respectful_observer

Joined

• started 28 topics
• posted 1,004 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by respectful_observer

• 
  58

  Just a quick Poll...Do you think the GB is sincere?

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been thinking about this the past few days and curious what the honest consensus is here just for fun.. show of hands,.

  is the governing body.... a: completely sincere.

  they really do believe what they teach.. b: somewhat sincere.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  I think they are both sincere and insincere simultaneously. They are intellectually dishonest, and knowingly use falsehoods to convince themselves and others to believe. Thought stoppers and logical fallacies keep the cognitive dissonance in check enough for them to perform the mental gymnastics needed to keep the plates spinning. Being honest would be very uncomfortable, so they just block out the doubts by any means necessary and blame Satan - they are too invested to do anything else.

  ........................
  

  I'd agree with this. I think they sincerely believe in the core doctrines but aren't afraid to use intellectual dishonesty and outright deception to keep the sheeple believing because, in the GB's minds, they're too stupid to attain salvation on their own. It's what lets the GB continue to defend certain teachings and policies they themselves realize are indefensible, illogical, or unbiblical, but would destroy the faith (in the Organization) of too many if they reversed course.

  Basically they see their use of "Theocratic Warfare" on their own people as justfiable since it helps keep those people in the Organization.
  
• 
  13

  NYTimes Article - Russia Moves to Ban Jehovah's Witnesses as 'Extremist'

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/world/europe/russia-moves-to-ban-jehovahs-witnesses-as-extremist.html?_r=0.

  vorokhobino, russia — a dedicated pacifist who has never even held a gun, andrei sivak discovered that his government considered him a dangerous extremist when he tried to change some money and the teller “suddenly looked up at me with a face full of fear.”.

  his name had popped up on the exchangalee bureau’s computer system, along with those of members of al qaeda, the islamic state and other militant groups responsible for shocking acts of violence.. the only group the 43-year-old father of three has ever belonged to, however, is jehovah’s witnesses, a christian denomination committed to the belief that the bible must be taken literally, particularly its injunction “thou shalt not kill.”.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  Funny - no mention of the "earth shattering" campaign of JWs to write letters to Putin & his ministers. To listen to the num-nuts on JWtalk, you'd think it would be headline news across all majot media sources.

  .................
  

  Haha! I thought the exact same thing.
  
• 
  7

  My son was accepted to prestigious universities

  by never a jw in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some background needed.

  five years ago i decided to research what i thought was a good religion, the religion of my jw wife, to whom i have been married for almost 23 years.

  what prompted my research was my then 14 y.o.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  U.C. Berkeley...all the way.

  Don't get me wrong, UCLA has a great reputation, but Berkeley's is better. I see lots of CVs in my role and Berkeley jumps out moreso than UCLA (even though my firm recruits heavily from both).

  That being said, if he has a specific major he's intent on, he should go with the school whose program has the better reputation.
  
• 
  26

  UK number plate

  by stan livedeath in

  1. social
  2. humour

  here in the uk--private--or personal- car registration plates are popular.. heres one i photo'd tonight.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  I'm unable to grasp it.
  

  ................
  

  Then you haven't hung out enough with Donald Trump. He's the expert.
  
• 
  44

  The Latest Trend in NW England: Homeschooling Your Children

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i dont know if this is becoming a national thing or even globally.

  but im hearing more and more people i knew from my jw days have taken their kids out of school to home school them instead.

  in my sisters case she's taken her 8yo and 6yo children out already and her 3yo wont ever start a school.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  Ironically, many homeschooled kids in my area turn 18, get a low-paying fast-food-type job, quickly find a 'worldly' boyfriend or girlfriend, and then fade or are DF'ed, never to set foot in a Kingdom Hell ever again.

  ^^That.^^

  Nearly every J-dub kid I knew growing up being homeschooled from very strict familiies fell in with a really rough crowd (gangs, drug dealers, etc.) in a matter of a few year and ended up getting into drugs or getting pregnant before they were 18.

  BTW, why do the keep them out of schools? I suspect 3 reasons (all under the guise of protecting them from worldly influences and bad association):

  1. Evolution

  2. Pressure to go to college

  3. LGBT-friendly environment

  4. Their parents hated having to deal with defending their JW beliefs to their classmates growing up and they'd prefer their kids not have to endure it too. "Why no sports/dances/birthdays/holidays/etc......"?
  
• 
  15

  Is it possible that someone who gives really gushing comments might still be awake?

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  of the 50% of congregants who regularly participate, many of them give gushing answers about how appreciative they are, how wonderful jw.org is and so on, which makes me think nobody in my congregation is awake.

  but maybe it's possible for someone who comes across as super spiritual to be awake?

  i can't see how, though, as surely it's emotionally draining to fake it like that?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  I have to admit that I was the "salvation" of many a conductor. If it looked like they were hanging there waiting for someone to raise their hand, I would raise mine. Even after I stopped attending, when I ran into him, he said he really missed my comments.
  

  There were 2 of us that consistently saved the conductor, but waited until it was tense.

  That was me very recently. I was visiting a congregation where virtually no one knew me, and on top of it the CO was visiting (not for his visit, but it was where he chose to attend during his "vacation"). There was absolutely no support from the audience and time-and-time again both me and CO would wait and wait seeing if any hands went up...finally one of us would raise our hand and save the conductor. It was a bit like a ping pong match with the mic runner between us...we'd wait (enough time to scan the paragraph and question since I really hadn't been paying attention), make eye contact and one of us would slowly raise a hand. Honestly, A.) I truly felt bad for the poor guy on stage, and B.) I just wanted to keep the meeting going so I could get the heck out of there.

  Like anyone who grew up with their father as the WT and/or BS conductor, you gain a sixth sense when you realize he needs help (even if you're sitting in the front with most of the congregation behind you).

  EDIT: I sometimes throw in references to the monthly broadcast...of course I never mention that I've only seen it because I visit here.
  
• 
  23

  Amazing Video, modern-day miracle: "Chairs for Thousands"

  by neat blue dog in

  1. social
  2. humour

  god provides.

  https://tv.jw.org/#en/video/vodourorganization/pub-jwb_201703_4_video.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  The whole video was pretty laughable. Here were my key takeaways:

  1. They signed a contract for a facility that did not have sufficient seating (what happened to counting the cost before you 'build'?)

  2. They either have an unneccessary rule on wearing hard hats while carrying chairs, or they're bad at enforcing compliance with the rule.

  3. They had to make up jobs for all the volunteers (flashback to the old Quick Builds..."Here's a bucket Sister, your job is to go pick up nails on the ground.")

  4. The direct expenses associated with this exercise (cleaning supplies, cost of truck transportation, transporting a film crew to document the whole thing, etc.) and the indirect expenses (the cost of people's time, their transportation and food expenses, etc.) probably total more than what it would have cost to simply rent a facility with the appropriate number of chairs.

  As a side note, they mentioned putting the orange chairs "in the back". I wish they would have put them in all the prime seating locations and watched the confusion/frustration on people's faces when they come bursting through the doors at opening time, fighting to grab that prime spot before some other Brother or Sister does.
  
• 
  10

  any contractors here that can give an educated estimate of what warwick cost?

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  just wonderin'.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  @exjwlemming: I estimate about $450,000,000.

  I would agree that's probably pretty close-- give or take $100 million. Hard to get something more accurate since they used paid (market rate) labor for some portions and not others. Although the volunteer LABOR was free, they decided to feed, house, and transport them-- all expenses they wouldn't have born if they just paid a construction company. Plus they're getting a little bit back (selling off excess construction equipment, housing, etc.) that a normal developer wouldn't do at the end of a project.

  No matter how you slice it, though, there's no way they spent anywhere close to the money the raked in from selling off all Brooklyn properties.
  
• 
  48

  My Old Kingdom Hall being merged with TWO other congregations!

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this can only be a good sign.. my old congregation in liverpool has had a lot of money in it's bank account for years.

  for a long, long time (almost 8 years) they've been looking for land to build a new hall.

  the one they're in now is literally falling to bits.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  My Local source tells me he cannot think there is any public transport that is direct, A people facing incredibly difficult journey , their KH is well past its use by date.

  This recently happened to a neighboring congregation. The hall was in a historic area and worth a boatload of cash, but was neglected and in need of a renovation beyond the skills of the RBC. So cashed out for a few million bucks, moved the congregation to another hall that was really difficult to navigate to on public transport. Within 2 years, it went from a vibrant congregation of 120+ at each meeting to fewer than 40 members.
  
• 
  48

  My Old Kingdom Hall being merged with TWO other congregations!

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this can only be a good sign.. my old congregation in liverpool has had a lot of money in it's bank account for years.

  for a long, long time (almost 8 years) they've been looking for land to build a new hall.

  the one they're in now is literally falling to bits.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  respectful_observer

  Just as I side point. There was a congregation I know of that inherited some money. I think it was to the tune of about 20k. The wishes in the will was that it be used for the local congregation. The BoE thought fantastic will use the money to buy a state of the art projector - this was as the TVs were been introduced. CO heard about it and told the elders to send the money to HO. The elders refer to the deceased will stipulating for congregation use only, and notify the CO that he is not only going against the deceased wishes but could also be breaking the law.

  My congregation had one of its wealthy members leave a very large sum to the congregation (7 figures) when he died. More than enough to perform a top-quality complete renovation on the KH (which is an older, architecturally significant building). After years of delays from the RBC, that money got sent along to HQ a few years back during the Dollar Dragnet they conducted. I suspect this same guy left some sort of annuity that pays out to the local congregation because ever year we have a resolution to forward on to the Branch a $75,000 donation that was made last month to "the ________ Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses". Guessing his will stipulated the cash go to the local hall, so they have to go through the resolution process to get around the legal stuff.

  The KH still hasn't received its desperately needed renovation. It's on a prime lot in a very wealthy community, so I'm just waiting for the day they announce we need to sell and move 1 town over and share halls with another congregation. Between the cash grab and selling the hall, the WTS could easily clear $5 million from a single congregation.