Posts by Hondo

55

Who was Jesus really?

by Spectrum in

1. was he the son of god and some kind of god himself?

2. was he an extremely intelligent man that manipulated people and made himself appear to be fullfilling the prophecies about the messiah?

3. was he a dellusional nutter?

1. Was he the Son of God and some kind of god himself?

2. Was he an extremely intelligent man that manipulated people and made himself appear to be fullfilling the prophecies about the Messiah?

3. Was he a dellusional nutter?

If you factor in hermaneutics while reading the bible and take into account the history, language, culture, philosphy, and overall way of life of the period before and after the accounts of Jesus, you will find that there were quite a few "nutters" and manipulative people who claimed to meet the criteria of savior fortold by some past prophet or holy person. I think the question that should be asked, is why did this particular Jesus make such an impact? Why did this Jesus (The name Jesus was a common name 2000+ years ago) claim the following (apparently 10's of thousands of people) he did? Was this Jesus really the son of God, the Messiah, or just the "Billy Graham" of his time? Why was a book, the bible, invented, based on this particular person, to tell the story leading up to his birth and part of his life? Have we all be hoodwinked? Are what are we all basing our faith on?

61

Underground Reformed JW movement

by RealNewLight in

jw
friends

this is a movement which has been growing slowly but steadily among young people in spanish and portuguese speaking congregations in the united states.

basically it is a movement created by winesses who believe in much of the teachings of the organization, but do not believe in the authority of the wts, or any other body.

they also do not believe in disfellowshiping, and believe that every decision should be a personal conscience matter.

Hondo

jwfacts said:

"Drop Armageddon doom and gloom, drop the guilt, drop the blood doctrine, ease up on disfellowshipping, give room for the conscience, and it would not be such a bad religion to be part of."

This is so true. In fact, I think if one were to go back and review most of the original pre-1930 doctrine/teachings (DFing offenses of today) of the society, you would find an orgainization very close, with exception of door-to-door, to just an normal/ordinary Christian type evangelical sola scriptura belief group (celebrating holidays, believing Jesus died on the cross, trinity beliefs, no blood restrictions, and so for and so on...) Rutherford, Knorr and Franz started the JW's on their current radical/cultish path... and why? Contol, control, control....

Have a wonderful day.

14

Why some people leave and live and then it hits them

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

i've read a few posts lately where the people got out of the jws and went off to live their lives.

i went to college almost immediately.

it was hard and sometimes i would think about it and maybe going back.

Hondo

I think the inactivity or non-interest in organized type religions, such as the JW's, Catholics, etc., is somewhat prevelent in late teens onward. I am not a JW, never was, but wanted nothing to do with the religion I had been raised in from the time I was ~18 years old until I was about 35 or so. I just became "uninterested". The big difference between the religious group I was associated with and the JW's was, and is, I was not, never was, shunned or ostrasized in any way, shape or form. While I was away, nothing changed with the people that raised me, especially family, in my religion, or with the people of that religion that I had associated with a good portion of my life. All the love, respect, understanding, and caring that I received and felt while I was active was always there, it never left. Essentially, life went on. I am back active now (started attend church again a few years ago), not because It was recommend by anyone that I should "rejoin", but because I felt it was time. What is interesting, is that while I was away, for amost 20 years, I never felt away from God; I always felt..."something." Unlike JW's who decide the leave, I always had the love of my family and friends. Again, life went on. Shunning by the JW's is such a destructive and evil practice.

Have a good day.

12

Indoctrination 101: The Sep KM insert - From Student to Publisher

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

most of us who have/are associated with jehovah's witnesses are familiar with the indoctrination process and how it works.. well, for those of us who want to see the process from start to finish, the watchtower has very kindly included an insert in the.

september kingdom ministry, entitled conducting progressive bible studies.. .

my comments are in red, interesting comments are highlighted.

Hondo

'where in the indoctrination process is the student advised that, "oh by the way," if you ever have to go the a hospital and a doctor says you will die without a blood transfusion, that you are suppose to refuse and essentially commit suicide. And, where in the indoctrination is the student advised that any holidays, birthdays, etc., that he or she may have enjoyed with family and friends in the past are now history. Where too, is the student advised to avoid association with those past "worldly" friends now as little as possible, or not at all.

38

Watchtower History in Haiku

by Leolaia in

watchtower history in haiku , by leolaia .

barbour and russell.

what a team, they alone knew.

Hondo

Leolaia,

I must apologise. I had to read you posting several times. Read as it should be read however, your "many" Haiku's (each three lines of ~7/5/7syllable construction) became very clear and distinctive, and like I mentioned before, very nicely done. I see, in just about every group, that any one Haiku could probably stand on its own, with its own thought or idea clearly defined. Your design of many, in the sequence you have constructed, is very smooth and even flowing. Again, nice job.

Hondo

38

Watchtower History in Haiku

by Leolaia in

watchtower history in haiku , by leolaia .

barbour and russell.

what a team, they alone knew.

Hondo

Leolaia,

a little long for a true Haiku (Usually three lines, sometimes two and is the shortest form of Japanese poetry constructed normally 5, 7, and 5 syllables in first, second and third lines respectively) but absolutely good job anyway. Great form and flow.

A couple examples of Haiku:

O snail

climb Mount Fuji

with no hurry

Issa

Old pond

a frog leaps in

water's sound

Basho

Below would be my feeble take at putting a true Haiku together:

An evil deception

lives, families, lost

truth discovered, freedom

Hondo

93

SHOULD I PIONEER OR COLLEGE?

by stillAwitness in

do you think the wt has become more lenient or stricter over the year?.

i am 21 and i remember just 4 years ago going to college was looked at as something negative.

girls my age, we had plans to be ft pioneers and become secretaries.

Hondo

I am 56 and just wrapping up my BS in Information Systems Management. It was a long haul, but the feeling is great that I am almost there. Remember, learning is a lifelong experience, whether in school or out. As someone stated above, GO TO COLLEGE!!! You will never forgive yourself if you don't.

12

Anyone think that the 'Secret Subcultures' will bust up the Borg?

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

i mean there seem to be several fairly well rooted sub-groups operating within the ranks of the witnesses now.

many under the continuing premise that it is the 'truth'.

i know of a couple.

Hondo

Will WBTS and JW's grow in future years, or pretty much remain in the static state is has been in for past few years? Or decline? Is there posibility of an internal meltdown? How will these subcultures, and any JW who wants to, with their ability to access the internet, and that all important "knowledge" data base, affect these numbers? Decrease them? Increase them? Going door-to-door will certainly not increase the orgainizations population, and base on what I've read, it never hase. It seems the WBTS is going to have to do something to continue to prove they are the "troof".

It's very interesting, and what was repeatedly reported during the many days of recent TV coverage, that during the tenure of the late Pope John Paul II (~25 years) the Catholic church grew by 250 million (~10 Million a year), and to best of my knowledge the Pope did not have to go door-to-door, nor to best of my knowledge again, offer one free bible study. Maybe the JW's/WBTS could learn something from the good Catholics. Maybe everyone will have access to Heaven, not just the annointed 144,000. Maybe there is a Trinity. Did Jesus really return, invisibly, in 1914? Hmmm... The JW's, from what I could tell, are pretty good people. What if they changed just a few of their more bizzare beliefs and came more in line with traditional Christianity? What if the KH's became actual places of worship instead of just meeting places. What if, what if, and what if.

Have a wonderful day.

26

WWW.JW-Aid.COM going belly up already?

by DannyHaszard in

this is what their front page now shows either they are upgrading the site or their getting heat and going down.

missing persons search

until we hear otherwise, we are directing those looking for missing loved ones to the red cross missing persons registry shown below.

Hondo

Honesty

My bust. Sorry. I totally ready your post wrong. I see now that it looks like you were responding/referring to another post from the 2nd of Sept. We are both on the same wavelength.

Hondo

26

WWW.JW-Aid.COM going belly up already?

by DannyHaszard in

this is what their front page now shows either they are upgrading the site or their getting heat and going down.

missing persons search

until we hear otherwise, we are directing those looking for missing loved ones to the red cross missing persons registry shown below.

Hondo

Honesty,

Might want to review your history. Just about every recognized religion, including the Jehovah Witnesses, coddled to the Nazi's during WWII, for self preservation purposes more than anything else. Unfortunately, it did not work and Hitler took it out on just about every group that rubbed him the wrong way (Jews of course lost around 6 Mil. It might surprise you to know that around 100,000 catholics were annilated as well. Reports I've read indicate that the JW's lost around a 1000 folks). You will have to admit, or maybe you won't admit, that WWII brought out the best, and unfortunately the worst in people and organizations. It was a period in our history that, as a result of the allied victory, enable groups like the JW's to continue to practice their bizzare beliefs. What if the allies had not been victorious....

If you're allowed to, go to one of the many Catholic web pages that are up and take a look. Unlike the JW's, the Catholics relieve agencies have embraced the Katrina disaster and are helping and assisting ALL personnel that require it. I would suspect that they are even providing relief that those odd JW's who just couldn't get to his or her local KH (I hope associating with an evil Catholic won't jeopardize a JW's chance to survive the "big day" and live in the mystical paradise on earth).

Have a good day.