Posts by kaik

6

Growing up gay in North korea

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

how do you know you're "gay", if you've never heard of "gay?".

does something exist if there is no word to describe it?

consider the experience of jang yeong-jin.. .

kaik

"1. This can be regarded as normal behavior in East Asian societies (and, probably as non-sexual) for boys and young men to hug, walk hand in hand and be close to each other in ways, that may invite abuse in western (Americanized societies)."

Having many visits to Italy, this is very common for all southern European countries, and Romania. In Sicily young men walk hand in hand as nothing happens, and it predates Christianity to the time of the Roman Republic.

3. Pressure to marry is very strong in ALL East Asian societies.

It is still valid? This used to be in the past, but Japan and South Korea have one of the highest population of people who never married nor never dated. Especially educated women there have a less desire to be married in order to end up as unpaid house servant of her in-laws. This issue was well described in WashingtonPost couple years back.

9

.org gameplan

by Lemonp in

i have been thinking about this after all the recent money grabbing done by the org.

i believe that now it is in a strong position financially, and it may even get better!.

firstly the congregation bank accounts being emptied out must have supplied millions upon millions of dollars.

kaik

WT is moving from money creation to wealth preservation. This is normal situation when empire stops expanding, and the needs turns from generating wealth to preserve a wealth. WT knows it hit a limit on expansion in rich countries in Europe, Northern America, and Asia while poor countries see membership growths but it will not offset declining revenues in OECD countries. The leadership is aware of it, and it will try as much to preserve its wealth without burning it. Also the global recession since 2008 cut into money flow, and this may also cause some panic in the accounting department as they see their wealth evaporate by global crisis.

17

What's the Watchtower's latest view on "The End" or "The Second Coming of Jesus Christ"? Most act like its not coming!

by MagicMItchJensen in

i posted that article from the miami newspaper, others posted the united kingdom's articles on jws and isis.

what's the official position of the watchtower about the last days, are we in them or are we going to wait another 2,000 years like the jews believe?.

i remember arguing at work with friends that nostradamus end date of 3000 was wrong, are there other past prophets you know of who predicted the world's end past our time?.

kaik

Armageddon is not coming in anyone lifetimes. In 1970's my JW aunt insisted that Armageddon will happen around 1975, she told me that I will never have to go to school, because Jesus is arriving. She died 12-13 years ago without ever set a foot in the New World. My mom told me bitterly last week that she will never see Armageddon and she will die without ever to get into Jesus kingdom. My elder cousins are between age 50 and 60, one is battling cancer, and still hold on hope that new system will fix his illness.

38

How do you distinguish Americans?

by paulmolark in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igk4xvzwocw.

apparently americans are all chubby, baggy clothes wearing optimistic fast food eaters.

who knew.

kaik

"I'm sure ISIL "freedom fighting" ar$e hole$ are fit as all get out."

Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and all of Gulf states have one of the highest obesity rates in the world, probably ahead of USA at this point. Morbid obesity there is also cultural, synonymous with wealth and health since ancient ages. Sultans kept harem of morbidly obese women, and we do not talk about couple pounds overweight. Many of these women were so huge that they could not move. This channeled to the rest of the culture all over Islam. Some countries women are deliberately overeating to become extremely fat. That the region has with one of the highest BMI recorded on level of Samoans. In Mauritania, Mali, Djibouti have one of the highest female obesity in the world, because skinny women are not desirable marriage material. Families prior marriage will keep girls in stall like setting where they would be fed with incredible amount of sugar (from dates and mangoes) and minimize their body movement. After while, they expand into BMI > 35 but often to 40 and more, and they finally became a wedding material.

European culture with exception of Baroque epoch never had fatties as their cultural icons. Christianity condemned gluttony, and many European leading females suffered with anorexia like Empress Sisi, Marie Antoinette, and Josephine.

75

What was your eye opening moment?

by WasOnceBlind in

if you had to pinpoint the time or experience that finally made you open your eyes, what would it be?.

i think for me it was the time i saw my dad shun his brother who he had not seen in decades just because he was a da'ed jw.

i thought to my self "no way jesus would do that.

kaik

I had doubts, but I grew up in it. My mom got baptized around 1975, but my dad said after yeas of study, that much of the theology in WT does not make sense. He said that WT just invented too much things, but nothing is based on Bible. After couple years of constant pressure from JW relatives, he quit to study and never got baptized.

After my dad's death, I believed that the negative influence on my JW thinking was gone and I was attending like crazy, been on conventions, did field services, etc, but doubt were there. We eventually started to study book Revelation, and I just could not reconcile most the BS in that book with Bible. For example we were talking about pouring of wrath from Rev 16:1 and they said it was some convention in Ohio around 1920. Everyone around me was, awesome - me what BS. I just could not reconcile the book study with what I knew and suddenly came to me that if the material is BS, than the religion is BS. After the book study, I never returned to KH.

WT believes that their existence is outlined in the dooms prophecy; and the best way to justify a prophesy, is to prophesied the past.

38

How do you distinguish Americans?

by paulmolark in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igk4xvzwocw.

apparently americans are all chubby, baggy clothes wearing optimistic fast food eaters.

who knew.

kaik

It is difficult not to generalize, but two things are spot on: morbid obesity in every age group, social class, race, and regional area; and fashion: sweatpants, flip/flops, tight clothing revealing every body fold, spandex, and ragged t-shirt. Obesity is increasing world-wide, but sometimes what I see on the streets all over USA I am not sure if that 550 pound ogre is he or she. It is generally worse in the Midwest and Deep South, but the difference is visible between Montreal and Toronto, versus suburbia of New Jersey or Long Island. Canadians are definitely more fit.

Years back I used to work in international corporation and we had middle aged female manager walked into the meeting with our European counterparts in spandex and some weird cheap blouse that you get during X-rays. The Europeans thought that she was a cleaning lady and told her to leave. It was extremely embarrassing. However, if anyone looks into older movies Americans used to be extremely classy, women were looking good, but this had changed around 1960 or so.

In next 50 years everyone in the world will be obese in sweatpants. I see it in Europe and USA, today Mexicans are more obese than Americans, and so does most of Middle East.

18

2 reasons the 'overlapping anointed' idea generates no comfort for the WT writers.

by prologos in

1) the general "wicked generation" has always members that live past 115 years, so without the ridicoulous overlap idea, it would have taken wt writers to 2030 for the start of pardise.. 2) the "all things take place" prophecy recorded in math 23-25 include the entering of the " goats into everlasting cutting off=armageddon; the sheep into everlasting life= paradise".

therefore: the generation of wt anointed overlappers dying before armageddon to be raptured, is not what jesus said.

he said the generation will not pass, will survive, be alive , witness the entering into paradise.

kaik

Maybe the overlapping generation is the wicked generation, generation that never dies, because people are wicked all the time... Thus, generation can mean entire human biogenesis.

23

Bible Chronology, Egyptology and the Great Flood

by cappytan in

fact: bible chronology says the flood occurred between 2348 and 2370 bce, depending on which scholar you listen to.

fact: the great pyramid of giza was constructed 200 years before, in c. 2560 bce..

so, if you believe in a literal interpretation of noah's flood, you believe that the egyptians built a great civilization, were destroyed by the flood in 2370 bce, and then somehow, they reappeared immediately after the flood, picked right back up where they left off without skipping a cultural beat.. oh, and isn't it ironic that legitimately studying the great pyramid of giza debunks jw mythology now?

kaik

You can also take into consideration of Stonehenge and hundreds of smaller sites across Europe that were built between 2800BC and 1800BC. There was no discontinuity of the culture and population until much later time, which was cased by shift between use of stones and bronze tools. There are thousands sites in Europe from that era. In Czech Republic, there are about 550 of neolithic sites from the time of the biblical deluge. Germany has as five times more, not to mention France, Spain, UK, and elsewhere. Yet, Stonehenge and menhirs are here all over western Europe, but no single evidence of Deluge was ever produced in that time.

60

Does The Governing Body Have Enemies At Bethel?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

i would think that a lot of resentment is building up for these for these guys at bethel even though it may not be discussed openly for fear of being abused by the gb in some way.. any way looking at their personality and the extreme phoniness of rubber mouth/face lett, and am#3, and the chicken shit coward leosch who won't even show up in court when subpoena'd to defend his faith or policies, and i'm sure they have many more undesirable traits that repel people instead of attract and that has to work its toll on relationships they have at bethel.. and this shunning thing i'm sure must really erk some at god's house and while they may not be free to voice their discontent i feel it must be building because these guys are complete nincompoops when it come to reality and the only way they know how to give direction is with fear and guilt which i'm sure is rubbing a lot of people the wrong way.. and let not forget the issues that are raise when they stole all the congregations savings and the pledge drive for more cash, ban on higher education, lawsuit pay out and etc.... what is this doing to the relation ship they have with legal and accounting i see trouble brewing right thier in the spiritual pair of dice..

kaik

Bethel can be double-sided sword for many. Some people get their hopes high and are confronted with reality and leave, while other become entombed in the cult and loose a grip on reality. Considering the age of the WT and the changing dynamics of the JW population, there would be a clash based on the generational exchange. Many of these dudes are old, while the rest are boomers; therefore, they will be dealing with a digital generation which is much different than any other bethel youth in the past. So, it will be possible that there will be a struggle between these two population one stuck in the business-religious model of Knorr, while other depended on electronic means of communication. The outcome would be interesting.

25

The JOYS of being an EX-JW

by nicolaou in

add to the list and let's see the weekend out on a positive note!

1. sunday mornings.

alarm not set, cuddles with the mrs, tunes in the bedroom, coffee, bacon, another lazy coffee in the garden .

kaik

I can read whatever I want. I have books from St. Augustine to Jewish philosophers to Catholic writers like St. Bernard and Eusebius. No elder criticizing me for my book collection. My father was a book lover and prior his death he amassed over 2000 books that elders considered demonic.
I love playing video games instead watching TV, and I do not feel a shame about it.
No meeting twice per week for book study, school of theocratic warfare, and WT publications.
Continuous eduction without feeling guilty.
Spending holidays with my Jewish in-laws.
I vote and I participate in local political activities.
Living a life as the only one I ever get.