Posts by teel

100

Where did 607 come from?

by MrFreeze in

okay so we've obviously established on this board that 607 is not the correct date that babylon destroyed jerusalem.

even before 1914 came around, the bible students still thought 1914 would be a pivital date.

the only way they can gain that info is from the 7 times or w/e.

@scholar, I read through your first paragraph, and all the while thought you're being sarcastic. Then I saw it's you... My memory might be failing, but I don't think I ever saw you providing actual references to who 'celebrates' those scholars outside the WTS.

The corrected or adjusted date of 607 BCE was first published in 1944

Now a bit ontopic: what scholar fails to mention that 'corrected' in this sentence means it took about 70 years for those 'celebrated scholars' to realize there was no year 0 between 1 BC and 1 AD No, this is not a joke. 607 was adjusted from 606 BC, which was supported just as much as 607 is now, and they calculated 2520 years to arrive to 1914, counting year 0 too.

So the question in the topic should really be: where did 606 come from? How did they juggle with those 70 years that they use now to 'prove' 607, to arrive at 606 back then?

16

Research shows Jehovah's Witnesses grow faster in less developed countries

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

people have often commented that much of the current growth of jws is taking place in developing countries.

social researchers studying the growth of jws, mormons and seventh-day adventists have confirmed this observation in a recently published article: .

r. t. cragun and r. lawson.

teel

The way I saw this research is however that it links the success of proselitysing not to material wealth, but to social environment. In pre-modern days the society was a close-knit community, that was not easy to be disturbed by an outsider (you know, people gathered together in pubs or in alleys, chatting, everyone knew everyone, etc.) With modernization and population increase these features slowly die out, and transition to what is called an organic society, where the relations are much more dynamic and evolving. Developing countries are in the middle of the road, people are losing their old ways of life, and losing their sense of identity and belonging. This is the perfect time, according to this research, for the religions to move in and sell their dream of a better society.

16

Research shows Jehovah's Witnesses grow faster in less developed countries

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

people have often commented that much of the current growth of jws is taking place in developing countries.

social researchers studying the growth of jws, mormons and seventh-day adventists have confirmed this observation in a recently published article: .

r. t. cragun and r. lawson.

teel

This is very interresting. There isn't a direct proportion, rather a plateu, then a sharp decline in developed countries. Seventh Day Adventist stats show a constant decline. The researcher also asserted (and the stats somewhat confirmed - although more visible for Mormons) that on the lower end of the scale, the undeveloped societies also are uninterrested in strict religions.

Quote:

• Societies at the lower end of the economic development scale will have little interest in strict, proselytizing religious groups due to the mechanical solidarity and concomitant security their close-knit society provides.

• Societies undergoing economic development will be attracted to the existential security provided by strict, proselytizing religious groups due to a breakdown in mechanical solidarity and an increase in existential insecurity resulting from economic development and modernity.

• Societies at the higher end of economic development will be less interested in strict, proselytizing religious groups due to the spread of both organic solidarity, which accompanies modernization, and secular forms of existential security, which generally result from government social safety nets as well as from a higher standard of living.

43

I will write down questions and start asking JW's for answers.

by XPeterX in

should i try it?questions about dates,gb policy,history of the org.

etc.i think i will confuse them and surprise them a lot (especially the elders)..

teel

Peter, are you an unbaptized publisher? Because if you are, even though they can't DF they can take that "privilege" from you, and announce your name. Most of the JWs will probably keep a distance from you then, in effect shunning you. Here's a copy of the current elder's book (soon to be replaced) to prepare yourself: http://www.4shared.com/file/62487460/676fa4ef/1991-Pay-Attention-Elders-Manual_with_NOTES.html?dirPwdVerified=d6acb320

45

The Theocratic Life and Times of Theodore Jaracz - NEW

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

the theocratic life and times of theodore jaracz .

by barbara anderson.

[we are doing a special focus on the dark side of brooklyn bethel for a couple of weeks over at freeminds.org].

teel

Very interresting article, thank you. I wonder how much of this info will make it in the inevitable life summary that will be printed in a WT

70

Meeting experience

by gutted in

this weeks service meeting was typical.. "where were you?

" "i'm concerned about you".

then the typical song and dance of the parts/talks, all recycled notions of doing better in the service.

teel

I am learning NOTHING on this site except bitterness, cowardness, being weak, and being a jerk.

Yes, we noticed those qualities of yours too.

31

Evidently . . .

by Mad Sweeney in

this has been a wt buzzword for a long time but has come up in several recent discussions here.

so, i just had to look it up on the wt library cd-rom.. the word "evidently" appears 1,439 times in the insight books alone.

that number is staggering considering that the two-volume set is supposed to be comprised of encyclopedic facts.

teel

I finally got to download the english Library. My first search was "evidently"... evidently.

There is not one single occurence of "evidently" in the whole NWT Bible! There are 40 results, I went through them all, they're all footnotes.

Ok, so it's probably not a revelation, but still, the WTS' love of that word is uncanny.

57

Homosexuality is a Sin. Beleive me, you'll want to see this!

by whereami in

jw
friends

the definition of "pot meets kettle".

this is just to funny.

how is anyone supposed to take religion seriously, really.. .

teel

This video is one of several at the site, "Recycle Your Faith".

This one is interesting, IMHO.

http://www.recycleyourfaith.com/2010/06/14/reconsidering-the-bible-and-homosexuality/

I just found the site recycleyourfaith.com through this video too. It's a very interresting site, presenting lots of faith-based topics of discussion from different viewpoints.

I liked this one for example:

http://www.recycleyourfaith.com/2010/03/29/whats-the-point-of-jesus/

Especially this quote: "Your God must really suck if he has to kill somebody. If he like he just can't get around forgiving you unless he kills somebody."

Edit: this is a very moving video too, of a person who chose love instead of blindly clinging to her beliefs and letting that destroy her relationships: http://www.recycleyourfaith.com/2009/06/15/choices/

101

"Jesus did not die on the cross" (Gunnar Samuelsson)

by Titus in

"jesus did not die on the cross" .

a new doctoral dissertation in theology from gothenburg university claims that the bible has been misinterpreted when it comes to how jesus died.

gunnar samuelsson who wrote the dissertation has studied the original texts and sees no explicit references to crucifiction.

teel

My father likes to say that the cross symbol is a pagan phallic symbol and that's one of the reasons why it's wrong. And I didn't have a comeback for that until I found out by doing a little bit of research that an upright pole can be a phallic symbol too.

Can be? What form of phalloses have you seen more: cross or pole?

14

Seed Planting Questions That Worked For Me Recently

by Confuzzled in

i'm a really big eckhart tolle follower, and recently i was rereading a new earth and i showed my dubby this proverb he mentioned, which kind of bothered him when i explained it.. "the hand pointing to the moon is not the moon.".

he didn't quite get it, so i explained that it basically means that just because a man, or religion, is pointing out god to you, it doesn't mean you worship the man or religion.

he didn't seem to want to debate it because he didn't have an answer or counter point.. also while explaining the path tolle shows (pragmatic explainations of age-old beliefs, from jesus to buddah, they all said the same things), he said he didn't think tolle believed in god.

teel

Anyone else raised being told that dinos were rockivores?

Not raised, but my wife thought they eat plants too. I showed her the big teeth of the T-Rex, but she was totally unfazed: "the T-Rex just ate plants with those teeth". Well, if he did, then God was a really bad designer creating him with such sharp teeth; no wonder poor T-Rex died out, having been so badly equipped to perform the most basic function.