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Chas McGill posted:Do JWs have much of a laugh at meetings? Any JW jokes? A friend once showed me a video of Superman becoming a JW, flying around the world converting people, including what was obviously supposed to be a terrorist, complete with that "dirka dirka" bullshit. If that counts as a JW joke. Most of the laughs at meetings were because of a child being adorable or verbal slip-ups. My dad once misquoted a scripture as "a little lovin' (leaven) spoils the loaf" or whatever it is, and that got a chuckle from the audience.
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Apr 7, 2015 16:12
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Dr.Caligari posted:What would happen if a member were to get caught or confess to a problem such as drug addiction? Would they be offered support, or shunned? It depends on their attitude. If they argue about it, try and defend or be evasive about something serious enough then they could be disfellowshipped. If they come and say "I've made a serious mistake and I want help in stopping" then probably not. In the bible King Saul tried to justify himself when told he had sinned, King David took responsibility for his sin. Saul was removed as king, David was forgiven for something that was far worse, although there were still consequences.
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Apr 7, 2015 20:58
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I would say that that is kind of a gray area in that drugs were never really discussed in depth. Booze was fine in moderation, cigarettes were banned more because they destroy your body which is a gift from Jehovah that you should care for. But as far as pot, coke, LSD, etc., they were never discussed. The issues would really arise from the fact you are associating with bad influences that will lead you away from the church, as well as breaking the law of the land which is something you are told to respect unless it conflicts with your ability to serve God. I'm curious to know how weed is viewed in congregations that are based in areas where it is legal though
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Apr 8, 2015 03:26
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Psychobabble posted:I would say that that is kind of a gray area in that drugs were never really discussed in depth. Booze was fine in moderation, cigarettes were banned more because they destroy your body which is a gift from Jehovah that you should care for. But as far as pot, coke, LSD, etc., they were never discussed. The issues would really arise from the fact you are associating with bad influences that will lead you away from the church, as well as breaking the law of the land which is something you are told to respect unless it conflicts with your ability to serve God. I'm curious to know how weed is viewed in congregations that are based in areas where it is legal though Anything that could get you high is pretty much forbidden, legal or not. Altered states of mind are viewed as especially dangerous, because they could "let the demons in" (and any form of meditation aside from prayer is viewed as unacceptable for this reason as well). Also, Dungeons and Dragons. I'm not sure what exactly caused the hysteria about it, but I remember listening to entire talks about how playing the game would instantly cause you to become demon-possessed and a follower of Satan. Not many years ago my JW cousin insisted that "people have died playing D&D" while he himself is an enormous fan of role playing games that are not D&D.
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Apr 8, 2015 18:28
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I was more curious what would happen if someone literally said "hey, I have made some terrible decisions and I'm hooked on (drug of choice), and I need help". I would like to think any religion would be supportive, but groups that believe in shunning are so backwards I wouldn't be surprised either way. I also have the feeling it matters how well off (or connected) the person is as to how much support he receives. Being born in the early 80s, I remember D&D panic. It's mind blowing that it's 'notoriety' is still talked about anywhere. Especially considering all the boogeymen out there now (pokemon, harry potter....THE INTERNET) Dr.Caligari fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Apr 9, 2015 |
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Apr 9, 2015 04:02
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Darth Brooks posted:The common sense answer is the right one, it was cheaper to build without windows. Construction costs, heat loss, etc. They've made a change for the most part in new KH's. A few years ago we built a new one and it has windows. One window was busted by a mower and a couple of crows decided they liked looking at their reflection in the front door. That would have been OK but they left remnants of their meals across the entrance while admiring themselves. I got some frosted material from work and put it across the bottom. Then they got up on the handle for the same show. When winter came they left and didn't come back. No windows makes sense in that context. Still something about it creeps me out, could be the buildings in this area too though. They're those inexpensive sheet steel buildings that they slapped nice siding on and it just gives the place a CIA black site sort of feel or like they're doing things in there that they don't want God to see or something. The worst one is the one we drivers call Headquarters. It has the typical we build this in a day sort of look to most of the building but instead of the plain, normal looking entryway this place has a covered entrance with a carpeted walkway to the door and the roof of the walkway is held up by four doric columns. The place surrounded by a steel fence and has a wrought iron style gate that's never closed. In addition to those features and the no windows this particular place is roughly three times the other ones. The others look like they're about the size of a triple wide trailer, actually they kind of look like triple wide trailers with no windows and cheap siding, but Headquarters looks like the JW equivalent of the Pentagon in comparison. All the drivers, including the two we have that hate Jehovah's Witnesses, know that there's nothing actually sinister going on in there but when you spend most of your days having five or ten minute conversations with people your brain goes to strange places.Ever see the movie Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson's nutball intro monologue? I work with three of those guys. As for the poor/no tipping it's just part of the gig. I don't depend on them or anything. I'll stop by derail now since my question has been answered. Edit: The only thing that annoys me with these folks is the dirty looks I get when I escort an elderly fare to the door. My cab's a bright yellow van with a huge taxi light on it so it isn't like I can sneak up on them or anything, they could easily get someone out there to help my fare if they don't want me to do it unless there's some rule against going in and out of the building that I'm unaware of. If they don't want me getting near their door they could come help the elderly fare but in ten years that has never happened and I always get this nasty look from however many people are gathered around the door. That's the only time Witnesses bother me, when they give me grief for being polite and helpful to one of their own. Jeremy_X fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Apr 10, 2015 |
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Apr 10, 2015 14:08
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We had JWs come by our house sporadically, and my parents always made it a happen to say "No thank you, but it's cold outside, would you like some tea/coffee/hot chocolate?" and let them in anyways. Is this too much of a mixed-message thing, or is it clear enough that the household isn't terribly interested in the proselytizing but still wants to be nice people?
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Apr 10, 2015 18:45
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Jeremy_X posted:d I always get this nasty look from however many people are gathered around the door. That's the only time Witnesses bother me, when they give me grief for being polite and helpful to one of their own. I have no idea why they do this.
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Apr 10, 2015 20:56
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Dr.Caligari posted:Being born in the early 80s, I remember D&D panic. It's mind blowing that it's 'notoriety' is still talked about anywhere. Especially considering all the boogeymen out there now (pokemon, harry potter....THE INTERNET) When I was in high school back in 2000 or thereabouts a friend's mother found a D&D handbook in his bedroom and called my mother specifically to tell her that she suspected I had been playing Dungeons and Dragons with her son and did my mother know the dangers of this? I was pretty loving amazed; I had read about that D&D panic but I had assumed it was Jack Chick fundie bullshit.
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Apr 10, 2015 21:51
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To my understanding, it all originates with one single incident in the early 80s where one mentally ill kid killed or hurt another while playing. The media tied this one incident into the existing satanic panic and took off from there. E; vvv Thanks! I just made a post in the "recommend me" thread about this Dr.Caligari fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Apr 10, 2015 |
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Apr 10, 2015 22:28
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Dr.Caligari posted:To my understanding, it all originates with one single incident in the early 80s where one mentally ill kid killed or hurt another while playing. The media tied this one incident into the existing satanic panic and took off from there. See the movie Mazes and Monsters and the "true story" behind it.
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Apr 10, 2015 22:38
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Khizan posted:When I was in high school back in 2000 or thereabouts a friend's mother found a D&D handbook in his bedroom and called my mother specifically to tell her that she suspected I had been playing Dungeons and Dragons with her son and did my mother know the dangers of this? I was pretty loving amazed; I had read about that D&D panic but I had assumed it was Jack Chick fundie bullshit. The same thing happened with Harry Potter. My mom kept buying me the books but just told me not to talk about them with anyone.
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Apr 11, 2015 04:00
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I live in New York City so I see that Watchtower building fairly often. What goes on in there? Also, are the insane subway preachers Jehovah's Witnesses or do they belong to other churches? How about the people that stand around in subway stations, handing out religious flyers?
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Apr 11, 2015 04:06
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karl fungus posted:I live in New York City so I see that Watchtower building fairly often. What goes on in there? Also, are the insane subway preachers Jehovah's Witnesses or do they belong to other churches? How about the people that stand around in subway stations, handing out religious flyers? Not sure about the subway preachers. There are a bunch of buildings in New York devoted to printing all the literature for this and many other countries, administrative stuff for all the congregations nation/worldwide, housing for a few thousand "Bethel-ites" (JW's who work on special tasks like writing the Watchtower, artists, electricians etc,.). I went on a tour a couple times and they have a pretty nice setup. They do all of their maintenance/remodeling/construction in house so they don't pay anything for labor.  View from the top floor balcony:  Some buildings have entire floors devoted to doing one thing. Breakfast/Lunch:  Laundry:    Construction/Maintenance:  Printing:   They bought this theater from the 1920s and remodeled it.    I think many of the services in the city of New York are being moved upstate to save on costs of housing so many people in the city. Video production, music, literature translation are all things that are migrating upstate. They have some really cool or very Christian original art on the walls which had been in Watchtowers or whatever:       Props from photo shoots for the literature:  Scale model of Jerusalem Temple or something: 
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Apr 11, 2015 06:55
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mrlego posted:Laundry: Suddenly I need to know the answers to this quiz. If only because most of these could be Rorschach blots. ("You thought that stain was motor oil? That means you're a sexual predator. You pervert.") I haven't the faintest idea what event (or whatever) this is supposed to portray, but it's a nice painting with drat cool perspective.
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Apr 11, 2015 07:36
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Nobody does White Jesus / Kenny Loggins Jesus like the JW. 
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Apr 11, 2015 09:50
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One of my friends (who I haven't seen in a few years) was a JW. But this is going way, way back, and my memory is kind of hazy with some stuff. Stevie was about 19 or 20 years old at the time and worked in the greengrocer downstairs, which was a place that we knew as being owned and operated by 'some religious weird scary cult'. He started hanging out with us. Someone invited him to a birthday party, but he didn't turn up. Later he told us it was because of him being a JW. I noticed a blonde chick who would sometimes work in the greengrocer. She was as hot as hell. But the guy who owned the business (her uncle?) used to keep her away from me. Anyway, apparently she was a JW too and so one of their other employees promised me a date with her if I'd come to a meeting at their kingdom hall. So I went there (wearing a suit) but every time I tried to talk to her some jealous creep would step in and it was all a very polite and dignified atmosphere so you couldn't threaten anyone. The highlight of the meeting for me was some middle aged dude giving a talk about how the life and the times were terrible...and then doing the worst James Brown impression of "...sorry, I can't go on, it's too terrible" - and being helped off the stage, only to return minutes later and continue, but then again "...its just that, that...I'm sorry, I'm overwhelmed..." and head in hands being helped off stage again. Also, Stevie pointed out some guy in his early 20s who was being all passive aggressive throughout and told me it was because 'he was promised he could set up the mics and operate the PA system, but someone else was chosen to do it instead' - apparently such duties were a big deal. Afterwards outside the hall blondie was hustled into her parents car and away from me like a president surrounded by government agents. Never got my hands on her, ever. Anyway, Stevie kept hanging with us. He didn't get disfellowshipped right away but they kept bringing him in for some sort of disciplinary meeting or something. He'd tell them what they wanted to hear and then meet us in the pub later. In the space of about 18 months he went from being this clean cut little guy to someone who would gently caress everything in sight. Also, to this day I believe what he told me when we were at the cinema and the J Arthur Rank logo appeared. He whispered "See Gongman there? He's a JW".
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Apr 11, 2015 10:19
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Thank you for that huge post, mrlego! Very informative. Wow.
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Apr 11, 2015 16:01
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What would happen if a JW accidentally got a blood transfusion? Like if they got in a car accident and were unconscious and the hospital pumped them full of transfused blood. Would they be shunned or have to do some kind of cleansing ritual?
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Apr 11, 2015 21:22
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They'd sue. 
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Apr 11, 2015 21:26
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The Orange Mage posted:Nobody does White Jesus / Kenny Loggins Jesus like the JW. I doubt its Jesus, might be Peter. I'd like to know more about the painting though.
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Apr 11, 2015 23:35
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Your Gay Uncle posted:What would happen if a JW accidentally got a blood transfusion? Like if they got in a car accident and were unconscious and the hospital pumped them full of transfused blood. Would they be shunned or have to do some kind of cleansing ritual? Not in my experience. Around once a year there would be a big thing about filling out special cards stating your refusal of blood products and designating powers of attorney though.
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Apr 11, 2015 23:54
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Captain Bravo posted:They'd sue. Wasn't that an episode of The Practice? I loved that show.
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Apr 12, 2015 19:57
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Alex DeLarge posted:I doubt its Jesus, might be Peter. I'd like to know more about the painting though. It's supposed to be Paul. This is the verse it is based on: Acts 21:28 posted:"Men of Israel, help! This is the man that teaches everybody everywhere against the people and the Law and this place and, what is more, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place."
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Apr 14, 2015 00:55
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Powered Descent posted:Suddenly I need to know the answers to this quiz. If only because most of these could be Rorschach blots. ("You thought that stain was motor oil? That means you're a sexual predator. You pervert.") I was thinking about which one was the "protein stain"?
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Apr 14, 2015 03:21
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Is there a thing with aspirant elders getting new names or something? A few year back I was woken up by a knock at the door, it was a pair of JWs and for whatever hungover reason I invited them in for a cup of tea. They both had name badges, one said Elder James or whatever and the other said Elder ______. I told them my name and asked the name of the dude without a badge, and he just ignored me. Elder James was clearly in charge, the nameless guy did all the talking and when he ran out of steam he'd look at James for help and he'd jump in with a few prompts so that the one without a name could keep going. They were nice enough, if a bit insistent that I come along to their next service, but that lack of a name thing was pretty weird. This was in the UK but they both had American accents.
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Apr 14, 2015 14:58
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big scary monsters posted:They both had name badges, one said Elder James... I have not heard of name badges for the door-to-door work. Sounds Mormon to me.
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Apr 14, 2015 15:34
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Also, Mormon "elders" tend to be really young, like in their early 20s.
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Apr 14, 2015 15:54
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Just thought of another one. Where I currently live, I've had 2 different JW's come to my door in a total of probably 4 years. But each of those times, they were a smokin hot chick that seemed to be by themself. Both of them also handed me a watchtower and said something along the lines of "here read over this, if you are interested our contact information is on the back", talking further than this was not something they even tried. My question is, how common is one going alone? Are lovely/dangerous places given as punishment, or is it just luck of the draw? I live in a decent rural area, but most houses are rather isolated. I was surprised as gently caress they sent a pretty woman by herself to knock on strangers doors in the middle of nowhere where residences range from 6 figure farmhouse to RV setting on blocks.
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Apr 14, 2015 16:11
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Jack Gladney posted:Also, Mormon "elders" tend to be really young, like in their early 20s. Ah right maybe they were that then, sorry. They were both quite young.
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Apr 14, 2015 16:38
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Interesting thread, thanks- it brought up a childhood incident that I haven't thought about in years. When I was about 9 or 10, a new girl joined my class at school, seemed really nice and got along well with people. Around a week or so after she joined, she started talking a lot about how awesomely kicking rad Jesus was, and asking where we all went to church/encouraging us to go to the kingdom hall, which was kind of unusual as most kids weren't religious at all. I guess I mentioned where I went (dragged to catholic church by my parents), and conversation continued on other paths. From the next day onwards, she just flat out ignored my existence- wouldn't talk, would walk away if I was near. She apparently tried to get other kids to do the same, which I didn't know about until after I was dragged out of class and asked if I had said anything to the girl about religion by the headteacher. I explained what I knew, and I can remember how exasperated the guy looked- he told me emphatically not to worry, that it wasn't my fault and to get back to class. A little while later on the same day, I was sat in class and (presumably) the girls parents came into class, and pulled her out, while giving everyone in sight the stinkeye. Never saw her again. Is there some JW thing where Catholics are the devil incarnate? big scary monsters posted:They both had name badges....... they both had American accents..... I'm also gonna bet mormon/church of latter day saints, especially if they were in pristine matching suits with US accents. Where I live, they seem to operate a lot on missionary work, as well as JW's and some weird baptist lot that literally sing (badly) while walking down the road. I totally own them all by giving a sheepish "thanks but no thanks, have a nice day"
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Apr 14, 2015 16:48
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Elder is the title of someone officially serving a mormon mission. All of them have one of those black name tags, and all one of them (the males at least) say Elder [Last name]. Mormons are kinda weird about titles. I think they took all the existing religious titles, put them in a hat, and picked them at random for new positions. Bishops are Priests. Deacons are alter boys (kinda). Elders are Missionaries. Saints are general congregation. Teachers and Priests are random teenage boys.
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Apr 14, 2015 17:23
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It's because loading important-sounding titles onto impressionable kids keeps them satisfied with the crazy nonsense of their religion longer. It's like the Soviets and medals.
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Apr 14, 2015 18:15
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Jack Gladney posted:It's because loading important-sounding titles onto impressionable kids keeps them satisfied with the crazy nonsense of their religion longer. It's like the Soviets and medals. And it's interesting how far JW's will go to do the opposite, where the titles become more euphemistic the higher you go: The men with the sole authority to change doctrine are referred to as "slaves".
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Apr 14, 2015 18:43
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Do Jehova's Witnesses have to undergo cleansing rituals if they get goatsed? Or do they go straight to Hell?
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Apr 14, 2015 21:43
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No to both questions.
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Apr 15, 2015 03:34
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Not a question so much as a remark on someone bringing up those literature kiosks earlier in the thread. I see two of those stationed on the sidewalk in my town every weekend, on the route that most people use to get to the station. Easy pickings, I guess. I also assume that the JW in my town have stopped house visits completely and now just kind of bother passers-by at the moment. They're not particularly aggressive, which is nice compared to the regular screaming street preachers and crazed dvd-wielding Korean evangelists. A couple of years ago, my friends a few blocks up the road got a four-page handwritten rambling account by a JW in their mailbox. I received the same thing a few months later. It must have been some kind of attempt to witness to the unbeliever without having to do the house to house thing. It must have taken ages to write out every individual letter and was more than a little odd. Has anyone else ever heard of this, or is it something unique to the very tiny JW minority in a country where it may be dangerous to go house to house, especially on one's own? Phaeoacremonium fucked around with this message at 08:10 on Apr 16, 2015 |
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Apr 16, 2015 05:54
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Phaeoacremonium posted:Not a question so much as a remark on someone bringing up those literature kiosks earlier in the thread. I see two of those stationed on the sidewalk in my town every weekend, on the route that most people use to get to the station. Easy pickings, I guess. I also assume that the JW in my town have stopped house visits completely and now just kind of bother passers-by at the moment. They're not particularly aggressive, which is nice compared to the regular screaming street preachers and crazed dvd-wielding Korean evangelists. The kiosks are a new thing I've noticed as well. Easy way to get the hours in while chatting with fellow JW's. A handwritten manifesto sounds really fishy to me. It could be one of the crazy JW's that has nothing better to do. Ramblings wouldn't be allowed to be given out (I think). What country is this?
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Apr 16, 2015 08:36
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At LDS church we (teenage girls) were asked to "write our testimonies" in the inside covers of Book of Mormons that were to be handed out to new prospects. It was very awkward and I'm sure no one was convinced.
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Apr 16, 2015 09:16
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mrlego posted:The kiosks are a new thing I've noticed as well. Easy way to get the hours in while chatting with fellow JW's. South Africa. It was really, really odd. I haven't seen a JW going house to house in many years, but my folks still get them so the tradition is not entirely dead in our country. However, my parents live in a seaside town monstly populated by old people, so it's probably a friendlier place to do house visits in.
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Apr 16, 2015 14:04
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