Posts by Half banana

9

CLAM - 24th March 2016 (Video Vignette)

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

video - "use insight when comforting others"this was a wt contrived video of a sister who was widowed a year ago, and turns to members of the boe after a meeting in the kingdom hall in a distraught emotional state accompanied by suicidal thoughts.

two members of the boe saw her in her own home later that day.she conveyed that she wanted her life back - that her heart had been ripped out.

the elder acknowledges that "you and dan had a wonderful relationship".

Half banana

The JW org is first and foremost a Bible quoting religion. They imagine that by quoting scriptures and examples from the Bible it is the key to answering every problem.

I agree NK this is dangerous and foolish.

The 'sister' in the vignette is conditioned to expect the sort of comfort recommended (Biblical examples) but in the real world grief and loss is not healed by unqualified help from spiritual leaders of the congregation. As you say, they need professional treatment.

The reluctance to do this on the part of the org. I think, is because they imagine "scripture quoting" is a panacea and secondly the GB will not relinquish their total control over a member to outsiders, even if this means they do not get the right help and suffer more as a consequence.

I do hope the lack of enthusiasm for the JW org's prescription was a general indicator for lack of loyalty to the heartless, self interested governing body.

17

The JW org is a failed doomsday cult?

by Half banana in

by its own mandate in the founding of the watchtower magazine in 1879, it was set up to proclaim the arrival of jc in the heavens according to the then currently failed adventist claim for jesus' return the year 1874.. russell's catalyst for all that came afterwards was his pet claim (in so many words) "aha but jc did in fact come... but came invisibly!

" he added without sound evidence that it took four years for jc to come to rule from the heavens after his arrival there and that then was said to be in 1878. .

within forty biblical years from the arrival date, russell promised, with hopes even higher than his bank account, that god’s kingdom with christ at the helm would rule the earth in the absence of all worldly opposition.

Half banana

Yes Vidiot, the key lesson is to keep your doomsday cult always on the boil. Don't whatever you do look to a date which will expose the lie of your raison d'etre.

Just keep the promises to the forefront along with donation obligations and argue that "God can never let you down" (emotional scam).

Of course with modern technology it is easy to re-write and sanitize your own corporate history and claim JWs never said 1914, 1925, 1975, or end of the 20th century.

Make it a disfellowshipping offence to read the WT history!

23

Why did Jesus have to suffer?? Something I never thought about.

by ttdtt in

something dawned on me last night.

jesus was suposed to be a corresponding sacrifice for adam right?.

a perfect life for a perfect life.

Half banana

The finest revelation in life is to realize that the Bible is a book of miserable and paranoid fictions which now is way past its sell-by date. It has been superceded by testable realities.

The bible is where all the the problems start. First realize it is merely a human cultural record. Get rid of the Bible as an authority, instead let your reasoning on evidence for things dictate how you live and what you believe.

Religion with the Bible is an unholy scam and a harmful misdirection in life.

How can anyone with functioning brains believe "Jesus suffered"? Its just a story!

If he was to be the replacement for God's first human called Adam then the whole idea of a ransom is preposterous since science visibly demonstrates there was no original man.

Wakey wakey believers! become "knowers" about the evidence instead.

13

Can a DFed person donate?

by Lostandfound in

rereading a post re the shunning wt in feb made me think, do the wt accept money from the dead?

not inheritances but from the "living dead" as they perceive df and da people to be.. personally i think they accept or more correctly badger members who are really brain dead into giving.

or do attendants guard contribution boxes to stop such non existent people from putting money in.

Half banana

The very reason for the existence of of the JW org is to take money.

How can they refuse it?

31

Who has made an unforgivable sin against the holy spirit?

by atomant in

we all sin and some sins are worse than others but blasphemy against the holy spirit is said to be unforgivable.what is considered to be an unforgivable sin?

Half banana

What a good wheeze to say that you can never be forgiven if you sin against the holy spirit?

The cult leaders can apply this to anything to put fear in their followers. The hope of paradise and the fear of disobedience; walk the spritual tightrope which the cult supplies free of charge and you daren't look down or anywhere else.

I'm waiting for the word that "disloyalty" to the GB is a sin against the holy spirit.

25

The saga of Russell and Rutherford

by Terry in

i think little charlie russell having been born after many miscarriages by his mother, was doted on and coddled beyond normal.

his mother died of a fever epidemic when he was about 9 and he may have associated burning with fever with burning in hell.he seemed to be obsessed about hell for awhile even to the point of graffiti on sidewalks marking scriptures as warnings.he was privately tutored and brought into the men's clothing business and given and adult's responsibilities.

although the family was presbyterian, there appears to be a streak of insubordination in the genes because they switched to a congregational church with an autonomy of leadership and no organizational oversight.why was this a big deal, do you think?

Half banana

On reading lists of projects and businesses the entrepreneur CT Russell was involved in, it seems a wonder he had any time left for his religious marketing. The WTBTS frames his biography with the family drapers business being sold by him to support the Watchtower... but this is a wrong emphasis. As you say Terry he was a wealthy man and he worked very hard to make money all his life aside from the Watchtower.

I read that his safe had more than $1,000,000 in it at the time of his death which would translate to around $18,000,000 today. He was a money driven man and I feel that his religion industry was just a part of his business empire rather the consuming whole.

Nevertheless he had an inquiring mind but was limited academically and therefore subject to the hype of Biblical and esoteric writings and beliefs. I can't help thinking that the Masonic influence was present even though he publicly denied membership to them. There was something about his beliefs which fed the ideas of elitist knowledge given only to the privileged. Such being found in Paul's writing and therefore striking a correspondency in him as being God's channel, especially if he had narcissistic tendencies.

All JW leaders except perhaps Knorr were/are narcissist, are they not?

Russell had wealth and a business drive and also the religious conviction in finding the holy grail of getting the secretly coded date of the return of Christ: 1874. With Christ already ruling in 1878 as he thought, the next year he started the Watchtower and immediately made money from it.

His ideas were totally wrong and a prophetic failure but the Watchtower was able, and nearly continues to be able, to propel the followers minds towards a fictional but money making doomsday.

17

The JW org is a failed doomsday cult?

by Half banana in

by its own mandate in the founding of the watchtower magazine in 1879, it was set up to proclaim the arrival of jc in the heavens according to the then currently failed adventist claim for jesus' return the year 1874.. russell's catalyst for all that came afterwards was his pet claim (in so many words) "aha but jc did in fact come... but came invisibly!

" he added without sound evidence that it took four years for jc to come to rule from the heavens after his arrival there and that then was said to be in 1878. .

within forty biblical years from the arrival date, russell promised, with hopes even higher than his bank account, that god’s kingdom with christ at the helm would rule the earth in the absence of all worldly opposition.

Half banana

Vidiot, yes surely a successful doomsday cult would get the dates right... but as we know doomsday cults like JWs are by nature perpetually "close to the end". That is tension which attracts new paying members to join isn't it?.

It amazes me how anyone can trust anything they say when from the start everything they have taught has proved meaningless or wrong?

What legitimate role are they able to play after failing in their main objective of end of world mega-death in the 20th century?

35

After Being Out for 17 Years He is Back In again!!!

by new boy in

jw
friends

i called a guy i haven talked with for over two years yesterday.

i met him at bethel back in the 1970's.

david b was known as the g job king back then.

Half banana

I guess that many of the returnees are those who didn't get the hang of TTATT.

16

How much of the Society's publications just get stored away in the garage?

by donny in

almost a year ago i moved back to the dallas - fort worth area after spending 16 years in the northern california area.

the area i live in has several nearby parks and walkways and these areas have several "share a book" pods mounted on a pole spaced about 1/2 mile from one another.

people are encouraged to add books they no longer use to these pods and to take one if they are interested.. i have been diligent on removing watchtower publications from them and what has surprised me is how many old publications in pristine condition are added almost on a daily basis.

Half banana

The pride of the Watchtower: the most distributed but the least read magazine in the world.

What a diabolical waste of paper, and time, money, energy and hope... yes, firelighting is the only sound use for them!

13

A Troubling Culture: JW Group Think vs. Individual Critical Thinking

by MicaSmith in

i had no idea that the resistance, governance, and duplicity i am experiencing as a jehovah witness is actually part of a bigger behavioral issue that permeates the entire jehovah witness culture.. i was troubled by the fact that many persons who have been crushed by the unfair practices of jw leadership described themselves as former members of the jw cult, and, or, apostates.

the latter bothered me to a greater degree because i felt the word apostate has been overused by jw's leadership and members.

anyone who disagrees with anything the governing body does or says is assigned the label an apostate.

Half banana

Well done Mica for your methodical researching on the subject and then producing the results for us all.

I always say "cult" to label JWs since It cannot be denied that they tick all of the boxes in any survey on cultic behaviour.