Vidiot

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Posts by Vidiot

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  20

  Bible canon conundrums

  by joey jojo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is a topic that i find really interesting- how the bible, in particular, the new testament was compiled and how the jw organisation strives to negate, scoff at and diminish the influence of the catholic church in its development.. here is the official stance of the org: .

  https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/library/r1/lp-e/all-publications/watchtower/the-watchtower-1963/april-15.

  'the roman catholic church claims responsibility for the decision as to which books should be included in the canon, and reference is made to the councils of hippo (a.d. 393) and carthage (a.d. 397), where catalogues of books were formulated.

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  Vidiot

  Oh, that's too funny!

  
  

  Well done.
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  41

  The ransom makes no sense

  by BourneIdentity in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if mankind needed to be redeemed from sin and death, why didn't the redemption happen as soon as jesus successfully lived his entire life without sin and sacrificed his life?

  if he was successful, the price was paid and we'd all be living forever.

  it's all bullshit, or jesus fucked up and sinned, so it nullified his sacrifice.

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  Vidiot

  truth_b_known - "Jesus only taught this -

  • Love everyone as you would love yourself

  • Judge no one

  • Chose forgiveness over justice

  • Take care of widows and orphans

  • Feed the hungry

  • Heal the sick

  • Be content with the necessities of life

  • Live in the moment and don't worry about tomorrow"

  Pretty much, yeah.
  

  Can't build a theocratic empire just on that, though.
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  41

  The ransom makes no sense

  by BourneIdentity in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if mankind needed to be redeemed from sin and death, why didn't the redemption happen as soon as jesus successfully lived his entire life without sin and sacrificed his life?

  if he was successful, the price was paid and we'd all be living forever.

  it's all bullshit, or jesus fucked up and sinned, so it nullified his sacrifice.

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  Vidiot

  I always had trouble wrapping my head around the Ransom thing.

  I tried to get my Dad to explain it, and he essentially described it like so...

  ...a "perfect" man - Jesus - had to willingly accept the sentence for a capital offense against Jehovah that he didn't commit to correct the cosmic imbalance (somehow) caused by a "perfect" man - Adam - being justifiably sentenced for a similar capital offense (which, in turn, had also created some kind of nebulous genetic flaw which resulted in "imperfection" *).

  When I asked why Jehovah didn't simply forgive Adam for his sin, I was told that...

  a) ...Adam wasn't actually repentant, and besides...

  b) ...when you sin in a "perfect" state, forgiveness isn't possible.

  Ultimately, though, all this explanation did was make me scratch my head until I - ultimately - gave up on fully grasping it, and instead become somewhat fixated on "perfection"...

  ...to the point where, in fact, I thought that all my various unhappinesses were actually the result of my own "imperfections", i.e., inherent flaws.

  In fact, looking back, I think that was a major component of why I stayed in as long as I did...

  ...the WT's "New System" ostensibly promised "eternal life", but "perfection" was my specific carrot, because I thought that, besides being more physically attractive, it also meant never being wrong or making mistakes (understandable when everybody around you says, "oh well, we're all imperfect, we make mistakes" whenever you screw up, which I nevertheless found hugely embarrassing and hated), and therefore - theoretically - never feeling bad about myself again**.

  Seriously.

  It's funny now, but it actually felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders when - shortly before my fade - I realized that the vast majority of JWs each defined "perfection" a little differently from the next...

  ...i.e. notions of "perfection" were so extremely subjective that - ultimately - there's really no such thing...

  ...and, therefore, aspiring towards it was a total fucking waste of time and energy.

  ...

  *On a related note, this is the primary reason for the WTS's rejection of evolution... their cosmology simply doesn't work if Adam isn't a literal historical figure as he's presented in Genesis...

  ...but...

  ...I now actually wonder if said cosmology was tweaked by WT "theologians" this way specifically because they found evolution so objectionable.

  **I also suspected people got off on using said wrongness and mistakes as a pretext to counsel criticize pick on me, and if/when I became "perfect", they would be silenced forever, much to their chagrin and my immense satisfaction.

  Yes, I freely admit I had a massive chip on my shoulder.
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  21

  Number of Kingdom Halls Worldwide

  by wachttorenkijker in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  how many kingdom halls are there worldwide?

  even better how many in the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.. i'm asking this to get a picture of the total real estate owning of the jw and how this become to the money-cow in these days..

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  Vidiot

  wachttorenkijker - "It can go one for a long time."

  Eventually, the family silver runs out, though.
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  16

  Why do the Elders stress the importance of meeting attendance....

  by Davros in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why do the elders always stress to the rank and file members of the congregation how important meeting attendance is, as well as the importance of always paying attention to every word that's being presented from the slave?

  but then, during the meeting, they rarely sit and pay attention themselves to the wonderful spiritual banquet being presented?

  they always seem so busy, don't they?

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  Vidiot

  Real truths - as in, actual facts that are obvious and self-evident - shouldn't need constant reinforcement.

  If they do, they're not "real truths".
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  12

  Did you know that Jane Roe of Roe v. Ray was raised a Jehovah's Witness?

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://observer.case.edu/editorial-reproductive-rights-are-human-rights/?fbclid=iwar1gip_xy4dkz-kepsa8qts72a5_upgeabcrduriit7dsi-iysqnmwxtztk.

  editorial: reproductive rights are human rights.

  lorie shaull.

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  Vidiot

  Finkelstein - “...Sounds a bit ad hominem doesn't it?”

  Actually, it sounds almost like a cautionary WT “experience”.
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  6

  The Joseph, story, as exploited by wt

  by waton in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the current treatment of the "joseph " story at the wt meetings, uses him as an example of jws suffering, holding up under attack.

  i reality the wt outfit is not the victim, but fits the 10 brothers that expelled, nearly killed that original whistleblower.

  our example here, who prospered in different ways outside the wtbts inc's sphere of influence.

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  Vidiot

  waton - "...In reality the WT outfit is not the victim, but fits the 10 brothers that expelled, nearly killed that original whistleblower..."

  Nailed it.

  Ten bucks says that this is completely lost on the loyalists, too.
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  16

  Why do the Elders stress the importance of meeting attendance....

  by Davros in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why do the elders always stress to the rank and file members of the congregation how important meeting attendance is, as well as the importance of always paying attention to every word that's being presented from the slave?

  but then, during the meeting, they rarely sit and pay attention themselves to the wonderful spiritual banquet being presented?

  they always seem so busy, don't they?

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  Vidiot

  The conditioning needs regular booster shots...

  ...and frankly, pressured attendance works better for that sort of thing than the honor system.
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  28

  Repercussions for sexual immorality

  by Veryconflicted in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello, i was hoping to get some clarification about how people are disciplined for immorality as a jw.

  i became involved with a co-worker a few years ago, she was fairly aggressive and she initiated a physical relationship very quickly.

  at the time i did not know she was married and a jw.

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  Vidiot

  You can take the girl out of the Watchtower, but it's a lot harder to take the Watchtower out of the girl.
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  12

  Did you know that Jane Roe of Roe v. Ray was raised a Jehovah's Witness?

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://observer.case.edu/editorial-reproductive-rights-are-human-rights/?fbclid=iwar1gip_xy4dkz-kepsa8qts72a5_upgeabcrduriit7dsi-iysqnmwxtztk.

  editorial: reproductive rights are human rights.

  lorie shaull.

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  Vidiot

  "...She quickly learned that she did not subscribe to the same beliefs as her parents and, as a result, ended up in a correctional facility..."

  What, they had her committed, or something?