Posts by TonusOH

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Mikejw: How can he sweep these lawsuits under the rug?

Technically, by ignoring them. Or at least, no longer mentioning them. It's a criminal suit filed in Croatia, which will probably be dismissed. I suppose the court could convict in absentia, but I bet that would require at least some extra paper work and effort which would be a waste of time. Dismissing it is the sensible thing to do. If he understands this, he may prefer to let the matter play out as slowly and quietly as possible.

In a practical sense, he won't be able to sweep them under the rug. Either there will be a judgment --in which case he'll claim vindication-- or he will proceed with the civil suits and people will want to know what happened to the criminal suit. If he decides that he wants it to go away, he could just not file the civil suits. But that would lead to such a firestorm of mockery that I don't think it's an option for him.

Then again, there is no path that does not end with his targets making fun of him. His own pride led him to build a trap for himself.

18

Jehovah's Witnesses resume sidewalk carts after pandemic pause, soon will do door knocking

by Bangalore in

jw
friends

jehovah's witnesses resume sidewalk carts after pandemic pause, soon will do door knocking.. https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2022/08/05/jehovahs-witnesses-resume-sidewalk-carts-door-knocking-next-list/10168175002/.

TonusOH

You guys had it good. We were preaching door to door in the projects in the Bronx, NY. In the 80s and 90s. Dogs and angry door slamming were pretty far down the list of things we had to worry about.

But when I was very young, there was a nice bakery my mom would take us to sometimes after preaching or after a Sunday meeting. They made these little single-serve pies that were a dream come true for a child who had just gone through the boredom of either preaching or sitting through sermons.

162

A new generation of anointed that will not pass away.

by Fisherman in

obviously, the older “ anointed ” from 1914 died.

and because they were anointed, they hopefully went to heaven.

in the first century though, a newer generation did not replace the old.

TonusOH

So, what the title of the thread means is... thousands now living will never die?

39

Who says the Pandemic didn't wake up a lot of people!

by pistolpete in

there are actually tons of these experiences.

i wanted to post this one because it involved all the family of born in jws.. post;.

all my freakn dreams came true.

TonusOH

I only wish the vaccines made you magnetic. PC repair would be much easier if those stupid screws couldn't get away.

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

We very rarely ate out because we were so poor. Shopping at the supermarket and cooking our own meals was the only option. Maybe that's why eating out is so enjoyable nowadays, even though I still do it pretty rarely. It was something special back then.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

I don't think he has anything to worry about with regards to the Mormons. He is very, very small fish to them. I'm sure people belonging to the religion will hassle him, but that's no different from anyone else who criticizes them, and there are many who do.

He may try to play it off as being harassed by the LDS Church for taking a stand or what have you. He's got enough of an ego to believe it, too. But they're not going to care. What could the Mormons do to Evans's reputation that he didn't already do himself? It might be amusing to watch as the ones who decide to engage with him learn about him and who he really is...

31

Is the FACT that no God/god ever communicates with humans evidence that no God/god exists?

by Disillusioned JW in

is the fact that no god/god ever communicates with us evidence that no god/god exists?

i think it is very strong evidence that no personal god/god exits, especially a benevolent god who wants humans to know him him/her/it, to obey him/her/it, and/or to love him/her/it.

since no god/god communicates to us (including those who sincerely want communication with the/a god/god), wouldn't it be sensible for those who pray to what they believe is the/a god/god to cease all efforts to communicate to a god/god?

TonusOH

Disillusioned JW: Is the FACT that no God/god ever communicates with us evidence that no God/god exists?

Yes.... and No.

I don't believe in god or gods. Which is to say, I do not believe in the ones that I have heard of, and the concept of god that many current and past religions worship does not make sense to me.

But I can't say for certain that no god ever communicated with us. I don't have any reason to believe that this has happened, but I couldn't even begin to corroborate that statement as fact. However, if no god has ever communicated with a person in our universe, then it would be evidence that there are no gods. Weak evidence, but evidence nonetheless.

I think some atheists recognize that the gods we've created don't really make sense, and they feel that getting the concept squashed would help push humanity forward. Maybe... maybe not. I think gods and religions are the result of how our brains work. In other words, if religion didn't exist, we'd have invented it. And yes, that's what I think happened. And I don't think we'd do that much better as a society if we got rid of religion; I think we'd just replace it with something very much like religion, only with a different name.

Mind you, I would never ask any atheist to stop trying to disprove god or convince people to stop believing. That's not my approach, but to each their own and one of the nice things about not being religious is that I can choose not to act religious. I did enough of that when I believed in god, and I'm loving this lazier approach.

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.