Posts by Rapunzel

105

Sept.15th WT - WT Society uses Guilt & Fear to Avoid Friendship & Internet

by flipper in

jw
friends

once again my wife and i were sent the " witness only " wt version by our lurking jw friend that they study at wt study meetings.

and once again wt society is showing very controlling tendencies towards it's jw members.. do any of you remember the " old days " in the 1970's or early 1980's when witnesses used to have goody night after book study ?

or you would have a " potluck picnic " with about 30 to 40 people getting to know one another to draw close as friends outside the confines of the kingdom hall ?

Rapunzel

Hey, Flipper!!! It's to see the little dolphin avatar again.

I can confirm about the WT cancelling "goodies night" here in Connecticut [If my memory serves me correctly, don't you live somewhere on the West coast? I seem to remember your posting a photo of a very large footprint, maybe taken by a family member?]

As regards their cancelling goodies night, a lot of witnesses are disheartened and resentful. There's one witness who still keeps in contact with me via Facebook. Let's just say that this latest effort at anally micro-managing every gucking foddamn aspect of the "organizaton" members' lives has caused a great deal of resentment and rancor.

In my view, it's yet one more example of paranoia and the need for total control. The "big boys at the top" simply do not want Winesses meeting by themselves outside of the Kingdom Hall seting. Who knows what that might lead to?

Well, it was good to see your avatar. As I remember, you also like music. I just picked up a load of Ry Cooder cd's. He's also on You tube. On You tube, they have several live performances feauring old Ry playing...of all things...a mandollin. Really fantastic stuff! Great jams that last 10 or 12 minues.

Peace out,

R

67

SERIOUS QUESTION: just how many demons will fit inside a person?

by Terry in

are demons big or little?

do they take up space?.

do they infest our cells and peer out like they are trapped inside a jelly bean?.

Rapunzel

It would be a shitty existence for the asshole demon. On the flip side of the coin, this demon would not have to work hard at all; it could just fart around all day.

67

SERIOUS QUESTION: just how many demons will fit inside a person?

by Terry in

are demons big or little?

do they take up space?.

do they infest our cells and peer out like they are trapped inside a jelly bean?.

Rapunzel

Gromit - That is a very good question that you ask. That poor swineherder lost a hell of a lot on that day. It's a pity that no mention is made of recompense at all.

The area of land where this incident is depicted as taking place was called "Gerasenes." Gerasenes was a Gentile-dominated area, which is important to consider when you realize that swineherding was forbidden to Jews. Therefore, there might be a little ironic humor associated with this story.

People should ask themselves when this story was written. What were the social tensions of that era. The people who wrote the Bible - no who they were and when they wrote - always wrote under social conditions that were relevant to their era, not our era. I believe that this story was written at a time of growing socio-religious tensions between Jews, "Jewish Christians" [who had been circumcised], and "Gentile Christians" who had previously been "pagans" who worshipped other gods.

Many people don't realize just how much humor, punning, and irony can be found in the Biblle. For example, the story of Jonah and the fish is ironic from beginning to end. People don't realize that ancient Hebrew had two genders, and that the gender of the fish in this story changes in the middle of the story. Also, when commanded by God to go to Ninevah, Jonah heads in the opposite direction - toward Spain! Basically, Jonah does not like the people of Ninevah,and he makes no secret of it. The story is also odd because it describes a Ninevah that had existed hundreds of years before Jonah's day.

A question that comes to mind is: Why did Jesus not choose some other unclean creature? There were many after all from which he could have had his pick - gnats and frogs are two that come to my mind. By choosing frogs, Jesus could have "bound" [the word excorcism implies binding the unclean spirit to do the will of the exorcist] the unclean spirit, without causing some poor schmuck to lose everything.

As regards the original question of how many demons can fit inside a person, [for those who believe in the idea of "possession" at all] there is a theory that demons do not actually enter a person at all. Instead, they gain power over a person to the point where they can manipulate a person and mmanifest themselves through the possessed person.

Best regards,

R

54

To DF'd people: have you gotten your yearly visit? Ever?

by daringhart13 in

jw
friends

i'm really curious how many of those df'd have ever received a yearly visit........ .

Rapunzel

Wow, Rydor, I was amazed to read that - after having disfellowshipped you - the elders called you and summoned you for anothe meeting during which they admitted to having "screwed up" and to having had no legitimate grounds for disfellowshipping.

What amazes me most of all is that they even admitted it. I have never known the majorty of elders to possess heaping amounts of humility, or even tiny amounts.

Moreover, I am not familiar with the slander/libel laws in your area. However, it seems to me that the members of your jdicial committee may have been guilty of criminal negligence.

Did you ever discuss the matter with an attorney?

If it is not too personal and/or a painful subject for you to dscuss, I was wondering rhat hell could have induced these elders to apologize and admit that they had been incorrect in their assessment. And what about the fact the ole Joe Hoober's spirit is supposedly operative at such meeting, thus ensuring that no ssuch error can ever occur?

10

Writing a Book About JWD/JWN

by Rapunzel in

jw
friends

as practically everyone knows, this website is a vast treasure-trove of information on just about any topic imaginable about the jehovah's witnesses and the wbts.

this is probably the most comprehensive source of information in english on the internet.. i just want to know people's ideas/opinions on writing a book whose subject is this website.. it would be daunting task, to say the least.

it would take a lot of intellectual effort to simply establish an approach - a methodology or structure.

Rapunzel

Dear Slim - Thank you very much for your kind words; I'm truly touched.

Although I still read some posts here everyday, it's true that I have not written much at all for the past year or so.

During that time, I have writing letters to the edior of the "Taipei Times," a newspaper published in Taiwan. The newspaper is owned by the Soros group. The island of Taiwan is to the south of Japan, to the east of China. Taiwan is close to China, too close for many people.

The editorial stance of the Taipei Times is that it calls for the establishment of the Republic of Taiwan - no more "Republic of China" bull****. Like many people on the island of Taiwan, I want nothing less than total sovereigny for Taiwan. And nothing to do with China at all. Taiwan must never become a vassal state of China - like Hong Kong, or Tibet.

I lived in Taiwan for about 20 years. Since the deaths of the dictator, Chiang Kai-shek and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, too many people have shed their blood and sacrificed their lives in effort to bring democracy and prosperity to Taiwan. Too much has been invested, too much to see it all go to hell because of annexation by China.

I returned to the U.S. in 2007. I have been publishing articles in the Taipei Times since October of 2008 - articles critical of the current president of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou. Ma Ying-jeou is basically a Chiang Kai-shek redux. He's got the same anti-democratic, dictatorial mindset as the "generalissimo." The only difference is Ma wears expensive, Western-style suits, and spends a lot of money on haircuts.

In the 1960's and 70's, the Chinese "nomenklatura" were infamous for their cheap-ass, lousy "Mao suits" and "piss-bowl" haircuts that made them look like idiots. Now they were designer suits by Armanni, and spend lots of money on hair cuts. What has not changed is their ruthlessness and willingness to kill at the drop of hat anyone who crosses them. The 1989 Tienanmen Square Massacre was proof positive.

Best regards, or in the words of Flipper, "peace out."

R.

10

Writing a Book About JWD/JWN

by Rapunzel in

jw
friends

as practically everyone knows, this website is a vast treasure-trove of information on just about any topic imaginable about the jehovah's witnesses and the wbts.

this is probably the most comprehensive source of information in english on the internet.. i just want to know people's ideas/opinions on writing a book whose subject is this website.. it would be daunting task, to say the least.

it would take a lot of intellectual effort to simply establish an approach - a methodology or structure.

Rapunzel

I figured that copyright would be a huge problem.

I should mention that I was just tossing my ]apparently silly] idea "out there." I should make it clear that I, myself, personally never had any intention of even attempting such a task. I have neither the ability, nor the intelligence to pull it off.

Also, I was not thinking of "just copying" the site into book form. That was why I devoted so much of my original post to finding an over-arching theme, a unifying thesis, as it were.

It's hard for me to put into words, so I'm hoping that people will intuit what I mean.

It was probably a silly idea to begin with.

Which is a pity, however. In a "perfect, pre-lapsarian world" [You know, before that wily, walking snake tricked A @ E into eating the apple], there would be an archivist specialist with the time and talent enough to analyze and synthesize the "data" in some form.

I intend no irony at all when I write that this collective effort contains a vast amount of priceless information. A lot of very intelligent, talented, sincere people have, throughout the years, made this website into something of immense cultural value and significance. It's a pity that this invaluable "cultural artifact" - or rather "multi-cultural artifact" cannot be made available, in some form or another, to a larger reading public.

Make no mistake about, this website IS already of an extremely significant cultural value. It has been a wonderful source of information, aid, and emotional succor/"salvation" to a great number of people. Moreover, in the future, it can only increase in value.

Best regards to all,

R.

10

Writing a Book About JWD/JWN

by Rapunzel in

jw
friends

as practically everyone knows, this website is a vast treasure-trove of information on just about any topic imaginable about the jehovah's witnesses and the wbts.

this is probably the most comprehensive source of information in english on the internet.. i just want to know people's ideas/opinions on writing a book whose subject is this website.. it would be daunting task, to say the least.

it would take a lot of intellectual effort to simply establish an approach - a methodology or structure.

Rapunzel

As practically everyone knows, this website is a vast treasure-trove of information on just about any topic imaginable about the Jehovah's Witnesses and the WBTS. This is probably the most comprehensive source of information in English on the Internet.

I just want to know people's ideas/opinions on writing a book whose subject is this website.

It would be daunting task, to say the least. It would take a lot of intellectual effort to simply establish an approach - a methodology or structure. Just figurring that out would be - in iself - an considerable achievement.

One example would be "The Effects - Both Passed and Those Anticipated in the Future - of the JWN on the Jehovah's Witnesses Religious Sect."

Or maybe, "The Evolution and Development Over Time of the JWN Website."

Maybe it's just a stupid idea. Maybe issues concerning coppwright would - in themselves - pose an obstacle which is insurmountable.

And yet, this website is a vast compendium of information. There is so much knowledge and useful information to be gleaned.

Oh well, thanks for giving my [crazy?] idea your kind consideration.

113

More Society cutbacks - Society says "screw you" to the publishers yet again

by sir82 in

jw
friends

at our service meeting it was announced that there is a change in the manner in which magazines are now to be delivered to the congregations.. up until now, magazines were sent to each kingdom hall via ups.

in years past magazines were sent to each congregation po's home address via ups.. going forward, magazines will be sent only as far as the assembly hall.

it is the responsibility of each kingdom hall to send brother(s) twice a month to drive out there, pick up the magazines, and return.. this of course saves a little bit of money for the society - shipping larger packages to fewer addresses will cost less.. however, what about the expense to the local congregations?.

Rapunzel

As Ballistic points out, this arrangement is not "eco-friendly." What depresses me even more is when I think about all the trees that have to be cut down in order to ensure that the Organization has an ample paper supply with which it can publish all those books, magazines, and tracts - which, considered all together, are not worth a fat rat's ass.

5

baptism death of infant

by Aussie Oz in

jw
friends

this is sad, tragic and stupid.... .

a priest in eastern europe has been accused of drowning a baby boy as he baptised him.. police are investigating father valentin for accidential homicide after witnesses at the ceremony said the priest did not cover the baby's mouth during the ritual, the sun newspaper reports.. father valentin had denied being responsible for the baby's death during the baptism in moldova.. the six-week-old baby died on the way to hospital and an autopsy found he had drowned, the baby's dad dumitru gaidau told romania's publica tv.. mr gaidau, 36, said his son was clearly in distress during the ceremony.. "he couldn't inhale, his face turned blue and he was foaming at the mouth.

he [the priest] said we should not interrupt this their ritual," he said.. "we couldn't believe it that he just put his hand over his belly and over the head and submerged him three times in the water.".

Rapunzel

The majority of Romanians belong to the Orthodox [Eastern Rites] branch of Christianity. As I know, the Eastern Orthodox clergy practice full body immersion when baptising their infants, as opposed to the sprinkling of the sacramental holy water, which is the method used in the Roman Catholic church.

There are several liturgical and sacramental difference between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. The method of baptizing is but one difference.

135

Ouija Board Hysteria

by Megachusen in

jw
friends

i always wondered why jw's were always so afraid of ouija(pronounced as "wee-yaw" not "wee-gee") boards.

does anyone have any speculation about who started these jw myths?.

anyone who has actually tried the board and would like to give their opinions are welcome.

Rapunzel

Concerning the the pronunciation of "Ouija."

In effect, etymologically speaking, "Ouija" is composed of the French word for "Yes" [Oui], and the German word for "Yes" [Ja].

So, "by rights," Ouija should be pronounced "wee - yah." Except, when it comes to language, there are no "by rights." It is purely custom alone that determines usage."

"Wee gee" is currently the way people pronounce the word "Ouija."

One thing for certain is that words change in both pronunciation as time passes.

For example, is the first letter pronounced or not pronounced in the words "knight" and "knife"? Today - and during the last few hundred years at least - the initial "k" in both "knight" and "knife" is not pronounced; the initial "k" remains silent. But originally, a long time ago, the "k" in both words was pronounced.

Same for the "w" in the word, "sword." Orginally, the "w" was pronounced.

The rule is, in language, custom determines everything - what's "proper" and "improper," "correct" and "incorrect."

So if a person pronounces "Ouija" as "wee - yah," he/she is remaining true to the word's original pronunciation. The problem is that, in so doing, he/she is going against the "current" of popular usage.

Did you ever hear someone say "irregardless"? If you have, that person was wrong. "By all rights," you have to choose between "regardless" or "irrespective." It's incorrect to conflate the two words, and come up with "irregardless." And yet people do it all the time. Custom determines everything.