It's amazing to me how they boast of their recourse to state-of-the-art techonology in their printing facilities, but eschew the wonders of modern communicaiton in getting out the ``life-saving message'' upon which they say billions of lives hang in the balance.
Also, I think often of the colossal waste of paper expended on the millions of magazines that are rarely if ever read. I wonder what percentage of these wind up in the trash, hopefully to be recycled.
It's hard to escape the conclusion that the filed service is little more than a ``feel good' exercise for JWs, the hours spent a sort of installment payment on their New World homestead!
Room 215
JoinedPosts by Room 215
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26
From House to House, From Door to Door....
by individuals wife ini was in the town this morning and saw a little cluster of jws leaving the kingdom hall, clutching their ministry bags, eager to go out into the field service.... well, maybe eager isnt quite the right word.... anyway, i thought to myself - how many people will they convert today?
one, two, a whole family?
the more obvious answer is none at all.
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Room 215
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3
Adam Bauerlein: anyone remember him?
by Room 215 inone of the most remarkable acquaintances i made during of my four-year stint at bethel was that of adam bauerlein.
by the time i got there, he was well into his ninth decade, and quite senile.
his story was fascinating... it seems that apart from katherine bogard and grace dececca, he had the most seniority of the bethel family.
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Room 215
Fond memories, these Maximus.... and of the problem drinkers, who had/have my sympathy, were Joe Cora, Charlie Steele, sisters Groh and (Harley) Miller, to name but a few egregious-- and particularly poignant-- examples.
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141
JW Kids Leave the Organization: Facts
by Maximus inthe october 1 watchtower 2001 features articles on training children "properly" and dealing with a "prodigal child.
the latest inside u.s. figures reveal that 86% of jw children leave the fold, with some 29% who eventually come back for reasons of family ties, most never "reaching out.
" that means over half leave permanently.
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Room 215
If Max' figures are accurate, and I'm inclined to think the rate of loss is a bit lower than 88 percent (purely unscientfic, subjective impression), then it's really ominous for Brooklyn. The numbers of baptisms, paltry to begin with, are these days comprised mainly of JW youths still of minor age.
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3
Adam Bauerlein: anyone remember him?
by Room 215 inone of the most remarkable acquaintances i made during of my four-year stint at bethel was that of adam bauerlein.
by the time i got there, he was well into his ninth decade, and quite senile.
his story was fascinating... it seems that apart from katherine bogard and grace dececca, he had the most seniority of the bethel family.
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Room 215
One of the most remarkable acquaintances I made during of my four-year stint at Bethel was that of Adam Bauerlein. By the time I got there, he was well into his ninth decade, and quite senile.
His story was fascinating... it seems that apart from Katherine Bogard and Grace DeCecca, he had the most seniority of the Bethel family. No longer able to work much, he wandered the halls like a disimbodied spirit. Since I often worked nights, he would look me up on his daily perambulations.
His story was tragi-comic: it seems he had a monumental drinking problem. Early on, I believe it was still in the days of Pastor Russell, he inherited a fortune ($10,000, from his relatives who owned a brewery in Pittsburgh).... ``and you know what? I drank up every penny of it.!''
According to Adam, the problem persisted through Rutherford's and Knorr's administrations. At least once, the local police found him sleeping on the street in a crumpled heap and dumped him in front of the 124 Columbia Heights building.
``I was one of the few who was chewed out by three presidents,'' he often said, half-bragging, or so it seemed.
He was the source of many fascinating tid-bits, such as Rutherford's drinking, Knorr's untrammelled ambition (he was known as ``Blackie'' in his early years), and how many of the guys would cut out of the Monday night WT study to carouse at Times Square: ``use your imagination as to what went on,'' he used to say.
He refused to attend breakfast even when assigned to comment on the daily text. To show him up, Knorr would often call on him for a commenet, knowing full well of he absence and then have the closed-circuit camera trained on his empty chair.
Every year at Memorial time, he would stop by for his annual pep talk: ``I'm unworthy to partake,'' he'd protest, hoping,of course, that I would contradict him... No you're not, Adam, which I did invariably.
``Oh well, you know my story; that's why I'll never be in `Pursuing My Purpose in Life," he loved to say. Poor old Adam. -
17
Suggestions, please re ``placing'' free COCs
by Room 215 ina friend and i have come across a quantity of crisis of conscience in like-new condition, both english and italian editions.
we're in a quandary as to how to make best use of them.
we were thinking of donating them to the libraries or to perhaps cut a deal wth a local christian book store.
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Room 215
Hi Mustang,
Thanks for your input. The ``rebaptism'' info, I'm sure, was published in the WT, sometime in the early sixties, I believe. Since I tossed all my bound volumes, I'm at a loss to help. Maybe someone who has a CD-Rom set might be able to research it... or theb, there's Maximus the Greybeard.
While on the subject of WT CD-Roms, is it true that the Society does not warrant that they are identical to the origianl hard copies?
All the best, Room 215 (124 building, Two North) -
141
JW Kids Leave the Organization: Facts
by Maximus inthe october 1 watchtower 2001 features articles on training children "properly" and dealing with a "prodigal child.
the latest inside u.s. figures reveal that 86% of jw children leave the fold, with some 29% who eventually come back for reasons of family ties, most never "reaching out.
" that means over half leave permanently.
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Room 215
It's mind-boggling to me that these old farts can't understanding that a kid's need for recreation, social ineraction and validation are legitimate and compelling.
From time to time, when they grudgingly endorse limited forms of plya and hobbies, they make positive mention of studying music. It never seems to occur to them that it's useless to learn to play the clarinet when the youths are discouaged from joining a band or orchestra! -
17
Suggestions, please re ``placing'' free COCs
by Room 215 ina friend and i have come across a quantity of crisis of conscience in like-new condition, both english and italian editions.
we're in a quandary as to how to make best use of them.
we were thinking of donating them to the libraries or to perhaps cut a deal wth a local christian book store.
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Room 215
To all respondents,
Thanks much; you've provided a ton of excellent suggestions. If my efforts yield any interesting experiences with the book, I'll update you.
Gratefully, Room 215 -
17
Suggestions, please re ``placing'' free COCs
by Room 215 ina friend and i have come across a quantity of crisis of conscience in like-new condition, both english and italian editions.
we're in a quandary as to how to make best use of them.
we were thinking of donating them to the libraries or to perhaps cut a deal wth a local christian book store.
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Room 215
Hi all,
A friend and I have come across a quantity of Crisis of Conscience in like-new condition, both English and Italian editions. We're in a quandary as to how to make best use of them. We were thinking of donating them to the libraries or to perhaps cut a deal wth a local Christian book store. We're not asking for any money for them, but would like to put them to the best possible use... any suggestions? thanks -
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We don't baptize children, do we?
by Kent injehovah's witnesses convene in biloxi .
by christine harvey .
the sun herald .
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Room 215
This is an interesting point, and a tacit admission by the WTBTS that the drop in baptismal figures is unsettling them.
Back in the days of double-digit increases, the message was to hold off until one understood fully what he/she was doing. In fact, I recall material presented at assemblies that urged ``rebaptism'' for those who felt they were too young to know what they were doing the first time around... a far cry from today.
By the way, how many attended this assembly? The number of just 43 baptised seems paltry for such a large venue. -
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The Press - Friend or Foe
by Kismet inwhile at bethel as well in a couple of the secular jobs i have held subsequent to leaving 'da big house' i have had opportunity to interact with the press, written and televised.. i have come to appreciate that the press in all it's forms and incarnations can be a very valuable tool but like any power tool if misused or left alone it can run amuck.
for example, you wouldn't believe some of the misquotes and half sentences used during the y2k frenzy!!!
(most of the ones pick up by youknow are examples of these).
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Room 215
So true,
All too often, reporters are rapacious, freely using incendiary and flammatory rhetoric to inflate and sensationalize, and trample on accuracy or objectivity in their furor to rush an item to the pressroom, microphone or camera two steps ahead of the competition.
And when ``scooped'' by the competition, the late-comer sees his/her only recourse to make his/her version of the story ``juicier''
than the winner.