Posts by sd-7

26

Sing Dirges to Jehovah?

by donny in

back in 1985 my then-wife and i were having a lunchtime "gathering" at our place to show some support to the ones in our congregation who were full-time pioneers.

i had just recently received the vinyl collection of the songs featured in the song book "sing praises to jehovah" which had been released the previous year.. .

many of these melodies sounded depressing to me although i would have never admitted it at the time.

Great point. As a child, some of the songs actually made me cry because the music and lyrics were so sad. And we used to sing several songs before starting our Family Study. "Be Steadfast, Unmovable" was one that got me. And...was it "The Bible's Hope for Mankind"? That one that was all like "Dark days are here, man lives in fear" and so on. Goodness that was depressing.

"But the Bible tells us that soon there will be, resurrections that will not involve zombies. No it's not the same person, tech-ni-ca-lly, it's sort of like a clone with the same memories..."

--sd-7

33

Moustaches vs. beards - one of the contributing factors to losing my cognitive dissonace

by Pacopoolio in

jw
friends

as a little background - i was born-in to being a witness, back in '79, in detroit, in mostly black and poor congregations.

baptized when 10-ish, stayed around, was on the fast track to ms, but faded when i moved out at 24ish.. there was a combination of a few things that got me on the road to "freedom" from the cognitive dissonance that kept me "in the truth" for so long.

the main thing was, being an artist and studying marketing, my thinking was patterned to constantly question if i was doing something "correctly," as constant improvement and questioning is what facilitates artistic and mental growth.

sd-7

So when we're talking 'pedo-stache' here, are we talking like the Ron Burgundy moustache, or just all moustaches in general? I guess I never knew the outside world's trends on that.

Since getting out, I've tried all kinds of different things with my facial hair--the well-trimmed beard, the standard goatee, the Tony Stark goatee (with varying degrees of success in replicating the look, but when I succeeded, man, it looked awesome). I have yet to try going totally clean-shaven, mostly because even just having the moustache reminds me of the cult years. I usually just let it grow kinda wild and random and shave it down to a goatee when I get tired of looking at it. Or just trim the beard.

I was actually sifting through some old '60s Watchtowers and there was an article about whether or not Jesus had a beard. I have to say, this has got to be the only religion that actually cares about stuff like this enough to write a detailed article on whether or not Jesus had a beard. I guess when the older 'anointed' got to heaven, they insisted Jesus shave his beard so he could look 'presentable'.

That could be one reason why we're seeing the number of 'anointed' going up....they talked too much smack to Jesus and got axed for it.

--sd-7

49

JW. org: "No, we are not a cult. We do not look to any human as our leader."

by Faithful Witness in

i know this has been rehashed, time and again, but i saw this interesting blip on jw.org last night, and did a little thinking about it.... jw.

org answers the important question that so many have... are jehovah's witnesses a cult?.

jehovah's witnesses do not look to any human as their leader.

sd-7

we pattern our worship after that of the first-century Christians

Who you pattern your worship after has nothing to do with whether or not you are a cult. Many cults say they pattern their worship after Jesus--or indeed that they're the only ones who do.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not look to any human as their leader. Rather, we adhere to the standard that Jesus set for his followers when he stated: "Your Leader is one, the Christ."

I'll just use their own words to put the lie to this one.

9/15/10 WT, p.23

In this time of the end, Christ has committed “all his belongings”— all the earthly interests of the Kingdom—to his “faithful and discreet slave” and its representative Governing Body, a group of anointed Christian men. (Matt. 24:45-47) The anointed and their other sheep companions recognize that by following the lead of the modern-day Governing Body, they are in fact following their Leader, Christ.

*** w94 2/15 p. 4 Cults—What Are They? ***

Their devotion to a self-proclaimed human leader is likely to be unconditional and exclusive. Often these leaders boast of having been divinely chosen or even of being themselves divine in nature.

--sd-7

12

Some memorable quotes I dug up

by sd-7 in

cult members often isolate themselves from friends, family, and even society in general.

is that the case with jehovahs witnesses?

are the witnesses using deceptive and unethical techniques to recruit members?.

sd-7

March 15, 2012 WT, p. 15

The other sheep should never forget that to be saved, they need to support Christ’s anointed brothers who are still on earth.

p.19

The thousand years of Christ’s reign will result in great relief for humans! During that time, “the sons of God” will be revealed in another way. They will act as priests with Christ and help mankind to receive the benefits of his sacrifice.

12

Some memorable quotes I dug up

by sd-7 in

cult members often isolate themselves from friends, family, and even society in general.

is that the case with jehovahs witnesses?

are the witnesses using deceptive and unethical techniques to recruit members?.

sd-7

Hopefully I didn't overdo it here, forgot there's the legal issue of quoting too much... Sorry. I guess I have to stop quoting now...

12

Some memorable quotes I dug up

by sd-7 in

cult members often isolate themselves from friends, family, and even society in general.

is that the case with jehovahs witnesses?

are the witnesses using deceptive and unethical techniques to recruit members?.

sd-7

*** w60 8/1 pp. 479-480 Questions From Readers ***

How can Deuteronomy 24:16, which says, “Children should not be put to death on account of fathers,” be harmonized with the fact that the offspring of the adulterous relation between David and Bath-sheba died due to their sin, as shown in 2 Samuel 12:14?—J. B., U.S.A.

The law, as stated at Deuteronomy 24:16, shows that fathers were not to be put to death for their sons nor were sons to be put to death for their fathers. In man’s administration of justice each was to die for his own sin, and not drag innocent relatives down with him. In this particular case of David and Bath-sheba neither of them had a right to the child and so there was no injustice in their being deprived of it. Besides, as an uncircumcised, unnamed infant it had not as yet developed any personality pattern or consciousness so as to appreciate life. Then again, Bath-sheba could have been stoned to death for her adultery, in which case the unborn child would also have perished.

12

Some memorable quotes I dug up

by sd-7 in

cult members often isolate themselves from friends, family, and even society in general.

is that the case with jehovahs witnesses?

are the witnesses using deceptive and unethical techniques to recruit members?.

sd-7

*** w60 10/1 p. 579 Numbers Are Not Enough ***

NUMBERS are not a sound basis on which to build faith. If Christianity had been founded on numbers, it would have failed. At Christianity’s darkest hour, namely, when Jesus was on the torture stake, there was not one of his apostles that stood by him. Yet Christianity triumphed, not because of its numbers, rather because it is of God.

Large numbers tend to create a false sense of security.

*** w60 10/1 p. 580 Numbers Are Not Enough ***

Today, religious organizations have a habit of pointing to their great numbers and wealth as proof of their being favored by God.

*** w09 2/15 pp. 26-27 par. 10 They “Keep Following the Lamb” ***

Shortly before he ascended to heaven, the resurrected Jesus appeared to his faithful disciples and made a promise to them, saying: “Look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:20) Has this promise proved reliable? In the last 15 years, the number of congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide has grown from some 70,000 to over 100,000—an increase of over 40 percent. And what about the new disciples added? Nearly 4.5 million disciples were baptized in the last 15 years—an average of more than 800 a day. These spectacular increases are clear evidence that Christ is directing his anointed followers at their congregation meetings and is supporting them in their disciple-making work.

12

Some memorable quotes I dug up

by sd-7 in

cult members often isolate themselves from friends, family, and even society in general.

is that the case with jehovahs witnesses?

are the witnesses using deceptive and unethical techniques to recruit members?.

sd-7

*** w07 5/1 p. 31 Questions From Readers ***

However, genuine anointed Christians do not demand special attention. They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special “insights,” beyond what even some experienced members of the great crowd may have. They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the other sheep have; nor do they expect special treatment or claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation.

12

Some memorable quotes I dug up

by sd-7 in

cult members often isolate themselves from friends, family, and even society in general.

is that the case with jehovahs witnesses?

are the witnesses using deceptive and unethical techniques to recruit members?.

sd-7

9/15/10 WT, p.23

In this time of the

end, Christ has committed “all his belongings”—

all the earthly interests of the Kingdom—

to his “faithful and discreet slave” and

its representative Governing Body, a group

of anointed Christian men.

(Matt. 24:45-47) The anointed

and their other sheep companions

recognize that by following

the lead of the modern-day Governing

Body, they are in fact following

their Leader, Christ.

12

Some memorable quotes I dug up

by sd-7 in

cult members often isolate themselves from friends, family, and even society in general.

is that the case with jehovahs witnesses?

are the witnesses using deceptive and unethical techniques to recruit members?.

sd-7

Sept. 15, 2010 Watchtower, page 8:

We cannot hope to acquire a

good relationship with Jehovah if we ignore

those whom Jesus has appointed to care for

his belongings. Without the assistance of

“the faithful and discreet slave,” we would

neither understand the full import of what

we read in God’s Word nor know how to apply

it.

Sept. 15, 2010 Watchtower Page 13:

The Governing Body publishes

spiritually encouraging literature in many

languages. This spiritual food is based on

God’s Word. Thus, what is taught is not

from men but from Jehovah.