Posts by Quendi

87

Arguments in favor of the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 BCE

by TJ Curioso in

i received the following explanation in favor of the date of 607 bce.

accepted comments on the points at issue.. .

conclusion.

The antidote to the myth that JWs are declining

by slimboyfat in

one of the most persistent myths on this website is that jws are already in decline, the rot has set in, and the descent of the watchtower is inevitable from here on in.

unfortunately the facts do not bear this out.

jws are still increasing even in most developing countries, and they are still growing worldwide at a faster rate than the general population.

This has been an interesting discussion. The premise SBF has put forward does have historical parallels. For instance, I’m sure that many who took part in or otherwise supported the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century were sure the Roman Catholic Church was Babylon the Great and would inevitably perish. Well, it’s five centuries later and the RCC is as strong as it ever was and shows no sign of imminent collapse. The Church weathered the Reformation and outlasted many of the movements it spawned.

Some in this conversation have cited all kinds of figures to support their various viewpoints. But figures are curious things. I am reminded of Benjamin Disraeli’s remarked which was taken up by Mark Twain: “There are three kinds of lies. There are lies; there are damned lies; and then there are statistics.” As a mathematician, I have seen how true that statement can be sometimes.

My own belief is that the WTS is stagnating and is on the cusp of decline but that it also has an enormous reservoir of support from rank-and-file Witnesses. Does this mean that the organization will still be around a century from now? Not necessarily. I will remind everyone that twenty-five years ago both the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union stood secure. Who in their right mind would have predicted that the Wall would be breached overnight or that the Soviet Union would implode in four months two years later?

My point is that we cannot go by general trends because something can happen to upset all theories and predictions. It is my firm hope that the WTS will go the way of the Berlin Wall and Soviet Union. This is an organization that has committed crimes against both God and man. It has outlived its usefulness—if indeed it ever had any—and what good it has done has been canceled by its sins, and its day of reckoning will be a day of rejoicing.

Quendi

13

The Prodigal Returns

by TimothyT in

hi guys.

its been a while.. as it is convention time i was just intrigued as to the new releases so i came on here and saw a new dvd.

i decided to go on to youtube where i found it and watched it.

Quendi

I’m always happy to see a post from you, TimothyT. I’m also glad to know that you and Jack are doing fine. As for the “Prodigal Son” drama, I really have no wish to watch it. The WTS misses the entire point about the parable. As I pointed out to my judicial committee, the Son was not haled to some committee and forced to confess his sins. He was not humiliated but accepted unconditionally. Furthermore, the entire household rejoiced that he returned with feasting, dancing and music. How unlike the WTS way of doing things! Why, the congregation is forbidden to applaud the announcement that somebody has been reinstated. As far as I’m concerned, the drama is an insipid piece of propaganda that is not worth taking the time to watch.

Quendi

6

We Demand The Freedom to Say That One plus One = Two !

by BluesBrother in

in george orwell's masterpiece "1984" winston smith makes the following observation about the state he was living under :.

"the party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.

it was their final, most essential command.

Quendi

The first thing a person must recognize about the WTS is that it is a fundamentalist sect. One of the basic tenets of fundamentalist belief is that the holy spirit dictated every word of the Bible. That belief opened the door to an eisegetical interpretation of Scripture, meaning that cherry-picking certain passages and ignoring their historical and linguistic context enabled the interpreter to project his own personal feelings into the Bible.

This started with Charles Russell and was further amplified by Joseph Rutherford. But with the rise of Frederick Franz as the “seer and oracle” for the WTS and the creation of a quasi-clergy class (zone, district and circuit overseers as well as local elders) to impose his visions on all other Witnesses, a rigid orthodoxy became acceptable in the organization.

The George Winstons were hunted down and expelled. The autonomy of individual congregations was abolished. A rebellion against the WTS president gave rise to the leadership of the Governing Body. That has now morphed into the collective papacy now in control.

The upshot has been a religion that is now a spiritual police state. Individuality—condemned as “independent thinking”—is being systematically scrubbed turning Witnesses into drones. Anyone valuing his freedom has fled for they realize they no longer have a place in the organization. Only an implosion will change matters. The organization has weathered the external opposition although that is still a concern and problem. It is the internal enemy which the Governing Body fears most. Should that “fifth column” ever awaken, the WTS will be finished.

Quendi

7

Fun 1st Father's Day

by dazed but not confused in

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i had a great 1st father's day.

Quendi

Dazed , you have a wonderful family. I really enjoyed the birthday pix too. Since you live in Colorado, maybe we can get together. I live in Denver. Please send me a PM if you’re interested in meeting and we can work out the details.

Quendi

7

Fun 1st Father's Day

by dazed but not confused in

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i had a great 1st father's day.

Quendi

WOW!! You certainly did have a wonderful Father’s Day, dazed, and I am so happy for you. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures of your loving family! Now, does this mean that other holidays will be celebrated as well as birthdays? It did for me. I now observe Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day and I love them all.

I’m unmarried and single, but call not simply my mom but other mothers I know on Mother’s Day. And today being Father’s Day, I called both of my married brothers to wish them the best as well. It’s such a wonderful feeling to share your love with the people who are near to you and what a shame that this damned cult can only preach hate and exclusion instead of love and inclusion.

Quendi

82

My Mom has decided to turn me in... I am not afraid (Letter Inside)

by sosoconfused in

the only reason i am posting this is because i know many of you are going or will be going through something similar and wonder if it is worth it.

i personally feel that it is worth it regardless of what i lose.

my wife is backing me and i have my children.

Quendi

I would be very interested to see if the material relating to 1975 has really been deleted from the Watchtower Library CD. Would you be so kind as to cite the references so that we can check on this, sosoconfused? If this is true, then it is a powerful evidence of the WTS deliberately lying about its past.

We already know that the Watchtower Online Library has material that only goes back to the year 2000 and we know the reason for this. The Governing Body does not want people with less than fifteen years’ association with the organization to discover its past gross errors and egregious mistakes. If the Society is now producing CD-ROMs that also exclude this material, then this should be pointed out to others. We could go so far as to challenge people to compare current versions of the Watchtower Library with earlier ones.

I’m sorry to read your mother’s reaction to checking the bound volumes for the material you asked her to read. That tells me that in her heart of hearts, she hears the ring of TTATT and she has no intention of grasping that for herself.

Quendi

10

The broken COUNTDOWN CLOCK to Doomsday

by Terry in

the very satisfying nature of events which are behind us is that they exist as history.. there is nothing provisional or speculative about occurances that have already taken place.. we have written records in black and white as to how the word "generation" was manipulated over the years by the watchtower.. the gb was looking into the future each time they employed "generation" in order to leverage the readers of their publications into.

activity.. there is no better way to prove the dishonesty of watchtower leaders than to examine the entire history of the "generations" teaching!.

when 1925 turned the president of the watchtower society into a "jackass" all credibility should have ended for him.. he was the new leader with wrong predictions.

Quendi

I always appreciate your analyses, Terry, and this one is no exception. What I found interesting about The Watchtower articles from 1951 and 1952 is the urgency in them. But there is a reason for that. The WTS had hinted very strongly that Armageddon could very well fall in either of those two years.

Why was that? The Society had secretly hoped that the thirty-seven year span from A.D. 33, when Jesus gave his great Olivet prophecy, to A.D. 70, when Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed, would have a parallel in the twentieth century. Many were hoping Armageddon would strike in the early 1950s and magazine articles and assembly talks fostered this thinking. Of course, those expectations failed just as they had in 1914 and 1925.

While the WTS isn’t trumpeting dates today as it did in the past, I don’t doubt that many Witnesses are looking forward to the autumn of 2014 as another special time. I will be very interested to see how the WTS manages its flock during another period of excitement and flux.

Quendi

3

Fathers day today...feeling conflicted

by Balaamsass in

6/16/2013 fathers day in the usa.

feeling a bit conflicted.. as a youth watchtower poisoned the the relationship between my "worldly" father and i, and over time we became distant.

arguments over my "pioneering", going to bethel, turning down a college, marriage to a "special pioneer", serving where the "need was greater" put a greater and greater distance between us emotionally and geographicly.

Quendi

I am so sorry, Balaamsass, for your sorrow and pain, especially today. As our friend Oubliette has said, your story isn’t unique. There are many others who can say the same. The tearing apart of families and ending of friendships are two of the many crimes against humanity the WTS is guilty of.

My relationship with my late father took a somewhat different turn. Thanks to WTS doctrine, I dropped out of college only three semesters short of my degree in metallurgical engineering. It broke my father’s heart and I still remember him asking me why would I throw away my education and the opportunities it would give me. I could only lamely say, “The End is near and I should be involved in the Lord’s work.”

After my parents’ divorce, I moved in with my father and worked on building a relationship with him. I am glad to say I succeeded. We grew close and I could count on him as both father and friend. My parents also remarried and our reunited family had much joy. I remained a Witness, but the Witnesses I knew in the Deep South had a different take on family relations than the WTS did. The elders encouraged me to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family and how I could do so in good conscience. How grateful I am that I did so!

My father died in 1991 and the biggest regret that I have is that he did not live to see me return to college and get my diploma. He would have been so proud, and especially so if he could have seen me take part in the graduation exercises and have the privilege of giving an address.

This cult has so much to answer for. I still believe in the biblical adage that “as ye sow, so shall ye reap.” I may not live to see the day when the WTS crumbles, but I am confident that day will dawn. Until then, I am enjoying my life to the full and I wish the same for you, my friend. We cannot change the past, but we can learn from it to shape our future. My friend, you are well on your way to doing that.

Quendi

82

My Mom has decided to turn me in... I am not afraid (Letter Inside)

by sosoconfused in

the only reason i am posting this is because i know many of you are going or will be going through something similar and wonder if it is worth it.

i personally feel that it is worth it regardless of what i lose.

my wife is backing me and i have my children.

Quendi

As I read your Mom’s letter, sosoconfused, I had a flashback to my conversation with the man who had been my best friend and his mother. They said very much the same things to me when I told them I had abandoned all efforts to get reinstated and was now going my own way. You are right to say how deep the mind control this cult exercises over its members is.

My friends confronted me with anger, outrage and fear as well as affection. But what hurt me the most was to see people whom I deeply loved so enslaved. People whose intelligence and integrity I had always admired and respected had completely turned over their free will and power of reason to others who had shamelessly manipulated them.

They pleaded and begged me to come back. They argued and cajoled. They told me I had succumbed to hubris and pride. But at the same time, they found themselves helpless and unable to answer the challenges to the WTS I raised in our talk. I was able to unmask the fear which held them in its grip and I detected the same fear in your mother’s words.

Well, you have done the best you can. I told my friends that I would always love them and they could always count on that. Sadly, that was two years ago and they have not responded to any messages I have sent to them in the interim. I have had to let them go, but I know that if they ever seek me out they will find me ready and willing to resume our friendship. I will hope all the best for you and your extended family. But as for you, continue on your path because there is no love or freedom in the WTS or among its followers.

Quendi