Half banana

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Posts by Half banana

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  26

  Prayers ,are they answered ? or is it just self delusion ?

  by smiddy3 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after 33 years as a jw and leaving 25 years ago i think prayer can be summed up with the jews praying at the wailing wall.. all they are doing is talking to a brick wall ,and getting no feed back.

  and they expect an answer to their prayers ?!.

  christians /other beliefs might find that funny but they are no better off.. prayer is always a one way street you talk either vocally or mentally to god however you never get the same back .. if god " so loved the world that he doesnt want any to be destroyed but have everlasting life " then whats the problem with him audibly answering his servants prayers ?

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  Half banana

  Talking to a wall, who are you kidding Smiddy?

  Jehovah always answers each and every prayer, but he consults Santa Claus and the tooth fairy first.
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  39

  JWs Among the Least Educated in the US

  by jp1692 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  september 6th, 2017: a just released research survey shows once again that jehovah's witnesses are among the least educated people in the united states: .

  america’s changing religious identity.

  it is also interesting to note how jws rank in the categories of: income, insurance coverage and homeownership.

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  Half banana

  The GB says "Keep 'em dim, they don't ask so many awkward questions that way".
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  4

  Archaeological evidence

  by ironsnake656 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  one of the many books that helped me to question about the bible narrative is the one from israel finkelstein, the bible unearthed.

  archaeology is one of the fascinating sciences and complicated, since you have to interpret/reinterpret the history based on the artifacts, remains, ruins, relics, paintings, sculptures, etc.

  that is found in certain area where a civilization existed.

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  Half banana

  I agree with you both, Finklestein and Silberman's work is a breath of fresh air. This is especially so as they are Israeli archaeologists working in Jewish territory.

  Fundamental to Jewish nationalist identity is the myth of divine deliverance from Egypt at the Biblical exodus. The authors show exactly how this story came about, not from reality but from geographical proximity larded with wishful thinking and not a small dose of the art of telling a good yarn. They also note how the Egyptians never knew they had enslaved the whole of Israel and never noticed their miraculous departure either!

  The authors have managed to take the "holy" out of Holy Land by modern scientific thoroughness. JW org please take note.
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  23

  Translating accurately is really f*&%$ing hard!

  by TTWSYF in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wanted to relay an example that i heard about translating difficulties.

  take the 5 word phrase.

  "i didn't eat your sandwich".

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  Half banana

  And while translating something as accurately as possible at the nuts and bolts level, it would be very easy to overlook such things as allegory, irony, spoof etc, let alone determining whether the matter is truthful or mere propaganda.

  The world has moved on since the Bible was put together. Nevertheless it remains an iconic collection of literary texts but we now have an infinitely better understanding of the world than they did in the fourth century.

  The Bible has long been superceded by scientifically tested reality. It's time it went into retirement.
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  9

  DEFEND JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES website

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i googled the question "do jehovah's witnesses do charity work?

  " and up popped the above website designed to counter virtually all wts criticism.

  anyone know about this website?.

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  Half banana

  I loved the bit (on Pete Zahut's blog reference) that "90% of donations are spent on disaster relief, printing Bibles and Bible aids".

  What a distortion of the true spirit of the organization! You would think from this that the JW org is a charitable humanitarian movement which also promote Bibles. Like most information generated by JWs this is misleading and very far from the truth. Note the priority here; ostensibly it spends most of its donations on charitable causes! In reality "disaster relief" translates "JW org property protection" in disaster areas.

  The poor lobotomised zombies who write this stuff should get the chance to have a balanced external view of their organization and the world in general. Alas! JW zombies are not permitted that luxury.
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  39

  JWs Among the Least Educated in the US

  by jp1692 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  september 6th, 2017: a just released research survey shows once again that jehovah's witnesses are among the least educated people in the united states: .

  america’s changing religious identity.

  it is also interesting to note how jws rank in the categories of: income, insurance coverage and homeownership.

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  Half banana

  Doesn't this reflect the nature of the messianic and triumphalist beliefs held by JWs?

  If you can't make it in the real world then resort to the all embracing substitute life espoused by the Watchtower.

  If you buy into their claims then sit back and everything you ever wanted will be yours. . . except at the end of the JW rainbow there is what there is at the end of any other rainbow.............nothing.
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  7

  What could Jw church do to enhance their shunning regime?

  by Chook in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  if they controlled a nation they would stone their kids to death , which seems harsh but its nothing compared to the solitary confinement they emotionally and physically bestow on their own children.

  i think they have ticked every box as to the rejection of their children except killing them, they leave that for god ..

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  Half banana

  Chook, I know it's not about shunning but they have ticked every box to reject their children including the one which says their child's life is of less importance than strict obedience to the Watchtower's demands.

  JWs have permitted the Watchtower organization to dictate that under certain avoidable circumstances their children must be allowed to die. Namely that their children must refuse a blood transfusion.

  This dangerous belief goes against all natural humanity. It demonstrates the wickedness of the JW cult in the first place and the tragedy of believing its reckless interpretations of the Bible.

  Ordinary, decent people never harm their children in any way. Jws are ordinary decent people who have allowed themselves to do bad things in the name of a stupid religion.
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  3

  WTBTS Puffing out the chest.........................

  by The Fall Guy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  ...................................and blowing it's own trumpet.. "oh look at us, anyone who gives a damn.

  satan's system has given us a worldly certificate because of the design of our new money-maker complex in the u.k. this proves we have god's backing!".

  https://www.jw.org/en/news/releases/by-region/united-kingdom/branch-office-breeam-rating-sustainable-design/.

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  Half banana

  Wouldn't prefabs have done the trick, the world was supposed to be coming to an end any minute now?
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  15

  Solomon's gold mines called a myth but there's one so-called prophecy that always makes me stop and think

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the authenticity of the old testament account of solomon is being called into question in the news media:.

  http://www.christianpost.com/news/king-solomons-fabulous-hidden-gold-mines-are-a-myth-historian-says-194663/.

  for the most-part, i don't really want to believe the bible as true, certainly not the j.w version including their stubbornness over 607 and 1914. but there's one prophecy that always makes me stop and wonder if maybe some of the bible was inspired by god, if he or she exists.

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  Half banana

  I think the main point we can learn from the image of different metals is that is was written by a Greek poet as an allegory of what was supposed to have happened in the past i.e. before 700 BCE-- and the striking visual picture was 'borrowed' and re-configured by the writer of the book of Daniel half a millennium later who then claimed it as divine prophecy.

  Folk tales, over the top stories of imagined past greatness like Solomon's temple, dreams of national salvation and poetic imagery were absorbed into popular literature and later selected and sanctioned by Imperial Rome in the fourth century as sacred inerrant truth.The Bible is a scam. Wakey wakey JWs!
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  5

  New JW video about evolution involving children??

  by Saename in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in lloyd evans's interview with seth andrews (the thinking atheist), evans says that jws published a new footage on evolution on their website jw broadcasting.

  he says it's about kids talking to their classmates about evolution.

  he comments that it's an amusing video.

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  Half banana

  What deceptive and sweetly spoken propaganda!

  The idea that complex things need a designer sounds right until you find out the facts of evolution. There is no evidence for a miraculous designer but there is evidence for evolution in the geological record. Things are not always what they seem or what you expect them to be.

  Blinkered JWs don't dare examine the evidence, your congregation status is enhanced if you just trot out the party line and sound like a loyal member.