Posts by Half banana

11

On the Fundamentalist Notion of Babylon Destroyed - Forgot to Tell Ancient World

by kepler in

among puzzlements of sitting down with jw reps with "what the bible really teaches", was the assertion that babylon was destroyed - forever - just like it says in these here chapters and verses.

then the nwt claims that peter i & ii were written from babylon.

but beside that, ancient greek, hebrew and roman writings are full of reference to babylon as an important center.

Half banana

Kepler thanks for bringing the Babylon history to the surface. JWs are so gullible they cannot even imagine that a factual, coherent understanding of history exists... just their own narrow viewpoint.

The painting of Alexander’s entry to Babylon by Charles Le Brun (from which a copy was made for a grand tapestry) is a stonking example of Baroque art, it focuses on the unbridled and worshipful homage to a classical leader hero and by deliberate implication; to the “Sun King” Louis. No wonder Le Brun became Louis XIV’s favourite painter. Baroque art in this painting is serving the interests of total political power. (If you like paintings; look her up and enjoy being charmed by Le Brun’s great-great nephew’s wife Louise Vigee Le Brun).

Getting back to your main point; the JW trolley men ask, ”What does the Bible really mean?” This question is loaded! It implies that the Bible has a meaning but is a puzzle which requires explaining.

Put this in context: with what; thirty or forty thousand sects each claiming that their particular interpretation is the only one which presses God’s button. What a mess, what a disaster!

The Bible HAS NO MEANING! It was second hand to start with... Its eclectic nature precludes it having a meaning since it is drawn from the established literature of most of the significant powers of the Middle East where Israel was and ever remained a pip-squeak tribal non-entity. It is full of nationalistic romance and dreams and is far from factual... it contradicts itself...it is not divine.

The Bible has every semblance of pathetic human weaknesses such as misogyny, hate, retribution, homophobia, xenophobia and an insistent streak of masochism and it majors in genocide. Even psychopaths tend not to be so comprehensive in their hate for their fellowmen compared to the leading characters in the Bible and especially Jehovah!

But JWs don’t think for themselves. They don’t generally realise that the most compelling Biblical commentary on the downfall of Babylon was written not long before the Christian era in the book called Daniel.By using historical precedents it made portentous prophecies written four centuries after the events had already occurred! Some prophecy! Like the destruction of Babylon, prophecy is a delusion and the Bible is a fraudulent.

This is the meaning of the Bible: A book written for the gullible who do not think for themselves and who cannot live without a fantasy hope to maintain their grip on life.

15

The Kingdom Message

by truth doubter in

regarding the unique preaching of the kingdom by wt (new creation, heavenly kings, priests and judges, restoration of paradise on earth etc.).

the scriptures seem to back up wts interpretation.

so, although there are a million reasons to become inactive, how can our conscience allow us not to become active in the work described at matt.

Half banana

Truth doubter I was a pioneer, I had many Bible studies, I believed the Bible was God’s word and that the JW org was the channel which God was using.

Then I thought: where is the evidence that this stuff is true? None of it can be proved!

It’s all propaganda...the Bible is just human in origin I realized, man is hundreds of thousands of years old, Adam and Eve and the flood are obviously myth, there is no concrete evidence that Jesus ever existed, Jehovah began life as an ox-headed idol, religion is all spin, Jehovah’s Witnesses have never got anything of use correct, the JW org is a self interested and lying cult which keeps its followers in ignorance and in a state of humiliating dependency.

I still go out in the field service... but only in my nightmares.

29

Governing Body went from anonymous secret group to T.V Stars??? How?

by Witness 007 in

when i grew up in the 1980's -90's it was rare to see a faithful slaves picture in 10 years of watchtowers.

everything was anonymous.

no one really knew there names except for the "holy oricle" fred franz.. now they are full on t.v stars with there own show.

Half banana

If Trump gets in, the GB will be lobbying to make the JWs the official American religion.

Good point Birdie but this is just the GB's wet dream because, sad for them, the WT is avowedly unpatriotic.

I suppose they could suddenly find some miraculous "New Light" which allows them to join the UN again and go mainstream? But then again little cargo cults like JWs are forever condemned to waiting with only a crumb of hope to live on.

16

My life as a fundamentalist

by joey jojo in

as a born-in jw, i never considered myself to be a fundamentalist.

i always thought we were enlightened, progressive and not 'stuck in darkness' like all the other religions.. i was totally wrong.. as far as fundamentalists go, jw's are probably right up there amongst the front-runners.

no, they do not stone people to death or go on religion-fuelled violent rampages but that's not what i'm talking about.

Half banana

Joey, you make some very good points including the danger of believing Watchtower dogma such as not having blood transfusions.

It's a smug and deluded life you lead if you are a JW.

What I am thinking now is regarding the whole matter of Christian belief; that it should still exist at all! And with such respect by both people and politicians and go unchallenged in this age of instant internet information. A serious secular study on the origins of the Bible easily exposes its unholy fusion of pagan belief masquerading as divine light.

The premises on which religious belief is drawn are intellectually indefensible. Yet religious culture is proving to be a very large sea-going tanker which will take time and distance to turn around. Better if it sank!

By passive acceptance and respect for this childish mode of thinking and living we are also enshrining the right to religious fundamentalism and will reap a whirlwind from it.

It would be possible to recognize that the religious stories are just moralising folk tales and be done with them, existing as part of our collective heritage. Yet to do so ignores the existence of beliefs which radicalise religion by taking the text as sacred and inerrant and killing others as part of divine worship.

If governments were to sanction fundamentalists blind, emotive and socially pressured injunction to conform, it would make a for a formidable army of holy warriors to be waged against the unbelievers as is happening inside Islam notably in Iraq with ISIS. This political dimension of religious belief is a significant threat to all of us. It is religious idealism placed above the value of human life...as with JWs and blood transfusion.

Fortunately in the West, especially in western Europe, democracy has generally pushed religious imperatives into the background and religious "belief" as of the 21st century is statistically on the wane even in USA.

To be a Jehovah's Witness is to be radicalized.

Even though not overtly political, (from the GB's perspective it most certainly is political in the sense of controlling eight million followers) the JW permits his or her brain to be 'rewired' to conform to the cult mentality. It is a similar process for all fundamentalists; a blind hope in a supernatural resolution to human problems.

Belief in holy books and their interpreters is not only ignorant and naive but very dangerous.

205

Hi Everyone. Answer to prayer countdown...

by Stumpy in

jw
friends

i've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.

you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!

what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.

Half banana

That's quite a read Stumpy, thank you!

I sympathize with your sense of time wasted on that ignorant cult... how could we have been apologists for such baseless garbage? So good too that Mrs Stumpy came out with you on your exit.

I have friends who outwardly appear to be JWs but know it is false yet remain in for the sake of family. I understand this reasoning but lost my beautiful wife to the org and two of my children by not going to the meetings anymore. I made a decision to not tolerate JW stupidity any longer. Bang go your family and friends when you escape the clutches of a mind-bending cult. For such a personal cost in my case, I can still say that leaving the JW religion was for me was both liberating and invigorating.

Afterwards, and I'm sure the same goes for many posters here, you wonder how come you were duped for so long and why was the JW cult was so persuasive in the first place? No simple answers here but it did seem to initially offer a convincing and a totally embracing solution to all of life's problems. Like putting all of your metaphorical eggs into the one JW basket. Your emotional, religious, social and even intellectual eggs all together in one location. This means that if the basket of belief is broken everything goes at once.This is a big chunk of the fear in the FOG is it not?

But what a relief to be free from this JW collective paranoia and to be free to enjoy the ups and downs of a natural life determined by our own conscience and personal choices.

Good to have you here and all the best to Mrs Stumpy.

23

Interesting article about the evidence of the Jewish Exodus

by cappytan in

jw
friends

the reality is that there is no evidence whatsoever that the jews were ever enslaved in egypt.

yes, there's the story contained within the bible itself, but that's not a remotely historically admissible source.

i'm talking about real proof; archeological evidence, state records and primary sources.

Half banana

The Bible distorts nearly everything. Since the Israelites lived in a small and generally unproductive territory in the land of Canaan near to Egypt and since they were an occupied territory under Egyptian rule for many centuries; the idea of them leaving was just a political aspiration which became embodied in their literature, not a historical reality.

Modern Jewish archaeology and text evidence dismisses the Biblical Exodus account as a factual event.

It was an Israelite dream, like much of the OT.

19

The Truth is not an ORG.....It's inside of you

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

the truth, the org is the truth...ummm...let's think about that...i was thinking that the bible is the truth & what it does is that it reveals the truth about you...the more you read the bible the more you may see yourself & your actions.

you may be a person who judges people, the bible will show you what's wrong with that...viola, another truth revealed about you.

you may be a prideful person, you read a story in the bible about that...again, it's another truth revealed about you.

Half banana

Hi Tor, thank you for expressing your thoughts on the Bible and its value as a mirror for our behaviour.

As JWs we felt disloyal to stray from this viewpoint but now as free moral agents we can look back and begin to see many absurdities in the Bible.

One particularly harmful instruction is; "You must be perfect". Listening to advice like this as if from God, could send a person eventually into a mental institution.

We now have universal education and internet information. These enable people to be informed and apply a logical analysis instead of the extremely limited thinking encouraged by Bible indoctrination.

4

well well its te man hisself

by zeb in

jw
friends

top o the morning to ye.

its st patrick's day.

Half banana

Well, d’ye know Zeb, it was good ol’ Saint Patrick hisself who got rid of all da snakes out of Ireland.

Do you tink now if dey let 'im loose in Brooklyn, he could manage da same trick dere?

29

Governing Body went from anonymous secret group to T.V Stars??? How?

by Witness 007 in

when i grew up in the 1980's -90's it was rare to see a faithful slaves picture in 10 years of watchtowers.

everything was anonymous.

no one really knew there names except for the "holy oricle" fred franz.. now they are full on t.v stars with there own show.

Half banana

I agree with your points DD.

There is a sense of hubris in which the members of the governing body view their appointment for office. A privilege they think... but it is also a poisoned chalice.

The first and overriding need at the start of the new century was to fix an enormous patch on the gaping wound inflicted by Fred Franz’s colossal error of the “1914-generation”.

The way they attempted it was by getting the most affable and least assertive GB member Jack Barr to sell his soul to the devil and contrive an excuse. Using tried and tested Watchtower brand logic, he said to the long suffering and gullible masses that when Jesus used the word generation he “evidently” meant overlapping generations. (pause for vomit)

This implausible claptrap has set the tone for the post 2000 GB. The Watchtower looked stale and backward. The glorious information revolution was under way and the Tower was under threat. This threat has in fact increased the pressure on the GB by exposing their dirty washing in public. For example their gross hypocrisy in denouncing the UN organization and secretly joining it. Another internet exposure is their total incapacity for a humane response to the children sexually abused in their midst.

A rebranding was advised and carried through to forget the ugly, sterile and antique Watchtower logo and replace it with” JW org” on a heavenly blue background. (As the RC Church uses for its prime icon Mary). Perhaps with a new logo and flashy TV channel, the JW punters would be distracted away from the 1914 blunder and be seduced by the GB on the small screen?

Forget Fred Franz and his intellectual garbage; dumb it down so that the most uneducated third world peasant can understand. The West and its sophistication have had enough of Watchtower prattle...the developing world is the new target area.

The touchstone for success under GB2.0 is now that of loyalty to the GB. Sins can always be forgiven but NOT disloyalty to the seven baboons of Brooklyn.

The public appearance of the GB on the JWTV extravaganza must have been seen as a public relations attempt to get the flock to be more familiar with HQ. However, they present as either oddballs or inept. I would imagine their PR advisers now think differently and must withdraw them offstage to redeem themselves away from the TV spotlights.

Hubris is always answered by the Gods...

31

Question for those still attending the Kingdom Hall

by ToesUp in

jw
friends

this a question more out of curiosity, because we have not stepped foot in a kh in 3 years.. how is the attendance at the meetings/assemblies?

i know the answer will vary due to location.. are you (especially elders) receiving any notification or communication from bethel or co's that there is an upsurge of people that are simply disappearing or out right dis associating?.

thanks, in advance, for your feedback!

Half banana

This is very encouraging!