Posts by Half banana

25

Thought Provoking Question to a JW?

by Solzhenitsyn in

did jesus ever utter the name jehovah?.

and if he didn't what are the implications?

nwt answers don't count but feel free to use the kingdom interlinear.

Half banana

Actually there is no record of Jesus having ever uttered a word.

All we have are words and sentences attributed to him a generation after he was supposed to have lived. There are no eye witnesses from Roman documents of the Bible's account of a miracle worker who could bring back the dead, let alone any verbatim records of his speech.

So by dwelling on what this fictional character said, this speculates on an existing myth and worst still it reinforces a credibility in the minds of those fixated by Christianity. After all if a person is quoted he must have lived?

17

JWs using 'apostate' phraseology?

by neat blue dog in

i've mentioned before how a regular pioneer used the phrases "tight-pants tony" and "don't drink the kool-aid".

well the other week, a different regular pioneer, and elderly one in fact, was talking about the simplified watchtower being discontinued and the normal one replacing it, and she said 'i guess they're just gonna dumb-down everything'.

then too even the org itself used the words "fade" and "shun" in recent articles, words that were previously shied away from.. anybody here experienced something similar, a seeming pimi saying something that makes you wonder if they've been sneaking ex-jw 'spiritual food' on the side?.

Half banana

The direction the JW org is going is that shown in the film Idiocracy. This bleak vision of the future is when polysyllabic speakers are viewed with suspicion and only base interests and desires are catered for. Lawns are sprinkled with Kool aid. Education is forbidden but no doubt, since no brain work is needed, there could be attendance at a Kingdumb hall.

I'm looking forward to the time when unwittingly the terms PIMO or POMI is used in the Watchtower study.........July 15th 2020: "Are you physically in but mentally out?" Although, come to think of it, the word "physically" might stump a few modern readers!

90

Is attendance down in your location too?

by StarryNight9 in

jw
friends

i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.

memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.

my jw family has even mentioned it.

Half banana

The evidence for new congregations is in a comparison with the figures from about five years ago, I remember the figure then of 114,000 and last year that figure was 120,000.

Where are the nine or ten thousand new congregations bearing in mind, give or take three or four thousand must have closed?

Nevertheless wherever those congregations are the official JW figures show a distinct state of stagnation with only USA and France making a 1% increase in the developed world otherwise it is flat or like Poland, in reverse. No growth equals decline. Next years stats will be interesting.

90

Is attendance down in your location too?

by StarryNight9 in

jw
friends

i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.

memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.

my jw family has even mentioned it.

Half banana

Let's hope so Slimboy but in central and eastern Africa especially where there have been wars and insurgencies the population is left feeling hopeless and disoriented. The fantasy paradise promised by the JW org appeals to these people and in consequence they are optimistically building lots of kingdom halls. Note that although there are many merging congs in the West the number of halls is increasing worldwide. Bad news! The newbies in Africa typically are young and not well informed and also lack internet information. As soon as that becomes readily available the pattern of the advanced western world should also take effect there.

18

I'm considering putting off my leaving

by paradiseseeker in

jw
friends

i just wanted to share with you the thoughts that i've had lately.. my plan was to get a job, become independent and then leaving the org throughout this year 2018. i'm going to achieve the first step in a matter of weeks, the second one soon afterwards but maybe i will wait a little longer for the last one.. one year ago a friend of mine was reinstated.

we weren't very close friends back then, although we got along well.

but, since no many jws in my town want to hang out with him (because of his being a former disfellowshipped), we started to talk and go out more often and in a matter of half a year we've become very close friends, like brothers.

Half banana

Paradiseseeker, your posting name indicates something-- something JWs want and that is a great life with very little effort.

It's tough trying to get a handle on work and life if you have been brought up with JW rules imposed on you but dreaming about paradise and using a friendship as an excuse for remaining in a harmful cult ahead of getting and education or a career, will not work in the long run.

I'm being hard on you because I wish someone had done so with me when I was your age. What you may lack is a vision of yourself in the future as a responsible self-sufficient individual. This is completely normal for JWs since the cult leaders want their followers to be totally dependent on them.

Please allow me to tell you what real life means: it means you have to work very hard to get a degree or at least a qualification and a job to get off the bottom rung of the ladder. Otherwise you might remain stuck in a god-forsaken cult or be forever dreaming. Am I right?

6

Wake up America!

by zeb in

jw
friends

https://www.revealnews.org/topic/jehovahs-witnesses/.

Half banana

Very revealing.............

113

EU Court Ruling Against WT on Data-Protection

by cofty in

today's london times reports on the july ruling of the eu court that forces the organisation country to comply with data protection.. the action originated in finland but the ruling will affect every eu country.

the cult tried unsuccessfully to argue that the notes taken by jws in the door-to-door work were personal and not accessed by the congregation.

the court ruled that they are acting under the auspices of the congregation and therefore they must comply with data-protection laws.. keeping lists of do-not-calls also falls under this ruling.. why does the cult always feel that it is above the law?.

Half banana

Doubter, your JW brainwashing is showing. The Bible is all sorts of things but it is not a deliberate record about people.

It contains evidence from the late Bronze age of the polytheistic world view. It is the dreams and worldly ambition of an impoverished alliance of peasants scratching a living in the highland desert. The Bible reflects the worst possible projection of what a loving father could be:-- a misogynistic, homophobic tyrant who will kill you if you don't believe in him. The Bible began as the handbook of the Roman Catholic religion modified to keep the church in power and the little people grovelling to it.

I might conclude that you are perhaps dissatisfied with your lot in life by the way you post but do remember that we here have had enough of JW teachings. I can say that it has been the source of the greatest grief in my life and I am sure I'm not the only one...so will you please stop defending the heartless and delusional cult of Jehovah's Witnesses?

50

Overwhelmed

by Freedom rocks in

does anyone else feel overwhelmed on what to believe?.

i've been doing lots of research on beliefs, evolution, creationism but i feel no further forward about what i truly believe.

for example i looked at the fossil record and tiktaalic and thought great it proves a lot but then i've seen counter arguments on youtube of people basically saying its a load of rubbish and doesn't prove anything.

Half banana

A fascinating experience you have had Caves and I concur with your conclusion as to where to start. The safest way not to be misled is to stick with things which are provable and not the speculative or dreamy religious hype material.

113

EU Court Ruling Against WT on Data-Protection

by cofty in

today's london times reports on the july ruling of the eu court that forces the organisation country to comply with data protection.. the action originated in finland but the ruling will affect every eu country.

the cult tried unsuccessfully to argue that the notes taken by jws in the door-to-door work were personal and not accessed by the congregation.

the court ruled that they are acting under the auspices of the congregation and therefore they must comply with data-protection laws.. keeping lists of do-not-calls also falls under this ruling.. why does the cult always feel that it is above the law?.

Half banana

It could be suggested that publishers make a private note on a scrap of paper seen only by themselves and return an other time. But hell who are we to tell JWs how to waste their time more effectively!

Going door to door is only a JW custom, hardly anyone in the Western World responds anymore, except the desparate, friendless and mentally unstable. The real reason for going door to door is no longer to find the mythical sheep but is to comply with HQ's demand that you obediently spend a certain time performing this particular ritual.

Get a proper life JWs!

44

Study Watchtower confirms shunning spiritually weak. How nice!

by Isambard Crater in

it really hurt to hear brothers and sisters commenting about this at the meeting yesterday.. "as in solomon’s case, one of the greatest threats to spirituality is friendship with those who do not understand or respect jehovah’s standards.

some may be associated with the congregation but may be spiritually weak.

others could be relatives, neighbors, coworkers, or schoolmates who are not worshippers of jehovah.

Half banana

This is going to backfire. The GB are looking for scapegoats to blame their decline on. "Why? It is all those weak ones who just attend meetings and don't contribute anything who are the problem".

The fact of the matter is that many JWs are held captive and stuck there by the cult's own threats of dividing the family.

This directive will sadden more people than it encourages. I hope it will be the last straw for those whose family or marriage is under strain from the instructions of the cult leaders. The doctrines are looking less and less likely to ever come true anyway, so why not leave now!