StephaneLaliberte

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Posts by StephaneLaliberte

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  11

  On the Fundamentalist Notion of Babylon Destroyed - Forgot to Tell Ancient World

  by kepler in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  among puzzlements of sitting down with jw reps with "what the bible really teaches", was the assertion that babylon was destroyed - forever - just like it says in these here chapters and verses.

  then the nwt claims that peter i & ii were written from babylon.

  but beside that, ancient greek, hebrew and roman writings are full of reference to babylon as an important center.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Sorry to burst your bubble, but the JWs don't deny this.

  *** it-1 p. 237 Babylon ***
  From that memorable date, 539 B.C.E., Babylon’s glory began to fade as the city declined. Twice it revolted against the Persian emperor Darius I (Hystaspis), and on the second occasion it was dismantled. A partially restored city rebelled against Xerxes I and was plundered. Alexander the Great intended to make Babylon his capital, but he suddenly died in 323 B.C.E. Nicator conquered the city in 312 B.C.E. and transported much of its material to the banks of the Tigris for use in building his new capital of Seleucia. However, the city and a settlement of Jews remained in early Christian times, giving the apostle Peter reason to visit Babylon, as noted in his letter. (1Pe 5:13) Inscriptions found there show that Babylon’s temple of Bel existed as late as 75 C.E. By the fourth century C.E. the city was in ruins, and eventually passed out of existence. It became nothing more than “piles of stones.”—Jer 51:37.

  
  
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  6

  Are faded jw;s still counted as members by the sect.?

  by atomant in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  lm certain the sect would have an accurate figure would be interesting to know how many though.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  And as for me and my household, we will not be counted as JWs. :)
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  56

  Did any of us ever enjoy meetings?

  by stephanie61092 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this is a legitimate question.

  did any of us ever find real joy in being at the meetings?

  did any of us ever finish a meeting and think "i feel so enriched"?

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  StephaneLaliberte

  NotBlind: "Self Congratulations", "obey, obey, obey"

  Your right!! One of the things that started to get on my nerves was the feeling that JWs were like the Pharisee Jesus talked about.
  

  Luke 18:11: The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
  
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  56

  Did any of us ever enjoy meetings?

  by stephanie61092 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this is a legitimate question.

  did any of us ever find real joy in being at the meetings?

  did any of us ever finish a meeting and think "i feel so enriched"?

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I did enjoy meetings. Without sarcasm, I actually did enjoy having shallow conversations before and after the meetings. Sure, I knew none of them were true friends, but somehow, I still enjoyed seeing them every week or 3 months (at assemblies). This summer, I actually drove to Cornwall (Ontario, Canada) where we had our district conventions and reflected on how I actually miss some of these people.

  As for the talks, I’d say that on average, I was in agreement with about 60 to 70 percent of their content and as such, did enjoy these things. Back then, I had fooled myself to believe that I constantly needed to be reminded to be a good person in order to actually be one.

  However, towards my last active year, it became difficult and going to these meetings became a chore. I was increasingly sensitive to talks placing the Organization as equal to God. I started counting how many times they would say “Faithful slave” and “governing body”. How these man imposed an unscriptural authority over the conscience of others. How they lied about the world and other religions. How they happily exposed the sins of others, and hid their own. How they almost rejoiced at disasters occurring around and in the world, using such stories to offer a “false security” feeling to their members. How they frequently spoke in half-truths, etc.

  As time went one, these things became unacceptable and appalling to me when my kids started to repeat these things, like absolute truths.

  Finally, when I realized I was spending my meetings taking notes of everything I wanted to “explain” to my kids later, that is when I realized it was time to stop.
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  56

  jw family loves to ask df'd ones for money!

  by Ghiagirl in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well it finally happened!

  we have been waiting about a year for this, my dfd husbands family asked us for money.

  even though his own father hasn't met our 8 month old son.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  How about "Sure we'll help you. Lets go do a grocery together. You need cloths? Lets go shop together."

  If they accept, by spending time with you, they will realize that you are not, in fact, the monster described by WT literature. If they do not accept saying that they can't do things with you as you are disfellowshiped, then, say:

  "Here I am, with my heart on my hands, willing to help you, and now, not only are you refusing my help, but you are breaking my heart. How am I supposed to feel when you ask me to make sacrifices for you when I am not even worthy of your presence?".
  

  If they say: You can come to our house, but we can't spend time in public. Answer: "If the opinion of other's count for that much, will they feed you? Then, what right do they have to judge you?"

  Do not simply give them money without requiring their time and presence, otherwise, all the comments above are valid. They could very well say: "That was the least this sinner could do after everything she has done to us".
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  39

  JWs win 2015 Bronze Telly Award in the “Online Video News Feature”

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jworg is carrying a "news" article concerning their recent win of a telly award.. i don't need to add to the jworg website hits, so here is the award listed on the telly award website:.

  https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/list/?l=jehovah%27s&event=16&category=3&award=b.

  2015 online video bronze winners.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  According to the fact sheet of the Telly Awards, you get 1 out of 3 chances to win (10% silver, 25% Bronze) !
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  12

  March Broadcast - Remove the Rafter - Adjust Your attitude

  by helpmeout in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  if you have watched the march broadcast you will understand the topic title.

  another propaganda piece intended to subtly blame the victim.

  i would like to see them present a clip showing an arrogant self righteous elder interfering in the personal affairs of a family.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Most witnesses will readily admit that the watchtower is not perfect and that it is not inspired. However, they do not seem to grasp the fact that if they accept this fact, then, the organization should act as an imperfect, uninspired, sincere Christian individual.

  For instance, a good Christian would first consider the possibility that he or she is wrong before judging others. He would ask for forgiveness and try to make amends for his wrongdoings. He would listen to anyone questioning his teachings without questioning his motives and character. He would not assume that everything he does is the will of Jehovah. Thus, he would not tell his friends that if they help him, they, thereby, help Jehovah.

  People seem to lose this understanding when they fail to realize that a group should be judge in the same way we judge an individual.
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  43

  Elders & Ex Elders

  by brandnew in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have a question.....if two jw have sex and only one of them goes to the eldurrs and confesses.....do they both get busted?

  or does the boe need a confession from both people.?

  if one of em denies it happened will that person still get df'd?.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  The one that denies will go through a whole lot of questions and suspicions and it will not be easy. But if he keeps denying, nothing else will happen. Most JW, however, will confess.
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  11

  The reward of being a nice guy!

  by StephaneLaliberte in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  today, an old jw friend came to visit a member of my family who is still active.

  i saw them leave together to run errands.

  when they left, she didn't say hi and barely looked at me.. after taking care of my cores around the house, i noticed that the sister had forgot to turn off the head lights of her car.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Today, an old JW friend came to visit a member of my family who is still active. I saw them leave together to run errands. When they left, she didn't say hi and barely looked at me.

  After taking care of my cores around the house, I noticed that the sister had forgot to turn off the head lights of her car. So, I called them on my relative's cell phone, but the sister thought they could probably be back in time before the battery would run flat. Well, that didn't happen. The battery died. So who was there to save her day and give her a boost? ME!

  She was so nice with me, making small talk and smiling and laughing, just like in the good all days.

  I tell you, there is no greater pleasure than being a nice person to them making them realize: How come he didn't become a complete dick? He hasn't been to the hall in so long; shouldn't he be bad by now?
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  25

  Inviting disfellowshipped to the memorial

  by wannaexit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i read in a european ex jw forum that this year they are making a special effort to invite not only the inactive but also a special effort is made to invite all disfellowshipped.

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  i don't know if this as always been a common practice, or something started anew so they can boast about the numbers of attendees..

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  StephaneLaliberte

  If I was disfellowshipped, I would have a lot of fun with this. I can imagine the conversation:

  - Why should I go?

  - Jesus said: "Keep doing this".

  - Who was he talking to? Me or the anointed?

  - The anointed, but, by extension, the great crowd, us, you.

  - So, you want to invite me, and the general public, to a memorial celebration to which I am not part of. It doesn't sound right.

  Could you imagine verses in the bible that would explain how Jesus invited the public to a certain place, had them seated in a large room and asked them to wait patiently while he shared wine and bread with his 12 disciples, no one else? Then, how he went to a podium and explained to them that though they were not part of that ceremony, they were welcome to have witnessed it; They too, would benefit from that arrangement. Can you imagine how that would be written in the bible? How it would actually have happened? What would it say about Jesus' personality?

  I'm puzzled by what you're doing with this. The Jewish Passover was a "sacred" meal shared with the family and close friends; Jesus made it his own by adding the wine and the bread at the very end. Why would that not be sufficient?
  

  Why not keep it simple?