JWs in Russia are considered 'extremist', by the law being used against them, because they teach that their religion is better than others. By that standard, every religion is extremist. I look forward to the Russian state closing down the Orthodox church. Vsya vlast sovetam and all that. Lots of wrong done by JWs. Some illegal stuff done by JWs. Introducing laws to persecute them, other minority religions, the LGBT community etc etc. is not really something anyone with half an ounce of sense would actively support.
Mephis
JoinedPosts by Mephis
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34
Watchtower go full on propaganda!
by David Graham ini see the watchtower are getting extremely desperate now.http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/25503-injustice-abounds-for-our-dear-russian-brothers/check out the professionally edited video, using professional equipment!
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116
News Flash: New Reveal Article
by Sugar Shane inless than an hour old:.
https://www.revealnews.org/blog/how-child-sex-abusers-get-reinstated-as-jehovahs-witnesses/.
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Mephis
I don't agree with most of what fisherman said but I do agree with his statement "it is the parents responsibility to protect their children." So don't trust your children with es or ms, and by all means no jw indoctrination.
To an extent, yes, there's a fair point. But abuse of children is often perpetrated by those who are in or close to the family circle. So it's something of a problem to say "parents should protect their children" if it's the, for example, father who is abusing his kids. Which is why child safeguarding in outside agencies, especially those where adults assume roles of responsibility, is so important.
The WBTS' argument is that they don't have any responsibility whatsoever. This is not so. Religious leaders assume positions of authority within society, just as secular teachers do, just as law enforcement agents do, and anyone in such a role should have the sense to agree that such responsibility carries obligations too. Especially when it involves children where we (I've been a teacher) may be the person in a position of trust they turn to for help. It is not acceptable for a teacher to turn around and say, "well it's your dad, nothing to do with me." It is not acceptable for a policeman to turn around and say, "well it's your dad, nothing to do with me." It is not acceptable for a social worker to turn around and say, "well it's your dad, nothing to do with me." It is not acceptable for the Pope to turn around and say it to a child. It's not acceptable for the Archbishop of Canterbury to say it to a child. It's not acceptable for the idiots in Brooklyn to say to the children within their religion "what happens within a family is nothing to do with us".
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Watchtower go full on propaganda!
by David Graham ini see the watchtower are getting extremely desperate now.http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/25503-injustice-abounds-for-our-dear-russian-brothers/check out the professionally edited video, using professional equipment!
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Mephis
They certainly are keen to highlight when their religious freedoms are in danger. Things like child abuse not so much.
Agree with konceptual for reasons given in other threads. 'Extremist literature' in the terms currently being used in Russia is so generally applied at the moment that anything could be banned under it if the authorities wanted to, Orwell for example. JWs are being wrongfully treated in Russia at the moment. As are a large number of other 'minority' groups who are being targeted for not conforming sufficiently.
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We may have interbred with Neanderthals earlier than previously thought.
by cappytan init is now thought that we have been interbreeding with neanderthals as early as 100,000 years ago.. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35595661.
craziest thing i just realized: some women still breed with neanderthals up to this day.
rihanna and chris brown anyone?.
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Mephis
You're not from Kent are you Joe? That's where she's from ;) That's the reconstruction they did for the Natural History Museum. (Full picture on this blog from there, NSFW for some people as she's topless so just advance warning: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/blogs/whats-new/2014/02/11/neanderthal-woman-in-pieces )
The man looks like many I've sat opposite from at meetings. Chimp kicked through Burtons... ;) That's the Neanderthal Museum in Germany dressing him up in modern clothing to try and get people to question assumptions.
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We may have interbred with Neanderthals earlier than previously thought.
by cappytan init is now thought that we have been interbreeding with neanderthals as early as 100,000 years ago.. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35595661.
craziest thing i just realized: some women still breed with neanderthals up to this day.
rihanna and chris brown anyone?.
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Mephis
I really hope we find some complete Denisovan skeletons, or at least skulls, so we can get some idea of what they looked like. Some of the more modern Neanderthal reconstructions have been very clever in gently subverting the 'ape man' or 'captain caveman' ideas which were once common. These guys survived around 80,000 years in an ice age. With only stone tools.
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We may have interbred with Neanderthals earlier than previously thought.
by cappytan init is now thought that we have been interbreeding with neanderthals as early as 100,000 years ago.. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35595661.
craziest thing i just realized: some women still breed with neanderthals up to this day.
rihanna and chris brown anyone?.
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Mephis
John Hawks wrote a nice article on the implications a couple of weeks back:
https://aeon.co/opinions/human-evolution-is-more-a-muddy-delta-than-a-branching-tree
TL:DR - it's possible there were many species of hominins who could inter-breed over several million years. We're only just at the start of identifying them if so.
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News Flash: New Reveal Article
by Sugar Shane inless than an hour old:.
https://www.revealnews.org/blog/how-child-sex-abusers-get-reinstated-as-jehovahs-witnesses/.
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Mephis
albeit how the church handles sinners and confidential information they have on them is church business and confidential whether you like it or not.
Confidential information has to be handled confidentially for it to be confidential. Otherwise it's not, well, confidential. The JW investigative/judicial process is not confidential by any objective standard. As at least two courts in the US have noted down the years when giving a judgement on the issue. I know JWs try to redefine confidentiality (eg your medical records inside aren't confidential to another JW) but it doesn't work like that for those outside JWland.
Did WBTS ever appeal the ruling of Charissa et. al vs WBTS in 2005 on the judicial process not being covered by penitential privilege in California? Or did they settle?
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2016-2-17-Destroy Previous S-77 Forms!
by Atlantis inthese numbers and letters:--gbr659967--are the only identifying markson this boe..the "informant" who sent it said:.
"this letter came through the congregation inbox and so hasn't got theusual identifying information.
the name of the file is probably thebest way to identify it.
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Mephis
S-77 is df-ing form isn't it? Wonder what they've changed. Less information required? -
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When Did Higher Education Become Taboo?
by Wild_Thing ini have been reading about the early history of russelites/jws and in the beginning, it seems the organization was formed and headed by quite a few educated people.
lawyers, doctors, businessman.
you could buy voting rights within the organization for $1000, which by today's standard would be somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000, something most of us do not have on hand, unless you are highly educated and/or wealthy.
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Mephis
The question Russell is answering, which is just before that quoted by JWFacts, gives a good indication of the views even back in 1910 (which is the date given to this question and answer) to higher education.
To what extent should the Truth people, Bible Students, educate their children, knowing the shortness of the time between now and the time of trouble, for instance, and also in view of the fact that in any higher education there is a tendency toward infidelitv, higher criticism and agnosticism?
Will paste the full answer to that question too (I've edited Russell's views on teaching children music out).
My thought, dear friends, would be that the majority of children would be better off if they would not go beyond, or much beyond, a common school education. I do not know of a college anywhere that would really do them any good. I remind you of a young man who came from India. His father was a native of India and had embraced Christianity, and, according to this son, his father was a genuine Christian, and so this young man was very anxious to come to America and get his education. Apparently his father was connected with the Methodist Church Mission in India. At all events, the young man sought out a Methodist college here. Not having great means, he worked his way through college, and in the four years that he spent in getting his education he lost every bit of his Christianity, and every bit of his faith in the Bible, and was turned out, graduated from a Methodist college, a higher critic, a total unbeliever. That young man subsequently was met by one of the Bible students, and it was suggested he attend one of the conventions. He said he did not have the money to spare. The party gave him the money for his expenses. He attended and was considerably interested, but not convinced, because he had lost his faith to such a degree. It was suggested that he should study further, and that he should study the six volumes of SCRIPTURE STUDIES. He went through the six volumes, and at the completion said that he rejoiced that he had found God and the Bible again, and the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior. He is back again in India, preaching Christ there, and preaching him from the true standpoint. Now I would not run the risk with any child I loved--and I would love any child of mine, I am sure; every parent ought to love his children--I would not want to do for that child anything that would result in the loss of the best thing he has--his faith. It would not be with my consent that my child would go even through the high school, because you will find the same higher criticism now even in the ordinary high schools, and not merely in the colleges. They have these so-called scientific text books, about man having been a monkey and dropping his tail, etc.
The same arguments really which they've rehashed ever since. You'll learn evolution at university! (Actually not so true - I didn't have a single class on evolution. But then I didn't read biology...). The end is coming! etc etc etc.
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How many killed by the 5 Cholera pandemics during the 1800's?
by redpilltwice inyou all know jwfacts (run by paul grundy).
on this website, under “did the last days start 1914” ---> “pestilence”, it says:“during the 1800's five cholera pandemics killed around 100 million people.” .
there is no link to any source of info, so i emailed paul and asked where i can verify that total number?
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Mephis
True. But the Indian sub-continent clearly indicates huge differences to European rates. Didn't Japan have an outbreak which killed close to 1 million too? It's orders of magnitude out from, say, the 5,000 dead in Britain for an outbreak in the late 19th century. Or even the 100k in Prussia for a mid-19th century outbreak. Russia was 500k for one outbreak wasn't it?
Most of Europe got off very, very lightly (relatively) as the pandemics headed west it seems.
