Posts by Half banana

10

You will be with me in Paradise

by AmyWatson916 in

i'm reading a book called, "what to do when they knock".

it points out that on page 36 of the 2014 "what does the bible really teach?

" book jesus promises the criminal, "you will be with me in paradise.

Half banana

VI, I love the complicated diagram attempting to reconcile the Bible's convoluted vision of what happens at death.

The reality is that a person stops breathing at death and that is the end of the matter.

If anyone wants to contradict; surely one person of the one hundred billion who have ever lived could come up with evidence to the contrary? Of course there is no evidence possible. It just shows that religion thrives on people's sentiment summarised by the expression "Surely there is more to life?

The point is that life really is precious and not to be wasted on futile dreams of paradise supplied by wealthy religious teachers.

16

God never knew Jesus would be killed?

by venus in

jesus gave an illustration with a landowner being the central character:.

“there was a landowner who planted a vineyard.

he put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.

Half banana

In the forerunner of the Bible, namely the heavenly movements of Sun Moon and stars:-- the son of the Sun God had to die every year at the Spring equinox.

It wasn't a matter of whether the Sun God father knew his son (also a Sun God) was going to die, that sort of humanising of the tale was quite irrelevant. The fact was a celestial certainty that the Son was to die sacrificially and go to heaven at Easter to rule there with his father.

Willy nilly; the son has to die.

10

"Abuse of free will" - an Oxymoron?

by doubtfull1799 in

the society loves to talk about how adam and eve abused their gift of free will.

doesn't free will mean the freedom to choose?

how can exercising that freedom to choose then be classed as abusing the gift?

Half banana

Yes Doubtfull1799, everything about this is wrong! It exemplifies the ability of a religious cult to manipulate its followers on the basis of fairy tales not on real life.

Adam and Eve are clearly characters in a creation myth when everything in the garden was lovely! There was no Eden, no talking snake and most importantly there was no fall into imperfection through "abusing free-will" requiring a later human/demigod sacrifice. Also there is no evidence for an invisible deity who never has been detected by anyone's five senses and never could be.

Indeed what sort of “gift” would free will be if you couldn’t exercise it freely without punishment?

The Watchtower is using the fable in an attempt to modify the minds of believers to conform to a mindset which denies a personal responsibility in life and demands abject submission to cult leadership.

The JW cult depends on one false principle: the notion that the Bible (as interpreted by its governing body) is the inerrant word of God and therefore has superior information for mankind. This fiction is the driving force for religious power over people.

Becoming mature and free human beings requires making life decisions without persuasions from magic sources such as the Bible and its “divinely appointed” interpreters.

13

Automatic Love

by TheFadingAlbatros in

jehovah's witnesses have a kind of automatic love for all their other co-religionists all around the world.. this kind of attachment can only be the result of a cult machinations.. real love needs real freedom, a strong personal motivation and enough time to be fully developed.. .

Half banana

Claude, I answered your initial post without reading the rest of the posts.

I am so sorry to hear of your tragic loss, my heart goes out to you.

13

Automatic Love

by TheFadingAlbatros in

jehovah's witnesses have a kind of automatic love for all their other co-religionists all around the world.. this kind of attachment can only be the result of a cult machinations.. real love needs real freedom, a strong personal motivation and enough time to be fully developed.. .

Half banana

It's the camaraderie which comes from all wearing the same colour of straightjacket

34

Proof they are not a cult??

by lriddle80 in

jw
friends

the following is from a facebook post and..maybe i am missing something, but none of these items disprove them being in a cult.

jehovah's witnesses are often mistaken to be something else.

some say it a secret cult while others believe something else.......i'm very proud to tell you my readers that i'm one of jehovah's witnesses.. below are 17 facts that shows jehovah's witness is not a cult..... 1. there are currently about 8 million jehovah's witnesses around the world.. 2. an average of over 800 people become jehovah's witnesses daily.. 3. we keep coming to your doors even though we have regular jobs and family like you because we are admonished to do so by jesus christ.. 4. we do not participate in wars and for this reason more than 1600 jehovah's witnesses were killed by hitler.. 5. there are currently over 300 jehovah's witnesses in prison in south korea and egypt because they refused to stop preaching or enlist in the military.. 6. we don't salute the flag or say national anthems because we pledge our allegiance only to god.. 7. yes we have fun and party too so don't get that twisted.. 8. not many of us know the name of the president of our headquarters because we do not pay any reference to him he is a fellow servant of god just like the rest of us are.. 9. you earn the privilege of becoming a jehovah's witness.

Half banana

Actually this list represents the real reasons why many JWs remain stuck in the cult, the things which go with proudly wearing the JW badge.

It is this collection of ideas which circulate inside the congs, the things JWs tell each other, convincing them to remain.

Whilst we know not to attack delusional beliefs head on, I do think we should bear these apparent benefits in mind when dealing with the JW mindset...even working out why each of them are false hopes.

Just my thoughts on the matter since I hear my offspring thinking this way.

33

Why are the individuals who make up the Governing Body so deluded

by UnshackleTheChains in

surely these men must see what's going on.

if they can afford fancy pinky rings, they must have smart phones.

if they have smart phones, they must be inquisitive as to how they are perceived.

Half banana

@ Punkofnice, I'm glad to see that you're still prepared to give up your free time and volunteer for things!

I suppose the answer to the OP's question is to say that delusion goes with the territory.

If you run a doomsday cult, you probably know in your heart of hearts that it's a con trick but since all of your comrades at arms believe the same rubbish, well that sort of makes makes it legit--what you have to do is switch off your conscience and just focus on the business perks.

34

Proof they are not a cult??

by lriddle80 in

jw
friends

the following is from a facebook post and..maybe i am missing something, but none of these items disprove them being in a cult.

jehovah's witnesses are often mistaken to be something else.

some say it a secret cult while others believe something else.......i'm very proud to tell you my readers that i'm one of jehovah's witnesses.. below are 17 facts that shows jehovah's witness is not a cult..... 1. there are currently about 8 million jehovah's witnesses around the world.. 2. an average of over 800 people become jehovah's witnesses daily.. 3. we keep coming to your doors even though we have regular jobs and family like you because we are admonished to do so by jesus christ.. 4. we do not participate in wars and for this reason more than 1600 jehovah's witnesses were killed by hitler.. 5. there are currently over 300 jehovah's witnesses in prison in south korea and egypt because they refused to stop preaching or enlist in the military.. 6. we don't salute the flag or say national anthems because we pledge our allegiance only to god.. 7. yes we have fun and party too so don't get that twisted.. 8. not many of us know the name of the president of our headquarters because we do not pay any reference to him he is a fellow servant of god just like the rest of us are.. 9. you earn the privilege of becoming a jehovah's witness.

Half banana

It is only those people who are under the influence of a cult who don't realize that they are being duped.

Have a look at the other side of the coin friend...

Why is it that The Watchtower has never got anything right in one hundred and thirty seven years?

34

Have You Found Your Place in the World?

by Rainbow_Troll in

we were all told when we were in the watchtower that we should be grateful to be part of such a loving family.

we were told that just beyond the superficial glamour of the world was a quagmire of despair, emptiness and pain waiting to suck us in.

obviously, we took that part with a mountain of salt or we wouldn't be here today.

Half banana

RT try to move where you can be close to others who have a broader view of life than your present neighbours have!

If you can’t move, then join societies/groups/clubs who discuss the larger world in a sensible way. You might try a humanist group or philosophical society or as recommended above; a book group. Another good avenue is to take up tertiary education and as I found out you will be learning useful things along with many cheerful intelligent people.

Something I have realized since leaving the dreaded org is that if you point your life in a particular direction and aim for it; you will get there.

15

Watchman2U - The Inspection & Test is on Jehovah Witnesses.

by Watchman2u in

watchman 2u.

letter one – jehovah witnesses are all accountable who swore an oath to jehovah god at baptism.

you jehovah witnesses in spiritual judea are clinging onto the temple that will not save you.

Half banana

Yes OP, vomit is a good word.