Half banana

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Posts by Half banana

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  39

  The Black Goat in the JW Covid-19 Report - 2020 Governing Body Update #5

  by Oh-my-God in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  did you notice this?

  2020 governing body update #5. https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/latestvideos/docid-702020307_1_video.

  why do they show the black goat in the picture?

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  Half banana

  It's just a sculpture folks....there are no ibexes native to Angola...looks like an ibex perhaps a female Nubian ibex ...but the ibex is a goat! (genus Capra)
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  16

  What was Jesus "anointed" as?

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  it is illogical to say that “jesus was anointed as christ”.

  that’s like saying that “jesus was anointed as anointed”.

  the question that needs to be asked is: “what was jesus anointed as?”.

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  Half banana

  Quoting the Bible sounds dandy GB but the Bible is not truth, it is not history or factual rather it is what today we call hype!

  It was literature for the illiterate, blousy with promises of deliverance from political subjugation, (the Jews were always subject to foreign domination) it was full of hopes for abundance which their desert homeland could not achieve, it extolled the virtue of their pathetic God YHVH whose worth was humiliated by their failure to conquer their oppressors. It revelled in the prospect of a glorious victory, it gave hope and heart to the peasants who lived in Judea and Israel.

  These things are at the core of the heartaches and theological recriminations found in Jewish literature, it is the essential pleading of the underdog which the Bible reading masses historically have identified with as as their own predicament in life. This has been one of the strengths of the Bible which have made it somewhat relevant....until now.

  As for its prophetic value, it is quite simply hopeless.
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  12

  Another Unnecessary Early Death

  by Slidin Fast in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  a young man in somerset in england, under massive pressure from financial and relationship issues lapsed into mental illness.

  he was unlucky enough to have as his support system the local congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

  one of the symptoms of his illness was the use of tobacco.

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  Half banana

  So sorry for the family concerned.

  Isn't this a perfect demonstration of what JW "brotherhood" really means? You are only 'permitted' to show love to those as recommended by the governing body, that is those who are loyal to the leadership and who perform the JW rituals.

  Jesus however recommended something else. He said that the Jewish law was summarised by love of God and neighbour. Surely the essence of Christiany as Jesus taught, was to love one's neighbour (not another JW) as oneself.

  This poor man deperately needed compassion and thoughtful assisstance -- what he got was JW style shunning.

  What a mistake it is to turn to the JW organisation for help.
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  15

  Jesus on the stake

  by dothemath in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i sat in recently with some relatives for the sunday meeting.

  the talk was given by a bethel speaker, who at one point quoted john 20:25.

  “but he said to them: “unless i see in his hands the print of the nails and stick my finger into the print of the nails and stick my hand into his side, i will never believe it.”.

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  Half banana

  First of all there are no eyewitness acounts of the execution of a miracle worker called Jesus. In other words the story of his death comes from literature not historical facts

  In latin the word crux from which we get crucifixion referred to the gibbet or simple scaffold on which the condemned were hung, it was not defined by its shape. It could be any upright pole with a cross member nailed on the top of the post or no cross member-- or it could be a living tree. The punishment of crucifixion referred to the agonising death incurred, especially if all the weight was on the nailed hands without support from the legs. Either way it was a humiliating, agonising death and a hideous reminder for onlookers to obey the Roman ordinances.

  And yes dothemath, the GB are far more likely to highlight anything which furthers their own viewpoint. Religious thought only looks for affirmation of existing beliefs, never does it investigate counter information.

  In the past the WT understood that the Christian cross is pagan so they look for ways to downplay any link of their brand of religion with conventional Christianity. These days all that seems to matter is blind obedience to HQ.
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  95

  Jesus Believed In Adam and Eve

  by Parker in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm new to the forum.

  i'm an ex-jw who actually faded from jws.

  i'm here to drop by every once in a while to ask a question or two.

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  Half banana

  GodBeliever, come on, there is no evidence that god exists is there?

  The presence of the cosmos has no tangible or provable connection with the God of the BIble has it? There is nothing in the Bible which demonstrates wisdom beyond its time -- which truly would have been a demonstration of divine power -- instead the Bible is misogynistic, homophobic, racist, vengeful, threatening and slavish but promising deliverence from God's enemies. It is merely human wisdom -- all too human.

  The Bible is a compilation of mainly fictional texts collected towards the end of the Roman Empire and officially declared sacred for the purpose of controlling the citizens.

  There is no evidence that even one spirit being exists and thank goodness too, as this means we can all be ourselves and we need not fear the nightmare scenario of alien forces dominating our existence. Instead we enjoy free will and we should use it for our own happiness and to help others experience this freedom.

  I chose to believe in God once as a young child, it was a bad choice. There was no evidence for me to believe in God and doing so led me to becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses which put a heavy clamp on my mind and education.

  When the penny dropped, I realised from the Bible's description of his activities that god is entirely a human construct, it was a release from a tyranny.The ultimate exemplar of faith is found in the Bible with God's friend Abraham who was prepared to sacrifice his only son for God. This paradigm of faith is totally disgusting. The God of the Bible bathes in human blood! Who would want anything to do with such ugly inhuman notions of slavish obedience. Wake up! this was never right-- but we have moved on.

  Belief in God is a resignation from being responsible moral individuals. Giving up our freewill to the partisan sect which we have chosen as the most likely to have the best doctrines. God and sin only exist in the abstract to lead the gullible away from an honest and objective evaluation of our marvellous existence on planet earth.
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  95

  Jesus Believed In Adam and Eve

  by Parker in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm new to the forum.

  i'm an ex-jw who actually faded from jws.

  i'm here to drop by every once in a while to ask a question or two.

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  Half banana

  As Phizzy points out Bible "literalism" as practised by JW org, is a relatively modern interpretation by those who were appalled by the presumptions of critics who would dare question the Bible's truthfulness. At that time to discredit the Bible was the equivalent to re-introducing savagery to polite society.
  

  At the bottom of nearly all the religious discussion on this site is the conflict believers have with wanting to do the right thing but are confronted with a set of 'holy scripture' revealed to be at odds with scientific analysis.

  Believers feel they have a choice of beliefs and that on balance belief in God is the best choice, it happens to be unsupported by facts but has the advantage of 'spiritual'rewards. On the other hand there are those who can put emotion aside and and are prepared to look at evidence for what the Bible says, how it was compiled and most importantly why is was enforced for so long.

  So we are left with two alternatives: faith in the supernatural, usually bouyed up by like minded believers, or the mature option and humility to recognise the superiority of understanding life as measured and demonstrated by rigourous scientific methods, not the least of which is scepticism.

  Belief in God carries no sceptical element!

  How can anything be determined without thrashing out all of the facts, evidences and opposing arguments?

  Belief is arbitrary and one sided, knowlege only comes from understanding the evidence. The Bible is evidence of the brutal human values once held 2700 to 1600 years ago -- get up to date and enjoy learning to be sceptical of all information.
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  12

  I just watched No Safe Spaces Recomend this to all

  by wolverines in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  this is a great movie.

  it documents how dangerous the left is.

  its on the verge of destroying the country.

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  Half banana

  Why do you like this site so much Toby Jones 262/ Phoenix rising/wolverines?

  Is it because we have not all yet converted to right wing politics and mass gun ownership to attack the commies?
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  16

  Honest assessment of my life

  by silent3 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my old account was silent and i had to create a new account which kind of bums me, but here i am.. over the years i've really experienced some rough times emotionally and spiritually which led me down many paths.

  being angry most all of time with a few outbursts really started to make me take stock of what was wrong with me.

  further i started really going back and trying to figure out where i went wrong.. so i revisted all my previous posts on here.

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  Half banana

  Silent what is missing is belief in YOURSELF.

  How can you rely on others especially a "god who doesn't change" who considered smashing children against a wall a positive thing? A loving God??

  The God of the Bible is a psychopath and brings about evil!..................... see Isa 47:7 Exod 32:14 1 Sam 16:14 1 Kings 9:19, 14:10 2 Kings 6:33, 21;12, 22:16 Neh 13:8 Jer 44:2, 45:5, 49:37 Mic 1:12, 2:3.

  It does take more courage to face reality with your own resources than to trust in invisible spirits but there are always people on hand to help you you through it.

  All the best to you
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  38

  Where Is BLONDIE?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i might have missed this but blondie was always one of the best posters here.

  her analysis and commentary was spot on.. is everything ok with her?

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  Half banana

  It seems she wants nothing more to do with WT matters. Fair enough if that is the case, whatever is best for us as individuals.

  When I left religion that was my feeling, I neither wanted the org nor did I want to discuss with apostates. For me it was only years later that I could get down to understanding the details of how hypocritical and corrosive the WT org is. Perhaps she wants a clean break or has found something more rewarding?

  Thanks for all of your carefully presented information Blondie.
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  18

  Beth Sarim and Beth Shan - other boondoggles

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  if you were a religious organization publicly identified with predictingarmageddon soon, would you be motivated to build large and expensive edifices or hideaways in foreign lands?such as:a $ 1,425,400 property in which a welsh translation center could be maintained?.

  this looks like a pleasant location for doomsday, doesn’t it?.

  maybe just a fortunate location for.

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  Half banana

  When the old rogue Rutherford died, he was so well regarded, so beloved of the brotherhood that masses of the faithful turned up in droves at his funeral to see and hear the tributes for this outstanding Witness of Jehovah .........all four of them!

  I would have thought that hardened criminals get more mourners to their burial than Rutherford did.