They must be getting desperate. Received a 1st class stamped handwritten letter in the post addressed only to my house number, spreading BS about some cult. Only problem is they've included their home address in the letter, and their email address. Not the smartest move. I've returned the favour and subscribed them to some porn websites, more importantly, the atheist's society newsletter. The letter was just plain hilarious - apparently, the world is doomed but its ok, come with us we'll lead you to paradise where everything will be perfect. Where's this place? An island called Incommunicado, a lost island in the Aegan Sea? Think I might take some hints from the eco mob, and glue myself to the doors of the local Kingdom Hall. Or better still, spray paint the building in pink.
I got one of those with the same handwritten message in it, genuinely handwritten, a couple of months ago, it was just after a new tenant moved into the building but the address they gave was was from down in Warrington, it was addressed to my flat address but without my name, the lady that had moved in had earlier tried to create a get together event out of the back for all the tenants and I had a feeling the messages were related.
the door to door preaching was stopped due to covid--and also the meetings at the kingdom halls. Online meetings were held on zoom. The letter writing was done in lieu of doorstepping..as a way of getting their "time" in. Each writer has to buy their own stamps ! here is a useful site to "invite" JW's to look at: https://www.jwfacts.com/
I had a friend who converted to JW in the mid 1980s, the guy had been a pot smoking, alcohol abusing, fornicating, guitarist, who loved playing Bob Marley songs and who tried to teach me how to play reggae style on the guitar without success I could not believe how he changed, still a nice guy but just not the bloke I grew up knowing. Interesting site that you linked to Malcolm, as a wee aside my pal that I mention above was named Malky Macdonald great lad, anyway that site was interesting I see parallels with the mind set of the evangelicals in the USA just now, their movement is now a doomsday movement they actively want the end of days, they want Amageddon to arrive it's a suicide movement and cult, I don't think the JW movement is quite so actively comtemplating bringing on "the end of days" but they don't need too because our American cousins will do it for us once the crazies in the GOP get control of Congress after the midterms. And all the while Putin is sinking deeper and deeper into his madness as a cornered rat with nowhere to go down in history, the only problem is that if he brings about Armageddon there will be no history for him to go down in. "End of days" who knows, it's a popcorn moment, I have this picture in my head of flying over the Black Sea on December 1st and the plane at 35,000 feet lights up inside from a blast 250 miles away in Kherson or the likes and then I know that time is up, I will still arrive in the Philippines but the world will be ending, I've always been a bit of a fatalist
I don't think the JW movement is quite so actively comtemplating bringing on "the end of days" The watchtower society has promoted several years as being "the end"--the one i recall only too well being 1975. I had resigned the year before, having spent the previous 12 years actively in the cult. Since then--the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses has constantly preached we are living "in the last of the last " days and they look forward to the killing off of most of the worlds population by their "loving" god--and of course--only Jehovahs witnesses will survive Armageddon and live in paradise on earth. Make no mistake--it is a dangerous cult--promoting ( amongst other things ) shunning of former members--including friends and family. Thats why i havent had any real contact with 2 of my kids for 40 years. Ive got grandchildren ive never seen--dont even know their names. By the way--the title " Jehovah's Witnesses " was invented by their leader "Judge" Rutherford in the mid 30's. The name "jehovah" was coined by a Roman catholic monk in the 11? th century--it being an adaption of the hebrew YHWH and the vowels of adonay mixed in to make it pronounceable There is no J in hebrew.
A good mate of mine dissociated himself with the cult, but his wife didn't. She moved out, took the kids, and won't talk to him. She regards him as being 'dead'. As for the kids, it really messed them up. The daughter went right off the rails - drugs, prostitution, crime, the whole shebang. The son turned out ok, but he struggles with the fact his mother no longer sees his father as being a 'live' person. "Loving god" - there's a perfect example of an oxymoron.
Interesting, I think what I was getting at was more that they don't seem to have the same political presence that the US Evangelicals have, it's their current political power and crossover with the Q cult that's going on the in the US that worries me, but I take your point that under the surface they believe and want the same thing. Two of Ana's sisters converted from catholic when they were young to some weird YAHOUL hebrew true name of god cult although it does not seem too dangerous, they even convinced Nanay to switch to their church recently.
the watchtower society / jw's--plus other legal names they hide behind--are a hugely wealthy and powerful organisation. In recent years--they have sold off most or all of prime site New York real estate --for £billions. ( some to a relative of Trump.) They have used some money to develope a new complex in upstate New York--mostly with volunteer labour. In the UK the same thing--the Mill Hill headquarters is sold and a derelict site at Chelmsford is now in use--again with volunteer labour. Millions of $$ has been paid out or set aside to settle child abuse lawsuits. A lot of Kingdom halls have been sold--the cash grabbed by the society--and the congregation being merged with others. And the wide eyed " brothers" are told the money is used to build Khalls in 3rd world countries ! These halls were mostly built by the congregants themselves--with their own money, or with maybe a mortgage from the watchtower. I remember the one in my town being built--on land next to a Tesco superstore. That got sold--asking price was £450k..its now a vets.
We used to call them "ants" as they were always on the doorstep. The couple of them that ventured directly to my door on the first floor I told to give me £20 and I would listen to them for 5 minutes with no obligation to purchase, as my time was money. Amazing how they quickly vanished.
