Posts by satinka

Great video! Message is clear. Why would anyone stay in a religion that blames its followers for being over-zealous when the organization's predictions failed?

satinka

43

Astounded Newbie Here...Waves Hello

by mummatron in

jw
friends

all i can say is "wow!

" in the 10 years i've been out i had no idea that forums like this existed.

a tad naive-sounding for someone with a background in it, i know, but it's taken me this long just to feel comfortable enough to type 'jw' into google.

satinka

A great big welcome from Vancouver, Canada! Thanks for sharing your story about growing up a JW. You are among friends.

Kitty hug

satinka

6

Published Article - Defending protection of LGBTQ Folk

by satinka in

jw
friends

our neighbourhood has seen a debate erupt in the local schools in our area.

of all things, the fundys want to stop an anti-bullying program that the schools are attempting to initiate.

in response to an article in the paper, i wrote a rebuttal.

@GOrwell It seems that funadamentalist religious groups are always pushing for more freedom...in this case they are wanting to attack gays and lesbians. They want freedom to bully and condemn. Since I know how oppressive religions operate, I made a statement about their tactics. It seemed only fair and reasonable. Besides, religious groups seem to think they are above the law because "God says...."

@Snoozy I have seen the Q represented as Queer in some places, and other places it is Questioning. I like to think of them as questioning, since some highschool students begin experiementing and questioning their sexual preference at this time of their life.

The religious groups bullying pushed my buttons, since they always throw around the "persecution" word. Now, it seems they think it is okay to turn around and become the persecutors of a group of teenagers who may identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans-sexual or Questioning (LGBTQ ).

satinka

160

Your best one sentence JW comeback contest

by moshe in

jw
friends

i am looking for your best jw comeback- the kind that makes a jw's jaw drop.

ok, even two pithy sentences will do.. here's one i have used before on jws,.

moshe: " do you know what an oxymoron is?

satinka

"Why is reading "Crisis of Conscience" considered by the Watchtower Society to be as bad as molesting a child?"

Actually, some have been disfellowshipped for "illegal" reading, but others did NOT get disfellowshipped for molesting a child.

Ray Franz got disfellowshipped for having a MEAL with an "Apostate TM "

satinka

38

The brothers are only human...they make mistakes. Dont be so hard on them. (Typical J-Dub talk)

by Joliette in

jw
friends

sure the world hasnt ended yet.

that doesnt mean that it isnt going to happen.. sure, the brothers got a little excited about 1975. they made a mistake.

its still the truth.

satinka

Joliette, I'm glad you are able to see through the mind-numbing JW propaganda. You deserve a pat on the back!

Now, you might wanna make some new friends...

Congratulations!

satinka

6

Published Article - Defending protection of LGBTQ Folk

by satinka in

jw
friends

our neighbourhood has seen a debate erupt in the local schools in our area.

of all things, the fundys want to stop an anti-bullying program that the schools are attempting to initiate.

in response to an article in the paper, i wrote a rebuttal.

satinka

Oh my gawd...another newbie! Congratulations on taking the plunge, boc!

Welcome to the forum!

I'm impressed!

You might want to start a new thread and announce yourself. Not too many people find their way to my threads, I'm afraid...

satinka

6

Published Article - Defending protection of LGBTQ Folk

by satinka in

jw
friends

our neighbourhood has seen a debate erupt in the local schools in our area.

of all things, the fundys want to stop an anti-bullying program that the schools are attempting to initiate.

in response to an article in the paper, i wrote a rebuttal.

satinka

Our neighbourhood has seen a debate erupt in the local schools in our area. Of all things, the fundys want to stop an anti-bullying program that the schools are attempting to initiate. In response to an article in the paper, I wrote a rebuttal. Surprise! It got published!

http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/burnabynewsleader/opinion/letters/122237959.html#

Judge ye not, should apply in this case

Burnaby NewsLeader
Greater Vancouver
Published: May 19, 2011 9:00 AM

I read with great interest the article in the Burnaby NewsLeader called “Anti-homophobia debate packs school board meeting” (April 29). My first thoughts were, “Can anyone believe there could be a debate on this issue?” and “What is there to debate?”

I could not quite fathom that someone would protest protection against bullying of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer (LGBTQ) folk.

Having belonged (in the past) to a fanatical religion I knew at once there is only one segment of society that would protest protection of LGBTQ folk from being bullied: the religious fundamentalists. I recognized the spin, having exited such a group—in my case, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They claim to be a “moderate” religion concerned about preserving their narrow definition of “family”—family, of course being defined as husband (man), wife (woman) plus any children resulting from said union. These so-called “special interest groups” spew hate directly from the church/kingdom hall platforms and even quote scriptures such as found in Genesis Chapter 19 to support their twisted reasoning. For example, they use the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by God as a precedent that “proves” the God of the bible destroyed these cities because the men desired sexual relations with other men, rather than the women.

After leaving the religion, I am now feeling concern about the constant cry for more “religious freedom” emanating from these fundamentalist groups who will not openly acknowledge that they are religious in nature. They turn around and persecute and marginalize human beings who desire the same freedoms to choose their private life course. Yet our modern western society seems to put religions on a pedestal that no one is allowed to touch, lest these individuals be called bigoted. Yet, it is these very religions that are spewing the hate and propaganda that marginalize folks they judge. These religious groups feel that they speak on behalf of God, and therefore are above the law.

Fundamentalist religions probably don’t like to be put in the same box as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, but I say why not?—their spin on family values is the same. How fundamentalist religions treat other human beings will come back to haunt them. What goes around comes around. These so-called moderate religious people do not appear to be heeding their own scripture: “… For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.”—Galatians 6:7 (New World Translation).

I suggest we treat all humans with respect, allowing each individual their exercise of “free will” to choose what is appropriate for themselves without interference, judgment, persecution or marginalization, lest it come back to haunt such self-appointed judges.

satinka

27

Video: JWs debate Harold Camping Followers...

by Tuesday in

jw
friends

well sort of... i think that if there really was a debate between jws and harold camping followers this is what it would look like.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om2rfoynk_m.

my first video in 8 months or so, hope it came out ok and is as biting of a satire as i thought it would be..

satinka

People who are ready to leave will "get it," Tuesday...I feel sure.

I appreciate your effort and artistic talent to get the message out!

satinka

27

Video: JWs debate Harold Camping Followers...

by Tuesday in

jw
friends

well sort of... i think that if there really was a debate between jws and harold camping followers this is what it would look like.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om2rfoynk_m.

my first video in 8 months or so, hope it came out ok and is as biting of a satire as i thought it would be..

satinka

I am surprised to see that the book was introduced by N.H. Knorr. I suppose the elders who counselled me didn't know...!!!

INTRODUCTION

To the reader:

A. H. Macmillan is known to Jehovah's witnesses all over the world. His long and prominent association with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and his faithful record of service as a Christian minister have endeared him to his many friends.

Toward the end of 1955 Mr. Macmillan asked permission to use the Society's files to write an account of his experiences in the ministry. Since he is a trusted member of the headquarters staff, he was granted permission. A few months ago he informed me the work was finished, and at his request I agreed to read the manuscript for technical accuracy. I soon found myself engrossed in the story which the account of his life and association with Jehovah's witnesses had produced.

This book is more than the story of one man's growing faith. I believe Mr. Macmillan has made a sincere effort to capture and portray the very essence of the religion that he acknowledges has given meaning to his life. He reveals Jehovah's witnesses as human. He admits their mistakes and explains why no human organization can be infallible. At the same time he reveals their hopes, and presents sound Scriptural reasons for the appeal of these hopes to all kinds of men.

The book is a straightforward and truthful account. It is unique only in the personal experiences of A. H. Macmillan. In many other respects it could be the story of any one of hundreds of Jehovah's witnesses whom I have known.

N. H. KNORR,President, Watch Tower Bibleand Tract Society of Pennsylvania

Brooklyn, New York

http://www.e-cepher.com/books/fotm/

Page 26 - 29

MAINTAINING THE MIND OF THE LORD
Expecting the Lord Jesus to come in 1878 to catch them up miraculously to be with him in heaven, some who had been Second Adventists (including Barbour) were disappointed when that miracle did not occur. Russell, though, "did not for a moment feel cast down," but "realized that what God had so plainly declared must some time have a fulfillment"; and he "wanted to have it just in God's time and way." [19] On one occasion while talking with Russell about the events of 1878, I told him that Pittsburgh papers had reported he was on the Sixth Street bridge dressed in a white robe on the night of the Memorial of Christ's death, expecting to be taken to heaven together with many others. I asked him, "Is that correct?"

Russell laughed heartily and said: "I was in bed that night between 10:30 and 11:00 P.M. However, some of the more radical ones might have been there, but I was not. Neither did I expect to be taken to heaven at that time, for I felt there was much work to be done preaching the Kingdom message to the peoples of the earth before the church would be taken away."

It was right at the time of this disappointment, as Russell shows, [20] that a permanent breach began between Barbour and Russell. Paul's words at I Corinthians 15:51, 52, were being wrongly construed, Russell had pointed out. There, in Paul's statement, "We shall not all sleep," the word sleep is not synonymous with die, though some had so understood. Rather, here sleep means state of unconsciousness of those who in death must wait for Christ's second coming to awaken them out of such sleep.[21] Russell showed how Paul clearly meant by his words that those alive on earth when Christ returned would not need to go into such sleep of death to wait for a future awakening, but at the instant of their death they then would be "changed" or resurrected immediately, to be with Christ in heaven as spirit persons. This harmonizes with Paul's words in this same chapter, verse 36: "That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die."

But Barbour rejected this simple explanation of Paul's words, feeling that he had to "get up something new to divert attention from the failure of the living saints to be caught away en masse." Soon afterward Barbour wrote and published in the Herald "that Christ's death was no more a settlement of the penalty of man's sins than would the sticking of a pin through the body of a fly and causing it suffering and death be considered by an earthly parent as a just settlement for misdemeanor in his child." That denial by Barbour of the basic Bible doctrine of the ransom value of Jesus' sacrifice came as a real shock to Russell. Russell, who now had been regularly contributing to the Herald, immediately wrote and published a powerful defense of the ransom. Then, in the same journal, Barbour and a few supporters continued attacking the ransom doctrine while Russell and others kept on upholding it. Herald readers were confused; it also greatly disturbed Russell. To him the ransom was the keystone, the great foundation of human hope. To attack it was to shake the basis of God's provision for reconciling sinful man to himself. However, Russell soon realized that continued wrangling would not settle the problem. He determined, therefore, to withdraw his support from the Herald, to which he himself had given new life in order to preach the good tidings of the harvest work. But just to withdraw, he saw, would not be sufficient. The ransom must be defended and the work of proclaiming our Lord's return must be continued. In July, 1879 the first issue of Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence was published by C. T. Russell. In 1884 the nonprofit, charitable corporation was chartered that now is known as Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It has served as the legal and business agent of Jehovah's witnesses ever since. From these small beginnings a tremendous growth has resulted. The message contained in The Watchtower has never halted. From a first distribution of six thousand copies its circulation had grown by 1957 to more than three million copies in forty-six languages. Its message of comfort and hope has assisted an ever-growing host of supporters to change over their thinking and to make straight paths for their feet.[22] By 1957 the number of persons actively engaged in preaching this good news of Jehovah's kingdom had expanded to well over six hundred and fifty thousand.

WHAT BIBLE STUDY REVEALED
Now the issue begun in Eden is to be settled for all time. The good news being preached holds out a prospect of endless life in a world of God's making. You can be sure the way of life begun by God in Eden is not to be lost to mankind. The disobedient act of Adam and Eve has not altered God's purpose. What the first pair did in wrongfully eating of the tree was a little thing, a small happening; but it changed the history of the world. Their yielding to their own personal preference lost for themselves and for their offspring the widest range of individual freedom. It was a corrupting of their minds.[23] Do you think if we persist in their way that it will bring us closer to God? Truth is more important than individuals. It is not a matter of adopting "the religion of your own choice." That is what Adam and Eve did. It is a matter of finding and holding to the one true religion that is God's choice for us.

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: . . . he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death."[24]

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

I don't know if this helps or not, but for what it's worth...there you have ...ummmm ... something... different date. Somehow, I remember things differently. Do you suppose the book has been revised since MacMillan's death...? Maybe someone has an original printing from a 1957 edition...?

satinka