Is it unacceptable to stand up for Jehovah's Witnesses on a site called Jehovah's-Witness.net?

by THE GLADIATOR 150 Replies latest jw friends

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  BANE

  Again with the stupidity part....Here comes another spirtual smackdown. See apostates lose ALL holy spirit. I get called bad because I applied this scripture to myself yet I am not of the annointed....Here it comes....Live and directly from the Revelation book....

  15 In the vision, the locusts have iron breastplates, symbolizing unbreakable righteousness. (Ephesians 6:14-18) They also have men’s faces, this feature pointing to the quality of love, since man was made in the image of God, who is love. (Genesis 1:26; 1 John 4:16) Their hair is long like a woman’s, which well pictures subjection to their King, the angel of the abyss. And their teeth resemble a lion’s teeth. A lion uses its teeth to tear meat. From 1919 onward, the John class has again been able to take in solid spiritual food, particularly the truths about God’s Kingdom ruled by “the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah,” Jesus Christ. Just as the lion symbolizes courage, so great courage has been needed to digest this hard-hitting message, to bring it forth in publications, and to distribute it around the globe. Those figurative locusts have made a lot of noise, like “the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle.” After the example of first-century Christians, they do not intend to stay quiet.—1 Corinthians 11:7-15; Revelation 5:5.

  16This preaching involves more than the spoken word! “Also, theyhavetailsandstingslikescorpions;andintheirtailsistheirauthoritytohurtthemenfivemonths.”(Revelation9:10) What could this mean? As they go about their Kingdom work, Jehovah’s Witnesses, using the spoken word and printed publications, issue authoritative statements based on God’s Word. Their message has a scorpionlike sting because they warn of Jehovah’s approaching day of vengeance. (Isaiah 61:2) Before the present generation of spiritual locusts lives out its life span, its divinely ordained work of declaring Jehovah’s judgments will be completed—to the hurt of all stiff-necked blasphemers.

  WHAM! Right there. Bane with a left hook and little billy boy goes down! It didn´t take much either. Two hits. Me hitting you, you hitting the floor. Didn´t you learn ANYTHING at Bethel?
• 

  TD

  Compositional fallacy

  Your literature clearly differentiates between the "anointed locusts" and their "companions."

  God's locust army will not stop its work until the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah breaks out. The very existence of this unstoppable locust force is remarkable proof that Jehovah’s day is near. Are you not delighted to serve among God’s anointed locusts and their companions in the final onslaught before Jehovah’s great and fear-inspiring day? (The Watchtower May 1 1998 p. 13)

  The 'sheep like' companions of the anointed may share in delivering the 'stinging message' but only the anointed are the 'locusts.'

  Jehovah’s Witnesses have long understood that the locusts of Revelation chapter 9 portray the anointed servants of God on earth in this century. These Christians have been assigned a particular job—to preach the Kingdom message earth wide and make disciples. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) This calls upon them to overcome obstacles and to stick to their work. What could better illustrate this than the indomitable locust? (The Watchtower July 15, 1996 p. 23)
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  BANE you really should stick to Batman cartoons. You really don't know Watchtower publications that well.

  Your quote from Chap. 22, p. 146, para. 16 was a 2006 revision. Even the subheading was renamed, changing the original 1988 version. That was one of about 70 changes that were in the KM insert, "Adjustments for the book Revelation--Its Grand Climax At Hand!" There were many additional, smaller, textual changes in later printings and in WT library.

  Ironically, after they sent out the changes in the insert and the congregation started studying the book, there was another change in JW theology and the "new light" in the insert was already out-of-date. BANE, do you know what that change was?
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  garyneal

  One of our 'never a JW' posters noted that Perry was being attacked a couple of days ago, but then apologised when he realised that Perry wasn't being attacked at all. Posters were only debating the subject. There is nothing 'personal' attached to that. It might be taken as being personal by some, as describing debating a belief as an attack on your character is a primary device used by cult leaders to protect their members from having to defend an indefencible position.

  In light of that, I would like to point out why I initially perceived the whole debate as an 'attack.' I can understand questioning or even debating certain beliefs as I've had my beliefs questioned or even challenged for years by witnesses and others. I'm reasonable enough to know when to seperate the beliefs from the dogma.

  The reason why I took the questioners attitude as an attack had nothing to do with beliefs but the fact that Perry was called out more than once by this individual who started the thread. I guess if that thread had been addressed to Bible believers in general then it would not have looked like there was anything 'personal' attached to it.
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  AK - Jeff

  I always find it incredible [and delightful] that former Jw's are so fully informed about Watchtower doctrinal foolishness. Every Jw apologist who appears here to insist the opposite should be embarrassed that 'opposers' are better informed than they are. TD and BtEB are sterling examples as seen above.

  You would expect these apologist to crawl away in shame. It is also interesting [and most telling] that those who should crawl away in shame don't get it and continue to 'beat the air'.

  I additionally find it amusing when they draw the 'ultimate weapon' and cite a scriptural reference as if this will fend off any further logical/rational rebuttal against their ignorance. A practice born of d2d training, that did not work at the doors either against the well-informed. Besides, as any good Jw should fully recognize: Jw practices and doctrines are not culled from scripture to begin with, but canonized in the pages of the Jw literature.

  I sit bemused.

  Jeff
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  wasblind: Gladiator can you explain BANE ?

  BANE is easy to understand. He is confused, frustrated and wants attention, a reaction. We all do but we go about it in different ways. Like many of us I often post sensible and well thought out posts that get ignored. Then I will post a silly or provocative post, as I did to Alice recently. Wham! Immediate response. Attention. That kind of immediate gratification can become addictive.

  BANE'S JW identity is a red herring, or should I say locust? He has found that baiting ex JWs gets him the attention he wants. Then again he could just as easily be female. We can never know whether people are what they say or genuine.

  Part of the fun of this site is the anonymity it provides and the opportunity to step outside of being who we are in real life. Ultimately play acting gets boring and we leave or start to show our real selves on line. In time BANE will grow up and leave the forum or share more of his real self.

  If he was in a religion before he became a JW then he is an apostate himself. It is more likely that he has a connection with JWs but has never fully joined because to do so requires sincerity and a desire to please. BANE is fun to have around once you see through the contradictory rhetoric.
• 

  Quillsky

  It seems that there is an "us versus them" mindset in many posts on this thread.

  I propose that rather than being in one of two camps..... "all apostates" versus "Jehovah's Witnesses and JW apologists", we all in fact exist on a continuum. There are many moderate posters who don't identify as apostate, but also don't buy into some or all of the doctrines.

  I for one don't accept any instruction or call to band together with one camp or the other. (Even though I personally detest the JW religion and what it does to relationships.)

  Someone who makes an idiotic post - especially one that calls people stupid, dense, retarded and so on - completely undermines their own credibility, and I pretty much blank out whatever point they are attempting to make, whether pro or against JW's.

  Having said that, I have seen a trend that people on the apologist side of the continuum do seem to struggle with normal conversational/debate etiquette. That's my little pigeonhole system I guess - people who can discuss without resorting to playground taunts, and people who can't.
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  agonus

  Sometimes the best way we can stand up for JWs as HUMAN BEINGS first and 'dubs" second is to explain to them why we feel they're being so mercilessly manipulated by the WT and why it makes us so angry. Many dubs are, in fact, decent people and don't deserve that kind of crap in their life. And the simple fact is, the Governing Body, Faithful Slave, WT, whatever you want to call it, has proven by their own words over and over again that they do not merit that kind of power. They acknowledge they are not inspired and have no more spiritual insight than the rest of us, so what exactly is it that gives them the right to control people's lives and thinking with the specter of shunning or Death At Armageddon TM ?
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  agonus

  And Bane, you might as well drop the "A" word (Apostate, that is). It means nothing to us, although by the WT's definition, it is indeed what we are. However, it's also what YOU are - by virtue of your posting here - and it's exactly what the Faithful Slaveful Discreetful ones are because they apostasize from their own teachings more than anybody else! By their own definition of "apostasy", the Towermongers are the worst apostates of all time - well except maybe for the Grand Supreme Apostate, Jesus of Nazareth.
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  Think About It

  Think About It

  When you come to judge, the words of the WTS are going to be used against you.

  Bane what did I tell you? When you come to judge, the words of the WTS are going to be used against you. That was a hellofva double team from Billy & TD. Must have been a knock out, cause you haven't responsed in over 6 hours now. (LOL)

  Think About It