Posts by Vidiot

23

Television segment on JWs and the Australian Redress Scheme

by Listener in

tonight there was an 8 minute segment allocated to reporting on jws regarding child abuse and the redress scheme.

it was presented by lisa wilkinson for the project.the australian branch has issued a statement to the show advising that they will not be joining the scheme.. they state:.

statement from the jehovah’s witnessesthe religion of jehovah’s witnesses does not have the institutional settings that the voluntary national redress scheme is designed to cover.therefore, the ministry for families and social services has been advised that jehovah’s witnesses will not join the scheme.jehovah’s witnesses have responded and will continue to respond directly to individual claims for redress in a caring, fair, and principled manner, taking into consideration the unique circumstances of each claim.. https://10play.com.au/theproject/articles/statement-from-the-jehovahs-witnesses/tpa200621ycelq.

Vidiot

@ skin & menrov...

Ah, but there's a problem with that.

The WTS's eschatology is very specific; "Babylon the Great" - aka "false religion" - is supposed to be attacked and destroyed first...

...and only after all its various iterations are eliminated does the "Wild Beast" and "Satan's World" turn their attention on "God's Exclusive Earthly Organization".

They've never diverted from that.

Sure, the Org leadership might try and spin it the way you guys describe, but this is a significant departure from their End Times script that could create a tremendously difficult theological dilemma...

...either they were very, very wrong about their understanding of Revelation, begging the question "WTF else are they wrong about?"...

...or...

...they themselves are part of "Babylon the Great".

77

A question about the contemporary generation teaching following a conversation with a JW apologist

by Giles Gray in

i would like to ask the ex-jws on this site to put their ‘apologists hat’ back on for a moment, so that i can go through the overlapping generation teaching in an attempt to make sense of it.

i apologise if these points have already been addressed on this site.a quick background for the reason for my request… having never confronted a jw apologist on the topic, i recently engaged with a jw regarding the official understanding of a ‘generation’ and unfortunately he didn’t have an answer to the points i was making.

i was left a little confused as to what the official jw response would/should be.so i was hoping that my thoughts below might be considered from an apologist’s perspective.the point in question relates to this section of the watchtower article below from 2008, as well as the jw.org video explanation of the overlapping generation:---:w08 2/15[box on page 25] can we calculate the length of “this generation”?the word “generation” usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event.

Vidiot

waton - "The wt doctrine calls for all anointed sealed partakers to be called to their heavenly reward at the outset of the Great Tribulation, not just the Governing Body, so... how about the other 144000? dispersed everywhere, not of the Governing Body?"

Interestingly, a significant portion of the Org's recent internal publications regarding rank-and-file partakers seem to have the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) goal of smearing them as posers and/or mentally unstable.

I wonder why?

77

A question about the contemporary generation teaching following a conversation with a JW apologist

by Giles Gray in

i would like to ask the ex-jws on this site to put their ‘apologists hat’ back on for a moment, so that i can go through the overlapping generation teaching in an attempt to make sense of it.

i apologise if these points have already been addressed on this site.a quick background for the reason for my request… having never confronted a jw apologist on the topic, i recently engaged with a jw regarding the official understanding of a ‘generation’ and unfortunately he didn’t have an answer to the points i was making.

i was left a little confused as to what the official jw response would/should be.so i was hoping that my thoughts below might be considered from an apologist’s perspective.the point in question relates to this section of the watchtower article below from 2008, as well as the jw.org video explanation of the overlapping generation:---:w08 2/15[box on page 25] can we calculate the length of “this generation”?the word “generation” usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event.

Vidiot

There's another consideration, too.

Sure, they'd (theoretically) escape secular justice, but the scenario you've described would absolutely have to be maintained...

...indefinitely and using increasingly draconian means...

...simply because no hint of their self-imposed exile could be allowed to be publicly exposed.

Doing so would reveal that...

a) ...they're cowards for hiding, instead of bravely defending their convictions the way Jesus' apostles did, and...

b) ...they're egregiously deceitful for letting the rank-and-file think they'd been "raptured" away...

...and both would too deeply undermine the Org's claims of authority and exclusivity, which can never be permitted.

No matter how comfortable they'd be, it would amount to a life sentence.

77

A question about the contemporary generation teaching following a conversation with a JW apologist

by Giles Gray in

i would like to ask the ex-jws on this site to put their ‘apologists hat’ back on for a moment, so that i can go through the overlapping generation teaching in an attempt to make sense of it.

i apologise if these points have already been addressed on this site.a quick background for the reason for my request… having never confronted a jw apologist on the topic, i recently engaged with a jw regarding the official understanding of a ‘generation’ and unfortunately he didn’t have an answer to the points i was making.

i was left a little confused as to what the official jw response would/should be.so i was hoping that my thoughts below might be considered from an apologist’s perspective.the point in question relates to this section of the watchtower article below from 2008, as well as the jw.org video explanation of the overlapping generation:---:w08 2/15[box on page 25] can we calculate the length of “this generation”?the word “generation” usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event.

Vidiot

OnTheWayOut - "Sometime in the future, when the G.B. see it is time, they will close the gates or flee to an Island with suitcases of cash and say the Great Tribulation has started..."

I've considered this possibility myself, and I actually don't have much of a problem with it.

I have a hard time imagining the WT machine being able to operate effectively without their direct presence and influence... their "celebrity status" amongst the rank-and-file is too significant a component for the Org to function without it.

I suspect that (besides the constant ego-boost) plastering their names and faces all over everything the Org cranks out has actually become a practical and necessary component in the current media-driven age.

20

This Cult sucks, I loath it. I don't understand Why my wife will not leave

by goingthruthemotions in

i loath this cult!!!!!!!!!!

why won't she leave?.

she knows about the australian royal commision, the united nations, failed prediction dates etc...., i have crisis of consciene and she know, it is visiable that she could see the book everyday.

Vidiot

Once again, for the newbies, lurkers, and trolls...

...if you have to cheat to defend your beliefs, your beliefs don't deserve to be defended.

23

Television segment on JWs and the Australian Redress Scheme

by Listener in

tonight there was an 8 minute segment allocated to reporting on jws regarding child abuse and the redress scheme.

it was presented by lisa wilkinson for the project.the australian branch has issued a statement to the show advising that they will not be joining the scheme.. they state:.

statement from the jehovah’s witnessesthe religion of jehovah’s witnesses does not have the institutional settings that the voluntary national redress scheme is designed to cover.therefore, the ministry for families and social services has been advised that jehovah’s witnesses will not join the scheme.jehovah’s witnesses have responded and will continue to respond directly to individual claims for redress in a caring, fair, and principled manner, taking into consideration the unique circumstances of each claim.. https://10play.com.au/theproject/articles/statement-from-the-jehovahs-witnesses/tpa200621ycelq.

Vidiot

Fadeaway1962 - "...not even an apology for covering up and failing to report..."

'Course not.

An apology would be tantamount to admitting there was a problem, that it was their fault the problem existed, and that the application of their so-called "Biblical" standards made said problem worse rather than better...

...none of which can be acknowledged (from their POV), because admissions of that nature would too deeply undermine their claims of divine exclusivity and authority in the eyes of the membership.

The fiction of "God's Earthly Organization" must be reinforced at all costs, because...

a) ...despite what any loyalists may insist, being an active, dutiful JW isn't really all that pleasant, so without that distinction, there's virtually no incentive to stay...

...and more importantly...

b) ...by the Org's own internal standards, without that distinction they are - by definition - a "false religion", and therefore have no right to even exist.

160

Do You Believe Polls Saying Trump Will Lose To Biden?

by minimus in

jw
friends

a new fox poll says biden is up by 12 percentage points.

of course, most other polls say trump will be trounced this time around.. do you think the polls might be right this time?

.

Vidiot

And there goes another one...

()

14

What is Truth?

by Sea Breeze in

ravi zacharias just passed away the other day.

this is his defense on jesus being the truth.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n77d4dugp4.

Vidiot

Sea Breeze - "What is Truth?"

"...Baby, don't ask me... don't ask me... don't know..."

23

Television segment on JWs and the Australian Redress Scheme

by Listener in

tonight there was an 8 minute segment allocated to reporting on jws regarding child abuse and the redress scheme.

it was presented by lisa wilkinson for the project.the australian branch has issued a statement to the show advising that they will not be joining the scheme.. they state:.

statement from the jehovah’s witnessesthe religion of jehovah’s witnesses does not have the institutional settings that the voluntary national redress scheme is designed to cover.therefore, the ministry for families and social services has been advised that jehovah’s witnesses will not join the scheme.jehovah’s witnesses have responded and will continue to respond directly to individual claims for redress in a caring, fair, and principled manner, taking into consideration the unique circumstances of each claim.. https://10play.com.au/theproject/articles/statement-from-the-jehovahs-witnesses/tpa200621ycelq.

Vidiot

hoser - "Covid 19 did the organization a favour. If they are forced to sell off the limited assets they have in Australia it will be a good time to switch to an internet religion."

Which, in turn, makes it that much easier for faders, fakers, and fence-sitters to GTFO.

...

A lot of XJWs tend to think that a violent crash-and-burn is the best end for the Org, and there would definitely be considerable satisfaction in seeing that...

...but a slow, ignominious decline is way more permanent.

As far as I'm concerned, the WTS is already a shadow of its former glory...

...regardless of whether it enables the Org to survive, turning into an e-religion can't help but be a further step down.

23

Television segment on JWs and the Australian Redress Scheme

by Listener in

tonight there was an 8 minute segment allocated to reporting on jws regarding child abuse and the redress scheme.

it was presented by lisa wilkinson for the project.the australian branch has issued a statement to the show advising that they will not be joining the scheme.. they state:.

statement from the jehovah’s witnessesthe religion of jehovah’s witnesses does not have the institutional settings that the voluntary national redress scheme is designed to cover.therefore, the ministry for families and social services has been advised that jehovah’s witnesses will not join the scheme.jehovah’s witnesses have responded and will continue to respond directly to individual claims for redress in a caring, fair, and principled manner, taking into consideration the unique circumstances of each claim.. https://10play.com.au/theproject/articles/statement-from-the-jehovahs-witnesses/tpa200621ycelq.

Vidiot

Listener - "...No doubt, the 'JWs do not have the institutional setting that the voluntary National Redress Scheme is designed to cover'... That's because the Australasian Branch can only accept instructions and direction for the Headquarters in New York, regardless of what they may think is morally right or not."

And also because they've already funneled the bulk of the Aussie WT savings out of the country...

...specifically so they could say this.