Can't wait to read the experience of you finding "The Truth" in an antique shop in the 2018 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oh wait, never mind!
respectful_observer
JoinedPosts by respectful_observer
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39
"Deficit" at JW Assembly
by cookiemaster ini've recently been at an assembly here in romania and there was an announced they were running a 10,000 euro deficit and urging all attendees to donate more money besides the already 5k has was donated during that day.
i really don't understand these things.
it's their own assembly hall.
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respectful_observer
Just thinking outside the box for a moment.
For those countries where the WT is registered as a "charity" (e.g., UK, Canada), has anyone explored whether the WT's [fabricated/false] claims of "deficits" to the public as a means to drive contributions (which ultimately end up in the pockets of the WT charity) might run amok of any laws? Might be of interest to charity commissions/oversight bodies to understand how the whole approached used by the WT works.
Imagine if the WT got called out in the public by government officials for using this "deficit" scare tactic on tens of thousands of members every single weekend -- all the while claiming tax exempt status as a "charity". The dollar figures would be headline worthy, I'm guessing.
If you flip the WT stance around and described it this way to the average Jdub, what would their response be?:
"Hey, have you heard that donations to the Catholic Church are really down?! I've heard the Vatican has decided to look at what their cash needs are, then determine a per head amount globally each Catholic would need to donate to meet that goal amount. Then at each Sunday service the priest has to announce how much more the parishioners still need to put on the plate to meet the goal set by the Vatican."
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January 2018 Watchtower
by Listener inthe cover page shows a photo jws loading a small plane with watchtower literature to take to a remote area in bolivia.the first study article introduces the 2018 year text isa.
40:31 "those hoping in jehovah will regain power".
according to them, you may leave home to do field service or attend a meeting feeling exhausted but you return home refreshed and 'jesus' yoke is kindly indeed!
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respectful_observer
Selfish people are like hedgehogs. Oh how I miss the depth of intellectual discussion I left behind in that religion.
Makes me want to go "educate" myself (sarcasm intended) by reading an Awake! article on hedgehogs (I'm sure there's on out there somewhere).
Whenever these money articles come up, it always reminds me of the wise words of George Carlin:
“Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!
But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money!” -
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the 2018 Annual Report
by no-zombie ini have a bad feeling that the annual report in the form that we can analytically use, will no longer be available.
according the post agm letter, it said "this information will be published in the 'about us' section of jw.org" however when you go to that page, there are already a country by country listing of statistics.
the problem is that, the numbers displayed at the moment are not the whole story we used to get.
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respectful_observer
I remember when they stopped publishing the detailed monthly report for the branch in the Our Kingdom Ministry and replaced it with "Key Highlights" (or something similar). Gone were the pure, fact-based stats...instead replaced with selective, cherry-picked positive stats that only highlighted growth.
I wonder if this is the model they'll use moving forward. Basically a global "hide the pea" game, never again allowing objective analysis of consistently reported data points. Instead, only total global figures with highlighted feel-good stats (e.g., "a new peak in Regular Pioneers reported in Antarctica. A 6% increase over 2017!"
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New Song to be sung for Warwick Dedication on Oct 7
by Drearyweather ina place that will bring you praise.
https://tv.jw.org/#en/mediaitems/latestvideos/pub-jwb_201801_8_video.
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respectful_observer
Haha! I know more than one of those singers!
Why do I get the feeling this Annual Meeting/Warwick HQ dedication will be full of references to 2 Chronicles 7 and 1 Kings 8 (Solomon's temple dedication) and 1 Chron 13:8 (David celebrating Ark: "David and all Israel were celebrating before the true God with all their might, accompanied by songs, harps, other stringed instruments, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets")?
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What's Going on In Quebec? Class action?
by Slidin Fast inaccording to these news items the child abuse front is extending to quebec.
a class action would really open some eyes i suspect.
here's hoping!
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respectful_observer
• there must be common issues; and
I imagine this might be the biggest hurdle, as the "common" issue is quite debatable. An ideal class action would be based on a pattern of very similar pattern of repeatable behavior by defendant (WT). (E.g., construction workers work daily with a chemical the manufacturer knows causes long-term health issues. However, the company keeps the health risks secret then later denies any liability for the harm caused to workers' health. So in other words, same behavior/action over and over again to a class of people.)
Yes, all may have been abused, but the circumstances and perceived "mishandling" will likely vary widely. Was it an Elder who abused? Was it an Elder who discouraged/prevented reporting? Was it a baptized person who was the abuser? Was a known abuser appointed, re-appointed, DF'd, not DF'd? Was the abuser a known repeat abuser? Etc., etc., etc....
Were the WT's actions in response to abuse (or report of abuse) "common" enough across enough individual cases to form a "class"?
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My Father has brandished me with the "APOSTATE" word for talking about the BIBLE!
by stuckinarut2 inso after three years of fading, my elder father has never really asked why we have chosen to stop attending.. today, after a mixed discussion, he starts talking about the "solution to all the world problems" and says "i don't know what you now believe, but i believe gods kingdom will fix everything" i let the comment go, and didn't respond.. then he goes on about the video "remember the wife of lot" because he just came from the convention last weekend.
"don't get caught up in this system...blah blah".
i couldn't help myself, and said one thing "dad, that video failed to show the next chapter of that account.
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respectful_observer
So I calmly asked him if he or any of the other elders reported it to the authorities.
He got irate and said "It is not our place to do that!"I asked my elder father than same question and he had the same response. So I asked him, "what if 10-year old Jimmy living next door told you he was being abused, would you call the police?"
His response: "Well, uh, um, ah...that's different."
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My Father has brandished me with the "APOSTATE" word for talking about the BIBLE!
by stuckinarut2 inso after three years of fading, my elder father has never really asked why we have chosen to stop attending.. today, after a mixed discussion, he starts talking about the "solution to all the world problems" and says "i don't know what you now believe, but i believe gods kingdom will fix everything" i let the comment go, and didn't respond.. then he goes on about the video "remember the wife of lot" because he just came from the convention last weekend.
"don't get caught up in this system...blah blah".
i couldn't help myself, and said one thing "dad, that video failed to show the next chapter of that account.
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respectful_observer
Haha! Your story reminds me of something that happened to me.
A bunch of us were all relaxing (JW = lots of booze) and we ended up on the question of whether the Tree of Life was a literal tree. (SPOILER: WT says no. Genesis 3:22-24 seems pretty clear on the issue.) One of the brothers (an elder at Bethel, no less) who was pretty inebriated dug out the WT reasoning shoving it in my face. When I re-directed him to the verses in the Bible he shouted at me: "I DON'T CARE WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS, I BELIEVE WHAT'S PRINTED IN THE WATCHTOWER! WHAT ARE YOU-- APOSTATE?"
I calmly stood, grabbed my cocktail, and walked away.
Side note: they all got so bombed that night, most of them had to stay the night because they were way too drunk to drive.
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Assembly experiences that strech the truth
by karter inelder and his wife build a flash house.. they go on the stage at an assembly and give an experiences of how they sold the flash house to simplify their life so they can go pioneering.. the real story.. elder and wife can't afford the flash house and have to sell it he never goes pioneering she does until they are declared bankrupt.. why were they bankrupt?.
the money leaft over from the flash house they invested in a yet to be build apartment and the developer goes bankrupt takeing their money.. just one of many.. karter..
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respectful_observer
Young people who choose to pioneer instead of higher education. I knew they did not even finish high school.
I always laugh when I hear experiences where gifted Jdub students turn down "full scholarships" to Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc. I'm I the only one who realizes that these institutions do not offer full scholarships to students out of the blue? These universities require that students APPLY for scholarships. So if they truly were offered a full scholarship, it was because he/she applied for it...and if they didn't apply, then they're likely lying about the whole situation.
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The Children Act: The Movie - By Ian McEwan and directed by Richard Eyre
by darkspilver inrichard eyre's film adaptation of ian mcewan's book the childen act has it's world premiere at the toronto international film festival in september 2017. the children act.
emma thompson and stanley tucci star in this adaptation of the novel by ian mcewan, about a high-court judge who finds personal and professional crises colliding when she is asked to rule in the case of a brilliant 18-year-old boy who is refusing the blood transfusion that would save his life.. adapted by booker prize–winning author ian mcewan from his own novel, this riveting drama stars two-time academy award winner emma thompson as a british high court judge tasked with making a decision that will speak to our most fraught questions regarding religious tolerance — and could mean life or death for an innocent young man.. judge fiona maye (emma thompson) is married to her work, which has become a problem for her husband, jack (stanley tucci), who announces that he wants to have an affair.
treating the matter more as an annoyance than a life-altering crisis, fiona kicks jack out and focuses on her current case.
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respectful_observer
"Apostasy" and "The Children Act"... anyone else think it's remarkable that there are TWO feature length films included at a top tier international film festival that are focused on a tiny Christian sect that makes up far less than 1% of the general population?