Posts by fulltimestudent

7

Do you Attend University scholarly Lectures

by peacefulpete in

we've been privileged to attend a number of outstanding lectures on a wide range of scientific topics, some by now quite famous researchers.

for example, we attended a caltech discussion/lecture by svante paabo not long after his initial work on neanderthal dna was released and met him after the lecture.

he wasn't a dynamic speaker but a humble man who obviously felt more comfortable in the lab than on the podium.

fulltimestudent

"Scholaarly lectures" as this thread calls them, are a good way to get information and viewpoints that are not normally discussed in public media.

As I've noted before, I spent 10 years doing a degree, because the one Uni that offered me a place (most students at Australian Uni's take advantage of a government subsidy, so you have to apply and see who offers you a place) did not have a degree in what I'd call Asian Studies. So I enrolled in the closest course to that goal, and 'twisted" the curriculum so that I could concentrate on topics that discussed Asia. And, since I was focusing on China, that took a bit more juggling and taking more subjects at Sydney University which has an excellent Chinese Department. So I was able to both get a degree and utilise specialist talks at three universities develop a great all-round knowledge of Asia, and China in particular.

I can still (and do) attend specialist talks, often by visiting academics, who have a reputation in their field.

If you checkout the universities in your area, you may be able to access these specialist talks (that are often only advertised within that Uni) that are a great way to expand your understanding of various topics, without actually having to do a degree.

38

Struggling to find a purpose

by My Name is of No Consequence in

i spent most of my life in the org.

we were taught that our purpose in life was to serve jehovah.

that never really made sense to me, but it was still a purpose to keep going.

fulltimestudent

There is NO genuine (natural) purpose in life, even writers (included in the bible) admit that.

Here's a few texts (using ESV)

1 peter 1:24 - "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls"

Likely this author drew on previous writings to make his point (which was to have a new life with jesus) which may have been a text like Psalm 102:3

My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

The author of James draws on other imagery

See James 4:14, What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Various texts could have been in that writer's mind, but Psalm 144:4 will suffice...

Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

There's lots more all making the same points (seek god's purpose) and I often used these texts in my JW life, where I imagined myself as a shepherd caring for god's little lambs.

Those writers imagined that there was a creator who had a purpose for them. Any contemporary christian likely thinks the same way- but what happens when the scales fall from their eyes and they see clearly that it is veery unlikely that there is any such creator.

That is your position, isn't it. So what to do - look around you and you see people doing all kinds of things, without religion being the most important thing in their lives.

After I was kicked out, I focussed on my work, learning to use CAD in my design work. I'd also (as a kid) loved history and would spend hours reading history books, So at age 75, I went to University to study Asian history, I was fortunate enough to have a professor who had also worked in the Australian diplomatic service and served in many Asian nations. I spent ten years attending lectures at two leading (Sydney) universities, and reckon I know have a great all-round understanding of Asia. Was there a function to all that study - many would say it was pointless, no use to me or anyone, but look closer - there was point - personal satisfaction. If the rise of Asia is in the news, I can understand the truth or not of various statements. Yes, again that's just my personal satisfaction.

But in the end, that's all anyone has in their life. Personal satisfaction.

So maybe that's an angle to consider. Now you're free, what can you do to give you more personal satisfaction. You're free to set your own goals and purpose in your life.

Good luck in your search.

1

Lest we forget

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

while (naturally) this site emphasises the sins of the jw organisation, we should never forget that the jw sins only mirror similar sins in other 'christian' organisations.. this story, featured on the web-site of australia's government owned media group (the abc) tells the story of father damian barker, a roman catholic priest in perth w.a., who was guilty of sexually abusing young boys.

the rc church reluctantly admits to such behaviour (a similar reluctance mirrored in the jw organisation).

but, as this article discusses, the influence of priests in the rc church allows a greater scope for this sort of behaviour, and father damian could (theoretically) have abused hundreds +++ of young boys.. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-27/toolkit-of-alleged-paedophile-carmelite-priest-damian-barker/101619514.

fulltimestudent

While (naturally) this site emphasises the sins of the JW organisation, we should never forget that the JW sins only mirror similar sins in other 'christian' organisations.

This story, featured on the web-site of Australia's government owned media group (the ABC) tells the story of Father Damian Barker, a Roman Catholic priest in Perth W.A., who was guilty of sexually abusing young boys. The RC church reluctantly admits to such behaviour (A similar reluctance mirrored in the JW organisation). But, as this article discusses, the influence of priests in the RC church allows a greater scope for this sort of behaviour, and Father Damian could (theoretically) have abused hundreds +++ of young boys.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-27/toolkit-of-alleged-paedophile-carmelite-priest-damian-barker/101619514

An extract:

Quote: "Gemma Taylor, principal lawyer at Perth’s Maurice Blackburn, now believes that Fr Damian, who died in 1998, could have allegedly abused hundreds of children in the 1970s and 1980s....

Perhaps most disturbingly is the revelation that Fr Damian had a black diary in which he noted children’s birthdays.

Many people told the ABC about Fr Damian’s habit of turning up unannounced at children’s homes to wish them a happy birthday.

But some survivors have told Ms Taylor about the priest’s black diary, where he would document opportunities for abuse.

So the young boys would be offered a birthday confession and they would be abused at that time, which as many of them said, is now a pretty horrific way to remember their birthdays,” she said."

68

1975 selling of houses

by Paul Bonanno in

jw
friends

as 1975 was approaching, many witnesses sold their property.

do you know about specific cases that are willing to share their experience of doing so?.

fulltimestudent

punkofnice's personal story remind's me of my own. "Nothing is happening' was also noted by none other than Nathan Knorr.

How do I know? I know because he told us so during his last visit to Australia,

In August/September of 1975 the elders in Sydney were invited to a special meeting at the Greenacre Assembly Hal, both Nathan and Freddy F were the featured speakers, and Nathan said straight off that it was unlikely that all the things the bible said about end were unlikely to happen in the last few months of '75.

That was, I now realise, the beginning of my journey out. It took some years, and some heartbreaks, but eventually I was free of the bible's ratbaggery.

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

As an incidental sequel, many years later, i was walking through Sydney's Chinatown, and passed a JW group advertising the supposed JW charms to a Chinese student. A JW elder (that I had known ) was holding forth that the JW's had never made predictions of an exact year for the end of the system. An outright lie, and I told him so.

68

1975 selling of houses

by Paul Bonanno in

jw
friends

as 1975 was approaching, many witnesses sold their property.

do you know about specific cases that are willing to share their experience of doing so?.

fulltimestudent

I have no '75 house sale stories, but I have a good story about an earlier (failed) 'end of the world' date and house sale.

An elderly sister, in the congregation I'd been assigned to as a pioneer told me that as an earlier prediction of the end (around 1918-1919) was approaching, her mother was considering selling their house. An 'elderess' (the wife of the presiding overseer - or whatever ratbag term was then being used) approached them and said she'd heard the house may be sold and made an offer for it. Needless to say, this elderly sister's mother re-considered the sale.

6

Dr. Bart Ehrman

by truth_b_known in

dr. bart ehrman is a bible scholar who wrote such books as misquoting jesus: the story behind who changed the bible and why and how jesus became god: the exaltation of a jewish preacher from galilee.. i found this interview with dr. ehrman fascinating.

notice are about the 23:35 time stamp one example of many problems with errors in the bible and its many translations.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8evuuadoey.

fulltimestudent

Ehrman's books are a great read. You guys may enjoy his collection of early christian documents, in his book, "After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity."

It allows us to peer into the church as it develops after the first generation of believers.

The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Christian in This Modern Age

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

see: same-sex couple prompts backlash to catholic schools’ musical.

sydney catholic schools billed its production of school of rock as taking school musicals “to a whole new level”.

for the first time, about 3000 of its students came together for a “once in a lifetime” extravaganza in front of an estimated 20,000 students and parents.. it was a huge hit – or so it seemed.. the success of the show has been overshadowed by a backlash from parents, some of whom are upset about the language (one song contained the words screwed and pissed), the disrespect for authority (the choir sang stick it to the man), and by a scene in which students prayed to the god of rock.. but the biggest controversy, representing the largest share of complaints to the schools’ boss and archbishop, was a brief scene in which two male students played a same-sex couple.. .

fulltimestudent

See: Same-sex couple prompts backlash to Catholic schools’ musical

Sydney Catholic Schools billed its production of School of Rock as taking school musicals “to a whole new level”. For the first time, about 3000 of its students came together for a “once in a lifetime” extravaganza in front of an estimated 20,000 students and parents.

It was a huge hit – or so it seemed.

The success of the show has been overshadowed by a backlash from parents, some of whom are upset about the language (one song contained the words screwed and pissed), the disrespect for authority (the choir sang Stick it to the Man), and by a scene in which students prayed to the God of Rock.

But the biggest controversy, representing the largest share of complaints to the schools’ boss and archbishop, was a brief scene in which two male students played a same-sex couple.

School of Rock, an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on a film of the same name, is about a down-and-out musician who pretends to be a teacher to get a job at a strict private school, and turns his class into a school-uniformed rock band in the tradition of AC/DC.

He refuses to teach “boring” maths and English, and instead encourages the students to embrace rock music, to the consternation of their parents – two of whom are in a same-sex relationship.

LINK:https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/same-sex-couple-prompts-backlash-to-catholic-schools-musical-20221019-p5br3f.html

28

Was Jesus the Messiah circumcised ?

by smiddy3 in

has this question ever been raised before by jehovah`s witnesses?

and what`s the significance, if any ?.

fulltimestudent

ThomasMore asks: "What is perfection?"

One Bible dictionary claims: "Two word-groups in the Hebrew Old Testament are translated "perfect" or "perfection": tamam [m'T] and calal [l;l'K]. The former connotes wholeness, soundness, integrity, and often takes on ethical significance; the latter connotes completeness, perfection, and can carry the aesthetic sense of comeliness or beauty. Nearly all New Testament occurrences translate Greek words sharing the tel- stem, from which some half-dozen words are formed that bear the sense of completion or wholeness."

(https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/perfect-perfection/)

But is the way we use the word perfection equivalent to the ancient Hebrew and Greek words?

That's where I was going with my post (just above), Jesus (minus his foreskin) was no longer 'complete.' It seems a trifling thing (i.e. the foreskin) to lose, but whether you want to believe that old YHWH made Adam (and Jesus) 'complete,' or, you don't believe it, the foreskin is not useless (otherwise why would YHWH bother adding it to the penises of the 2 men it is claimed he created). Your foreskin, does have a function:

"The foreskin, also known as the prepuce, is the double-layered fold of smooth muscle tissue, blood vessels, neurons, skin, and mucous membrane part of the penis that covers and protects the glans penis and the urinary meatus.[1] The foreskin is mobile, fairly stretchable, and acts as a natural lubricant for the penis."

.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreskin

Actually, while circumcision may not seem to remove something important, removing it in infancy is a barbaric custom.

38

Have JW `s ever faced the topic of Jesus having inherited Adamic sin ?

by smiddy3 in

according to the bible all humans male and female have inherited sin because of adam and eve`s disobedience to god .. god may have impregnated mary with a life force , however it was still sinful mary who gave birth to jesus after nine months in her body who is /was supposedly without sin ?.

mary must have passed on some of her sinful state to jesus having been in her womb for the past nine months , surely.

and there is nothing in the bible / scripture to say otherwise ?.

fulltimestudent

Is our contemporary use (the meaning we attach to it) of the word 'perfection) the precise meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words?

One Bible dictionary claims: "Two word-groups in the Hebrew Old Testament are translated "perfect" or "perfection": tamam [m'T] and calal [l;l'K]. The former connotes wholeness, soundness, integrity, and often takes on ethical significance; the latter connotes completeness, perfection, and can carry the aesthetic sense of comeliness or beauty. Nearly all New Testament occurrences translate Greek words sharing the tel- stem, from which some half-dozen words are formed that bear the sense of completion or wholeness."

(https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/perfect-perfection/)

So in contemporary English, if I say my new house is complete, what do I mean? I think christians of all sorts, attach meanings that there is no real original basis to the claim.

9

Follow to previous post,re:My niece

by Captain Schmideo2 in

a few weeks back, i posted this:https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6246845349625856/never-thought-would-see-this-my-family-circle.

so, in latest developments:there was a court hearing, in which a continuance was granted for two weeks, as my bil has pleaded not guilty.

which is, in my opinion, very bad legal advice from his lawyer.

fulltimestudent

A similar incident (sans the legal trappings)

A JW I knew a long time ago, once went to serve a greater need in a tropical paradise called New Caledonia.

Another family (also from Australia) had a daughter. The daughter and a young local boy began showing an interest in each other - absolutely normal, I think you'd agree, But daddy wasn't happy about it.

So one morning, at the congregation meeting for field service (this is back in the days, when that meeting was for 20-30 minutes)

Not sure, why (maybe these two kids smiled at each other), but daddy lost his cool and started beating his daughter so viciously that the other brothers at the meeting physically intervened and held him down to stop the attack.

Very upbuilding (or entertaining, depending on your viewpoint) for a FS meeting.

True story! My friend, who later married that girl, told me the story, when daddy became a circuit overseer (in Australia) and was giving a talk on being a good parent (training the next generation-haha) at a circuit assembly.