Posts by steve2

13

Abandonment of 7,000 year "creative day" concept

by euripides in

i have read on some posts here (but have not found a thread) that wts has abandoned the 7,000 year "creative day" concept in favor of the "we haven't a clue" position.

does anyone know when this happened or if this shift has been documented already?.

euripides

steve2

They just wait till the old-timers die off.

Blondie's stated it so succinctly. I suspect that the "trouble" caused over the 1975 fiasco is simply a result of the personal impact it had on people's lives at that time. Once the cohort who went through this experience die off, it will not be such a thorn in the Watchtower's side. The religion may alter its emphasis and outlook, but it will survive in one form or another.

Look at the huge disappointment and upheaval in the organization following 1914. They were even able to keeping turning the 1914 doctrine to their ongoing advantage long after the Bible Students of that day were long gone. There is nothing quite so tenacious as believers who need to protect their power and their beliefs.

34

Last night at the book study 5 minutes spent on discussion about apostates

by PaNiCAtTaCk in

jw
friends

things that were said.

apostates want everyone to believe jehovah doesnt care about them and this was referred to as a satanic lie that apostates want you to believe and this satanic lie was even referred to in the prayer.

(i really dont know where they got this or what exactly caused the society to publish this but this is what was said in the "draw close to jehovah" book).

steve2

The more we talk about them the more power we give them..

Surely that also applies the other way as well: The more the Watchtower talks about apostates and the internet, the more power they give us.

Besides, as Oscar Wilde said, "There's only one thing worse than being talked about; that's not being talked about." Touche!!

7

Michael Jackson believes he "won God's smile of approval"

by MonkeyPrincess in

jw
friends

jackson says celebrity made him target .

michael jackson believes he "won god's smile of approval" for bringing youngsters to his neverland ranch, he said in his first television interview since being indicted on child molestation charges.

the superstar, who is under a gag order during his trial in santa barbara county, didn't directly proclaim his innocence in the interview scheduled to air saturday.

steve2

"The bigger the star, the bigger the target.

Puhlease! Enough already. If that's the case, why did MJ openly encourage situations where he could so easily end up accused of further acts of child molestation . The bigger the star, the bigger the ego and the sense of being above the law.

7

Michael Jackson believes he "won God's smile of approval"

by MonkeyPrincess in

jw
friends

jackson says celebrity made him target .

michael jackson believes he "won god's smile of approval" for bringing youngsters to his neverland ranch, he said in his first television interview since being indicted on child molestation charges.

the superstar, who is under a gag order during his trial in santa barbara county, didn't directly proclaim his innocence in the interview scheduled to air saturday.

steve2

"God's smile of approval" or MJ's self-absorbed image gazing back at Michael with empty desire?

22

Is the Watchtower STILL 'Playing the Harlot' With the UN?

by metatron in

jw
friends

take a good look at the feb. 22 '05 awake magazine.

it's entitled "the role of mothers.

as educators".

steve2

Why Not Do A Thorough Content Analysis

Of How Watchtower Publications

Have Altered The Official View on The UN?

Here's an interesting project for anyone who has in their possession a comprehensive Watchtower library (sadly, my Watchtower library is meagre):

Simply compare the content of UN statements in Watchtower publications over the years prior to the NGO arrangement with statements following the arrangement.

You'd have proof positive of how the Watchtower Society has moved away from vilifying the UN towards more blandly "official" acknowledgements of the UN's important role of in humanitarium works as found in the latest Awake!

Me thinks the Boys from Brooklyn are caught between a rock and a hard place over this issue.

34

Last night at the book study 5 minutes spent on discussion about apostates

by PaNiCAtTaCk in

jw
friends

things that were said.

apostates want everyone to believe jehovah doesnt care about them and this was referred to as a satanic lie that apostates want you to believe and this satanic lie was even referred to in the prayer.

(i really dont know where they got this or what exactly caused the society to publish this but this is what was said in the "draw close to jehovah" book).

steve2

"Apostates" must be really powerful to so regularly exercise the minds of the JWs.

18

How do you think the society would react if...

by truth_about_the_truth in

as an active witness, you won the lottery and offered to contribute a large portion of that to the worldwide work?.

- take the money and cover up your "wrongdoing"?.

- take the money and df you?.

steve2

They'd take the money so quickly they wouldn't possibly be able to hear you clearly say where you got it from. A good misuse of "Don't let your left hand know what the right one's doing".

Wasn't there some accusation made that, even after he left the JWs, Michael Jackson continued to donate money to the Watchtower.

51

Some JWs Are "In The Closet"

by minimus in

jw
friends

by that, i mean, some witnesses will not just now "out" themselves because of various fears and concerns.

some of us are still "in the closet".

so to speak, because we're not ready to expose ourselves to the "loving brothers", just yet---at least not 100 %.

steve2

I used to sit in my closet, in the dark, when I was little. It was nice and quiet in there and I could daydream all I wanted

Hey Brenda: Nicely expressed! Closets have their beneficial uses - especially when the individual is just wanting to have the time and space to work out how they want to live their life. Closets can be welcome retreats from a harsh world lacking in empathy!

19

who here has gay children?

by gotcha in

...is it ok?

did you try to stop them?

(please consider coming from a very conservative background/culture)..relatives/friends talking about it, possible trauma which may be caused by society's discrimination...

steve2

I was raised a JW and knew I was "gay" from about age four or five. After I left the JWs at age 27, I found out that at least six, and possibly seven, young JWs were also gay and had either left the organization or killed themselves.

I am pleased that when people nowadays discuss "being gay", they avoid that old trap of confusing cause and effect. A lot of literature written by anti-gay groups in the 1960s and 70s (including some by the Watchtower) implied there was something inherently disordered about being gay so that there was a claimed higher prevalence of mental disorders and substance abuse problems with the "condition". People may remember Tim LaHaye's tome The Unhappy Gays which advanced this position of mental illness being a byproduct of being gay.

Now, the argument has been reversed: It is not the "condition" of being gay that causes mental illness and other life problems, but being raised in societies that have been, at least until recent years, intolerant and very condemning of being gay. When young people - who could be considered the most vulnerable in terms of rejecting who they are - are accepted for who they are and encouraged to be "proud" of themselves, their vulnerability to mental illness is significantly reduced and they can lead productive and fulfilling lives.

24

Why Is A "Non-violent" People So Violent To Its Young?

by steve2 in

jw
friends

one of the anomalies of the jehovah's witness worldview is that it "carries" its non-violence hand-in-hand with some fairly violent practices towards its young ones.

so, the jehovah's witness father or mother who would reject any involvement in the military or "turn the other cheek" if physically attacked in field service, has no qualms about yanking their noisy child out of the kingdom hall and giving that child a good thrashing (i.e., beating on the buttocks, legs, arms and back) and creating an even greater noise.

i am not a parent, but over the years of observing parents - and others - hitting children both inside and outside the kingdom hall, it slowly occurred to me just what a barbaric practice this was.

steve2

u/d I totally agree with your biting list of all the behaviors that characteristically accompany the JW lifestyle. On the totem pole of hateful acts, I guess some might consider beating a child lower down in severity. Equally, however, my premise is not as inaccurate as you say: Notice that the question I asked in the thread title is, Why Is A "Non-violent" People So Violent To Its Young? - the word non-violent is in speech marks, implying that it is not meant literally, but merely as frequently claimed by them.