Wow, those illustrations to start the article are really stupid.
Too bad none of their supposed 70 checks and balances kicked in at any point, requiring they go back to the drawing board and think up something a little more realistic.
Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 11-18-2012 WT Study (KNOW DAY HOUR)
by blondie 24 Replies latest jw friends
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sd-7
"In one Nazi prison camp, for example, at first the brothers had only one copy of the Bible. So they prayed for further spiritual food."
Wow. So how did that prayer sound, I wonder? "We thank you, Jehovah, for giving us your Word, the Bible. But it's just not enough. We need more spiritual food than the holy book you inspired and authored over the course of thousands of years. Those old stories about Jesus and Moses and all that, it's--look, we're starving here, Jehovah. Where is The Watchtower?"
It boggles the mind--they say the Bible is their final authority and that people should read it daily, and then in every circumstance possible, the Bible is regarded as utterly insufficient as spiritual nourishment for a "true Christian". I guess they used the Bible as firewood after they got those copies of the Watchtower...
--sd-7
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WTWizard
Why trust in Jehovah? Doesn't that leave you at his mercy if he decides that you really don't need anything more than the bare necessities with extreme suffering? I think solving the problem yourself is better, and you should get the credit for that (such as preparing ahead for a potential problem so it doesn't become a disaster as it does for those who trust Jehovah). Not being able to pace yourself is damaging--if you know you have 5 years, you could adjust your pace accordingly. If you only had 3 days, it would make much more ridiculous activity levels more reasonable than if you had 20 years or more.
Self sacrifice? While I understand a parent self-sacrificing for their children, the pointless self-sacrifice that Jehovah demands is detrimental to your soul. Living just above the poverty level is bad for your soul, and that's where Jehovah is bent on keeping you. When you waste time in field circus, you are taking time away that could have been spent working, doing proper meditation exercises or yoga exercises, doing a physical workout, learning about various things, relaxing, or catching up on house work so it doesn't weigh on you later. Or, you could decorate the place for Christmas. That takes time in doing something enjoyable, and I found it was actually less time consuming than doing the same amount of time in field circus. And I have something to show for it, at least during the holiday season. When you make stupid sacrifices, you are actually damning yourself.
Adversaries refining us? That is the most absurd thing I have heard of. Suffering wastes time and energy that could have been spent building up our own souls or enriching ourselves (and, as with someone that does a good decorating job or learns a trade to prepare for the coming economic collapse, probably enriching others without even trying). And these adversaries aren't merely like exercise. Their idea of "exercise" would be walking 500 km in mountainous terrain, in bitter cold, with high winds trying to blow you off the mountain. How can that be ideal for the average person trying to empower their souls? If you are out of shape, walking a few hundred meters on level ground on solid footing is enough--yet Jehovah seems to impose that people walk hundreds of kilometers. Seems like Jehovah, not Satan, is actually the adversary and Satan is trying to befriend us.
Suppose you do not love Jehovah? Anyone that doesn't want to be enslaved should hate that Almighty Lowlife Scumbag. Anyone that advocates soul damning conditions (such as stupid self-sacrifice) and then claims to be our only hope for salvation should be hated--such as Jehovah. This not knowing the time in this situation only serves to further our damnation and stagnation.
Better to have a general idea. If you know it's more than 100 years ahead, you can relax, plan, and pace yourself so you are not worn out toward the end. On the other hand, if there really is less than a week left, it would make much more sense to spend that last few days out in field circus, quit your job, go into debt to finance your ministry, knowing you are going to be able to relax in short order. It is not fair or loving on Jehovah's part to expect people to do that last sprint when there is another 30 or more years left. Why would you love such an unfair tyrant as Jehovah?
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Apognophos
Yes, those illustrations were incredibly lazy. They sounded even stupider when the friends had to repeat them robotically word for word in their comments, since nobody could relate to them and find a more personal way of expressing them.
It boggles the mind--they say the Bible is their final authority and that people should read it daily, and then in every
circumstance possible, the Bible is regarded as utterly insufficient as spiritual nourishment for a "true Christian".
Well said. I guess I'm still pretty indoctrinated in some ways, I didn't even catch how awful that sounded when we covered the paragraph.
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sseveninches
The irony and hypocrisy in this article was so much, it hurt...
One of the highlights for me was when the guys in the concentration camp had a bible, and it wasn't enough... they needed a WT publication. So disgusting.