I think this is a good thing. I can see the impact the whole covid thing is having on my dad and I know he'll be happier to see people in person.
StephaneLaliberte
JoinedPosts by StephaneLaliberte
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15
I showed on of my JW (True Believers) that Kingdom Halls will be opening soon. He had a fit!
by pistolpete inso i showed one of my older uncles the link on jw.org.. https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/global/the-governing-body-announces-that-some-in-person-meetings-will-resume-in-select-areas/.
keep in mind that this is one of the relatives that is a true believer and used every excuse you can think of for the cancellation of all kingdom hall meetings.
and he also used every scriptural argument you can make up to justify the end of the door to door ministry.
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StephaneLaliberte
What evidence did you folks find in Ray's books that was important to you?
For 26 years I ignored the prophecies and the scandals believing that the love within the organization compensated for these shortcomings. Sure, we weren't perfect, but we were all people seeking to do God's will!
Then I read Ray's book! I understood that the love I was after was not a fruit of the organization, but simply the people in it. While we judged people by their actions, we didn’t judge the leadership in the same manner.
While guilt was imparted to the short comings of individual man, leaders never took ownership for their actions as a group, no remorse, no regrets. And yet, being a group does not make them less accountable to act as Christians. For instance, how can someone be forgiven for a sin he expresses no regret about? Same goes with the leaders. What about the way they go about, disfellowshipping people who disagree with them on non-core teachings? What about all the rules they’ve put in place that go beyond the scriptures? They would never accept this if it was only one man. In fact, they despise the Catholic and their Pope for that reason. What they fail to understand though is that a group of man or one man are bound to the same judgment, same rules.
Based on this, it was clear to me that the Organization’s leaders were not the type of Christians that Jesus thought about. So, I left.
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StephaneLaliberte
Just about everyone in my family. At one point, my mom, dad, sister, ants, cousins, they were all out. I was the only one in... Then they got re-instated one after the other.
I find it interesting that all these people committed serious sins and now, they have some kind of a judgmental attitude towards me. I left on principals; I didn't agree with the teachings. I never divorced, cheated on my wife, or committed fornication. Never drove drunk or did illegal drugs. Yet, people who did such things, but were later re-instated believe they have the moral superiority to judge me.
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Superman and Captain America
by punkofnice ini see that marvel are introducing a gay captain america as dc announce the son of superman is bi-sexual.. whereas i don't give a hoot about a person's use of their genitalia as long as it is consensual and not with kids, i'm finding all this 'inclusivity' becoming a bit boring.. are dc and marvel just virtue signalling in the hopes of selling comics and not being set on fire by the antifa frauds?
?.
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StephaneLaliberte
I don't mind gay super heroes, but turning existing super heroes into gay super heroes doesn't work. You are changing a fundamental part of the character.
Sure, its not superman, its his son... but they still call him superman and has the same powers... so, its a cheap replacement trick.
Anyways, people will vote with their wallet. I'm willing to spend on a new gay super heroes, but gay superman? Nope. Not a dime.
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SEX BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS NOT WRONG
by JohnTron72 ini replied to a lesbian on the quora website who tried to state that god destroyed sodom because of the violent rape the people were trying to commit, not because they were homosexuals.
her argument perperuated so often was that it stated nothing about sex between "two consenting adults".
but, instead of using the bible scriptures such as a man shall not lay down with another as a woman, i used something else you never hear anyone use.... i told her to look to genesis 6:1-4 .
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StephaneLaliberte
Waton - the question is, what evolutionary advantage would homosexuality impart on the individual the fittest to procreate, or more interestingly to humanity, as a whole?
No evolutionary advantages but there are no disadvantages either. With 6% of the US population identifying as gay, homosexuality is no threat to the reproduction of humanity. In the meantime, we enjoy amazing artists such as Elton John and Freddy Mercury. We also enjoy our friends and family members living their life free and happy. Letting them be and possibly be the best that they can be makes the world a better place. Morality, arts, and life’s pleasures are also part of evolution. Happy and united groups have much greater chance at survival than groups divided within themselves.
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SEX BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS NOT WRONG
by JohnTron72 ini replied to a lesbian on the quora website who tried to state that god destroyed sodom because of the violent rape the people were trying to commit, not because they were homosexuals.
her argument perperuated so often was that it stated nothing about sex between "two consenting adults".
but, instead of using the bible scriptures such as a man shall not lay down with another as a woman, i used something else you never hear anyone use.... i told her to look to genesis 6:1-4 .
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StephaneLaliberte
I find this post interesting; not because I'm against homosexuality, but because it is right: the bible is homophobic.
Here are the “high level” possibilities regarding God vs homosexuality:
- There is no God, thereby, the bible and Quran is entirely man made. There is no issue with homosexuality.
- There is a God; but he doesn’t communicate with man. Thereby, the bible and Quran are man made. Assuming that God is loving and just, he probably doesn’t have an issue with homosexuals.
- There is a God and he inspired some of the writings in the bible or the Quran or perhaps both. However, every homophobic passages are man made teachings and philosophy. God accepts homosexuality.
- The bible or the Quran are entirely inspired by God however, passages that appear homophobic are not properly interpreted in context and God accepts homosexuality.
- The bible or the Quran are entirely inspired by God and reading the text as they stand, God clearly condemns homosexuality.
I believe in option 1, perhaps option 2 as well.
Option 3 doesn’t make much sense to me: You pick and choose teachings based on your desires, not logical conclusions on what originates from God. Also, does it make sense for God to leave such conflicting messages in books that are supposed to represent his teachings?
Option 4 is even more absurd as this implies that people must twist the meaning of the scriptures beyond common sense.
Sadly, hatred towards the LGBTQ+ community is not isolated to the JWs and it is even more sad to see people from that community trying to reconcile with the holy books while they are in fact, the source of their abuse.
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StephaneLaliberte
My first exposer to the TATT was at age 9, in the revelation book, they were boasting about how conventions in the 1920s were the accomplishment of prophecies about the trumpets. That was the first time I started to question everything that came out of the Watchtower. I still rationalized a lot of things and stayed until I was 35. But the point is that I did not trust the Society from that day forward.
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Judicial Committee Meetings
by Iamallcool indo you know of any judicial cases that is very trivial?
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StephaneLaliberte
In the old days, I was "super spiritual" and my sister got into a JC. She didn't really have any remorse or regrets about her actions and asked for my help. So I told her exactly what to say and when and how to cry. She did as I advised and was "forgiven". She then came back to me thankful for my coaching!
This troubled my conscience for several years on two levels: 1) I was part of this manipulation and 2) appreciating the fact that a JC that prayed for Jehovah's guidance was soo easily fooled.
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Judicial Committee Meetings
by Iamallcool indo you know of any judicial cases that is very trivial?
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StephaneLaliberte
A friend of mine got disfellowshipped for smoking two cigarettes at school. First time, he was regretful and told the elder. Second time, another JW told on him. He was 16. 2 cigarettes. Ridiculous.
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Do JWs buy old JW books to destroy?
by mickbobcat ini have never heard of this but i doubt its never been done.
i sell some older jw books on etsy and have always been a bit afraid that some jws are buying them to destroy.
if you have heard of this let me know.
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StephaneLaliberte
The sad reality is that if you show an old book to a "spiritual" JW today, you will immediately be flagged as an apostate. I remember, in my initial stages of questioning the "truth", I was about to share writings of Charles Russel with a friend of mine. He literally fled my house telling me that he would not hear anything that would cause his faith to be stumbled. We were talking, he stood up and walked out of my house, mid conversation! In the end, his irrational reaction had a higher negative impact on my faith than the writings of Charles Russel!!
So, yeah, having old literature is a good thing for confirming your own decisions. Then, later, you can use these to discuss with people who were never JWs or that have since left the cult. But you will have next to no success with the JWs themselves. They view anyone digging the past in a very bad light.