Agree 100% with your summation of the psyche of most elders sir82. I still think it would be hit elder and MS levels. So let's hope you're right and I'm wrong on this one.
konceptual99
JoinedPosts by konceptual99
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49
New Monthly Broadcast - BE LOYAL! - Shut Up and Sit Down!
by ttdtt inthe new broadcast is - predictably - about being loyal to the gb.it's a shut up and sit down message.. one of the funny things they keep bringing up is the correlation between the gb and moses.those who don't listen to the gb are like korah.. this is a false choice, why?let's look at a quick comparison.
(this is from the point of view of the bible).
was moses directly picked by god?- yeswas the gb directly picked by god?- well no, we actually are not told how the gb are picked and why the qualify.. did god talk to moses?- yesdoes god talk to the gb- no, they admit they are not in direct communication.. did god inspire moses to write laws and judge.- yesdoes god inspire the gb to write laws and judge.- no, they admit they are not inspired, and they are always wrong and need to change things all the time.. did god give the israelites undisputable proof that moses is his channel?- yes, many miracles visible to everyone one around happenddoes god give jws undisputable proof that the gb are his channel?- no, there is no proof, actually contrary.. was moses ever wrong?- nohas the gb ever been wrong?- every time.
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New Monthly Broadcast - BE LOYAL! - Shut Up and Sit Down!
by ttdtt inthe new broadcast is - predictably - about being loyal to the gb.it's a shut up and sit down message.. one of the funny things they keep bringing up is the correlation between the gb and moses.those who don't listen to the gb are like korah.. this is a false choice, why?let's look at a quick comparison.
(this is from the point of view of the bible).
was moses directly picked by god?- yeswas the gb directly picked by god?- well no, we actually are not told how the gb are picked and why the qualify.. did god talk to moses?- yesdoes god talk to the gb- no, they admit they are not in direct communication.. did god inspire moses to write laws and judge.- yesdoes god inspire the gb to write laws and judge.- no, they admit they are not inspired, and they are always wrong and need to change things all the time.. did god give the israelites undisputable proof that moses is his channel?- yes, many miracles visible to everyone one around happenddoes god give jws undisputable proof that the gb are his channel?- no, there is no proof, actually contrary.. was moses ever wrong?- nohas the gb ever been wrong?- every time.
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konceptual99
I'm tellin' ya....
Mandatory tithing, or at least, mandatory if you want "privileges".Really? I think if they do that then they will be sealing their own fate as far encouraging men to step up. I was accounts servant for years and I knew exactly what elders and MSs were contributing through standing orders and the tax reclaim forms. It was only about 15% of the body. Even if you double that to take into account cash donors it's still less than 50% of the body. This was the best part of 10 years ago and I really, really doubt it's improved.
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Availability Crisis of Conscience.
by Ben131895 inmost of us are desperately waiting for the availability of a legal crisis of conscience.
deborah dykstra provided us with two updates.
on december 12, 2015 there was a clear statement about the copyright which stopped all illegal activity in spreading electronic versions & prints.. finally, she promised a new update by or before may 6.. so far no new update.
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konceptual99
I read Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom recently as a PDF on Scribd. Not sure if this is a legal distribution or not.
There are zero legal electronic copies of CoC and ISoCF. AFAIK there is no way of purchasing a print copy other than the second hand market on ebay/Amazon etc. Any PDF you read is being distributed without the permission of the copyright holder.
The copyright holder provides updates on her efforts to get this published once again here:
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I have no prblems with "new light"
by Doug Mason inthere is nothing wrong with accepting new ideas.
even apostle paul changed his mind when he "saw the light".
indeed, i hope to learn new things every day.
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konceptual99
Completely agree with the sentiments expressed.
Just a side point however. The term "new light" has been deprecated in JW language. They don't like to use it specifically for all the reasons above. They like to obfuscate the changes and call it things like "increasing light" and "refinements".
Semantic BS of course but the use of "new light" when talking to a Witness tends to mark one out as not keeping up with "increasing light".
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Stand Up Comedy about JWs
by usualusername1 inhello all,i have just signed up to do a comedy course.
it starts in september.in order to get a headstart, i did my first 5 minutes tonight about jws.i explained that i celebrated my first birthday last week.
bemusement and a tittle.explained that if you could choose between hare krishnas and people standing at a trolley/cart as a religion who would you choose?got a laugh.explained that the whole world will be destroyed if you do not listen to our message, yet we are not prepared to initiate a conversation at a trolley.big laugh.
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konceptual99
I've thought about it but would be worried that it's a bit too narrow, especially since people do not know a lot less about Witnesses than we think and therefore the context and set up risks getting too long winded. With general religiously based stand up there is more understanding of the basic premises you typically use.
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There is a new letter to elders about Child Abuse
by ttdtt inanyone see that there is a long letter on how to handle child abuse?.
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konceptual99
Could you post it on the notice board? I reckon I could leave a letter on the board for weeks and no one would notice. The problem is getting it there. Hall cleaning perhaps? -
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Recent mistakes of the Governing Body contributing to the decline of JWs
by slimboyfat inthey have made so many strategical mistakes it's hard to keep track.
some changes within the last decade or so that are contributing to declining numbers of jws:.
1. elimination of book study groups, the most informal, enjoyable and sociable of the jw meetings, contributed to loss of sense of community among jws.. 2. policy of consolidating kingdom halls.
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konceptual99
Want to see a deer in the headlights? Ask a JW what his favorite part of the May broadcast was. Or the April. Or the March. Or....
Ask a Witness what his favourite part of the Sunday meeting was or what the public talk was about on a Monday morning and you get the same look.
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Rank & file are seeing the money-grubbing
by Zoos inspoke with a fellow apostate from my own area.
she and i bailed out about the same time and kept in touch.. she used to do secular work with one of the local elders in his cleaning business until she got dfed.
this same elder was one of the more profound dickheads on my reinstatement committee, before i turned around two years later and daed.. business required her to contact the elder on behalf of an old client.
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konceptual99
I can live with our friends over the pond saying money-grubbing but, as Simon says, "I could care less" is simply illogical. I was watching Billions the other day and someone said it and it sounded so silly. "I couldn't care less" actually says what you mean.
Cue a reply where some wag says they could care less what I think
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Recent mistakes of the Governing Body contributing to the decline of JWs
by slimboyfat inthey have made so many strategical mistakes it's hard to keep track.
some changes within the last decade or so that are contributing to declining numbers of jws:.
1. elimination of book study groups, the most informal, enjoyable and sociable of the jw meetings, contributed to loss of sense of community among jws.. 2. policy of consolidating kingdom halls.
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konceptual99
If it were another business that had made some strategic mistakes but fundamentally had a sound product then changing strategy, downsizing and other changes, if properly implemented, should result in future growth.
The problem they have is the foundation is built on sand. The WTS is a corporation. It was a publishing house, now it's a property development business. However, they is a dependence on a membership to provide cashflow, labour and to front it as a religion.
They have a product that is a sham. They have a product that is being exposed over and over again as mumbo jumbo. Less and less people are interested in it.
They can survive financially for years, decades probably, but they have fundamental issue with their message. I think they have a two way choice:
1 - continue as they are, stagnate and decline into a shadow of their former glory in 20-30 years.
2 - change the record. Become open, inclusive, drop major doctrines, stop being a millennial cult and more like a more mainstream protestant religion, stop the moral judgements and hope that being a nice social club is enough to keep people happy
IMHO the chance of them ever going down route 2 is slim to none.
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Moore's Law And The Survival Of The Watchtower Corporation? When Will Instant Processing Push These Dumb Bastard Into Bankruptcy?
by Brokeback Watchtower inthe internet value increases with this moore's law doubling effect and information is there for the picking.
how long do you think these old geezers on the governing body can keep this currant generation of members in the darkness of stupidity?
the human mind while it has it's fault will pick up on fraud at least on the unconscious level and stop giving time and money to these clowns.
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konceptual99
The WTS can go on for years simply on the fact that the majority of the the members are held mentally captive and will ignore the glaringly obvious time after time after time. I think this will be the case even with stagnation or even growing losses.
Having said that, the youth in the organisation, whilst following patterns set by previous generations, do not have the investment in the organisation that their parents have and are far more likely to be more apathetic and liable to investigate the religion on the internet. I can see from what is happening with young people I see all the time that the desire to focus on a life in WTS centric activities is low. When I was a teenager, it was more common for young men to be "reaching out", now I think the balance is the other way - few young men are that interested in pushing to servants and elders.
I am certain that the GB can see the writing on the wall and are trying their best to stem the flow with increasingly desperate measures like banging on about loyalty, keeping the pressure up on shunning, shameless emotional blackmail through saccharine paradise videos, spreading FOG through things like the bunker videos, eking out time through change and distraction, demonising those who question and so on.
It's true they have always done much of this however the recent changes to the WTS have seen them move to highly emotional messages using video. This is way different to the past. The problem for them is that this is low hanging fruit. It's captures the attention and the minds of some but only for a short time before reality kicks in again. Not only that but for any who don't buy straight into it, it simply breeds cynicism and opens the door for critical thinking. It's a short term strategy and i wonder how long it can really last as people get increasingly frustrated with the lack of real depth to anything.