Posts by yaddayadda

9

Why I left Islam

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

close to that time, my father decided to go back to our country of origin.

my mother decided to cover her hair when we went back, even though palestinians at the time were not too "religious".

by now you may not want to read on any more since you found out my place of origin, even though i am very proud to be american.

yaddayadda

So wot's the point? There are many people leaving atheism and agnoticism all the time too and becoming Christians, etc.

15

Open Letter To The Society

by Outaservice in

jw
friends

dear brothers,.

you might want to consider this letter in the 'questions from readers' section of the watchtower.. my question is this: i would like to join the catholic church and at the same time keep my standing and position in the congregation!

the reason being is that i have heard that the vatican has a very good and complete library which i would like to avail myself of.

yaddayadda

Or how about "I'm thinking of joining the Red Cross because their planes and trucks have helped the brothers in Africa."

or

"I'm thinking of joining Amnesty International so I can sit on their forums and try and win the freedom of brothers imprisoned illegally in harsh regimes".

You can bet your bottom dollar that the Society would say you cannot join either of those organisations no matter how good the intentions.

18

Is questioning at the bookstudy still allowed?

by yaddayadda in

i remember when i was a kid it wasn't unusual for someone to ask a question of the conductor during the bookstudy.

not that often but occasionally.

in my most recent years as a dub i can't recall anyone ever asking any questions.

yaddayadda

I remember when I was a kid it wasn't unusual for someone to ask a question of the conductor during the bookstudy. Not that often but occasionally. In my most recent years as a dub I can't recall anyone ever asking any questions.

Did the Society stop the practice? How on earth can they justify calling the bookstudy a bible discussion?

If not, then why aren't you allowed to ask questions at the other meetings?

7

Anybody been counting on Jesus at the kindumb Hell? Post your Jesus count.

by hamsterbait in

i' ve been too ill to go for the last few weeks.

got a big infected cyst, and just missed getting blood poisoning.

so being tormented in the hell has been low on my list.. thanks god for this forum!!

yaddayadda

Conversely, count how many times 'The Father' gets mentioned at your local church. Compare with how many times Jesus mentioned the Father.

At your local church count how many times 'Lord' is mentioned and it is completely unclear whether they mean Jesus or God or the Father or what?. Confused?

JW's don't mention Jesus enough and the other churches don't mention the Father enough. They're just as bad as each other.

42

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 8-27-06 WT Study (FOCUS ORGANIZATION)

by blondie in

comments you will not hear at the 08-27-06 wt study (july 15, 2006, pages 19-24 )(focus on organization).

review comments will be in red.

wt material from today's wt will be in black.

yaddayadda

"2. Neither Jehovah nor his angels nor the spiritual shepherds tolerate the presence of treacherous, wicked ones in the Christian congregation."

Exactly! Which explains why the GB are wicked slaves. They saw nothing wrong with joining the UN and thus were treacherous to Jehovah. By their fruits you will recognise them.

We have recognised them.

43

Big Announcement - From JW Elder

by Qcmbr in

if you read my other post you'll get the context but since this will be of great potential interest here it is: .

the jws are soon(next few months) going to make a public proclamation against all other churches which he was confident would 'shake things up' and would make a few jws unhappy???.

is this the big announcement for september?

yaddayadda

Could any such forthcoming announcement stem from the fact that there are two new GB members? If there is to be any policy/doctrinal change then they might be the baby of these two new guys, something new they are bringing to the table. In any Corporation new board members/Executives are usually granted at least a few changes here and there to make their presence felt.

This definitely happens when a new Watchtower President is appointed.

13

What is the Kingdom and who is in it?

by yaddayadda in

the jw's have a very narrow definition of what the kingdom is.

they limit its meaning to a heavenly, governmental rulership of 144,000 only.

but the kingdom must be broader than that.

yaddayadda

Hmmm should've known someone would come up with the trite "The Kingdom is within you". Thanks Kenneson and Pete for pointing out the problem with such a translation.

You lost me Heathen. Are you saying Christians will live in a literal Revelatory Jerusalem that comes down to earth?

I think it is simplistic to assert that the essential hope of Christians is to be with Christ and since Christ is in heaven this must mean all Christians will go to heaven. That reasoning is somewhat circular. I think a better definition of the essential trait of a Christian is their total faith and obedience to Christ and their hope to gain salvation and eternal life through that. Being with Christ is not a matter of time/space physical nearness to him. "Following the Lamb no matter where he goes" obviously doesn't mean geographical location.

It is unmistakeble from the book of Daniel that the Kingdom involves literal rulership and will be world-changing. Yet it also seems to be something more abstract that started in the first century. Jesus is clearly pivotal to it, and he will be co-rulers with him, as he promised, but not everyone in a Kingdom can be a ruler.

I think 1 Cor 15: 24-28 are very telling scriptures in helping us understand what 'the kingdom' is and that the JW's are missing a trick with their understanding of the kingdom. Jesus hands 'the kingdom' back to his God (the Father) after 'all government and all authority and all power...all enemies' have been brought to nothing, including death itself, the 'last enemy'. This obviously means that Jesus hands back a perfected human family back to God and so 'the kingdom' clearly includes humans living on earth.

13

What is the Kingdom and who is in it?

by yaddayadda in

the jw's have a very narrow definition of what the kingdom is.

they limit its meaning to a heavenly, governmental rulership of 144,000 only.

but the kingdom must be broader than that.

yaddayadda

The JW's have a very narrow definition of what the kingdom is. They limit its meaning to a heavenly, governmental rulership of 144,000 only. But the kingdom must be broader than that. Jesus specifically says that 'Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets' will be 'in the kingdom of God'(Luke 13:23) and the 'sheep' on Jesus right hand are also to 'inherit the kingdom' (Matt 25:33,34). On this basis alone it seems that the 'great crowd', if we assume they are actually an earthly class of Christians (debateable in itself) actually 'inherit the kingdom'. That means, therefore, that whether a JW has a 'heavenly hope' or an 'earthly hope' they are still going to be in 'God's Kingdom'. Both groups inherit the kingdom. This also means that both groups (the 'little flock' and the so-called 'other sheep') must altogether both be in the new covenant and therefore all JW's should be taking the emblems.

Right?

The Kingdom of God/heavens has to mean some more expansive, wider than just a heavenly governmental rulership of 144,000. I think a better definition (from
Wikipaedia) is:

"The Kingdom of God (Greek ßas??e?a t?? ?e?? basileia tou theou,[1] or the Kingdom of Heaven) is a key concept in Christianity based on a phrase attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in the gospels. The phrase occurs in the New Testament more than 100 times. Basileia tou theou was commonly translated into English as “Kingdom of God” in the New Testament, and refers to the reign or sovereignty of God over all things."

73

Kingdom News 37 sneek preview

by Midget-Sasquatch in

well i setup an account at reexaminer.org eager to make a contribution but find that uploading was disabled (for now anyway).. so here's this year's supposedly hard-hitting expose on "false religion" aka kingdumb news 37. i hope these links work for all of you.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5070/kn37p1wf7.jpg.

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4599/kn37p2rn0.jpg.

yaddayadda

This tract is great news bcuz it means the end of the Watchtower Society must be near, judging by their own words. The GB absolutely climbed up onto the Beasts back for 10 years and prostituted themselves to obtain political and financial favours. The Societys leaders who have caused the organisation to become a paedophile paradise will soon be gone. And soon no more family shredding shunning policies to ruin lives and relationships. Condemned by their own words.

2

False "Reasoning from the Scriptures" (Part 2)

by yaddayadda in

the responses suggested below by the wts in the reasoning book are misleading for a number of reasons, discussed in brackets.

(i use firefox and can't seem to bold, underline, etc for ease of reading, sorry.

*** rs 207-8 jehovah's witnesses *** .

yaddayadda

The responses suggested below by the WTS in the Reasoning Book are misleading for a number of reasons, discussed in brackets. (I use Firefox and can't seem to bold, underline, etc for ease of reading, sorry.)

If Someone Says—

‘Why don’t you people get involved in doing things to help make the world (the community) a better place to live?’

You might reply: ‘Conditions in the community are obviously important to you, and they are to me too. May I ask, What problem do you feel should be among the first that gets attention?’ Then perhaps add: ‘Why do you feel that this has become such a major need? . . . Obviously, immediate action on the matter can be beneficial, but I’m sure you’ll agree that we would like to see improvement on a long-term basis. That is the approach that we as Jehovah’s Witnesses take to the matter. (Explain what we do to help people to apply Bible principles in their lives in order to get to the root of the matter on a personal basis; also, what God’s Kingdom will do, and why this will permanently solve the problem for humankind.)’

(Jehovah’s Witnesses do nothing to help poor, sick and otherwise disadvantaged persons in their local communities. The only time they ever do is in times of tragedy/disaster and usually only to their own. The WTS is here implying that ‘improvement on a long-term basis’ only comes through conversion to their religion, because only by being an active, baptized JW can one have any hope for everlasting life. This is what they mean by 'long-term basis'. They feel that just because God’s kingdom is the ultimate permanent solution to mankind’s problems this somehow absolves them from having to practically help disadvantaged people now in their local communities. Did Jesus neglect to help the sick, lame, poor, blind, crippled, etc, just because his help there and then was ultimately only temporary? Can sick, diseased, disabled, elderly, poor, blind, deaf, intellectually handicapped, mentally ill persons get to the ‘root of the matter’ simply by applying Bible principles in their lives??)

Or you could say: ‘(After covering some of the points in the preceding reply . . . ) Some people contribute toward community improvement by providing money; others do it by volunteering their services. Jehovah’s Witnesses do both. Let me explain.’ Then perhaps add: (1) ‘To be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a person must conscientiously pay his taxes; that provides money for the government to supply needed services.’ (2) ‘We go beyond that, calling at the homes of people, offering to study the Bible with them free of charge. When they become acquainted with what the Bible says, they learn to apply Bible principles and so cope with their problems.’

(The first reply is deliberately disingenuous. The JW is told to say ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses do both’ in relation to ‘providing money’ and ‘volunteering their services’ toward community improvement. This is qualified to mean that simply paying ones taxes is to contribute toward community improvement. However, it goes without saying that Christians should pay their taxes. That's the bare minimum that every citizen, by law, is required to do, Christian or not, willingly or not. This is not at all what a householder is getting at when asking what JW’s do to improve their community. Next ‘volunteering their services’ is qualified to mean simply door-knocking to gain converts. Is this what the average householder would mean when enquiring about ‘volunteering’ one's services for the community? Hardly – the householder obviously wants to know what JW’s do over and above their usual proselytizing and preaching to help others in their community. The householder is enquiring about charitable efforts by JW's, because they know that Jesus did a lot of charity for people irespective of their religion persuasion, and the householder wants to know if JW's are doing the same. The householder already knows that Christians are meant to share their faith with others and this is not what they are enquiring about re 'volunteering their services'. The reason for these twisted, adroit suggestions in the Reasoning Book is course of course because JW’s do nothing charitable for persons (except their own in times of disaster), not even one foodbank.)

Another possibility: ‘I’m glad you brought the matter up. Many people have never inquired to find out what the Witnesses are actually doing about community affairs. Obviously there is more than one way to offer help.’ Then perhaps add: (1) ‘Some do it by establishing institutions—hospitals, homes for the elderly, rehabilitation centers for drug addicts, and so forth. Others may volunteer to go right to the homes of people and offer appropriate help as they are able. That is what Jehovah’s Witnesses do.’ (2) ‘We have observed that there is something that can transform a person’s entire outlook on life, and that is knowledge of what the Bible shows to be the real purpose of life and what the future holds.’

(Look at the crafty response in (1). The JW is encouraged to say they ‘go right to the homes of people and offer appropriate help as they are able’. What kind of help is being discussed by the context? Why, help for the sick (hospitals), the elderly, drug addicts, and ‘so forth’, and ‘community affairs’. This is what the householder is being led to imagine the Witness is talking about. The truth is that jdubs NEVER go ‘right to the homes’ of such suffering persons with the intention of only helping them with their material/health needs, as the kind Samaritan did. They ONLY go to persons homes to place literature, get time for their reports, and to try and make converts (if they can even be bothered to offer a bible study, which most of them rarely do if ever). If they happen to stumble across a sick or elderly person, or a drug addict, etc, then any help or kindness shown to such persons is completely predicated on their response to the message the JW brings them (usually just a perfunctory magazines or tract presentation). )

(It doesn’t get much more twisted than the above response. As mentioned, the Jdubs practically never offer people ‘practical’ help in the way that Jesus did. Jesus materially and physically helped needy, suffering people without ever making such help conditional on their having 'accurate knowledge' or such-like. Jdubs must have a strange definition of ‘practical’ if they think that merely placing literature with people and holding bible studies with them is ‘practical’ help.)