Posts by OnTheWayOut

12

It just seems that there isn't enough in it to pin it to them

by joe134cd in

i was just thinking this morning about the court cases wt is facing and although i do think there are enough of them is there just enough in them to pin it to wt.

i sort of get the feeling a lot of these cases are revolving around the definition of terms and also an attitude of could-a, should-a, would-a.

even with the latest example it raised more questions than solutions and i'm guessing that's why it was settled out of court.

OnTheWayOut

Watchtower doesn't promote pedophilia so it wouldn't always be clear cut that they are guilty of something. We understand that what they are guilty of is trying to avoid looking bad, trying to cover up that they have pedophiles among them. Their "Call Headquarters first" order is clearly designed to minimize damage when untrained elders get involved. It should be designed to protect children first.

Add in lawyers and it's tough to win cases. I don't blame victims for settling cases and moving on with their lives.

40

Movies I'm Watching

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

i have, for about 6 months now, been trying to watch every single movie that was "cool" or interesting since 1960.it started out with a desire to watch as an adult all disney movies.

then it morphed into all bond movies (except for the non-canonicals).now it's turned into pretty much any and all movies.

here is my list, scratched out are ones i have seen, green are recent next-in line.turns out there was a lot i had never seen before, about 70% because of the cult restrictions!

OnTheWayOut

I love A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, all the ROCKY movies. Make sure you see those.

26

Does Paul preach a fundamentally different religion than Jesus?

by Yesu Kristo Bwana Wangu in

controversy has arisen regarding jesus versus paul as scholars debate the different emphases and messages of jesus and paul.1 jesus preached the kingdom of heaven.

paul did not.

paul preached justification by faith alone.

OnTheWayOut

Paul never spoke of the empty tomb and the women there. His Christ who "appeared" to over 500 brothers was almost certainly a Christ of vision and myth. He said he "saw" Christ too, and we know that Paul was not literally in the presence of the man named Jesus of the Gospels. He saw the vision, the myth. Paul's Christ was not a man named Jesus who had recently lived.

Paul preached a mystic mysterious religion just like the others popular at the time. There was no mention of the virgin birth in Bethlehem or anything related to the man named Jesus.

The man Jesus, even if based on an actual person, was created by others long after Paul's existence. They created the mythology that competed with those of Zeus, Dionysus, Isis, and the like. There is bound to be major differences between messages.

11

Happy Valentine's Day

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

when i was jw, my standard answer to "saint....anything" day was "well, i am not catholic.

" that's still a valid answer that i would feel like giving if i was seriously questioned on any catholic or religious holiday, although i might change it to "well, i am not christian.

but fun is fun.

OnTheWayOut

Thanks all. I would love to share these silly holidays with a certain loved one some day. But at least I got you guys.

11

Happy Valentine's Day

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

when i was jw, my standard answer to "saint....anything" day was "well, i am not catholic.

" that's still a valid answer that i would feel like giving if i was seriously questioned on any catholic or religious holiday, although i might change it to "well, i am not christian.

but fun is fun.

OnTheWayOut

....and those of you who are Christian should try to get St. Joseph's Day to be a bigger thing. Maybe associate it with step families and going out for pizza.

11

Happy Valentine's Day

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

when i was jw, my standard answer to "saint....anything" day was "well, i am not catholic.

" that's still a valid answer that i would feel like giving if i was seriously questioned on any catholic or religious holiday, although i might change it to "well, i am not christian.

but fun is fun.

OnTheWayOut

When I was JW, my standard answer to "Saint....Anything" day was "Well, I am not Catholic." That's still a valid answer that I would feel like giving if I was seriously questioned on any Catholic or religious holiday, although I might change it to "Well, I am not Christian."

But fun is fun. I have no problem with gift exchanges at Christmas- because that's when people do that. St. Patrick and St. Valentine have been turned into something fun. This one has also been turned into something of a sexy/romance day. Enjoy.

SO HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY. Just a light-hearted thought.

64

Day 1 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Opening Statements and Motions in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial

by AndersonsInfo in

news bulletin: fessler versus watchtower – opening statements and motions in jehovah’s witness child abuse trial – day 1. .

posted on february 12, 2017. city hall, philadelphia, pennsylvania.

on a cold philadelphia morning the 7th of february, 2017, stephanie fessler walked into the court of common pleas of pennsylvania, first judicial district, civil trial division.

OnTheWayOut

I don't know what the elders were told, but it should become clear whether they violated a law about the duty to report.

With a judge ready to allow a witness in the punitive portion, I imagine the judge already knows whether the law was violated.

Thanks for reporting to us, Barb.

22

New to site...let me intro myself

by LarryCope in

first, i've been out of the organization for 20 years this very year!

i was baptized in 1979 and attended one of the lancaster ohio congregations.

realizing i was gay, i left and after being in the columbus gay community for 6 months, decided bar hopping and cruising was not my cup o' tea.i decided to return in late '90 and was reinstated in '91.

OnTheWayOut

So being gay had little to do with your leaving the final time.

Similarly, I left because I discovered it's not "the truth." So congratulations on your own discovery. If I had not left already, I would have laughed out loud during the Watchtower study that introduced the "overlap generation" and stormed out shouting "On that teaching, I am outta here."

Thanks for sharing, enjoy the forum. I look forward to your inputs.

21

Serpent in the Garden of Eden is not Satan

by anointed1 in

many interpret serpent in the garden of eden as the satan hence miss the whole point because satan himself does not exist.

he is a fictional character [for example, in the temptation account, satan is shown as reflecting the erroneous belief of ancient time that shape of earth is flat, thus taking jesus to the top of “a very high mountain” and showed him “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.” (mathew 4:8, 9) the fact that jesus did not correct the mistaken view of satan shows the account of temptation is allegorical.

further, jesus knew that satan was only a personification of evil (mathew 16:23; john 6:70) and categorically declared that “all evil thoughts proceed from one’s heart,” not from satan.

OnTheWayOut

Wait wait wait wait.

From what I read here, you say that the Garden of Eden, Eve, the story about the snake- all that is true?
....but the snake wasn't Satan?

.....or are the whole story and the characters in it also fictions as allegories?

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Sin is a religious term. Sin was created by religion to make people feel guilty, then they can contribute to religion monetarily or otherwise to appease their guilt.

People do wrong/bad things for self interest or other strange reasons. But it's only sin when religion gets involved.

49

Infinity versus nothing

by Fisherman in

some people like to believe in something others believe in nothing; so in what location did the substance that expanded into the time/space universe exist before the big bang?

where did the energy that caused the big band come from?

how did the substance that became the big bang change from being inert and sterile and come to life to having the properties and drive that it does?

OnTheWayOut

Even if science could provide the answers to where the matter/energy came from before our universe existed, I get that our limited minds would not process that well and we would still be hung up on wanting a simple explanation.

Regardless of where you are on your questions, putting God into the equation does not eliminate the problem.

Where did "god" come from? How did this "god" come to life to having the properties and drive that it has? Did "god" simply always exist? How? Then why can't matter/energy have always existed? It's just as difficult to answer with or without a god.