Posts by JeffT

20

Do Jehovah's Witnesses interpret the Bible properly?

by Vanderhoven7 in

do jehovah's witnesses interpret the bible properly?.

jehovah's witnesses see the bible as an organizational book which only the faithful and discreet slave (currently 8 men headquartered in warwick new york) can interpret properly.

the faithful slave was first appointed in brooklyn in 1919 and given the exclusive right and ability to understand and teach the bible properly.

JeffT

I had never heard the term "hermeneutics" -- the theory and methodology of Biblical interpretation, and "exegesis" -- critical interpretation and explanation until I left the JW's.

There is a simple explanation why JW's don't talk about these words: they don't do that. The Watchtower has no consistent, logical and rational approach to interpreting the Bible. They ignore such factors as who was writing a particular book, the intended audience, and the relevant history and issues current at the time the book was written. For the Watchtower, all Bible verses are equal.

Sample chapters of my novel now available

by JeffT in

jw
friends

my latest novel, “armageddon’s disciples” is now available in both print and kindle versions.

a brief description:.

“when three “disciples” of the word of god foundation discover seventeen-year-old alice lahti dead in their meeting hall, detective ed franklin quickly finds a tangled web of toxic relationships, sexual abuse, blackmail, murder, and bizarre failed prophecies.

JeffT

My latest novel, “Armageddon’s Disciples” is now available in both print and Kindle versions. A brief description:

“When three “Disciples” of the Word of God Foundation discover seventeen-year-old Alice Lahti dead in their meeting hall, detective Ed Franklin quickly finds a tangled web of toxic relationships, sexual abuse, blackmail, murder, and bizarre failed prophecies. Unable to penetrate the Disciples’ closed world, Ed recruits his neighbor, Keith Thornton, a former member, to guide him.

Already “Cast-out” for heresy and facing shunning by family and friends, Keith has nothing left to lose. His wife has left him because he no longer believes in The Word. By helping the police investigation, Keith marks himself as a “Forsaker”, one who has deliberately turned his back on The Lord. Keith hopes his assistance will provide meaning to the havoc the religion created in his life.

As stories of sexual abuse and the body count rises, investigators struggle to unravel the secret world of Armageddon’s Disciples.”

Links to purchase a copy.

Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HDT9DJB

Paperback http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG4W38G

Hardcover http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG4TXZ4

I will also be putting more information up on my new website: https://www.jeffthomasbooks.net/

All three allow you to preview the book, just click on the cover where it says “look inside.” The first (Kindle) link has the largest sample.

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My latest novel is now available on Amazon, I think you might like it.

by JeffT in

jw
friends

my latest novel, “armageddon’s disciples” is now available in both print and kindle versions.

a brief description:.

“when three “disciples” of the word of god foundation discover seventeen-year-old alice lahti dead in their meeting hall, detective ed franklin quickly finds a tangled web of toxic relationships, sexual abuse, blackmail, murder, and bizarre failed prophecies.

JeffT

My latest novel, “Armageddon’s Disciples” is now available in both print and Kindle versions. A brief description:

“When three “Disciples” of the Word of God Foundation discover seventeen-year-old Alice Lahti dead in their meeting hall, detective Ed Franklin quickly finds a tangled web of toxic relationships, sexual abuse, blackmail, murder, and bizarre failed prophecies. Unable to penetrate the Disciples’ closed world, Ed recruits his neighbor, Keith Thornton, a former member, to guide him.

Already “Cast-out” for heresy and facing shunning by family and friends, Keith has nothing left to lose. His wife has left him because he no longer believes in The Word. By helping the police investigation, Keith marks himself as a “Forsaker”, one who has deliberately turned his back on The Lord. Keith hopes his assistance will provide meaning to the havoc the religion created in his life.

As stories of sexual abuse and the body count rises, investigators struggle to unravel the secret world of Armageddon’s Disciples.”

Links to purchase a copy.

Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HDT9DJB

Paperback http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG4W38G

Hardcover http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG4TXZ4

More information up on my new website: https://www.jeffthomasbooks.net/

10

Earthquake in Victoria Australia

by smiddy3 in

i ,along with many other victorians in australia,experienced my first earthquake this morning about 9:15 am.. it was recorded as a 5.9 magnitude.and an after shock of 4.0 magnitude.. i was having a lay in bed due to the fact my wife had a bad night due to her health problems which affected my sleep as well.. and i thought geeeze she`s making a lot of racket coming up the passage to the bedroom with her walker and then the bed started shaking like crazy .

i thought my computer`s going to hit the deck along with the printer as other things started to fall over.. our house sits on concrete stumps and the thought went through me that the house could collapse ,but thankfully there was no structural damage that i could find.. apparently it was felt far and wide covering most of victoria / nsw and even tasmania.. anybody else here had a similar experience ?.

JeffT

I also live on the U S West coast (Seattle area). We get lots of quakes, little ones that rattle the dishes and once in a while a larger one. Biggest I've been through here was about 7.0. I was at work in a hundred year old building, on fill near the harbor. It gave us a good shake, and the facade of the building across the street fell off and landed on the road.

It left all of us rattled for a couple days.

29

If you think Watchtower is disappearing any time soon…

by Reservations in

you are sadly mistaken.. i hear people say it on here all the time, and dare i say his name *cough* lloyd evans *cough* has said it a number of times, that watchtower is running scared and watchtower is in decline….. we need to put in perspective the decrease from the 2020 report.

if we calculate a yearly -0.6 decrease over a 10 year period from 2020 figures it leaves us the grand total number of witnesses of:.

by 2030: - 7,933,479. by 2040: - 7,471,357. by 2050: - 7,036,154. i agree that this is a significant decrease, but let’s not kid ourselves, the wt organisation will still be alive and well even with an annual 0.6% loss.

JeffT

I have thought for some time that if the Watchtower disappeared tomorrow, its followers would just go find something else to follow. I imagine there are bus loads of COs, Branch overseas and the like who would be happy to pick up the slack.

Incidentely , I find it unlikely the child abuse lawsuits will wipe out the WTBS. The lawsuits total up to millions with an "m." The WTBS's assets are in the billions with a "b." Most large businesses regard such things as a cost of doing business, I'm sure the Watchtower is cynical enough to think the same way.

122

1995 generation change

by Gorb in

jw
friends

now, many years later, i remember the 1995 generation change, very well.. since early youth, hearing my father explaining in field service the 2520 years.

it was his main theme in the field.. with the change my doubts started.

with some jw friends we did not trust the organization anymore.

JeffT

I was already out (wife and I left in 1988). When I heard about the change I wondered why everybody didn't just get up and walk out. Just proves that some people can't think.

24

“The Right to Shun: Ghent’s Misguided Jehovah’s Witness Decision“ Matthew P. Cavedon

by AndersonsInfo in

https://canopyforum.org/2021/04/19/the-right-to-shun-ghents-misguided-jehovahs-witness-decision/.

in march, the criminal court of ghent, belgium fined the congregation of jehovah’s witnesses (jw) for “inciting discrimination and hatred or violence against former members.” the case centered on the jw practice of “disfellowshipping.” while the court’s sensitivity to the individual impact of shunning is laudable, its decision regrettably assaults the freedoms of religion and association.. first, some background on jw beliefs and disfellowshipping.

jw was founded in the united states over a century ago and is headquartered in new york state.

JeffT

you just can’t say that other people are evil.

I can't say that Nazis are evil? The KKK? The people that flew airplanes into the world trade center? The people on this board can't call the GB evil for shunning us? We make judgements about people all the time. Sometimes somebody makes a judgement we don't like. And we can stop talking to them when they do.

13

Is this New Light coming or just some crackpot?

by pistolpete in

this experience was posted about a year ago.

it seems like a crackpot co was giving his prediction of what "might possibly happen in the future" .

now it seems like he wasn't such a crackpot after all.. quote.

JeffT

I remember a talk/demonstration at a circuit assembly circa 1975. Brothers are supposedly in jail for preaching and one says he's heard the preaching work is stopped because the end is here. An elder shows him in the Bible where he's wrong, the preaching will go on right up to the end.

So they are contradicting what they said then. But what else is new?

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