Posts by smiddy

14

Fewer christians (and other religions) and more with NO RELIGION in Australia

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the results of the last australian census are trickling out, and the results offer an insight into the changing concepts of contemporary aussies.. in 1966 only 0.8 % marked 'no religion' on their census form.. in 2001 those marking 'no religion" had grown to 16%.. and in 2016 those marking 'no religion" had grown to 29.6%.. so more non-believers than any other group.

catholics (the previous largest group) were now only 22.5% of australians.. ________________________.

the other interesting change is language,.

smiddy

possum

Thanks for that post .I was listening to the ABC radio in my car and heard this same thing on talk back radio today

However, a group called the Atheist Foundation of Australia is leading a campaign to get people to stop making this joke. Their reasoning is, that when officially counted, Jedi gets classified as a "Not Defined" religion instead of "No Religion." When that happens, they believe "it makes Australia seem more religious than it really is."

So it would be interesting to see if this campaign influenced the latest Census as compared to the previous one .

Aussie smiddy

19

Gog of Magog - Watchtower says it has two identities

by Listener in

the searcher started a topic addressing the gt, a comment from sparrowdown asked an interesting question -.

"...the political powers of satan's world will form a coalition..."that's the statement that interests me.

what are they alluding to?.

smiddy

Listener,

I hope your summary is correct ,because if it is , it should wake up a lot more old timers and hopefully others that this religion just makes things up as the years drag on.

Jehovahs Witnesses must hold the "Trophy" for the religion that changes their interpretation of scripyures the "Most" that they once held as the only "truth"

Jehovahs Witnesses are living proof that the " Holy Bible" does not mean what it says or does not say what it means .

That is why they have continually changed the interpretation of scriptures they once held as "True" to another interpretation for the past 140 years .

20

Today's Watchtower Study 25 June " Do You Share Jehovah's Sense of Justice?" April 2017 issue

by BluesBrother in

same theme scripture as last week deut 32.

3/4 "a god... who is never unjust".

do i share that spirit ?

smiddy

An incident is brought to the attention of the Elders of a child sexual abuse. in a congregation.Handle it in-house we dont want to bring reproach on Jehovahs name.

Justice in the name of Jehovah

Many accounts of crimes committed against minors of sexual abuse in many congregations in a Country reported to the Legal department in Brooklyn ,keep it in house as we dont want to bring reproach on jehovahs name.

Justice in the name of jehovah.

A flood of sexual abuse cases of children in congregations all over the world pouring into the legal department of branches in different countries then sent on to the Governing Body in the USA and the response is ,if it is mandatory to report in your jurisdiction do so ,otherwise keep it in in-house as we dont want to bring reproach on Jehovahs name now do we.

Jehovahs justice in action,

A common statement by Elders "Leave it in Jehovahs hands he will rectify it in his good time " in other words do nothing to get the justice you deserve.

Imperfect human beings seem to have a better sense of justice than Jehovah.

17

The GB members of the Watchtower Corporation are cunning decisive crooks

by Finkelstein in

i think its now easy see the long standing and continuous operation of the watchtower corporation and its commercialized corruption as a religious publishing house.

the core centralized intent was to increase the circulation and distribution of the wts's own publications.

they exploited the basic belief in the bible as holy spiritual writings and used the end is near proclamation all throughout the 20th century and even back toward the end of the 19th century.. these leaders also devised special engaging public talks at assemblies and local kingdom halls which were also devised to support those specific core doctrines of christ's return and a imposing question of who's worthy of being saved or not at the soon to come day of judgment armageddon.

smiddy

And of course have Jehovahs Witnesses ever asked where in the Bible is a Kingdom paradise on Earth promised ? Can a JW show me that scripture ?

5

Happy are those concious of their spiritual need?

by NikL in

that was the title of the public talk given by the co today.

it's a statement i've heard over the years many many times.it's based on the nwt translation of matthew 5:3i always use a different version of the bible when i follow the scriptures because it lets me get a better view of the scripture in question.well, imagine my surprise when i read the scripture in the nrsv bible to realise it says something completely different.the nwt renders it...3 “happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.. however the nrsv says...3 “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.. i was quite surprised at the completely different meaning so i looked at other translations and they pretty much all say the same thing.

the only one who says anything like spiritual need is the nwt.

smiddy

Human beings give their"interpretations" as to what GOD Jehovah meant in his word.

Whereas God himself is silent .[ He`s always silent ]

What the bloody hell do imperfect humans know what God meant when he said this or that .? I ask you.

41

Some prayers really annoy me

by stillin in

i realize that prayer is a really personal thing, but representing a group in prayer has become so full of cliche's that i just want to vomit sometimes.

co week almost every prayer has the phrase "special week of activity" in it.. then there's "please look after the sick and afflicted.".

not so much anymore, "please bless this food and the hands that prepared it.".

smiddy

When Jesus gave his illustration of how to pray he never mentioned Jehovah .

And the account`s of his giving a prayer ,he never mentions Jehovah.

Forget about the NWT of the Bible

Look at the Jehovahs Witness Kingdom Interlinear translation of The Christian Greek Scriptures,a word for word translation and the name Jehovah does not exist anywhere in that nearest to authentic text in existence.

4

messianic bible

by zeb in

there is an add that appears often here about a 'messianic bible, free reserve yours now.

' i contacted them and not wanting anything for free i sent what i thought was a fair price for such a bible.

no bible they seem to be working on it.

smiddy

Did you pay money up front zeb ? Is it a scam ?

On another note I just wonder how many different Bible versions do we need ? or are even necessary ?

Doesnt it just add to more confusion as to what these Bible translators/Bible Societys say GOD meant?

If their was /is a God couldnt he have set matters straight Centuries ago clarifying what he said /meant in the first place instead of the ridiculous position we are in today with so many translations /interpretations as to what he is supposed to have said /meant ?

Not even taking into account the volumes of commentary,theosophical discussions,Bible Dictionarys,etc.etc. speaking for God.

I mean to say he is supposed to be the Creator of the Universe and yet he cant give us HIS actual words and meaning of the Bible ?

48

The great tribulation is now coming VERY soon!

by The Searcher in

watchtower october 2017, par 11, page 28 - "very soon the political powers of satan’s world will form a coalition that is bent on the destruction of god’s people.

's] have anything to fear?

not at all!........at that critical moment during the great tribulation, the angelic soldiers of jehovah of armies will come together to protect god’s people..."[j.w.

smiddy

And if the GB are basing their interpretation on the book of Revelation CH:2 or CH:7 just keep in mind Rev.CH:22.vs20 "Yes I am coming quickly" , 2000 years ago and Christians are still waiting.

So quickly should arrive before soon shouldnt it ?

18

Human element seen in 10 commandments

by venus in

i appreciate 10 commandments because they try to ensure law and order in the society.

however, i have problem with introductory statements that say: “you shall have no other gods before[a] me… you shall not bow down to them or worship them; for i, the lord your god, am a jealous god, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (exodus 20:3-6).

1) this contradicts the characteristics of god described in mathew 5:44-48 where love is described as loving everyone without thinking whether others reciprocate or not.

smiddy

{…“You shall have no other gods before[a] me}

Obviously Jehovah was not willing to share the spotlight with his peers.Gen.3:22

{ I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,} (and every overlapping generation ever since)

That would have to be the understatement in all of Evolutions history wouldnt it ?

How can that equate with a" God of Love" or " He loved the world so much he gave his only begotten son" yet he keeps punishing Adam and Eves offspring to this very day.for their act of eating a forbidden fruit.and not just with death but a myriad of debillitating diseases to boot.

{When God makes a statement, He can’t make mistake.}

So when Jehovah God changes his mind as he has done on a few occassions ,its not because he has made a mistake ?

Just saying

However it is true the" Human Element is seen in the Ten Commandments" as well as the rest of the Bible.

34

Physically In, Mentally Out

by James Jack in

7 years ago i was this "ultra spiritual elder".

you name it, i was visible all over the region.

i was the coordinator, on the convention committee, rbc, had a talk at every convention and assembly, regular pioneer, etc.

smiddy

No James Jack their is a huge difference in the WT publication " Is this Life All Their Is " and what "Wake Me Up Before You JoHo" said which is

"What is The Meaning Of My Life " and i need to emphasise " MY LIFE" here.

What is the meaning of YOUR life away from the manipulations ,fear obligations and guilt that the jehovahs Witness /watchtower religion puts upon you.

And I agree with the previous post if you havent done it already is to apologise to your son and ask for his forgiveness because you were listening not to what the Bible says but what 7 men in brooklyn told you to believe

If your still a Bible believer read again about Jesus and casting the first stone.and forgiveness.

If I havent done so before James Jack a sincere welcome to this forum ,stick around and comment on whatever subject you like we like to hear from new people.