Posts by OrphanCrow

18

Image: Great Tribulation

by OrphanCrow in

the org's fear theme has really been emphasized recently- the bunker video and now the convention video with jws being pursued by guys with assault rifles.

this image comes from the watchtower july 2017 questions from readers: would it be fitting for a christian to keep a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, for protection against other humans?.

the caption for the image is this: during the great tribulation, christians will rely on jehovah and not try to defend themselves.

OrphanCrow

Magnum: edited to add: OK, so I just read the OP again. Now, I'm thinking that you're saying that it is a JW-produced pic and that another group used it.

Yeah, that is the general gist of it.

I was interested in how this image fits within the WT narrative - the bunker video in 2016, this image in 2017, and now...the Jesus saves video

The deliberate construction of the fear myth is evident in how the WT has presented them chronologically

Here is another thing.

I wonder if the WT/org will go after that Nigerian web site (truechristianity) for copyright violations. The same site sells books written by this fellow:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kumuyi

William Folorunso Kumuyi (born 6 June 1941)[1][2] is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry situated at KM 42 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria. He is the author of several books
.........
In April 2013, Kumuyi was named as one of the "500 most powerful people on the planet" and Deeper Christian Life Ministry named as "the World's largest Megachurch" by Foreign Policy magazine (FP)

18

Image: Great Tribulation

by OrphanCrow in

the org's fear theme has really been emphasized recently- the bunker video and now the convention video with jws being pursued by guys with assault rifles.

this image comes from the watchtower july 2017 questions from readers: would it be fitting for a christian to keep a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, for protection against other humans?.

the caption for the image is this: during the great tribulation, christians will rely on jehovah and not try to defend themselves.

OrphanCrow

The org's fear theme has really been emphasized recently- the bunker video and now the convention video with JWs being pursued by guys with assault rifles.

This image comes from the Watchtower July 2017 Questions From Readers: Would it be fitting for a Christian to keep a firearm, such as a handgun or a rifle, for protection against other humans?

The caption for the image is this: During the great tribulation, Christians will rely on Jehovah and not try to defend themselves

I did an image search for this illustration and found a cropped version of it on this site here:

http://truechristianity.com.ng/

Somebody in Nigeria must have read that Watchtower and figured that it fit well in their prediction of how the Great Tribulation will go down (it is likely a little difficult to find stock images of people being threatened with assault rifles)

http://truechristianity.com.ng/the-great-tribulation-day/

36

So I guess my old hall got dissolved. The great decrease continues....

by Darkknight757 in

my mil came by to drop some pressure on my wife to go to the three day this weekend.

she told her that she wants our baby to live forever and that she wants us to come back.

apparently people would be “so happy” to see us return to the fold.

OrphanCrow

Perry: Plus they have wiped out all their long term investments.

That "wipe-out" was a forced wipeout. The CRA made it such that charities could no longer act as banks. Those "long term investments" were the Kingdom Hall loans. The org "forgave" the loans. Because they had to in order to comply with tax laws.

30

Leaked videos - Why?

by NewYork44M in

thank you to those that have passed on "leaked" videos.

one point that i have not seen discussed is "why" apostates are getting these videos.. are videos getting out because of a lack of internal controls, or are there more than a few disloyal insiders that are more than happy to pass on inside information.

or, is there a strategic intent of releasing leaked videos?.

OrphanCrow

Incognito: Yet, WT has been so successful containing the paedophile files that various courts continue to demand access to. If WT's data security is so inept or at least mediocre, it's surprising someone hasn't successfully accessed and circulated even a portion of that database.

I am not surprised that the database hasn't been leaked.

I think that the database of pedophiles is kept tight and secure in the org's legal department. If anything is kept at a high level of security, it will be lawyer files. Nobody should be able to leak that information. If a WT/org lawyer leaked it, they would be disbarred.

And, in spite of leaks concerning finances, the actual financial accounting of the org has not been leaked. Where is the master ledger?

I am of the opinion that some of the "leaks" are genuine and some of the "leaks" have been deliberate releasing of information by the org itself.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

OrphanCrow

venus: When I first heard there are over 7500 variety of apple, I drew the conclusion that it is all because there is Father Figure that takes care of more than just the sustenance, and my faith in Him has only been reinforced further and further as the time passed. Yet the same knowledge may give different conclusion to another person.

There are over 7500 different cultivars of apples.

What that means is that those varieties have been developed by humans

Don't credit "God" with all those apple varieties - that credit goes to horticulture and grafting

15

Newsweek: JW wives in Russia send letter to Putin advisor

by OrphanCrow in

jw
friends

this article is dated june 7, 2018 and is likely a lead up to the bear ripping the jw bible article.

http://www.newsweek.com/wives-jehovahs-witnesses-jailed-russia-send-letter-putin-adviser-begging-end-965516.

the wives of jehovah’s witnesses rounded up and imprisoned in russia have written an open letter to a top adviser of president vladimir putin, asking him to stop the campaign of terror against the religious group.“this open letter to you is a cry of desperation.

OrphanCrow

Pale: So i guess JWs dont like being torn from their family because of religion?

It only counts if it affects the "special ones" aka JWs

Star: They are trying to force us to live in
fear and shake every time there’s a knock at the door
You don't say!!

Yeah. That statement reminds of my childhood and of all the stories I have heard about JW children being raised in an environment of fear - fear given to them by the org itself

The more I think about it, the more irritated I am by this letter

The irony is consuming me

Here we have a letter supposedly penned by JW women. How likely is it that these JW women (who can't even touch the sacred elder book) actually wrote this letter on their own initiative? I am going to go with zero probability.

Women have no power whatsoever in making any kind of decision concerning the org and yet here they are - trotted out to be the voice of Russian JWs. When we all know that women can't even pray around men/boys without their heads covered. They can't speak and they can't teach - they cannot do anything without some man somewhere telling them what to do and what to say

This tactic is so misleading - women are being used to gain public approval for the org's actions at the same time that women are treated horribly within the org

15

Newsweek: JW wives in Russia send letter to Putin advisor

by OrphanCrow in

jw
friends

this article is dated june 7, 2018 and is likely a lead up to the bear ripping the jw bible article.

http://www.newsweek.com/wives-jehovahs-witnesses-jailed-russia-send-letter-putin-adviser-begging-end-965516.

the wives of jehovah’s witnesses rounded up and imprisoned in russia have written an open letter to a top adviser of president vladimir putin, asking him to stop the campaign of terror against the religious group.“this open letter to you is a cry of desperation.

OrphanCrow

(thanks to darkspliver for this document)

This is a copy of the letter that was sent:

https://jw-russia.org/sites/default/files/openletter_to_pchr_and_fedotov_en5064.pdf

To the Russian Federation Presidential Council
For the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights
Honorable Mr. Fedotov! Honorable members of the Human Rights Council!
This open letter to you is a cry of desperation. People who are very dear to us, our
husbands, those who feed us, the fathers of our children, peaceable, honest people, who are
always ready to help others, are being thrown behind bars for being suspected of reading
Bible commandments and praying together with us and our children to the God whose
name, as recorded in the Bible, is Jehovah.
As of this day in Russia already 17 individuals are being held in pre-trial detention. One of
our fellow believers has been in custody for over a year. Dozens more believers, in 11
regions of Russia, are under house arrest or are forbidden to leave their cities of residence.
With each passing day, their number is increasing. Taking into account that in Russia there
are 175,000 professing the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses, we wonder how many more
dozens, hundreds or thousands of victims of conscience will it take before the unjust
criminal persecution of people for their faith in God is brought to an end.
Under the guise of fighting extremism, many of us, and even our children, have been
threatened with weapons by agents of the special forces and ordered to lie face down. Our
homes have been raided and searched, our telephones and computers have been seized, so
we can’t work or live a normal life. Our family photographs, our passports and other
personal documents, and Bibles have been confiscated. They are trying to force us to live in
fear and shake every time there’s a knock at the door or the sound of a siren on the street,
as we await arrest merely for our faith. Some believers have already been dismissed from
their places of work after many years of faultless work just because the organization of
Jehovah’s Witnesses is banned in Russia. We cannot find the answers to the questions of
why we are being subjected to such harassment in our country, and which religion will be
the next to fall victim after us?
The law-enforcement agencies that are persecuting our husbands for their faith in God
explain that it is because of the April 20, 2017, decision of the Russian Federation Supreme
Court to liquidate all legal entities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia.
However, both the Russian Federation Ministry of Justice, during the hearing at the
Supreme Court, and the Russian Federation Government, after the decision was handed
down, officially stated that the court’s decision would not result in any violations of the
rights of citizens to freedom of worship.
The aforementioned decision of the Supreme Court did not ban the religion of Jehovah’s
Witnesses in Russia. It only involved legal entities. So why are the law-enforcement agents
acting in contravention of the will of the government of our country? Who in our country
benefits from the mass repression of religious believers? Why are our relatives being
accused of a serious crime with the prospect of imprisonment from 6 to 10 years for
fictitious extremist activity (Article 282.2 of the RF Criminal Code)? Why are the lawenforcement
agents mistakenly interpreting peaceful expression of faith on God for
participation in an extremist organization?
Honorable members of the Council, please help us to receive answers to these questions.
In the face of such monstrous circumstances, we are afraid for our children’s future. The
ground has been laid for children to be torn away from parents, whose faith in God has
been declared “wrong.” News that information on children whose parents are Jehovah’s
Witnesses is being gathered in educational and medical facilities is very worrying. It is not
surprising that virtually every week whole families of our fellow believers are abandoning
everything and fleeing abroad to seek political asylum for the protection of their children.
In return for freedom and a quiet life, we are being invited to disown our faith. This is not
just a figure of speech—investigators have directly invited us to sign documents in order to
avoid punishment for “extremism.” If not, in their words, no attorney will be able to save
us. But we cannot stop believing in God. It is a right that every individual has from birth.
The Russian Federation is a multi-confessional state, and we, as citizens of Russia, have the
right to expect that our rights will be respected by the state. We are not asking for any
special privileges. We are asking for just one thing—please, defend our rights.
Honorable members of the Council! A campaign of terror has been unleashed against an
entire religion, one of the largest Christian religions in Russia. Fundamental human rights
are being trampled on: the right to freedom of worship and personal inviolability, the right
to personal dignity, the right to privacy, the right to the inviolability of the home, to
freedom of conscience, freedom of thought, freedom of worship, the right to private
property.
If the Russian government does not quickly put an end to this growing campaign of terror,
the administration will be faced with a nation-wide human rights catastrophe. We are
certain that you have the power to take action now! We ask that you please pass this
information on to the President of the Russian Federation, and use all possible legal means
to restore the rights of religious believers.
With respect, the wives of men who are being held in custody:

15

Newsweek: JW wives in Russia send letter to Putin advisor

by OrphanCrow in

jw
friends

this article is dated june 7, 2018 and is likely a lead up to the bear ripping the jw bible article.

http://www.newsweek.com/wives-jehovahs-witnesses-jailed-russia-send-letter-putin-adviser-begging-end-965516.

the wives of jehovah’s witnesses rounded up and imprisoned in russia have written an open letter to a top adviser of president vladimir putin, asking him to stop the campaign of terror against the religious group.“this open letter to you is a cry of desperation.

OrphanCrow

This article is dated June 7, 2018 and is likely a lead up to the bear ripping the JW bible article

http://www.newsweek.com/wives-jehovahs-witnesses-jailed-russia-send-letter-putin-adviser-begging-end-965516

The wives of Jehovah’s Witnesses rounded up and imprisoned in Russia have written an open letter to a top adviser of President Vladimir Putin, asking him to stop the campaign of terror against the religious group.
“This open letter to you is a cry of desperation. People who are very dear to us, our husbands, those who feed us, the fathers of our children, peaceable, honest people, who are always ready to help others, are being thrown behind bars for being suspected of reading Bible commandments and praying together with us and our children,” reads the letter directed to Mikhail Fedotov, a close adviser of Putin and chairman of Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights. The letter is signed by 10 wives of Jehovah’s Witnesses from across Russia.
“In return for freedom and a quiet life, we are being invited to disown our faith. This is not just a figure of speech—investigators have directly invited us to sign documents in order to avoid punishment for ‘extremism’…If the Russian government does not quickly put an end to this growing campaign of terror, the administration will be faced with a nation-wide human rights catastrophe,” the letter continues.
The Russian government labeled the Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist sect in April 2017, and has since been imprisoning its members and charging them with extremism. Members of the group have had their homes raided by masked men and their places of worship shuttered.

I think someone on Newsweek staff has some intimate connections to WT/org

I notice that Newsweek hasn't reported on this story:

https://meduza.io/en/news/2018/05/29/alexey-navalny-s-campaign-coordinator-in-chelyabinsk-is-reportedly-caught-with-illegal-religious-literature

Boris Zolotarevsky, the coordinator of Alexey Navalny’s campaign office in Chelyabinsk, is having a rough month. Already on a hunger strike while serving a 25-day jail sentence for organizing a local unpermitted anti-Putin protest on May 5, Zolotarevsky is now reportedly a suspect in an extremism case.
On May 29, police apparently found banned religious literature at his home: several books printed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed in April 2017 as an extremist organization. A source confirmed to the news agency Interfax that Zolotarevsky previously filed a request with Russia's draft board to avoid military service on religious grounds.
Police detained more than 200 demonstrators in Chelyabinsk on May 5 — the most in any city, after Moscow and St. Petersburg. In most places where protesters were detained, local law enforcement have responded with misdemeanor charges, but police in Chelyabinsk launched a “hooliganism” felony investigation, which carries a seven-year maximum prison sentence.

22

Question about JW finance

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

watched the jw finance video's.. they have sold all brooklyn landmarks.

bilions.

they are selling other property maybe up to 3000 units worldwide.. so, there is going something wrong.... there must be a giant money leak.

OrphanCrow

Hmmmm

The biggest single source of loss to corporations/businesses is internal theft.

Do you think the org is immune to internal theft/fraud? I don't.

Do we hear about this probable $$$ drain in the org? Nope. Of course not. Jehovah's corporation doesn't have that!!! Of course not! The holy spirit protects against internal theft and fraud, right? Right??

Who has their hand in the cookie jar?

19

Research help needed: knowledge of Knights Templar and Masonic history vital

by Fay Dehr in

i am in conversation with a uk historian regarding some knights templar locations, where jws have built buildings.

*** this is serious research - not a joke *** .

i am not - and do not wish to be - a conspiracy theorist, but something has come to light in the uk and i lack the knowledge of knights templar + masons.

OrphanCrow

There are 33 degrees in Scottish Rite Freemasonry