Topics Started by pirata

13
The ethics of pretending to believe
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
for a few years now i have been pretending to believe something that i no longer do.

i feel like an actor honing his skills in order to survive in a dictatorship where no dissent is allowed.. so far i have not had to face any real ethical dilemmas that would require me to end the charade: letting a loved one die because of blood or shunning a close df'd family member.. i am slowly helping my immediate family to see the things i am learning, but in the meantime i cannot help but feel bad about the whole charade.

it feels deceptive, and (assuming deception is wrong) is therefore wrong, but i also see it as accomplishing the best good in the medium/long term.. what do you think?
5
Watchtower Pubs 1870-1960 Torrent
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. bible
found this torrent of most of the watchtower books from 1870-1960:.

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4214005/watchtower_pubs_1870-1960.

it's currently a bit light on seeders, but the more that join in, the easier it will be to keep this torrent alive (and if anyone can seed for a bit, that would be greatly appreciated!
Are Steve Hassan's books available as e-books?
by pirata in
1. jw
2. friends
walking around with a big book about "combatting mind control" and "releasing the bonds" are likely to attract attention.

i couldn't find any e-book versions.

anyone know if they are available?
6
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
by pirata in
1. jw
2. friends
critical thinking, ie.

"independent thinking", is still a relatively new concept for me.

for the majority of my life i avoided having opinions, scoring poorly in school on reports were we were supposed to give our opinion on political, social, or controversial issues.
30
"New Light" on "New Light" creates a dilemma (July 15, 2010 WT)
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
for the majority of my years in the truth, the "new light" did not bother me at all.. i reasoned this way: "the faithful slave is imperfect, right?

logically they're going to make mistakes.

the main thing is that they're trying to do god's will they best they can and stick as close to the bible as they understand it.
3
What did Nelson Barbour Believe about the Ransom?
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the book "faith on the march", written by a.h. macmillan, pg 28 states:.

it was right at the time of this disappointment, as russell shows, that a permanent breach began between barbour and russell.

paul's words at i corinthians 15:51, 52, were being wrongly construed, russell had pointed out.
27
Theocratic Terms/Slang - Old and New
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
at the 2010 "safeguard your spirituality", the co (or do?

) mentioned that there are some theocratic terms that we need to be reminded about.

he gave the example of many years ago when we said we were doing "back calls", but now we say we are doing "return visits".. here's some he mentioned (bad => good):.
8
Is the vindication of God's name taught in mainstream Christianity?
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i always found it odd that god would be so fixated on his good name that so many others would have to suffer so that he could say "see, i was right!

i told you so!"..

is the vindication of god's name/sovereignty a teaching unique to jw's, or is this also taught in mainstream christianity?.
12
Why does Acts 15:29 differentiate "things strangled" from "blood"?
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. medical
acts 15:29 says to "keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from flood and from things strangled and from fornication".. a study the relevant mosaic laws indicates that blood was to be poured out, and not eaten, when an animal was killed.

if the animal had already died, then it was okay to eat the unbled meat of the animal if you went through the ceremonial cleansing.

thus blood only needs to be poured out when a life was purposefully taken.. however, one could counterargue that since abstaining from "blood" and "things strangled" are listed as seperate items, the "blood" prohibition covers more than just the eating of improperly bled meat.. some have suggested that abstaining from "blood" means to abstain from bloodshed, but i haven't seen any strong arguments/reasoning to support this.. any thoughts on why this distinction is made?
21
The New "Do More" Kingdom Song
by pirata in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
inspired by the recent "do more!

" posts, i started putting together some verses for a "do more!

" kingdom song.