Half banana

Joined

• started 79 topics
• posted 3,096 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Half banana

• 
  113

  Are you religious or are you spiritual? Wake up to what?

  by Deltawave in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there is a huge difference between been religious and been spiritual.

  been religious is about been superior to others in the sight of god.

  however, been spiritual is about self awareness, inner peace and unity with the natural world.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Deltawave, when a person realises TTATT (the truth about the truth) the JW mindset does not immediately evaporate. Even if you have discovered that JWs are just another religious cult this does not deny you might still be looking for some invisible spiritual anchor. The tendency of most ex-JWs is to look elsewhere for some “spiritual” comfort because that is what we were led to believe. Spirituality is just another term to describe the religious impulse.

  There are degrees of healing from the curse of having been immersed in the Watchtower scam and it truly does take some time to rewire the brain and get your life back.

  Our tendency is to justify religion by saying that “spirituality” is the alternative answer, as if we must hold on to something supernatural--- after all it had been our way of life to do so.

  Instead, to leave JWs is an opportunity to mature as an individual...we were all infantilised by the old cult... now we look after ourselves. This is the significant part; if we are to mature we cultivate the art of decision making on a pragmatic basis not an airy-fairy spiritual one. Spiritual is the word of the religious con man, indeed we are not just material we are also creatures of the mind. Mental play is a precious and vital human attribute, often distorted in religious belief. We enjoy our imagination and also the profoundly enjoyable art and culture that have arisen from it but we should not base our life decisions on unprovable edicts by great “spiritual” leaders. The lure of spirituality is strong but just look at the pits of despair and depravity the “spirituality” of Islam is forcing on people.

  We were Jdubs, we were wrong...we were wrong about everything. My suggestion is that this time round we should seek our own welfare and that of family and mankind through provable, evidential based knowledge not through the yearnings of magic spirituality. It takes time to escape and recover from the religious dream... but all the best to you on your life journey from here on, it does get better!
• 
  22

  How do JW's know that the bible is inspired?

  by cappytan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  asked a friend of mine this question the other day.

  here was his answer: "well, because paul said, 'all scripture is inspired of god...'".

  but seriously, that argument is like saying, "the bible is inspired because it says so!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Bro Jeramy, just to clarify ---when Paul wrote "All scripture is inspired..." he was not referring to the Bible for it did not exist then. Scripture in the first century meant ANY uplifting writings and no doubt he was meaning texts such as the then very popular Shepherd of Hermas which never mentions Jesus but looks to a 'lord' for hope and religious comfort.
• 
  36

  Something tells me 1914...

  by Monsieur in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after todays watchtower lesson, and the lessons coming, something tells me bigger and bigger new understandings are coming.

  and that it will culminate with 1914. notice how jesus is now coming, and no longer already here.

  the current understanding is both, he is here and hes also coming.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Yes Finklestein, the Watchtower is a farce. Imagine how it is that the org arrives at biblical understanding: a committee of old timers gets together and determines what doctrines will be the most palatable under the prevailing circumstances and then proclaims that what they have decided it is "divine truth". How shallow... how corrupt... how foolish!

  If there was a God and the Watchtower really had divine truth they would never need to change the doctrines ever.
• 
  36

  Something tells me 1914...

  by Monsieur in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after todays watchtower lesson, and the lessons coming, something tells me bigger and bigger new understandings are coming.

  and that it will culminate with 1914. notice how jesus is now coming, and no longer already here.

  the current understanding is both, he is here and hes also coming.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Monsieur, as a rule of thumb everything the Watchtower has ever said is meaningless, irrelevant or misleading. You suggest there are bigger things to come from them ...bigger lies and bigger irrelevancies.

  The 1914 doctrine as others have pointed, out has been the magic key to the success of the org. Not that they were right, they got the prediction quite wrong (1914 was originally to have been the latest date for entire restoration of the earthly paradise) but being in control of the information through their publications they always have--- and very much still do--- massage the ‘truth’ of what they say to gloss over their errors.

  I see the direction the WTBTS are aiming for is to be like the biggest Christ cult of all time; the Roman Catholic Church, which although now declining, has through its wealth and political connections been able to ride out every criticism on the basis of self appointed authority and propaganda. The WTBTS is nowhere near this ideal so they will continue to struggle for religious credibility.

  The JW authority was on the basis of getting 1914 right. This doctrine is becoming so old hat and chewed about that they will eventually try to claim divine backing without their sacred year...not an easy task! After all wrong calculations and wrong outcome over the year 1914 hardly make for evidence of divine attention.
• 
  16

  Types, anti-types, starting fresh?

  by Crazyguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you think these changes are being made so they can start teaching the r&f a new set of doctrines?

  or is this just a fly in the ointment just to continue to confuses the masses so they don't know what the hell to think anymore?.

  and if you think its so they can teach new doctrines, do you think their going to go more main stream?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  And then the internet roles back the carpet...
• 
  23

  Are the writers in the writing department purposely misquoting people?

  by paulmolark in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after reading that great post about the june 1 article on science i got to thinking.

  although it is great to believe there is this huge group of guys in the jw writing department that are constantly looking to mislead us by twisting the words of scientist etc... i really think it is more likely they are google researchers that do not have the ability to grasp the thoughts that are being expressed in the scientific article they quote mine from.. i honestly believe the reason that this happens is because of the individuals they use to write these magazines.

  these are not college educated men.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  At its heart the WTBTS and the governing body are in denial. They dare not think for one moment the reality that God is NOT directing them.

  This false confidence leads to the arrogant approach they take when presenting information. They imagine themselves to be God ordained and therefore their words are also. This attitude places themselves above human reasoning and mere worldly scientists or the like. They think they can cherry pick any hard won information and corrupt it in the interests of the Watchtower Kingdom. For the flock to investigate the hard evidence or secular sources would be to show lack of faith in ‘God’s appointees’.

  So, Paulomark, the meteoric career of the likes of Carlos West is a good example of the lack of intellectual quality and integrity in the governing body.

  The only good thing to come from this ignorant and casual misquoting and deception is that with the internet; this phoney Watchtower cult is being exposed.
• 
  35

  behind the curtain: literature offer for the month

  by Magnum in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was an extremely sincere, zealous pioneer.

  i really cared about the people in the field.

  i thought their lives were in danger.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Yes Magnum, I remember as a pioneer dutifully placing hard back books which I realised would be of no benefit whatsoever to the householder. Watchtower literature is bad enough for JWs but to anyone not indoctrinated it is bewildering and irrelevant.

  Divinely guided! what a scam...
• 
  30

  TROLLEY WITNESSING BECOMING A ROUSING SUCESSS!

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  from last weeks meeting.

  "we are now going to talk about experiences from trolley witnesssing" .

  this is the honest to god response.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  I was at Oxford Circus tube station yesterday. Amongst the milling throngs there were distributors of free Evening Standard newspapers...lots of takers... then there were noisy Hare Krishna devotees with their miniature cymbals clanging away and talking to people and one lonely Awake waver talking to no one and being ignored. Except by me that is and I just had time to say in passing that the Awake was rubbish (just to cheer him up!)
• 
  11

  Why the Future of Religion Is Bleak

  by defender of truth in

  1. social
  2. current

  religious institutions have survived by controlling what their adherents know, argues tufts prof. daniel c. dennett, but today that is next to impossible.

  illustration: brian stauffer for the wall street journal.

  by daniel c. dennett.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Defender, I love this bit by Daniel Dennet: “Hardly anybody today believes in—or would want to believe in—the wrathful, Old Testament Jehovah, for instance. A God who commands our love is a nasty piece of work by today’s perspectives..."

  This is a realistic assessment of the average developed world viewpoint...Jehovah is an undesirable entity and that means that Jehovah’s Witnesses are tarred with that same brush.

  With the internet reinforcing western cultural values, this viewpoint will make life even harder for the JW org. for who in their right senses would want to have truck with a grisly old testament God?

  Long live the internet... and long live Dan Dennet’s writings.
• 
  7

  Ebola Fears Cloud Jehovah's Witnesses International Convention in Zimbabwe

  by jwleaks in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  voice of america.

  august 14, 2014. .

  http://www.voanews.com/content/ebola-fears-cloud-jehova-witness-meeting-in-zimbabwe/2413748.html.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Even if it's a disaster JW org will say Big J was looking after them.