Posts by FrankWTower

14

June 2011 Watchtower & Poverty (public edition)

by FrankWTower in

i have a part this week about the june awake & watchtower.

after reading some of the paragraphs in the watchtower, i have this opinion to share:.

i really wish the wt would stop trying to teach witnesses about their biased views of history and economic theory.

FrankWTower

Oh come on guys. Don't you know that it's hard to leave the WT? My "eyes" were opened within the last 2 years. Coming out to my friends and family now would be a huge mistake. The void created by the WT is too big for me to deal with at the moment. I have to establish relationships with people outside of the WT. I have to find a non-jw girl (cuz i'm single) and a new place to live, i need to find a new job, (cuz i work with witnesses). I'm currently planting seeds of critical thinking in my family (if it took me 2+ years to admit that the WT is wrong, it might take them longer). It's going to take time. Telling them the truth would mean being labeled an apostate, my life would come crashing down. For now, I have to keep playing the role of good jw.

46

Apostates part from 2011 DC Symposium

by baltar447 in

i just got through listening to the part on apostates.

.

they basically ignored any true questions or critisisms in favor of an ad hominem character attack on apostates.. they made the assertion that "apostates" are 1-prideful, 2-ingrateful, 3-impatient.. anyone that's listened care to discuss the part?.

FrankWTower

Straw man anyone?

You have to expect for the WT to distort and rationalize things in a way that projects anyone leaving the witnesses as someone evil, confused, angry, and what not. I wouldn't expect an unbiased, fair view of "apostates."

14

June 2011 Watchtower & Poverty (public edition)

by FrankWTower in

i have a part this week about the june awake & watchtower.

after reading some of the paragraphs in the watchtower, i have this opinion to share:.

i really wish the wt would stop trying to teach witnesses about their biased views of history and economic theory.

FrankWTower

I have a part this week about the June Awake & Watchtower. After reading some of the paragraphs in the Watchtower, I have this opinion to share:

I really wish the WT would stop trying to teach witnesses about their biased views of history and economic theory. Every paragraph contains loaded language and generalizations about humanity and the causes for poverty. I would love to be able to stand in front of the congregation and tell them that in fact, the world is getting better every day. Even if you take into account environmental degradation, the quality of life for most people in the world is improving. Yes Watchtower Society, there is an answer to poverty; and it's not you or "Jehovah's kingdom."

This is from The Economist in 2008:

25 years ago in China, over 600M people were living on < $1/day. Today this number is 180M … meaning 420M+ people are now above this level.
Between 1999 and 2004, 135M people worldwide rose from < $1/day to above this level. This is more people, more quickly than at any other time in history.
In South Asia, the number of people without clean water has halved since 1990.
In 1975, 75% of people aged 15-25 were literate. Now the rate is almost 90%.
In 1970, the fertility rate in East Asia/Pacific was 5.4 and now is 2.1 In South Asia, it was 60 and now is 3.1. Overall, global fertility has fallen from 4.8 to 2.6 in 25 years. Africa has all but one of the countries with fertility rates above 5.0.
A World Bank study noted that every 1% increase in national income her person in an emerging country translated in 1.3% fall in extreme poverty.
In 2007, the global economy entered its fifth year of over 4% growth — the longest period of expansion since the 1970′s. Also, trade grew 9% despite all of the challenges.
Almost half of all humans lives in countries with growth of more than 7% per year (which doubles the economy every decade).
Inequality has risen in both rich and poor countries overall, but there are examples where this is not true questioning whether globalization is the main culprit of inequality. The Economist argues that lack of [quality] education is likely the biggest culprit.
In 1990, more than 25% of people in developing countries lived on < $1/day. At current rates, this will be 10% by 2015.
Income is not the only way to quantify improvement for the poor. Monetary measures understate the real gains from things such as lower child mortality, safer water, literacy and other social achievements.
A study shows that the number of conflicts (international and civil) fell from over 50 at the start of the 1990′s to just over 30 in 2005. The number of international wars peaked in the 1970′s and have been falling ever since. The death toll in battle fell from over 200,000 a year in the mid-1990′s to below 20,000 in the mid-2000′s. [The WHO has higher numbers.]
The number of incidents of terrorism has increased since 2001 although the number is still very small.

20

May 21st, 2011, Judgement Day?

by FrankWTower in

while on the subject of some wacko making yet another prediction, i found this info on time.com.. .

the onset of world war i freaked a lot of people out.

but it was especially trippy for the zion's watch tower tract society, a group that's now called jehovah's witnesses.

FrankWTower

While on the subject of some wacko making yet another prediction, I found this info on time.com.

Charles Taze Russell

The onset of World War I freaked a lot of people out. But it was especially trippy for the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, a group that's now called Jehovah's Witnesses. The society's founder Charles Taze Russell had previously predicted Christ's invisible return in 1874, followed by his Second Coming in 1914. When WWI broke out that year, Russell interpreted it as a sign of Armageddon and the upcoming end of days, or as he called it the end of "Gentile Times." History proved otherwise.

10

Books Missing From Libraries

by FrankWTower in

does anyone know if it's wt policy to exclude certain volumes of watchtower/awake magazines or other literature from the kingdom hall libraries?.

i was doing some research to confirm some of what i've seen online but many key publications are missing from the kh library.. other stuff i checked for was completely different from what's shown on scans and images from jwfacts.org and other sites..

FrankWTower

Does anyone know if it's WT policy to exclude certain volumes of Watchtower/Awake magazines or other literature from the kingdom hall libraries?

I was doing some research to confirm some of what I've seen online but many key publications are missing from the KH library.

Other stuff I checked for was completely different from what's shown on scans and images from jwfacts.org and other sites.

23

Jehovah's Witnesses & Higher Education

by minimus in

jw
friends

i believe that jws demonize higher education so much, that it makes them look like weirdos!.

you and your family are penalized if someone goes to college!.

when i tell any "worldly" (aka "normal" person) that witnesess view higher education with disdain and ridicule, i always get the same response:.

FrankWTower

Information control is a common characteristic of cult-like groups. Critical thinking skills and knowledge in general are a threat to the WT, therefore they have been discouraged for decades.

Where I live most JW children do go to college for either a bachelor's or associate's degree. However, I have yet to know about someone who has left the organization because of their education.

42

Today's WT Study Stupidity About Df'ing

by metatron in

jw
friends

in today's watchtower study, towards the end, you had one of those typical comments by a former df'ed witness expressing appreciation for being shunned.

these comments always remind me of a stalinist show trial in which the accused enthusiastically accepts being executed for the greater good (probably to save his family).. after this kind of nonsense is expressed, you will get a flurry of self righteous comments emphasizing how important it is to shun your disfellowshipped relatives, so that they can come back in the "truth".. oh, really?

do any of these people raising their hand realize that, if the "success" of disfellowshipping depends on your shunning, then the "repentant" person is "coming back in the truth" for the sake of their relatives -and not because of fearing jehovah !!!???.

FrankWTower

Another thing I noticed about this study is how the WT actually teaches us hatred. JW's are supposed to hate anything and anyone that is not like them. This is ridiculous. At a time when society is having dificulty promting tolerance, the WT is teaching the opposite. That is wrong.

48

Ok I left the WBTS..... now what?? kingdom hall withdrawal

by sister x in

jw
friends

so my last meeting was in december 2010. i was attending the english and spanish halls for a year and just english for 6 yrs..... lots of meetings.

i had only two friends at the hall and no boyfriend/husband.

i live in a town where i know no one, no family and when i became a witness i left the one job (air force) where i had people who cared about me..... now im alllllll alone!

FrankWTower

sister x,

Read a book on critical thinking. It will change your life. You won't have the need to go back to the meetings. There are several choices on amazon.com.

Leaving after so many years will cause a social void in your life. That's very dificult to endure. You just have to find another community to belong to. Are you unable to return to the airforce?

29

More Elders than MS's For First Time in WT History

by FrankWTower in

have you heard the good news?.

i heard from a reliable source that for the first time in watchtower history, there are more elders now than ministerial servants.

this is not just a regional issue either, it's worldwide..

FrankWTower

Have you heard the good news?

I heard from a reliable source that for the first time in Watchtower history, there are more elders now than ministerial servants. This is not just a regional issue either, it's worldwide.

18

Mom Tries to Kill Kids, Self, Before 'Tribulation' Comes

by whereami in

jw
friends

religion = respected insane madness.

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vj8-_jhfaa&feature=player_embedded#at=71.

FrankWTower

I'm sorry, but there is no evidence that she was a JW. These kinds of videos can be great for our cause if there is certainty that the people involved are JW's, but something like this doesn't specify what her religous background is.

I would love to show something like this to my family to help release the bonds of WT doctrine, but since it doesn't say she was a JW, I won't.