Posts by davidmitchell

9

Bali Nine

by smiddy in

their are two australian guys scheduled for execution in indonesia in the very near future for drug smuggling , they were the ring leaders of seven others involved.this happened a number of years ago when the australian authourities notified their indonesian counterparts that drugs were to be smuggled out of indonesia into australia by australian citizens .. some argue , why didn` t the australian authourities simply arrest these people on arrival in australia where no capital punishment is on the agenda .. by all accounts they have now been on death row for many years and have turned their lives around , being role models to other prisoners and changing their lives .. i personally have mixed feelings about all this and would like your input .. should these two be executed ?.

should they spend the rest of their life in an indonesian jail .

should they be given an alternative sentence .?.

davidmitchell

I was brought up as anti-death penalty advocate and in the 1990s, I wrote to several men on death row in America to befriend them, this included one who was later executed.
I think what changed my opinion - a little - was my growing awareness of the violent nature of some murders and that some victims were not only murdered but tortured as well. The problem that clouded the issue for me was how people were executed and how this was fast becoming a circus, i.e, the recent problem with America not being able to obtain the required toxic ingredients to carry out executions by 'lethal injection'.
So many executions have beene 'botched' whether by hanging, shooting, gassing, electrocution or lethal injection, and this results in the process making the authorities appear incompetent and not in control.
I have come to the conclusion that murder should mean life imprisonment and that 'life' should mean 'life' and any privileges in prison, not matter how small, should be earned.
In the case of particularly brutal or multiple murders, then sadly, the punishment should be death by the most humane means and carried out as quickly as possible (in the UK, I believe that when there were executions, these had to be carrried out within a month of the sentence).

There is the further problem that the wealthy who murder can and do get off with just a term of imprisonment because of being able to hire clever lawyers, while the poor person gets the death penalty for the same crime.

In the case of the men in indonesia, I cannot believe that execution is appropriate for what they allegedly did. 25-40 years' imprisonment is more appropriate. Remember that with capital punishment, the punishment ends when death occurs, but with long-term imprisonment, the punishment lasts.

20

The 'Message" is spread into 700 languages...SO WHAT??? Big Deal!

by stuckinarut2 in

you know how the org goes on and on about how the "preaching work" takes place in so many languages by the website?.

they also trumpet the fact that witnesses are in "sooooo many lands and nations"....... so what!.

just because the message is spread far and wide, does not mean the content of the message is correct or of value.. take the example of coca-cola or mcdonalds.... these products are in nearly every nation around the world....but does that mean they are beneficial or healthy?

davidmitchell

As Steve 2 says. Its rather like the claim that so many Bible-believers constantly state, i.e., there are thousands of New Testament texts from the 4th century onwards.But just because a lie is repeated many thousands of times does not make it any less of a lie.

*Noteworthy is that there are no manuscripts of any complete New Testament writing from the 1st century so we have no idea of what changes were made to the origianl texts.

24

A brazen falsehood in this week's Watchtower study! (week of Feb 9 - 15, 2015)

by Island Man in

on page 13 of the december 15, 2014 watchtower (study edition), the first 2 sentences of paragraph 10 say:.

"the symbolic separating of fish does not refer to the final judgment during the great tribulation.

rather, it highlights what would happen during the last days of this wicked system.".

davidmitchell

I keep hearing references to 'gnashing of teeth'. So what happens to people like me who have none of their own teeth? Will God supply some sort of indestructible dentures? And furthermore, will I have to pay for these?

Confused

13

Spain: Condemned the perpetrators of the pyramid scam 700 Jehovah's Witnesses

by JHK in

google translation:.

condemned the perpetrators of the pyramid scam 700 jehovah's witnesses.

barcelona, february 6.

davidmitchell

But WHY did these Witnesses even have any money to invest (and lose!). What about Luke 12:33, Acts 5;1-4, etc., etc.

5

Another early Christian writing found- the, 'Gospel of the Lots of Mary'

by fulltimestudent in

this document is fascinating.it reveals the important role that magic played in the lives of early christians.. .

dated to the sixth century ce, the opening lines, written in coptic, read (as translated):.

"the gospel of the lots of mary, the mother of the lord jesus christ, she to whom gabriel the archangel brought the good news.

davidmitchell

Christianity would be so different it it had not accepted what became the canonical writings but followed the Gnostic writings/teachings instead. Unlike the stock answer of Christianity to awkward questions - 'It's a mystery! 'or some disjointed ramblings - at least the Gnostics attempted to find coherent answers to the problems.of life and suffering.

15

Christian missionary whinges about the prosperity of Kenya

by cofty in

jessica tidwell arrived in nairobi ready to heroically preach the gospel to destitute, half-naked peasants, living in mud huts and covered in "bug bites".. when she discovered that nairobi was in fact a prosperous, modern city with people in expensive clothes buying food and electronic goods in shopping malls, she was dejected and said so in her missionary blog.. the comments section below her blog entry is well worth a read.... here is bob marley's take on self-centred western christian missionaries.. "we're going to chase those crazy baldheads out of town".

.... .

davidmitchell

Poor, poor Christians. All dressed up and no place to go.

Indeed, this reminds me of how the Salvation Army began in the 19th century. Because of the lack of any enterainment, they found playing music got the poor out of their homes to listen when they could then be preached to (or at) As soon as the poor could afford their own radios, etc., this ploy became almosot worthless. I find it sad that religion takes advantage of those who have so little and use their situations as a weapon or form of.entrapment against them. Its much the same with JWs who use people's fear of crime, the uncertain future, etc as a means of drawing them into their web of lunacy.

55

I was shy on my first JW.ORG Video, I am so happy sharing God's Organization with you!

by JWCart1975 in

jw.org is the fastest growing media outlet in the world, our local cobe said we are going to take the media from satan's wicked world!

repent before it's too late and come back to the kingdom hall with all your loving brothers and sisters!

you won't find happiness without jehovah's organization and you know it!

davidmitchell

JW.ORG is the fastest growing media outlet in the World. WRONGWe are going to take the Media from Satan's Wicked World! WRONGYou won't find happiness without Jehovah's Organization... WRONGThe good times you had in Field Service, at the Meetings and Book Study... WRONGWhen was the last time you had a good nights sleep after leaving the Watchtower'... Last night actuallyOnly Jehovah's people have true happiness... WRONGThe End Is Near! WRONGJehovah will bless you... WRONG
Your statements appear to have about the same amount of accuracy as the Society's predictions for armageddon....

30

Translating and deciphering witness expressions.

by stuckinarut2 in

i wanted to start a thread with correct explanations of what witnesses really mean when they say stuff... please add to it!.

"we missed you at the last meeting" = "where were you?

why did you miss a meeting!?".

davidmitchell

'New Light' = Yet another scheme to try and salvage something of a crackpot idea introduced at an earlier time.

(How do Witnesses manage to keep a straight face when they use this term?)

30

Translating and deciphering witness expressions.

by stuckinarut2 in

i wanted to start a thread with correct explanations of what witnesses really mean when they say stuff... please add to it!.

"we missed you at the last meeting" = "where were you?

why did you miss a meeting!?".

davidmitchell

(I love this one).

'You need to adjust your thinking' = Stop thinking.

30

Translating and deciphering witness expressions.

by stuckinarut2 in

i wanted to start a thread with correct explanations of what witnesses really mean when they say stuff... please add to it!.

"we missed you at the last meeting" = "where were you?

why did you miss a meeting!?".

davidmitchell

'Jehovah's loving arrangement' = Some totally cockeyed scheme the GB have dreamt up and tried to get us all to believe.