Posts by EnlightenedEphesian

22

Watchtower/Bethelite Volunteers and US Self Employment or FICA Tax?

by EnlightenedEphesian in

with so many aging bethelites being "laid off" after years of volunteer service, what hope do they have of collecting any social security retirement?

i ask because i recently learned that my mother will not receive any government retirement benefits because she did not work enough to collect the 40 credits required.

this got me to thinking about bethel volunteers.

EnlightenedEphesian

With so many aging Bethelites being "laid off" after years of volunteer service, what hope do they have of collecting any Social Security Retirement?

I ask because I recently learned that my mother will not receive any government retirement benefits because she did not work enough to collect the 40 credits required. This got me to thinking about Bethel volunteers. I've seen threads on here about how Watchtower has let them go and now they must fend for themselves financially. Has Watchtower had to pay any FICA tax on these individuals? I checked the IRS Website, but it's complicated to determine if a church must pay these. In some cases they do, but in other cases, it is up to the individual to pay Self Employment Tax instead or some can even request to waive paying the tax altogether. Of course, this determines what if any Social Security Retirement an individual will receive.

Do those volunteers who are retirement age or close to it have any hope of collecting Social Security Retirement? Does anyone know for sure if Watchtower pays taxes towards this? Are these volunteers just SOL?

45

Pagan Origins

by tinker in

a currently active jdub acquaintance occasionally stops by to say hello and we share a wee dram or two.

after the general small talk of new cars, exotic vacations and sports we often get into the "why" we are xjubs.

he is a well educated publisher who holds a phd in child psychology.

EnlightenedEphesian

Finials are an interesting subject. I've never brought it up, but one day I was researching finials and learned they originally have a pagan/spiritistic origin. Yet, most everyone has one in their home. (Consider lamps, curtain rods, pottery, etc.) Not much different than wind chimes, here's what I found:

What Is A Finial

Finial - Wikipedia

The History of Finials

19

2015 XMAS CARD EXCHANGE

by blondie in

jw
friends

if you pm a mailing address and your name of choice, i can gather together a list and send it to your e-mail or pm you by december 10.. love, blondie.

.

EnlightenedEphesian

Just sent you a pm. Thanks!

51

Deposition of Richard Ashe

by truthseekeriam in

jw
friends

http://watchtowerdocuments.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/lopez-11exhibit-8-to-dec-of-copley-iso-opp-to-plnts-mfs.pdf.

did any of you guys sit down and read this??

it's long but i assure you it's a great read.. .

EnlightenedEphesian

Just had to make a comment on a statement made towards the end of the deposition. I laughed so hard at this and thought others might find it funny as well.

Richard Ashe is being asked by the attorney why certain searches would not work to comply with the Judges request to provide a list of individuals that have been counseled/reproved for child abuse. Mr. Ashe proceeds to explain that just doing a search for "child abuse" would pull up any file related to "child" or "abuse" and it would take hundreds of man hours to review those files to see if they are actually related to child abuse.

Then, the attorney remembers that Mr. Ashe commented earlier that all child abuse files are marked as "Do Not Destroy" so he proceeds to inquire why that search would not work. Here are the actual comments...

O. So had someone looking for the records relating to child molester, would look for files that have on it a cover an indication that says "do not destroy; " is that right?

A. Do not destroy is a electronic tag so they do not disappear according to retention policy for a document.

O. So one thing you can do is search physical files and look for any file that says "do not destroy" on it?

A. But there are no physical file. Once they were scanned all those documents were destroyed.

O. So you can do a search for the term "do not destroy?

A. You can try to do a search for do not destroy but you'll come up with child abuse, you'll come up with adultery, you'll come up with bigamist marriage, you'll come up with slander, fraud, murder any abhorrent sin.

O. It's that much sin going on in the Jehovah Witness?

MR. COPLEY(Attorney for Mr. Ashe): Objection, argumentative. I'll instruct you not to answer.

34

AUTISM and JW children

by apostatekate in

i was a jw kid.

i remember having to sit still through long, boring meetings.

i remember being taken to the book room for numerous spankings.

EnlightenedEphesian

My sister has twins that are autistic. For about the fiirst 5 years of their life, she tried to take them to the meetings, but they would always set in the "library" with the door closed. It was very difficult for the kids to be confined to such a small place for what seemed like an eternity to them. They wanted to be up and around and could not possibly be quiet. Then, they couldn't socialize before or after the meeting because the noise of the conversations was overwhelming and would make the children literally scream and throw up. Meetings were really the most stressful events of their week. Finally, my sister realized it just wasn't practical to try to take them, so she usually just listens in over the phone. When she does go, she gets my mom, who is not a witness to watch them. What gets me, is how all the "friends" would say, "Just let me know what I can do to help." But in reality, very little if any help is ever offered.

12

Who is it really disciplining????

by jeremiah18:5-10 in

the wts sanctions the practice of shunning or disfellowshipping of unrepentant wrongdoers.

this practice cuts the person off from not only the congregation members, but also their still believing family.

the wts backs up their action by threatening the members (congregation and family) with being df'ed themselves if they choose to associate with the df'ed person.. the claim in part is that its an act of loving discipline that may move the wrongdoer to repentance and to return to the congregation and thus to jehovah.

EnlightenedEphesian

I have decided the most effective way to defeat the DFing policy is by simply living a happy, successful, clean, moral life. By enjoying my children and their lives, and demonstrating that the WTS has NO CONTROL or INFLUENCE over me anymore. This drives them crazy and intrigues them. JW's are convinced that you cannot be happy outside of the organization. Happiness and success and having no "hard feelings" toward the WTS and the congregation, etc is the most powerful attack.

Absolutely agree! And I think making a point to let our families know we are living a happy, successful, clean, moral life is important. Every opportunity I get I want to let them know that "everything is going great," "the kids are doing amazing," "things have never been better." I mention things like, "the kids are so excited," "I'm so impressed with how well they're doing in school," "Remarkably the kids are getting along really well," etc. Also, emphasizing how well we are doing as a couple, bragging on each others positive qualities, how strong our relationship is and making it a point to mention all the things we do together as a family.

Even as I type this, I can honestly say all these things about us are truer now than ever. Being free of the guilt and pressures to perform have given us a contentment that we never had before. And that is what I wish everyone could experience. To me, that is the real "peace of God."

41

The time left is reduced...

by cedars in

jw
friends

...for you to vote on the 2012 jw survey!

only just over 3 months remaining until the survey closes!.

i've been trying to think of ways to get the word out and get more people voting.. .

EnlightenedEphesian

Just voted, thanks for the reminder.

41

Disturbing WT quotes

by Christ Alone in

i wanted to start a thread about the most disturbing quotes that you all have found in watchtower publications.

i just came across this one when responding to another thread.

i'm sure there are many more disturbing quotes out there.

EnlightenedEphesian

This was one of the last meetings I attended:

Nov 15, 2009 Watchtower

"What Do Your Prayers Say About You"

Counsel to married christians on how they should/should not touch during prayer at the meeting:

"Some marriage mates might discreetly hold hands, but if they embraced each other during public prayer, those who got a glimpse of such conduct might be stumbled. They might think or get the impression that the couple was focusing on their romantic relationship instead of reverence for Jehovah. Out of deep respect for him, let us therefore "do all things for God's glory" and avoid conduct that could distract, shock or stumble anyone."

My husband and I always put our arms around each other, while standing facing the speaker. I felt it was a sign that we were united in our worship of Jehovah together. I was deeply disturbed that counsel was given to couples to avoid this kind of behavior rather than counsel those in attendance to keep their focus on the prayer itself rather than what other couples may or may not be doing during the prayer. Just another indication of how far WTBTS has gone in their RULES.

67

The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses - Explained

by cedars in

i've just finished putting together a fairly exhaustive article that summarizes a number of key details about the governing body that most jehovah's witnesses are completely unaware of.

a link to the article is below:.

http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/the-governing-body-of-jehovahs-witnesses-explained.

EnlightenedEphesian

Just finished the article and found it very informative. Thank you for putting this together and sharing it with us.

81

How Did You Become An Atheist?

by NewChapter in

jw
friends

since there seem to be a number of threads in this spirit, i'd like to ask how others became atheists.

for myself, i learned some things that made me understand the bible wasn't true.

i looked deeper, and it became even more unlikely.

EnlightenedEphesian

My opinion...I've struggled with the same thoughts so many times. When you hear of children being violently put to death by even their parents, it makes you wonder how can a loving God tolerate this? Unspeakable atrocities are happening every day. With some of my JW believes still lingering, I once discussed this with my husband and compared the thought of God casting and confining Satan to the earth as locking a pedophile in a room full of children. Who's really being punished here? I sometimes still struggle, but I do believe in God. I feel that we really know so little of the picture, that he must have a plan and perhaps his attention is diverted elsewhere right now. Just a few of my thoughts.

EnlightenedEphesian