Curtains

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Posts by Curtains

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  40

  'Tis the Season: Christmas and "Pagan Origins"

  by cabasilas in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  some thoughts on the so-called "pagan origins" of christmas:.

  christmas and "pagan origins".

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  Curtains

  adding to favorites
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  88

  Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments

  by Nickolas in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.

  there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.

  that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.

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  Curtains

  nickolas - here is something from wiki re anti-intellectualism. In fact if you read the whole article you will find that wiki is quite balanced in its treatment of the subject. but I think the extract below focuses on examples that are like how Jehovahs witnesses utilize anti-intellectualism. Perhaps by means of such discussions your wife may soften in her attitude to your disfellowshipped nephew and hopefully even agree to invite him over to share a meal at your place. Moreover you may be able to, over time, educate your children to recognise when a damaging ideology is at work.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism for the whole article whilst below is the extract that I think focuses in on JW type anti-intellectualism

  Authoritarianism

  Benito Mussolini: Il Duce of Fascist Italy, a police state.

  Dictators, and their dictatorship supporters, use anti-intellectualism to gain popular support, by accusing intellectuals of being a socially detached, politically-dangerous class who question the extant social norms, who dissent from established opinion, and who reject nationalism, hence they are unpatriotic, and thus subversive of the nation. Violent anti-intellectualism is common to the rise and rule of authoritarian political movements, such as Italian Fascism, Stalinism in Russia, Nazism in Germany, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and Iranian theocracy. [citation needed]

  In the 20th century, intellectuals were systematically demoted or expelled from the power structures, and, occasionally, assassinated. In Argentina in 1966, the economic liberalmilitary dictatorship of Juan Carlos Onganía intervened and dislodged many faculties, leading to a massive brain drain in an event which was called The Night of the Long Police Batons. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] The biochemistCésar Milstein reports that when the military usurped Argentine government, they declared: “our country would be put in order, as soon as all the intellectuals who were meddling in the region were expelled”. In Brazil, the educator Paulo Freire was banished for being ignorant, according to the organizers of the coup d’ État of the moment. [ 7 ]

  Flag of Democratic Kampuchea

  Extreme ideological dictatorships, such as the Khmer Rouge regime in Kampuchea (1975–79), killed potential opponents with more than elementary education. In achieving their Year Zero social engineering of Cambodia, they assassinated anyone suspected of “involvement in free-market activities”. The suspected Cambodian populace included professionals and almost every educated man and woman, city-dwellers, and people with connections to foreign governments. Doctrinally, the Maoist Khmer Rouge designated the farmers as the true proletariat, as the true representatives of the working class, hence the anti-intellectual purge. (cf. Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, 1966–76)

  Governmental anti-intellectualism ranges from closing public libraries and public schools, to segregating intellectuals in an Ivory Tower ghetto, to official declarations that intellectuals tend to mental illness, thus facilitating psychiatric imprisonment, then scapegoating to divert popular discontent from the dictatorship (vide the USSR and Fascist Italy, cf. Antonio Gramsci).

  Moreover, anti-intellectualism is neither always violent, nor oppressive, because most any social group can exercise contempt for intellect, intellectualism, and education. To wit, the Uruguayan writer Jorge Majfud said that “this contempt, that arises, from a power installed in the social institutions, and from the inferiority complex of its actors, is not a property of ‘underdeveloped’ countries. In fact, it is always the critical intellectuals, writers, or artists who head the top-ten lists of ‘The Most Stupid of the Stupid’ in the country.” [ 7 ]
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  88

  Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments

  by Nickolas in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.

  there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.

  that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.

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  Curtains

  nickolas, another thing that struck me, triggered by Aguest's posts above, which you may not be aware of is that the watchtower leadership appeals to its followers anti-intellectuallism to keep them happy, contented and flattered. I'm not a person of many words and hope you understand what I mean (if you don't then I can explain). So my suggestion is to, using non religious material (perhaps a newspaper, TV programme or film even), examine and discuss with your wife how leaders can use appeals to anti-intellectualism to win people over. Leave her to make the connection to Jehovahs witnesses. If this was Gods organisation would they need to make such appeals.
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  88

  Debunking the Watchtower - Slam Dunks and Solid Arguments

  by Nickolas in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there's a wide cross section of thinkers on this board, representing christian belief and non-belief and points in between, the agnostics.

  there is most definitely a minority, mostly silent, of devoted jehovah's witnesses present, too, but their contribution to the dialogue and dynamic of the board is minimal.

  that small minority aside, it can be said the people who venture into here to communicate with one another share a common paradigm, and that is the watchtower is built on a foundation of clay.

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  Curtains

  thats a good one Aguest (two hopes instead of one hope)

  Nickolas

  here is another. Jehovahs witnesses love to use the argument that there is no where else to go in their interpretation of John 6:68. Only Jehovahs witnesses have sayings of everlasting life, they argue, and therefore followers must remain in the organisation. But of course this section of John directs an individual to Christ and not to an organsation.
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  113

  High Profile Case: Seeking Reinstatement

  by headisspinning in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  but our situation is very difficult and quite high profile.... i was raised as a jw and my mother was very strict and abusive.

  i got baptized at age 14.. my mother actually called on my (present) husband's mom in service.

  she was on the initial call resulting in his mom coming in the truth and him being raised in it from about age 8 or 9.. despite a very abusive step-father, he followed his mom's lead and came into the truth.

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  Curtains

  hey headisspinning welcome - many here, it seems to me, love Jehovah and believe Jehovahs witnesses have the truth. But we all agree that those who take the lead can be controlling and abusive. Because of this your faith will be challenged but you will be given emotional support as there are many kind souls on JWN.

  Curtains
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  43

  My first time

  by not bitter in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am new to this site.

  i've been out of it for about 17 years.

  i've never really looked back or felt nger about any of it.

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  Curtains

  hi not bitter, welcome.
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  21

  Manifestation in Rome against the ostracism

  by abuonconsiglio in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  on first of december we had a manifestation to condemn the ostracism practiced from jehovah's witnesses against every disfellowshipped.

  we made this manifestation in rome near the chamber of deputies.

  at the event were present people from all over italy and some from switzerland.. what was done?.

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  Curtains

  how marvellous.
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  23

  Rutherford's Doctrines are Dead and so are the Reasons for JWs House-to-House Ministry

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  terry, a very astute poster on jwn recently started the following thread of interest:.

  when i read the posts on terrys thread, i was reminded that in my last two articles, which can be read on freeminds and were posted recently on jwn by randy watters, i discussed the changes made to two major old watch tower doctrines that have definitely affected todays door to door ministry of jehovahs witnesses: .

  1) the teaching, vindicate jehovah's name," officially changed in 1993, after seven decades of use, to "sanctify jehovah's name" (which is more in line with the lord's prayer, "let your name be sanctified").

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  Curtains

  Jehovahs witnesses are as political an organization as any other, making canny manoeuvres when necessary. Dressing it up as new light from Jehovahs is the canniest of all. There is no reason why we ordinary jehovahs witnesses shouldn't get political, seeing as we are so well trained.
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  24

  Can someone help me please???

  by safireblu64 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been raised a jehovah's witness and when i was 25 years old i decided to try and discover things for myself.

  something just was not sitting right with me.

  i had been a publisher since i was 4 years old and i gave my first talk when i was 6 years old.

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  Curtains

  how nice that there is a free book to download - my thanks to Trevor Willis the author.

  safireblue this comment of yours kept sticking in my mind

  All I want is the truth. No bribes, no gimmics, no guilt trips, no scare tactics.....I simply want to know what the bible requires

  what I will say and what I have found useful is to think of truth as something you turn towards and then truth turns towards you. The key is to think of it as movement - towards and from - a dance on the horizon like when a pilot negotiates to level a plane. The pilot can make turns, dives and somersaults whilst remaining in motion -the levelling tools he has helps him stay on the horizon. I think that intuitively we know that life is like this - movements towards truth and the experience of truth moving towards us along with all its hardships. Where we get stuck is when we want to make life and truth static to make it pure and good and this is what happens when Jehovahs witnesses and other religions say there is one truth, or that they have the truth or they are in the truth. Perhaps what they are alluding to is that they experience the movement of truth in their lives and I would not have problem with this however they seek to go beyond this and try to make truth into a cold hard dead thing (like a beautiful marble statue) and perhaps you sense this disturbing aspect and are put off by it.

  I hope this helps you a little as in you opening post you are very clear in your desire to find truth. Feeling disoriented or in darkness is not necessarily that you are far away from truth, it may just mean that you are changing direction -(like the pilot) and in my opinion changing direction is a part of living life as movement.
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  24

  Can someone help me please???

  by safireblu64 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been raised a jehovah's witness and when i was 25 years old i decided to try and discover things for myself.

  something just was not sitting right with me.

  i had been a publisher since i was 4 years old and i gave my first talk when i was 6 years old.

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  Curtains

  hi safireblue, welcome.