Posts by peacefulpete

42

WT Ruining Members' Futures

by HiddlesWife in

what i mean by the title of this thread is what has happened to a relative of mine, one who is really upset about this factor:.

this relative is a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family.

she studied as a child and got baptized at 14 1/2 years old.

Somehow, despite spending our absolute all, we never felt like we had the respect of the congregations we were part of. Certainly never felt like celebrities. Bethelites were generally unwanted in their congregations, as missionaries we were perceived as outsiders and meddlers, pioneering just meant we didn't want to hold a real job. It was in some measure the suspicions of us that began the process of disenchantment.

We had absolute nothing when returning to America. Lived with her parents for a while, then with mine. Got a $50 junk car and changed the transmission in the driveway. When we finally both left the church we took advantage of Pell grants and nontraditional student aid and never looked back. We invested every penny and lived below our means. We can now 20 years later talk about retirement without panic. Funny thing is we knew of very few others who actually "sought first the Kingdom". Most of the even most JWish seemed to have a long term plan of retirement or career. It was evident we were outliers. Not sure if that represented a change in the church or if we were just unusually credulous.

349

Who really is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?

by Godlyman in

if anyone were to come up to you claiming that they are the faithful and discreet slave, how would you go about proving them to be false, based upon scripture?.

estephan.

peacefulpete

It's maybe odd but I actually enjoy digging in the writings of the Bible far more now. When I was "in" there actually was a self imposed resistance to "disproof. I couldn't enjoy reading anything but literature from the WT, however carefully reading that soon became unsatisfying. Jewish and Christian history is a fascinating study filled with puzzles and complexity once you aren't desperately needing to preserve a statis quo.

41

GB pushed the vax

by Diedsuddenly in

i remember during the pandemic the gb updates got progressively stronger pushing the vaccines .

they even had experiences of some who were reluctant to get them and then due to the gb keep saying fully vaccinated these poor jws went out and got all the catch ups shots and even all the boosters.

i remember someone making a compilation video showing all the gb update clips of the gb pushing the clot shots, even tony morris saying the words ‘go get vaccinated’.

peacefulpete

I'm sure you know, the vaccine like most vaccines doesn't prevent infection. It primes the immune system to respond when infection occurs, but as with everything as complex as a mutating virus and unique biological hosts, it cannot prevent all bad disease responses. It's all a matter of probabilities. Your coworker may have been infected with a new variant before the vaccines were adjusted. It's also possible she was just one of those unfortunate folks whose immune response to the vaccine wasn't robust. Too many unknowns.

Cases like your coworkers ought to to reinforce the need to stay current with boosters and practice good judgment when in crowds, even when vaccinated.

41

GB pushed the vax

by Diedsuddenly in

i remember during the pandemic the gb updates got progressively stronger pushing the vaccines .

they even had experiences of some who were reluctant to get them and then due to the gb keep saying fully vaccinated these poor jws went out and got all the catch ups shots and even all the boosters.

i remember someone making a compilation video showing all the gb update clips of the gb pushing the clot shots, even tony morris saying the words ‘go get vaccinated’.

peacefulpete

Disi...I wasn't suggesting YOU held those extremely disturbing views. Sorry I was not clear. As far as being your own advocate in medical decisions, absolutely agree. Your doctor is a human and probably overbooked. My oncologist last month called to tell me my cancer had spread to my lungs. My heart sank. Seconds later when describing the mass on my lung, I stopped him and reminded him I had a massive pulmonary embolism that killed the bottom third of my lung. He paused and said, "Oh that's probably it then."

I was relieved but still displeased he hadn't consulted my file before calling with such bad news. Doctors and nurses are people. I don't think anyone (not you) should equate that with a worldwide conspiracy to reduce population, as is being spread by many. Researchers around the world whose job is to keep us safe, knew what the various vaccinations were, it wasn't a mystery to them. Even the cutting edge mrna approach has been studied for years with the purpose of quickly responding to a situation like what arose. Any injection has a small risk, and any medication has a risk of reaction.

I hear your preference for "natural" medicine. Medical research is always looking at naturally occurring compounds and how they interreact with disease. Nature has had many millions of years to experiment.

Many chemotherapy drugs were derived from "natural compounds". They are poison but their preference for cancer cells makes them useful. Again sorry for not being clear. I respect you, I just disagree that the evidence suggests the vaccines we have are less safe than being reported by medical authorities.

41

GB pushed the vax

by Diedsuddenly in

i remember during the pandemic the gb updates got progressively stronger pushing the vaccines .

they even had experiences of some who were reluctant to get them and then due to the gb keep saying fully vaccinated these poor jws went out and got all the catch ups shots and even all the boosters.

i remember someone making a compilation video showing all the gb update clips of the gb pushing the clot shots, even tony morris saying the words ‘go get vaccinated’.

peacefulpete

Disi...My 2 cents. Apply the same critical thinking you apply to creationism and you will likely have a similarly sober minded respect for the value of medical science. Reasonable caution is always appropriate but imputing murderous motives to the world's health organizations is something quite different. Myself I defer to trained professionals when it comes to my health.

1

Beecher Bethel

by peacefulpete in

jw
friends

most of us are aware the wt original purchase of brooklyn properties were the "plymouth bethel" and henry ward beecher's residence.

i was just sitting here and it occurred to me these should be recognized as historical sites.

beecher's role in american history surrounding the civil war is certainly worthy of recognition and remembrance.

peacefulpete

Most of us are aware the WT original purchase of Brooklyn properties were the "Plymouth Bethel" and Henry Ward Beecher's residence. I was just sitting here and it occurred to me these should be recognized as historical sites. Beecher's role in American history surrounding the civil war is certainly worthy of recognition and remembrance. Why wan't there some effort to put up a plaque or something?

30

Did it ever become unbearable to attend another Kingdom Hall meeting?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

it's becoming unbearable for me to attend another meeting.

i dread coming to the weekly sunday public talk and watchtower study.

the talks are ''repeats'' of a ''repeat.

peacefulpete

Yep. Unbearable is a good word for it.

13

Ice Skating on Eiffel Tower?

by peacefulpete in

jw
friends

my wife and i are heading to paris for christmas this year.

it's a landmark year for all sorts of reasons, milestone anniversary her milestone birthday, and my recovery.

she loves ice skating.

peacefulpete

You sound like our kind of people. Funny we are planning a 2CV tour around town. KInda worried that the air cooled car may be cold. Thanks for suggestions

9

When The SHTF.

by Lost in the fog in

we have several non-jdub friends who are busy stockpiling foods and goods for the impending societal collapse.

some are happy enough to be called preppers, others are not, but say that looking at the deteriorating condition of the world that it's only a matter of time before the shtf and they want to be prepared to protect themselves and their families when it happens.. contrast that to the jdubs who are actively telling people that the end of the world is coming, but aren't preparing in a practical way because they have been brainwashed by a "jehovah has always protected his servants" mindset from the gb at hq (who laughingly have no reason to be concerned because they're hoping for a quick getaway up to heaven when the jw 'end of the world' comes!).

the most the average jdub has is a go-bag rucksack in case they have to quickly leave their house in the event of a natural disaster like a flood or a wildfire.. isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

peacefulpete

Here's some sound advice.

https://www.ready.gov/

13

Ice Skating on Eiffel Tower?

by peacefulpete in

jw
friends

my wife and i are heading to paris for christmas this year.

it's a landmark year for all sorts of reasons, milestone anniversary her milestone birthday, and my recovery.

she loves ice skating.

peacefulpete

My wife and I are heading to Paris for Christmas this year. It's a landmark year for all sorts of reasons, milestone anniversary her milestone birthday, and my recovery. She loves ice skating. Has anyone first hand knowledge about ice skating on Eiffel tower? It would seem to be a straightforward question but surprisingly it's not. The official website says nothing, a number of tour sites say yes and one skating website says no.

Apart from that, what would you recommend to see or do in winter there. We are going to the Louvre of course, any favorite places/restaurants etc.???