Posts by Spiral

3

Tired and Poor

by Diogenesister in

* "if you want people to remain loyal followers you have to keep them tired and poor" - jim jones, said to a trusted confidante.. sound like anyone we know???.

* from the book "a thousand lives" .

( as told by neil "great apostate" gardener) .

Spiral

Tired, poor, and frantically busy on the "spiritual" hamster wheel.

10

just some random musings here.... picking up on the thoughts expressed in other posts (such as @wake me's post excellent earlier this week), about how "infantilized" jws are, it made me think of this post topic.. just like little children, jws need to be given constant praise and reassurance that they are doing well and doing the right thing.

also, they feel so bad if they stray or deviate from the ideal prescribed course, behaviors or activity that is approved by the society.. if they are told that they have "coloured outside the lines" so to speak, they feel dejected - or worse - defensive, depending on who points it out to them.

(eg a witness vs a non witness).

Spiral

I wanted to reply to Wake Me Up's thread from the other day: Excellent observations. Couldn't agree more, and you explained it so well.

Ever since reading that post I've been thinking about another aspect to the childish, "don't color outside the lines attitude" the bOrg instills in its followers: The mental damage done by spending your entire life WAITING for the new system, WAITING upon Jehovah, taking no initiative on your own. If you are frozen into inaction on all levels because you are PATIENTLY WAITING ON JEHOVAH, you never grow up.

28

Special Seating at the Convention

by mann377 in

jw
friends

has anyone noticed at the convention that there is special reserved seating?

the convention that i attended (to keep peace in the family) had seating in the suites of the arena.

all arenas, stadiums etc.

Spiral

jws, some of it is that, but I would gather it's also a way to make some people feel special, not like the rest of the poor drones who have to fight for parking, fight for seats, wait in line for the bathroom, etc.

For many years before I dropped out, if some privilege was "special" (as in you had to apply to the elders, for instance) I hated it. Just a way to have a caste system, without the poor publisher drones understanding what is really going on. They go along with it, and in the meanwhile, get disrespected.

18

Image: Great Tribulation

by OrphanCrow in

the org's fear theme has really been emphasized recently- the bunker video and now the convention video with jws being pursued by guys with assault rifles.

this image comes from the watchtower july 2017 questions from readers: would it be fitting for a christian to keep a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, for protection against other humans?.

the caption for the image is this: during the great tribulation, christians will rely on jehovah and not try to defend themselves.

Spiral

LongHairGal: Yes, and so many of them are depressed/anxious already. But they are so fragile in their belief system, it's hard to talk to them. Senseless suffering.

37

Help: Anyone identify Gary Breaux's ring?

by Fay Dehr in

.

can anyone identify this ring?

(ideally, a link to a page on the internet with photo and description).

Spiral

You know, back in the day "Brother" Spiral put up with so much sh*t because he was well-dressed. The polyester suit types in the congregation back then would even say his ties were too colorful (they were the "don't wear a colored shirt" types). They would have had an apoplectic episode if any brother had worn a pinky ring. When I see this today it's just creepy and makes me glad (all over again) that we're out.

18

Image: Great Tribulation

by OrphanCrow in

the org's fear theme has really been emphasized recently- the bunker video and now the convention video with jws being pursued by guys with assault rifles.

this image comes from the watchtower july 2017 questions from readers: would it be fitting for a christian to keep a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, for protection against other humans?.

the caption for the image is this: during the great tribulation, christians will rely on jehovah and not try to defend themselves.

Spiral

Funny how the image seems to have been stolen by a mega church. Takes one to know one.

All this new fear mongering is just crazy.

And showing this stuff to children is child abuse.

29

Anyone think Assemblies will stop?

by blownaway in

not completely but the expensive renting of halls or assembly hall ownership.

maybe with streaming they could have assemblies at the kh and stream the program.

i bet they cut costs in a lot of ways.

Spiral

I think they'll continue, because just having a video "assembly" at the kingdom hall/assembly hall (at least in the combination buildings I've seen in the past) is nothing special. Just like being at the meeting, only longer. The bOrg probably knows that the sheeples need something special to look forward to (ugh) and the assemblies kinda provide that. And, if you're single and a good little dub (no online dating allowed for you!) there really isn't anywhere else to meet anyone unless you're special enough to be on a KH build, or whatever the special privilege du jour happens to be.

But without the excitement of a new book release it is tricky. People in general don't spend unless they have something tangible in hand to connect it to.

But, going to all one and two day only assemblies in the future? Maybe.

118

Do You Think President Trump Is Doing a Good Job?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think he is.

if you don’t want to put reasons for your yes or no, it’s ok. .

your vote,please?

Spiral

Haven't read all the comments but: no. He's despicable. Probably demented and is just the front man for other people. He lost me at the fake birther (Obama) thing several years ago.

55

LEAK: 3000 buildings to liquidate. How to choose? (Watchtower propaganda video)

by Fay Dehr in

https://youtu.be/pzdxen9rvw0.

as the leaked financial meetings show, watchtower (by it's own admission) has to liquidate 3000+ properties quickly.

how do they choose?

Spiral

It just gives me the creeps how they read a scripture for everything. Quoting Paul to give guidance on donations (in the modern sense) is just crazy.

Heard just today about two halls being "consolidated" because there are no "younger ones" (in this case, what was meant was 50-somethings) in the hall to help with the elderly. Once the one hall is gone the few elderly will not be able or willing to drive 37 miles to the next town down the highway to attend. I do think they'll lose a lot of attendance this way. But I'm sure they don't care as a) most of these elderly don't have a lot of extra $$ to donate; and b) they lie about the numbers anyway, so it doesn't matter.

I think the great push to build quick-build halls in rural areas (15 or so years ago) was a mistake, however. A property like that doesn't sell quickly in a rural town. No one needs it, certainly not for a big price. One I know of that sold is now a evangelical church, another is a church preschool. What a witness!

Serves them right.

28

NWT 1984 vs NWT 2013

by Tallon in

i recently had a discussion with a jw concerning a change in wording of a scripture - in fact this was my all time favourite scripture, namely, micah 6:8.. my view is that the wtbts have deliberately changed the wording and meaning of the said scripture.

the other person is of the opinion that that is not the case.

micah 6:8.

Spiral

Kindness and loyalty are not the same thing.

I did a quick google search of various translations and it's interesting how this scripture varies. That, in itself, reveals a problem with trying to be sure what the bible says. I'm not familiar with this website but it lists a lot of different versions, I would hope it is accurate.

https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Micah%206:8

Edit to add: Della, we are on the same page!