Posts by Half banana

12

chelmsford progress

by stan livedeath in

jw
friends

does anyone have an update on the developement in chelmsford?.

i'm always keenly slightly interested in hearing about jehovahs blessings..

Half banana

Is it just possible that there is a legacy of the legal entity IBSA at work?

The name at the British Branch HQ Mill Hill was "IBSA" at the 1990 (ish) development as I remember, and not "Watchtower".

Could this have to do with the old name for the WT giving certain financial privileges to the subsequent holders to the title or non-profit 'shareholders'. Or for that matter was profit involved and hence the need to keep alive the old name? I am without insider knowledge and only ask so as to explore every avenue.

Whatever! Chelmsford's earlier ambitions are surely now sunk and the need for the development is redundant. Watchtower hype is always a dud.

The upper echelon of bethel oldies are given an earthly reward of a retirement flat within the compound. But I guess the org will not loose out investing as they and all religions do by putting their true valuables in bricks and mortar.

21

Why the Catholic Church outlast Jehovah's Witnesses

by no-zombie in

many of us who are old timers in "truth", will clearly remember how we and the organization gloated when christendom began selling off their churches, as we saw many ending up becoming cafe's and art galleries.

i personally remember being told (both in general conversation and in print) that the fall of their congregant numbers meant that most churches were ultimately attended by the elderly and it was clearly linked to the "drying up of her waters" in reference to the fall of babylon and babylon the great..

how ironic, that this very situation has now befallen the society and our local kingdom halls..

Half banana

Good points Smiddy and SBF but why would JC teach his followers to pray for God's will to be done on Earth? Did God have a bad memory and need reminding or does he just like his subjects to grovel and implore him to do things?

Wouldn't a real almighty God carry out his will, willy-nilly?

Second point: the kingdom of heaven was categorically coming in full glory in the lifetime of Jesus' listeners as he foretold in Mark 9;1 so clearly 1914 had no significance for Jesus nor was there any question or hint of failure or need for a new date.

Christianity was ever an idiotic and superstitious cult.

98

One simple photo to sum up the heartless and hypocritical attitudes of many Jehovah's Witnesses

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

.

this was taken in london yesterday by a twitter user still managing his fade so i can't be more specific than that.

disgusting.

Half banana

Five hot-shot elder approved preachers of the JW kingdom standing there for three hours--looks pretty good on reports as read by the CO showing what zeal and compliance they get from this urban congregation.

What it really means is 15 hours of fruitless and pointless time wasting boredom. Wasting their lives where they could be earning a living for their families.

Surely this exercise in futility gives these individuals the chance to come to their senses and wake up?

21

my story...

by Nikki collins in

many of you have asked about my story, so here it is.

it's a bit long lol.

however i still loved jeremy but because he wasn’t a witness i knew i could never be with him and have my family.

Half banana

Things get very bad -- and so at that moment troubled people invite the JW delusion into their lives.

No doubt like your mother Nikki, it was felt to be a life saving move to find a caring religion with ready-made friends. Actually the religion does not care a toss about the welfare of the individuals and the friendship is only conditional.

But it's madness, like exchanging one bad problem for another which then binds them into a lifetime of self denial and metaphorically speaking, self flagellation!

The only beneficiaries of this awful waste of human lives are the JW leaders.

4

Again, thank you Amber Scorah

by newsheep in

this week alone this lovely person has been on bbc, late night comedy show, and now i read about her in toronto's globe and mail log inadchoices.

opinion.

i was raised a jehovah’s witness.

Half banana

She really illuminates the thoughts, feelings and trepidation of JWs as they wake up. Beautiful. . . and thank you Amber.

79

607 date of Jerusalems destruction

by benny in

i am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.

in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.

your thoughts please..

Half banana

Scholar said

Archaeology does not account for the 70 years period and neither does secular chronology.

Of course not! Why on earth should archaeology or scientific dating show evidence for literary myth. How could it? Clue: the cart follows the horse.

There is only one type of chronology at an academic level, there is no such thing as a "Bible chronology" vs a secular one, that is ridiculous. "Bible chronology" is Watchtower jargon used to allow themselves to depart from fact in attempting to prop up their theories.

Then scholar goes on to tell an untruth that Daniel provides the basis for the events of 539 BCE and that therefore his other writings are not myth. This is doubly wrong; a wrong conclusion drawn from a faulty statement. It was not the writer of the book of Daniel who determined 539 it was historians using reliable texts which determined the date. Just like Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in 589 BCE which included the temple destruction by 587 (but depending on which ancient calendar you use to interpret the text -- it could be 586)

'Daniel', not his real name, was a story teller drawing on the events of four centuries before his time, around the middle third of the second century BCE. It was written in an apocalyptic manner to give hope to his compatriots during their prevailing troubles as they were divided Jewish sects suffering from the whims of their Seleucid rulers.

Please learn to distinguish between facts and religious spin.

There is no point in discussing with someone who believes historical fiction as if were truth.

21

Why the Catholic Church outlast Jehovah's Witnesses

by no-zombie in

many of us who are old timers in "truth", will clearly remember how we and the organization gloated when christendom began selling off their churches, as we saw many ending up becoming cafe's and art galleries.

i personally remember being told (both in general conversation and in print) that the fall of their congregant numbers meant that most churches were ultimately attended by the elderly and it was clearly linked to the "drying up of her waters" in reference to the fall of babylon and babylon the great..

how ironic, that this very situation has now befallen the society and our local kingdom halls..

Half banana

One reason the Roman Catholic Church will outlive the JW org has to do with their respective origins.

The RCC had contrived a link with Peter and therefore claim divine approval according to the scriptures which they themselves made sacred (clever trick!) In doing so they are so wealthy they have become an independent nation called Vatican City with a monarchical head of state, the Pope.

The JW org on the other hand, which has had to periodically change its name and doctrines, have to constantly disown their origins. Systematically they have had to disinherit their former beliefs and leaders which is like periodically cutting off one's own feet!

Russell distanced himself from the date-setting Miller as well as the others who started the Watchtower with him in 1879. Russell had promised a paradise on Earth by 1914, living just long enough to see his hopes dashed. Then Rutherford taking hold of the reins of glory built up by Russell's reputation, increased the JW empire on sales of dire books. He dismissed Russell's failed prophecies with failed prophecies of his own--such as Armageddon by 1925 and "Millions now living will never die". Another go-getter Knorr replaced him with his personal theologian Fred Franz proclaiming 1975 and the generation which saw 1914 would see Armageddon. All dud fireworks. Now Fred Franzian religion is wrong; type/antitype was all hooey. The latest attempt at running the Watchtower cult relies on wearing blinkers, not thinking too hard and obeying even if you don't know why you're doing it.

Unlike the RC Church, the JW religion does not have a solid foundation, it is on a conveyor belt, ripping and fraying at the edges, out of date and breaking down.

When you have to sell of a lot of your property assets in a business, you know your time is up.

79

607 date of Jerusalems destruction

by benny in

i am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.

in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.

your thoughts please..

Half banana

Ah yes! it was Furuli's attempt to square the circle that I was reading.

Here is Wikipedia on JW Rolf Furuli who is an emeritus professor of Semitic languages:

In a 2004 issue of Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Lester L. Grabbe, professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, said of Furuli's study: "Once again we have an amateur who wants to rewrite scholarship. ... F. shows little evidence of having put his theories to the test with specialists in Mesopotamian astronomy and Persian history."[5]

Significantly and in the true spirit of The Watchtower, Furuli's work on dating of the Babylonian period is not peer reviewed-- BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT STAND UP TO SCRUTINY.

This does not stop unscrupulous people like the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses from quoting their man as if his is the definitive word on the subject.

Furuli, just like 'Scholar,' is stuck in a cult and can't see it.

13

irrefutable proof of the great apostasy that corrupted the catholic church

by TTWSYF in

when the emperor constantine legalized christianity in the roman empire around 311ad he allowed or introduced a flood of half converted pagans and allowed the corruption that sullied the true faith and ruined christianity until a time when it could be restored to the true and pure faith that it was intended to become.

many people here know that to be a fact.

it's a common sense theory, right?.

Half banana

Thewonderofyou, I am curious how you can meaningfully use the expression "true worship"? By saying this you imply it must have existed. Could you explain what it was please?

79

607 date of Jerusalems destruction

by benny in

i am confused about the time scale regarding the year of the destruction of jerusalem.

in the 1st october 2011 watchtower an argument is presented to back up 607 bc but there are so many conflicting arguments that this happened 20 years later according to secular sources.

your thoughts please..

Half banana

The JW leadership has managed to marry ignorance with arrogance (ignorgance!)

They use the bullshit technique of making up stories to fit the ideas they hold dear and then ask the flock not to check up on the accuracy of the information. The JW org charges forth on the assumption of having LOYAL followers not truthful information.

The fact that no historian believes in the 607 BCE date* just shows how out of harmony with the times they are and why from now on they will decline in influence and number, especially in the Western world.

If they were to come clean and admit all of their failings and date botches and conscious deceptions, the bottom would fall out of JW credibility-- which is at a low ebb already. Either way the Watchtower is last century's religion.

Today's world demands accurate academic and scientific data on which can be built further technological or other developments, religious puffs of hot air are of no use to anyone apart from cults.

*I did find myself reading a JW apologist's confirmation of 607 BCE who was an academic but not a historian. The JW principle is always the same; it is deemed to be true if the organisation says so and you are disloyal if you believe otherwise.