Posts by VanillaMocha73

8

Ghanaian boy's dream ends in a pool of blood

by VanillaMocha73 in

ghanaian boy's dream ends in a pool of blood by genevieve roberts published: 06 january 2007 when stephen boachie arrived in england from ghana aged 10, he missed africa's warm climate.

but the young boy whose parents came to the uk to give him a "better life" did not take long to find his feet in london, growing up to excel in his studies and sport and the future looked bright.

the 17-year-old, who lived in dagenham, east london, was studying for his a-levels at newham sixth form college.

VanillaMocha73

Very confused, as he seemed to be trying to go down the road of Christianity as well as JW. I wonder how they are reconciling all that? He was killed because he was out on New Year's? That would be even sadder.

6

77 year old won't serve jail time for molestation charges

by VanillaMocha73 in

http://www.570news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070106_091307_5656.

a 77 year old man has been put on probation for 2 years for molesting a young girl while he was spreading religious word.. claude martin was a well respected jehovah's witness who was going door to door and inappropriately touched a 10 year old girl at a kitchener home in 2000 or 2001.. he was acquitted after a five-day trial of a second count involving a girl who was about the same age during an alleged incident in the late 1980s.. it wasn't included as evidence, but the court was also told about a statement martin made to police in 2003. he claimed to have had a problem with sexual fantasied involving young girls.. he gave the statement while police were investigating an allegation that martin exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl delivering newspapers.

he was not charged in that incident.. the probation term includes an order to get counselling.

VanillaMocha73

http://www.570news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070106_091307_5656

A 77 year old man has been put on probation for 2 years for molesting a young girl while he was spreading religious word.

Claude Martin was a well respected Jehovah's Witness who was going door to door and inappropriately touched a 10 year old girl at a kitchener home in 2000 or 2001.

He was acquitted after a five-day trial of a second count involving a girl who was about the same age during an alleged incident in the late 1980s.

It wasn't included as evidence, but the court was also told about a statement Martin made to police in 2003. He claimed to have had a problem with sexual fantasied involving young girls.

He gave the statement while police were investigating an allegation that Martin exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl delivering newspapers. He was not charged in that incident.

The probation term includes an order to get counselling. He's also been placed on a sex offender registry. Martin cannot work with children and is banned from parks, pools and anywhere that's frequently visited by kids. (Does that mean the KH too?)

8

Ghanaian boy's dream ends in a pool of blood

by VanillaMocha73 in

ghanaian boy's dream ends in a pool of blood by genevieve roberts published: 06 january 2007 when stephen boachie arrived in england from ghana aged 10, he missed africa's warm climate.

but the young boy whose parents came to the uk to give him a "better life" did not take long to find his feet in london, growing up to excel in his studies and sport and the future looked bright.

the 17-year-old, who lived in dagenham, east london, was studying for his a-levels at newham sixth form college.

VanillaMocha73

Ghanaian boy's dream ends in a pool of blood

By Geneviève Roberts

Published: 06 January 2007

When Stephen Boachie arrived in England from Ghana aged 10, he missed Africa's warm climate. But the young boy whose parents came to the UK to give him a "better life" did not take long to find his feet in London, growing up to excel in his studies and sport and the future looked bright.

The 17-year-old, who lived in Dagenham, east London, was studying for his A-levels at Newham Sixth Form College. He was awaiting offers to study a degree in engineering and hoped to win a place at Birmingham University.

But as New Year's Eve celebrations were drawing to a close across the country, Stephen was stabbed fatally, just a few hundred yards from his home. A tribute on a banner in his memory, outside the Shell garage where he was attacked at 5.30am on New Year's Day, reads: "It was supposed to be a new year, new beginning, but you were not given that chance."

Stephen's father Kwasi, 49, said that after his son left Ahafo in the Bechem region of Ghana, he settled quickly in London, joining the football and rugby teams at Kingsford Secondary School in East Ham, and loved to play computer games.

Mr Boachie described his son as, "friendly and sociable with everyone and always willing to help people". He was a devout Christian, and in training to become a full Jehovah's Witness.

Samuel Owusuanokye, a Jehovah's Witness minister, said Stephen, who had four brothers and sisters, was mature and calm. "He always came to meetings on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays," he said. "After the meeting, he would socialise with the people in his age group. Nobody had a bad word to say about him."

On New Year's Eve, Stephen had been to see a friend who lives locally and may have visited another friend in Canning Town. The stabbing took place next to the Thatched House pub in Dagenham, which is popular with the west African community, and police are trying to find out if he was in the pub during the hours before his death. Detective Chief Inspector Simon Moring is appealing for witnesses who were leaving the pub at the time of the attack, and CCTV footage is being examined.

Mr Boachie woke at 5am to realise his son was not at home. "I tried calling Stephen but it went to answerphone. I tried to contact some of my friends, in case they had seen him. The next call I received was from the police, who said he was in the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

"You can imagine how a parent feels when they hear such words," he said. "He was in an intensive care unit, and I waited for four or five hours. Finally, I saw my son on the bed, helpless. I couldn't bear it." Stephen did not respond to two emergency operations, and died on New Year's Day.

Stephen's mother Isabella Akumiah, 45, who lives in Wood Green, north London, said the murder of her son, whom she calls Kofi - the traditional Ghanian name for a boy born on a Friday - had left her desperately sad, but angry at the perpetrator. "The law needs to be toughened over guns and knives when a 17-year-old boy is taken away. It seems that every week people die from knife crime. In Ghana, you cannot do this and get away with it."

In accordance with the Jehovah's Witness custom friends and relatives gather at the family home each day to mourn Stephen's death and share memories of his life. Mr Boachie said: "I am receiving support from fellow Christians, but I miss my son so much. To take a human life that is so precious is a terrible thing."

Uche Nworah, who taught Stephen business studies, said he had a good rapport with teachers and pupils. "I mentored him over his career choices. He was active in the Christian Union.

"On the last day of term, we held an party where we prayed and wished each other a happy Christmas. That was the last time I saw him. The students are distraught."

Anyone with information about Stephen's murder is asked to contact police on 020-8345 4142.

42

Skeptical of the Apostates Motivation

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

skeptical of the apostates motivationmy best friend presented a hard-hitting question about former jehovahs.

witnesses.

he believes that many individuals leave the truth because it is hard; and they look for any miscue to escape the organization and their responsibility to god.

VanillaMocha73

Hard when they tell you to stay in a life-threatening and dangerous relationship? Yes - that is hard. Was it God's requirements? No. Remind you of the Pharisees - they bind up heavy loads on men and refuse to budge them with a little finger.

20

Watchtower Angelphone Phonograph, get it while its HOT!

by Apostate Kate in

ebay: watchtower angelophone phonograph the real thing (item 220066239863 end time jan-04-07 11:32:37 pst).

it is over $1000 and an hour to go.

.

VanillaMocha73

Between my mom and I, we have quite a bit. All brochures from the 1920s, WTs from 1800s, Studies in Scriptures, all the old books - Comfort for the Jews, and etc.

9

Please help...lots of questions

by KanoasDestiny in

quite a few of my family members are jw's, and i attended the meetings until i was 7 years old when my mom was disfellowhipped.

i have always had an interest in god but i truly don't know where i feel i belong church-wise.

i agree mostly with the jw, but there are still things that i don't agree with, and to attend the kingdom hall, knowing that i don't agree with them 100% feels wrong.

VanillaMocha73

I will try to answer your questions impartially, as one who was raised a JW for the past 30 years. These are the basic facts - no emotions expressed...
1. Why do JW's choose not to celebrate birthdays?
*** g81 12/22 pp. 12-13 Birthday Celebrations—How Did They Get Started? ***

Birthdays and Astrology

Of course, early Christians had reasons of their own for not celebrating birthdays. Back then birthdays had strong connections with pagan religion that are less noticeable today. “The custom of commemorating the day of birth is connected . . . in its content, with certain primitive religious principles,” points out the Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics. What principles?

Spiritism, for one. “The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or daemon who attended his birth and watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born. The Romans also subscribed to this idea. They called the spirit the genius. This notion was carried down in human belief and is reflected in the guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the patron saint.”—The Lore of Birthdays, Ralph and Adelin Linton.

Another reason for early Christians to avoid birthdays was the connection with astrology. “The keeping of birthday records was important in ancient times principally because a birth date was essential for the casting of a horoscope,” say the Lintons. To early Christians astrology was associated with Eastern religions, Roman Stoicism and the twisted thinking of the Gnostics. Christians wanted no part of that!
*** rs p. 69 - p. 70 Birthday ***

What is the origin of popular customs associated with birthday celebrations?

“The various customs with which people today celebrate their birthdays have a long history. Their origins lie in the realm of magic and religion. The customs of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating—complete with lighted candles—in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year. . . . Down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan custom.”—Schwäbische Zeitung (magazine supplement Zeit und Welt), April 3/4, 1981, p. 4.

“The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or daemon who attended his birth and watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born. The Romans also subscribed to this idea. . . . This notion was carried down in human belief and is reflected in the guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the patron saint. . . . The custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks. . . . Honey cakes round as the moon and lit with tapers were placed on the temple altars of [Artemis]. . . . Birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes. . . . Lighted tapers and sacrificial fires have had a special mystic significance ever since man first set up altars to his gods. The birthday candles are thus an honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring good fortune. . . . Birthday greetings and wishes for happiness are an intrinsic part of this holiday. . . . Originally the idea was rooted in magic. . . . Birthday greetings have power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day.”—The Lore of Birthdays (New York, 1952), Ralph and Adelin Linton, pp. 8, 18-20.
2. Why do Jehovah Witnesses think that women can be apart of the 144,000?
*** it-2 p. 1199 Woman ***

Neither would it imply that all the 144,000 were men, for “there is neither male nor female” as far as the spiritual relationship of Christ’s joint heirs is concerned.
3. Also with Hell. Why is it that every other religion takes it for what it actually says, but witnesses don't believe that hell is a fiery pit where you will be tormented for ever?

Good question - long answer. The long and the short of it is that the JWs believe that the soul just ceases to exist - there is not immortality. Therefore, hell would not work.
4. Why don't the witnesses read from the missing parts of the bible?
*** w60 2/1 p. 86 The Apocrypha—of God or of Men? ***

Truly the Apocrypha is not of God but of men. What a lack of understanding and appreciation to place its writings on the same plane as those of God’s Word, the Bible! Well can Paul’s warning against paying attention to Jewish fables be applied to the Apocrypha.—Titus 1:14
5. I had a family member get upset with me because I called the Kindom Hall a church.

They do have their own Bible. There is a basic fear of what is called Christendom, or other churches. They are referred to as a harlot, Babylon the Great.
6. What if someone who was disfellowshipped, became baptised into another church? Are they still to be ignored and casted out?

Yes, you are baptized into the church and organization. You pledge your allegiance to them. Any other church is viewed as being part of Satan's world.
*** w52 10/15 p. 613 “Not the Kind That Shrink Back” ***

Those who shrink back are the ones Peter said fit the true proverb: “The dog has turned back to its own vomit, and the sow that was bathed to rolling in the mire.” (2 Pet. 2:22, NW) They had been a part of the old world system of things, then came into association with the new world society and fed upon the clean spiritual food on Jehovah’s table, “a feast of fat things,” and thereafter turned back to Satan’s world, where “all tables are full of filthy vomit, no place is clean”. (Isa. 25:6; 28:8, AT) The Christian’s food is not just the nourishing truths in the Bible, but also the doing of God’s will, as Jesus said: “My food is for me to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34, NW) It is not just a matter of hearing God’s words, but a matter of doing them also. (Jas. 1:22) When one quits studying and doing God’s will, he returns to the hearing and practicing of the world’s wordy propagandas, rolling in its mire like the washed sow returning to her muddy wallow.

9

Shunning Family Members of DF'd

by VanillaMocha73 in

so, now my mother's bookstudy conductor is refusing to speak to her.

she just moved because she was flooded out of her old home and is now staying with a jw family in a slum duplex.

i mean, this lady is offering sub-standard living accomdations (no stove, shower backs up into the kitchen) and saying she is charging only $400 because my mom is anointed.

VanillaMocha73

She is offering my mother a "deal" on a 2 bedroom slum that would "normally" cost $750 to rent - mom is paying like $400. I could not believe she left like that and would truly love to give her a piece of my mind, but she sees me coming and runs like I am the devil. She told my mother that she expects to be attacked by Satan because of my mother staying there (anointed and all). Whatever.... What kills me is that her big mouth is running off telling the congregation how I come to visit and help. Therefore, the elders shun my mother. I have done nothing more than what is the Christian obligation of children towards parents. By their fruits you will recognize them. Hmmm.....

18

JW, XJW MOVIE STARS IN THE NEWS

by one in

some big and small news are floating around about.

prince, out to help mj.

michael jackson, back to the goodoldusa, will he stay?.

VanillaMocha73

Wayans family
George Benson
Larry Graham
Teresa Graves
Lark Voorhies
Selena
And so forth...

9

Shunning Family Members of DF'd

by VanillaMocha73 in

so, now my mother's bookstudy conductor is refusing to speak to her.

she just moved because she was flooded out of her old home and is now staying with a jw family in a slum duplex.

i mean, this lady is offering sub-standard living accomdations (no stove, shower backs up into the kitchen) and saying she is charging only $400 because my mom is anointed.

VanillaMocha73

So, now my mother's bookstudy conductor is refusing to speak to her. She just moved because she was flooded out of her old home and is now staying with a JW family in a slum duplex. I mean, this lady is offering sub-standard living accomdations (no stove, shower backs up into the kitchen) and saying she is charging ONLY $400 because my mom is anointed. And of course my mom (who was doing a fade after reading Crisis of Conscience and others) is now drug to all the meetings and out in service willy-nilly. Now, the lady she is staying with has reported, apparently, that I do go to visit my mother and she speaks to me. (Horrors). The sister treats me and my husband (non-JW) like trash. Therefore, my mom's new congregation is treating her like df'd. Who ever heard of that? I mean, really!!! I am my mother's only child. My mom's power and heat went out for a week. The sister called downstairs to tell mom that she was checking into a hotel and LEFT. I called after work and mom couldn't breathe because of the cold. It took us two hours to dig her out - had to get around a downed power line and over a tree. And apparently, she should have refused my help and froze to death....

Anyone else's parents get shunned just becuase they don't treat you like dead?

49

JWs in Field Service Today--Christmas.

by M.J. in

i guess the local kh is doing a special field service outing today, which my wife will be a part of...on christmas morning.

i think this is intrusive and disrespectful.. did any of you do fs on christmas?.

is this a common thing among jws?

VanillaMocha73

When I was zealous for "the truth" I always went out on holidays. I recall the last Christmas I went out I was ALONE. Nobody from two Kingdom Halls (including the elders who kept telling us how this was a prime day to reach people at home) went out. Since I was working full-time, homeschooling and regular pioneering I recruited my mother (from 70 miles south) and we went out. I recall talking to some people whose mother was a JW (deceased) and who were all df'd - they were actually very nice to us while telling us to get lost. I suppose I would do the same now.

The hypocrisy of the elders was one that that always irritated me. Ours would rarely come out in service, and if they did they had previous arrangements (meaning probably that they went back home). Many many times I was alone in service with my young son.