Posts by StephaneLaliberte

68

Are Atheists Hypocritical in Celebrating Christmas?

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

richard dawkins revealed that he celebrates christmas on radio four's today programme.. here is is quoted as saying: .

'i am perfectly happy on christmas day to say merry christmas to everybody,' dawkins said.

'i might sing christmas carols - once i was privileged to be invited to kings college, cambridge, for their christmas carols and loved it.

StephaneLaliberte

Considering that the celebration itself is a mix of cultures and religions, I don't see a problem at all. Case in point, I can decorate my house, give gifts, invite people for a feast, and everyone sees it as Christmas.

If you switch things around, would Christmas be fun if you removed non-Christian elements from it? Such as the tree, Santa Claus, and the elves?

In the end, why do people celebrate it? Some believe that, at least, in its origin, it really was to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But if that was the case, there wouldn't have been a need to add all the other elements from existing "pagan" celebrations such as: yule logs, evergreen trees and winter solstice celebration. We may also consider St Nicolas, who what added centuries later! Sure he was a generous Christian father, but that was not enough. They had to give him non-Christian magical powers, elfs, and flying reindeers!

Still, all these additions were accepted by the majority until the celebration itself became something else.

In the end, what people really care about is not really the event that they are supposed to commemorate, but the reason why the celebration existed even before Jesus came along: It is to spend time together, to celebrate at a time where there is less light than any other time in the year, to have a reason to travel and see friends, family and perhaps, spend several days together.

And this is exactly how atheists see it: It's a holiday for fun, family, and friends.

10

Study WT - January 2024: Basic TRUTHS dispel the LIE

by BoogerMan in

study watchtower, p. 10 par.

6 - "a ransom is a price that is paid to buy something back.

(true!

StephaneLaliberte

That's just another place where the bible doesn't make sense. God decided to create things in such a way that Adam's sins would be passed on to his children. That's not fair.

What is fair is what's written in Ezekiel 18:20: "The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them."

And then, we blame religions when they talk out of both side of their mouth, but that's exactly what the bible does. In one verse, don't blame the kids for the parents actions and then, you have the ransom which is exactly that! God's design that holds blame from one generation to the next for thousands of years.

19

Missing WT's on JW Org

by joey jojo in

when i browse jw org, the following years of watchtower magazines are missing from the drop-down menu:.

1987 - 1990.

1997-1998.. i dont want to install any libraries from jw org because of spyware concerns.. are these years included in the downloadable libraries?.

StephaneLaliberte

That's something my mom complained to me about. Before, with the Watchtower CD, you easily had access to a lot of documentation and search was straight forward. Today, its like they've gone out of their way to make things complicated and return modern content that is so dumbed down that it doesn't satisfy even MY MOM; and she is far from being the scholar!

42

New meeting format

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

just watched november broadcast very different order to the leaked agm .

be good if someone did a deep dive on the difference and why the changes?

i didn’t time the items but it should be easy to see if edited?.

StephaneLaliberte

Out of all the things I have to complain about the JWs, the Theocratic Ministry School was not part of it. That program played a big part in my ability to speak publicly which has carried through my professional life. It was basically a toast master course based on biblical topics.

Then, they dumbed it down, reduced the allocated time, and well, it was one good thing they had that they slowly moved away from.

As trump would say: "SAD"!

22

I think circuit overseers should have a job like the apostle Paul

by forzaitalia in

am i being mean, thinking that travelling overseers should get a part-time job like paul did, in order to not be a burden to the congregation?

i wouldn't put my hand up when we were asked to raise it if we were happy to give £50 from congregation funds to the c.o.

so that he could take his wife out for a meal.

StephaneLaliberte

it was becoming legally helpful to keep a Roman Catholic hierarchical structure in place

AAHAHAHHAAH - Love it!

22

I think circuit overseers should have a job like the apostle Paul

by forzaitalia in

am i being mean, thinking that travelling overseers should get a part-time job like paul did, in order to not be a burden to the congregation?

i wouldn't put my hand up when we were asked to raise it if we were happy to give £50 from congregation funds to the c.o.

so that he could take his wife out for a meal.

StephaneLaliberte

At face value, I would agree, but you have to consider that:

Paul didn't report to anyone.
He wasn't married.
He didn't visit congregations often. In fact, he only made three trips in his career.
He didn't write that many letters or give that many talks compared to the COs.
I wonder about his door-to-door activity?

When you read his letters, you read them back to back, but fail to remember that they cover a period of 30 years! Not that I expect everything to be reported, but 3 trips over 30 years!! Compare that with today's Circuit Overseers (COs) who spend their lives, along with their wives, on the road. Sure, some of them have semi stable places like an appartment linked to a convention center or a kingdom hall, but a great deal of them need to move from one place to the next on a weekly basis. Then are expected to be in field service full time reporting their hours and preparing talks and organizing meetings for pioneers and elders and field services and the list goes on.

And with all this, they only get 2 or 3 weeks of vacation per year! Imagine, you have a job that pays so little that the government don't tax you, makes you work around 50 hours a week with a schedule spread through evenings and weekends and no retirement plan.

I find it difficult to complain about them getting too much money when these people are probably the most dedicated and selfless individuals on the face of the Earth.

That being said, are they needed? Nope. They could do as much as the Apostle Paul did, which isn't that much compared to everything they do. The reality is that true Christians don't need that much control. However, religions, any religion, desire greater control over people, and controlling people takes time. So they end up paying individuals to work full time for them!

32

Do you play the LOTTERY?

by Fisherman in

jw view gambling as a sin and sadly people get addicted to gambling causing them financial and health problems.

but is playing a couple of bucks a week on some lottery tickets actually gambling?

what do you have to lose?

StephaneLaliberte

I do, I buy lottery tickets from times to times and I go to the casino on occasion.

My take on it is that I pay for the "dream", for the possibility of getting rich or making some serious money. I know that the odds are so against me that the chances can be rounded off to no chance at all, but what if? What if I'm one in a million on that day?

So, that stupid question cost me about 7$ in lottery tickets per months and 400 to 600$ per year at the casino. That's how much that thrill is worth to me based on my finances today.

Unfortunately, some people take it too far, believe in lady luck, or that God himself could literally spin things in their favor and loose everything! Some even hang themselves in the bathroom stalls of the casino that took them everything.

21

Aftermath of being Reinstated

by TxNVSue2023 in

i'm in the process of being reinstated ( my df'ing story is on here).

because i've never been in this position before, i don't know how i will be treated once i'm reinstated.

i moved to a new city/state and i don't know a single person here or in my new congregation i am attending.

StephaneLaliberte

Honnestly, as much as I'd like to complain about JWs, it really depends on the congregation you have. My whole family has gone through this process at one point or another and they feel very much accepted in their respective congregations. It really depends on the friends you make in that new congregation.

In fact, my family went back precisely for their friends. They weren't able to make any friends outside of the JW and that is one of the main reason they are back in: for that social circle.

Perhaps you'll be happy after all!

For my part, I left because I stopped considering the JW as a social group and considered their teachings and how close to Jesus and God they actually are. Their disfellowship practice and the way they put emphasis on the wrong teachings is what drove me out. Eventually, I did make friends outside of the JWs.

The only thing I can hope for you is that you won't personally apply harmful teachings even if you go back in. Such as ignoring someone the minute they no longer share your belief and leave the group. Or believing that you have some moral superiority over all non JWs, going as far as calling them non believers good for eternal destruction.

There is a lot of good in people of various faith and the fact that people believe different things that you do doesn't mean that they are non believers. They are believers; just not in the same things you believe in.

I hope you the best and peace of mind.

77

Disfellowshipped for Fornication

by TxNVSue2023 in

hi i want to tell my story and get advice.

i'm a single sister ( in usa) that has been baptized for 20 years.

i came from the world, so did not grow up in the truth and i have no family in the truth -- i am alone.. last year i met a brother & we did have premarital sex while we were dating.

StephaneLaliberte

You may be tempted to say: "Well, it was only this particular Judicial Committee and, had I sat before another group of elders, the answer could have been the other way." This line of reasoning would lead you to believe that the fault lies with the three men who sat as judges over you, rather than with the Jehovah's Witness religion. However, I implore you to reconsider.

Getting married is clearly an act of contrition; you took a definitive action to right the wrong. Furthermore, you did it in a very brief and hurried period of only 3 weeks! If you sincerely believe this, then consider the fact that the Jehovah's Witnesses as a whole don't. Otherwise, this would be mentioned in one of the endless religious materials that they produced in the last century. Thousands upon thousands of people lived the exact same scenario since the early days of that religion, and they never once took a proper stand, purposefully leaving it to the local elders. Hence, the religion as a whole is responsible for the disfellowshipping decision, not just the three elders.

Understanding this should lead you to reconsider your desire to join back into a religious group which clearly ignores the most important part of Jesus' teachings: Love and compassion. Consider all the speeches where Jesus denounced the pharisees for upholding the law to a fault and compare this to what just happened to you.

Actions are more important than beliefs. It is more important to show love than to believe in prophecies. It is more important to show compassion than to believe that the Holy spirit is not part of some trinity. It is more important to support one another than to go out preaching about doing these things. Case in hand, the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-32. You are judged by your actions, not by what you say!

JWs, like many other religions, tend to switch the narrative. To put importance on the beliefs rather than the actions. They feel the need to do this as this is what generally sets them apart from other groups. The truth is that love, compassion, kindness, empathy, etc., are things that can be found in individuals across all faiths. These are human traits, and this is where many believe that humans have been created in the likes of God; in these qualities. However, trying to keep the cohesion of their groups, many religions like the JWs, will uphold teachings above these Godly traits. This is precisely what Jesus was denouncing when he talked to the pharisees!

Finally, leaving the JW doesn't mean you need to leave Jehovah. JWs would want you to believe this, but in the end, if they are unable to practice the basis of Christian faith, than, staying with them will lead you further away from him. They become blinds leading blinds and all will fall into a pit. (Math 15:14).

I hope you the best and sincerely hope that you will take actions to stop further harm being done onto you by both religion and unfaithful mates.

65

WT and Higher ED

by enoughisenough in

watched this video and was wondering if any of you recall seeing this video besides on this presenter's youtube platform.

anyway, watch it !

it is disgusting but enlightening.

StephaneLaliberte

Thing is, its not so much about higher education as it is to simply do what you want to do in life. Some people want to be doctors, engineers and business managers. Others want to be carpenters, electricians, plumbers. You need university for a profession and college for trades. Yet, JW basically draw the line at college. The reality is that once you're married with children, which often happens in the mid twenties for JWs, parents need to work full time! Considering that full time jobs represent, say, 30 years at 40 hours a week, why do they narrow down their dream to jobs they might not even like or be good at in the first place? Its ridiculous.