Posts by rebel8

13

JW Broadcasting Party

by The Searcher in

just heard of a congregation who has announced a saturday afternoon get-together at an elder's home - to let those who don't have the internet watch the jw tv monthly shows!!!!.

words fail me..

Bono rocks! (U2 frontman talks about 50% decline in global poverty @ TED)

by Fernando in

http://video.ted.com/talk/podcast/2013/none/bono_2013-480p.mp4 (download - right click, save file as)http://www.ted.com/talks/bono_the_good_news_on_poverty_yes_there_s_good_news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bddkf0lw-ag.

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rebel8

Wasn't that 50% reduction all B.S. because they changed the poverty line from a dollar a day to $1.25 a day?

Wouldn't that increase who is considered poor, if the income threshold was raised?

53

Is Watchtower's stance against education only for North American witnesses

by wannaexit in

jw
friends

i was reading on a european ex jw forum where some feel that watchtower's railing against higher education is primarily for north america issue.

this is due that many in usa and canada leave home to leave on campus.

it was mentioned that many young european jw attend universities and its not frowned on.. i found this odd because i heard what morris and losch said about education in italy.

rebel8

The Europeans aren't as gullible as their U. S. counterparts.

The question is why there is a difference in teachings in the different countries.

It seems disbelief is correlated positively with education levels in both Europe and North America. Not sure how valid that survey is, but it seems it's all we have in the way of real data.

That finding would seem to require the same doctrine to prevent attrition. I do believe that's the main reason for the anti-education stuff. (This is why I wasn't even allowed to attend science courses in primary school, for Pete's sake! Had nothing to do with leaving home.)

19

Jehovah's Witnesses activity game - Dressing and Undressing Children

by jwleaks in

with all the jehovah's witnesses child abuse scandals being reported on by the media around the world at the moment what were the governing body of jehovah's witnesses thinking?.

link to activity page:http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/activities/time-to-get-ready/.

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rebel8

ToesUp, 30 years behind the times is catching up for them. :)

For those of you who thought the paper dolls were sick, can you explain more about that? These look like just regular old-fashioned children's toys. It's not saying let Brother Pedobear zip your jeans...

Maybe it's a generational thing, those who aren't familiar with paper dolls find it more shocking because it involves undressing?

19

Jehovah's Witnesses activity game - Dressing and Undressing Children

by jwleaks in

with all the jehovah's witnesses child abuse scandals being reported on by the media around the world at the moment what were the governing body of jehovah's witnesses thinking?.

link to activity page:http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/activities/time-to-get-ready/.

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rebel8

I noticed the "be jehoopla's friend" logo at the top.

j w dot org will make a Facebook page for Jehovah in 3...2...1...

He'll send friend requests to all the dubs. Anyone whose FB profiles say they're in a relationship w/o being married, religion is anything but jw, posts fun pics around their birthdays, follows a gay clothing designer's page, or posts pics with colorful socks, skinny pants or Spanx is immediately unfriended.

Unfriending will take the place of Judgement Day now. It will all be handled electronically. When the unfriending takes place, it will show up in Jehovah's activity feed and all the dubs will follow suit.

36

Rasputin and Serums and Herbs--Oh My!

by rebel8 in

i have written a blog post about the dubs and their scorn of modern medicine and rasputin, while simultaneously touting unproven, dangerous cures.. i wonder what it is about a fake remedy that makes jws believe in it or scorn it?.

rebel8

Hi. My Rasputin knowledge is quite old, from my school days, and I don't know how accurate it ever was.

In school, IIRC, they said Rasputin would take the child alone into closed rooms for hours and not disclose what was done. I've always wondered if he was transfusing (which is actually not too difficult to learn--even children infuse themselves). He had the wealth of the family at his disposal--he could have paid for the blood and snuck it in by pretending it was some mystical item.

The claim that the child stopped bleeding (and in fact lived so long) is the main indicator to me that blood transfusions were involved, since nothing else is effective. (Some disorders are now treated with synthetic clotting factors, which is a very new invention. But even now, many people with bleeding disorders are only able to be treated with human blood products.)

I don't find that article convincing.

Fever, delirium, and spontaneous remission are not generally found in cases of haemophilia and are inconsistent with such a diagnosis

Fever is consistent with transfusion reactions, and the "remission" can be attributed to transfusions. Hypovolemia definitely causes disorientation.

haemorrhaging in a haemophiliac, as Alexei was alleged to have been, happens immediately following the injury.

No. I mean I don't even have nearly the severe disorder he had, and I still periodically bleed from an injury I had 8 years ago. I didn't immediately bleed there, even though I was quite aware of the injury and expected a bleed. The stories about a fall being the cause could be true or not--he could have just spontaneously bled after the fall and one thing had nothing to do with the other. But some of us do have delayed bleeding--less likely for him, but still possible.

The haemophilia claim has never been supported by any doctors' reports or medical test results.

Genetic testing was reportedly done and Hemophilia B was confirmed. His body was reportedly found in 2007 with some rather striking evidence it was really him.

36

Rasputin and Serums and Herbs--Oh My!

by rebel8 in

i have written a blog post about the dubs and their scorn of modern medicine and rasputin, while simultaneously touting unproven, dangerous cures.. i wonder what it is about a fake remedy that makes jws believe in it or scorn it?.

rebel8

By telegram! LOL. I need to try that one.

If blood transfusions had been available back then - she wouldn't have hesitated to give her son blood.

I've always suspected that was exactly what he was doing. Not by telegram, but when he went in the room with the doors closed. I think he did a meditation routine to calm the child (which could naturally slow the speed of, but not stop, the bleeding by slowing the heartbeat). Then I think he gave transfusions. Transfusions had been done a few hundred years earlier, and right around the turn of the century, experiments were getting more popular. A family with this level of resources could perhaps get any treatment they wanted. I think Rasputin gave transfusions and then told the family he was doing it by his own magical powers, as a way to ingratiate himself to this powerful family. Just my hypothesis!

13

Arranged Marriages by Jehovahs Witnesses

by Atlantis in

a reporter did a story on arranged marriages in canada.

lady lee's story is at the top http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/against-their-will/ .

.. .. atlantis!.

rebel8

My arranged marriage (attempted)

I experienced a huge amount of pressure to marry someone selected by my jw parent and so did others. As to being forced, I don't know. But Lee mentions she feared physical abuse if she refused, because her mom was abusive. Mine was too but didn't threaten abuse if I didn't comply, just pushed me very very hard.

You can see in the above-linked thread that others did have this experience.

You're right, it is not part of their teachings to arrange marriages. However, other things enabling it exist in that cult(ure). Let's compare dubs to this list:

The UK's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) have outlined the following reasons why people coerce others into matrimony:

To control unwanted behaviour and sexuality, and prevent ‘unsuitable’ relationships, i.e. with people outside their ethnic, cultural, caste or religious group yep, for me it was to keep me in dubbery
To protect perceived cultural or religious ideals obviously yes
Family ‘honour’ or long-standing family commitments yes, reputation = social standing in dubland
Peer group or family pressure yes this does exist in some jw social circles and obviously their cult(ure) encourages pressuring others to comply with the behavior du jour
To ensure land, property and wealth remain in the family probably not much of an issue in dubland
To strengthen family links yes again, a marriage between 2 families strengthens social standing in dubland--i was from a ubm family so if I had married into an MS or higher family, my family's station would have been elevated
To assist claims for residence and citizenship i've heard this does exist in dubland but i don't personally know
To provide a carer for a disabled family member / reduce the ‘stigma’ of disability meh i don't know

36

Rasputin and Serums and Herbs--Oh My!

by rebel8 in

i have written a blog post about the dubs and their scorn of modern medicine and rasputin, while simultaneously touting unproven, dangerous cures.. i wonder what it is about a fake remedy that makes jws believe in it or scorn it?.

rebel8

Homeopathy cannot and should not exist in any educated society. It is a belief in magic.

I've read in the UK there's a homeopathic hospital funded by NHS. That's a travesty. It's creeping over here too--besides in the 'natural cures' stores, now you can buy some of this nothing-but-water foolishness in regular pharmacies.

31

Is this proof that the flood was regional?

by silent in

jw
friends

i stumbled across a scripture today.

it's numbers 13:33 "and there we saw the nephilim, the sons of anak, who are from the nephilim, and in comparison we seemed like grasshoppers, both to us and to them.. now if they honestly believed that they saw the nephilim, it would mean that some nephilim would have had to survive the flood or that the hijinks of the fallen angels before the flood, happened again shortly thereafter.

the only other thing i can come up with is that nephilim was some kind of generic word that implied giant proportions, but not necessarily the nephilim.. comments from the more educated appreciated.. silent.

rebel8

Interesting.

I cannot think of a way to reconcile the scripture in the OP with these.

Genesis 6
17"Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18"But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark

The bible does not teach a local flood nor that anything survived it.

But again, the flood story is probably the easiest thing to disprove in the bible. There is overwhelming evidence the bible's account did not happen as written.

Nor are those bones really what people claim they are. (I'm reminded of the creationist claim, "Show me just one fossil," when there are ample examples in every museum. Now I'd like to say, "Show me just one skeleton.")