Posts by Mephis

35

Judgment handed down by Court of Appeal in legal challenge to Charity Commission inquiry opened in 2014

by OrphanCrow in

this is good news.

the wt have lost in their attempt to stop the uk charity commission's inquiry into their affairs.

however, the wt is still digging in their heels about turning documents over to the charity commission.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/court-of-appeal-gives-judgment-in-court-case-by-jehovahs-witness-charityjudgment handed down by court of appeal in legal challenge to charity commission inquiry opened in 2014.today, the court of appeal handed down its judgment regarding the commission’s statutory inquiry, opened in 2014, into the watch tower bible and tract society of britain (the leading jehovah’s witness charity in the uk).

Mephis

The chances of them being given leave to appeal a unanimous decision written by the Master of the Rolls are slim.

The DBS check is interesting because it's the specifics of what they're objecting to. Cofty's right, thousands of other organisations do this already. I believe it would even be free for both elders and the WBTS to do this as they are unpaid. But it has significant consequences as it is a criminal offence not to report someone who should be on that list, and it's a criminal offence for both person and those who employ/appoint him if such a person is placed in a role which they shouldn't be in. This is really significant. They'll kick and scream as loudly and for as long as they can over this. It takes accountability all the way to those who approve an elder's appointment. And has the potential to expose a lot of things the WBTS would rather congregations not know about.

375

This thread is for proof that God exists

by juandefiero in

jw
friends

however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

(1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

Mephis

Memphis that's so cool you got a class with Tallis. He seems a very thoughtful guy. I knew he was against post structuralism too but you can't win them all. I think he very much has got "a point with the brain" and he's not the only one pointing out that brain reductionism is nonsense when you really examine it.
The problem is that the point he does have is (yet again) pretty much understood by those doing the actual work. He's taking aim at popular misconceptions or misrepresentations and then pushing them onto other things. No consciousness is not the same as the brain. Anyone with even a passing acquaintance of the subject knows this. Still Tallis girds up to tilt at the next set of windmills, because even the idea that measurable brain activity impacts upon consciousness is anathema. It's a bit tedious really.

12

JW's in Ukraine

by Psalm1611 in

need help finding jw material written after 1986. good day!

i am reaching out for help from those of you that know your material better than i, an outsider.

i am a baptist missionary in ukraine for 5 years now.

Mephis

http://www.jwfacts.com/ has a lot of information which covers the whole history. Obviously in English, and whether what it quotes is also available in Russian is another matter altogether.

375

This thread is for proof that God exists

by juandefiero in

jw
friends

however, i haven't found any evidence to support that belief.. have you?

if so please, show me the evidence that god exists, and i will believe along with you.. criteria:.

(1) you must specify which god you are talking about;.

Mephis

Tallis is fun. He took a tutorial on lit crit I was in a long time back. He's good mates with one of my old tutors. He doesn't half like tilting at strawmen arguments though. He was on his 'post-structuralism is bunk' phase back then. He does have a point with the brain, but I'd question whether that is the correct understanding to take from the work establishing the processes anyway. Like his work on post-structuralism, it's all kind of truism based and seems to miss the real point.

11

Why is the Bible silent about the real Israel/Egyptian connections?

by fulltimestudent in

the bible does connect egypt and israel (including judah), but does not tell the truth about the connection.. an exhibition at the israel museum tells a clearer story.. it tells of two periods of connection;.

the first connection around 1800 to 1550 bce when canaanites settled in the eastern section of the nile river delta.

it seems this is the era that saw the development of stories like the joseph story and the mose's story.

Mephis

Nice article covering the exhibition: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/.premium-1.706655

15

Car crash

by truthwillsetyoufree in

jw
friends

boy who was seriously injured in a collision at gamlingay in cambridgeshire last thursday has died.. nine-year-old archie stevens, of western way, sandy, bedfordshire, died in hospital early on saturday afternoon.. the collision at about 10am in drove road, which involved two cars, also resulted in the death of his grandfather, 68-year-old martin harker, of green acres, sandy, who died at the scene.http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2016-02-22/nine-year-old-boy-dies-after-cambridgeshire-crash/.

the boy and his grandfather were jehovahs witnesses and they were on field service when a car drove into them.

the lad, who is the son of an elder who moved to a cambridge congregation to serve where the need is greater, was on life support before the sad decision was made to turn it off.

Mephis

Incredibly sad for the family.

7

Reveal article: 6 ways religious exemption laws are exploited - Excellent!

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.revealnews.org/article/6-ways-religious-exemption-laws-are-exploited/.

by amy julia harris / february 29, 2016 .

6 ways religious exemption laws are exploited.

Mephis

In the Uk (and some of this stems from European law mixing with UK law).

Exemptions in equality and employment law exist for religions when a role or service is solely about the religion or for adherents of that religion. There's been a lot of debate over whether these exemptions need to be narrowed down.

Corporal punishment in schools is flat out banned regardless of who runs them. Some religious schools tried to challenge that ban and were reminded that freedom of religion didn't mean freedom to do whatever your religion told you to do.

Child abuse reporting isn't the same as the US so can't really be compared. There is no right never to report, but the obligation to report is framed differently too.

No idea on day care sorry.

98

OKAY, GAME OVER! The number one reason the New Testament amounts to bunk

by Terry in

for me, the dead giveaway is this.

jesus wrote nothing.. stop and think about that.. if jesus were the authentic messiah, his ministry would not simply be local.. his instructions, his mission, the details of his teachings would be too precious to risk leaving it in the hands of "men unlettered (illiterate) and ordinary (blue-collar yokels).".

jesus, were he the one and only hope of mankind, would be absolutely certain to write down with great simplicity and specificity the exact owner's manual necessary to rescue mankind.. never happened!.

Mephis

The spiritual abuse idea must be comforting for believers who think that it was just believing in the wrong imaginary friend which was the problem, but the number of atheists amongst exJWs seems no greater than in society generally here in Britain. I know that's something of a surprise to those who can't imagine places where even many Christians are happy to accept the bible is just a story book.

98

OKAY, GAME OVER! The number one reason the New Testament amounts to bunk

by Terry in

for me, the dead giveaway is this.

jesus wrote nothing.. stop and think about that.. if jesus were the authentic messiah, his ministry would not simply be local.. his instructions, his mission, the details of his teachings would be too precious to risk leaving it in the hands of "men unlettered (illiterate) and ordinary (blue-collar yokels).".

jesus, were he the one and only hope of mankind, would be absolutely certain to write down with great simplicity and specificity the exact owner's manual necessary to rescue mankind.. never happened!.

Mephis

.

11

Why is the Bible silent about the real Israel/Egyptian connections?

by fulltimestudent in

the bible does connect egypt and israel (including judah), but does not tell the truth about the connection.. an exhibition at the israel museum tells a clearer story.. it tells of two periods of connection;.

the first connection around 1800 to 1550 bce when canaanites settled in the eastern section of the nile river delta.

it seems this is the era that saw the development of stories like the joseph story and the mose's story.

Mephis

One idea which has been suggested, and seems to have held up to scrutiny, is that Song of Solomon is remarkably similar to Egyptian love poetry of c.1200 BCE. Coincidence I'm sure, ahem.

Looks like a fascinating exhibition.