Posts by konceptual99

35

Some recent baptism figures in the UK - is there a "bounce back"?

by freddo in

jw
friends

well, round my way (south of the uk) all the way up to and including the regional conventions this summer, baptism numbers have been extremely low.

but i have just received news of three recent circuit assembly days where the figures seem to be higher.

(all have been across the last three weekends at a uk assembly hall in october).

konceptual99

It's just the ebb and flow within an overall trend. The trend can only really be observed over time and these figures will do nothing but reinforce the consistent evidence that baptisms are a very low proportion of reported active Witnesses. Anyone still attending can also attest to the fact that the majority of getting baptised are born-ins as well.

175

The facts on crucifixion, stauros, and the "torture stake"

by Leolaia in

finally, i will look at biblical and patristic evidence bearing on the crucifixion of jesus in particular.

we need to examine the earliest known descriptions of the kind of crucifixion adopted by the romans and the specific terms they used to refer to it.

apparently the society believes that crux still meant "stake" in the second century a.d., when tacitus composed his annals.

konceptual99

Wish she was still here and posting. Work like this is remarkable.

21

Attending a same-sex wedding

by Samantharockeby33 in

my cousin, whom is not jw, but we have grown up together our whole lives has just gotten engaged to her same sex partner, i am very conflicted on wether i can/should attend the wedding or not.

i am very close with my cousin and her partner and they are very understanding to our beliefs and differences as she grew up with our whole family being jw.

some family members have already said they will definitely be attending and some definitely not attending so i just want some extra advice and guidance!

konceptual99

I assume you are an active Witness. If you have any kind of "privileges" like being an elder or pioneer then you risk losing them if found out. Other than that I know of no sanctions that can be applied, just the disapproving glares of your judgemental 'friends".

14

An ANALYSIS of Watch Tower of Britain’s last (January 2013) Child Safeguarding Policy by Barbara Anderson

by AndersonsInfo in

an analysis of watch tower of britain’s last (january 2013) child safeguarding policy by barbara anderson.

last year, i was asked to review watch tower of britain’s child safeguarding policy and its implementation.

what i discovered was depressing and disappointing especially because the policy contained just a single statement (#18) directing elder/trustees on how to protect children in their congregations from avoidable harm - they were to restrict a repentant abuser “…from being alone in the company of children.” the policy did not explain what procedures to follow to assure that abusers would obey that rule.

konceptual99

In my experience Mephis most elders don't have a clue about their role and responsibilities as trustees. If they did they would shit themselves at how exposed the WTS leaves them. Not only that but any responsible trustee would not allow the WTS the level of ownership of the hall and cash that they currently have.

39

Can Someone Explain To Me, Are The Org In Debt Or Rich?

by pale.emperor in

hi guys.. im aware of the orgs blatant hints to donate, donate, donate to the org, the sacking of bethel staff, selling of buildings, reducing mags and books, emphasis on digital rather than physical books etc which is obviously a money saver - but are the wt org in money difficulty?

because elsewhere on here and on youtube there's stories of the watchtower being mega rich, one even called it "a billion dollar organization".

and if there is any money in there, who's benefiting off it?

konceptual99

Spot on blondie. The change driven by the general move to digital means less revenue from publication donations This is offset by the cashing in of real estate assets but in the long term they have to balance the books with money coming in and expenditure. I think they are also hunkering down in case of a change to their tax status and from any exposure through litigation related to child abuse.

Aside from the economies of scale of centralising printing in Europe in Germany,I think part of the reason for the UK downsize was Brexit exposing the UK as potentially being able to change the tax status without the protection of European legislation. I am sure it wasn't a major aspect but still there in the back of their minds.

22

22 fascinating maps that show how Americans speak English differently across the US

by blondie in

jw
friends

http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/22-fascinating-maps-that-show-how-americans-speak-english-differently-across-the-us/ss-bbwqtug?li=bbnb7kz&ocid=iehp .

everyone knows americans don't agree on pronunciations.. that's great, because regional accents and dialects are a major part of why american english is so interesting.. josh katz, a former ph.d. student of statistics at north carolina state university, published a group of awesome visualizations of professor bert vaux and scott golder's linguistic survey, which looked at differences in american dialects (via detsl on /r/linguistics).. his results were first published on the abstract, the nc state university research blog.

the complete set of katz's maps, updated with the results from more than 350,000 new survey responses, are compiled in the new book "speaking american," publishing october 25 from houghton mifflin harcourt.. katz gave business insider permission to publish some of the coolest maps from his collection..

konceptual99

Really interesting blondie - I love stuff like this.

39

Steve Hassan. Can some one verify if this is true.

by joe134cd in

https://culteducation.com/group/1289-general-information/8227-disclaimer-regarding-steve-hassan.html.

konceptual99

I am pretty ambivalent about Steve Hassan. He has the same certifications that the majority of his peers in counselling in the US would hold and if that sort of thing floats your boat then fine. I've never read his books so can't comment on them other than the breakdowns I have seen of the BITE model make sense to me.

I am not sure that his experience as an ex-moonie and subsequent training give him any more credibility or ability than someone with some kind of psychology doctorate to produce content with high academic value, however many people have found his books useful and informative. Could they have got that content elsewhere for less money, or even free? Sure but plenty of people pay over the odds for goods and services every day of the week just because they get something else that provokes a more emotional response from the transaction.

I think his higher charges come from the fact he has built the perception that he is a leading expert on cults. In a world of counsellors his USP is this perceived expertise with cults and cult behaviour. He is leveraging that to make money. I read it more as hubris and ego than a cynical "let's fleece the morons" attitude but fundamentally it comes down to the point that if you don't like his charges then don't pay them.

I'd love to meet the guy, chat to him and find out more about how he approaches his work. I just wouldn't pay $400p/h to do so.

19

What was the biggest hypocrisy you have seen while a witness?

by HereIgo in

i have far too many to name, however, i have noticed obscene music, cussing, lying and secretive gambling to name a few.

thoughts?.

konceptual99

Congregations are riddled with individual cases of hypocrisy but lets not forget the number of organisational examples of hypocrisy. The blood doctrine, free passes for historical sin for elders, Mexico/Malawi, criticism of Christendom for changing doctrine, claiming that anyone should be able to change their beliefs without consequence.... the list goes on and on and on.

8

The End is near!..for my great, great,great grandfather...

by TTWSYF in

so it occurred to me how crazy the wts is and has been.. if i am 25 years old and my parents had me when they were 25, my grandparents were 25 when they had my parents, and their parents were 25 and so on and we were witnesses, what would we think?.

my point?.

my great, great, great grandparents were around 25 years old when the judge was promoting the end of times in the 1870s.

konceptual99

Your mistake is thinking of a generation in the terms you describe. You need to get with the program and redefine your understanding to match a generation as 'splaned by Splane and the WTS.

Rookie.