Posts by Sapphy

31

Generation teaching - conversation I just had with my dad.

by cult classic in

so, went to the dc 2 days this weekend.

still have lots of family in and had to put in a cameo for family who had parts on the program and drama.

i left after the drama today and just spoke with my dad who is inactive and supposedly enlightened about all things jw.

Sapphy

I think with this change, the GB have got the normal witnesses to a place where the prevailing attitude is "I don't care about this prophecy stuff, I don't care about the date, it's God's organisation and I'll do what I have to".

I hear an increasing number of people saying "I don't serve with a date in mind, it's still the best way to live".

I think the generation change has made people reach flip-flop saturation point. I mean 4 changes in 15 years! At this juncture they could say "this generation' evidently refers to a tribe of giants living underground in mongolia & people would just shrug.

17

How Shunning Defeats The Watchtower

by metatron in

jw
friends

i know my remarks in this regard are small solace for those affected but i think they can offer a little hope.

it is shunning in particular that is leading to ultimate defeat of the watchtower cult.. how so?

well, any policy followed to an extreme results in the opposite consequences.

Sapphy

I like that Billy - "The abuse of the dipped", it's true!

Unbaptised born ins get a lot of attention & love bombing, as long as they can keep up some meeting & ministry activity.

I think these would only get dipped if they want to seriously date a JW...

The poor kids who really believe it and get baptised at a young age are definately under the microscope & are expected to be "good examples" & exert "positive peer pressure" and be and act like embryonic elders and pioneers.

14

another thread prompted me to look at aug 1st public tower. why don't they just shut-up

by booby in

notice how when they want to use what scientists say they are respected, in contrast to their being blinded by satan atheists when what they say isn't what they want.

i also thought it was interested they would say "type the phrase "end of the world" and the year "2012" into one popular internet search engine".

i thought they want to discourage use of the internet.

Sapphy

It's "respected scientist" when they use a supportive quote, and "so-called scientist" when they refute.

20

I need to vent.

by EmptyInside in

jw
friends

i needed to post here to vent.

because, the person i really want to give a piece of my mind to is an elder and my, sometimes, self-righteous brother.

twice in my presence, he brought up cases of sisters marrying unbelievers and how they should be "marked" because of marrying outside the "truth".

Sapphy

Bane - engage your brain please.

The marry only in the Lord section of scripture is prefaced by Paul saying twice, once in verse 12 "to the rest I say, I NOT the Lord...", and once in verse 25 "I have no command from the Lord". So Paul explicitly says this passage is his personal judgement based on his life.

The Society then takes the self confessed uninspired opinion of a confirmed batchelor and works up a watchtower talmud of procedures about a sister marrying a non-JW - she is to be marked, her family may lose their 'priveledges' if they attend the wedding.

What I think we all can agree on is that the Bible - Paul himself, apparently, says in 1 Timothy 4 that "forbidding to marry" is a "teaching of demons". Incidentally he says this is what "the Spirit says".

When you consider the ratio of women/men in the society is about 60/40, this means the society is de facto forbidding to marry 2 sisters in every 10 - not even allowing for the brothers who "stay single for the lord". Of 7 million witnesses this equaltes to about 840,000 women who have no chance of finding a "witness mate". Even if only half of those want to get married, that's almost half a million women denied a marriage relationship - if they follow the direction of a self-appointed religious organisation who have codified the 2000 year old personal opinion of a pharisaic single man.

Nb - Doesn't the Bible indicate God once saved his people by a believer marrying a pagan? Remember Esther?

28

NEW PUPPY - names?

by AWAKE&WATCHING in

well we are getting a new pup and i'm not set on a name yet.

it is a sweet baby girl cairn terrier (like toto).

she is wheaten, which is a blonde color.. she will be coming home to big brother jinx (meaning magic charm or spell), who is a red brindle color.. i have thought of many names but can't decide.. i really like gypsy (goes well with jinx), but don't like it for such a blonde pup.

Sapphy

Ginny? Goes with jinx, especially if you spell it Jinny. I think it means mischievous spirit.

55

Is The Watchtower Organization A Cult To You?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i used to call them "cult like" but i do believe they are a "cult".. what's your opinion?.

Sapphy

I think it's an authoritarian high control group, which I suppose is longhand for a cult. It would be so easy for them to go mainstream though, if they just got rid of disfellowshipping and the blood policy, - and actually meant it whenthey say somthing is a conscience matter...

32

Does God Have A Visible Organization Today?

by wannabe in

does god have a visible organization today?.

well, whether we agree with them or not, the governing body of jehovah's witnesses certainly believes he does have, and they tell us, that the watchtower bible and tract society is that visible organization.

as we see, they also tell us that their watchtower society is the channel or instrument through which the spiritual food is delivered to other members of the household.. 1939 "we acknowledge as the visible organization of jehovah on earth the watchtower bible & tract society, and recognize the society as the channel or instrument through which jehovah and christ jesus give instruction and meat in due season to the household of faith.

Sapphy

The JW argument about an earthly organisation that is somehow divine is flawed.

JWs often start with the question 'How can we identify Gods organisation today?' but this is based on the premise that God works through an organisation. JWs often say 'God has always had an Organisation' almost as a reflex, but this is not accurate.

The nations of Israel and Judah had an annointed monarchy - which I suppose you could call an organisation, for maybe just over 400 years.

Then there was no divinely appointed organisation structure until 1919. So even by witness calculations God has only had an organisation for 500 years out of 6000.

If you read the Bible away from the company man mindset, you see that the God of the Bible PRIMARILY works through individuals.

19

Chosen in 1919, but they didn't realize it until 1929

by UnConfused in

no, i don't have the wt articles at my fingertips.

it is the case though that it wasn't until 1929 that the wt changed their current understanding to be that they were inspected and selected in 1919 - 3 1/2 years after 1914 and christ's return to the throne.. .

wouldn't you think such an important event would have been revealed in a more obvious way?.

Sapphy

I had a search through the WT library.

According to the "World Government" (GO) book of 1977 Ch 8 pg 126 This is the chronology: - I paraphrase a bit

"The finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces evidently occured on June 21 1918..." (This was the date the gang of 7 got sentenced to jail). When did it begin? Three and a half 'lunar' years back from June 21 1918 gives us December 28 1914.

"That date, December 28th 1914 was very appropriate... blah blah photo drama of creation served notice... end of gentile times"

I have to laugh I ever believed this. Laugh or I'd cry.

19

Chosen in 1919, but they didn't realize it until 1929

by UnConfused in

no, i don't have the wt articles at my fingertips.

it is the case though that it wasn't until 1929 that the wt changed their current understanding to be that they were inspected and selected in 1919 - 3 1/2 years after 1914 and christ's return to the throne.. .

wouldn't you think such an important event would have been revealed in a more obvious way?.

Sapphy

I know it is witness theology that Jesus returned in 1914 and appointed them 3.5 years later in 1919. But either I'm really bad at maths or they can't add up.

October 1914 plus 3.5 years brings us to April 1918.

97

"Life" Brochures: 3 Easy Disproofs

by metatron in

jw
friends

it may be time consuming and exhausting to correct all of the deceptions, half-truths and out of context quotes contained in the watchtower's new brochures, so i'll make it simple.

here's 3 easy points that disprove all of their nonsense.. 1) australia proves evolution happened - what's the one country in the world with the weirdest animals on earth?

australia!

Sapphy

St George - from what I gather according to WT 'reasoning', after the flood the kangaroos must have bounded non-stop to Australia which was just an area of land that was breaking off from a bigger continent. Of course Koalas and platypuses couldn't move as quickly so the kangaroos must have given them a lift in their pouches