My great grand father, his grandfather and his great great grandfather. It would enable me to see the roots of my family and flesh out details in the family tree as well as give me a first person account of history as they saw it. It would also yield a sample of linguistic mannerisms and change in the English language. Some of my male forebears were sea captains in the East India Company.
Half banana
JoinedPosts by Half banana
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Worship should not EVER be this way
by nowawake14 inwho has time to study all these books?.
who has time to stick to an endless routine?.
and who the hell has time to be paranoid about apocalypse when you could just go off and have a drink while laying in the sun?.
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Half banana
Who is it who says humans should worship anything? Only the leaders of religions!
To worship is to give up self reliance, the very thing which makes us individuals and lead useful fulfilling lives.
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Is there such a thing as true religion?
by Half banana in“it is the only religion which doesn’t go to war.
we have friends in every country on earth and we all think alike---we have the true understanding of the bible.
we are the true religion which god approves………..” says the jw.. to put jws in the context of the question of true religion, we first have to get an insight into how a jw thinks and these points above are the selected criteria chosen by jws to judge themselves.
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Half banana
@ smashlee, good to read the full Marx quote. Thank you for the contribution.
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Is there such a thing as true religion?
by Half banana in“it is the only religion which doesn’t go to war.
we have friends in every country on earth and we all think alike---we have the true understanding of the bible.
we are the true religion which god approves………..” says the jw.. to put jws in the context of the question of true religion, we first have to get an insight into how a jw thinks and these points above are the selected criteria chosen by jws to judge themselves.
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Half banana
@Vanderhoven, since the idea of a the miraculous god-man saviour existed before Jesus, what constitutes an authentic christian?
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Strange 2019 Convention Clip
by Maryo incheck out this very strange convention clip:.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjvb8d7luyy.
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Half banana
It looks like the curse of individualism breaking out! The flock are starting to have unauthorised thoughts and this will lead to unauthorised actions.
If the brothers start to demonstrate personal expressions and values and think for themselves--the GB will become redundant.
The GB must come down like a ton of bricks on this liberality before it becomes entrenched or they will lose all of their privileges!
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Happy anniversary Watchtower!
by Half banana inif it still exists (!
) the watchtower magazine is one hundred and forty years old today.
what a splendid record of thorough-going ignorance, persuasion, irrational belief, enslavement to religious rules, misinterpretation of the bible, false alarms, historical revisionism, misleading instructions and plain deceit.. 140 years of wasting the lives of millions of people suppressing their natural ambitions to live fulfilling lives, discouraging them from having children for the sake of nearness to the fairy tale armageddon, keeping jw children uneducated and dependent on the state to end up in old age on welfare and in poverty-- the list goes on.. what a record of destroying billions of trees to print this useless cult propaganda, getting a record distribution figure for numbers in the publishing world and for what?
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Half banana
Thanks Anders.The Watchtower started out well within its limited frame of religious certainty. "A truth from Satan is still a truth". Russell was not saying he was the exclusive channel but truth could come from the infidel. How times have changed!
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Happy anniversary Watchtower!
by Half banana inif it still exists (!
) the watchtower magazine is one hundred and forty years old today.
what a splendid record of thorough-going ignorance, persuasion, irrational belief, enslavement to religious rules, misinterpretation of the bible, false alarms, historical revisionism, misleading instructions and plain deceit.. 140 years of wasting the lives of millions of people suppressing their natural ambitions to live fulfilling lives, discouraging them from having children for the sake of nearness to the fairy tale armageddon, keeping jw children uneducated and dependent on the state to end up in old age on welfare and in poverty-- the list goes on.. what a record of destroying billions of trees to print this useless cult propaganda, getting a record distribution figure for numbers in the publishing world and for what?
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Half banana
If it still exists (!) the Watchtower magazine is one hundred and forty years old today.
What a splendid record of thorough-going ignorance, persuasion, irrational belief, enslavement to religious rules, misinterpretation of the Bible, false alarms, historical revisionism, misleading instructions and plain deceit.
140 years of wasting the lives of millions of people suppressing their natural ambitions to live fulfilling lives, discouraging them from having children for the sake of nearness to the fairy tale Armageddon, keeping JW children uneducated and dependent on the state to end up in old age on welfare and in poverty-- the list goes on.
What a record of destroying billions of trees to print this useless cult propaganda, getting a record distribution figure for numbers in the publishing world and for what? To tell the world that God is going to kill all those who don't listen to the message it contains. This is organised paranoia.
Who are the beneficiaries of the Watchtower? Only the governing body. The rank and file JW never gets anything back for all his or her lifelong devotion to this organisation. Never any thanks just the reward of being told that they are "good for nothing slaves" and should be grateful for the privilege of enriching the Watchtower leadership.
Congratulations Watchtower!
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(Italian) Bethel in a Bind -- The Move to Bologna Stalled
by Room 215 inthe latest item of the italian language blog proclamatore consapevole details a problem facing jws their bid to move the bethel from rome (which they apparently sold) , into an existent structure in bologna.
a recently enacted law requires existing buildings in that city to be retrofitted to withstand earthquakes.
the problem is that the remedial work is (1) extremely expensive (in many, if not most cases, tearing down the building is cheaper); and (2) the work cannot be done by the usual volunteer labor jws employ on construction projects; it must be contracted to a third-party specialist firm.
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Half banana
I wonder if they will use it as an excuse to fold the Italian HQ completely and save money?
They usually say to justify any development, "We can see Jehovah's hand in this." Delusional fools.
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Is there such a thing as true religion?
by Half banana in“it is the only religion which doesn’t go to war.
we have friends in every country on earth and we all think alike---we have the true understanding of the bible.
we are the true religion which god approves………..” says the jw.. to put jws in the context of the question of true religion, we first have to get an insight into how a jw thinks and these points above are the selected criteria chosen by jws to judge themselves.
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Half banana
@ Redvip, I guess they would but how far would they go?
In the early annals of Christianity in the fourth century, it was seen as both a wonder and a madness that Christians appeared to harbour a death wish by happily allowing themselves to be killed by animals in the amphitheatres rather than compromise their beliefs. This would have included refusing the demand to take up arms. The commentators noting that they did such acts with pride and certainty of reward. This implacable belief in miraculous salvation was a very potent display which garnered admiration from the populace and helped establish Roman Christianity.
However from reading the old prophets, especially at the end of the OT, you would think that the god of the Bible absolutely reveled in the mass murder of aliens and unbelievers.
In both cases death is used a powerful motivator for action and conforming to rules. Wouldn't love for fellow man instead of love of God, be an enormous improvement?
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Is there such a thing as true religion?
by Half banana in“it is the only religion which doesn’t go to war.
we have friends in every country on earth and we all think alike---we have the true understanding of the bible.
we are the true religion which god approves………..” says the jw.. to put jws in the context of the question of true religion, we first have to get an insight into how a jw thinks and these points above are the selected criteria chosen by jws to judge themselves.
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Half banana
“It is the only religion which doesn’t go to war. We have friends in every country on Earth and we all think alike---We have the true understanding of the Bible. We are the true religion which God approves………..” Says the JW.
To put JWs in the context of the question of true religion, we first have to get an insight into how a JW thinks and these points above are the selected criteria chosen by JWs to judge themselves. This very fact of cherry picking anything which puts JW belief into a good light is a characteristic of JW thinking i.e. the desire to highlight their separateness from others and to create an aura of being special. This is done to promote the ‘JW brand’.
But how about the concept of a “true religion”? What would that mean?
In common language, do most people think of religion in categories of true and false? Not really if ever—except by Jehovah’s Witnesses and perhaps a few other minor groups.
So why do JWs want to use the expression “True religion”? Is it not because they want to attract new members with the lure that they are the exclusive holders of this title?
So let’s look at the JW defence for their belief that they don’t take up arms for war. This of course is not exclusive to them. Many conscientious objectors have been executed during war time for their pacifism and around 4 million members of the Jain religion will not kill humans or animals for that matter. It might be said that a vast number of people today are no longer prepared to go to war to resolve problems.
“JWs think alike”—yes this is quite true but wait a moment! It is a vital element of being a JW to have uniform belief and therefore like-minded thinking is actually enforced. Should any witness wish to contradict the governing body or deviate from orthodox teaching, they will feel constrained from doing so by being shamed, excluded and shunned. So this claim is true but only remains true by virtue of threats and punishment.
“JWs have the true understanding of the Bible”. Ever since someone claimed something to be “God’s word” there has been disagreement as to what was meant. Since the Bible is the result of a deliberate fusion of religious belief drawn from Judaism, God-men savior cults and Mithraism amongst others, it is hardly surprising that it contains a myriad contradictions, false assumptions, scientific impossibilities and fake claims as to spiritual demands. It is categorically impossible to form a coherent narrative and account of the works and wishes of an invisible spirit being. The Bible is undeniably human in origin and focus. If religion or Christianity were true it could be expected that there would be an orthodoxy of teaching. But all the forty thousand sects of Christianity claiming that their way is the only true faith demonstrates the evolution of unprovable belief proliferating in the absence of concrete evidence and divine supervision. No-- the way it works is you pays your money and you takes your choice! There is no such animal as true religion. No one religion stands out, they are all institutions of hope, companionship and trust in the unknowable, they are a consolation for the anxious.
“Jehovah’s Witnesses have the only true religion” Well if that was the case, then surely they would stand out head and shoulders above the others like a beacon of hope for mankind showing the world that their way has shown divine influence which has enabled them to surmount the trials of being human by their exemplary behavior. However the fact of the matter is that like other utopian dreamers, JWs imagine their behavior is outstanding but in reality the religion often attracts the desperate, sometimes the mentally challenged and those without hope for material comfort in life. They bring with them the trappings of the underprivileged namely the gullibility of the uneducated which includes a dependence on the irrational triumph of belief over evidence. The Governing body foster this ignorant culture which favours their leadership enabling them to keep their followers in lock-step and in strict adherence to their demands. For the time being, this is the source of their power to exist and continue.
There cannot be such a thing as true religion anymore than there is an objective real life category called false religion --except in the minds of cult members. These are terms only used by cult leaders.
“JWs were chosen by God!” There is not one singular piece of evidence to show that there is divine insight or approval exclusively on Jehovah’s Witnessess which cannot be addressed to other sects. If they were truly under divine influence and representatives of an almighty and therefore an inerrant God, then why in one hundred and forty years have JWs never got anything right?
The concept of “True religion” is just the propaganda slogan of a mind-bending high-control religious cult which is living past its sell by date --which happens to have been “The Generation which saw the year 1914”.