Actually, just because it is copyrighted, doesn't mean you cannot use limited sections for purposes of study or criticism: see http://quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/admin/copyright.htm for more legal mumbo jumbo about this.
apostate, apostasy One who has rebelled against and abandoned the {true worship} of Jehovah. Sometimes apostates actively oppose true worship and attempt to influence others to do the same. Some apostates were trying to hand out leaflets at our {convention} last week.
Gadzooks! Handing out religious fliers to strangers on the steet! Who would ever do something like that?
NOTE: Apostates are persons who were once among us, walking in the Truth, not merely outsiders who oppose it. They usually know our beliefs, terminology, and organizational ways quite well.
Is it possible to be a former member and not know their "organization ways" quite well? I suppose if you slept through every meeting... oh wait, sleeping through the meetings, that describes me! Never mind!
Apostates tend to seek out unwary Witnesses and engage them in dialogue.
Sort of like the way Witnesses knock on unwary peoples' doors on a groggy Saturday morning and engage them in dialogue! Hey, this technique does sound familiar!
But they tend to be proud of their independent intellectual accomplishments
Does that imply that good JWs tend to be proud of their lack of intellectual accomplishments?
Based on several years of deep research, careful study, and profound meditation I have concluded blah blah blah ... They will claim support for their ideas from others who are supposedly pillars in the Truth. I know numerous people, including elders, who agree with me that blah blah blah ... They will flatter the listener while speaking condescendingly of Witnesses in general. I realize that most Witnesses wouldn't understand; but I realize that you are by no means average, but are truly open-minded.
This sounds like the type of arguement used in the Watchtower every week. "A more accurate view of history reveals that..." or "A more detailed study by modern day bible scholars shows that 607 BCE was the date blah blah blah" Oh well, I guess some apostates learned The Fine Art of Using Logical Fallacies too well while in Watchtower School.
The speaker condescendingly suggests that most Witnesses are simple, unpretentious, and unsophisticated, but is implying that for the most part we are a bunch of dopes.
Hey, only the Mother BOrganization is allowed to speak condescendingly to JWs!
Willing association with true apostates, whether in person, by reading their literature, or engaging in electronic debate across the Internet, is itself apostate behavior, and therefore potentially a {disfellowshipping offense}, in addition to being extremely dangerous and outright stupid. It should be avoided entirely.
That would mean that a JW at this board is guilty of apostate behavior and is doing someting "outright stupid". YouKnow, and FredHall, care to respond? Tsk tsk, shame on you. Well, if you are really an apostate, email me your mailing address and I will send you your very own Apostofest name badge.
Edited: *** Hey Simon, this looks great in Preview, but the editing is lost when posting. What gives?
Edited by - Simon on 10 June 2002 10:23:46