Half banana

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Posts by Half banana

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  22

  How smart were the ancients?

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. current

  growing up as a jw, i always thought the ancients were scientific morons who knew next to nothing.

  ashamedly, i used to run around citing isaiah 40:22 as proof of the bible's 'divine authorship' because it talked about "the circle of the earth".

  as though this were somehow an unknowable before spaceflight.

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  Half banana

  I think the threshold was literacy. There must have been a big divide between the illiterate rural poor (known originally as pagans) and the city dwelling literate citizens. Even if you were a slave you could advance in the Roman world once you had gained your freedom and could read and write and learn the wisdom from earlier generations of writers.

  Within the privileged group of the well educated, there were the few who excelled and had extraordinary insights into the physical universe and its workings not the least of these was the genius Archimedes. There is a small museum in modern Olympia devoted to his inventions--his achievements are astonishing.

  The Antikithera device is really all the evidence needed to tell us that the ancients were highly accomplished astronomers, geometers and mathematicians and precision metal workers to boot.

  As a detail of the scientific approach for achieving accuracy, the designer built into this astronomical calculating device a mechanism to allow for the eccentricity of the orbit of the moon! This tiny fact alone places their understanding at an early modern level of consciousness yet must have been known for a minimum of twenty one centuries. Yet the Antikithera device looks to me (I saw it in Athens this year) like it was already a highly refined and miniaturised machine which had been developed from much older mechanisms, analogous for example to the development of a chronometer from the cathedral clock. This would then put back the understanding of astronomy, geometry and gear making to an even more distant past.
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  7

  Quotes: "Since 1914 and 1918 enemies have become more vicious"

  by TheWonderofYou in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this is a proof for 1914!.

  enemies, .

  https://archive.org/stream/enemiesbyjudgerutherford1937/1937-enemies#page/n11/mode/1up.

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  Half banana

  Perhaps the quotation was a veiled reference to his personal enemies; those who opposed him in his crude takeover of the Russellite brand.

  I think it is quite possible that Rutherford did not believe a word of what he was saying but knew too well how to play the role of the preacher, exploiting the prejudices of his Bible students and appealing to their godliness. He most certainly enjoyed the material perks of being at the top and therefore had great incentive to maintain his position.
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  23

  Instructions to remove old WT information from kh libraries

  by Half banana in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a pimo friend (physically in mentally out) has just informed me that the cult has decided that they want to suppress all old jw org information by removing bound volumes etc from kh libraries.. in reality, all through their history they have claimed divine "new light" as a means of changing uncomfortable doctrines.

  this however would mean that new jws, or more likely these days young jws, will be prevented from seeing the old light which had been held up as divinely inspired truth in the past.. truth which would get you through big a and which if you didn't agree with would get you disfellowshipped.. anyone else heard of this?

  what might be the reasons (if true) for removing the old wts?.

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  Half banana

  The phonograph was a brilliant messenger but used for a fake message.

  The whole of the JW history is rubbish, all the artificial hype for God's non events! All the JW org has ever done is to fool people, it is no wonder they want to bury their past.

  However this means they have to come up with a new slogan to catch the unwary or ill informed. How can they convince people in the future of their merit as divine guides when they have no success in the past to point to, by which they could claim evidence for divine attention?

  The history of Jehovah's Witnesses is one of total failure in the very department they claim to have special insight; that of announcing God's Kingdom.
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  23

  Instructions to remove old WT information from kh libraries

  by Half banana in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a pimo friend (physically in mentally out) has just informed me that the cult has decided that they want to suppress all old jw org information by removing bound volumes etc from kh libraries.. in reality, all through their history they have claimed divine "new light" as a means of changing uncomfortable doctrines.

  this however would mean that new jws, or more likely these days young jws, will be prevented from seeing the old light which had been held up as divinely inspired truth in the past.. truth which would get you through big a and which if you didn't agree with would get you disfellowshipped.. anyone else heard of this?

  what might be the reasons (if true) for removing the old wts?.

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  Half banana

  48. In the event that the bodies of elders decide to eliminate printed publications from the library,

  this apparently means you must do it!
  
  

  My PIMO friend tells me now that the coordinator in his cong had not been understood the significance of these instructions but now knows he has to remove the old publications. He says they don't want to publicise the clearing out.

  Yes sparrowdown, the new whiter than white, whitewashed new light....... not a stain in sight and NOW twice as bright!

  Never forget we had seventy five years of "The generation of 1914" whist the Watchtower got rich and the sheep got fleeced.
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  23

  Instructions to remove old WT information from kh libraries

  by Half banana in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a pimo friend (physically in mentally out) has just informed me that the cult has decided that they want to suppress all old jw org information by removing bound volumes etc from kh libraries.. in reality, all through their history they have claimed divine "new light" as a means of changing uncomfortable doctrines.

  this however would mean that new jws, or more likely these days young jws, will be prevented from seeing the old light which had been held up as divinely inspired truth in the past.. truth which would get you through big a and which if you didn't agree with would get you disfellowshipped.. anyone else heard of this?

  what might be the reasons (if true) for removing the old wts?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  A pimo friend (physically in mentally out) has just informed me that the cult has decided that they want to suppress all old JW org information by removing bound volumes etc from kh libraries.

  In reality, all through their history they have claimed divine "new light" as a means of changing uncomfortable doctrines. This however would mean that new JWs, or more likely these days young JWs, will be prevented from seeing the old light which had been held up as divinely inspired truth in the past.

  Truth which would get you through big A and which if you didn't agree with would get you disfellowshipped.

  Anyone else heard of this? What might be the reasons (if true) for removing the old WTs?
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  6

  Seed of mind-control could be seen in the word Amen

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just like naming of days of the week and months are of astrological/pagan origin, the widely used word amen too is pagan, and has contributed to mind-control.. each time we say “amen” at the end of prayer we may think that we mean only "verily" and "truly".

  unfortunately, we overlook something very important.

  amen, amen-ra is the "most high" egyptian solar archetype [egyptian sun god, known as amun/amin/amen ra, meaning "the hidden god" and thus, the phrase "amen" would originally mean "let it remain hidden/secret."].

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  Half banana

  Venus and Diog, I find the connection of world myth and astrology compelling. Much information seems to be in the hands of occult literature but without the reasoning behind it. Argument for the astronomical connections are viewed by the churches as paganism and therefore dismissed out of hand. When researching on the internet, most of the encounters linking paganism and the Christ story are from Christian sources defending their holy corner.

  With complete or perhaps willful ignorance of the role of mythology, the Christian is blighted by literalism and the usual grounds for being dismissive is the fact that the parallels of the Christ story are distorted which indeed they are, for that is the nature of myth.

  A good source which is backed by academic research, is the that of the late DM Murdock; look up her astrotheology site (Astrotheology of the Ancients).

  I too have found the amen Amun question dismissed on the internet but am inclined to think Christians would find it offensive and so would want to deny the connection.
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  8

  WTBTS of Britain - in the deepest of holes!

  by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the britain branch of jw’s has been afforded significant but involuntary exposure in the media recently.

  this is principally because of the investigation of the charities commission in a congregation in the suburbs of manchester as well as an investigation into the britain branch of jw’s itself.

  if a job is being done well, it normally withstands scrutiny.

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  Half banana

  That lack of cooperation with the authorities is significant despite their own routine preaching of Rom 13:1,2.

  This demonstrates the glib way they quote scriptures like a knee jerk but don't actually believe it unless it suits their cultic purpose.

  I commented recently on exactly the same point Nicholas, unlike the contrite churches of 'Babylon' they don't and won't apologise for the thoughtless way they have handled child abuse cases and there are two reasons.

  1 they imagine they are a special religion above the law (absurd)

  2 they say they are being Biblical in demanding "two witnesses" (stupid, out of date and harmful)

  Both of these reasons inform the proper authorities that they are putting their own dogma above human values to the detriment of the very lives of their members.

  One further point; Jehovah's Witnesses are in a real sense themselves abused by their leaders, they have to conform or be punished, they have no freewill to determine how they live.The point I am stressing is that abused people are groomed to be compliant to the people who control them. The GB through the Watchtower groom them on a weekly basis.

  The governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses have a lot to answer for and let's hope the Charities Commission and the BBC make some big waves.
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  26

  This convention talk offended me

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here are my notes from the r.c yesterday, the talk called "jehovah – the greatest example of endurance".

  many of you will understand why i found it offensive.. jehovah has taken the hard option of choosing to endure:.

  reproach to his holy name.

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  Half banana

  I does seem that Jehovah is in his dotage, never seems to get any prophecies right.
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  26

  This convention talk offended me

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here are my notes from the r.c yesterday, the talk called "jehovah – the greatest example of endurance".

  many of you will understand why i found it offensive.. jehovah has taken the hard option of choosing to endure:.

  reproach to his holy name.

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  Half banana

  Beats me how these guys know the mind of Jerhoover so well. . . did Big J tell them he's tired and bit edgy at the moment?

  Could they just possibly be making this pathetic nonsense all up. Just possibly?
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  332

  The most successful teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses and an amazing new book on the divine name

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.

  but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .

  i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.

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  Half banana

  Sbf, Notwithstanding my dismissal of the importance of how people should pronounce a name for any God since it is in the realms of superstition, I agreed that the matter would be of use in understanding the evolution of religious myth, and indeed it is, especially in the area of “onomastics” as your blurb quotations mention. (Oh, how recondite!).

  I agree, you might describe the book by Frank Shaw as “amazing” not because of its niche academic obscurity but by being conspicuously relevant to JWs as an adjunct to the proper understanding in the origins of one of the names of an ancient Canaanite god, one of which they (unthinkingly) promote as their partisan trade mark and talisman.

  The word under Shaw’s spotlight is not the tetragrammaton or Yahweh but “Iao,” once used much more informally it seems when referring to God. (Did Jews, Greeks or others ever translate it YH or “Yah”, do we know?) To understand and isolate any matter or artefact or item of language from the past, it is essential to understand it in its everyday social context including the prevailing perception of the numinous. The text has to reconcile the archaeology and sociology of a particular time and location. I do not know if Shaw does this?

  Reading only a scholarly review (!) Shaw’s text is a reworking of his PhD dissertation. I picked up the idea that the evidence leads to the earliest known references of “Iao” being without “apotropaic” use (i.e. talismanic). It was only in Gnostic and Christian times when it became mysticised whereas the tetragrammaton from early on (8th century BCE) had value as an amulet inscription (for good luck and warding off evil).

  The highlighting of Shaw’s text is an insight for those not familiar with what goes on in academic evidence based writing as opposed to ‘popular’ takes on a subject (you don’t have to agree but must give evidence and references for disagreeing) and this is reflected in the price of the book; cheap at 50 Euros. Probably not a big seller!