Barbara, thank you for this valuable information and for all your hard work.
I'm aghast at the web of deceit.
I guess they're running with the advice to be "as cautious as serpents," and have totally forgotten the other half: "innocent as doves."
Cadellin
JoinedPosts by Cadellin
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Victoria, Australia: Answers to questions asked by posters about the Steven Unthank criminal case against WT
by AndersonsInfo inin reply to questions raised in the thread i started on 10/3/11, victoria, australia: wtbts and gb of jws have shown themselves to be "guilty" respecting previous noncompliance with working with children laws,i said i would talk to contacts in australia and get some answers.
here is the link to the 10/3/11 thread:.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/child-abuse/216634/1/victoria-australia-wtbts-and-gb-of-jws-have-shown-themselves-to-be-guilty-respecting-previous-noncompliance-with-e2809cworking-with-childrene2809d-laws.
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Why a religion academic abandoned a plan for intensive study of JW doctrines
by MrMonroe inmichael gilmour, professor of engish and biblical literature at providence university college, manitoba, proposed a society of biblical literature workshop examining the watchtower society's use of scripture.
he thought they were poorly represented in deep academic analysis, particularly considering they have their own bible and are "persistent" (other people say "relentless") in their proselytizing.. in the end, he decided against it.
much of the reason is the suspicion and contempt held by jws towards "worldly" bible scholars, who, of course, may form different conclusions to those of the governing body.. james a. beverley, in his excellent book, "crtisis of allegiance," made the point that despite their claims to be bible scholars par excellence, the wts's writings or "research" are never (repeat never) cited by any other academics; none are ever persuaded by the claim that only the wts can understand the "deep things of god.".
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Cadellin
Gilmour's analysis of the Revelation book using reader-response theory is a fascinating read; the link is in the article that Mr. Monroe linked to (if that makes sense). He very aptly describes the Society's rhetorical strategy:
The vast quantity of literature produced by the society in order to keep the current body of symbols alive for the membership consists necessarily of a constant repetition of the basic viable symbolic themes. This repetition becomes mantric in quality, and the society’s constant rephrasing and re-presentation of the basic corpus of recognized belief becomes for the membership the rhythmic life-breath of the symbol, the truth...
He's quoting Botting's book in that last phrase. No wonder the meetings and literature seem to repetitive! It's because--duh--they are and that's so easily recognized by an outsider. Even when I was in, I had that sense, but I discounted it, considering the "mantric" repetition to be instead "timely reminders." Blech.
Reading Gilmour's analysis of the Revelation book really highlights how insular and paranoid the Society's teachings are, and underscores, for me, how you really can't critique a discourse as long as you're embedded in it. Once you're out, though, wow--the arrogance and paranoia just leap out at you.
His comments regarding the visual imagery in the book are interesting too--he notes prominence given to depictions of white Western heterosexual males, how sexual imagery is reviled as "disgusting" while the book is peppered with very violent images, and how depictions of spirit creatures are consistently old, white Westernized males. It's worth a read.
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{Sigh}, I could use a hug...
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite inmy first two exams were this week.
things didn't go well.
the classes are tough -- math and science.
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Cadellin
On the INTERNET at UNIVERSITY??? You, my friend, are deep in the City of Pandemonium...
Here's the hug
Keep going and don't give up. You have a lot to offer the world.
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2011 Annual meeting information needed!
by Atlantis inbarbara anderson has already mentioned that she is swamped with emails.
she also needs date information on the 2011 annual meeting.. many thanks!.
nevada.
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Cadellin
Interesting! Thanks for posting.
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"Mentally diseased" article to be published in The Independent tomorrow
by cedars inhi everyone.
as a parting gift to you all before i take a much needed break from this forum, i thought you would be pleased to know that the independent, a leading uk newspaper, will be publishing a piece on the "mentally diseased" watchtower article in tomorrow's edition.. i would like to thank everybody who has assisted the journalist, jerome taylor, in his investigation.. best wishes to all of you,.
cedars.
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Nov.15th WT - Quotes Dissing - Internet, Higher Education, Earning a Living
by flipper inas most of us here are aware the wt society is using the " kool-aid " , or witness only version as i call it - to indoctrinate and intimidate jw members through fear and guilt to avoid anything that takes their devotion and attention away from allegiance to the wt society's ambitions.
so the wt society is amping up it's control methods once again in various articles in this issue as well.. first off - notice this quote from page 14 , paragraph 16 , regarding how " dangerous " allegedly the internet is.
it states, " these desires ( of the world ) involve such things as promiscuity, prominence , and possessions.
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Does God Care About Animals? gA Dec 2011
by Gladring inaccording to the article in the dec 2011 awake although.
man was eventually permitted to use them for.
food and other practical purposes, god never.
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Cadellin
Whether Ichneumon wasps control crop pests is beside the point. The claim made by the Dec 2011 WT isn't that insects serve a useful purpose, but rather that God has a benevolent attitude toward animal life, that he "cares" for them. I used the Ichneumon wasp as an example of putative "design" in nature that by any standard is hard to reconcile with such a claim. Are we really to believe that God, in his infinite wisdom and power, had no other way of controlling pests other than by subjecting caterpillars to a prolonged and (by human standards) horrifying death? Doesn't he care about the caterpillars?
Really, this situation is worse than the Jews slaughtering goats by bleeding them to death because they could make a choice as to whether and how to do the deed and, it could be argued, such a law was only intended to be in existence for a limited time. Whereas, the Ichneumon is "programmed" by "design" to inject her eggs into the hapless caterpillar right from the beginning and will continue to do so through all eternity or as long as there are Ichneumon wasps on the planet. It's all part of the wonders of creation!
For some reason, this thread brings to mind James Dickey's "The Heaven of Animals," which at least treats predatorial relationships honestly instead of as some weird offshoot of human imperfection (which never made sense to me):
Here they are. The soft eyes open.
If they have lived in a wood
It is a wood.
If they have lived on plains
It is grass rolling
Under their feet forever.Having no souls, they have come,
Anyway, beyond their knowing.
Their instincts wholly bloom
And they rise.
The soft eyes open.To match them, the landscape flowers,
Outdoing, desperately
Outdoing what is required:
The richest wood,
The deepest field.For some of these,
It could not be the place
It is, without blood.
These hunt, as they have done,
But with claws and teeth grown perfect,More deadly than they can believe.
They stalk more silently,
And crouch on the limbs of trees,
And their descent
Upon the bright backs of their preyMay take years
In a sovereign floating of joy.
And those that are hunted
Know this as their life,
Their reward: to walkUnder such trees in full knowledge
Of what is in glory above them,
And to feel no fear,
But acceptance, compliance.
Fulfilling themselves without painAt the cycle’s center,
They tremble, they walk
Under the tree,
They fall, they are torn,
They rise, they walk again. -
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Does God Care About Animals? gA Dec 2011
by Gladring inaccording to the article in the dec 2011 awake although.
man was eventually permitted to use them for.
food and other practical purposes, god never.
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Cadellin
Not to mention that fact that 99% of all species that have ever lived have gone EXTINCT. Nature is based on two things: predation and parasitism. Neither fits the pretty, Bambi-fied picture that the Society likes to portray. Strange how the WT has never had an article about the wonders of the endoparasitic ichneumon wasp.
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Child Health Watchtower deception!
by Marvin Shilmer inchild health watchtower deception!.
today i uploaded a new article addressing a particularly evil deception watchtower promotes in its july 15, 2011 watchtower journal.
when watchtower does what it does in this instance the higher-ups have to know they are misleading folks.
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Cadellin
THe quote from the Court caught my attention when I read it, as well. It's just a general statement about freedom, with no relationship to the actual case at hand, and is true of autonomous humans in general, be they Baptists, Mormons, Catholics, athiests, whatever--not specifically JWs. It could be argued that JWs situation is exactly the opposite of that statement--that JWs don't have a real freedom of choice because if they "choose" to take blood then they are automatically considered disassociated with the full treatment of shunning that accompanies such a "choice," as is made clear by the announcement made to the congregation with expectation that congregation members will then treat such a person as if that person had gone through the judicial process.
I think Martin is correct when he notes that the WT misconstrues the quote when they link it to accusations regarding health. However, what I'd be interested in is how the Court applies that general statement to the actual JW case. If someone already commented on that, I missed it... (maybe I need another cup of coffee )
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Census / online survey idea - thoughts please...
by cedars ini've been thinking about the recent developments in the uk following the "apostates = mentally diseased" article in the july 15th edition of the watchtower.
to provide a bit more background, a forum member named amelia has recently had a meeting with uk police officers who subsequently took a copy of the article for their records.
they agreed that the content could potentially incite people to hatred against disaffected witnesses, and the copy is now on file with the uk police in case there are any future incidents of hateful acts against "apostates", including violence or even stalking.. i am working on a press release to make the public more aware of the idealogical oppression being meted out by the society on those who oppose them, both inside and outside the organization.
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Cadellin
Cedars, brilliant idea. I'll take the survey when its ready.