Posts by konceptual99

29

"The purpose of reporting field service time is for encouragement"

by HereIgo in

i was told this when i was an aspiring jw, aka unbaptized publisher.

the above explanation didn't make sense to me then and it never did make sense throughout my jw career.

over time, it appeared to me the real purpose of field service time reporting was to gauge one's spirituality and for the ceo *cough* co to make sure the elders were on top of things during his visit..

konceptual99

The purpose of the field ministry and reporting it is whatever it needs to be to justify any one of a long list of cult control mechanisms.

25

My Story

by Lee Elder in

this is the first of a multi-part article that tells my story, and how ajwrb got started.. https://www.openmindsfoundation.org/saving-thousand-lives-year-reform-watchtowers-policy-blood-transfusions-part-one/.

konceptual99

Always thought it was strange the way the WT talks about blood and conscience, and the need for the doctors to respect it. At the same time, very few of the friends understand all of the various blood products that are permitted. They will frequently say no until an HLC member comes along and says, "its ok - the WT says so". Then of course they routinely accept it.

This ^^ * 100. It's a complete and utter nonsense. Conscience means that a Witness should be free to choose their treatment without sanction yet nothing could be further from the truth.

P.S. Lee - did you have a point 1 in the above list?

161

Help! Mike & Kim videos all being deleted by Youtube

by mrmagic in

due to watchtower flagging the mike & kim videos on youtube for copyright, youtube is giving them 6 days before they are shutting down their entire youtube channel.

can you help with a mass downloading program and then reuploading them on a mirror ?

would hate to lose all those good videos!

konceptual99

Maybe, but wt can do whatever they legally like with their property same like everyone else can too.

This is true and I respect anyone's right, including the WTS, to protect their copyrighted material however we all know that it's a hammer to crack a nut. It says everything that the WTS, a global corporation with a reach into the lives of millions of people chooses to spend some of their vast resources in trying to stop a couple of home brew, amateur activists from using some of their publicly available content just because they can.

One may say "two wrongs don't make a right" but no one has actually proven a wrong has been committed. The WTS takes this path because it's easy for them and youtube is never going to question it.

It's petty bully boy tactics and will never stop the WTS being hoist on the petard of their own words in the long run.

161

Help! Mike & Kim videos all being deleted by Youtube

by mrmagic in

due to watchtower flagging the mike & kim videos on youtube for copyright, youtube is giving them 6 days before they are shutting down their entire youtube channel.

can you help with a mass downloading program and then reuploading them on a mirror ?

would hate to lose all those good videos!

konceptual99

Thanks for the info David - it is indeed a highly subjective and grey area.

With that in mind I suspect that youtube rarely take the time and trouble to investigate the rights and wrongs of a copyright infringement claim, resorting to a path of least resistance in favour of the complainant.

The irony is that the WTS has a history of quoting out of context yet are highly sensitive when detractors present arguments backed up with source material in full context.

161

Help! Mike & Kim videos all being deleted by Youtube

by mrmagic in

due to watchtower flagging the mike & kim videos on youtube for copyright, youtube is giving them 6 days before they are shutting down their entire youtube channel.

can you help with a mass downloading program and then reuploading them on a mirror ?

would hate to lose all those good videos!

konceptual99

@F

I agree any party has the right to protect their copyright however there is also an element of fair use for certain purposes. I don't know what M&K use and how much nor do I know the details of copyright v fair use however I don't think anyone is claiming that M&K (or most other anti-JW sites) is using material out of context or in a way that seeks to claim the WT's work as their own.

The WTS is not protecting it's copyright, it's using strong arm tactics to silence criticism where the proof is right there from their own publications and digital content.

25

My Story

by Lee Elder in

this is the first of a multi-part article that tells my story, and how ajwrb got started.. https://www.openmindsfoundation.org/saving-thousand-lives-year-reform-watchtowers-policy-blood-transfusions-part-one/.

konceptual99

What a great article. I have two friends who serve on HLCs in their areas and in talking to them it seems that they have a two pronged approach depending on the audience.

When talking to doctors it's all about alternative treatments, ethics, non-blood management best practice etc. One of my friends suggested he knew more about the medical techniques and approaches than most doctors who were not specialising in specific areas of practice (e.g. hemotology, anesthestists, consultants etc). It's very much a case of suggesting reasons that are based on costs, technical improvements, ethics etc.

They don't get into the detail of the doctrine with doctors. They certainly don't get into the illogical aspects of the policy.

With Witnesses it's much more making sure they accept some treatment that the WTS considers acceptable, don't embarrass the HLC by accepting something banned and certainly don't die. They avoid the technicalities where they can, keep it simple and try and make the choice as black and white as possible. In the most cases, just so long as the patient knows the treatment is acceptable to the WTS then they are happy.

I often wonder how many HLC members wake up to the nonsense of the blood policy when they get appointed?

161

Help! Mike & Kim videos all being deleted by Youtube

by mrmagic in

due to watchtower flagging the mike & kim videos on youtube for copyright, youtube is giving them 6 days before they are shutting down their entire youtube channel.

can you help with a mass downloading program and then reuploading them on a mirror ?

would hate to lose all those good videos!

konceptual99

Don't care much for their style but they have every right to say what they say. If what they are saying is so false or they match the stereotypical WT view of apostates then trying to silence them can only backfire.

Has the WTS never learnt from the years of suppression and persecution they endured in the Soviet bloc and elsewhere? Trying to shut people up who are campaigning on a principle NEVER works in the long run.

The WTS should have the courage of it's convictions and let all detractors be. If the apostate message is so bitter, twisted and false then it will never stand up to the truth of their message - if indeed it is true....

The reality is that the WTS knows this stuff does have an impact.

All the websites, forums, youtube channels, podcasts and so on are all doing their little bit to undermine the WTS and they hate it.

The truth hurts.

20

The Great Pyramid and the Flood of Noah

by TerryWalstrom in

the great pyramid and the flood of noah.

_________________________________if your world view rests firmly upon the foundation of bible accuracy matching the reality of history, sooner or later you’ll crash into the question of when the great pyramid was built.why?let’s see why…2 peter 3:5-6 complete jewish bible (cjb).

5 but, wanting so much to be right about this, they overlook the fact that it was by god’s word that long ago there were heavens, and there was land which arose out of water and existed between the waters, 6 and that by means of these things the world of that time was flooded with water and destroyed.________________________________________________.

konceptual99

The dinosaur was in the early versions of My Book of Bible Stories and was omitted in later editions.

I can verify that I had a MBOBS with the dinosaur in.

75

Apostasy: The Movie - Directed by Daniel Kokotajlo

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

daniel kokotajlo's new film apostasy has it's world premiere at the toronto international film festival in september 2017. apostasy.

family and faith come into conflict for two jehovah’s witness sisters in manchester, when one is condemned for fornication and the other pressured to shun her sibling.. this fresh, unadorned first feature from director dan kokotajlo carries an unmistakable note of authenticity from its very first scenes.

set in a jehovah's witness community in england, the film's strength and power lies in its directness.. apostasy depicts the growing rift in a family — a mother and two daughters — who are rigorously devoted to their religion.

konceptual99

Nice one DS - do we know anyone from here who is going?

45

Britain Branch to Cease Printing Sooner Than Expected

by The Searcher in

i've received the following news from a reliable and trusted source: .

the demise of printing literature in the u.k. is being brought forward by one year - to march 2018. graphic design and printing support will go too.

large numbers of "disposable" bethelites will now have to make their own way in the world, when their "mother" abandons them.

konceptual99

Dunno what DS has to say regarding your question SBF but my gut feel is that book production will reduce down to the minimum they feel is required to facilitate the public preaching work. They will continue to have a greater need for physical media in parts of the world than others so I don't see a completely digital publishing business any time soon.

They have already made big steps in centralising printing and production in key hubs. I suspect they are keeping tabs on literature requests and have a threshold in mind where they stop shipments of all but essential physical media to congregations to be used only for preaching and insist that individuals use digital instead for everything else and "print at home" if they want a physical copy.

We may see the evolution of digital carts over time as well where there are no publications.

I also expect even more use of video. I can see the presentation of more of the meetings in the form of complete talks on video. They might increase the number of global broadcasts, move CA talks to pre-prepared videos or split the public talk into a video segment top and tailed by a local brother. CO visits will likely have more video presentations, especially for the pioneers and MS/elder meetings.

Overall I see the use of video as a way of ensuring a consistent message that has all the right hooks for propaganda and indoctrination neatly incorporated. It also paves the way for enabling RCs to be distributed to the assembly halls since the overhead of running the event would be reduced.

As for branch personnel it's all about downsizing as we know but they have hit upon a great method for keeping up the manpower requirements they do have. They are increasing the number of commuters and remote workers. These have the advantage that many of them are not officially Bethelites. They are ones who are substituting pioneering for service to the organisation in other ways. They work part time and pay their own expenses. It's an absolute winner for the org.