Posts by John Aquila

58

Strange Moment During The 2015 Regional Convention

by JW_Rogue in

hi, i'm new here but hadn't seen this mentioned anywhere yet.

during the "imitate jesus" rc there was a strange moment where they played a video of a brother trying to explain the 1914 teaching.

the brother quickly goes through all the scriptural "proofs" and the householder is dumbfounded.

John Aquila

FayeDunaway
When they finally drop it (and it will be huge, because they've based their entire religion on it), witnesses will rejoice.

Or maybe not. In trying to reasons with several of my JW acquaintances about 1914 , and that sooner or later they will have to drop it because of the length of time, they all tell me, "That can never happen, because if they do, then the organization was just a sham, a false prophet." I asked them, "If they do will you continue to stay in the organization?" They have all said, "NO WAY"

41

Missed it by that much ----------23

by John Aquila in

i almost had a freaking heart attack.

i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

John Aquila

Gulf Coastero

I'd claim anonymously, via trust,if I won big now. Winning would bring out all sorts begging/demanding and I'd worry about my safety. If I couldn't claim anonymously, I'd have a plane ticket booked and leave for 3 months minimum.

You can bet your winnings that the JWs would be doing shepherding calls on you. "Pleeease Help Brother"

41

Missed it by that much ----------23

by John Aquila in

i almost had a freaking heart attack.

i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

John Aquila

Simon

"Strategy" in a game in which numbers are drawn randomly?
Strangely, there is strategy. You can't improve your odds at all (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is just as likely as any other result) BUT there are certain numbers that people play more - ones that make patterns on the tickets or birthdates etc... which mean that if you did happen to win with those numbers you'll be splitting the money with more winners.

Yes, that's actually true, I've been reading about that. There are certain probabilities that come into play. For example, the probability of the same winning numbers hitting twice in a row is more unlikely than a different set of numbers.

Joan R. Ginther, who has won 4 different million dollar lottery payouts is a former math professor with a PhD from Stanford University specialising in statistics. She refuse to give any interviews..

According to Forbes, the residents of Bishop, Texas, where she bought the tickets, seem to believe God was behind it all.

41

Missed it by that much ----------23

by John Aquila in

i almost had a freaking heart attack.

i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

John Aquila

James Mixon, if you won millions, would you claim the winnings under your name or would you claim the winnings under a Trust to remain anonymous?

41

Missed it by that much ----------23

by John Aquila in

i almost had a freaking heart attack.

i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

John Aquila

James Mixon
If you don't play your chances are zip, but if you do play your chance are 1 in 41,416,353

That's what the relatives and friends used to tell Marie Holmes, 26, a single mother of four children

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/north-carolina-powerball-winner-claims-564-million-prize/story?id=29164478

43

Change to dress and grooming rules for JWs in USA soon?

by RayPublisher in

my guy with the lurk account on jwtalk (where all the kool-aid drinking jws go to talk about how wonderful 'the twoof' is) sent me some more interesting threads, here's one:.

spoiler: starting new the new service year september.

"there will be new directives from the branch through the circuit overseer on dress and grooming that will disqualify one to be a congregation publisher.

John Aquila

BluesBrother
A friend of mine in the cong , about a decade ago , decided to revert to his hippie appearance and grew his hair in a long pony tail down his back. (he was a musician ) . He was barred from the platform, even the school

but the elders could not prevent him going door to door. That, they said , was a command of J Christ and they could not stop him demonstrating his faith ...

41

Missed it by that much ----------23

by John Aquila in

i almost had a freaking heart attack.

i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

John Aquila

I only spend $2 a week. It's all random, but all you need to win is One time in your lifetime. I've met a few professional lottery players who play for a living. It's a job like anything else.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/How_lottery_legend_Joan_Ginther_used_odds_Uncle_Sam_to_win_millions.html

10

How long will it take?

by John Aquila in

at some point in the future, it has to finally dawn on people that something is seriously flawed about the idea of jesus coming in the clouds to save everyone who believes- and kill everyone who doesnt..

will people still believe in jesus in another 1000 years?

will people still be saying in the year 5015;.

John Aquila

StrongHaiku

But experience has shown me that there are people who, no matter what, will "ride that bus all the way to the end". My grandmother smoked even when she was in an oxygen tent. Some people never learn.

That's true, There will always be those who will ride it all the way, but we are entering a world of full disclosure with access to the internet through all sorts of devices. In the past smoking was so popular that just about all the movies portrayed the hero and the sexy girl as heavy smokers. Since full disclosure about the dangers of smoking have become so public, and all the lawsuits against the cigarette companies, the trend in the U.S. for smoking is going down steadily. Cigarette sales have plummeted. Companies are targeting underdeveloped countries to sell their product.

The WT is getting so much publicity that JWs can't help but be bombarded with all the publicity exposing the organization. Throw lots of mud at a target and some of it will stick. There are so many waking up and it's just the beginning.

41

Missed it by that much ----------23

by John Aquila in

i almost had a freaking heart attack.

i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

John Aquila

I almost had a freaking heart attack. I even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when I got the the 5th number correct.

I was checking my Texas lottery ticket for this past Saturday. The pot was almost 10 million, about 7 million cash value. About 4 million after taxes. There are 6 numbers total. I got the first 5 numbers correct which will give you about $800 if you paid an extra $1 dollar which I didn’t. Number 23 would have made me a freaking F******millionaire.

Since learning TTATT, that is one of the first things I always wanted to do, play the lottery. The JWs say it wrong because it is gambling. But they can’t comprehend that buying life insurance, house insurance; auto insurance is also a form of gambling. You place a bet with the insurance company that you will die and they cover your bet that you won’t. If you die, they pay your wife the amount of the bet. If you live, you lose your premium.

I set aside $104 dollars a year to play twice a week. My statistics professor used to say, “You can’t win if you don’t play” Risk $2 dollars a week for a chance to will millions, oh yea! And even though people say the probability of winning a lottery is slim, the truth is, in the lottery world someone wins every single week.

Do you play the lottery since you left the WT?

10

How long will it take?

by John Aquila in

at some point in the future, it has to finally dawn on people that something is seriously flawed about the idea of jesus coming in the clouds to save everyone who believes- and kill everyone who doesnt..

will people still believe in jesus in another 1000 years?

will people still be saying in the year 5015;.

John Aquila

StrongHaiku
I really wish that someday we may eliminate a lot of knowledge gaps that God/superstition resides in. That eventually religions, supernatural, and other non-sense get relegated to a museum in the "This is how dumb we were..." exhibit.

There are studies being done that indicate cognitive dissonance has limits. How far a person is willing to stretch those limits depends on the individual him/herself.

For example, a person who smokes may become exposed to information that says, “Smoking causes, cancer, heart disease That uncomfortable feeling pops in his mind and he starts rationalizing it away by saying; “My health is OK, or if I quit I will start gaining weight which is unhealthy, or I enjoy smoking so I’ll be careful and monitor myself.

In time he get this nasty cough that he can’t seem to shake off and goes to the doctor. The doctor tells him he has beginning signs of throat cancer.He either need to quit or face the consequences. The cognitive dissonance that was causing him to rationalize away the information that smoking is bad, it now out the window. Now he realizes he needs to do something or he will die earlier than he anticipated.

Cognitive dissonance does have limits.

The question is though, what are the limits for all the people like Jehovah Witnesses to finally admit that being in the WT is not only a waste of time but can be dangerous, especially with their blood policy and disastrous with their educational views on schooling. Or all the New Light, lawsuits, or hypocrisy. Once a JW is affected personally, the Cognitive dissonance wall starts coming down pretty quick.