i need some advise or understanding.. my brother became jehovah witness because of his wife.
our dad is dying and over the last two months he’s done some very weird stuff.. my family knows he’s not a real witness because he sells corn liquor and pills, drinks daily, let us have our moms birthday at their house.
he’s also committed adultery, it’s rumored that he molested our cousin when he was younger, done fraud to my dying dad, lied about being our dads poa for greed only to find out he’s not, lied to the family about his estranged daughters, called his oldest daughter a b*tch because she doesn’t want anything to do with him, lied on our dads life to her to get her to talk to him, he has the name nympho tattooed on his neck, has slandered his immediate family and abandoned two of his daughters for over 20 years to start a family with his new wife.
pistolpete - "You seem to believe that a person's religion has anything to do with a person's character."
Ditto.
I'm at the point in my life where I suspect that a person's religion has absolutely fuck-all to do with their character.
For the vast majority of (seemingly) loyal JWs, it's affiliation with the group that actually matters.
this post will be for the schoolars amoung us.. in the late 19th century were many of the worlds best scientists.
darwin, faraday, testla, edison etc.
and amoung them wasa lone archeologist named william albright who screwed up biblical schoolarship for over a hundred years.. before albright schoolars in europe hit on several conclusions about the bible:.
HowTheBibleWasCreated - "It's hard to be a theist an still know modern biblical schoolarship. Bart Erhman is a classic example of a Christian that became agnostic over time due to his research..."
Which is, of course, why authoritarian religionists view actual, objective Biblical scholarship with almost comical suspicion and hostility.
...as far as they're concerned, any examination must be done with the assumption that the Bible is true and factual first; any and all information can only be considered through that window.
This is outwardly portrayed as a virtue and sign of faith, but the actual underlying reason is the inherent fear that if honest, unbiased inquiry inevitably seems to lead one to disbelief, the beliefs themselves cannot help but be untenable...
...and if one's identity and mental and emotional well-being has become dependent on the veracity of said beliefs, this is, of course, unacceptable.
Virtually every "believing" Bible scholar with an intellectual bent is guilty of this, whether they admit or not... or even realize it, for that matter.
can you really imagine that a young teenager in a room full of stern grown-ups is going to say "i've had enough of this and i am walking out."?
i really hope it will go to trial.
utah high court weighs case of woman who says church made her listen to audio of her rape as a teenager.
Nitty-Gritty - "I think they've already done that."
All the internal documentation and correspondence we've seen indicates they're doubling-down on all their policies.
They won't budge on this.
From their perspective, they can't.
a comment on another thread cracked me up where the poster related what some elder said on the platform that: .
in the new system, we likely will not have genitals.” lol.
i’ve heard so much speculation from many jw’s on what will and won’t be allowed in the new system.
The simple fact is that basic logistics make the existence of the WTS’s vaunted “New System” all but impossible.
a comment on another thread cracked me up where the poster related what some elder said on the platform that: .
in the new system, we likely will not have genitals.” lol.
i’ve heard so much speculation from many jw’s on what will and won’t be allowed in the new system.
@ Overrated...
They don’t plan on “taking over” the world they way you think.
They plan on God killing everyone not loyal them, and having the world handed to them on a platter.
a comment on another thread cracked me up where the poster related what some elder said on the platform that: .
in the new system, we likely will not have genitals.” lol.
i’ve heard so much speculation from many jw’s on what will and won’t be allowed in the new system.
All kidding aside, there's really only one sure thing that would happen if the the WTS's "New System" actually came to pass (I've said it many times before, but the occasional reminder is, IMO, always a useful thing)...
...WT representatives have stated explicitly in the Society's own publications and from the platform that the Org intends to - for all intents and purposes - function as the legitimate (and only) government in said New System, with the Warwick compound serving as the de facto world capital.
Seriously*.
Now, imagine the Org being given control of a small country tomorrow.
I guaran-fucking-tee you that in within a decade, travel outside the country would be severely restricted, democracy and free speech would be nonexistent, advances in science and medicine would grind to a halt, all foreign entertainment would be banned, creationism would be mandated in schools, any form of alternative sexual expression (even between straight married couples) would be outlawed, taxes mandatory donations would be ridonkulously high, disfellowshipped individuals would be imprisoned or deported, and "apostates" would be sentenced to death without possibility of appeal or reprieve.
And anyone who denies this is either naive or lying.
Now, imagine a regime like this encompassing the entire planet.
Indefinitely.
This is what we can really expect to take place in the WTS's "New System".
...
*The first time I fully realized the implications of what they'd been saying, I actually felt sick to my stomach.
And I was still in at the time.
a comment on another thread cracked me up where the poster related what some elder said on the platform that: .
in the new system, we likely will not have genitals.” lol.
i’ve heard so much speculation from many jw’s on what will and won’t be allowed in the new system.
WTWizard - "Rather, our souls will simply exist for the reptilians to enslave other planets, denying all happiness throughout the whole universe. And yes, it includes the mandatory, DNA altering coronavirus shot (which doesn't even necessarily prevent the disease--it will make you vulnerable to COVID-21 which will be released soon after, or with, the vaccine for COVID-19)... And, once these vaccinations are imposed, they will be enforced with the RFID chip that comes with them. Without that chip, you are denied access to anything and they can hunt you down and forcibly give you the shot and the chip (using tranquilizer darts, if necessary). And this chip will enforce your thinking--we will indeed be all the same."
Fuck, yeah, bring it on!
All hail the Neworldordereptilianuminati!!!
new cases:.
diaz case, filed on 10/21/2020 by zalkin law firm - two plaintiffs abused (here and hereinafter - allegedly) by two ministerial servants in 1970s.. iglesias case, filed on 10/19/2020 by eisenberg & baum, llp against various nyc and wt entities - abused by an "elder john doe" and "[travelling] overseer john" in 1970s and 1980s.. aldridge case, filed 10/06/2020 by zalkin law firm - abused by a congregation elder in 1970s.. older cases:.
tarry case (no 1 and no 2), filed on 09/17/2019 and 07/23/2020 by parker waichman llp - abused by a publisher in 1984. very weak case.
Not to mention that if all that shit happens and the WTS falls further into decline and disenfranchisement, that can't help but be viewed further evidence that it's not "God's Earthly Organization"...
...and that realization amongst more and more rank-and-filers would be virtually impossible to prevent.
new cases:.
diaz case, filed on 10/21/2020 by zalkin law firm - two plaintiffs abused (here and hereinafter - allegedly) by two ministerial servants in 1970s.. iglesias case, filed on 10/19/2020 by eisenberg & baum, llp against various nyc and wt entities - abused by an "elder john doe" and "[travelling] overseer john" in 1970s and 1980s.. aldridge case, filed 10/06/2020 by zalkin law firm - abused by a congregation elder in 1970s.. older cases:.
tarry case (no 1 and no 2), filed on 09/17/2019 and 07/23/2020 by parker waichman llp - abused by a publisher in 1984. very weak case.
"Don't worry, wait on Jehovah, He will take care of it in time..."
To which I'd be sorely tempted to answer...
"How do you know that that's not what's happening, now?"
And if they insist that that can't be the case...
"Why not? Doesn't He expect his servants to live with the consequences of their misdeeds? The 'higher authorities' have been placed in their position by God Himself... if, after careful examination of the evidence, said higher authorities judge the Organization guilty, would that not that suggest said judgment is valid?"
They'd probably suggest that God would reserve the right to punish his wayward people Himself, to which I'd reply...
"Really? When His chosen nation of Israel got out of line and wouldn't straighten up, didn't He use their enemies - i.e. 'Satan's World' - to punish them?"
I can imagine one or two suggesting that He'd (for all intents and purposes) give the Org a mulligan this close to The End, because He'd need his Earthly Organization...
...to which I'd respond...
"Why would the Almighty 'need' mere humans to usher in the End?"
Some might suggest that the likeliest endpoint of the Org's legal troubles - loss of tax exemption* - is somehow "persecution"...
...to which I'd respond...
"Paying back Caesar's things to Caesar is 'persecution'?"
And finally, a few loyalists might (be dumb enough to) suggest that the "attacks" are proof the WTS's eschatology is True and that the moment said attacks truly kick off, He would step in to Save His People...
...in which I would want to reply...
"Once again, having to pay back Caesar's things to Caesar is an 'attack'? God is going to 'save' the WT Society from... being taxed??? And BTW, isn't 'Babylon the Great' supposed to be attacked first?"
*...as opposed to being rounded up by NWO stormtroopers, as the Org likes to suggest...
...admittedly not a particularly spectacular consequence, but I'm willing to bet that the Org's business model is far more financially dependent on its so-called "charity" status than we've realized up to now. They do seem to bend over backwards to keep it, after all.
as i had mentioned in one of my past posts, i strongly felt the democrats would win the presidency because they know they can cheat and not get prosecuted.
case in point; everyone involved in the russian conspiracy.
and the republicans just don’t understand that they need to get in the gutter and fight back like the democrats.
Data-Dog - "...I’ve found that Political views aren’t that dissimilar from Religious views..."
Holy shit, yes.
And if one subscribes to a punitive, authoritarian religious belief system, is it any wonder that they would lean that way politically?
