Posts by Quendi

27

Watchtower: "God Hates...Homosexuality"

by metatron in

jw
friends

a quote from page 28 of the new brochure, as released at assemblies this summer.. metatron.

Quendi

I have said more than once that a person can be guilty of any sin among Jehovah's Witnesses and get little grief for it with the exception of being gay. That is the absolute worst offense a Witness can be guilty of. For one thing, it means you won't be busy procreating and thus bringing more little Witnesses into the world. For another, gay people are obviously only in the organization so they can recruit more people for their perverted lifestyle, or so many Witnesses choose to believe. Gay people are simply not wanted in the organization, even if they are celibate. They are considered the scum of the earth. That's the official position of the Governing Body as can be seen by this latest convention release, and sadly, many of the rank-and-file are equally homophobic. So when anyone, young or old, wants to get any kind of understanding about being gay, JWs are not the people to go to.

Quendi

16

It's official

by iamwhoiam in

we are now doing a trial run for accepting credit/debit cards at the convention for donations this summer.

no reciepts or copies of reciepts will be held by the wt.

the monies will be deposited straight into the society's account.

Quendi

I remember when the Society severely criticized the churches for doing this. Years ago, Awake! carried a thumbnail story under its "Watching the World" feature with the title "Pray now, Pay Later". After slamming the entire idea as nothing more than a money-grubbing scheme by materialistic churches to fleece their flocks, the story asked, "Obviously, somebody is benefitting, but how much benefit is the average churchgoer getting?" "Obviously" the WTS now believes "if you can't lick 'em, join 'em"!

Quendi

19

Do they still play the piano during songs at the KH?

by andys in

i was just now thinking of this do they still play the piano at the kh or is that part out of there all together also, i have been learning that when you look at a word in the bible many words translated over to hebrew have a deeper meaning for example the word praise a person can just glance at the word and think praise, but there are many hebrew meanings behind the word praise and one of the meanings:.

zamar-to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument i.e.

play upon it, to make music accompanied by the voice, to celebrate in song and music, give praise, sing forth praises, psalms.

Quendi

I'm surpised there are any congregations in either the United States or Canada that have live music, flying..., because I thought that the WTS had issued some kind of directive banning it altogether. The Society so likes to homogenize all other aspects of the cult that I would never think it would allow congregations any latitude on the issue of music.

My congregation had a beautiful white piano that simply gathered dust. There were one or two people who knew how to play and could do so rather well, I believe, but sometime in the nineties all live performances came to an end and the Society-issued cd set was used. I think talesin's parents were right to think that the WTS didn't want any kind of attention or honor being paid to the player. That would divert it away from itself, and that could not be allowed under any circumstances.

The color is being leached out of the organization. Eventually, it will be one gray, anonymous, non-descript pile of unappetizing manure. But wait! It's that already, isn't it?

Quendi

21

The WTS, homosexuality, and the tax code

by sir82 in

jw
friends

how about that for a discombobulated thread topic?.

i think we are in the midst of a new civil rights revolution - this time the oppressed who are overcoming prejudice are homosexuals.

now new york has legalized gay marriage.

Quendi

Thanks for the pic, 3dogs1husband, that said it all!

Quendi

21

The WTS, homosexuality, and the tax code

by sir82 in

jw
friends

how about that for a discombobulated thread topic?.

i think we are in the midst of a new civil rights revolution - this time the oppressed who are overcoming prejudice are homosexuals.

now new york has legalized gay marriage.

Quendi

This is a very interesting topic, sir82. Many thanks for bringiing it up.

For what it is worth, I believe that eventually the Supreme Court of the United States will find that bans against gay marriage are a violation of the Fourteenth Amendmant to the American Constitution. That will make gay marriage legal throughout the entire country. Once that has been established, then the WTS will have to address its stance on homosexuality. As it is, Witnesses in the six states that have legalized gay marriage are having to deal with the issue. While I doubt that any gay couple would ever study with the Witnesses or even attend a meeting at a Kingdom Hall, the organization will have to grapple with the fact that there are gay people in the territory who are legally married, and nothing the WTS teaches can or will ever alter that.

As for the tax-exempt status the WTS currently enjoys, I don't know how its official teachings will affect that. Discrimination is a serious thing, but the WTS also has strong teachings against drunkenness, adultery, and other things that could also be seen as discriminatory. That has not resulted in a revocation of its tax-exempt status. I don't believe the WTS will ever change its beliefs on homosexuality, no matter what financial advantage it may lose. What may hit them more directly is if the official doctrine has a serious affect on recruiting and retention. Should there be a drop in Bible studies or meeting attendance and if such drops can be shown to have been caused in part by the hard line against gay people, then and only then would the organization think about bringing out some "new light" on homosexuality. But I seriously doubt that will happen.

Quendi

24

I finally did it!!

by Free!! in

jw
friends

so, even thought i faded more than a year ago, i still had my wt "library" w me, i am talking about the actual books!

dozens of them... well, this past week i have been thinking and talking to some (jw) friends and i realized i dont ever want to go back to that mess... so, i threw every single one of those books in the dumpster about 15 minutes ago... and it felt great!!

i had 3 boxes of books, i mean trash.... and it while throwing in the dumpster i promise, i felt like i was throwing my anger with it... i feel renew... ready to start the 1st day of the rest of my life!!

Quendi

I did keep my book bags, however, since I had obtained them from Lands End and they were simply too valuable, useful, and good looking to throw away! However, I emptied them of any and all Witness material and paraphernalia. They are both enjoying their second lives carrying calculators, my NOOK e-Reader, and business materials.

Quendi

14

If You Scheduled the TMS

by breakfast of champions in

i was at a friend's house the other day and noticed on the refrigerator that they were scheduled for a talk on the tms.

it is for the week of july 25 and entitled:.

"why none of the demons are atheist (jas 2:19)".

Quendi

The TMS has been around now for nearly seventy years. N.H. Knorr started it back in 1943 with the express purpose of training men to be able to give public talks and preach from door to door. It took fourteen years before the WTS decided that women could and should be trained in the field ministry, particularly since they were doing the bulk of the preaching.

After seventy years of "training" what do we see? An honest appraisal would say that most Witness elders and ministerial servants are mediocre public speakers at best. The bulk of them are downright bad and should never be allowed on a platform. The performances many Witnesses give at the door also leaves much to be desired. Obviously, neither the TMS nor the Service Meeting can be graded as successes. And many Witnesses hate attending both meetings to boot. They should both be abolished.

Quendi

24

I finally did it!!

by Free!! in

jw
friends

so, even thought i faded more than a year ago, i still had my wt "library" w me, i am talking about the actual books!

dozens of them... well, this past week i have been thinking and talking to some (jw) friends and i realized i dont ever want to go back to that mess... so, i threw every single one of those books in the dumpster about 15 minutes ago... and it felt great!!

i had 3 boxes of books, i mean trash.... and it while throwing in the dumpster i promise, i felt like i was throwing my anger with it... i feel renew... ready to start the 1st day of the rest of my life!!

Quendi

Congratulations, Free!! I'm very happy for you. I also got rid of most of my books, although I did keep my copies of the New World Translation, the Insight volumes, The NWT Concordance, and one or two older publications. I also kept my Watchtower Library CD, the 2007 edition. That way I have some stuff as hard copy for quick reference. The Watchtower Library CD will be useful for looking at old publications if I need to reference something in them.

While I was still making the effort to get reinstated, I once asked the elders if I could bring my old bound volumes to the Hall and leave them there for anyone to take who wanted them. Their answer: I should throw them away since the Watchtower Library CD had made them useless! I never thought I'd hear that from elders. "What about people who don't own a computer?" I asked. "Don't you think they could make use of the books?" I was then told even more firmly that I should not bring them to the Hall but dispose of them some other way. So when I did finally get rid of them by throwing them into the dumpster along with all the other publications, I didn't feel a twinge of guilt.

Quendi

30

"Banned in Brooklyn"

by Quendi in

i hope this thread generates some discussion as well as some amusement.

i want to talk about "banned books".

back in the middle ages, the roman catholic church issued its index librorum prohibitorum, the list of prohibited books.

Quendi

Captain Schmideo,

Thanks for the invitation in Quenya, and I have responded to your PM with one of my own.

Quendi

8

"Why I don't sing the star spangled banner?"

by Iamallcool in

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/26/my-faith-why-i-dont-sing-the-star-spangled-banner/.

Quendi

Very well expressed. While I will stand when the colors are presented, I will sing no nation's anthem, nor will I salute its flag. I believe that patriotism and Christianity are incompatible. Yes, I originally got those beliefs from Jehovah's Witnesses, but in this case I think they are absolutely right. This article has strengthened my resolve in both of these matters. I plan to share it with others. Thanks for posting this.

Quendi