Posts by IT Support

56

Bad biblical names for a child

by erandir in

jw
friends

the practice of choosing biblical names for children is present in many forms of christianity.

in latin america, countless boys are named jesus either as a first name or second name.

there is even that singer jesus jones.

IT Support

Someone on BBC Radio 4 this morning mentioned Goliath as a child's name!

5

following the death of carey barber, and the subsequent postings about how long all the gb chaps seem to live, i thought i'd do a bit of work on the composition of the gb over the years.. i have attached (i hope) a couple of graphs showing the results of the work.. i took as my starting date 1974, when there were, it seems, 17 members at an average age of 65. by 1977 there had been 3 deaths, and in 1977 there were 4 appointments, at an average age of 71.. over the next 17 years there were half-a-dozen deaths, and 3 resignations, including the spectacular ray franz incident, but remarkably, not a single appointment in all that time.

perhaps the gb when it was set up in the early 70's had over-recruited.

IT Support

the 94-year-old John Barr. Is he a player still, or senile?

I don't think he's senile, but he's never been a 'player.'

Sadly, the man's so spineless he makes a jellyfish look resolute. He just goes with the flow, won't do anything to create a fuss.

21

High school anti-cult lessons

by IT Support in

jw
friends

i've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

not jw-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off jw kids and their parents), i would hope it might help jws (kids and parents) to start to think.

does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

IT Support

Gadget,

The problem I have with many anti-cult programmes is that they seem to be anti-pagan too.

Interesting, I hadn't realised. But then I'll happily acknowledge not being a cult 'expert.' My involvement in this project is through a chance 'anti-witnessing' conversation with a lady who turned out to work for an education authority and was interested in my experiences.

The reachout trust is very very proChristian,

I did notice that!

and even the icsa link you showed connects the occult with cults.

That hadn't registered. Do you feel the page I referred to is flawed? I will not be quoting the page verbatim, but using ideas from it (with suitable acknowledgement, of course).

Depending on the diversity/religious discrimination laws in your area you may have problems getting this aproved.

As I mentioned initially, I'm not planning on attacking any individual groups, but simply giving the kids some idea of the way that cults in general operate, how to identify them and how to protect themselves from them.

I've given talks about cults that were very well received at pagan camps based mainly on how influence works and how it can abused by cults, con men, etc, so people can protect themselves from it.

If you didn't mind letting me borrow your notes, I'll pm you my email address.

21

High school anti-cult lessons

by IT Support in

jw
friends

i've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

not jw-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off jw kids and their parents), i would hope it might help jws (kids and parents) to start to think.

does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

IT Support

rebel8,

That cult comparison page is superb, and the FACT.net site is amazing, I'll have to spend some time to explore it more fully.

Thanks.

GermanXJW,

Funnily enough, I remembered the experiments, but didn't know that was their name.

Thanks for the reminder.

21

High school anti-cult lessons

by IT Support in

jw
friends

i've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

not jw-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off jw kids and their parents), i would hope it might help jws (kids and parents) to start to think.

does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

IT Support

NN,

One thing I noticed about ICSA right away was their use of traditional Sufi designs in the page border. It reminded me of ISHK, an organization that was run by Afghan heir to the throne Idries Shah up until his death ... I'm not saying there is anything necessarily wrong with the material they offer - I'm not familiar with it.

Thanks for your concern.

Before posting the page, I checked out (quite carefully, I thought!) both the site and the individual page. Is there any 'questionable' material you can see?

I wonder if it might just happen to be an unhappy coincidence?

LtCmd.Lore,

Thanks for the reminder! (It's a few years since my kids were that age, and yes, they were -- and still are -- far smarter than me. <lol>)

Make sure you emphasize the fact that any group who demands that you can't even listen to the opposing opinion is probably a cult... just like JWs. That realization is what got me to come to this site.

Excellent suggestion, thank you.

21

High school anti-cult lessons

by IT Support in

jw
friends

i've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

not jw-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off jw kids and their parents), i would hope it might help jws (kids and parents) to start to think.

does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

IT Support

This is just an interim posting to let you know how I'm getting on ...

First, dedpoet sent me some excellent pages he has prepared. If you're interested, be sure to ask him.

Googling for 'cults' and 'education' gives you thousands of hits of varying quality, but after a bit of dredging I found this page:

(If you also browse the site, there's also a complementary page with teacher's notes.)

whyizit, thanks for the suggestion, www.howcultswork.com looks excellent. Thanks.

21

High school anti-cult lessons

by IT Support in

jw
friends

i've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

not jw-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off jw kids and their parents), i would hope it might help jws (kids and parents) to start to think.

does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

IT Support

NN,

The 1956 book by Leon Festinger, "When Prophecy Fails" might provide a helpful frame for your discussion, because it it is about wha happened with a FLYING SAUCER CULT.

Thus a JW or a Muslim might be willing to take the class and find it entertaining, never realizing that their mind was being operated upon while they laughed at the crazy flying saucer kooks.

Excellent: both non-threatening and entertaining ...

Thanks.

21

High school anti-cult lessons

by IT Support in

jw
friends

i've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

not jw-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off jw kids and their parents), i would hope it might help jws (kids and parents) to start to think.

does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

IT Support

What a fantastic response, thanks everyone.

I guess possibly the most work will be finding (or tailoring) material suitable for the intended audience (14 to 16-year-olds) and keep things pretty simple.

I'll go through all your suggestions.

Thanks again.

21

High school anti-cult lessons

by IT Support in

jw
friends

i've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

not jw-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off jw kids and their parents), i would hope it might help jws (kids and parents) to start to think.

does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

IT Support

I've been asked to help develop a course for high school students to teach them about destructive cults and how to identify them.

Although the course has to be 'general' (i.e. not JW-bashing) to be useful for all students (and also not to frighten off JW kids and their parents), I would hope it might help JWs (kids and parents) to start to think.

Does anyone know of anything similar that we could buy in?

If not, does anyone have any suggestions for what should be included?

I've been given a very loose remit at the moment: the education authorities are more interested in getting an idea of the potential scope of the subject before giving me any directions to focus on.

Similarly, they're still very open about the length of the course: 1 hour or 40 hours, they're not yet sure and again want to get an idea of the possibilities before firming up on length.

Finally, I will ensure that the finished course will be freely available as an educational resource for anyone interested in the subject.

I believe this is a very exciting opportunity and would appreciate any help to devise a course that is not offensive yet practical and educational.

39

Can you name ONE thing that the WTBTS said that came true?

by megsmomma in

jw
friends

garybuss said not one single thing they told him about in his younger years (since the 50's) came true.

it made me think....does anyone know of anything they said that was/is right?????

?

IT Support

WT has (unwittingly) told the truth far more than they intended …

We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated … If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination.

The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, p. 13, par. 5

When persons are in great danger from a source that they do not suspect or are being misled by those they consider their friends, is it an unkindness to warn them? They may prefer not to believe the warning. They may even resent it. But does that free one from the moral responsibility to give that warning? … God’s servants … have had to expose falsehood and wrongdoing and warn people of dangers and deception … It would have been far easier to keep silent or say only what people wanted to hear.

The Watchtower, January 15, 1974, p. 35

Therefore, how will you respond when pointed statements are made about false religious teachings and corrupt practices? Will you immediately condemn the person… making the exposé? Do you feel it is all right to teach lies and misrepresent God’s Word, but wrong to expose the error? Contrary to what some may think, it is not unkind and unloving to lay bare falsehood and corruption.

The Watchtower, March 1, 1966, p. 132

It is not religious persecution for an informed person to expose publicly a certain religion as being false... it is a public service..

The Watchtower, November 15, 1963, p. 688 par. 3

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true.

The Watchtower, December 1, 1991, p. 7

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE THE TRUTH COVERED OVER . . . ? . . . OR DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE FACTS?

The Watchtower, January 15, 1974, p. 35 (picture caption)

Every man should be persuaded in his own mind and no man should permit himself to be deterred from examining a question based upon the Bible because a clergyman or any one else makes the unsupported assertion that it is dangerous or unworthy of consideration. Error always seeks the dark, while truth is always enhanced by the light. Error never desires to be investigated. Light always courts a thorough and complete investigation. Light and truth are synonymous.

Millions Now Living Will Never Die (192), p. 13