for jws who believe that jehovah had a hand in reviving the truth in the nineteenth century this is enough explanation for how jws managed to achieve a closer approximation to early christian beliefs and practices than other groups.
but is there an explanation for this phenomenon that doesn’t rely on supernatural intervention?
new testament scholar james dunn explains the difficulty of interpreting the biblical texts in this way:.
slimboyfat - “…On the other hand, mainstream scholarly opinion agrees with JWs that the Trinity is not taught in the Bible, and many scholars agree that Jesus was viewed as an angel, God’s first creation, separate and distinct from God by the early Christians. That doesn’t prove JWs are correct but it is worth pointing out that senior scholars do support them on these issues.”
Even a busted clock is right twice a day.
i've been meaning to share some recent experiences that defy the usual tropes about the 'world gone to hell' or 'people now days".. as some of you may remember i was seriously ill for a while and had to close my business and shop.
now, as it seems i have beaten it, i put up a sign again advertising that in a limited way i'm back.. what amazes me is how many times over the past 2 years customers and even competition have written and called to express their concern and best wishes.
just last week i had a personal visit of someone who i thought of as a rival, come in and shake my hand sincerely happy to see me up and around.
🥀 Stay strong, buddy.
michael moore writes:.
a cult is an organization that enslaves minds and destroys families using cult mind control.
cult mind control involves orchestrated deception, social pressure, psychological abuse, and repetitive indoctrination (brainwashing) centering around an unchallengeable ideology enforced in a totalitarian way in a closed socially-separatist community setting.
Religion is supposed to make you feel better.
Cults make you feel worse.
https://youtu.be/93h5zpbil6k?si=ffatfxjuxmj_na9i.
“Listen, obey, swallow these mysterious, unidentified capsules, and await further instructions…”
... is just three weeks from this saturday.
the org has been tight-lipped, really, successfully secret about advance info on these in recent years,.
now that these relatively recent changes on dress and grooming, reporting fs time, judicial matters, etc.
The Revelation Climax book was a fucking fever dream…
…there’s no way they could ever come up with something comparable nowadays.
Hell, most of their current content feels like it was written by software.
https://youtu.be/lkflr6sgyfm?si=j4gopnyfpy3wxnxs.
in what can only be described as a win for truth, justice, and religious freedom (depending on who you ask ofcourse), the paris administrative court has come to the defense of jehovah’s witnesses.
on june 14, 2024, the court ruled that miviludes, france’s government agency for monitoring cult-like behavior, had committed the heinous crime of defamation against jehovah’s witnesses.france unlike most other countries has an agency that monitors destructive cults and gets who is in their list: jehovah’s witnesses, i wonder why that is.
Crap news…
…but first-rate sarcasm.
say it ain’t so!
.
in one sense it’s a no brainer because the figures just don’t add up any more.. in another (negative) sense it’s a no brainer because it’s been fundamental to jws since year dot and might undermine the whole thing?
Coming soon to JWBroadcasting:
https://youtu.be/np05twylal8?si=wjcdevvpxmlwxb2p.
shame is an ancient form of control.
shame is the mechanism used to control behaviour.
Journeyman - “…Changes in behaviour seem to be driven much more by fear of man (shame of others in the congregation finding out, of losing 'privileges', etc) than really improving one's moral character…”
As far as authoritarian leaders are concerned, no one really has any “moral character”.
putting this under beliefs,doctrine and practices because i don't see a better heading.
here is what i have been thinking for years now and the situation with the recent storms and the devastation brings in closer to home in my thinking.
i lived in western nc for 20 years and moved to wv in feb of this year.
LongHairGal - “…too many Witnesses think the religion is ‘right’ even when it is wrong!”
Just like the GB…
…they know it’s wrong…
…but believe it’s true…
…at the same time.
... is just three weeks from this saturday.
the org has been tight-lipped, really, successfully secret about advance info on these in recent years,.
now that these relatively recent changes on dress and grooming, reporting fs time, judicial matters, etc.
no-zombie - “…the Governing Body does not care for the thoughts and feelings of the rank and file any more…”
They did before? 🤨
