.

  initially i was slated for next year, but will be attending in two weeks time.

  all is in place from travel vouchers, support, where to go ............very efficient and well done.

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  DNCall

  I think Bafh's list is succinct and stays within the issue at hand. The only thing I could think of in addition to Bafh's list is that trained women within each congregation be used to inquire of and counsel female victims. These specially-trained women should be made known to the congregation so that female victims may approach them with their accounts of abuse.

  I also believe that revoking their tax exempt status will act as a strong incentive for Watchtower to comply with the mandated policy changes. Historically and from testimony given by Witness representatives, it is clear that Watchtower does not make policy changes mandated by outside authority. It is a matter of religious principle with them. This calls for the type of drastic measure that revoking their tax exempt status would be.
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  4

  Just Saw "Spotlight"

  by DNCall in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  we just returned from seeing spotlight and really enjoyed it.

  the film is based on the account of the boston globes expose of the systemic problem of pedophilia within the catholic archdiocese of boston.

  the end crawl of the movie documents the prevalence of this problem in archdioceses worldwide that have come to light since that time in the early 2000s..

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  DNCall

  We just returned from seeing “Spotlight” and really enjoyed it. The film is based on the account of the Boston Globe’s expose of the systemic problem of pedophilia within the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The end crawl of the movie documents the prevalence of this problem in archdioceses worldwide that have come to light since that time in the early 2000s.

  Of course, the scale is much, much smaller within Jehovah’s Witnesses, but one thought from the movie especially resonated with me. It put forth the idea of a conspiracy of silence growing out of priests knowing that a high percentage of them violated their vows of celibacy through, among other things, pedophilia. This idea speaks to the psychology behind a conspiracy of silence such that it’s not just about protecting the image of the Church. There is a personal component that drives it.

  This rang true to me, knowing as we do that there is knowledge among the Governing Body of similar abhorrent sins by its own members. Although there is no celibacy doctrine to obey, there is the expectation that the Governing Body of the One True Religion be “unspotted, unblemished.” Knowing that this has not been the case fosters a culture of silence from the top down.
  

  I should point out that I am not just accepting anecdotal evidence of this level of sin among the Governing Body. When I was serving as an elder, in the course of conversation, a sister in our congregation volunteered that her younger brother was molested by a member of the Governing Body back when they were members of the same congregation in Brooklyn. The Governing Body at the time dismissed their fellow member but he remained in good standing, serving as a Special Pioneer outside of Bethel.
  

  As of now, we have heard “conspiracy of silence” applied to cases of pedophilia among Jehovah’s Witnesses in court documents and in transcripts from the Australian Royal Commission proceedings. I think a personal component driving the conspiracy of silence has merit. What do you think?
  
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  44

  Decrease of numbers in Jehovah's Witnesses via Deaths, DFings, or Turning Inactive

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i'm sure a good number of us saw the chart that i believe the poster splash put on another thread of figures since 1990 regarding how many baptized and % of increase each year .

  i started analyzing it ( and i know some referred to it briefly on the other thread ) and guessing of reasons the % of increase didn't match the number of newly baptized.

  and of course common sense tells us that either jw's leave the cult each year through death, fading into inactivity, or getting dfed.

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  DNCall

  Coded Logic: It took me a moment grasp your point but I think I understand you. It has to do with those newly baptized already being counted as unbaptized publishers. So, if you subtract the increase in publishers from the total of newly baptized, the remainder would be those who were allowed to be baptized without first being unbaptized publishers. Is that correct?