Posts by Half banana

33

The Creation of Jesus

by berrygerry in

seeing a trinity thread.. can a jw apologist explain what (not who) is jesus?.

prior to the creation of everything 13.7 billion years ago (draw close book), jehovah created jesus as his firstborn, his only-begotten.. there was nothing else - no stars, no dust, no matter - just jehovah - and then, just jehovah and jesus.

so, what was jesus?.

Half banana

Sorry Bg but I am not a JW apologist but would like one to answer as well!

The Bible is not a factual treatise on how things came about, it is instead an innocent story for illiterate people. It was based on universal assumptions that were culturally shared such as the idea that gods existed in the heavens; a superior place but similar to the 'mundane' realm of Earth and responsible for all events and tragedies down here. Genesis (which was borrowed from Egyptian sources) was written from ignorance of realities but a fair and believable guess for its time.

However to believe it now would be stupid and that includes thinking there is a spirit creator who created an invisible son.

Get with it people we are dealing with myths, it was only the Roman Catholic church which selected the texts and demanded that people should regard them as sacred.

33

Using history as a means to pinpoint possible future events.

by HealthySkeptic in

the purpose of this thread is to share some history with the community.

i am an active jw.

the reason i picked this forum is due to the openness and ease with which information can be accessed.

Half banana

Good attempt Healthy Skeptic, glad you recognize the need for scepticism.

To be sceptical is the first step in interpreting information in scholarly circles but it's a pity you haven't applied it. But take heart, as La Rochefoucauld said, "One of the tragedies of life is the murder of a beautiful theory by a brutal gang of facts".

10

"The end really must be close now!"

by nowwhat? in

"because the preaching work must be winding down with another cut back of magazines!

" ok then why are they ramping up production of music videos, cartoons and movies?

deer in headlights look.facepalm-me.

Half banana

Well it was very close at the end of the first century, does that mean it must be even closer now? or.......................is the whole thing a load of old codswallop?

9

Has anyone met Anthony Morris?

by The Real Edward Gentry in

jw
friends

he seems like he'd be very stern and a drag to have to be around.

obsessed with tight pants and homosexuals and all.

so what's he really like?.

Half banana

No, I haven't had the privilege of meeting TM3 but a few minutes watching him in action on JWTV is enough. He is vain, he is conservative and he sneers.

Ok, no one gets everything right but there has got to be something seriously wrong with a man in authority who mocks critical thinking and discourages education.

TM3's approach is the model position he wants for all of Jehovah's Witnesses. It has to do with the cultic demand to harmonise one's life with an untenable but comforting belief system. Primarily this involves the denial of that reality which would demonstrate that their religion is a fraud and based on fabricated, unprovable and downright wrong beliefs.

TM3 seems to represent the archetypal true believer, one who puts the cart before the horse and for whom nothing is ever going to change his fixed viewpoint. Logic and reason for him do not register, instead his pattern of life is that of enjoying the psychological benefits which come from being a committed patriot soldier in unquestioning obedience to commands whether the cause is right or wrong.

It is the pattern of his own life of black and white thinking and abject obedience which he wants to instill in his dumb followers.

He has no patience with those of another cast of mind and therefore TM3, to the detriment of millions, makes an ideal cult leader.

12

Audio of Highlights of the Annual Meeting 2017

by LevelThePlayingField in

i wouldn't dare bore you with the whole 3.5 hours of their dogma.

but i have about a half hour of some of the main points.

of course, i made sure tight pants tony was the main part of it, since he's the one that announced the reductions of the wt & awake and no more year book.. also, i have lett saying that jehovah gave jesus immorality instead of immortality.

Half banana

Quibbling about definitions regarding what they are fundamentally doing--none of which has any bearing on real life............... overworking of the word "beautiful" just like Trump does......... AM: "God is driving his chariot!" (the GB think they are the chariot) and that is why God has ordained less; "Behold" God said to us and declared, "Cut back on Watchtowers and yearbooks" and so we did...... The audience were puzzled and did NOT clap this! But AM, knowing he had them like putty in his hands, gave a nervous laugh (or was it closer to a snigger?) and went on to paint the new penny-pinching reality as if it were a divine blessing.

Six hundred thousand plus in 'attendance'. The JW zombies ritually listening, clapping and obeying the one sided propaganda just as they do in North Korean political AGMs.

4

Child Baptism

by konceptual99 in

the latest round of changes to the magazines are yet further confirmation that the wts has lost it's way with the preaching work.

imho this is driven by the incessant prioritisation of fiscal goals but also by the fact the gb don't have a clue what is happening in the world and how it really relates to their traditional eschatology.. what they have turned to is child baptism.

i know the wts says it does not baptise infants but the drive to encourage children to get baptised at earlier and earlier ages knows no bounds.

Half banana

Steve, you are right,the Biblical ideal of responding to the Kingdom message was to accept it intellectually and get baptized.

However the JW org as it fails to make headway it is heartened by any apparent success it has and the one area which gives them some comfort is the unbiblical practice of infant baptism or at least baptism of those too young to realize the full consequences of what they are doing.

To paraphrase JW spin I read here very recently were the words spoken by a Circuit overseer, "You want to know something wonderful? Our youths are getting baptised". (Big applause)

Scraping the barrel and trying to see the bright side is what is really going on. The fact is one of membership stagnation which will lead to irreversible decline.

20

January 2018 Watchtower

by Listener in

the cover page shows a photo jws loading a small plane with watchtower literature to take to a remote area in bolivia.the first study article introduces the 2018 year text isa.

40:31 "those hoping in jehovah will regain power".

according to them, you may leave home to do field service or attend a meeting feeling exhausted but you return home refreshed and 'jesus' yoke is kindly indeed!

Half banana

Next years chosen year text "Those hoping in Jehovah will regain power" (Isa 40;31) could be read in the sense of wishful thinking by the organisation which has already lost power and hope to regain it . . . they won't.

72

What was the biggest thing that convinced you that

by Ponyo in

.....the truth was not the truth... ?

.

Half banana

Not one but at least four main things Ponyo:

The improbable and mythical nature of the Bible content and the absence of concrete evidence for it.

The repressive nature of the organisation and the stifling of personal growth in myself and other members.

The sudden realisation that the GB are planning on governing my life forever!

The theatricality of the role of the devil which I then extended to the case for God and realized that he too was a human fabrication as well.

What a beautiful relief it was to wake up to reality and shake off the JW shackles!

15

Everlasting life on a stick

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i think the watchtower is the only organization that can promise a product (everlasting life) and never deliver it.. what fools we've been to believe this nonsense..

Half banana

A man or woman comes to your door offering you to join the religion and avoid death.

Could there ever be a more blatant piece of snake oil salesmanship?

How stupid for anyone not to see the trap..................

74

The Watchtower's Real Crisis

by JeffT in

jw
friends

when discussing the watchtowers financial problems, i've generally been of the opinion that they probably are not in a real financial crisis.

i've come to believe that money may be something of an issue, but its wrapped up in a much larger problem.

this came to me this morning when reading about the annual meeting.. i think the society's leadership is just plain out of ideas.

Half banana

Gorby I think you have well illustrated the situation with the end of the USSR. It would be great to think that there is someone on the GB of the calibre and courage of Gorbatchov to recognize the reality of the situation and plan for the termination of the party.

I feel the present crew are hamstrung, no individual being able to come forward to be the first to admit the total failure of the organisation to fulfil their self mandated purpose of announcing the arrival of the Kingdom based on 1914.

Yet surely some or most of the GB are fully awake but each is fearful to be the first to admit it?

Perhaps though, at their lakeside retreat with the encrimsoned sun setting over the calm water they have already discussed the futility of continuing to run the org.....................