Disfellowshipping deserves to be judged in the court of public opinion, not a court of law.
Posts by cofty
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1Otuo v Watchtower [shunning&defamation] case is nearly closed
by Corney insix-year-long defamation lawsuit brought by mr. otuo is almost finalized.
the lawsuit (technically, two lawsuits) was brought in 2013 - 2014 in respect of:.
(1) public announcement that "frank otuo is no longer one of jehovah's witnesses", and .
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45
Do any of you born into the cult feel like your mental growth was stunted?
by rockemsockem inbeing born in to me was devastating.
when you are a child born in and raised with the they vs us and they are evil and worldly and going to die.
not allowed to form relationships with anyone not one of you.
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cofty
Any damage does not have to be permanent.
Of course opportunities may be lost for good but unless you suffered serious abuse as a child your personality will pretty much be what it was going to be regardless. Nature is far more influential than nurture.
Having said, there are aspects of raising children in the cult that are abusive. Just because damage can be undone doesn't excuse that abuse.
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607 date of Jerusalems destruction
by benny ini am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.
in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.
your thoughts please..
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cofty
No one doesn't need to do any of that.
One only needs to accept the overwhelming academic consensus.
607 is based on theological dogma not evidence. What the bible has to say about ANE history is as insignificant as what the Book of Mormon has to say about the history of North America.
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607 date of Jerusalems destruction
by benny ini am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.
in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.
your thoughts please..
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cofty
Benny - Please be aware that the ironically named 'scholar' is a JW apologist with a very shallow grasp of his/her topic.
Carl Johnson's book is exhaustive on this topic but I don't know how you would get a copy. Do check out the articles at JWFacts website and see the links to previous threads on this topic.
Suffice to say from the outset that there is literally NO scholarly support for 607. It is not even a debate in academia. It is based on a clumsy interpretation of scripture. It is beyond reasonable doubt that at least some of the GB are aware of their error in this regard.
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BBC Radio 4 comedy show (Ex JW, very good)
by pleaseresearch inheard this today in the car and thought i would share it.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b07x6mf3.
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cofty
I caught the last 10 minutes. It was excellent. I will listen to the rest of it on BBC Sounds
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D-Day, not a single JW gave ultimate sacrifice while 9,000 Americans did just that
by FatFreek 2005 inas the major news outlets today published tributes to the 9,000 americans who landed, and were killed, on the beaches of normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history -- u.s. jws can sit back in their kingdom hall seats and home easy chairs, proud (and ignorant) of the facts that no jw ever killed a nazi in france's occupation.. today, most americans can proudly continue to speak english instead of german, or japanese -- partly because of those brave americans, not a single jw among them.. thank you to your grandfathers, great uncles, and other heroic men who never lived out the potential and promised of a fulfilling life..
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cofty
Pacifism is morally indefensible.
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Check out this shameless image on jw.org.
by nicolaou inanother generation of children being fed the same lie we, our parents and grandparents were told.
this is the link, it's image number 8. https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/united-states/2019-love-never-fails-international-convention-series-overview/.
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cofty
The Watchtower is beyond the pale. The only way it will cease to do harm is for it to cease to exist.
You don't believe there is any such thing as truth or falsehood or even a simple fact so it's hard for you to grasp that not everything is relatively okay.
Try thinking about the KKK. Should it be reformed or does its long history of hate, racism and murder mean that nothing short of its total demise would be a morally defensible outcome?
Right-wrong-true-false, I know these are difficult concepts for you.
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Check out this shameless image on jw.org.
by nicolaou inanother generation of children being fed the same lie we, our parents and grandparents were told.
this is the link, it's image number 8. https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/united-states/2019-love-never-fails-international-convention-series-overview/.
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cofty
However you feel about Watchtower in the past, isn’t it better if they cause less harm in future? - SBF
There can be no honourable way forward for the cult until they admit to, apologise for, and make recompense for the damage they have done in their history. Just for a start...
- Countless children raped and abused as a result of policies wilfully designed to protect pedophiles
- Thousands of families destroyed by their shunning policies - in many cases leading to mental health issues and suicides
- Millions of lives damaged by ridiculous apocalyptic prognostications
Having done that they would have to change so many doctrines, so as to prevent further harm, there would be very little left.
Some organisations do not deserve the opportunity to reinvent themselves. It would be far better if the cult just went out of existence.
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Check out this shameless image on jw.org.
by nicolaou inanother generation of children being fed the same lie we, our parents and grandparents were told.
this is the link, it's image number 8. https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/united-states/2019-love-never-fails-international-convention-series-overview/.
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cofty
No religion is all good or bad ... I like this book about good and bad religion ...Spoiler: the book argues that “good” religions promote education, connections between people rather than barriers, openness to new ideas, empathy for others, among other characteristics - SBF
I actually posted a couple of threads about this topic two years ago.
Was/Is Religion Useful Even if it isn't True?
Dawkins v Haidt on Evolutionary Advantage of Religion
In contrast with Dawkins, Jonathan Haidt has interesting things to say about this.
Sometimes I get the impression you wouldn’t like JWs to become better!
You're right I don't favour that outcome. I think that the cult is so thoroughly rotten it would be better if it continued to move towards ever more extreme positions until it becomes as ridiculous as Westboro. I want to see it destroyed by its own cruelty.
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Check out this shameless image on jw.org.
by nicolaou inanother generation of children being fed the same lie we, our parents and grandparents were told.
this is the link, it's image number 8. https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/united-states/2019-love-never-fails-international-convention-series-overview/.
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cofty
If you were to reform all the harmful teachings and practices of the WT there would be nothing left.