Posts by Terry

17

The JWs don't like Chess

by mickbobcat in

i can remember when i joined the chess class in middle school.

my mother brought out an older watchtower article about how chess is a game of war.

since i left the cult in 95 i have slowly lost any connection to the cult.

First off, once we realize Jehovah's Witness governing attitudes are PURITANICAL, OCD, neurotic, and disconnected from practical everyday life, we must accept
the fear based rationale isn't really "rational" but psychiatric!

"This specific need for control often comes from a deep sense that control is inherently lacking in the world, and needs to be asserted. Control freaks generally believe they have to create order themselves, as they can't trust anybody else to provide that stability for them."
"Perfectionism, even though it usually has a good reputation (wanting to do everything 100 percent can't be that bad, right?), can actually be a seriously crippling voice in your head, demanding absolute excellence and delivering horrible punishment if that standard isn't reached. Which it never is."
Justification for aberrant behavior is much easier if it comes direct from God.
I hardly ever met a male JW who wasn't quite obsessed with sports.
In Texas, it is football. Nobody ever preached against the "war-like" dark side of football from the lecturn.
Cherry-picking what is good and bad for JW's conforms to the personal tastes of the one in charge.
Rutherford was a heavy drinker. He railed on like a maniac against Prohibition as his righteous cause for many years (importing illegally from Canada the booze supply for Bethel.)
The WT leaders are a neurotic bunch of misfits hellbent on control-freakish pronouncements.
There is nothing reasonable going on - ever.

27

What went WRONG with the Great Pyramid teachings of Isaac Newton, Piazzi Smyth, Pastor C.T. Russel

by Terry in

pyramidology .

of isaac newton, piazzi smyth, pastor c.t.

russell:)what went wrong?let’s keep our investigation simple!where and how was the obsession with the great pyramid begun?

Terry

Each person (such as myself) approached by a salesperson, evangelist, or propagandist is confronted by information which doesn't sound "quite right".
Depending on temperament, an open-minded person might listen first before
rejecting the presentation.

What makes religious presentations more likely to succeed? :

1. Like a virus the teachings have mutated over and over adapting to strong arguments and growing stronger and more appealing in order to survive. In other words: Evolutionary adaptation. (Christianity = 1000's of years of honing arguments.)
WatchTower cult teachings = constant changes / adaptations in presentation.

2. No potential convert has the same level of skill as a well-practiced veteran JW.

3. A fair-minded person tries and fails again and again to refute what is present using every means at their disposal. BUT - almost everybody has false beliefs easily disproved - and seeing one's false beliefs EXPOSED is highly disruptive of confidence.

4. JW's don't simply present tricky arguments - they introduce a SOCIAL FAMILY STRUCTURE of welcoming, smiling, helpful human beings eager to accept and adopt the victim. (Yes, love-bombing).

5. Once personal bonds are established - its all over.

I'm describing myself here, of course.
I couldn't win an argument with my best friend (JW) but he pulled me in on a social level when I met his family and attended his Kingdom Hall.
I NEEDED SOCIAL STRUCTURE and I got it.
The "belief" in dogma was a s-l-o-w process.
Largely, the resistance and interference of MY FAMILY is the single most determining impulse causing me to dig deeper (just to answer their questions and meet their challenges) in order to maintain my friendship with my JW friend.

I began to be indoctrinated when I was 12 years old and I thought it all sounded like BULLSHIT - but- (and importantly) - I KNEW NOTHING about the Bible.
I only had a practical argument to offer. It failed. Again and again and again.

You can't successfully win an argument with an EXPERT.
My JW friend was a highly intelligent, intellectually aware human being. He was
a True Believer who'd done his homework.
IT WAS THE CHALLENGE of a lifetime for me. I fought him every step of the way.

Fast forward 6 years...
I was about to be baptized!
WHAT HAD PUSHED ME SO FAR into that cult's trap?

Friendship and society - but mostly acceptance.
In for a penny, in for a pound.

The Great Pyramid teaching was as quacky as anything else I was shown.
Once you swallow the bait - the hook is in.
The more you struggle; the deeper it goes.

It's all about the PEOPLE; your ~~Brothers and Sisters: the "Friends."~~

27

What went WRONG with the Great Pyramid teachings of Isaac Newton, Piazzi Smyth, Pastor C.T. Russel

by Terry in

pyramidology .

of isaac newton, piazzi smyth, pastor c.t.

russell:)what went wrong?let’s keep our investigation simple!where and how was the obsession with the great pyramid begun?

Terry

I need not mention this was the era of the science of (PHRENOLOGY) feeling bumps on your head to determine your personality. (Pastor Russell submitted to such a reading).
________

page 170 of the 1911

Convention Report in a "Letter to the Editor," Pastor Russell clearly

taught otherwise. In a reply to Bishop MacDonald, in the

Victoria Daily Colonist , on Tuesday,

August 15, 1911 he wrote, "Not only the learned Bishop, but all the unlearned of humanity know

that the shape of a man's head indicates the qualities of the soul, just as truly as the shape of a

dog's head indicates his peculiar traits--setter, terrier, bulldog, etc. A person of practically no

forehead we call an idiot or irrational. He is irrational because he lacks that part of the brain

organism which reflects, compares and reasons. Who cannot tell the difference between a mean

man and a truly noble one by the shape of his head? The noble soul must have the mental

organism favorable to nobility of sentiment, benevolence, kindness, reverence, spirituality,

conscience, love. These organs of the brain and body have everything to do with the character of

the soul."

Finally, on page 207 of

What Pastor Russell Said , he wrote, "Here is a man with one shaped

head, and another man with another shaped head. Bring in a phrenologist and he will describe

the two men to you very accurately just by the shape of their heads; he will not describe the

difference between the men by the breath; the breath will determine nothing, the body will

determine the whole matter. Imagine a man with a dog's head on, and the phrenologist will tell

you that the man will think exactly as the dog thinks; and the more like a dog's head it is shaped,

the more his reasoning will be after the line of the dog's reasoning, because a man does not

reason with his feet—or ought not to--but he reasons with his head, and according to the shape of

his head his reasoning is bound to be."
____
It took until the year 1978 for WatchTower to repudiate this teaching.

11

Look which religion made the "super" status top spot on Doomsday Cult List

by Terry in

jw
friends

why was i surprised?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klix_bigtxc&t=1396s&ab_channel=geneticallymodifiedskeptic.

Terry

I think the crashing of airliners into buildings on 9/11 scared the Jehovah's Witless hierarchy and shook them in their collective boots which triggered the sell-off and uprooting toward a cult compound in the netherworld.
In the Old Days Beth Sarim served this purpose. The same instinct - just more sophisticated and permanent this time.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6262358633611264/how-governing-body-elite-really-doomsday-preppers-always-have-been-paranoid

18

Unraveling threads which expose WatchTower

by Terry in

cults are famous for controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.in my experience from the beginning of my personal contact with jehovah's witnesses - i knew next to nothing at all.

i was in elementary school in the 6th grade, age 12. a school chum who was a jw befriended me and the indoctrination began straightaway!it took all of 6 years of studying and attending meetings before i agreed to be baptized on a date very easy to remember: it was november 23, 1963 - the day after president john f. kennedy was murdered a few miles away in dallas.

(during the convention i attended - not a single mention of assassination or kennedy or his family was spoken.

Terry

So many daily distractions in the world, the news, daily events, pandemic . . .
I can't imagine what it's like to be a JW (in good standing) right now.
I would imagine FEAR will keep them glued to the latest drool from the governing fools.

With all the exposure of failed Watchtower sacred pronouncements available in the last two decades - only FEAR could keep the older ones in place. The younger ones need little excuse to grab whatever life can be found and get DF'd into a hellish freedom.

Hellish you say?
Yes, when you are young and all your deep-seated values are JW Puritanism and close-minded judgmental-ism - what do you have to guide and sustain you? Contempt?
How does that work to build any sort of life??

18

Unraveling threads which expose WatchTower

by Terry in

cults are famous for controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.in my experience from the beginning of my personal contact with jehovah's witnesses - i knew next to nothing at all.

i was in elementary school in the 6th grade, age 12. a school chum who was a jw befriended me and the indoctrination began straightaway!it took all of 6 years of studying and attending meetings before i agreed to be baptized on a date very easy to remember: it was november 23, 1963 - the day after president john f. kennedy was murdered a few miles away in dallas.

(during the convention i attended - not a single mention of assassination or kennedy or his family was spoken.

Terry

GrreatTeacher

As in: Jehovah's?

3

A TAWDRY history: WatchTower and Vaccines

by Terry in

do jehovah's witnesses have a common sense approach to science and medicine?the history of the watchtower religion will shock you in this regard.read on!clayton j. woodworth, co-author of the infamous seventh volume of studies in the scriptures, "the finished mystery" (1917).

in 1919 he became editor of a magazine called "the golden age," which is now known as awake!.

woodworth was, to be as fair as possible, the king of all looney birds.. the golden age became a forum for the most extravagant claims about science.

Terry

All the above comes under the heading of: FOOD AT THE PROPER TIME.

The "Faithful Slave" produces inedible and lethal 'food' and their predictions
about Armageddon have never nailed it 'properly'.

It adds up to a mechanism for disproof of all claims of divine authorship.
Crackpots sound like crackpots.
JW crackpots sound like feckless cultists. (Pssst: because they are.)

18

Unraveling threads which expose WatchTower

by Terry in

cults are famous for controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.in my experience from the beginning of my personal contact with jehovah's witnesses - i knew next to nothing at all.

i was in elementary school in the 6th grade, age 12. a school chum who was a jw befriended me and the indoctrination began straightaway!it took all of 6 years of studying and attending meetings before i agreed to be baptized on a date very easy to remember: it was november 23, 1963 - the day after president john f. kennedy was murdered a few miles away in dallas.

(during the convention i attended - not a single mention of assassination or kennedy or his family was spoken.

Terry

28

Announcement December 3, 2020 FOR CONGREGATIONS

by pixel in

announcement.

december 3, 2020. for congregations.

1. covid-19 vaccine information: several covid-19 vaccines may soon be approved and.

Terry

An article well worth reading:

https://www.vianolavie.org/2020/05/19/jehovahs-witnesses-bad-blood-with-covid-19-vaccines/

3

A TAWDRY history: WatchTower and Vaccines

by Terry in

do jehovah's witnesses have a common sense approach to science and medicine?the history of the watchtower religion will shock you in this regard.read on!clayton j. woodworth, co-author of the infamous seventh volume of studies in the scriptures, "the finished mystery" (1917).

in 1919 he became editor of a magazine called "the golden age," which is now known as awake!.

woodworth was, to be as fair as possible, the king of all looney birds.. the golden age became a forum for the most extravagant claims about science.

Terry

Do Jehovah's Witnesses have a common sense approach to Science and Medicine?
The history of the WatchTower religion will shock you in this regard.
Read on!

Clayton J. Woodworth, co-author of the infamous seventh volume of Studies in the Scriptures, "The Finished Mystery" (1917). In 1919 he became editor of a magazine called "The Golden Age," which is now known as Awake!

Woodworth was, to be as fair as possible, the king of all looney birds.

The Golden Age became a forum for the most extravagant claims about science. And above all, Woodworth was a champion of his very special ideas about medicine and health. The Bible Students could enjoy a steady stream of health advice, each stranger than the next:

"There is no food that is right food for the morning meal. At breakfast is no time to break a fast. Keep up the daily fast until the noon hour... Drink plenty of water two hours after each meal; drink none just before eating; and a small quantity if any at meal time. Good buttermilk is a health drink at meal times and in between. Do not take a bath until two hours after eating a meal, nor closer than one hour before eating. Drink a full glass of water both before and after the bath." (Golden Age, Sept. 9, 1925, pp. 784-785)

"The earlier in the forenoon you take the sun bath, the greater will be the beneficial effect, because you get more of the ultra-violet rays, which are healing" (Golden Age, Sept. 13, 1933, p. 777)

Doctors as agents of Satan

"We do well to bear in mind that among the drugs, serums, vaccines, surgical operations, etc., of the medical profession, there is nothing of value save an occasional surgical procedure. . . . Readers of The Golden Age know the unpleasant truth about the clergy; they should also know the truth about the medical profession, which sprang from the same demon worshipping shamans (doctor priests) as did the doctors of divinity." (Golden Age, Aug. 5, 1931 pp. 727-728)

_________ _____________ ____________________

The magazine Golden Age (AWAKE!) took aim at vaccines and pulled the trigger! A mindless nincompoopery against

germs, disease, aluminum cookware and such brought Jehovah's Witnesses into a dangerous zone of vulnerability and put a burden of belief

on simple folk with not much education who believed such information was coming as a special warning from Jehovah.

_________ _____________ ____________________

"Thinking people would rather have smallpox than vaccination, because the latter sows seeds of syphilis, cancers, eczema, erysipelas, scrofula, consumption, even leprosy and many other loathsome affections. Hence the practice of vaccinations is a crime, an outrage, and a delusion" (Golden Age, Jan. 5,1929, p. 502)

Yes, a vaccination was "a crime" and was sometimes likened to a rape (like JWs today say about blood transfusions). Moreover, like almost everything else it has been used as a "sign of the last days:"

"Vaccination never prevented anything and never will, and is the most barbarous practice. . . . We are in the last days; and the devil is slowly losing his hold, making a strenuous effort meanwhile to do all the damage he can, and to his credit can such evils be placed. . . . Use your rights as American citizens to forever abolish the devilish practice of vaccinations." (Golden Age, Oct. 12, 1921, p. 17)

_________ _____________ ____________________

https://www.verywellfamily.com/religious-exemptions-to-vaccines-2633702

Jehovah's Witnesses: Although Jehovah's Witnesses had a past opposition to vaccines, in 1952 they stated that vaccination "does not appear to us to be in violation of the everlasting covenant made with Noah, as set down in Genesis 9:4, nor contrary to God's related commandment at Leviticus 17:10-14."

________________________________
Don't fail to read the following article

Link:
https://www.vianolavie.org/2020/05/19/jehovahs-witnesses-bad-blood-with-covid-19-vaccines/