Posts by PublishingCult

29

Watchtower May 2010: "HAS GOD LEFT US?" (answer: YES!)

by TJ - iAmCleared2Land in

jw
friends

from a jw friend:.

"a friend sent this cover for new w..... and said at bethel they have been working on it for months, long before haiti and chile..... isn't this great?!

funny, when i saw the cover, my first thought was "they finally got it right!

PublishingCult

If God existed, it's very clear that She checked out like a high school senior after finals.

40

how important was the hope of the paradise to you? and what do you hope in now?

by Curtains in

jw
friends

many become and remain witnesses because of the hope of living in a paradise earth.

for those who have left how did you cope with the loss of this hope?

or do you still have this hope?.

One of the biggest challenges I had during my awakening to the truth about the organization and their teachings was getting past the presupposition that if the JW's do not have the truth, then who does? I mean, the WTBTS pretty much took away all other options by virtue of their teachings and doctrines that discredited the hopes and beliefs of all other religions. If there is no paradise on earth to look forward to, if there is no heavenly place waiting for me when I die, then what is there?

I have found a great place of peace and zen in accepting that there is nothing, there never was anything, and there will never be anything for me once I take my last breath on this planet. I simply will not exist anymore.

That which cannot be proven to exist, does not exist, includeing God, therefore why should I worry, or wonder, or have anxiety over trying to find one lie to replace another?

18

Awake 2010 claims Canadian University can't find young men who haven't seen Porn....Witnesses?

by Witness 007 in

i read this and had a good laugh!!

awake 2010 p.13 "canadian researchers want to find out the effects of pornography on men.

- "we started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography, but we couldn't find any.

PublishingCult

oh, but ESPECIALLY Jehovah's Witness young men!

11

"To verdener" - "Worlds apart" thread

by DagothUr in

jw
friends

i have just seen the movie.

it's very accurate when describing the jw lifestyle and convictions, even their clothes and hairstyle.

but a bearded elder with a rather long hair???

PublishingCult

At first I thought there were minor inaccuracies, but having spent some time in congregations in a foreign country, I considered that the film was probably written according to how a congregation in Denmark is actually ordered. We take into account that congregations in different lands are influenced by the culture, customs, attitudes, etc., of that country, no matter what the WTBTS claims in the way of uniformity.

I recently viewed Worlds Apart and was delighted that the writer(s) and director paid such close attention to detail- right down to a Danish version of a Kingdom Melody set to the tune of Forward You Witnesses. In this film, outsiders are given a rare and fair accurate glimpse of what it's like to be inside the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. It also gives those who have left the organization a bittersweet stroll down memory lane. It dredged up a little mnemonic discomfort for me as I watched JW elders separated a teenage girl from the protection and representation of her parents, interrogating her in the back room of the Kingdom Hall about the intimate details of her relationship with the boy she loves. I tasted bile when a JW parent exerted control and fear with threats of death and shunning, revealing just how conditional and shallow his love for his child really was. Unflinchingly and with an all-too-familiar stony heart discarded her (and her brother who was disfellowshipped for "reading the wrong book") for withdrawing her coerced commitment to peddle WTBTS publications at every opportunity.

This movie does a fine job of demonstrating the subtle nuances of conflict, coercion, and control over a member’s heart and mind. Would love to see more movies like this one.

24

Vatican Confesses That Jesus Was An Exageration Based on Roman Prince?

by PublishingCult in

this news article may have already been posted .

[b][size=125]vatican confesses: jesus story "an exaggeration" based on roman prince[/size][/b].

[size=85]posted by susan maureen brandt on thursday, november 4, 2010. my "vatican" press release is officially gone from free-press-release.com.

PublishingCult

I'm with you. It's way too good to be true.

I heard the story through another source, can't recall where, and this was one of the only articles I could find anywhere.

Can you imagine, though?

(Mark 12:13-17) 13 Next they sent forth to him some of the Pharisees and of the party followers of Herod, to catch him in his speech. 14 On arrival these said to him: “Teacher, we know you are truthful and you do not care for anybody, for you do not look upon men’s outward appearance, but you teach the way of God in line with truth: Is it lawful to pay head tax to Caesar or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” Detecting their hypocrisy, he said to them: “Why do YOU put me to the test? Bring me a de?nar′i?us to look at.” 16 They brought one. And he said to them: “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to him: “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus then said: “Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.” And they began to marvel at him.

If this is true, Jesus was holding a coin with his own image on it encouraging the Jews to pay taxes to none other than himself. Irony

24

Vatican Confesses That Jesus Was An Exageration Based on Roman Prince?

by PublishingCult in

this news article may have already been posted .

[b][size=125]vatican confesses: jesus story "an exaggeration" based on roman prince[/size][/b].

[size=85]posted by susan maureen brandt on thursday, november 4, 2010. my "vatican" press release is officially gone from free-press-release.com.

PublishingCult

This news article may have already been posted . . .

[b][size=125]Vatican Confesses: Jesus Story "An Exaggeration" Based On Roman Prince[/size][/b]
[size=85]Posted by Susan Maureen Brandt on Thursday, November 4, 2010
My "Vatican" press release is officially gone from Free-Press-Release.com. Here's the long version still up on the other press release site I use, Wire Service Canada.[/size]

Articles: Vatican Confesses: Jesus Story "An Exaggeration" Based On Roman Prince

Submitted by susanmaureenbrandt on Oct 31, 2010 - 11:59 PM

Government

The Vatican has released evidence proving that Jesus Christ was an "exaggerated and mythologized" version of Lucius Caesar, with key dates and details in the life of the Roman prince altered to hide his role in the early Christian Church.

Original documents which have been carbon dated to 50 years before the birth of Christ show that Lucius Caesar was the youngest of two sons Julius Caesar secretly produced with his own daughter, Julia, and used to begin the process of "Christianizing" Europe.

Hoping to infiltrate the Jewish and British cultures with clever impostors, Vatican records detail the lengths Gaius Julius Caesar II went to in order to secure a greater tax base for the expanding empire. While his father, Gaius Julius Caesar I was opposed to creating a false religion to replace Roman tradition, Julius actively employed Lucius, his older brother Gaius Julius Caesar III, and his daughter, referred to as Servilius, to execute the plan.

As popularity for violent Roman rule was waning, and territories were increasingly difficult to police, the ambitious ruler had his three children trained in foreign cultures and languages, assassination techniques, and methods of disguise, which are not only documented but fully illustrated in numerous texts.

Religion had been used successfully for passive population control throughout India and Asia for hundreds of years, and Julius wrote about the possibility of using it to subdue the powerful indigenous people of Northwestern Europe and Northern Africa in letters currently housed in Vatican archives.

Lucius and his brother were sent to India as young men, around the time Roman records, referring to them as the adopted sons of Augustus Caesar, claim them to have died in battle. As has been rumored about Jesus, they learned Buddhist principles of non-violence and egoless inner transformation to appeal to Jews tired of excessive demands to perform blood-filled sacrifice rituals, and follow hundreds of meaningless and time-consuming rules, an invention of the Caesar family's ancestors 600 years before in Babylon to enslave the spiritual-minded Israelites with the "invisible chains" of oppressive monotheism.

When this attempt ended in the Jews' demand for Lucius' crucifixion over the issue of accepting Roman taxation, Roman officials removed him from the cross prematurely and, after a brief period of recovery, transported him to Britain, where his brother was already posing as King Casswellaunus while guarding their mother according to Julius' demand that she not be allowed to produce additional heirs.

The events that followed, including Caesar's trip to Britain in 55 BC when he murdered his son Gaius as Lucius and Julia fled to France to conceal their soon-to-born child, Julia's murder by Julius after returning to Rome into a marriage with Gaius Sr., and the resulting assassination of Julius Caesar by a group with Lucius, or "Brutus" (the British), at their helm in 44 BC, are not only well-documented, but secretly form the basis for much of modern dramatic storytelling.

The Vatican admits the scam "will take a great toll on public faith and well-being in the transitional phase that is sure to come, as devout Christians adjust to seeing religion as a personal expression rather than an institutionalized set of beliefs with allegorical figureheads."

However, they claim that as 2012 approaches, it is time to "set aside the complicated crimes of our human past, and move forward into a new, more honest era," an opinion in line with ancient beliefs held by the Romans of the power of astrology and soothsaying in correlation to astronomical events.

While the emotional and spiritual costs of the shocking announcement are virtually unfathomable, the immediate financial implications are clear. The entire corporate body of the Catholic Church, and of the Vatican State itself, face an immediate "closing of shop" to halt the possibility of lawsuits by outraged followers.

A source inside the Vatican claims that the truth about Christianity's unseemly origins have always been known by the pope and other high-ranking figures, but that a philosophy of "encouraging a climate of generous love" developed with the hope of avoiding prosecution.

With the Catholic Church under greater attack than ever for allowing the Roman practice of child sexual training to continue, Vatican officials seem ready to confess their greatest lie.

76

This is scary we are to put the GB in the same place as Jesus according to the Dec 15 WT

by life is to short in

i do not know how to scan the wt if someone can it would be great but i wrote it out verbatim .

i think what the wt says speaks for its self.

am i missing something and or reading something into what they are saying.

PublishingCult

"Paragraph 19 Among those "gifts in men" are the members of the Governing Body, who act in a representative way for the entire Christian congregation. (Acts 15:2,6) In fact, our attitude toward Christ's spiritual brothers is a major factor that will determine how we will be judged during the coming great tribulation. (Matt. 25:34-40) Thus, one aspect of the way we gain a blessing is by giving our loyal support to God's anointed ones."

(Matthew 25:34-40 NWT) 34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, YOU who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for YOU from the founding of the world. 35 For I became hungry and YOU gave me something to eat; I got thirsty and YOU gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and YOU received me hospitably; 36 naked, and YOU clothed me. I fell sick and YOU looked after me. I was in prison and YOU came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous ones will answer him with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and receive you hospitably, or naked, and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to you?’ 40 And in reply the king will say to them, ‘Truly I say to YOU, To the extent that YOU did it to one of the least of these my brothers, YOU did it to me.’

So, "these brothers" now applies to solely to the Governing Body, and if you don't give more of your resources to them you can expect Jehovah to allow extra persecution for you during the great tribulation? Is this what they are implying, these bastards?

11

Two Or More Witnesses Policy Still In Effect For Elders In Child Abuse Cases

by PublishingCult in

despite its assurances to the media reporting on child sex abuse cases, the official wtbts policy on dealing with child molestation in the congregation has not actually changed.

the most recent direction given to congregation elders in dealing with child molestation allegations can be found in the 2010 revised edition of the secret for-elders'-eyes-only manual, shepherd the flock.

this direction is in direct violation of the law regarding how ministers are to handle allegations of child molestation.

PublishingCult

Despite its assurances to the media reporting on child sex abuse cases, the official WTBTS policy on dealing with child molestation in the congregation has not actually changed. The most recent direction given to congregation elders in dealing with child molestation allegations can be found in the 2010 revised edition of the secret for-elders'-eyes-only manual, Shepherd the Flock. This direction is in direct violation of The Law regarding how ministers are to handle allegations of child molestation. Ministers, in all 50 states, are mandatory reporters of child abuse to civil authorities. But the Shepherd the Flock book says the following:

Evidence Establishing Wrongdoing

Even though a Christian has been accused of wrongdoing serious enough to require judicial action, a judicial committee should not be formed unless the wrongdoing has been established. What kind of evidence is acceptable?

The elders can accept a guilty plea by the accused. If the accused does not confess, they can only accept . . .

• There must be two or three eyewitnesse, not just people repeating hearsay; no action can taken if there only one witness. Deut 19: 15; John 8:17.

• If there two or witnesses to the same kind of wrongdoing but each one is witness to a separate incident, the elders can consider their testimony. While such evidence is acceptable to establish guilt, is preferable to have two witnesses to the same occurrence of wrongdoing.

• The testimony of youths may be considered; it is up to the elders to determine whether the testimony has the ring of truth.

39. If the accused denies the accusation, the investigating elders should try to arrange a meeting with him and the accuser together. (Note: If the accusation involves child sexual abuse and the victim is currently a minor, the elders should contact the branch office before arranging a meeting with the child and the alleged abuser.) If the accuser or the accused is unwilling to meet with the elders or if the accused continues to deny the accusation of a single witness and the wrongdoing is not established, the elders will leave matters in Jehovah's hands. (Deut.19:15-17; 1 Tim 5:19, 24, 25; w95 11/1 pp. 28-29) The investigating elders should compose a record, sign it, put it in a sealed envelope, and place it in the congregation’s confidential file. Additional evidence may later come to light to establish matters.

1

2010 Revised "Shepherd the Flock of God" - l Peter 5:2

by PublishingCult in

a letter accompanying the 2010 revised, softcover textbook entitled "shepherd the flock of god" - l peter 5:2 states:.

"we will leave it to each elder to decide what he will do with his 1991 kingdom ministry school textbook.

if he decides to keep the book, he must make sure it is put in a secure place so that others do not have access to it.

PublishingCult

A letter accompanying the 2010 revised, softcover textbook entitled "Shepherd the Flock of God" - l Peter 5:2 states:

"We will leave it to each elder to decide what he will do with his 1991 Kingdom Ministry School textbook. If he decides to keep the book, he must make sure it is put in a secure place so that others do not have access to it. Otherwise, the book should be completely destroyed.

We would like to emphasize the importance of keeping these new textbooks secured and confidential, both before and after they are distributed. The textbooks should not be left on tops
of desks or in other places where they are easily accessible by family members or other individuals. The information is designed for use by the elders only, and other individuals should not have any opportunity to read the information."

There are no conspiracies.

Anyway, this has probably been posted already, but surely worth another go.

56

What is the WT's Motivation? Who Benefits?

by InterestedOne in

jw
friends

another thing my jw friend says to me when i question the wt is, "what would their motivation be?

they're so humble and no-one gets paid except a basic living allowance for the workers at bethel.

they're not like those other rotten 'ministries' whose leaders get paid a lot of money, etc.".

PublishingCult

So, it's simply mass mental illness, mass delusion, a billion dollar organization whose hierarchy is utterly devoid of self-knowledge and awareness. Got it :)

I think it’s fair to say that Ray Franz held tightly to his belief in God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible- and held a microscope and/or focused mainly on the differences between JW teachings and what he believed to be true Christian behaviors and attitudes. He exposed the unchristian attitudes and actions of the GB, and shown a spotlight on their contradictions. His books are fantastic for this purpose, and gave us never-before heard of insights into the inner workings of the WTBTS, but we shouldn’t fail to take serious notice that Franz also reported instances of deliberate and cognitive duplicity on the part of the governing body where political and doctrinal matters are concerned.

Anyway, I am not suggesting a grand conspiracy. I have questions, however, and if mine or anyone’s questions are to be answered I still say that one should take a good close look at their core beliefs, the trauma-based mind control techniques and perhaps the origins of such, the principles of eugenics they propose in their doctrine, their obsessive use of bait-and-switch techniques, programmed into members- these are simply not accidental behavioral tools the GB invented unconsciously for they are being consciously employed and reinforced systematically and with utter precision.