jwfacts

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Posts by jwfacts

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  39

  Clearly, undeniably, without doubt ... is there a term for introducing a thought in such a way.

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  watchtower article often introduce a point that has no merit with words such a "undeniably.".

  for instance the watchtower 2014 august 15 page 10 says:.

  "jehovah undeniably blesses the preaching work of christian women and supports them in times of trial.

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  jwfacts

  Thanks for all the great answers.

  Ipse Dixit.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipse_dixit

  It's a sort of appeal to a presupposed intrinsic authority of a statement.

  Ipse Dixit seems to cover it well.

  jp1692 It’s kind of a combination of “puffing” (in the legal sense), the common sense fallacy, making unfounded assertions and begging the question.

  It seems these "weasel words" help lend support to a whole range of rhetorical fallacies. They work as a form of "appeal to authority." If the Watchtower/GB say something is clearly the case, then it must be, since they are the authority that know, regardless of whether or not any facts back up the statement.

  They can be a subtle red herring, as the "evidently" statement hopes to prevent the reader examining that these is in fact evidence.

  Interesting too that the legal profession and hypnotists recognise the power of using weasel words in a sentence.
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  39

  Clearly, undeniably, without doubt ... is there a term for introducing a thought in such a way.

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  watchtower article often introduce a point that has no merit with words such a "undeniably.".

  for instance the watchtower 2014 august 15 page 10 says:.

  "jehovah undeniably blesses the preaching work of christian women and supports them in times of trial.

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  jwfacts

  Watchtower article often introduce a point that has no merit with words such a "undeniably."
  

  For instance the Watchtower 2014 August 15 page 10 says:

  "Jehovah undeniably blesses the preaching work of Christian women and supports them in times of trial. With his help, for example, godly women maintained their integrity under Nazi and Communist rule when many of them suffered and some even lost their lives because of their obedience to God."

  It is difficult to justify that someone who lost their life preaching had benefited from the blessing and support of Jehovah. These articles seem to throw in words like "undeniably" to throw the reader off from drawing the logical conclusion that Jehovah does not bless the preaching work.

  Is there an official term for this type of fallacious reasoning?
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  30

  Question is there any historical data on a women killing her entire

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  family including dog and then herself?.

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  jwfacts

  Not quite the point you are after, but the Mosaic Law commanded parents to stone their wayward children to death. I always struggled to comprehend that any parent could kill their children, and wondered how often Jewish parents actually murdered their children due to this religious requirement. Almost every child is rebellious or disobedient at some point.
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  122

  CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  https://youtu.be/dpq7j8lkc98.

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  jwfacts

  A new introduction written by a Trinitarian from the Watchman Foundation? I wonder what Ray Franz would have made of that.
  

  Spot on. I doubt Ray would have liked that.

  The introduction makes no mention of the Trinity. It warns against authoritarian groups, and directs people to the Bible. This is exactly the approach Ray took, and I think the introduction is very appropriate.
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  23

  Special Pioneer Vow Of Obedience And Poverty Contract - Is This Legit?

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  somebody posted the contract on exjwreddit: https://i.redd.it/1u8808gy6ni01.jpg.

  it appears to be signed by howie ernest rutledge.

  im assuming this is howie rutledge tran, former assistant to the gb?.

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  jwfacts

  I signed an older version of this in 1991 when I entered Bethel. While at Bethel I earned money doing accounting work each year around tax time, which I advised the Branch Committee about.
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  26

  The laziness of JW parents....

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it struck me that the society has created a culture of lazy jw parenting.. rather than parents being there to guide and direct and help their children through all stages of life, the gb / society has become the "go-too" for everything.. if the child has an issue, there is a wt article for that.. does the child need help with something else?

  ah, there is a caleb and sophia cartoon for that.. what about that other topic?

  ah, there is a book for that.. so rather than being present parents, the average jw parent simply outsources their parenting to the organization!

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  jwfacts

  paradiseseeker
  

  I think that's because the average JW isn't capable of building his own morality system.

  Paradiseseeker made the point that first came to my mind.

  There is also the risk of a child asking questions that the parent cannot answer. There is then the risk that the parent has to actually think about Watchtower rules, and come to see that they do not always make sense.

  For example, a lot of JWs do not agree with the ruling against birthdays, but go along with it because they have no choice. I think the reason for this is partly because they are forced to explain the reason out loud to their kids, and hear just how hollow the reasoning is.

  A child doesn't always accept "it is wrong because I/Jehovah says so" as an answer. Many Watchtower rules make sense some of the time but not all the time, because Watchtower is a black-and-white religion in a world of colour. What happens when an inquisitive child start asking "what if" questions. The parent is forced to confront the flaws in their doctrine.

  Think of the situation where a teenager asks about abortion. "It is murder, it is never acceptable." But "what if it is girl at school, and she can't care for the child? What if they were raped, and can't bear the idea of seeing the child? What if the girl is likely to die giving birth?"

  Watchtower doesn't want parents thinking. Just give your child an ipad, get the child to watch the same piece of propaganda hundreds of times until they are too indoctrinated to ask tricky questions.
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  7

  JW's and crack heads

  by James Mixon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tiffany haddish, comedian.

  "life in south central los angeles in the 90's, "there were gang violence, crack heads, drive by shooting and jw's".

  how interesting she associated all the bad things in south central and jw's.....door to door work in south central can be a little dangerous, my hat off to those folks.

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  jwfacts

  @WMUBYJH, I did go preaching in the Bronx when on holidays in New York in 1995. I asked why were we preaching in a group of six and not two, “Is it dangerous?” “No”, they assured me.

  We went into the Projects. No one opened their doors, just spoke through them and looked through the peep holes. Except when I spoke. What was a white Aussie doing in the projects. They would open the door to chat, but only as far as the security chain would allow.
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  34

  Today's text caused a fight between myself and my "Still In" wife.

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  she insisted on reading it to me and i just couldn't keep my freaking mouth shut.. see if you can tell why.... sunday, february 18.

  they would go where the spirit inclined them to go.​—ezek.

  jesus has appointed the ‘faithful slave’ to be the only channel for dispensing spiritual food.

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  jwfacts

  I wonder why she felt it important to read that to you, since it is a very common Watchtower comment that you would have heard hundreds of times over the years.

  There are a lot of very specific statements made, with no proof provided to back any of it up. Yet JWs seem to think that because it is stated it must be true, classic circular reasoning.

  
  
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  53

  When did Cook, the new GB member, start claiming to be anointed, and what are the implications?

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  kenneth cook was a "helper" in the writing department, which is apparently a role for those of the great crowd.

  watchtower 15/10/15 p.3 states that helpers are of the great crowd.

  "since 1992, the governing body has appointed experienced, mature christian elders to help its committees carry out their work.

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  jwfacts

  Kenneth Cook was a "helper" in the writing department, which is apparently a role for those of the Great Crowd.

  Watchtower 15/10/15 p.3 states that helpers are of the Great Crowd. "Since 1992, the Governing Body has appointed experienced, mature Christian elders to help its committees carry out their work.* These helpers, from among the "other sheep," provide valuable support to the Governing Body."

  At https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5656472215093248/new-member-governing-body-24-jan-2018?page=10 there is a comment that around the time of him being in the writing department in 2008 he started to claim to be anointed. Does anyone know the sequence of events between him joining the writing department and his becoming anointed.

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  To rise to the top of the organization requires claiming to be of the anointed and it seems very strategic for those high up in the ranks to start making that claim. I always felt the same when I heard Geoff Jackson started taking the emblems after he got as high as he could as one of the Great Crowd. I wonder if these brothers really believe they are anointed, or are just playing a game of strategy. It would be interesting to know if any Governing Body members encourage those they think would be suited to being on the Governing body to consider if they are anointed. It would be quite an indication of whether some of the Governing Body members really believe it to be the "truth," or are more interested in the power that the position provides them with.
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  12

  How to start a Website?

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does anyone know the best way to start a website?

  is wordpress good?

  there’s going to be lots of things being sold on this site.

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  jwfacts

  Depends on the primary purpose of the site. If you want to set up an ecommerce store, platforms like Shopify are good, or Magento if you are looking at significant volumes.