Posts by paul from cleveland

46

exJW Billboard is up.

by cappytan in

jw
friends

waiting on higher resolution photos from wifibandit.. but here is the (redacted) notification from the company.

apparently they take photos with a potato.. (the billboard directs folks to http://jwawake.com ).

Cappytan has made a video. Here is the link

by joe134cd in

jw
friends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsbfnzrbiqq

Orthodox Jews Recognize Christianity as 'Willed By God' as Catholics Call Jewish Covenant "Irrevocable"

by David_Jay in

to date, over 50 jewish rabbis from around the world have added their names to an historical statement in response to ongoing jewish and catholic relations which have proved successful since the vatican released nostre aetate some 50 years ago...and the number is growing.. in the first days of december of 2015, about 24 orthodox rabbis signed a "statement on christianity" released by the israel's center for jewish-christian understanding and cooperation, with the vatican releasing its own document entitled "the gifts and the calling of god are irrevocable" just one week later.

both statements recognize each other's religion as divine, from the same source, and part of the same (albeit mysterious) providential economy of redemption from god.. while not totally new, especially since the papacy of st. pope john paul ii, the vatican document is a substantial culmination of formal statements and studies that came before over the last half century.

especially from the largely ignored but striking significance of the pontifical "the jewish people and their sacred scriptures in the christian bible," the new 2015 document is a reiteration of all that has come before in one place, resounding the previous scripture-study statement that the church holds that the jews are still the covenant people of god, that the covenant has never been revoked, and.... "in the past, the break between the jewish people and the church of christ jesus could sometimes, in certain times and places, give the impression of being complete.

paul from cleveland

Just like in business when an industry goes down there are a lot of mergers and acquisitions. The religion business is going down. They're trying to support each other to stay relevant.

77

Did you KNOW Ray and Cynthia or the legal copyright holder? Only a few maybe had limited contact.

by blondie in

jw
friends

i have known all of them over the last 15 years, talked at length with them, and knew what their wishes were, the copyright holder and spouse spent even more time with them socially and helping them set up their arrangements for when ray and cynthia passed.

i don't believe that anyone else on this board or others was a confidant.

there is no need to prove it to anyone but the copyright office which is satisfied with this.

paul from cleveland

Unfortunately the ship has sailed a long time ago and this storm exists only in our little teacup.

54

"Even if it isn't the truth, it's still the best way to live"

by Simon in

have you heard that old chestnut?

i have.. typically it's the last resort when you have dismantled a jws beliefs and they have no way of defending them.

they know they are beat so they come out with that one.. its effectively an admission that you are right and they have no argument but they are still going to attend meetings because they like the social club.. what a lame way to defend your faith..

paul from cleveland

"Even if it isn't the truth, it's still the best way to live"

People just say this when they don't want to continue the conversation. They don't really think it's not the truth. They know your mind is made up and any further discussion is pointless. It's just a less confrontational way of saying "I'm done with this conversation".

66

New Light: Clap when it is given a Reinstatement ad

by TheTruthBR in

jw
friends

a new letter was posted in jw.org to the elders who are under the brazilian branch:.

january 25, 2016to all bodies of eldersref .

: clap when given a readmission addear brothers:we would like to inform you about a recent adjustment.

paul from cleveland

No one can see how ridiculous this is because we were conditioned not to trust our own ability to reason. I remember when I started to see things for what they were it felt like I was awakening some sort of sleep.

36

Revealing Watchtower tax returns

by Nambo in

please excuse if this has already been posted:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyqish-l_e.

under the freedom of information act, this guy has tax returns showing where your money goes, where it is invested, companies like northrop gruman, monsanto, cigarette and porn peddlers, and we thought we where giving money to god!

i am quite sickened to discover i was giving money to the watchtower to invest in arms manufacturers..

paul from cleveland

It's still tainted money whether the Watchtower made the investments themselves or someone else did it for them. They're like a drug dealer's wife. As long as the money is coming in they're not going to ask any questions. It's the same principle as money laundering. Somehow the money is all clean since someone else is doing the dirty work and they have "no choice" of course but accept the arrangement. Politicians turn down donations from questionable sources all the time. They can too if they are truly 'relying upon Jehovah and not their own understanding' as they say they are.

36

Revealing Watchtower tax returns

by Nambo in

please excuse if this has already been posted:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyqish-l_e.

under the freedom of information act, this guy has tax returns showing where your money goes, where it is invested, companies like northrop gruman, monsanto, cigarette and porn peddlers, and we thought we where giving money to god!

i am quite sickened to discover i was giving money to the watchtower to invest in arms manufacturers..

paul from cleveland

I can't accept that Jehovah, God of the Universe, has no choice but to finance his organization through the world's Military Industrial Complex because Mrs. O'Reilly said so.

36

Revealing Watchtower tax returns

by Nambo in

please excuse if this has already been posted:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyqish-l_e.

under the freedom of information act, this guy has tax returns showing where your money goes, where it is invested, companies like northrop gruman, monsanto, cigarette and porn peddlers, and we thought we where giving money to god!

i am quite sickened to discover i was giving money to the watchtower to invest in arms manufacturers..

paul from cleveland

By continuing to accept profits from this arrangement they are giving these investments their tacit approval. I don't buy the 'they have no control over it' argument. They could easily say something like: "Dear Sister O'Rielly, we so appreciate that you'd like to donate your fortune to Jehovah's organization however this arrangement is unacceptable. If you'd be willing to liquidate these assets and donate the funds we'd gladly accept. We need to avoid even the appearance of impropriety."

29

I was ashamed

by Happeanna in

jw
friends

i was once a person who believed in god destroying 7 billion people so a few people could live in paradise.. when the penny finally dropped and i realised what as a jehovah's witnesses i was really praying for , it made me feel sick.

what is attractive about a person that prays for this world to end .

i was ashamed to have been a witness deeply ashamed .

paul from cleveland

When I was "in" I never felt "good enough" to be included among those that would be saved. I was never able to "put on the new personality" to the extent that I felt that I deserved to be saved. I tried to make up for my shortcomings by doing more. Enough was never enough of course. I thought "putting on the new personality" wasn't possible without Jehovah's spirit since what I needed was the 'fruitage of the spirit' [love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self control] So, if I did't have it there was nothing I could do to get it myself. For that reason, I thought Jehovah was withholding his spirit because he 'just didn't want me in the new system' for some reason. He was rejecting my sacrifice like he did Cain. [my favorite bible character] Finally I gave up trying to please him.

Regarding your shame, remember, you were deceived. It wasn't your fault.

Now, I'm deciding for myself what is right and wrong (I know, just like Adam). My goal is to live a life aligned with my own values. Always try to do the right thing and behave in a way so I respect myself. I'm no longer worried as much about what 'god' thinks of me as I am of what I think of myself. How do I behave when no one is watching? Well, there is never a time when no one is watching because I'm watching myself. I see everything I do. Seeing myself act in a way that doesn't align with the person I want to be damages my view of myself.

If it turns out that there is some 'god' outside of me and I am "wrong" (as an elder once told me), I'm learning to accept that that's okay. Whatever happens has to be okay because I have no say in the matter. I explained this to an elder's wife not too long ago and she said something like 'So you'll just be asleep forever' or 'So you don't want to live forever and want to be asleep forever' (something like that, I can only remember the thought not the exact words). I told her that I'll accept whatever Jehovah decides to do with me because I have a clean conscience. If he wants me dead forever I'm sure that's the best decision so I'm okay with it.