There is nothing, absolutely nothing, which feeds cult paranoia like martyrdom.
Half banana
JoinedPosts by Half banana
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26
Governing Body Anthony Morris gives talk at convention. Child refuses blood dies
by Watchtower-Free inhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxw_wxyviu .
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27
Bunker Video: Why No Concluding Scene?
by Wild_Thing ini was wondering why they ended the "bunker video" as they did ... with an armed militia finding the jws huddled in the corner of the basement ... fade to black.
the jws watching don't know what happened after that.
did they kill them?
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Half banana
Where do the tyrants go when their end is near? Why they go Into their bunker!
It looks to me like the gloomy story being portrayed for the true JW believers is actually a projection of the foreboding existing in the collective mind of the governing body.
They imagine, as they have hinted at before, that the secular authorities are on their tail and about to close in on them.
It all sounds so neurotic and unattractive that I hope those with a sense of enjoyment in life will quickly escape from this religion with its delusional propaganda and learn how to enjoy living in the real world of optimism, rational thinking and behave as decent free human beings.
Hitler committed suicide in his own fortified bunker in Berlin, Saddam Hussein also had a purpose built job but Muammar Gaddafi was found hiding in a drain with his trusty golden gun. Those who found him, shot him dead with it.
As for the black and bleak ending of the video...................
The governing body, having painted themselves into this doomsday corner are now descending into their spiritual bunker. They have no golden gun but instead a "silver sword."
Will reliance on their own peculiar interpretation of it; save them.............. or condemn them to extinction?
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Tales from the Special Convention in Helsinki
by internationalfader ini created a new account since i didn't want anybody to be able to trace this back to me based on my other posts.
i was an international delegate at the special convention in helsinki.
i am an awake pioneer.
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Half banana
International fader...an "awake pioneer"... what an interesting category!
Much enjoyed your report.
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Convention Weirdness
by BlackWolf inwell i just got back from 3 days in hell, and geez was this convention strange or what?
im sure someone's probably made a topic about this already but i can't believe that there weren't any new releases besides the movies.
has that ever happened before?
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Half banana
A doomsday cult just has to be turning up the pressure all the time. The bunker idea and total dependence on the leaders "whether it makes sense or not" seems to characterise the later stages in the life of such a cult.
In reality it is the cult itself and not "the system of things" which is doomed... and so at the end, like David Koresh at Waco, a siege mentality has to eventually be adopted as a final act of defiance to the world and as a demonstration to the faithful that their myth is coming true. It is an unsettling time for believers.
........................ get out while you still can!
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The Divine Son of God, God Incarnate, Lord, Redeemer, and Saviour of the World
by Doug Mason inbefore jesus was born or even if he had never existed—another human being was already proclaimed son of god and, indeed, god incarnate within the same first common-era century and within the same mediterranean world.
in fact, almost all the sacred terms and solemn titles that we might think of as christian creations or even pauline inventions were already associated with caesar augustus, the first undisputed ruler of the roman empire, from 31 bce to 14 ce.. augustus was divine, son of god, god, and god from god.
he was lord, liberator, redeemer, and savior of the world—not just of italy or the mediterranean, mind you, but of the entire inhabited earth.
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Half banana
FTS, sorry, I like to be provocative...it would be more transparently correct to speak of the syncretism which was forged under Constantine the Great as a fusion of contemporary “christian” beliefs. However I wanted to highlight the paradox that the doctrinal basis of these early sects of Christianity was then only recently and resolutely drawn from pagan belief... outstandingly so was the long pre-Christian history of the Christ figure himself. Even Constantine kept the Solar Invictus (unconquered Sun) image on his coinage up until about 320CE well after his purported conversion to Christianity. This was in fact a pivotal teaching of solar theology at the root of the Christ myth back in pagan antiquity, which had visible echoes in early Christian iconography.
Think of any doctrine or NT story; it is likely that it has a pagan or a Gnostic antecedent. Odd intrusions into the NT text such as “I am the true vine” and “...upon this rock, I will establish my church” are tangible demonstrations of very pointed and specific gestures to existing cults, to that of Dionysus in the first case and Mithras in the second. Exotic words offered as a sop to the holders of these essential non-Jesuist doctrines in the on-going process of Roman Catholic syncretism; working in the familiar Roman imperial political manner of 'inclusion and assimilation'. For the sake of retaining their temple authority, It became prudent for cult leaders to make the move towards the teachings of the Imperial Roman Church.
The fact is there is little authoritative literature if any on the subject and hence it is not on the general scholar’s radar. The whole episode of forced conformity had to be covered up and that could only be done effectively through Imperial agency to start with. Later with the dilution of Roman power after Theodosius the Church itself became so powerful it could lead the anti paganism drive.
Overall I still cannot but think that Constantine was ever playing the role of emperor. He had his religious advisers such as Hosius and he had his publicists such as Lactantius and Eusebius but religion was for him an instrument of state. His nearly life-long tolerance of Roman cults and his ineffectual and fumbling attempts at directing the bishops towards doctrinal unison showed his heart was not in the business of Jesus-Christianity, as did his deathbed baptism. It was some of his offspring who took up the Christian banner and ran with it.
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21
The identity of "The Faithful and Discreet Slave", solved - I think.
by Island Man in“who really is the faithful and discreet* slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time?
- matthew 24:45. let's be honest, the faithful and discreet slave logically cannot refer to any and every christian.
this is not merely an encouragement for all christians to prove themselves faithful and discreet.
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Half banana
Spelling: exist not exit! Groups which exist in the modern world.
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The identity of "The Faithful and Discreet Slave", solved - I think.
by Island Man in“who really is the faithful and discreet* slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time?
- matthew 24:45. let's be honest, the faithful and discreet slave logically cannot refer to any and every christian.
this is not merely an encouragement for all christians to prove themselves faithful and discreet.
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Half banana
Island man, I think that the failure of Jesus'words foretelling the 'end of the system of things' in the first century disqualifies any credibility in extending or applying the parable to a future time. Prophecy has no value except for empowering the bearers and misleading the gullible.
I agree with you Brokeback, the words are very unlikely to be kosher in the first place.
It is a parable about the integrity of a lowly person put in charge of other humble workers, so that he does his duty even during the absence of the master of the house so that things will always function properly. It is about the integrity of the elevated servant not to be found with egg on his face at his master's return. This being said in the context of a prophecy of catastrophic destruction to the Jewish nation ("Let those in Judea flee to the hills") and deliverance by a heavenly master.
When the words were written, Judea was fully Romanised including, I believe there were public baths at that time in Sepphoris in Galilee and the Judaic religious life too was skewed towards the Roman not always the formidably strict separateness of Jewish tradition, they could enjoy the benefits of a developed civilization. The only households described in the illustration would probably have been Roman patricians who in Judea would have kept slaves who were really household servants.
The Watchtower has always been a Bible quoting religion, it foolishly believes and teaches that the scriptures have such authority that all that is needed is to quote a verse or two to establish a matter. In practice it adds its own directive on the verses to suit its cultic purpose. Its folly has always been to interpret scripture as if it referred to blocks of people or specific groups which exit in the modern world. This habit was something Rutherford used in his diatribes, significantly from the fascist era and it has continued in the mentality of the govenors of Jehovah's Witnesses ever since.
It suits their interest to narcissistically imply themselves in their role now or in the future as predicted by Jesus' words fabling a discreet servant who feeds the other household staff at the right time.
The Watchtower has proved itself to be the most indiscreet serving body and has dispensed appalling, opinionated spiritual food misleading millions and never once getting the timing right.
What does that say? Wrong food for the wrong time, or even if it were argued to be right food... it has always been for the wrong time! It says that even if the scripture was intended to pinpoint a 'group' it most clearly could not apply to them.
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The Borg and the bible, don't eat blood! Jesus, eat my blood! WTF?
by Crazyguy inyour thoughts , and is in it interesting how much jesus teachings seem to contradict the jewish god jehovah.
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Half banana
Jesus Christianity to get off the ground, apart from Judaism it had to please lots of people holding diverse beliefs. To gain ascendency it had to encompass among other cults, the Roman favourite Mithras.
In Mithraism the blood of the Savior, the Great Shepherd, was commemorated by an annual ritual of partaking of symbolic bread (or cakes) and wine well before christianity adopted it. The symbolism of blood to the Romans was cleansing and strength and at the initiation ceremony the novice was placed under a grill in the dark Mithraeum (subterranean windowless church) and the hot blood from a dying sacrificial bull rained down on him some of which he was obliged to drink as it fell.
Inscribed in the Mithraic temple which occupies the catacombs under the Vatican today is the pre-Christian text, "Whosoever does not drink of my body and eat of my flesh, the same will not be with me in paradise".
So I agree with you Crazyguy that for the sake of harmonisation of the Jewish religion with its monotheism and blood prohibition, and the other competing cults, the early Jesus movement had to make many compromises. It is most interesting to see how the two divergent views on blood were accommodated. The Jew would still be offended by drinking blood but the Roman would accept the idea from familiarity.
Paul did a sterling job in the letter to the Hebrews to rationalise the different strands of dogma.
Without the Jesus myth and Constantine's mother Helena having adopted the cult, the dominant Roman religion would probably have ended up in a Dionysian mould...but this cult too had to be absorbed for Jesus Christianity to become the catholic or universal faith, Dionysus contributing the expression "The true vine", he turned water into wine at a wedding feast, was born a virgin son of God and was crucified for the sake of sinful mankind. Makes you think!
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Lurking JWs, if you're to love Jesus more than family, does it make sense to withhold family to coerce persons to return to Jesus?
by Island Man injesus said that his true disciples would love him more than family.
(matthew 10:37) therefore, ex-jws worthy of reinstatement should be returning because they love jesus more than family - not because of wanting to restore family association.
if they truly love jesus more than family they would still return despite their family continuing to communicate with them, because they will value their relationship with jesus as a prize to be attained above and beyond their relationship with their family.
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Half banana
Darth F, in the real world as opposed to a hospital for the severely troubled, what person is it who demands that his audience should place him; the speaker, as being of more importance than members of their own family?
Jesus and his sayings are a scam. I appreciate this is incendiary but it is time people made a proper examination of why early Christian propaganda was written down in the first place and made sacred. I'm saying this so as not to be beguiled by the positive and attractive teachings found in the Bible.
Step further back and see the powerplay at work.
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Half banana
Hello Lostsoul, good of you to drop in...hope to hear your story soon!