Posts by StephaneLaliberte

38

Canada exploring changes to tax rules that exempt religious organizations

by Scully in

jw
friends

https://www.christianpost.com/news/evangelicals-oppose-removal-of-tax-status-in-canadian-proposal.html.

the proposed change will revoke charitable status of canadian churches who have an anti-abortion position, and will not give tax exemptions to organizations whose sole claim is to promote religion, which is the basic claim for all jw related entities in canada.

this will be interesting!.

StephaneLaliberte

As much as I don’t agree with religions in general, they do meet the requirements for non-profit organizations:

Being organized for a purpose other than generating profit for their members (e.g., educational, recreational, cultural, or charitable).
Operating for the benefit of the public or a specific community.

If you take that away from religions based on opinions, you’ll also take away people’s ability to form communities and organize. It infringes on their freedom.

On the other hand, I believe that specific hate speech should be identified as such and be dealt accordingly, case by case. For instance, the practice of shunning, or when you hear one religious group call for the demise of other groups.

39

I've done it: Christmas Lights Outside

by StephaneLaliberte in

lets see if that causes a problem.

i've been inactive for a very long time now (like 10+ years), so, i don't expect to hear anything from it, but my parents are worried i'll get df.

lets see what happens.

StephaneLaliberte

Romans 6:16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?

Yes, that is true. You're a slave to the Watchtower. The Watchtower instructs you to hate the holidays, and so you do.

How so? Had you been a JW before 1928, you would have been celebrating Christmas as well. Based on your theology, celebrating Christmas wasn't a deal breaker for Jesus when he selected the JWs as the true religion in 1919. By enforcing a rule like this, JWs are acting like the unforgiving servant from one of Jesus's parables (Matthew 18:21-35).

As for us, once we leave, we have the choice to abide by our own conscience! For the last 10 years, I chose not to have any lights on my house. This year, I am choosing to have lights. It's my choice. The "world" doesn't care about it. All my "worldly" friends don't care about it. One way or another, my friends respect my choices. So, who's a slave to whom?

39

I've done it: Christmas Lights Outside

by StephaneLaliberte in

lets see if that causes a problem.

i've been inactive for a very long time now (like 10+ years), so, i don't expect to hear anything from it, but my parents are worried i'll get df.

lets see what happens.

StephaneLaliberte

I am well past caring what those miserable people think

I wish I could say the same. My parents are still part of it, and I don’t want them to have to deal with the fallout of me being disfellowshipped. But after 10 years, I think I’ve been patient enough. By their own standards, they’re not supposed to bother me about it anymore.

That said, it really depends on the local congregation and its members. For example, the elders might not care. But it only takes one nosy sister to make me the focus of her conversations with everyone she meets. And just like that—VOILA!—the elders feel compelled to take action.

39

I've done it: Christmas Lights Outside

by StephaneLaliberte in

lets see if that causes a problem.

i've been inactive for a very long time now (like 10+ years), so, i don't expect to hear anything from it, but my parents are worried i'll get df.

lets see what happens.

StephaneLaliberte

Lets see if that causes a problem. I've been inactive for a very long time now (like 10+ years), so, I don't expect to hear anything from it, but my parents are worried I'll get DF. Lets see what happens.

20

I need to vent sorry!

by KerryKing in

i couldn't get back to sleep last night, something my father said a few weeks ago popped into my head.. we were talking about obtaining citizenship, he doesn't need it, but was contemplating what benefits it could get him now he's a pensioner.. background : i've been disfellowhipped for 15 years, i was born in, he is an elder, very much pimi, he was also born in.. i said to him how citizenship would be difficult for him as it would require him to swear allegiance to the state?.

oh he said, thats just a crowd of people together in a big room for the swearing in event, it would be easy to just mumble or say nothing, nobody would know.. this has quietly been eating away in my mind, why did it bother me?.

last night it hit me, when i was in my first year of school, age 5, i came out of school one day with a balloon with two little pencils attached, a gift from a classmate who's birthday it was, every child got one.

StephaneLaliberte

Like the people that went to jail for refusing any military or civil service and then all of a sudden it is okay to do non-combat military service,

I remember meeting one of these brothers. I recall that he was a ministerial servant and pioneer. I couldn’t help but wonder how he felt about that change. What made it worse was the fact that this change was introduced as a minor adjustment, and they never apologized for it. Meanwhile, some brothers went to jail for 1 or 2 years, for nothing!

That was one of those little things in my long list of grievances which ultimately led me out of the JWs.

20

I need to vent sorry!

by KerryKing in

i couldn't get back to sleep last night, something my father said a few weeks ago popped into my head.. we were talking about obtaining citizenship, he doesn't need it, but was contemplating what benefits it could get him now he's a pensioner.. background : i've been disfellowhipped for 15 years, i was born in, he is an elder, very much pimi, he was also born in.. i said to him how citizenship would be difficult for him as it would require him to swear allegiance to the state?.

oh he said, thats just a crowd of people together in a big room for the swearing in event, it would be easy to just mumble or say nothing, nobody would know.. this has quietly been eating away in my mind, why did it bother me?.

last night it hit me, when i was in my first year of school, age 5, i came out of school one day with a balloon with two little pencils attached, a gift from a classmate who's birthday it was, every child got one.

StephaneLaliberte

Your feeling of betrayal is understandable given everything you've explained. However, there's one thing you left out: time.

A lot of time has passed since your youth. You no longer hold the same religious views as you did back then. It's safe to assume that your dad's views have also changed, though perhaps not as drastically. This likely includes his views on the citizenship ceremony. Today, there are options that were once to be avoided at all costs. But you, your dad, and even his religion have changed.

So why the feeling of betrayal? Perhaps it's because your dad hasn't admitted to you that he was wrong back then and that his views have since evolve?

I don't know about you, but I don't believe I suffered significantly from not celebrating many holidays and other things. What made it an excruciating experience for me however were those who bullied me, including adults! I was constantly ridiculed, hit, spat upon, and my things were vandalized — all because I wouldn't celebrate Christmas, date girls, or stand up for the national anthem. Today, even though I celebrate those holidays and sing the national anthem at hockey games, none of that changes the fact that those kids and adults who bullied me were absolutely reprehensible, far more than my religion and my parents who raised me in it.

Today, I look ahead and don't spend much time thinking about who did what wrong and how long. You're parents are probably getting older and if they still talk to you despite being disfellowshipped, you know what? Take it as a blessing. People don't have to ask for forgiveness for you to "get over" things they've done. Just see your parents as flawed individuals who, despite all their flaws, still love you and always did.

37

Prepare to get Pelted by Symbolic Hailstones

by raymond frantz in

https://youtu.be/idhmflud3p4?si=9xc4svrhxslduwvz.

so david schafer a member of the teaching commitee and a helper to the governing body has come out yesterday with a new video that goes through the king of the north, the hailstones message and other things in the wake of the possibility of a ww3 and especially now that tensions are escalating with russia so he is making quite a few end time arguments and i will be expanding on those one by one but today let's see what he has about the hailstones message of the end(video) so this is the paragraph in question, paragraph 14 from article 20 of the watchtower 2020 study edition: "sometime after the start of the great tribulation, “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will form a coalition of nations.

(rev.

StephaneLaliberte

When text is long and not well formatted, I do this: ChatGPT, please give me a resume, in one paragraph, of the text above.

Answer:

David Schafer, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses' Teaching Committee, recently released a video discussing the "hailstones message" mentioned in Revelation 16:21, tying it to escalating global tensions and potential End Times events. The Watchtower's interpretation suggests these hailstones are symbolic of Jehovah’s Witnesses delivering a bold judgment message that could provoke global opposition. However, critics argue that the Bible’s consistent depiction of hailstones as literal—supported by detailed descriptions in Revelation and historical precedent in Exodus and Joshua—contradicts this metaphorical view. The notion that Jehovah’s Witnesses, known for their passive ministry, could deliver such a provocative message seems implausible, raising questions about the alignment of this interpretation with scripture and reality.

3026

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

StephaneLaliberte

Wow, he sounds like the speech elders were making at all of my congregations throughout my 35 years in the JWs.

"We don't want to make such talk, but you need to give more money cause we're in the red here!"

22

Netflix Live Boxing Event

by moomanchu in

jw
friends

when i was in the org it seemed most brothers were very much into football and other sports.

which looking back makes no sense and makes me wonder why?

it felt like an overcompensating to be masculine.. shouldn't football be deemed unchristian?

StephaneLaliberte

While I was tempted to say that the Tyson/Jake Paul fight was scripted, I changed my mind when I heard Tyson say the following at the end of the match:

"Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25 lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won."

Even if he exaggerated a bit, this is likely the real reason why he was half the speed he was 9 months ago, before he got sick. And as for him not trying to throw punches in the last few rounds, simple: He missed Jake a few times and probably realized he wasn't fast enough. So, he got real defensive.

And I don't buy the idea that it was scripted for the simple fact that it was a sanctioned fight. Hence, illegal to fix it. Hence, even if Tyson had signed an NDA and spilled the beans later, he wouldn't lose a dime as the NDA would be unenforceable. There would be way too much to loose for the promoters and Jake Paul if something like that came out.

People say its fix cause we all wanted to see Rocky Balboa 6 come to life. But life isn't a movie, even if we sometime see it unfold, live, on TV.

14

Do you see it?

by MeanMrMustard in

.

StephaneLaliberte

Aside from this image not making sense, are we supposed to see something else?