Posts by Half banana

35

“Even if this wasn’t the Truth, I need the structure.”

by Londo111 in

i remember many years back a fellow ministerial servant saying this to me.

he felt that even if jehovah’s witnesses were not the only true religion, the regimented routine of meetings and field service and the strict rules and enforcement provided a beneficial structure for his life.

at the time i thought if this wasn’t “the truth”, i’d have no need for all that “structure”.

Half banana

I find the more I leave Jehovah’s Witnesses behind, the better my life

Thank you Londo for such a good reference for leaving the JW delusion.

On the other hand there are those who by nature or by being born into a repressive religion are either taught to be dependent or who inherently have a need for external control due to their insecurity or anti-social tendencies.

As a JW I noticed unsettling examples of how the Watchtower with its strict boundaries served as a behaviour regulator for individuals with serious problems.

One example was one local JW who told me he would be an armed robber if he didn't have the religion. Even more disturbing, by being privy to data on prisoners in the UK there were serious sex offenders who were JWs, for whom the threats of Armageddon did not do its trick. Note how the notorious 'Yorkshire Ripper' (who will never leave prison) has adopted the Watchtower regime.

The lesson surely is to become self reliant with adult reasoning based on a factual understanding of our world?

This involves good education...not threats of punishment for moral infringements.

36

Understanding The Bible ... The "Linchpin" Effect

by Littleleslie in

understanding the holy bible.. .

after many years of study of scripture, our bible study group has discovered something very important that needs to be realized or absorbed, before one can come to a correct understanding of the bible.

we call it, the "linchpin" effect... .

Half banana

Sorry to dampen your enthusiasm but the Bible was never written to be "The Bible".

It is just a collection of ancient texts, re-interpreted by partizan scribes for use by religious authorities in demanding control over their followers.

To believe there is any "message" in the Bible is a complete waste of time. To believe there is a missing message is approaching paranoia.

28

Where does WT get their money?

by Dreamerdude in

i assume they get most of it from cash donations and assets left in wills.

there may also be some income from invested assets.

i guess they get a lot of money from old jws who die childless or with only df'd kids.geographically i assume they get it mostly from a few countries that have many publishers and strong economies.

Half banana

A snare and a racket, a racket and a snare.

15

Old books!

by arwen in

jw
friends

found some old books of my ex.

any suggestions??

is it worth ebay?

Half banana

Arwen try and get something for them by all means... but looking at your picture just reminds me how utterly worthless the contents of those books are are. The claim is that the authors alone have the key to everlasting life. How absurd!

The main consequence of the WTBTS producing those sad looking books is that from the sales of them they have amassed their worldly billions. All the JW org have achieved for humanity is to mesmerize a vast following of dependent drones addicted to religious hectoring and the false hope of paradise.

No wonder those who have left are angry.

150

Start A Butterfly Garden!

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

time to take a break from debating religion.

take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?

how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?

Half banana

We don't get that much rain in southern England. London gets slightly more than two inches per month fairly consistently throughout the year with a bit of a spike in October. It always rains in heavy showers in May but with plenty of sun as well, ideal growing and planting weather.

@Bonsai, I tried to find the botanical name of your stinky vine without success, can you help me with it?

I grow the deep purple flowered Dracunculus of the Arum family which I disturbed as I was weeding, the bulbs look like big turnips at the moment as the leaves come late. The flowers of this vegetable horror not only stinks of rotting flesh which attracts flies but gives you a headache as well. Ahh! the beauty of God's creation.

14

Why did Jehovah want to kill Moses?

by Doug Mason in

on the way, at a place where they spent the night, the lord met him and tried to kill him.

but zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched moses' feet with it, and said, "truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me!

it was then she said, "a bridegroom of blood by circumcision.

Half banana

Note the stone age knife being used betraying the story's stone age mentality.

43

Waking People Up With Well Thought Out Comments

by JW_Rogue in

is it possible to have an effect from the inside?

with well thought comments that reveal more of the history of the organization?

the next book we study will be "god's kingdom rules!

Half banana

JW rogue, sympathy bro! I know others in your situation. One thing you are probably driven to is to live inside your head as it were, to think about reality outside of the JW delusion and enjoy the real world that way. To physically leave suddenly of could make matters worse.

Perhaps in your casual comments you could stress the facts that the early Christian congregation seemed to think that welfare within the community was a priority (widows and orphans), The GB couldn't care a fig about the welfare of their followers even for the suffering of victims of sexual abuse. In fact the more they suffer the more dependent they become...

JWs I think, might be likened to a troupe of high-wire artists who have all fallen into the safety net...that is the KH community. from their viewpoint there is nothing underneath the net left to save them. It is this crippling vision of their place in life which holds them there in fear.

People who believe they are worthless will punish themselves and make bad choices.

The Watchtower of course encourages this since fear and worthlessness are the very factors they routinely exploit. The only people useful to the organisation are those who are guilt ridden, emotionally and educationally stifled and who therefore remain totally dependent on it to give them the imaginary fix of paradise .

Suggestion 1

Have you thought about building up your wife's self confidence as opposed to her abject religious dependency? A new job or new interest?

Suggestion 2

How about continuing to take it slowly, keep them on your side but sharing things you have learned which get the family to start thinking for themselves? Make some allies in your mild scepticism, preferably including your wife.

Suggestions 3

Expressing the oddness that if Big J was behind the JW org, surely, you would have thought he would get his dates right? The WT teaching for seventy odd years that the generation which saw 1914 would also see the end? JWs have never got a prophecy right...nor did Jesus get his generation prophecy right. Mark 9,1.

It's a trap all right!

31

No historical evidence for bronze age men living to 500yrs old?

by purrpurr in

the bible tells us that noah etc lived to 500yrs old as did many other characters who lived apparently to incredible years.. yet archaeological research tells us from looking at skeletons that have been dug up that the average lifespan was very short.

if a man got to the age of 50 they would have considered that quite an achievement.

when i was in i always wondered about this?

Half banana

Lett alone is nearly 1000? I didn't think he was that old!

38

Loyalty? Today's WT The RC. It's a fix!

by Slidin Fast in

today's wt has the below scripture as it's theme.

friday of the rc has the same as it's theme.

the silver nwt is alone in using the word loyalty in this verse.

Half banana

Remember NWT = Not Well Translated.

This is appalling. Where there might be an ambiguity in a text, a translator will attempt to give the most likely meaning intended by the original writer.

Not so with JW org, given half a chance they will bend any scripture round to the idea of demanding slavish obedience to its cult leadership. It thinks God is guiding them, it has become so brazen in its efforts to push its non existent authority that it feels perfectly entitled to alter the Bible text. They are delusional.

I agree with you SF, they really do want those who leave to disappear and have no influence.

150

Start A Butterfly Garden!

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

time to take a break from debating religion.

take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?

how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?

Half banana

Loved your snail story Kaik. My two fearless farm cats would catch everything small which moves. Sadly the adventurous one Lupin got run over two weeks ago, he would travel nearly a mile to observe the activity in the village and sun himself on the benches outside the pub but this involved crossing a road. Nevertheless the two of them have reduced the swarms of pigeons which used to take all of the soft fruit in the garden. Highly focused stalking followed by a six foot leap into the air will bring down a big pigeon which is dragged through the cat-flap and eaten straight away always head first, feathers everywhere. It is only naive fledgeling birds of any kind which now visit the garden...

Moles are amazing, can you imagine the energy and strength needed to tunnel through the ground? They are tougher than old boots, all muscle, sinew and bone and apparently taste the most disgusting of all animals. At least that was the opinion of Buckland, the pioneer geologist in the 19th century and his son, who ate their way through every animal they encountered. Cats kill moles (thank you cats) but never in my experience eat them.