TrueTomHarley

If only this fellow could overcome his timidity, he might amount to something. It certainly would elevate Tesla's stature and would be a great PR move in the dual sense - Puerto Rico and Public Relations. He'd better work with Trump, though, and do it after whatever debt is wiped out, and not before.

This fellow knows a lot! I know because he says he does!

You're right. If they must go anywhere, they should go by donkey.

And the evil scheme was all fulfilled with an extra slot at the Kingdom Hall, about a foot from the other slot!!! I swear this is nothing but jealousy. I mean, what's it to Shiwiii? If Jehovah's Witnesses flood the coffers in response to very little prodding, what does he care? Can it be anything more than - alright, I am projecting now, as JTR would say, but you would have to be obtuse not to do it - an intense dislike for the message Jehovah's Witnesses preach, and so a trumped up charge that they are somehow doing it underhandedly, crying crocodile tears with a feigned concern for ones so 'deceived'? All the evidence indicates Witnesses are quite satisfied and don't feel deceived at all. I don't. It is every other interest eternally trying to get in my pocket that I must watch closely for chicanery. The more respected they are, the greater the concern. No Witness would ever make such a charge. They look around and see donated funds being put to good use. They know the GB and ranking Bethelites live in dormitories - nice dormitories, to be sure, but dormitories nonetheless. If they travel, they run up no hotel or restaurant bills. They amass no retirement plans, so should they leave Bethel, their means are very simple (and those who bitch about money collection also bitch about THAT!!!). Nobody makes a dime in salary. There has barely been any concern ever other than newbie @JW Insiderlosing his wallet to a BA deadbeat. And Brother Knorr tried to warn him that could happen, but he was too starry-eyed to pay attention.

Maybe. But Tom is resourceful.

If only she had asked me

Oh, for crying out loud, you do not! 1984 is about a world of 3 totalitarian states, each marionettes pulled by sinister people at the top, who permit no deviation from dictated 'realities', and who physically torture anyone who strays, (in some graphic detail) and then kills them even after they readjust. Only the most paranoid nutcase would apply it to anything having to do with the Christian congregation.

I also noted at the annual meeting that no one seems inclined to shake the foundations, as one of them said: 'if people can't see conditions today and realize how deep we are into the time of the end, well....' or something like that.

No, I think they would fit you in a strait jacket.

The days was going so fine until they had to spoil it with grubbing for money. Four hours! That's how long the annual meeting lasted. Four hours of streaming all the latest. Four hours of of experiences and details and history of building the new headquarters. Then, four talks spreading new light so brilliant it made Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like an overcast day. And then spoiling it all - I couldn't believe it - in the midst of it, 30 seconds of shameless groveling for money. They actually (brace yourselves) - they actually suggested that those present might donate if they wanted to!!!, and (GASP!) they even said where they could do it (at the contribution box)!!!! 30 seconds' mention of money in a four hour period! @Shiwiii is right. It's all about money with these guys. Oh, and that letter Shiwiii spirited out, that he was so excited about sharing - almost wetting himself in excitement? That letter that extra contribution stations should be established? I looked and looked for ours (our meeting was at our Kingdom Hall) and I discovered it! That slot in the counter that used to be designated as the Kingdom Hall fund but was taped over when that fund was combined with the WWW? ... It was UNCOVERED again!!!!! and also labeled Worldwide Work! I tell you, it made Joel Osteen look like Johnny Appleseed! What a shameless example of greed!!!

And yet she could still object to someone 'rude, crude, and a bore!" What an amazing woman.

If @JW Insider didn't have to keep messing with 607 BCE, they probably wouldn't have to rewrite anything!

There was a study - it was not specifically about Witnesses - that concluded the topic studied has much to do with whether students leave the religion of their youth or not. Students in business and engineering do it less. If you combine that with a scenario where you are living at home and not on campus.... If you combine that with a scenario where you do not take on massive debt, thus ensuring you will HAVE to work full time for many years to come, then you maximize your chances of coming out with a net gain. On the other hand, many courses of study amount to little more than unscrewing your head and inviting someone to pour in all the ideas that Paul dismissed as refuse.

This comment, as usual, has nothing to do with anything and is just you building a platform on which to bellow. I never said college was worthless. I said a day of divine education is worth 1000 years of it.

They routinely say in publications: 'At that time we thought this' or 'this view was held at that time' or something similar. They make no secret - in fact, they advertise - that things have changed. I think it is less of an enemy than you think. Back in the day, I worked at the food counter, when they used to serve the pre-packaged items at assemblies. One of the items was a 'pasta salad.' You would say that so and so ordered 'a pasta salad.' In time, I could not resist calling them 'apostacy salads.'

This also is nonsense, like most of what you say, and it also betrays a basic misunderstanding of people and how they are motivated. The ones with income and power tell the others what to do and they do it. That's how the chief priests stirred up the common people to demand Jesus' death - people who had kind of liked him. It is like the verse says in the JTR translation: "If they have hated me, they will nevertheless love you, unless there is drivel from the GB."

What in the world was wrong with that crazy person?

This is nonsense and it betrays a basic misunderstanding of people and their motivations. The truth was bitterly resisted long before any 'drivel' came along.

Seven years ago an evangelical preacher researched and published the truth about the cross. It was a sensation. ABC went on and on about the article. If Jehovah's Witnesses had said it (as they have) the article would not line the bottom of their birdcage. It matters little what is said - what matters is who says it. http://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2010/11/did-jesus-die-on-a-cross.html When I mentioned this to Brother Madonia from the old country, he exclaimed: "Onomatopoeia!"

If someone from the 1950's was resurrected and began to complain how science had taken advantage of him - depriving him of a flat screen color TV whereas it hypocritically bestowed them upon later generations, would you say he had a valid point? Time marches on. New things come to light. Positions evolve. It happens everywhere. It is not a plot to work you over.

The annual meeting entertained briefly the notion that angels, too, may have played a role in the building - I think they said in legal and safety issues, for example. That was a novel thought - angels participating! With only minor imagination, one can imagine the following heavenly scene, in the spirit of that conference to fool Ahab: Brother Wingedwarrior strode into the room and asked for his daily assignment. The other angels looked strangely relieved, but the one in charge looked sheepish. Finally, he said: "Brother, your assignment today is to monitor @James Thomas Rook Jr." (give me artistic licence here. I admit this is a stretch) "Aw, C'mon!!" Wingedwarrior cried in disgust, throwing his clipboard on the table so violently that it spilled the coffee urn, splashing angels nearby, even soaking their wings, which are not supposed to get wet. It was an accident, but since angels are perfect, several in the room looked at him suspiciously. "Why me? You guys have it in for me!" "Look, brother, you know how it is. We drew lots. It fell on you." "Well, it's a dumb system, anyway, named after some loser who didn't know enough to get out of Gay City! I'm not going to let it dictate my life!" "See here, Brother WW, we all must make sacrifices. Of course, you'd rather work with someone appreciative - we all would - but many assignments in God's service are lowly - and some are downright disgusting. As you know, James bought that huge warehouse in Mt. Moron, New York, and he has converted it into a graphics studio. We hear he plans 400 releases in the upcoming year. Someone has to watch him. Just look at the idiot stuff he has displayed. It's hard to believe he is an adult: "Think of the love you'll be showing to God. Think of the love for your brothers. Think of the love for those creatures below whom the Word likes," the head angel continued smoothly. If they lay the 'love' stuff on long enough, they can get you to do anything. At last, Brother WW grumbled: "Alright, alright, I'll do it. Where is a hard hat?" "Ha ha! Brother WW, you are too funny. We are spirit creatures and we have no need of har..." "LOOK, YOU ASSIGNED ME TO MONITOR JTR!!!! NOW, WHERE IS A HARDHAT?!!!!" For one brief moment, the head angel seemed taken aback. Presently he murmured: "We'll look about. They may be one kicking around here somewhere."

I think you interpret holding a different opinion as yourself as being 'brainwashed. At 2/2 with total 4 hours per week, all the rest of the time carrying on as normal? You're joking! Yes. If you claim you were brainwashed at only 4 hours per week, you only testify to how stupid and helpless you think you are. Why not just say you changed your mind, reassessed your goals? I have done that. Everyone has. People change their minds. There is no shame in saying that. But if you carry on that the only reason you could have reversed a decision you made is that you were brainwashed - surely that is pathetic. Look, I didn't say they were brainwashed in college. I said college splendidly meets one classic criteria of brainwashing: separate the victim from all that is familiar. Ones who later come to regret their college time seldom say they are brainwashed, despite that 24/7 criteria. How much more ridiculous to say it happened with 4 hours per week.

Tacking on a 30 minute commute both ways, twice a week, is not nothing. I don't want to blow it off as though it were. There are no examples of great inconvenience in our circuit, but that is not to say it is not so elsewhere. Nor will I pretend that even loyal ones may not grouse a bit, even as they understand the overall benefit. Of course, disloyal ones will bellow till the cows come home, but even loyal ones may not turn on a dime. One of the reasons Jehovah's organization works and others do not - and least not on such a scale - is that Witnesses have come to love the entire brotherhood, regardless of where in the world they may live, and do not obsess about their own immediate interests. They don't all figure they have to all go over to Benin and see for themselves and each ponder over the balance statement and have special sessions to discuss it and take a vote on it because no one other than themselves can be trusted - they just don't. They've decided the ones having oversight are trustworthy - they've given no cause to think otherwise, as they adhere to the same healthful scriptural teachings - so they grin and bear it if some policy does not work to their immediate benefit.

You are indeed an unusual person.

You're right. They would have evaporated as a religon rather than go to the government and fill out some forms.