Posts by Fernando

3

John 9 - disfellowshipped apostates reviled like the Pharisees reviled and cast out healed blind man

by yadda yadda 2 in

i've always admired the mocking honesty and courage of the blind man who was healed by jesus when he was summoned by the pharisees.

he was thrown out of the synagogue for daring to tell the truth to the blind and arrogant pharisees.. the blind man's parents were afraid to say the truth out of fear of being cast out and ostracised by their religious community.

how strikingly similar is the situation today for many ex-jw's who have boldly spoken the truth about the watchtower's falsehoods and harm, and who were as a result reviled by being branded mentally diseased apostates, etc, and cruelly cast out of their jw community and shunned, sometimes even by their loved one.. i raise a toast to such ones for their bravery and love of truth.. john 9:8-34 8 therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said,is not this he who sat and begged?

Fernando

(John 9:22) . . .His parents said these things because they were in fear of the Jews, for the Jews had already come to an agreement that, if anyone confessed him as Christ, he should get expelled from the synagogue.

(John 12:42, 43) . . .All the same, many even of the rulers actually put faith in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess [him], in order not to be expelled from the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory of men more than even the glory of God.

(John 16:1-4) . . .“I have spoken these things to YOU that YOU may not be stumbled. 2 Men will expel YOU from the synagogue. In fact, the hour is coming when everyone that kills YOU will imagine he has rendered a sacred service to God. 3 But they will do these things because they have not come to know either the Father or me. 4 Nevertheless, I have spoken these things to YOU that, when the hour for them arrives, YOU may remember I told them to YOU.. . .

9

Can religion be banned?

by FL_Panthers in

is this a realistic thing?

can the governments or someone else ban religion?.

Fernando

A similar question was asked around 500 years ago: "is freedom of religion possible?"

The question now: "is freedom from religion possible?"

I believe that's what this verse is saying:

(Revelation 18:21) . . .“Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again.

Once enough of us have awoken to the destructive nature at the heart of religion it could indeed be banned.

One imagines a similar process to cigarette smoking: start with education and increasing the cost of the habit.

22

The new phonograph

by Pistoff in

way back in 20's or 30's, (someone correct me if i have the time frame wrong), the wt's strategy for witnessing was to give each publisher (or have them buy one) a phonograph to set on the householder's steps so they could play one of the judge's speeches.. flash forward and there was a testimony card that publishers handed to the householder, introducing them.. this gave way to the current model of the publisher being informed and able to discuss a subject with the householder.. .

that seems to be giving way to the new approach being used by the wt: the website.. the wt realizes that slick content is more impressive that a publisher talking, one who can't or won't keep up with the insane doctrinal changes.. publishing books and magazines is taking the back seat; the wt and awake have less than half the content they used to, and are published half as often.. the wt's trolley cart method involves not getting into discussions with people, but using an ipad to play them a video.. .

the past is the future!.

Fernando

Great catch Pistoff.

The best way to keep mindless drones on script.

9

What stage are you in after leaving or waking up to TTATT?

by suavojr in

jw
friends

i can honestly say that although still in, i have lost the fear of wts dooms day version and in all sincerity i don't care what others inside the cult think of me.

at first i was mad of being lied to, i was sad that paradise is not coming, and i felt fear of death.

i happy to report, that i am now at peace with my eventual mortality and i am enjoying every second i have while i am alive.. .

Fernando

Walked out for good mid-2009, after more than 4 decades, and 3 generations.

Formalised beginning 2010.

Now identify as SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious).

Enjoying a vibrant and organic faith and spirituality with family and friends - no middlemen and no hierarchy.

101

org is dying

by lambsbottom in

i don't understand why so many ex jws and faders think that the jws will continue to grow and thrive as a religion.

i still attend a meeting once a week and you can smell the death of the religion creeping up when you hear the talks, read the study wts and hear the letters from the gb.

the way the organization has changed is a sign that it reached its peak (in "healthy" membership) long ago.

Fernando

We should also remember it is much easier to count those still captive to the apostate Watchtower Orgnisation, than the much bigger number of those spared and freed.

101

org is dying

by lambsbottom in

i don't understand why so many ex jws and faders think that the jws will continue to grow and thrive as a religion.

i still attend a meeting once a week and you can smell the death of the religion creeping up when you hear the talks, read the study wts and hear the letters from the gb.

the way the organization has changed is a sign that it reached its peak (in "healthy" membership) long ago.

Fernando

Rome will never fall (1517).

Soviet communism will never fall (1985).

The Berlin wall will never fall (1989).

Authoritarian Islamist governments will never fall (2010).

(1 Thessalonians 5:3) . . .then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them. . .

(Revelation 18:21) . . .“Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again.

101

org is dying

by lambsbottom in

i don't understand why so many ex jws and faders think that the jws will continue to grow and thrive as a religion.

i still attend a meeting once a week and you can smell the death of the religion creeping up when you hear the talks, read the study wts and hear the letters from the gb.

the way the organization has changed is a sign that it reached its peak (in "healthy" membership) long ago.

Fernando

I too feel it in my bones so to speak.

It is definitely a different era and a different generation.

Think internet, Google, Arab Spring...

Didn't PEW find that two thirds of those brought up as JWs no longer are?

Sure some want to be blind, but now the true nature of the Watchtower and its apostate ruling religious clergy class is only a few mouse clicks away for those sufficiently motivated.

7

For past and present elders - Questions in a JC - why so intimate?

by berrygerry in

repeatedly, people who have been in a jc are shocked by both the invasiveness and irrelevant questions asked by elders.. yet, the shepherd book doesn't seem to indicate requiring this?.

if it is something passed on from one generation of elders to the next, then why does it appear globally?.

where and how does the questioning arise?.

Fernando

What Syme said.

Plus, it is also the nature of the beast (namely the spirit that operates in the sons of disobedience, Eph 2:2).

As likely observed by Ray Franz, legalism is apostasy (g79 6/8 p. 28).

Legalism also blinds, radicalises and spawns hypocrisy.

People like this actually believe that other people can be improved by bureaucracy - especially dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's (w80 5/1 pp. 5-8, again possibly by Ray Franz).

As Major General John Cantwell observed, bureaucracy is the "kiss of death".

56

How important do you believe education and knowledge is?

by new hope and happiness in

how educated are you?

and how great is your vocabularly ect ....?.

do you think ir right to judge people by how intelligent/ educated they are and how much vocabulary they use???.

Fernando

"i think a humble disposition and humor is a greater attraction than education and vocabulry"

True.

At the same time education has the potential to make us less vulnerable to deception, manipulation and propaganda.

Yet, some rather intelligent and educated people still get snared by cults like the Watchtower.

37

What words has the WT redefined?

by Splash in

these days, virtually every public talk speaker thinks it's interesting and intellectual to include a dictionary definition of some word.

often the word is in common use and needs no explanation, such as 'exercise', or 'knowledge', or whatever.. now contrast that to all of the words that the wt has it's own meaning for, and referencing a dictionary for the common understanding of it would be viewed unfavourably.. words like 'generation' or 'men' (as in jesus is mediator between god and 'men' - 1tim 2:5-6).. what words have the wt redefined that you know about?

- i'd like to compile a list if possible.. splash.

Fernando

Prophesy

The gospel

Faith

Spirituality

Apostasy

Religion

Legalism

Moralism

Ethnocentrism (doctrinal)

Gnosticism (religious)

Obligatory Tithing masquerading as "voluntary" Pledging...