Posts by TonusOH

22

Money donated for a specific reason

by enoughisenough in

i decided to do this posting because of some comments in the post about pensions.

in the mid to late 1980's there was a flood and the local kingom hall was damaged and many of the friends homes were damaged...groups came in to help repair.

my then mother-in-law literally lost everything-she had no home to repair...she had been renting a small trailer and it washed away.

TonusOH

My guess is that this wealthy brother did not do any research when he donated such a large sum to an individual with the expectation that it would be distributed effectively. This presiding overseer- what were his qualifications for managing this money? Did his past experience give any indication that he would plan out and distribute it effectively? Or did he just give it to him and expect that "Jehovah will direct things"?

This is a constant problem for the WTS, which affects the rank and file. Men are put into positions of authority, with the power to make certain decisions and manage property or funds or even legal matters, without any oversight to make sure that they know what they are doing. It's particularly bad when dealing with issues of sexual abuse, where men with zero training are suddenly playing the role of psychologist or psychiatrist combined with their roles as judge/jury/executioner.

Is it any surprise that they not only screw things up, but refuse to take any responsibility for the mess they create and even try to persecute anyone who points out their failures?

17

Elders won't tell you who have falsely accused you

by enoughisenough in

having been a victim of this practice twice, i thought i would see if others had the same experience.

on one occassion, i was before the elders being told i was drunk on a certain day at a certain time.

( this was only brought up because when i was pushing for a meeting because of elder mr x adultery , i was threatened somethings would be brought out about me if i persued the meeting.

TonusOH

Because of the organizational structure and the power and responsibility given to elders, you create an environment ripe for abuse. The structure also makes it so that the congregation members are very likely to side with (and make excuses for) the elders if they cross any lines. They were, after all, put there by God's own hand.

And that abuse does not need to be carried out with intent. Sincerity is often more dangerous because the sincere person has no reason to back off or try to make an accommodation. I knew a number of men who were normally very humble and very pleasant people, and they saw the position as something sacred and important, as a way of serving the congregation. Yet that attitude made them some of the most relentless and hard-line people when there was an issue to investigate. They did not feel as if they were crossing lines, they felt they were doing everything necessary to protect and preserve the congregation.

"For the greater good" has been used to excuse bad behavior for all of human history. There is nothing more dangerous than someone who will burn down everything because they feel that it is the right thing to do.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

He doesn't have to. None of them would want to admit that they "dated" him.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

We're born selfish, in large part because we're also born helpless. An infant knows only that it wants things and that, if it cries out, it will get the attention it needs. At some point, parents begin to teach it empathy and sympathy, helping to form the basis of a basic moral and ethical foundation. Even those feelings are based, to some degree, on self-interest. We're not perfect, but we do what we can to survive and thrive.

I think that narcissists have that developmental stage derailed or improperly managed, so they do not develop a proper emphatic/sympathetic approach to socializing. They do not recognize that everyone else also has some level of self-interest; they see only their own needs and wants, and everyone else is there to satisfy them, just as they were when that individual was a helpless infant. As they become older and more knowledgeable, their methods of manipulation become more sophisticated. Few people will treat grown-ups like helpless babies, after all.

I wouldn't say that it's impossible to overcome, but the type of life-changing epiphany that is required is not something that can be easily produced, nor does it come along very often in our lives (and for some people, it never happens at all). It's something of a curse, in that it can get you ahead for a short time with the people you meet, but over time they recognize that the relationship is very one-sided and they come to resent it. The narcissist leaves a trail of people who are bitter and angry at them, and they are unable to understand why.

75

Booster shots required for Bethelites and special full time servants?

by PimoElder in

it’s a shame the gov body did a big u turn on vaccines .

if they continue with the rule that only fully vaxed can go back to the hall then i could have stayed on zoom.

but the term fully vaxed is a moving target, if it’s been like six months since your last shot you are just the same as those of us who are unvaxed .

TonusOH

Mikejw: Over the next decade the majority of fully vaxed people will develop very serious health problems or die.

According to: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations just over two-thirds of the global population has received at least one COVID vaccine shot. The USA --which has been criticized for its high number of people refusing the vaccines-- is close to 80% having received at least one dose. I'm not sure what "fully vaxxed" means, but a significant percentage of the world has received at least the initial vaccine treatment.

The chart you posted is claiming that by now, many of them will have experienced severe health reactions, up to and including death. It claims that, within a year (and many people have already been vaccinated for more than a year, myself included), those who survived the first round of reactions will suffer an onset of equally severe reactions. And that, within another 7-8 years, we should see a spike in cancer, autoimmune reactions, and more death.

And this is happening and will happen to upwards of five billion people. If that chart is correct, there should be death tolls in the millions each month, if not in the tens of millions, by now. Color me skeptical. I don't think they're anywhere near as dangerous as that chart would imply.

5

How can JW's have a CLUE what the New Covenant is about...

by BoogerMan in

...when their "slave class" doesn't?.

it-1 p. 524 covenant - the covenant is forever in operation.... it-1 p. 524 covenant - the purpose of the new covenant requires that it continue in operation until all of the “israel of god” are resurrected to immortality in the heavens.. the new covenant is forever in operation, but only until the "anointed" have popped their clogs, been raptured to heaven, and morphed into 144,000 melchizedek king-priests.

(just like christ!).

TonusOH

If an organization that claims to be guided by God's Holy Spirit gets things like this wrong or confused from time to time, doesn't that mean that either (1)the Holy Spirit did not provide guidance on this matter or (2)they misread what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell them and put forth the wrong information? Another option is that they're not "Spirit-directed," but that's not their claim. I guess one other option is that the Holy Spirit deliberately mislead them. And since they see the HS as God's active force and not an individual, that would mean that God deliberately mislead them, or is just not very good at guiding a small group of men to the decisions he wants them to make.

So, WTS, is God wicked or incompetent?

52

Free Will - Does It or Does It Not Exist?

by truth_b_known in

being born-in and raised as one of jehovah's witnesses i remember a common theme or phrases used by the watchtower in its theory of why things are the way they are -.

jehovah created humans.

jehovah created humans as free moral agents.

TonusOH

While I find the issue interesting, it also strikes me as kind of moot. If I do or don't have free will, how could I know? Because if I don't, I still exist and make decisions and take action and live my life. If I am unwittingly following a path that I cannot deviate from, how would I know?

Researchers are learning about the human brain all the time, but it's clear they are just starting to understand it. It does seem as if a lot of who we are is trapped in a subconscious that we have very little (if any) access to. So perhaps free will is an illusion. Again, I can't know this. And would I want to live in a world where we just excuse people's behavior because they are "unable to direct themselves"? No. I don't. I prefer to think that I have some say in who I am and what I become.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Mikejw: but there has never been a smoking gun argument or a succinct one line of reasoning why JWs are wrong

Both JW Facts and Alan F's site have a lot of articles explaining how the WTS gets things wrong. There are probably dozens of discussions here with the same info. It's really not difficult to find info on what the WTS has gotten wrong over its history. I wouldn't put Evans at the forefront of providing this info, his efforts were generally on current events and doctrinal changes. Useful to people looking to get out, but not on the same level as the sites I mentioned when it comes to laying the WTS's past bare.

112

Are You Concerned About Inflation?

by Simon in

i saw a statistic the other day that something like 25% of all the debt that the us has incurred since 1776 was created in the last 12 months.

that's because they have printed so much currency and instead of letting that stop them, they are going to continue printing more to go on a spending spree on crazy green-new-deal schemes and union handouts.. does anyone think that this can be anything other than inflationary?

they are effectively stealing the wealth of everyone to then hand money out to people.

TonusOH

There apparently were some big slap fights over that on Twitter.

Good news: inflation did not rise in July. This is actually a good thing!

Bad news: prices are still much higher than they were a year ago. Not so good!

Honest, folks. It's okay to take a balanced view of an issue from time to time. I'm glad gas prices are down so much. I wish a lot of other prices would follow, but I don't expect that to happen. And this bit of good news might end up causing some pain for the Democrats in the near and long term, if the "inflation reduction act" ramps inflation back up, thus giving Republicans a talking point for the next year or two that will resonate with voters.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Gee, no one was concerned about him having his child in a YouTube video a year ago. I wonder what might have happened between then and now...