Bad, naughty, nasty, Internet.

by philo 14 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  philo

  WTBTS arguments against Internet correspondence.

  1. You never know for sure with whom you are communicating.

  2. They may be apostates.

  3. They may lie to you, and you won't be able to tell.

  4. They may be boys pretending to be girls.

  5. They may be porn pushers.

  6. They may be child abusers.

  7. They will waste your preaching time.

  8. There's "nothing quite like" face to face speech.

  Duck shooting season is upon us friends. Roll up, rollup for the summer quack-attack. Anybody with a few spare seconds' free time care to blow one of these out of the water?

  I know it's too easy, but it's all for charity.

  philo
• 

  larc

  Hi philo,

  I seem to be following you around at this early hour of the morning.

  It seems that they have some of these problems as well. Number one: who are you communicating with? They claim to be God's channel of communication. It ain't necessarily so. Number 3: they may lie to you. Hmm, I wonder if the WT has ever done that? Number 6: child abusers. As an org. they are not, but as an org. they harbor them. Number 8: face to face speech: Their message sure is indirect. Can't read the Bible without the Watchtower. Can't get to God except through the chain of command.

  Additional reasons: might find out how pervasive some problems are, e.g., child abuse. Might find out how the WT has lied about its own history.
• 

  Moxy

  at a DC recently, this reasoning was used, paraphrased as i recall it, pretty close i think:

  "We've heard that the internet has a lot of good and useful things on it, and that there are only a few areas dangerous to Christians on it. However, would you venture into your backyard if you heard that rather than being FULL of poisonous snakes, that there were only a FEW poisonous snakes?"

  i was astounded.

  mox
• 

  slipnslidemaster

  But aren't we all grownups? Can't we think for ourselves on these things??????

  . o O (slipnslidemaster)
• 

  TheApostleAK

  Internet killed the Watchtower.........sung to the tune of "Video killed the radio star"
• 

  messenger

  Isn't this the same reasons we should avoid the "faithful and discreet slave"?
• 

  TheApostleAK

  Messenger: The man of lawlessness????
• 

  slipnslidemaster

  "We've heard that the internet has a lot of good and useful things on it, and that there are only a few areas dangerous to Christians on it. However, would you venture into your backyard if you heard that rather than being FULL of poisonous snakes, that there were only a FEW poisonous snakes?"

  Most backyards in the world have a few.

  I always loved the drop of poison in the water analogy. However, aren't the Democrats and the President arguing over how many parts per million of arsenic are acceptable in water right now?

  . o O (slipnslidemaster)
• 

  stephenw20

  if the internet is so bad...why does the WTBTS have five websites.......

  do as I say not as I do...and who is suppose to look at them if witnesses don't........

  or are those outside the SO called ~truth~ suppose to be bowled over by the wonderful warm message contained.........such as this one.......

  http://watchtower.org/library/vcpf/index.htm

  THE BIBLE—Its Power in Your Life
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Can the Bible help us face the problems of modern life? Is it relevant to our modern age? See how much better life is for those who open their hearts and minds to the Bible's wisdom.
  Excerpt from the 41-minute video THE BIBLE—Its Power in Your Life.
  Would you welcome a free Bible study?

  RealPlayer Basic software must be installed on your computer in order to view this file-------
  ------------

  Now, I am not a fan of Porn sites or short movies but arent they PLAYED on A REAL PLAYER>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  urgh!
  S
• 

  philo

  Here's my shot.

  Points 1 to 6: these apply in every walk of life, sometimes even face to face. Especially do these apply to telephone and snail-mail. Why so? Because we routinely have to encounter new people, make new (and often brief) relationships to do business, complain, advertise ourselves, and have fun. We run a few risks from sharks and tricksters, but the benefits are exponential compared to the downside of not taking those risks. That's life. The Internet is another part of normal life for westerners. To seek to switch off this level of normal contact among people, as the Watchtower is doing (for reasons of spiritual security) is bunker mentality -- nothing more.

  Points 7 and 8: I would venture that shaky, bony WT hands have probably written negative articles, using these arguments, about telephone, video, audio cassette and fax technologies as they emerged. But who's counting.

  Moxy: I can just see myself laughing out loud when that was doled out at the DC. "Laughing at the speaker? ME! No, it was just my hay-fever tablets, really…yeah…mmm."

  It's such wet reasoning isn't it? Like, there are poisonous snakes in Australia -- SO DON'T EVEN GO THERE. And if you happen to live there…just don't, OK?

  Larc: Thanks particularly for bring up the authority issues; I hadn't been thinking along that line.

  Advice to the WTBTS: If you sh1t so close camp, you need a good spade.

  philo