Posts by JeffT

101

org is dying

by lambsbottom in

i don't understand why so many ex jws and faders think that the jws will continue to grow and thrive as a religion.

i still attend a meeting once a week and you can smell the death of the religion creeping up when you hear the talks, read the study wts and hear the letters from the gb.

the way the organization has changed is a sign that it reached its peak (in "healthy" membership) long ago.

I've been in my current home, a condo in a well developed and growing part of town, for seven years. I've been retired and mostly at home for the last five. I have NEVER been contacted here by JW's. I'm thiry miles and 25 years away from my disassociation so I'm sure they have no idea that there's an apostate here. I lived in a rural area outside the city outside the city for about 8 years starting in the mid 90's. We were contacted at least three times there. Clearly preaching is not being pursued the way it was.

I don't know if the org will die, there will always be some sheep needing direction. But something serious will have to change if it is going to regain the fire they had when I joined during the run up to 1975.

52

400 Million Atoms Know What to do at the same time

by seekchristonly in

it's claimed it takes 400 million atoms to become a single strand of dna.

how do the atoms know.

3. what order.

JeffT

How did my wife's car know to get a flat tire? She took it into Les Schawb and they told her she needed new tires. If she had not gotten that flat should would be driving across the state on the old ones. LORDY, its a miracle!

/sarcasm off/

75

What would be your favorite job if you could do anything.?

by new hope and happiness in

on the basis that most of us realise the w.t wasnt really the best " job" or way to spend our days, it would be fun to find out what people would really have liked to have done with there lifes and if this is still possible.

or maybe its not even a very realistic ambition just a dream.

in my dreams i stay at home all day and make a living from being a professional artist.maybe i need a phycholgist?.

JeffT

Write. I'm doing a lot of it, but I need to get paid more for it.

59

Books that changed your life-

by new hope and happiness in

i am not much of a reader as i have two many distractions, but i fancy a challenging read, so please list any book that has changed your entire world view on everything.

i remember as a teenager buying at a yard sale, norman vincent peales " the power of positive thinking" and at the time that had a big impact on me.

but i am a little bit more in to " realistic positive thinking" now..

JeffT

"The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life" Note: not a positive change but a big one.

"Crisis of Conscience," "The Kingdom of the Cults" and "Jehovah of the Watchtower" both by Walter Martin, "The Four Major Cults" by Anthony Hoekema

(this batch undid the damage caused by my first listing)

"Principles of Accounting" Not an exciting read, but it started my career

"Alcoholics Anonymous"

My first college degree was in English with a history minor, the rest of my list would be too long to include much here. I need to mention The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, "1984" "Brave New World" "Lord of the Flies" and just about anything by Hemmingway and Faulkner, and if I get my sci-fi novel published, Robert Heinein, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle.

17

Why is shunning NOT a violation of Nat'l and Int'l law?

by Zoos in

i was looking at the universal declaration of human rights posted at un.org and also the description of what constitutes a violation of religious freedom at uslegal.com .. .

according to the declaration of human rights:.

article 18.. everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

JeffT

It goes both ways. Do you want the government to tell you you have to go to the DC and be with your family and friends because they have a right to associate with you?

9

My mother is in the hospital again

by JeffT in

jw
friends

she fell again and had to have surgery on her other hip.

this is the fourth trip to the er since last fall.

needless to say, i'm not having a good week.

JeffT

Mom broke her left hip about two months ago, ended up with a partial replacement. The other one went Saturday. This is all after another fall (down the stairs) in October. I almost went down the same stairs yesterday - stupidly trying to go up them without bothering to turn on the light. I thought it wouldn't be a problem since of been doing it for the last fifty years.

Falls are nothing to laugh about, I read that one half of all fatal falls occur from a height of less than four feet, because we all think its not dangerous. And if you take out a hip or something, no you can't get up.

9

My mother is in the hospital again

by JeffT in

jw
friends

she fell again and had to have surgery on her other hip.

this is the fourth trip to the er since last fall.

needless to say, i'm not having a good week.

JeffT

She fell again and had to have surgery on her other hip. This is the fourth trip to the ER since last fall. Needless to say, I'm not having a good week.

63

Being a JW Used to Be Fun :-)

by snowbird in

jw
friends

we found some people who were happy to welcome us into their homes, even offering us food and drink.. sometimes, they would flag us down and ask for the magazines, walk miles to the kh meetings, come to our defense if someone got ugly or rude.. now, jw's are either routinely ignored or outright vilified.. no one respects them anymore.. sad.. .

JeffT

When I first joined, I was associated with a small, close-knit congregation. Dinner parties of various sizes were common, and we had several congregation get-togethers a year. Everybody was friendly. I felt like I was becoming a member of a very caring group. That feeling faded when we moved, and later disappeared entirely. I've been out for a very long time, I think if the attitudes and life-style that seems to prevail now had been present then, I never would have joined the cult.

44

New Financial Arrangements

by Joe Grundy in

dear friends.

i never was a dub.

i am not a qualified lawyer or accountant.

JeffT

I wonder just how independent this auditor will be?

The AICPA has a very strict definition of "independent." Anybody with a financial or other significant interest in the subject of the audit is disqualified from conducting the audit. If caught, they'll loose their license. That penalty is enough to keep almost all CPA's on the straigth and narrow as far as that part goes. Since the Enron mess I believe they have also required that the audit firm cannot provide consulting services to the client.

44

New Financial Arrangements

by Joe Grundy in

dear friends.

i never was a dub.

i am not a qualified lawyer or accountant.

JeffT

Suppose the new donations are being made to a different Corporation than the old Corp that held the loans. I think the goal is to liquidate the old Corps that have risk in law suits. Send the BILLION$ out of the US where the trail lawyers can't get to it.

A successor corporation will, in all probability, still be liabable. The only way to get rid of the lawsuits would be to dissolve the WTBS and pay the bills. The courts don't like shell games to get rid of things like this.