DevonMcBride

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Posts by DevonMcBride

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  137

  What Is "Must See" TV For You?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i like american idol.

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  DevonMcBride

  24
  Blue Collar TV on the WB
  A&E's Dog, Bounty Hunter
  Several shows on Food Network: Unwrapped, Rachel Ray's 30 minute Meals, Everyday Italian, Low-Carb Cooking
  
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  40

  Attendant ever treat you like a child at convention?

  by avishai in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the last straw for me was when an attendant grabbed 22 yr. old me at a cnvention and told me to come inside it was time for it to start.

  i said no, and he got in my face.

  anyone else get told what to do as an adult?

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  DevonMcBride

  It sounds like the attendants are on a power trip. The little bit of responsibility goes to their head.
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  11

  Too Strange to be a Coincidence?

  by DevonMcBride in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  according to the biblical account, pilate offerend the jews the release of just one prisoner and they chose barabbas rather than jesus.

  (matthew 27:16-26).

  but in the original text studied by origen (and in some recent ones) the chosen criminal was jesus barabbas - and bar abba in hebrew means "son of the father.".

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  DevonMcBride

  To my understanding, the name Yeshua was common enough that it would not have actually been that great a coincidence.

  There were other Yeshua's crucified also.

  Jesus ben Stada was a Judean agitator who gave the Romans a headache in the early years of the second century. He met his end in the town of Lydda (twenty five miles from Jerusalem) at the hands of a Roman crucifixion crew. And given the scale that Roman retribution could reach ? at the height of the siege of Jerusalem the Romans were crucifying upwards of five hundred captives a day before the city walls ? dead heroes called Jesus would (quite literally) have been thick on the ground. Not one merits a full-stop in the great universal history.
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  11

  Too Strange to be a Coincidence?

  by DevonMcBride in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  according to the biblical account, pilate offerend the jews the release of just one prisoner and they chose barabbas rather than jesus.

  (matthew 27:16-26).

  but in the original text studied by origen (and in some recent ones) the chosen criminal was jesus barabbas - and bar abba in hebrew means "son of the father.".

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  DevonMcBride

  According to the Biblical account, Pilate offerend the Jews the release of just one prisoner and they chose Barabbas rather than Jesus. (Matthew 27:16-26)

  But in the original text studied by Origen (and in some recent ones) the chosen criminal was Jesus Barabbas - and Bar Abba in Hebrew means "Son of the Father."

  Are we to believe that Pilate had a Jesus, Son of God and a Jesus, Son of Father at the same time?
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  23

  A Dangerous Legal Precedent

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a jury in milwaukee awarded 17 million bucks to an 82 year old barber who got hit by a car.

  driven by a church volunteer.

  the archdiocese was held liable for the volunteers' actions.. (see wall street journal editorial page, march 17, 2005).. now, i'd like to see the watchtower crash and burn as much as anyone .... but i sincerely.

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  DevonMcBride

  http://www.cultnews.com/archives/000043.html

  Why did Jehovah's Witnesses pay the largest cash settlement in its history?

  The largest settlement ever paid in the history of Jehovah's Witnesses occurred this past October, but no news outlet has yet reported it.

  The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which is the umbrella organization over 6 million Witnesses worldwide, paid the estate of Frances Coughlin $1.55 million dollars rather than let a jury decide the wrongful death lawsuit.

  Frances Coughlin's surviving family sued Jehovah's Witnesses, also known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, in State of Connecticut Superior Court at Milford (CV-00-0072183 S).

  The principle defendant was a "Bethelite," or full-time ministry worker, who drove recklessly in bad weather and killed Ms. Coughlin, a mother and grandmother, on October 8, 1998.

  That Bethelite Jordon Johnson was traveling between "Bethel," which has housing for its full-time workers in Patison, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York, to a Witness Kingdom Hall he was assigned to in Derby, Connecticut.

  Johnson was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter, but only served 30 days in jail and was sentenced to two years probation. Subsequently, he and Jehovah's Witnesses faced a civil suit filed by Ms. Coughlin's surviving family for damages.

  Why was the Witness organization willing to pay more than $1.5 million dollars?

  Apparently because a much larger issue of "agency" was at stake.

  Agency is the word used to express a relationship between a principal party and its agent, through which the principal party projects its power and/or advances some purpose. And a principal party may be held liable for the actions of its agent.

  Jehovah's Witnesses contended that Jordan Johnson acted on his own and was not their agent at the time he caused the fatal car wreck.

  But plaintiff's counsel, Joel Faxon of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, claimed on his client's behalf that Jordan Johnson was serving as a Bethelite and agent of the organization at the time and advancing their purpose, therefore Jehovah's Witnesses was responsible for his actions.

  Internal documents were obtained through the discovery process and testimony was given through depositions, which clarified and substantiated Faxon's view.

  I was retained as an expert witness and consultant for this case by the plaintiff's counsel.

  My role was to assist in the discovery process, provide research and generally help to form a basis for an understanding of how Jehovah's Witnesses employ, use and control Bethelites and others within their organization. Ultimately, I would have also testified as an expert in court.

  That testimony would have included explaining in clear terms how the organizational dynamics, indoctrination and objectives of Jehovah's Witnesses impact individual members and more specifically full-time workers such as Bethelite Jordan Johnson.

  But on the first day of trial Jehovah's Witnesses decided they didn't want a jury to decide this case and instead $1.55 million was paid to the plaintiff.

  The organization that claims it is waiting for the ever-eminent "end of the world" decided to settle in a pragmatic move to protect its long-term interests and more than $1 billion dollars of accumulated assets.

  Again, why would the Witnesses do this if they actually believed they had no meaningful liability?

  Certainly the cost to complete the case in court would be far less than $1.55 million dollars. Why not let the jury decide?

  But the seemingly shrewd Witnesses realized that there was just too much at stake and didn't want to risk a "guilty" verdict.

  Currently the organization known as Jehovah's Witnesses faces a growing number of lawsuits filed by former members who feel the organization has hurt them.

  The personal injuries were allegedly caused by elders and others acting in accordance with the organization's policies and doctrines, which include such matters as blood transfusions and sexual abuse.

  Seemingly to protect its assets the Watchtower Society of Jehovah's Witnesses and its many Kingdom Hall congregations have in recent years created a myriad of corporate entities to apparently contain liability.

  That is, each corporation is seemingly only responsible for its own specific actions and not the action of others. Again, this appears to be a rather pragmatic legal approach to protect the assets amassed by Jehovah's Witnesses over more than a century.

  But what if Jehovah's Witnesses are nevertheless responsible or liable for the actions of its agents, which would include elders and others throughout its vast network of districts and Kingdom Halls?

  Well, now you can see why the check was likely cut for $1.55 million in the Coughlin case.

  Jehovah's Witnesses were apparently concerned about what legal precedent a jury might set that could ultimately affect other claims pending or potentially possible in the future against the organization.

  Many people seem to think that Jehovah's Witnesses or the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is focused on the end of the world and a coming kingdom. At least that's the impression many have when its members come knocking at the door.

  But through the Coughlin case a different view of the organization emerges, which looks more like a business protecting its worldly assets and focused on the bottom line.
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  12

  Sir John Mills has died.

  by nicolaou in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2078050.stm

  obituary: sir john mills

  for nearly 70 years, sir john mills enjoyed a reputation as one of britain's finest actors.

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  DevonMcBride

  Wasn't he the father of Hayley Mills?
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  10

  Do you know of any "pioneer sisters" that were alcoholics or who drank?

  by booker-t in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we are always hearing about jw men that drank too much and had drinking problems.

  i remember one of the ministerial servants in my old hall was seen at the liquor store buying 2 hugh vodka bottles.

  the next week he was "publicly reproved" and stripped of his bookstudy, deleted as a pioneer, and his request to go where the need was great was revoked.

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  DevonMcBride

  Yup, I work with one. Not only does she drink heavily at trade shows, but every year she attends our office Christmas party and gets drunk there. I don't know how she made it to Pioneer because she is lousy at field service. She can't refute the easiest objections to the JW teachings.
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  16

  JW Singles Cruise

  by Smoky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been told recently that jw brothers and sisters, plan jw singles cruises.

  could this be true?

  i thought there was rules against such a thing.

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  DevonMcBride

  Yes, they exist. Last year I was invited to go on one by a well-known member of the JW only boards, Keysdan aka Daniel Gilson. I'm on his e-mail list cause he thinks I'm a dub. Not only that, but it was on a Carnival Cruise ship which is a little more on the wild side than some of the other cruise companies. Needless to say, I didn't go. The last thing I want on vacation is to be on a ship with a group of Jehovah's Witnesses.
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  34

  Beware of the internet......from the meeting last night

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they took 15 minutes to remind us of the dangers of the internet.

  be careful to whom you chat with.

  make sure it's with "good" jw your chatting with, they said.. what they didn't say was, where the heck do you go to chat with a jw online?

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  DevonMcBride

  Don't you think that by constantly re-hashing the dangers of the internet, it will only drive the Witnesses to apostate sites just out of curiousity?
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  3

  Great article by Danny Haszard

  by DevonMcBride in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://press.arrivenet.com/nfp/article.php/623570.html

  jehovah's witnesses calling at your door?

  jehovah's witnesses belief system and why they go door to door.

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  DevonMcBride

  http://press.arrivenet.com/nfp/article.php/623570.html

  Jehovah's Witnesses calling at your door? Who are they?

  Jehovah's Witnesses belief system and why they go door to door.

  Distribution Source : ArriveNet

  Date : Tuesday - April 19, 2005

  Bangor Maine -- (ArriveNet - Apr 19, 2005) -- The Watchtower is big money, being one of the top 40 New York City Corporations making nearly one billion dollars a year. That?s just from one of their many corporations.
  
  
  Unlike in the case of Christians who are persecuted in other lands for talking about Jesus Christ, Jehovah?s Witnesses are largely persecuted for following the teachings begun during the second presidency of the Watchtower, when Joseph F. Rutherford took over in a corporate flap and began changing doctrines quickly in the Watchtower belief system. He claimed that angels directly conveyed "truth" to some of those in leadership. He coined the name "Jehovah?s Witnesses" to make them stand out from being witnesses of Jesus, a typical evangelical expression (and a Biblical one).
  
  Rutherford dumped holidays, birthdays and the 1874 date for the invisible return on Christ, and invented an earthly class of Witnesses, since only 144,000 can go to heaven in their teaching. The rest, meaning all 99.9 percent of Witnesses still alive, will live forever on a cleansed earth, under the rule of the Watchtower leaders in heaven, who will keep them in line by local elders known as "Princes".
  
  If you have been "witnessed to" by Jehovah?s Witnesses and you reject their message, you will likely "die shortly at Armageddon" with all the other non-Witnesses, since theirs is the only true religion, and (if they can live up to all the rules) they are the only ones to inhabit this new earth. If you believe Witnesses seem rigid now, any non-conformist during the future cleansed earth will be directly destroyed by Jehovah. Even now a Witness will be disfellowshipped for any one of many gaffs, such as smoking, taking a blood transfusion, or even voting.
  
  To even vocally question the teachings of the Watchtower will result in complete cutting off, with family and friends usually being forbidden to talk to them. The Watchtower is a truly Orwellian world, in a time when Orwellian societies are nearly obsolete.
  
  By their own Yearbook accounts, Witnesses are shrinking in number in many Western countries as of the last three years, as the internet facilitates the spread of information (much of it critical of the Witnesses). Witnesses are cautioned against creating JW-related websites, largely to prevent their members from discovering the history and dirty laundry of this organization on other websites. (There are literally hundreds of former members pages in many languages.) The Watchtower strives hard to control the flow of information to the individual Witness, and prefers that all instruction come through the magazines they carry door-to-door. Without this form of control, even as they themselves admit, they would believe just the same as other Bible believers.
  
  My hope is that there will be a day in each of their lives when the Watchtower magazine is no longer needed, and they can go to college, vote for office, and contribute money and time to other, more vital causes in their community. More than likely they will then cease to be persecuted, except in a few societies more authoritarian than their own.
  
  
  Danny Haszard Bangor Maine usa
  
  References:
  
  http://www.freeminds.org (type in a search word to find articles easily)
  
  http://www.silentlambs.org (latest news on the child abuse lawsuits against the Watchtower)
  
  About the author Danny Haszard: Former Jehovah's Witness X 33 years and 3rd generation (been there). Now a counter-cult educator. My home page, WATCHTOWER WHISTLEBLOWER: http://www.DannyHaszard.com