Posts by smiddy

148

Jehovah's Witnesses View of Jesus Compared to the Early Church

by cofty in

the following is an extract from something i wrote 16 years ago soon after leaving the watchtower.

i am posting it because it may help honest jws consider how far their beliefs are at odds with new testament christians.

if they have "the truth" then their attitude to jesus ought to reflect that of the apostles.

smiddy

The tetragrammaton does not appear in the Kingdom Interlinear the word for word translation of the Cchristian Greek Scriptures published by the WTB&TS

Therefore the name Jehovah should not appear in the New Testament (NWT)

In the same publication at John 1:1 the word for word translation says," In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God"

As you point out their are heaps of scriptures of Christians witnessing to ,for,or about Jesus Christ..( approx.30 ?)

Their is not one that I know of that says Christians are to be witnesses of Jehovah.,not one.

3

New Check on ( Child ) Abuse .New safeguards (Australia Victoria) { Made Law last week }

by smiddy in

this article was in the herald sun thurs.march 2 ,2017 (heraldsun.com.au).

"the commission for children and young people will oversee the new scheme and monitor how organisations respond to claims of child abuse and misconduct.. "any abuse allegations will have to be centrally reported under the changes".

"child safety is everyones responsability.this scheme is the next vital step in keeping victorian children safe and improving organisations responses to allegations of child abuse and misconduct " families and children minister jenny mikakos said.. "schools and government services will have to comply from july 1. other institutions providing services to children will follow in january.".

smiddy

This article was in the Herald Sun Thurs.March 2 ,2017 (HERALDSUN.COM.AU)

"The Commission for children and young people will oversee the new scheme and monitor how organisations respond to claims of child abuse and misconduct.

"Any abuse allegations will have to be centrally reported under the changes"

"Child safety is everyones responsability.This scheme is the next vital step in keeping Victorian children safe and improving organisations responses to allegations of child abuse and misconduct " Families and children Minister Jenny Mikakos said.

"Schools and Government services will have to comply from July 1. Other institutions providing services to children will follow in January."

Wes Hosking.( Journalist)

Will Jehovahs Witnesses see a loophole here and say it doesnt apply to them as they dont specifically hold childrens services ?

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

smiddy

Yet still it drags on .and on and on.

I know legal matters take time , nothing happens overnight in a legal sense does it .

20

Australian Child Abuse Royal Commission - Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower to appear on 10 March 2017

by jwleaks in

latest date just published for case study 54, jehovah's witnesses and watchtower.

the public hearings will commence friday 10 march 2017 at the child abuse royal commission's hearing rooms in sydney.. http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/10908a67-70c5-4103-94cc-dac096fdb585/case-study-54,-march-2017,-sydney.

the scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:.

smiddy

Thanks for that update jwleaks

Apart from all the obvious things the religion needs to adress before the ARC

1. I believe their should never be a time when a JW male or female goes on his or her own in the D2D ministry ,that would help in curbing a sexual predator from potentinally endangering a child in the general community.

2. I also strongly believe that every adult male and female should have a working with children check before they can engage in the D2D ministry and not just restricted to Elders and Ministerial servants.( as if to say they are the only ones who can molest children)

And what may I ask is 5. Any related matters ? Who can contribute to this ?

37

WT Society Creates the Atmosphere which Spawns Child Abuse in Congregations

by flipper in

been thinking about this lately after almost 14 years out of the jw cult myself.

when you think of the language used within the jehovah's witness organization in such a closed society environment in how the wt society promotes almost absolute " trust " in the elders , the governing body, and trust even in the " friends " in the congregation themselves- is it any wonder that unscrupulous child molesters can enter any congregation pretending to be " spiritual " and take advantage of unsuspecting children or the parents ?

think about it : an individual is judged as a " spiritual " person within the jw organization based on what wt functions or duties they are good at performing.

smiddy

You make some interesting points flipper that make a lot of sense

.And as the ARC pointed out not only are the children of JW`s at risk ,by the Elders and the organization s failure to inform the appropiate authorities such as police and/or child protection services , they are also putting the community at large at risk endangering the welfare of non JW children who live in the congregations area.Especially when such a person is not sanctioned by the congregation because their are no two witnesses and he is free to go from D2D on his own

Their is no rule that says a witness has to be accompanied by another witness in their D2D work.

Often JW`s go from D2D on their own ,maybe this is another avenue that should be looked at.by the ARC.

55

A question to Non-US forum members.

by Spoletta in

now that trump is on his way to making america great again, will you consider moving here where you can get the best healthcare and education that anyone with a lot of money can buy, plus the ability to buy all the guns you need to protect yourself?

and it gets better!

if you are caucasian, you need never worry about discrimination.. am anxious to hear your replies.

smiddy

I bet a lot of Americans would wish Trump was on his way.but lets be fair he did get elected by the system you have .

Give the "poor Bugger" a chance ,as the saying does " give a man enough rope and he can hang himself"

Whatever happens , it is interesting times ahead .

From down under

35

February 26, 2017 TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS Re: Witnessing in Public Places

by wifibandit in

february 26, 2017 to all bodies of elders re: witnessing in public places.

and.

february 25, 2017 to all congregations re: magnetic boards and posters for public witnessing.

smiddy

Its nice to see how the organization absolves itself from any responsability or liability and puts the onus on the individual JW if things go awry .( Dont use the congregation name nor Jehovahs witnesses or any of the other names identyfying the JW organization)

What idiot would agree to those conditions.

26

Observations from an Ex-Elder Part 2 - Cart Work

by doubtfull1799 in

up until i left recently i was participating in the cart work.

in the location where we used to set up near our local mall we never had one person stop and take literature or stop and chat - other than fellow brothers.

i thought maybe it was just a bad location or something.

smiddy

The cart work is unproductive ---the only people that stop by are JW`s.

The D2D work is unproductive ----very few if any converts are made compared to the hours involved.

Apart from that if you did a survey among the householders of any street or community about what JW`s believe all they would say is that they dont believe in blood transfusions or they are bible bashers .

No one would say they are preaching a paradise earth with Jesus Christ as King.

The Public talks are a waste of time -------None of the public ever attend.

39

June 2017 Watchtower - Jehovah's Sovereignty is at stake if you disagree with us

by Listener in

four years ago the watchtower made the following demand.

all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.

they are not content with obedience and in the upcoming june watchtower they have this to say -15. how does respect for theocratic headship reveal our love for jehovah’s way of ruling?15 what is our response to divinely authorized headship?

smiddy

Where is it in the New Testament , that says Christians followers of Jesus Christ, are to worship Jehovah God ?

Name one scripture .? that explicitly states that ?

Jesus Christ is the central figure in the Christian Greek Scriptures that christians are to honour and obey Phil .2:5-12

Not Jehovah.a name a Spanish Catholic monk in the 13th century invented using his knowledge of the four hebrew letters , YHWH or JHVH denoting Gods name and using Adonai to come up with Jehovah.

Even the Watchtower in the book Aid To Bible Understanding first edition acknowledged Yahweh would be the more accurate translation however because of popularism they settled on Jehovah.

because the population in christendom would be more familiar with that name,

However they have been saying for decades that christendom has been hiding Gods name from the public ?

So which is it christendom has been hiding that mame of God ? or it is the most recognised name of God in christendom.?

Another example of JW`s speaking out of both sides of their mouth.

31

Endure or Enjoy??

by stuckinarut2 in

have we ever noticed how witnesses are constantly being told that life is something that needs to be "endured", rather that "enjoyed"?.

life is always so tough, so hard, so difficult in "these last days".

"persecution and trials abound".

smiddy

The paradise JW`s envisage ,during the 1000 year reign of Christ , many will not want to live under that system ,why do I say that ? because according to scripture at the end of JC`s reign their are multitudes who rebel at a theocratic rule by God and their is a final war against Satan and his demons .

This is going to happen a thousand years in the future after Jesus Christ`s 1000 year reign ,

So all these hordes against jesus christ millenial reign are still alive after his rule finishes ,so that must mean they are active during his 1000 year reign ,doesnt sound like paradise to me.

So the paradise JW`s think they are going into in the very near future wont be for at least another 1000 years away.

Jw`s never enjoy their worship it is always something to be endured for the percieved reward ahead which is always just out of reach of the JW.with the promise of it`s just around the corner.and is never realised ..

In the meantime Jw`s lose out on a life worth lived., their only one.