Posts by Diogenesister

17

The new JW Bible

by silas hobbs in

jw
friends

i was recently informed that the new jw bible was reviewed by some academic type person who rated it as one of the best translations available.. has anyone heard of this person and if so what is his reasoning for giving it such a compliment?.

Diogenesister

I don't know about that particular review being "new", I seem to recall that name a couple years back?

One interesting thing I did learn yesterday, however, is one of the main reasons scholars are certain Paul didn't write the pastoral epistles (Titus, the Timothys, replete with infamous statements about both woman and slavery), is because these epistles are hierarchical. Ie they are written to "church leaders". A hierarchy among Christians was unknown in the first century and within the new testament.

The pastoral's were written by the same man, almost certainly inserted much like watchtower has, when it became obvious the church was going to become a long term institution and as such these epistles became a method of control.

Paul believed Jesus' arrival was imminent and as such no other authority was needed.

16

Ray Franz - Why The Watchtower Cannot Reform

by Anna Marina in

this is me reading a letter ray kindly sent to me in 2008 explaining why the watchtower was not capable of reform.

the letter is full of wisdom and is very informative.. ray franz's letter to me - why the watchtower cannot reform.

Diogenesister

Oh Anna Maria that was beautiful. Rays letter was immensely touching. That stupid organisation had no idea what a treasure it lost. Even Negan, an anti-hero on the Walking Dead knows that “people are resources”, something the Watchtower is ignorant of, since the individual is nothing to them. Like the Catholic Church it’s a behemoth of a battleship that takes miles to turn around and there’s nothing the people at the helm can do to avoid crushing those in its path, even should it want to. The only thing to do is abandon ship and let it run aground itself, as it’s sure to do eventually.

I love your artwork, by the way. It’s very distinctive and I always know it’s yours. You’ve definitely found your own path when it comes to art, which isn’t easy!

41

Creepy display

by neat blue dog in

.

i dunno about you, but if i walked up to this display at an expo i'd be a little creeped out..

Diogenesister

I think there is something vaguely disrespectful having TV screens at the front of the podium in a “church” the way they do in a Kingdom Hall.

277

Did Jeruselm fall in 587 or 586 BCE?

by Doug Mason in

i came across this article written in 2004 by an evangelical.. “when did jerusalem fall?”, rodger young, journal of the evangelical society [jets], 47/1 (march 2004), 21-38.. http://www.rcyoung.org/articles/jerusalem.pdf .

these are the conclusions of the 18-page analysis.

(1) jerusalem fell in the fourth month (tammuz) of 587 bc.

Diogenesister

Scholar Young's article is simply a hypothesis

All academic articles are “simply” hypothesis, since, in theory, if someone comes along with a better argument the author will accede to it. I would have thought a scholar would know that.

14

Set ptermber AT study article: "Armaggedon Is Good News!

by Room 215 in

omg, is this the apotheosis of bat-shit craziness or not?

.

Diogenesister

OMG, is this the apotheosis of bat-shit craziness or not?

Yup. The death of billions is "good news".

And the JWs wonder why Russia views them as extremists. 😒

39

Publisher ID - I Saw It In Person & It Was Terrifying!

by thedepressedsoul in

i'd like to start off this post by saying, we all know that the wt loves control.

it's clear by their history, their wt's, the elder arrangement and so on.

however, after witnessing and using the publish id program in person, it takes this need for control to a whole new level & it was scary.. if you've ever seen builder assist (the website program used for ldc volunteers) or the metro program, it actually looks pretty similar to that.

Diogenesister

It just occurred to me that if a person either wished to avoid having to continue in a position such as ministerial servant, pioneer, "sound guy" etc etc a good way to get out of this, and generally become "less useful" to the society & cong would be to refuse to allow JW.org to store your data.

Naturally your loyalty will be questioned, but you can simply say you fear your data falling into the "wrong hands such as the state during the great tribulation", since your address, telephone number and many other particulars are stored on the new publisher I.D. system.

JW.Org has been ramping up the fear lately, broadcasting videos portraying persecution and publishing articles about arrests and torture in Russia.

It's the perfect time to 'slip the noose', citing data protection issues, as a way to become less active in the congregation without sparking anything but the (useful) suspicion that you may be becoming a little 'loopy'.

1

Evil Jehovahs Witness monkey

by Diogenesister in

just saw this lol.

https://youtu.be/nfk-cysfqd8.

Diogenesister

Anyone seen this before or am I really late to the party?😂😂😂

1

Evil Jehovahs Witness monkey

by Diogenesister in

just saw this lol.

https://youtu.be/nfk-cysfqd8.

Diogenesister

Just saw this Lol

https://youtu.be/nfK-CYsfqD8

39

Publisher ID - I Saw It In Person & It Was Terrifying!

by thedepressedsoul in

i'd like to start off this post by saying, we all know that the wt loves control.

it's clear by their history, their wt's, the elder arrangement and so on.

however, after witnessing and using the publish id program in person, it takes this need for control to a whole new level & it was scary.. if you've ever seen builder assist (the website program used for ldc volunteers) or the metro program, it actually looks pretty similar to that.

Diogenesister

Does it carry deceased publishers?

If so, I'd love to know if Ted Jaracz is on there.

Perhaps deceased publishers, or all publishers ever baptised, is the next level up. Although someone would have to scan the paper documents into the system.

don't see how something like this is even legal without providing consent.

I thought all publishers HAD to give consent. Didn't they all sign off on this in the UK recently?? Thought I read something about it.*

*Edit: yes they did sign a disclaimer.

Anyone who refused was told they wouldn't be able to apply for "privileges" or any other applications, though. Which basically rules out anyone who wants to auxiliary pioneer, "need greater" or help on a build etc

49

A deeper examination of The New World Translation

by Terry in

shorturl.at/ouakr.

Diogenesister

Scholar I'd be interested to know your thoughts on Hebrews 2.9

So we all know Watchtower does not consider Jesus to be God. So one would think they would take any and all opportunity to translate the Bible to reflect this dogma, as indeed they are want to do.

However, it's pretty established that Hebrews 2.9 originally read "ASIDE from God" instead of "by the GRACE of God".

Watchtower translates it as "by the undeserved kindness of God" which we all know is Watchtower code for "by the GRACE of God".

This, to me, proves that the men who published the NWT were NO Bible *scholars.

In that they resort to inserting words not originally in the text, a rather clumsy attempt to prove Jesus is not God, rather than researching and translating the *genuine* areas where the Bible is very ambiguous on the subject.