my best mate called me up this morning.
said he needed to tell me something.
that he had been having doubts.
That is GREAT! I think all of us fantasize about having that conversation with some good friends. I know I certainly do. Does he have any idea how lucky he is that he chose YOU of all people to talk to about this? Anyone else would have run away screaming APOSTATE!!
Just as long as your friend won't turn around and out you for any reason... And he should also know that he has you to come to when he's stressed or confused about WT issues.
I look forward to reading your buddy's intro post on JWN!
after seeing this time and time again on facebook.
i have an answer.. how can you tell someone is vegan or a vegetarian?.
answer - you wont have to, because they will tell you every single day over in over in food post, recipes and bragging about how good they feel.
I always say, "Never trust a vegetarian!"
was it worth attending?.
is your survival more sure now?.
which part of gods word is truth!
Of course there isn't a new NWT. It's already the very best bible translation done by anybody, ever! And of course they're out of stock in the US.... Everyone wants one! They must be placing them fast. Everyone wants the Truth!
Seriously though.. Would a revised NWT not cause some to question the validity of the first one? The last thing they want is to have members researching the translation on their own.
I am NOT looking forward to this torture sesh. I am, however looking forward to a trip to the city with my wife and some good friends. We'll be eating good food at nice restaurants every night, staying in a nice hotel (WT approved of course), and doing some shopping while we're in town. It turns out our close Dub friends are actually really cool and I like spending time with them. ASSembly weekend is always a mini vacation because we have to travel over 4 hours to get there.
with internet access to material published by the watchtower and it being offered free door to door and at the congregation literature counter it should not be surprising that the wtb&ts doesn't make the same profit as before when literature had to be paid for.. so the nonprofit corporation must turn to other sources of income, like playing bank with the congregation's money, as well as selling property of which they have a sizable fortune.
beg for more money from the mostly poor rank and file, suggest willing leaving valueble property to the corporation, mandatory tithing, and etc.... part of this sellable property are kingdumb halls owned by incorporated congregations which thier by-laws give the wt complete control.
as times get worse for this corporations i would expect them to be tapping this source of revenue more frequently.. they are selling all their brooklyn buildings, and closing down branches and selling the property, and they are selling kingdom halls(who gets the money?)..
Printing pubs costs money. Think about it. They can't possibly be making enough to cover production costs, even with the slave labour. The org is worth billions.
While this may at times cause liquidity issues, they surely are in a position to keep themselves afloat for a long time to come. They can buy and sell rel estate all they like, and do it tax free. We can't expect them to be fading off the scene because of money problems anytime soon. All they have to do is get some COs to suggest some congs' KHs are getting too old. A new property is purchased with money borrowed from the org, the debt is paid by that cong and neighbouring congs. The old hall is then sold off and proceeds go to the nearest branch.
If the hall is an older one and the title is still held by the local elder body, the branch must seize ownership of the property. The CO suggests a renovation, at a cost that is estimated at what it would cost if contractors were hired to do the job. The cong votes to take a loan out from the branch for said cost, and the title is turned over to the branch for 'security'. The building is renovated using volunteer labour, the loan is repaid by the local Dubbies, and the branch owns the title.
Seems like a very nice business plan to me!
Anybody wanna start a cult with me?
a lady that i have known for more than few years emailed me yesterday.
she spelled like "youu" several times, i will not reveal the content of her email.
is she trying to tell me something with "youu"?
She's typing in code. When she over uses a letter it means she wants you. It doesn't just have to be youu...
for the past year or so, i've been turning in just one or two hours of service time.
it has been mentioned to me from an elder "friend" that i'm never seen at any meetings for field service.
i get his implication.
I turned in phony slips with minimal hours on them for a good 9 months. They were either late, or not in at all. After 3 slips with zeros on them the boys came for a shep call. They offered "encouragement" with the usual guilt, fear and obligation routine. I put them at ease without showing them my cards. I thanked them for their concern and for visiting my wife and I. Then I never handed in another slip. The CO visit is soon, so we will see if it comes up again with them.
Basically they don't want your low/no hour slips dragging down the cong average, but if you go inactive the CO will be all over them. If you can make it past the next CO visit you'll probably be fine. They may try to visit while he's in town or just before. This type of situation is discussed directly during the CO visit. The CO basically expects the local elders to make an effort to 'encourage' newly inactive ones. You may want to be "busy" around that time.
Are you on anyone's Apostadar? If it comes up that you've been "thinking" or "questioning" or "taking a step back to consider things" you can expect that the CO may lead a witch hunt on your ass. Just act discouraged and busy. Thank them for their concern, and maybe show up for a meeting or two after. Hell, throw your hand up in the WT study and read a scripture. They love that shit. Then back to good ol' inactivity.
Just remember... Once you hand in one slip, even with a zero on it... The process is started all over again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcs751gcp10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52j5stxkbkq.
Cold Steel said; " The truth is that if God emblazoned incontrovertible evidence across the heavens, many would still reject Him. And in the day of judgment their condemnation would be swift and sure."
You might be right! However at the very least, those who reject him will be able to make a conscious, informed decision based on ' incontrovertible evidence across the heavens'.
Clearly the thought processes of a cult-infected mind. I hope you one day find your clarity, sir.
even though i realized there were different issues that i had, it took years for me to finally decide that i wanted out.
it took less than a year for me to slowly get out and i did that successfully along with my daughter and my then wife.
we all are still all happily out.. did you believe that you would be anything but a jehovah's witness?.
Yes.. And no. It was hard to think about. I definitely had questions and doubts, and never bought into every goofball idea that came out of Brooklyn.
Once in a while the thought of my future as a dub would come to mind. I've never planned to be even an MS, and planned my life in a way that "spiritual things" would always take a backseat to everything else in my life. A lifetime to indoctrination made it very difficult to properly think things through. The thought stoppers always came in a big rush to cloud my thoughts. I never saw myself leaving, but never saw myself staying forever either... If that makes any sense.
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*Raises hand* ME!
I refuse to accept anything without evidence. REAL evidence. That which is provable, and disprovable. I am willing to consider anything within reason, if the evidence is readily available. I find I "believe" in fewer things all the time, and that's just fine with me. I am willing to consider the supernatural if evidence were available, to send me your deemunz! Haha
I refuse to spend one more day in ignorance.
back in the good old days, when god actually spoke to his great warriors, generally stuff they gave to their god was offered up as burnt offerings.
they burned thousands of cattle, goats, sheep, lots of cities and even a few people.
back then, jay hoover got off on the smells of bbqing meat and just generally burning stuff.
Unstop-
There's the true Christian spirit! Burn 'em, just like in the ol' inquisition days. Back then god had a taste for burnt heretics, witches, and anyone who dared question the church... How proud you must be of your spiritual heritage!
