Posts by OrphanCrow

god would not say: “you should not eat from the tree of good and bad, which would make you like me” because through jesus he said: ‘you must become like me by imitating the qualities of sun whose only concern is giving (of light and warmth) which means having no expectation of anything from anybody’ (mathew 5:44-48) .

this also means we should have no human teachers because we can have answer to any questions by ourselves, through inference.

(pro 25:2) how to go about inferring?

OrphanCrow

sparky: Why do Unicorns fart glitter?

Because unicorns poop rainbow ice cream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlEovr29KBU

1

Whatever happened to Gregory Rogers??

by OrphanCrow in

this is an article from 1975.. .

i am curious.

do you think that the australian jw, gregory rogers, ended up on the wt's australian list of pedophiles?.

OrphanCrow

Sorry. I forgot to link to the article.

https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00806R000201160032-6.pdf

1

Whatever happened to Gregory Rogers??

by OrphanCrow in

this is an article from 1975.. .

i am curious.

do you think that the australian jw, gregory rogers, ended up on the wt's australian list of pedophiles?.

OrphanCrow

This is an article from 1975.

I am curious.

Do you think that the Australian JW, Gregory Rogers, ended up on the WT's Australian list of pedophiles?

And what about that "school for the blind" in Thailand? Do you think that Rogers managed to get that up and running?

15

When did the Jehovah's Witnesses officially become a "religion"?

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

most people know that jehovah's witnesses began as a publishing company promoting a restorationist type christianity.

people who were followers were called bible students.

but when, exactly, did it change from a "movement" to a "religion"?

OrphanCrow

Fink: there were already a set of doctrines previously established before the 1950's and there were Kingdom Halls built before that time too.

Of course there were disfellowshipping practices already in place - that is how the top dogs stayed top dogs. But, it was in 1952 that the rules expanded, changed, and enlarged to include all of the lowly congregants and became even more regulated from the top down.

"there were Kingdom Halls built before that time too." And? What of it? Are you conflating tax breaks with property builds? Tax breaks apply to more than just Kingdom Halls being built

15

When did the Jehovah's Witnesses officially become a "religion"?

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

most people know that jehovah's witnesses began as a publishing company promoting a restorationist type christianity.

people who were followers were called bible students.

but when, exactly, did it change from a "movement" to a "religion"?

OrphanCrow

sir82: There was a questions from readers in the early 50's which gave the green light to JWs calling themselves a "religion".
Prior to that it was an important distinction, at least in the minds of JWs, to not call themselves a "religion". This was, for example, the basis for the old message "Religion is a snare and a racket", as in, "All those other groups are 'religions', and thus crooked, but we aren't a religion, so you should join us."
"Jehovah's Witnesses" (capital W) used to be, officially, "Jehovah's witnesses" (small w). They didn't want people to construe a capital W as implying "the name of a religion". The change from "w" to "W" occurred on or about the same time as that early 50's QFR.

Yes. Funny how that happened.

And not only did the JWs become a "religion" rather than a "corporation that prints books for like-minded people to study the bible"...but the disfellowshipping doctrine tightened up and came down hard at the very same time.

(the following is a copy and paste from a post I made a few years ago)

...the boast of JWs everywhere, for many years, was that "We are not a religion". They were so proud that they could state that - it made them separate from the evil "Christendom". And they would proudly trot out a mantra that would claim that "The Watchtower Society is only a corporation that provides us with literature"...and "we are a group of like-minded people who study the Bible" or something along those lines. But the statement "We are not a religion" was still in use when I was JW kid in the 60s. (which was pretty confusing for a little kid to deal with) Along with the phrases - 'we don't have clergy" "we don't have churches" and the classic - that all important phrase that has so much legal meaning - "we are ALL each and every one of us - an 'ordained' minister". (that 'ordained' minister phrase, by the way, has everything to do with why they have 'kingdom ministry' schools that all the publishers have to attend - they have to maintain schools to train ordained ministers in order to be a 'religion' under tax laws)

After the Second World War, The United States, like countries everywhere, had a huge war debt to deal with. So they made some changes in the tax laws. In 1950, the tax laws were changed and corporations lost their "tax bubble" and they saw increases in corporate tax.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/legislation/1950.cfm

All of a sudden it became far more advantageous to claim a tax status as a 'religion' rather than a corporation.
The Watchtower had a problem. The Jehovah's Witnesses weren't established as a 'religion' and were usually viewed simply as a 'sect' or a 'cult'. But the IRS had come up with a brilliant idea as to how to evaluate 'religions' - they based it upon the notion of 'genuine belief'. ALL of the members who followed the beliefs of the Watchtower Society had to be proven that they held 'genuine belief' in the Watchtower Society's teachings in order for the Society to qualify as a religion so they could take advantage of the tax breaks afforded religions. And that was a big problem for the Society - how on earth could they do that with every single member of their following?

In 1952 Nathan Knorr announced the official 'biblical' doctrine/policy of disfellowhipping. At that point the Society was able to establish 'genuine belief' in its followers.

In the years to follow the rank and file gradually learned to call themselves a 'religion'. And the Watchtower got their tax exemptions as a religion. And the disfellowshipping practice still stands.

The disfellowshipping policy/doctrine was largely put in place to satisfy the terms of the IRS in determining whether or not the Watchtower Society would qualify for a tax break and had little to do with genuine biblical doctrine.

22

How can a dead chicken atone for your sins?

by Fisherman in

jw
friends

the article says that the dead chickens are given to the poor but i was told that the chickens are thrown into the garbage.

(who could possibly eat a chicken full of sin?).

https://www.google.com/amp/abc7ny.com/amp/religion/exclusive-dead-chickens-in-cages-as-part-of-jewish-ritual/2457387/.

OrphanCrow

Related image

33

Jehovah uses the government to discipline his people

by StephaneLaliberte in

i had a conversation with my dad concerning the legal cases the jws are loosing and how their policies are still lacking.

he answered that he has confidence that jehovah will give his people the wisdom and discernment necessary to make the changes.

i then explained that most of the improvements were made as a result of various court cases, including the australian commission.. my dad: well, than, jehovah uses the governments to discipline his people just like he did with the jews.

OrphanCrow

Stephane:
My Dad: Well, than, Jehovah uses the governments to discipline his people just like he did with the Jews.

Your father made an unbelievably ugly statement. Ugly. Anti-Semitic at its core.

This viewpoint is rooted in Rutherford's "replacement theology" that he made into a core Jw doctrine back in the 20s during his org makeover (when he was patterning/piloting the WT re-structuring over in Germany, trying out ways to organize "Joe's Army").

This replacement theology was in direct opposition to Russell's "dual covenant" theology and was the defining difference between the "old" WT theology and the "New World" theology where the JWs took the place of the Jews, relegating the Jews to the dustbins of the OT.

This division made itself evident during the 30s and 40s, playing itself out against the backdrop of WW2 and the antisemitism of the German Reich.

http://yadlachim.org/?CategoryID=203&ArticleID=577

Rudolf Hess, commandant of Auschwitz, in his book of memoirs 'The Commandant of Auschwitz Testifies' describes the faith and behavior of several female members of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses', who worked as faithful servants of SS officers in Auschwitz:
“The strange thing was that all of them were convinced that causing suffering to the Jews and killing them was justified, because their ancestors betrayed God.”

Charles Russell was a Zionist but Rutherford embraced a replacement theology with the JWs becoming Jehovah's "chosen people" and thus, his witnesses.

Replacement theology is anti-Semitic.

17

Naked Jehovah's Witnesses (bizarre story)

by wannaexit in

jw
friends

this is the most weird story.

if you read half way down you will see the protagonists are jdubs.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/alberta-family-kidnapping-naked-nisku-1.4398942.

OrphanCrow

Weather for Edmonton on Monday November 6:

High of -6C (21.2F)

Low of -14C (6.8F)

*your fridge temp is plus 4C and your freezer temp is about -18C, for those of you who know nothing about living in sub-freezing temperatures

A little bit nippy for shucking off your clothes and going for a naked joyride. I am still trying to figure out the drug induced logic behind that move. By all of them.

Lol! Talk about a group of people who are highly susceptible to suggestion. Oh my lord