Posts by StephaneLaliberte

41

Geoffrey Jackson goatiegate Part 2

by Tahoe in

from ske graduation this past weekend.

(sent from a pimi).

from ske on zoom: .

StephaneLaliberte

Complain when we couldn't have facial hair, complain and make fun when it is allowed. This group is not reformable apparently.

The issue isn't that they now allow it, which is a positive thing! The problem lies in their failure to apologize for the past. Ideally, a statement that would acknowledge the mistake, expressing regret for imposing such a ridiculous teaching for so long.

It could read something like this: "In hindsight, the faithful slave deeply regrets enforcing such a ridiculous teaching for such an extended period. We acknowledge that it took us too long to rectify this situation, and the delay became increasingly shameful over time, making it harder to change our stance. Today, we muster the courage to say: Sorry. We extend our heartfelt apologies to all the brothers who possess facial traits more suitable for beards. We understand the difficulty, especially since some of our own members share these traits. This entire situation was a mess, and we genuinely apologize."

Such a statement would be more respectable, unlike the current approach of changing the rule without expressing any remorse. This behavior is far from the humility expected of Christians, and it sparks a fire on this board when significant changes are made without a hint of repentance.

5

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS IS TAKING SPAIN TO COURT OVER A BLOOD TRANSFUSION THAT SAVED HER LIFE

by Tahoe in

this article is behind a paywall: .

https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2024/01/10/jehovahs-witness-is-taking-spain-to-court-over-a-blood-transfusion-that-saved-her-life/ .

tahoe .

StephaneLaliberte

Even if I don't agree with the no-blood doctrine, I do respect people's whish not to get any. Admittedly, its easier to respect them the older they get. For instance, a 60 year old vs a young mother giving birth.

Still, no matter what, I believe the state should not be given the right to impose medical treatments. Blood, vaccine, what ever it is. The more power a government gets, the more likely it is for the majority to oppress the minority.

22

Join JW's or DIE - soon!!!

by BoogerMan in

w72 10/1 p. 607 - "they (jw's) know that soon now all who are not true worshipers of jehovah (jw's) will be destroyed.".

how quickly half a century passes by!

2 peter 3:8 - "...one day is with jehovah jw.borg as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.

StephaneLaliberte

That is something that fascinates me, how a cult that has made such false predictions still believe they are in a position to judge people and uphold the disfellowshipping arrangement. Its nuts.

18

Hand Grenade Time

by MissDaSilva in

jw
friends

decided i’m going to go out with a bang.

just posted a merry christmas meme on my watsapp status.

in portuguese but it’s very clear what it means with the baubles etc…... i will keep you posted on people’s reactions.

StephaneLaliberte

Stay strong!

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!