Posts by GLTirebiter

18

dating even though not scripturally free to do so

by seekingadvice in

wondering what to think...i'm recently divorced from my jw spouse ( i was never a jw).

we have a 11 year old son who is being forced to attend meetings and have all the beliefs that ex has.

i'm constantly being told what i should do and i'm supposed to go along with ex on whatever he says because apparently the "head of the family" continues after divorce in his world.

GLTirebiter

We have a 11 year old son who is being forced to attend meetings and have all the beliefs that ex has. I'm constantly being told what I should do and I'm supposed to go along with ex on whatever he says because apparently the "head of the family" continues after divorce in his world.

It sounds like your ex-husband is making unilateral decisions about your son's religious upbringing, does the child custody decree allow him to do so? If you are divorced, he has no right to "tell you what to do" (nor did he have that right while you were married; masters and slaves are not partners!).

I suggest discussing both these things with the attorney who handled your divorce. Forget the Elders, let him explain this to a real judge!

29

Reading the Bible in 6 months isn't "anything to brag about" - Anthony Morris

by mac n cheese in

jw
friends

the 2015 annual meeting, specifically, part 1, right about minute 27, has anthony morris emphasizing that "you're better off reading one chapter (of the bible) and really absorbing it" than just reading the whole thing "as a challenge".

while i agree with the the whole idea of meditating on anything you read, it was doing this very thing that brought up so many unanswered questions.

i also came to the constant realization that the jws did not have a clue about what the bible really said.

GLTirebiter

"you're better off reading one chapter (of the Bible) and really absorbing it"

Good idea! How about Chapter 6 from the Gospel of St. John?

120

The right to shun - wrong?

by Simon in

many people are understandably upset and angry at the notion that jws have the right to shun people.

it seems such an obvious "no brainer" cruel and inhuman thing to do - it must be wrong ... surely?.

of course we look at things from the perspective of those hurt and harmed by shunning.

GLTirebiter

There is a difference between being free to avoid those we would rather not deal with and being compelled to shun somebody we otherwise would want to associate with. "Freedom of Association" is based upon mutual choice; the WTBTS policy is a compulsion enforced by a third party.

29

Need clarification from someone who speaks JW: What is an "apostate" ...or... an "apostate website?"

by Faithful Witness in

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/27/jehovahs-witnesses-destroyed-notes-about-child-sex-abuse-inquiry-told.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/27/us-australia-religion-sexcrimes-iduskcn0q10ih20150727.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/07/28/australia-jehovah-witness-sex-abuse-hannigan-lklv.cnn.

GLTirebiter

JWs don't like to hear this: anybody who leaves another religion to join the WT Society is, by definition, an apostate.

17

Would the discovery of EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE completely debunk the bible and religion?

by Black Man in

jw
friends

i think it would.

instantly.

in fact, i hope one day soon that we somehow encounter extraterrestrial life because i think there would be a wholesale rejection of the bible and any/all religious institutions.

GLTirebiter

Would the discovery of EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE completely debunk the bible and religion?

Not according to the Pope's astronomer. From the Huffington Post article:

“God is reason. If you reject reason, you are rejecting God,” Consolmagno said.

I'd even wager that the "big" religions (Catholics, Orthodox, etc.) already have a contingency plan worked out & locked up in a safe somewhere.

Top secret contingency plan? That would be to keep doing as they have always done. It would be the same as converting the first century gentiles. The same Vatican astronomer said that he would baptize E.T., upon her request.

25

Did you know that President Jimmy Carter used to be a Jehovah's Witness?

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.christianpost.com/news/jimmy-carter-says-jesus-would-not-support-abortion-revealing-only-conflict-between-his-politics-and-christian-faith-141881/.

carter said that as a young man he used to be a jehovah's witness before he was a baptist christian.. .

"it's hard to grow up with such a foundational system and just let it go.

GLTirebiter

Regarding the Eisenhower-Watchtower connection, it also is important to remember that the Jehovah's Witness teachings as we know them (post-Rutherford era) have changed dramatically from what the young Eisenhower was taught by the Bible Students (Russell era). It is misleading to call Eisenhower a "Jehovah's Witness" when he walked away from the Bible Students years before "Judge" Rutherford invented that name.

18

Why would Jehovah and Jesus talk to Satan?

by hardtobeme in

if satan is the greatest apostate there is, why he was allowed to be in heaven?

job chapters 1 and 2 says that jehovah talked to him.

wasn't jehovah supposed to shun his son and set an example to all parents?.

GLTirebiter

Job chapters 1 and 2 says that Jehovah talked to him. Wasn't Jehovah supposed to shun his son and set an example to all parents?

The introduction to Job identifies the book as a parable or fable, a story meant to teach but not to be taken literally. The absurdity of God and Satan making a bet tells the audience this book is not a literal account of actual events, but instead is a moral teaching presented as a memorable tale.

42

Let's Play a Game Using Instagram... JWS or LDS?

by freemindfade in

jw or lds??

?.

GLTirebiter

Men without coats: LDS

Men with bike-messenger-style bags: LDS

Ladies without bags (chivalrous men carrying the load): LDS

BUT older than college age: JW

Odds are they are LDS, but they might be JW.

28

Back in the Basement

by LostGeneration in

looks like the faithful jws are back in the basement, the oct 15th wt has this image on page 9. but now the lights have been turned out!

i guess the persecution is really kicking in if the electric company has shut off their electricity, or the jws are really, really paranoid that the government is gonna get them if they have the lights on!.

only one guy is smart enough to use his tablet (far right), the rest of the jws are old school, using a lantern to read their bibles in the dark!

GLTirebiter

If this is really during a time of societal collapse I sure hope they stocked knives, kevlar, Kalashnikovs with plently 5.56 rounds, pepper spray, cutlasses, .38 revolvers, Colt 45s, and Winchester rifles for close ranged door to door urban battles...

What, no 12-gauge?

67

'Conti' Court decision secures Watchtower's Policy of confidentiality

by telemetry11 in

the court on the rule of confidentiality of penitential communications and evidentiary privilege--.. decision reads:.

"the law generally protects the confidentiality of communications with clergy like those of kendrick to the elders here.".

"if the person has a constitutional right to independence in making religious choices, the recognition of an evidentiary privilege is an apt means of protecting that autonomy.

GLTirebiter

The church has no legal duty do do criminal checks.

From a criminal law standpoint, that's possibly true (if so, the law should be changed!) But failing to perform the background check could be considered negligence, even if there is no statute requiring it.

I am bothered that the appeals court used such a broad interpretation of the penitential privilege. A JC is an involuntary investigation, a judicial function (just as the name states). It is not a voluntary confession of wrongdoing. It involves third parties giving testimony; it is not a private matter known only to the penitent (accused) and confessor (board of elders). Its existence (though not the charges) can be made known to the congregation in general via a public announcement similar to "George leRoy Tirebiter is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses," and the congregation is familiar with that practice. Other religions claiming the penitential privilege keep even the existence of the meeting private; nobody else may even be told it ever happened.

Ironically, the point of the Conti case is that the BoE deviated from the usual practice by not making the normal announcement, and that failure contributed to Conti being harmed!