Posts by OneEyedJoe

9

What's the difference between 'works' and 'fruits'?

by TTWSYF in

my uber jw elder brother used to use jesus's quote "you know a tree by it's fruit" and then would speak about how jws are the only ones going door to door and restoring god's true name.. my niece was the first to point out that those were works and not fruits.

my brother retreated for a few days to contemplate the difference between works and fruits and when he returned to address the comment, he stated that works are fruits.

what's the take from the jw apologist?.

OneEyedJoe

I would say that the fruitage would be the result, not the effort. Someone could spend a lot of time in a soup kitchen making soup and filling bowls, but if no one comes in to eat then they're working but not yielding any fruitage (or the fruitage they do yield is wasted soup - not something to brag about).

The point is that the fruitage is somewhat out of your control. Going back to the "I planted, apolos watered, but god kept making it grow" concept - the fruitage is evidence of divine blessing because it's not entirely in the hands of the ones doing the work. That's my interpretation of it, at least. So applying this to JWs - they spend a crap ton of time in the ministry, that's their work. Their fruitage is that they grow at roughly the rate of population growth, which does not indicate to me any sort of divine blessing. By their fruit you know them - they're a waste of time.

26

What was jesus doing for the first 30 years of his life?

by atomant in

30 years is a long time in the life of a human yet little is written about this time frame,l wonder why?

OneEyedJoe

All I know is that if I'd wandered off and when found asked my mother "where'd you think I'd be?" I would've gotten the shit slapped out of me for being a smart ass.

5

July 2016 study watchtower more materialism bashing and the end is nigh!

by hoser in

wowsers!

they are really hitting it now.

don't strive for a cell phone or a motorcycle.

OneEyedJoe

They're encouraging everyone to buy a tablet and watch and preach using JWtv and JW.BORG but theyre discouraging buying cellphones?

They get ya coming and going. The rules are, by design, impossible to follow. Everyone always has a reason to feel guilty.

53

Disturbance during Memorial 2016.

by Ben131895 in

jw
friends

two documented disturbances during memorial 2016. type 'memorial 2016' on youtube.

OneEyedJoe

Seems counter productive.

6

Bless and tested by GOD...Which is it?

by James Mixon in

the wife and i discussing blessing and being tested by jehovah.

most of her friends church going.

folks and so are my friends and family.

OneEyedJoe

It's so simple, guys. When you're a Christian anything good that happens to you is good blessing you. Anything bad is Satan trying to test you and break your faith. Then when Christians look at nonbelievers and see good things happening to them, well obviously that's Satan trying to reward them to keep them on their path to hell. When something bad happens to a nonbeliever, it's god punishing them and trying to get them to turn back from their wayward course. What could make more sense than that? Surely you don't think it's just that good and bad things happen to everyone regardless and independent of their beliefs, or lack thereof. That would just be a ridiculous proposition.

14

Didn't go to memorial this year

by silent in

jw
friends

my wife and i had business to attend to out of town today and i had thought if we made it back home in time, we'd go to the memorial.

as it turned out, we didn't get home in time and we missed it, but we had a real good talk with each other on the way home.

we are largely successful faders and at the very least, i like to try and make the memorial.

OneEyedJoe

While I wouldn't say I missed it, I was absent from the memorial for the first time in 30 years. Wife went without me - actually made something of an evening of it - wasn't home when I got back from work and didn't get home until 10:30 or so. I guess they had a party at her parent's house.

23

Easter, the memorial ... is there any worthwhile message for secularists?

by Ruby456 in

jw
friends

an innocent man killed in the most awful manner replayed countless time all over the world has desire for justice writ large all it.

is this something that secularists can take from a religious event.

i think so.

OneEyedJoe

It's the closest thing to a holiday that the JWs celebrate, that right there should probably tell you something. Normal christians have managed to make it about family, which is probably something to take away from it, as is the (pagan) celebration of life that has become associated with it. The real christian meaning behind it (that people don't bear responsibility for their sins due to a human sacrifice made centuries ago) though is offensive to me.

14

Wearing a Guy Fawkes mask outside a JW Convention.

by SonoftheTrinity in

i don't want my wife recognizing me, but i feel like making an anti-jw scene.

OneEyedJoe

I agree with Village idiot and cofty. There are better ways to wake people up than to try while they're in full cult mode and in front of thousands of people that could potentially report them for showing an interest in anything you might have to say. You'll only end up confirming their persecution complex.

Your time is better spent enjoying your life. If you're going to try to wake someone up, do it when they're in their 'authentic persona' as that's the only time you'll be able to find an opening.

24

Did You Get Invited to the Memorial?

by Ding in

i'm just wondering if jws keep inviting you back or if they've given up on you.. they haven't invited me for years..

OneEyedJoe

I did, but this is my first memorial as anything other than a regular publisher.

93

Pshycos! - 2016 "Remain Loyal to Jehovah" Regional Convention Program

by thedepressedsoul in

wow this is interesting!

i think how much emphasis this puts on "loyalty" shows their is an issue.

they're trying to plug the wholes as much and quickly as possible.

OneEyedJoe

OK, I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking they've really turned a corner here. They always stick to a theme pretty hard, but I don't think I've ever seen it like this. This is insane. Is the word "loyal" going to be the new "truth" that JWs will find a way to work into every sentence? My mother-in-law actually started talking about loyalty a couple years ago when there was a CO talk on it, so maybe that's where they're headed. Someone said repeating the word causes it to loose meaning, but that's actually not completely right - it looses some of the meaning consciously, but subconsciously it becomes a powerful thought-stopper...that's what the cult loaded language is all about. I wonder if that's where this is headed.

The talk on shunning followed by a talk on forgiveness actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it. The theme isn't really about their behavior, it's about obedience. The talks are essentially - shun who we tell you to shun and be subservient to those we tell you to follow (even though they've wronged you). If you think it doesn't make sense to talk about shunning and forgiveness in one breath, it's because you're taking it at face value - it's really about control. They want you to obey no matter what, so they give you examples on opposite ends of the spectrum and the only common thread (and therefore the conclusion those listening will come to, whether consciously or otherwise) is that you must do whatever you're told by the cult leadership.

I'm in awe of this. This seems like they've gone into cult overload, and I really don't think it only seems that way because I'm sorta freshly out. In the 2 years I've been awake, I don't think I've seen anything like this.