Posts by bennyk

01. April 1986 QfR:
Do we have Scriptural precedent for taking such a strict position? Indeed we do! Paul wrote about some in his day: "Their word will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of that number. These very men have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred; and they are subverting the faith of some." (2 Timothy 2:17, 18; see also Matthew 18:6.) There is nothing to indicate that these men did not believe in God, in the Bible, in Jesus’ sacrifice. Yet, on this one basic point, what they were teaching as to the time of the resurrection, Paul rightly branded them as apostates, with whom faithful Christians would not fellowship.
This is most fascinating. When the F&DS was supposedly appointed in 1919, the Watch Tower Society was still teaching that the Resurrection had begun in 1878 -- a teaching not altered until 1927 -- and which teaching the WTS now rejects as false. Does it not bugger the imagination to believe the Lord appointed over all his belongings an organisation that (by its own published standard) would be 'rightly branded apostate, with whom faithful Christians would not fellowship'?

13

Looking for 1908 editions of Studies in the Scriptures

by jwfacts in

i would like to compare the 1908 and 1916 editions of studies in the scriptures, particularly thy kingdom come.

i can find electronic versions of the 1916 edition on line, but am having trouble with earlier editions.

does anyone know of any sites that host them?.

Once upon a time, the Watch Tower Society was a bit more honest (less dishonest) regarding changes made to the literature. For example, regarding the Studies in the Scriptures: Although the books were altered post-1914, the changes to volumes Two and Three are documented in the 01. March 1915 issue of the Watch Tower, Reprints page 5649:

CHANGES IN "SCRIPTURE STUDIES"
We call attention to a few slight changes which have been made in four pages of Vol. II. and six pages of Vol. III., "STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES." These are all trivial and do not alter the real sense and lesson, but conform to the facts as we have them today. The pages containing these corrections are as follows:
Vol. II., page 77, line 1, "will be the farthest limit," reads "will see the disintegration."
Vol. II., page 77, line 6, "will obtain full universal control," reads "will begin to assume control."
Vol. II., page 77, lines 16,17, "end of A.D. 1914," reads "end of the overthrow."
Vol. II., page 81, line 9, "can date only from A.D. 1914," reads "could not precede A.D. 1915."
Vol. II., page 170, line 16, "at that time they will all be overturned."*
*How long it will require to accomplish this overturning we are not informed, but have reason to believe the period will be short.
Vol. II., page 221, line 25, "full favor until A.D. 1914," reads "full favor until after 1915."
Vol. III., page 94, line 29, "in this end or harvest," reads "at the end of this harvest."
Vol. III., page 126, line 12, "at A.D. 1914," reads "after 1914."
Vol. III., page 133, line 21, "ere the harvest is fully ended."+
+The end of the harvest will probably include the burning of the tares.
Vol. III., page 228, line 11, "some time before 1914," reads "very soon after 1914."
Vol. III., page 228, line 15, "just how long before," reads "just how long after."
Vol. III., page 362, line 11, "some time before," reads "some time near."
Vol. III., page 364, line 14, "must not only witness," reads "may not only witness."

32

College Degree = $23K more a year salary

by under_believer in

jw
friends

check out the news on this recent press release from the us census bureau.

here's the google news listing for it (so you can see all the places this story has been covered): click here.. .

lest anybody think the society is taking a softer stance on this issue, well, they're not.

bennyk

My own college degree (B.A. in Liberal Arts) ultimately proved to be of no value, as I failed to obtain marketable skills, despite graduating summa cum laude. The money and time spent on my "education" cannot be recovered, and thus my college experience has been a source of bitterness to this very day. Over 70% of the janitors with whom I currently work likewise have a B.A. in Liberal Arts.

17

Could a JW be disfellowshipped for lack of "Faith"?

by JH in

jw
friends

lets say that a jw tells an elder that he prays and nothing happens.

then he tells the elder, that after praying so often and asking for reasonable things, i don't believe anymore that god answers prayers, because i was honest in my prayer and god didn't grant me what i wanted.

i was just wondering if an elder could see this as "lack of faith", which then could be a good reason to disfellowship someone.. .

bennyk

"You know, allot of times when someone is depressed it's because their hiding something"

Response to the above: "You know, a lot of times when someone says something completely devoid of intelligence, it's because they're an empty-headed moron..."

5

United Nations Day

by bennyk in

jw
friends

according to my calendar, 24. october is "united nations day".. as you celebrate "united nations day", be sure to spare some kind thoughts for the beast's former lover, the watch tower society.

.

bennyk

According to my calendar, 24. October is "United Nations Day".

As you celebrate "United Nations Day", be sure to spare some kind thoughts for the Beast's former Lover, the Watch Tower Society.

17

Question about apostosy

by gordon d in

jw
friends

please correct me if i'm wrong.... .

isn't the wtbts's stance on apostacy defined as a member who denounces the authority of one of god's holy spirit inspired spokesmen?

if so, when paul and barnabas had the argument over taking mark on a mission trip.... which one was apostate?

bennyk

01. April 1986 QfR:
Do we have Scriptural precedent for taking such a strict position? Indeed we do! Paul wrote about some in his day: "Their word will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of that number. These very men have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred; and they are subverting the faith of some." (2 Timothy 2:17, 18; see also Matthew 18:6.) There is nothing to indicate that these men did not believe in God, in the Bible, in Jesus’ sacrifice. Yet, on this one basic point, what they were teaching as to the time of the resurrection, Paul rightly branded them as apostates, with whom faithful Christians would not fellowship.

This is most fascinating. When the F&DS was supposedly appointed in 1919, the Watch Tower Society was still teaching that the Resurrection had begun in 1878 -- a teaching not altered until 1927 -- and which teaching the WTS now rejects as false. Does it not bugger the imagination to believe the Lord appointed over all his belongings an organisation that (by its own published standard) would be 'rightly branded apostate, with whom faithful Christians would not fellowship'?

41

Are you really free from the Watchtower?

by yaddayadda in

jw
friends

the thread on how long it took you to get out of the organisation made me think.

i honestly think anyone that spends more than half an hour per day on anti-jw sites like this is, psychologically, not out of the organisation at all, despite their best protests.

the watchtower clearly still fascinates them to the point of an obsessive, compulsive need to frequently post on this website and others.

bennyk

It is true that the Society has no hold whatsoever on me, personally.

But I won't be entirely free of the Watch Tower Society as long as they are still holding hostages.

I hope you can understand that.

29

Mars bars made with blood

by 5thGeneration in

jw
friends

anyone remember back 15 years or so ago when some brothers used to think mars bars were made with lecithin derived from blood .. we had a sister call the company and interrogate them.

funny.. .

bennyk

I remember worrying that some glue and fertilizers also had blood in them. We were told we could call the manufacturers to find out for sure. Extreme beliefs forsure.
Little Bo Peep

WHY call the manufacturers? You weren't intending on EATING the glue and fertilizers, were you?

(BTW similar thing with a "brother" who was reluctant to use plywood... on account of the bloody glue.)

50

Older WT quote reveals attitude toward disfellowshipped family members

by OnTheWayOut in

hey, i discovered this older quote from reexamine.org.

i could not believe how serious it was about what a family .

member was not allowed to do with a disfellowshipped .

bennyk

The law of the land and God’s law through Christ forbid us to kill apostates, even though they be members of our own flesh-and-blood family relationship.

You can almost feel their dismay; after all, if you can't kill YOUR RELATIVES, who can you kill?