Posts by Half banana

17

JW leadership hypocrisy 1975

by Half banana in

it is felt that there is one law for the rich and another for the little people who are made to toe the line.

money equals power and it is a sad historical fact of humanity that where there is power there is abuse.. andersoninfo a few days ago produced the facts here that in 1975 the watchtower had spent nearly 2 million dollars to buy the neo baroque building in new york known as the towers.

when they sold it recently for 200 million dollars they made a profit of more than 10,000%.

Half banana

Yes people who don't think deeply can keep returning to pat the same dog which keeps biting them.

I am not attempting to indict any individual, it is the JW culture which is an enormous confidence trick being played on millions of decent people by the GB: offering everlasting life to the poor and less educated, demanding they don't get educated and instead waste their lives on a snake oil religion lured by a never to be realized promise.

It is a scam, like early Christianity was and the men responsible today are those at the top of the corporate JW tree. They perpetuate the deception because without a doubt the GB are the only obvious beneficiaries-- however ordinary their lives actually are. Consider them: the prestige of being CEOs, adulation from the flock, property security, health care, plenty of first class international travel to exotic places, no material concerns at all!

Contrast this with the common flock of Jehovah's Witnesses, they are constantly reminded of their role, idealized in relentless Watchtower propaganda as a lowly self sacrificing uneducated drone, whilst giving their very lives to the JW org. The little people have to work hard often in menial jobs, they do not receive free housing to a five star hotel standard, they have to earn their keep and they must do what they are told.

However, whether a member of the privileged GB or a mere little person, no witness has ever nor will ever in the future be given the rewards promised by the organisation.

All who consider themselves to be a Jehovah's Witness except the governing body, are haplessly embroiled in a life wasting scam.

17

JW leadership hypocrisy 1975

by Half banana in

it is felt that there is one law for the rich and another for the little people who are made to toe the line.

money equals power and it is a sad historical fact of humanity that where there is power there is abuse.. andersoninfo a few days ago produced the facts here that in 1975 the watchtower had spent nearly 2 million dollars to buy the neo baroque building in new york known as the towers.

when they sold it recently for 200 million dollars they made a profit of more than 10,000%.

Half banana

My main point Steve was that in 1975 it was urging the flock to give up worldly interests and pioneer instead because it was "the end of the system of things". The leaders however carried on ploughing money into property instead of using it to urgently get the message to the remoter parts of the world. Their actions belied their teaching.

27

November 2017 JW broadcasting HYPOCRISY!

by stuckinarut2 in

ok...so i am on a bit of a temper tantrum rant here...but if anyone has (endured) watched this month's broadcast, you will know what i mean!.

i have only watched 20 mins so far, and the hypocrisy is mind blowing.

they dare to go on about how thoroughly they research the material produced, so that errors are prevented etc.. for instance, the actually say how they ensure that a scientist is not misquoted, or that an "evolutionist" is not inaccurately quoted to make it seem like his comments are different to his intentions.

Half banana

Stuck, "are they brazen?"

I think the answer is yes, I don't think they treat anything with care anymore. Brazen indifference to reality is what happens when cults go pear-shaped.

The only argument in town is, "Well it's in the Bible and therefore it must be true". Never do they challenge this shaky premise because if they used critical thinking, the house of cards would surely fall.

They are telling the dumb flock that they are using critical thinking! They brazenly lie.

So now the sheep are told to believe their leaders believe in academic methods of research. Total falsehood!

How do they get away with lying? Easy, they have their own version of 'critical thinking' because they only talk to the dumb uneducated JWs who have had their brains rewired to believe anything the JW org says. What they mean by critical thinking is that they are no longer misquoting authorities because they have been brought to task by scholars who are victims of misapplication of their material by the ignorant Watchtower writers.

The only good which could come out of this is that if they were REALLY to use a critical analysis of texts. It would require bringing a sceptical approach to everything they consider...........they would have to question every premise and find out the real origins of the Bible texts which is mainly borrowed from paganism.

Eventually they would need to admit they have been wrong all along.

17

JW leadership hypocrisy 1975

by Half banana in

it is felt that there is one law for the rich and another for the little people who are made to toe the line.

money equals power and it is a sad historical fact of humanity that where there is power there is abuse.. andersoninfo a few days ago produced the facts here that in 1975 the watchtower had spent nearly 2 million dollars to buy the neo baroque building in new york known as the towers.

when they sold it recently for 200 million dollars they made a profit of more than 10,000%.

Half banana

Dreary, I hear you but you ignore the thrust of my argument which is that the WT leadership were not acting according to the propaganda they were disseminating in 1975. They were riding the wave of several million believers bringing in an unprecedented increase of membership (and money) in the hype and hope of surviving 1975 and on into paradise. At the same time making the most of the world by investments for the growing WT empire.

This was a classic doomsday cult manoeuvre.

This harmful cult has never got anything right or discovered anything original by which it could claim to have evidence of divine approval.

To the contrary it has always got every prophetic statement wrong. It only has property investment and eight million abject, deluded, humiliated, repressed followers to show for one hundred and thirty eight years of spouting Biblical interpretations.

The GB are hypocrites, they have been shown not to practice what they preach and they imagine they are above the law. . . but I think the big waking up will occur not through JW financial practices but the public realization that their outdated religion is anti-social and intellectually unsupportable.

32

My unbelieving husband was offended by the WatchTower just studied

by Isambard Crater in

it was the paragraph talking about people who don't want to be j.w's being executed, and it being an act of compassion from jehovah towards his witnesses..

Half banana

Compassion my foot! A clear example of Watchtower F.O.G. Fear, Obligation and Guilt.

If you told a child that if he did not obey God that God will kill him, this would be outrageous child abuse.

To say it to an adult is an insult to his or her intelligence....... and to believe it, is a sad admission of gross naivety.

17

JW leadership hypocrisy 1975

by Half banana in

it is felt that there is one law for the rich and another for the little people who are made to toe the line.

money equals power and it is a sad historical fact of humanity that where there is power there is abuse.. andersoninfo a few days ago produced the facts here that in 1975 the watchtower had spent nearly 2 million dollars to buy the neo baroque building in new york known as the towers.

when they sold it recently for 200 million dollars they made a profit of more than 10,000%.

Half banana

It is felt that there is one law for the rich and another for the little people who are made to toe the line. Money equals power and it is a sad historical fact of humanity that where there is power there is abuse.

Andersoninfo a few days ago produced the facts here that in 1975 the Watchtower had spent nearly 2 million dollars to buy the Neo Baroque building in New York known as The Towers. When they sold it recently for 200 million dollars they made a profit of more than 10,000%. Well that’s all fine and dandy if you can do it. But the point is we are talking about a religion which made heavy demands on its members to ignore worldly success, to give up education, get a crummy job and serve only the interests of the JW org. Of course they claimed it was in God’s interest.

(Just imagine how horrified the org would be if they discovered a JW who spent his time speculating in property, using virtually free labour by conning the builders into thinking that they are working for God!)

The Watchtower Society as it was known in 1975 made it very clear that the good JW should believe that the end of the old world system was at hand and all should be distaining worldly interests and pioneering their socks off doing their bidding telling the world the end is nigh. Many humble JWs sold their houses and began pioneering.

By contrast, the JW org invested heavily in property looking for future profit. Did Jesus reckon that Venetian style palaces are what Christians should be aiming to have? This just goes to show where their heart really is; in making money from their religion racket. It also goes to show that the JW org does not put its money where its mouth is. Had they truly believed their own propaganda they would have sold up at that time to fulfil the ‘divinely ordained’ purpose in fully preaching worldwide with the profits. (Most of the world never get to hear the JW message.....which is probably better for their sanity because it is “fake news” anyway)

The only information the Watchtower has ever got right is that “Religion is a snare and a racket”. Well done Watchtower! And the JW org lives on well past its sell by date to prove the absolute truth of this statement.

Expose JW org hypocrisy, pity the 'little people' and help them wake up, what else can we do?

27

November 2017 JW broadcasting HYPOCRISY!

by stuckinarut2 in

ok...so i am on a bit of a temper tantrum rant here...but if anyone has (endured) watched this month's broadcast, you will know what i mean!.

i have only watched 20 mins so far, and the hypocrisy is mind blowing.

they dare to go on about how thoroughly they research the material produced, so that errors are prevented etc.. for instance, the actually say how they ensure that a scientist is not misquoted, or that an "evolutionist" is not inaccurately quoted to make it seem like his comments are different to his intentions.

Half banana

"We cling to our accurate understanding of the Bible."

............like a drowning sailor clings to his punctured life raft.

6

A Nightmare on the death of Pastor Charles Taze Russell

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

pastor russell lay dying.

clad only in a white roman toga he wavered between one world and the next.. outside the train's sleeper car, the pampas, texas flatland unfolded sideways to the naked eye.

nothing of interest.

Half banana

I especially enjoyed your Death of Russell Terry, thank you.

He had been an opiate taker for much of his life as we are led to believe and when suffering from his diabolical hemorrhoids he must have needed to increase the dose. Perhaps this is what happened at his death? How are we to know? Do you know what the speculations are as to him being poisoned?

21

A woman without a voice

by SunnyOne026 in

this is my story in a nut-shell.

i hope some of you can relate.

if you can..i would love to hear from you.. i have been crushed and heartbroken more times than i can recount by a religion that claims to be based totally on love and mercy and most of that harm has come from the so called "shepherds" who or are supposed to lovingly take the stray lambs in their arms and lead them gently back to safety.

Half banana

So sorry to hear of your woes Sunny, you have a voice but felt obliged not to use it. I shot myself in the foot as a young teenager and became a JW to the horror of my parents. I also turned down the education I wanted in art. We all make mistakes and being a JW is generally a very bad preparation for marriage although it has to be said that many couples do succeed despite their religion.

Where JWs suffer is in being taught that they are good-for-nothing slaves.This ideal, psychologically speaking is just dreadful. Being a witness kills off ambition and personal growth and JWs remain infantilized by their leaders (I know they hate the term "leaders" but it is the correct one).

Take it slowly from here, things will get a lot better as you learn more and begin to see your position with greater clarity. We have nearly all been through it and it is distressing to have been lied to about important things and also having been duped for such a big chunk of our lives.

It can take many months to get rid of the Watchtower voice perpetually prodding your rational brain!

You have friends here so do keep posting. Cyber hugs to you.

18

My thoughts on Church shootings..

by DATA-DOG in

disclaimer: i do not approve or condone any acts of violence that result in the deaths of innocent persons.. alright.. let me just say that i have no idea what motivated the latest mass shooting, nor do i condone those actions.

i am, however, beginning to understand why some individuals may feel that violence is their only choice, although i do not approve of that choice.. when i read topics on this forum that concern religion and legalism, topics that drone on and on, getting nowhere, i feel extremely frustrated.

yes, religions are given certain freedoms, but many are obviously going beyond the spirit that motivated the separation of church and state.

Half banana

DD, I'm talking off the cuff too but surely the shootings in question have little to do with religion, no more than a massacre at a school is to do with education. Isn't it about the psychopath who sees certain groups as so abhorrent to him or so valueless that he imagines he will feel better for killing some of them. It's about the accessibility of dangerous weapons by people with deranged minds.

The target for the rest of us must be to recognize those potentially vulnerable to such behaviour and have some social systems in place to help them. Easier said than done.

I can't help thinking how the JW org is all about being an outsider and fervently looking forward to "the death of the opposers" which is frankly in the same vein as these maniacs who do kill indiscriminately.