fulltimestudent

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Posts by fulltimestudent

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  30

  Control - Whose worse, the JWs or the traditional churches?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we once experienced, the "you'll die at armegeddon," fear instilled into us as jw's.. was that worse or better than the fear of eternal torment instilled by more conventional religions?.

  john spong gives his view.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkah3hemv3m.

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  fulltimestudent

  talesin2 days ago

  FTS:Your words (if indicating hate) confirm their faith, so when ex-witnesses talk 'hate' they (JWs), recalling the words of Jesus, shut down their thought processes and recall only what Jesus said - been there, done that !!!!

  We are survivors who were abused by the JWS.
  

  ExJWs are not 'the world'.
  

  We are survivors who were abused by the JWS.
  
  Do I hate the people who raped me as a chlid? DAMN STRAIGHT That's called 'normal'. Having been also spiritually raped, and physically abused, by the JW cult, it is perfectly natural that I hate it.

  .Do I tell JWS that? Why would I bother? I choose to vent here.

  (haha, proofreading this and oops - did I split my infinitive? The horror!)

  Do I hate the people who raped me as a chlid? DAMN STRAIGHT That's called 'normal'.

  .Having been also spiritually raped, and physically abused, by the JW cult, it is perfectly natural that I hate it.

  .Do I tell JWS that? Why would I bother? I choose to vent here.

  (haha, proofreading this and oops - did I split my infinitive? The horror!)

  
  

  Grin - may I invite you to split as many infinitives as you wish. Its not a concern for me.

  And (seriously), I was not suggesting that there are no reasons to hate the way that some JWs' have treated their so-called 'brothers and sisters.' The witnesses share that possibility with all those who believe that they follow Jesus. Vicious, inhumane conduct is quite evident among all Christian sects, and always has been. This thread merelyseeks to point out that the problem seems inherent in the Judeao-Christian tradition. The sins of Judeao-Christianity continue to make the world stink

  Personally, I cannot say I had a bad time as a witness, (not until the end anyway). I can say that my gullibility was my own fault. As a kid of 17 I lacked the intellectual forensic skills necessary to dissect propaganda (of any sort). Paradoxically, the development of some intellectual skill was at the hands of the witnesses themselves. I took seriously books like 'Qualified to be Ministers' ( and its predecessors) which helped me become more skilled at analysing a topic.

  As must be clear, I see the witnesses as just another branch of Christianity, as subject to human error as all the other Christian sects.

  ,
  
  
• 
  30

  Control - Whose worse, the JWs or the traditional churches?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we once experienced, the "you'll die at armegeddon," fear instilled into us as jw's.. was that worse or better than the fear of eternal torment instilled by more conventional religions?.

  john spong gives his view.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkah3hemv3m.

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  fulltimestudent

  jhine : Full-time student , l did say l was a long , long time member of the Anglican Church but l believe burning at the stake died out ( pun intended ) just before l was baptised .. Jan

  
  

  I'm so glad it did Jan, as a former baptised (i.e. the sprinkling format) Anglican, and a long time ex-Anglican, I may already have been burned at the stake.

  (BTW - I left said church when I discovered that in the old church in the town where I was growing up, there was the 'grave' of a former convict prison commandant, whose cruelty to the convicts was so extreme that everyone thought that if he had been buried in the local cemetery his body would have been dug up and torn to pieces. So they buried him in the church to prevent that).

  Christianity has a long history, is it all honourable? Did the Church seek at times to 'control' the membership in extreme forms? If it did, was it less controlling that the JWs, or was it more controlling?

  ----------------------

  David_Jay : To add to the information about "colporteurs"... (the) whole "colporteur" thing was NOT an invention of the Jehovah's Witnesses. They were an invention of the British Bible Society.
  ...
  The JWs changed the name to "pioneer" when they wanted to "prove" they were not "engaged in a commercial work." The "filling out of monthly reports" are indeed holdovers from the salesman/colporteur days

  Indeed so David, I think that Russell's 'Bible Students' had little interest in being too different. Officially they saw in which 'faithful Christians' existed in many different religions, and thought of themselves as being gathered together. Not so different from the deluded Jesus, gathering more deluded Jews together for an expectation that failed to materialise. However, the terminology used in Judaeo-Christianity percolates through all the off-shoots to this day.

  However, I do suggest that Rutherford was fascinated (whether in a good way or bad way, is something that needs further investigation) by the potential possible in the new American sales techniques, as a means of spreading the gospel message.

  Other Christian groups may also have seen the potential. Think of the Adventist (the 7th day variety) Kellogg brothers. John Harvey Kellogg (the inventor of corn flakes) and Will Keith Kellogg are with us to this day through the breakfast food companies, Kelloggs and Sanitarium. Both saw the value of 'modern' advertising techniques.

  
  John Harvey Kellogg is an interesting parallel to Charlie Russell and we can better understand the JW background by comparing the two groups. (For those who have curious minds).

  John Harvey Kellogg

  

  
  

  Charles Taze Russell

  
  

  
  
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  30

  Control - Whose worse, the JWs or the traditional churches?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we once experienced, the "you'll die at armegeddon," fear instilled into us as jw's.. was that worse or better than the fear of eternal torment instilled by more conventional religions?.

  john spong gives his view.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkah3hemv3m.

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  fulltimestudent

  Beth Sarim : Yeah, most people are in disbelief, when they find out JWs have to fill in sheets each month!!

  Yes! reporting was an interesting example of 'control, but I'd contend it was outside the 'spiritual' forms of control, such as jhine probably doesnt remember (just joking, jhine) in the Anglican church. That's because it goes back to the time of good queen Bess etc, when Catholics, denounced by proto-anglicans, were burned at the stake unless they converted. (In fairness, when Catholics were in control they burned protestants at the stake). Now that is control, isn't it? (Wry grin)

  But back to reporting.

  This surely grew out of the colporteur's (an early form of full-time work) who were provided with publications at a discounted rate. They had (I believe) to report their work.

  Bethel wanted to know what they were doing, an idea I think, that grew out of Jesus' parables on stewardship. (Being a faithful steward of the Lord's belongings).

  When Rutherford got control he extended the idea. Why? I contend he was influenced by the American business culture as epitomised by the Coca Cola company, the owners of whom had some sort of relationship with Rutherford.

  (See Barbara Anderson's notes on this at: http://watchtowerdocuments.org/heir-to-coca-cola-fortune-was-a-jehovahs-witness/

  It was that family (Heaths??) that built the Californian mansion known as Beth shan.

  Salesmen had to report their activities, which reports were supposed to be analised to aid the salesman to be a much better propagator of the sales message.

  Nathan Knorr also adopted the principles of American business efficiency to build the

  'efficient' business-like organisation that he built. Whether or not we like the man, it has to be admitted Knorr built a very efficient organisation. IF it had been a fully commercial operation he would have died an extremely wealthy man.

  It was our misfortune that we got caught up with the gearbox, and squeezed through the sausage machine.

  Do other forms of Christianity do something similar? I think that the TV evangelists etc, have effectively copied more even more modern advertising techniques. In spite of early attempts to utilise radio and TV, the WTS never quite succeeded.

  I know some insider stories of 2HD radio station in Newcastle NSW, that would entertain dinner parties for weeks.
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  11

  Will this faded JW be DF?

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have a friend who has been inactive for going over 2 years.

  him and his wife split, she stayed a jw and he left and lived with a worldly girl.

  he timed it so that he was officially inactive by the time him and his wife split.

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  fulltimestudent

  Quote: " The elders finally told her that he is not accepting the Christian authority arrangement so there is nothing they can do."

  Now that IS an interesting development.

  Hope it spreads, and people have a chance to leave this stupidity with some dignity.

  As for the wife, of course there are many non-witnesses (both male and female) who have similar vindictive attitudes. How stupid also. When the games over, win or loose, just walk away from it.
• 
  30

  Control - Whose worse, the JWs or the traditional churches?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we once experienced, the "you'll die at armegeddon," fear instilled into us as jw's.. was that worse or better than the fear of eternal torment instilled by more conventional religions?.

  john spong gives his view.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkah3hemv3m.

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  fulltimestudent

  Interesting to see a variety of attitudes, in the responses to the question. Some responses are clearly based on a deep resentment of the JWs. The knowledgeable JWs, will, of course. when they meet that resentment, mentally counter the perceived anger, by recalling a biblical text such as Matthew 24:9, where Jesus is supposed to have said:

  "Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers." (NLT)

  or John 17:14, where Jesus is portrayed as praying to his heavenly father about his followers:

  I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

  Your words (if indicating hate) confirm their faith, so when ex-witnesses talk 'hate' they (JWs), recalling the words of Jesus, shut down their thought processes and recall only what Jesus said - been there, done that !!!!
  

  I agree with the comments that in the main, conventional churches, no longer attempt to exercise too much control. Attempts to do so usually result (these days) in falling attendances. But historically, there's a different story. Perhaps the most infamous attempt to control was the religious inquisition of the Catholic church, and even if its true that the torture associated with that era was performed by the state, it was nonetheless instigated by the Church authorities. And the actual torturers, the individuals that delighted in causing other humans excruciating pain, were counted among the faithful of the church.

  Even before Christianity was legalised by the Emperor Constantine, we can find instances of physical violence being used to 'control' belief. The most infamous acts of violence may have occurred during the well-known stoushes between the followers of Arius and Athanasius.

  But the tendency may always have been there, think of the other famous stoush in early Christianity, the fight between Paul and the advocates of circumcision. Paul wishes that:

  12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! Galations 5:12.

  The issue of circumcision was emotive in the Jewish society of the first century CE. In the wars of the Maccabees, circumcision had been an issue. The story as described in Maccabees is that even young Levites in the temple had become hellenised and were attending a gymnasium where they exercised naked. They stood out among the non-Jews by their circumcised state. In hellenic culture it was offensive to show the head of the penis, (the foreskin was often tied, so that it could not contract and uncover the penile glans) so the Jewish attenders started attempting to stretch their foreskins and hide their circumcision. In the civil war that followed both sides exercised great brutality. In the end the circumcisers won control again, and circumcision remained as a mark of a Jew.

  During the first centuries of early Christianity the Roman state sought to counter it by using violence. When eventually a derivative of Christianity became the state religion the tables turned and the Christian Emperors used violence against those who wished to continue in more traditional forms of religion.

  So my response to the question posed, is that that the difference is one of degree, not intent. All churches, in some way want to control.

  If you need an example of 'control' by traditional churches, think of their attitude to those who have different sexuality.

  But many of these churches are already, in response to popular opinion, changing their attitudes to homosexuality. The JWs stay rigidly opposed, not just on that issue, but on many other issues also, including the major issue of shunning. I doubt that this web-site would be so popular except for the shunning issue.

  But the witnesses should remember that if you cant bend in the wind, you may eventually (when the wind gets stronger) break.
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  The Dead are Talking! What are they telling us?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that was an attention-grabbing tt.. however it is also true, that the dead are now telling us things.

  scientific advances allow us to interrogate the human remains that we find.. here's an example, from two ancient roman cemeteries the skeletons have been examined and something of the history of those individuals is now known.

  the research conducted is explained in an academic journal, plos one.

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  fulltimestudent

  Sorry! That was an attention-grabbing TT.

  However it is also true, that the dead are now telling us things. Scientific advances allow us to interrogate the human remains that we find.

  Here's an example, from two ancient Roman cemeteries the skeletons have been examined and something of the history of those individuals is now known. The research conducted is explained in an academic journal, PLOS ONE.

  The techniques used enable us to know much more about what was happening in ancient times (even in pre-historical times), providing background to the more well-known events. The remains in these two cemeteries tell us that people were moving around as a result of political changes. Early Judaism and Christianity rode that tide of human movement.

  The link to the full report is at:

  http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147585

  All Roads Lead to Rome: Exploring Human Migration to the Eternal City through Biochemistry of Skeletons from Two Imperial-Era Cemeteries (1st-3rd c AD)

  • Kristina Killgrove ,

  • Janet Montgomery

  • Published: February 10, 2016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147585
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  • Abstract
    

  • Migration within the Roman Empire occurred at multiple scales and was engaged in both voluntarily and involuntarily. Because of the lengthy tradition of classical studies, bioarchaeological analyses must be fully contextualized within the bounds of history, material culture, and epigraphy. In order to assess migration to Rome within an updated contextual framework, strontium isotope analysis was performed on 105 individuals from two cemeteries associated with Imperial Rome—Casal Bertone and Castellaccio Europarco—and oxygen and carbon isotope analyses were performed on a subset of 55 individuals. Statistical analysis and comparisons with expected local ranges found several outliers who likely immigrated to Rome from elsewhere. Demographics of the immigrants show men and children migrated, and a comparison of carbon isotopes from teeth and bone samples suggests the immigrants may have significantly changed their diet. These data represent the first physical evidence of individual migrants to Imperial Rome. This case study demonstrates the importance of employing bioarchaeology to generate a deeper understanding of a complex ancient urban center.
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  30

  Control - Whose worse, the JWs or the traditional churches?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we once experienced, the "you'll die at armegeddon," fear instilled into us as jw's.. was that worse or better than the fear of eternal torment instilled by more conventional religions?.

  john spong gives his view.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkah3hemv3m.

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  fulltimestudent

  We once experienced, the "You'll die at armegeddon," fear instilled into us as Jw's.

  Was that worse or better than the fear of eternal torment instilled by more conventional religions?

  What's it all about anyway?

  John Spong gives his view

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkaH3hEmV3M
  
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  38

  Why was it so hard for Jesus to convince the Jews that he was the Messiah???

  by James Mixon in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  ??????

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  fulltimestudent

  David_Jay : Fulltimstudent,
  I've run into this more than several times on this site, and while it surprises me that some people are not aware of this, but just becuase I report something does not mean i condone it, approve of it, agree with it, believe it, or have any emotional investment I it. I am not the type of person to only speak up on those subjects that benefit me or side with my views or convictions. ...

  Yes, I'm sure you have come across the ideas. But adding fable to myth does not make it useful.

  DJ continued:Beyond finding this very interesting in the history of Jewish-Christian relations, I am merely a watcher from the sidelines. I have no personal views or opinions regarding any of the parties involved.

  Thank you for clarifying your position as an independent observer.

  Much of my post was directed, not at the concept of Jewish acknowledgement of Christianity, but at the glib passing over of the terrorist actions that accompanied the illegal seizure of Palestianian land preceding the declaration of the State of Israel.

  That action had a destabilizing effect on West Asia and can now be seen as being a major cause of the terrorism that is spreading over the world.

  We should not forget that Jewish terrorism was the modern spark that lit the fire of today's terrorism.

  Neither should we forget the mythical encouragement of genocide by the Jewish God, YHWH, during the Jewish invasion of Canaan and his command to "slay utterly."
  

  There is nothing noble or humanitarian in this religion.
  
  
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  38

  Why was it so hard for Jesus to convince the Jews that he was the Messiah???

  by James Mixon in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  ??????

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  fulltimestudent

  David, I'm sorry to be sceptical, I saw the names of the rabbi's whose signed the letter on the web-site you linked for us, but what percentage of all Jewish rabbis would that be?

  Are there rabbis who oppose this notion?

  Further, it all sounds to me a bit like the ancient arrangement, "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." So I'm quite unable to see how it supersedes anything previously known about this topic

  But moving on, you described a critical part of the process by which modern Israel was established rather glibly, when you wrote:

  "After World War II when the Axis powers fell, and the Jews returned to their homeland with the birth of the new republic of Israel."

  In dispossessing the inhabitants of Palestine post WW2 were the Jews acting legally or illegally. If legal, then do, I having Anglo-saxon ancestry, have the right to go back to the UK and take back the lands that French-Norman invaders of England, stole from my ancestors post 1066 CE? If the Jewish actions set a legal precedent, then the world is going to have huge disturbances as all kinds of peoples attempt to regain their ancestral heritages. The dispossession of the Palestinians by Jews is a major reason for political unrest in the middle east, and the terrorism that accompanies it?

  Is that terrorism right or wrong?

  If you argue that its wrong, how would you justify the terrorism used by Jews to gain control of Palestine post WW2?

  Do you imagine that YHWH approved the actions of Jewish terrorists in their campaign for an independent state in Palestine?

  As Palestinians attempt to regain their lost territory (to which they once had legal title), are they justified in using terrorism?

  Many acts of terrorism were performed by Jewish terrorists in their 'war' attempting to expel the British (who had been mandated by the Versailles peace treaty following WW1.)

  You can read some of them on this web-site: http://www.iamthewitness.com/doc/Bunche.Report.on.Zionist.Terrorism.in.the.Near.East.htm

  Quote: The report is a compilation of all identified terrorist attacks on British, American and Arab individuals and entities from the assassination of the British Resident Minister in the Middle East on November 6, 1944 by members of the terrorist Jewish Stern gang to the assassination of Count Bernadotte on September 17, 1948 by members of this same gang of fanatics.
  This information is compiled from reports of the US Department of State, the British Foreign Office and various American and British press services.
  New York, October 1, 1948

  I ask again, were those terrorist acts approved by YHWH?

  Here's one (selected at random):

  March 22, 1945, Cairo. The two convicted Jewish Stern gang terrorists who murdered Lord Moyne and his driver were hanged in the Cairo prison British authorities announced.

  Will those two terrorists have a resurrection?
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  11

  Elders face the Lion of Self-Abuse

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. social
  2. humour

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  fulltimestudent

  Giordano : You know the WT is 100% right........ using a lion!

  
  

  Hmm? I have no problem with your essential premise, but I have some problems with the biblical usage of lion imagery.

  
  

  Some random thoughts:

  Why? the Revelation images Jesus as both a lamb and a lion, essentially a victim and avictor. OK, I more or less get that bit of Christian theology, but lions are more than 'killers' of victims as when 1 Peter 5:8 presents Satan as a 'raging lion seeking to devour us.' Is Jesus also a raging lion seeking to devour us by controlling our lives. Isn't most of what we did as JWs, things that 'Christianity' demands of its followers?.
  

  So what else do lions do? As our friend Giordano reminds us they have sexual endurance. Is that aspect of lionology a good image for Christians? If not. why not? If some aspects of lion-life are great images for Christians, why not all aspects? After all, if YHWH inspires Bible writers, how could he ignore some points of the illustrations he supposedly inspires? He MUST KNOW ALL about lion-life. That famous Psalm (104) that praises YHWH as creator notes in verse 21,

  "The maned young lions are roaring for the prey, And for seeking their food from God himself."

  So YHWH gives the ravenous young lions their "food." which distorts the imagery of 1 Peter 5:8, doesn't it?

  There's another aspect of lion-life that enlightens our image of Jesus as the Lion of Judah. Have you ever imagined Jesus as evidenced in this video?

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsfZbfCNOds