Posts by Spiral

15

My father has cancer??

by blisterfeet in

i am semi estranged from my jw family.

i am interested in a relationship but it never works.. they aren’t interested at all so we just leave it like that.. i received a text from my half-sister yesterday saying “your dad has cancer, it’s bad, i don’t know anything” i figured there was more to the story and if my dad needed me to know anything he would tell me.

or not.. i spoke with my mom this morning.

Spiral

blisterfeet, I feel for you. Sorry to hear about your father.

However, as far as the relationship goes with the JW family, all you can do is make yourself available. It's up to them what relationships they have, or not. Lifelong JWs tend to be rather childish, so it's hard to know how they react. Perhaps this is because even though they say that they have faith they will "fall asleep in death" and then wake up in the new system, disease free, they don't really believe it. Panic sets in, just as it can with anyone else.

But I think you can be at peace knowing you were willing to be with them, and the "ball was in their court".

20

So my wife is upset her MIPI father is broke because of being a witness.

by blownaway in

i posted this before, but my wife is upset and not handling it well.

her mother has alzheimer and is in a care facility for the rest of her life.

between medicare and caid she is paid for the care.

Spiral

blownaway, I probably could name ten JW families right now who are in similar positions. Pious poverty has been a lifestyle choice of the JWs for a long time. Now, with no end in sight and no money in the bank, things are getting serious and desperate.

I agree with the others, they made their choices, and they shouldn't expect anyone else to bail them out. If the GB had any integrity, they would be setting up support systems within the congregations to help these ones out, instead of building expensive digs for themselves.

32

Remember the Wife of Lot

by Addison0998 in

for family worship last night, our family watched remember the wife of lot movie since it will be discussed in the meeting this week.

there’s a few things i noticed that i didn’t think about last time i watched it.. first, the dad is very of course against his daughters going to college or even trying to find a good job.

yet he does accounting, which is a very good job that almost always requires a college education.

Spiral

I agree with everything above. And, why does Lot's story appear in the Bible? Even as a child, I didn't think he was a particularly smart or moral guy. But wait - by the standards of several thousand years ago, apparently he was. But that just goes to show you how the Bible is dated and shouldn't be taken seriously.

As for whoever it is that writes this at Bethel, clearly they (and their masters) are so out of touch they don't realize you can't get a good accounting job without a degree. I know several JWs who are accountants (and software engineers, etc.) but they all had to go to school as adults while working full time, to catch up and keep up with their profession. Just like I did, just like Mr. Spiral did.

I'd be willing to bet that the GB doesn't even realize that's how it works in the real world.

But I can't understand why JWs (especially in my age group) would follow their arcane and outdated rules when you can clearly see just out out of it they are just by watching this video.

68

Cart work faces headwinds.

by lastmanstanding in

my little bethel bird has whispered in my ear some encouraging news.

it has been reported to the canadian branch that some witnesses doing cart work had police stop them from carting in public parks.

the direction sent to the southern ontario congregations is to cease carting until further notice.. this is no joke.. have a jw-free day..

Spiral

@sparrow and last man; I agree as well. Something was needed to create a bit of excitement, and the feeling of forward motion.

Pretty pathetic that you have to be one of the "special ones" to man a cart, but it sure created five minutes of excitement in the beginning. Now it appears almost anyone can do it (although I'm sure you still have to be "approved") because the shine is sure off that new toy.

Back when I was still in, if you had to be approved for a new "privilege" and only the "special, spiritual sisters need apply" I would immediately lose interest. I quit trying to be special long before I quit altogether.

I'm guessing they are just transitioning to be the one thing they used to swear they would never be: a ridiculous, money grabbing mega church you can watch on TV.

53

What is the current pulse in the organization with the reductions?

by SouthCentral in

jw
friends

i have not seen jehovah’s witnesses in my neighborhood for several years now.

it appears that the cart witnessing has taken over.

congregations are being consolidated and witnesses are being forced to travel a greater distance than before.the burdens/privileges of elders seem to be ever increasing!.

Spiral

As I just mentioned on another thread, I haven't seen the carts around at all this summer. I have never had a JW at the door (we are in town), just a visiting couple once. (That was weird, not sure where they were from.)

There's been some mention of service, but it was also admitted that they like to drive around in fringe areas and waste time. No one mentions any studies.

I'd say energy seems pretty low here. BUT I don't ask because I don't want to appear too interested, I just listen to the chatter.

68

Cart work faces headwinds.

by lastmanstanding in

my little bethel bird has whispered in my ear some encouraging news.

it has been reported to the canadian branch that some witnesses doing cart work had police stop them from carting in public parks.

the direction sent to the southern ontario congregations is to cease carting until further notice.. this is no joke.. have a jw-free day..

Spiral

Vidiot: Interesting.

Back in the day, they'd have fought tooth and nail for their right to do it.

As far as I'm concerned, showing their throat on this now just confirms my theory that the Org is worried about losing their tax exemption, because their business model is too dependent on it.

I agree something like that must be going on.

Didn't we all grow up hearing (over and over again) about all the court cases the "society" had fought to protect the preaching work. So, now, they say nothing, just comply? Funny indeed.

Last summer, especially, I would see the cart or carts all around town, in a couple of shopping squares, by the grocery store, by the drug store.... not sure if it was one cart or several, but you would see the cart. They also tried to be in the parking lot at the local farmer's market, but were asked to leave when they wouldn't pay the vendor fee.

THIS summer I have not seen them at all. I'm thinking they got chased out of all those locations, and there's nowhere else to go.

40

No new releases? How are the r&f taking this?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

is it true that there's been no new releases at this summer's convention?

if so it will be the first convention in decades perhaps ever to not produce at least a new tract.. how are the r&f explaining this to eachother?

surely they must have noticed the absence?

Spiral

@SEARRIL I agree with you. I don't know how much $ the WTBS has in the (offshore) bank, but I'm sure they are trying to keep what they have under control. They could care less about whether the rank and file want a "new release" because none of them have the "smarts" to write anything that would be new and fresh any more. They are recycling the drivel because that's all there is, but by using videos they are trying to distract the membership into thinking it's something shiny and new.

Retreads, indeed.

40

No new releases? How are the r&f taking this?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

is it true that there's been no new releases at this summer's convention?

if so it will be the first convention in decades perhaps ever to not produce at least a new tract.. how are the r&f explaining this to eachother?

surely they must have noticed the absence?

Spiral

OMG! This is a first. I didn't even realize that there wasn't anything new. No one has even mentioned this new Jonah video to me. (Nor did I think to ask.)

Sometimes I don't think I'm the fader, it's the old time JW WT that has faded..... away!

10

How could I get a copy of the elders secret book?

by purrpurr in

the shepherding the flock one?

i'd love to read it and get the inside track of how the elders are meant to work.

anyone got a pdf?

Spiral

Google search and you've got it.

18

The Repression and Expression of Anger Among Jehovah's Witnesses

by john.prestor in

something which i always found surprising when i attended the kingdom halls i studied was how angry, even vicious, many jehovah's witnesses could become when a watchtower study featured some persons and/or institutions the organization disapproved of, say, higher education and educators, christendom and its clergy, apostates, etc.

many seemed to sadistically enjoy denigrating these persons or institutions when the watchtower study conductor called on them and they were handed a microphone.

i wondered for a long time where this anger came from, and i've developed a hypothesis for explaining this.. according to a book i'm reading by alice miller called "for your own good: hidden cruelty in child-rearing and the roots of violence," children who are strictly controlled and abused (whether emotionally or physically) typically go on to unleash the anger they inevitably felt at their parents, but were never allowed to express, at their children or those around them.

Spiral

john.prestor, no sadly, she could see the effect on her relatives (parents and grandparents) BUT she never could see how it applied to her current life. She started out as being an "independently minded" [and she was!] sister, but as she gets older she's become a very compliant drone. Sad, really. We are still good friends and she is not in good health, so I don't get to discuss things like this with her any more.