Posts by Bang

37

Does the soul or spirit exist?

by JanH in

jw
friends

science deals with what can be observed, directly or indirectly.

so in one sense, you could say that science is simply not providing any answers to the question about the existence of a soul or spirit component of a human being.. .

that, of course, keeps science polite to religious ideas.. .

Bang

We had a car.

She was a beauty. On holi-days, after we restored her, more in line with our own image, we'd fill her up with new spirits and we'd see how she went. We were good to her and she only occasionly let us down - and we'd forgive her - after all, you know how cars are. I thought she was very forgiving of how we treated her. She had a good life - and to the earth she returned. We loved that car and we'll never forget her.

Some of our soul rubbed of on her - she already had a strong spirit that the makers gave her.

You see, no matter how she was built, we didn't just take her for granted - who can? We had a faith in her - but always in the knowledge that only God alone could really know all her workings.

I suppose science could explain bits of it, but no science can explain how all the atomic bonds performed and what we picked up even on one outing - and if in a thousand years science is able to, I wonder how it will explain the internal condition of the atoms in relation to the whole, say during the time we drove over that particular stone. And when we can do that - what happens when we examine the space inside the atoms? Science is a never ending series of guestimations that follows well behind God, for always.

B ang

Edited by - Bang on 10 June 2002 8:45:10

5

Crime and the WT - a much bigger issue

by DCM in

jw
friends

in treating criminal acts as "congregational matters" rather than criminal ones, the watchtower society is providing a safe haven for all types of criminals.

their policies have far greater implications than just the tragic pedophile cover-up.

while the wt society may not be "robbing the bank", they are most certainly "driving the getaway car" and are therefore a willing accomplice to all sorts of crime.

Bang

There are multiple lesser crimes being committed through the practice of lying and having no regard for 'outsiders'.

After my experience with dubs, I consider that in any matter of importance I must simply assume that a jw (even ex-jw) may very well be lying and on that basis not to be trusted, and considering the idea of 'theocratic warfare', not simply mistrusted but handled with a high level of suspicion.

This may sound offensive to ex-jws, but when an ex-anything else decides to return to the fold from time to time, it doesn't usually include being a liar too.

Bang

15

Koran Question, For anybody who Knows it

by Legendary U.2.K. in

jw
friends

alright hello jehovah's children .

i read the koran, you know some of it, alright damn i skip though some pages, anyway i was wondering, is the koran completely different from the holy bible?

questions that i wonder about: .

Bang

Your dub thinking really stands out U2.

Your questions: return of Christ, armageddon, revelation, satan, the law, the last days.

If you meet any, please don't come up with that stuff and then say your a Christian - it's embarrasing - try talking about other aspects of their religion, they're probably not waiting around for world war three where everyone but them gets killed.

Bang

11

State Benefits how does it affect the brothers

by MARTINLEYSHON in

jw
friends

firstly may i thank all those who took the time and effort to respond to my post on the subject of circuit overseers and corruption?.

the majority of your replies were very well balanced, and i do take the point that not all c/os were or are indeed corrupt, and that there are sincere and genuine brothers out there.

with regard to my new topic, i encountered some very strange thinking from bethel, than what was actually contained within the printed pages of the awake magazine.

Bang

"it advised the friends not to claim state benefits if they were not entitled to so. Many of our friends took this advice to heart and signed of welfare"

Those dubs can really aspire to such high standards sometimes.
Refraining from stealing - are they the sincere and genuine brothers?

Bang

31

The friends, the truth and loaded language

by detective in

jw
friends

as many people already know, using the term "the truth" to describe an organization's teachings is a brilliant way to constantly reaffirm it's validity subconsciously.

it's a great use of repetition to establish as fact that which is only opinion.. i keep hearing the phrase "the friends".

aside from the fact that i really don't like the terminology, i couldn't help but wonder if this isn't just another use of repetition and loaded language to enforce the belief that all of the people who share the same religion actually are your friends.. in some ways, i think it would be beneficial for some folks to drop "the truth" and "the friends" from their vocabulary so that they aren't continuing to immerse themselves in group-lingo that's intended to elicit certain emotional responses and associations.. what other loaded language can you come up with that is quasi-specific to jehovah's witnesses?

Bang

It's simply all hot air.

"and without Him was nothing made that Was made"

Bang

10

Twisting the Scriptures

by eyeslice in

jw
friends

from tonight's school.. the instruction speaker started to discuss john 3:16 and said that the world that god loved was those who came out of the world, i.e.

the witnesses.

he indicated that this was brought out at last year's district assembly?

Bang

"The light came into the world" - the world can tell right from wrong because they can see it.

However, some don't like the light because it exposes their sin, so they hide in the dark where they can't see it. Some even physically hide in the dark.

The org supports abuse in the effort to avoid being seen in the light, but when people say "we can all see you, you can't hide it", they realise that the light has penetrated.
Then they do something about it - unknowingly bearing witness to the fact that the light is in the world and it is able to see them, though they themselves are unable.

When exposed they scurry about but they don't comprehend the light - and so they hide in the dark again until someone else says "I can see you".

Bang

6

To JWs: First Page of Crisis of Conscience

by IslandWoman in

jw
friends

price of conscience.

whether we like it or not, moral challenge affects each of us.

it is one of life's bittersweet ingredients from which there is no successful escape.

Bang

It's interesting how people 'sit' in judgement and 'stand' to offer help.

Bang

99

Dateline discussed openly in our congregation

by TheMatrix in

jw
friends

yesterday, the presiding overseer (elder h) read the letter from the christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses (us branch) regarding their policy on child abuse.

all scriptures were also looked up and read.. elder h is a very prepared brother.

he is a gilead graduate and served as a missionary for about 7 years in kenya before coming home because of illness.

Bang

This is as far through the letter as I got.

In this sick, perverted world, we must be very careful

A loving 'brother'? - fucking double speaker with a forked tongue.
I can't believe that even one of them is OK.

Bang

10

Twisting the Scriptures

by eyeslice in

jw
friends

from tonight's school.. the instruction speaker started to discuss john 3:16 and said that the world that god loved was those who came out of the world, i.e.

the witnesses.

he indicated that this was brought out at last year's district assembly?

Bang

So the world means those who came out of the world.

Bit of a stretch that one - but even so, it's another lie - they're well and truly in the world lapping up the all it has to offer (except for blood of course, but that's not really from the world).

Bang

31

The friends, the truth and loaded language

by detective in

jw
friends

as many people already know, using the term "the truth" to describe an organization's teachings is a brilliant way to constantly reaffirm it's validity subconsciously.

it's a great use of repetition to establish as fact that which is only opinion.. i keep hearing the phrase "the friends".

aside from the fact that i really don't like the terminology, i couldn't help but wonder if this isn't just another use of repetition and loaded language to enforce the belief that all of the people who share the same religion actually are your friends.. in some ways, i think it would be beneficial for some folks to drop "the truth" and "the friends" from their vocabulary so that they aren't continuing to immerse themselves in group-lingo that's intended to elicit certain emotional responses and associations.. what other loaded language can you come up with that is quasi-specific to jehovah's witnesses?

Bang

From an outsider's perspective - there are a few words that really grate on me.

'jehovah' - it's not really God's name

'spirituality' - jws confuse the meaning with morality

'fine' - it really means finished, ended

'worship' - they confuse the meaning with homage

'ransom sacrifice' - sounds like God's the one looking for payment

'jealous' - confused with envy

'envy' - confused with covet

It goes on and on. The confused meaning of words propagated by them really gets under my nose sometimes. It's a method of teaching and conveying understanding that's not even present.

Aside from the confusion of meaning, they make a point of talking very sweet and sugar coated so people will swallow the nasty tasting stuff easier. It's a lie that they talk fine at all, with all that new light coming up. Maybe new light should be called renovations.

I reckon that jwism would be hard pressed to infiltrate the British upper class because they'd reject the language itself, aside from the religion.

Bang