Posts by Half banana

15

What do you make of this recent article regarding the United Nations stance towards overriding religions of the world on certain matters?

by devout_no_more in

first of all, this is my first post here on the forums even though i have been registered now for some time.

i have been faded from the jehovah's witness religion for many years now, but only recently within the past year or so gotten quite serious about it - crisis of conscience by ramond franz really kicked things off for me personally.. anyway, my wife, parents, step-sister and her husband and my half-brother are all still active jw's, so i am still exposed to them, and this is also the reason why i'm still "faded".

frankly i'd probably just as soon disassociate myself without the threat of being shunned.

Half banana

What we are talking about is a modern myth conjured up by the Watchtower religion.

The JW leaders know instinctively that religion is parasitical on society and that the UN is therefore likely to curb its worst excesses. So the WT claims an attack is coming because it wants to chalk up prophetic brownie points when the UN prevents them from doing what they want to do. Much of the later books of the NT are built around themes of coming persecution which would have looked like divinely inspired warning to the humble converts back in those days.

As if God's enemy is the UN? By being driven by Satan it substitutes for the Kingdom of God mentioned in the Bible so they say. (There is no possible tangible connection, the NT was written nearly 2000 years ago) The JW version of the kingdom teaching is a rather dodgy invisible date shifting non-entity which nobody can pin down as a reality.

However, and it's a very big however, since the Watchtower religion (using their own terms of reference) had joined the UN as a political 'paramour', God has now permanently disqualified it from the running as his chosen channel.................

Sorry Watchtower you have spoiled your copy book and are out in the cold. No sorry it's too late! Protest all you like but you, the Watchtower religion lusted after the UN wild beast and you have got your just deserts! You were busted by the Guardian Newspaper, talk about embarrassment! God is now no longer interested in you. Plead all you like but there are plenty of other religions with much greater integrity which can pick up the threads. . .

15

Dutch judge rules that elders are not entitled to hide behind clergy-penitent privilege

by Anders Andersen in

today a dutch judge ruled that jw elders and the jw branch cannot invoke clergy-penitent privilege when it comes to information used in a judicial committee.. jw had filed a complaint with the courts because the branch office, two kingdom halls and a few elders' homes were raided by police almost 2 years ago in search of evidence related to child abuse issues.. jw argued that the information that was taken by police is protected by clergy-penitent privilege.

today the judge ruled that 1) an organization doesn't haven't such a privilege, 2) jw elders don't always act as spiritual counselors.

their actions as judges in judicial committees aren't protected by privilege, and 3) conversations jw have with their elders are often not confidential at all (as per jw policy) so jw elders can't rightfully invoke clergy-penitent privilege to maintain absolute confidentiality, because there isn't absolute confidentiality in the first place.. jw are thinking about appealing the verdict..

Half banana

Well done common sense and pragmatic Netherlands!

"Clergy penitent privilege" is the sort of thing the Watchtower would have mocked the Catholic Church for in the past. However if it helps the WT get out of a legal fix, then like a flash, they are all for it.

The governing body of the JW organisation are hypocrites and pushing their luck.

WT leaders, why not be honorable men and say you were very wrong and admit that your rulings hurt people? We are not talking about slight hurt, it is often grievous life-long psychological problems burdening vulnerable members.

Do something different JW organisation! Admit you were at fault -- not hide behind Christendom's antique get out clauses. Shame on you. Your actions publicly demonstrate that you actually do not care about the welfare of your flock.

38

My latest letter to WT demanding correction from their side

by Kosonen in

jw
friends

brothers and sisters associated with the watchtower society may 9, 2020. i have tried to inform you of the necessary adjustments you ought to take in order to truly be in the truth.

but my efforts have remained fruitless.

you well know the biblical procedure.

Half banana

Herra Kosonen, how do you feel when people tell you that you are entirely mistaken in your beliefs? Then you can understand exactly how the Bethel feels about your suggestions to them.

The JW organisation is so wrong on everything that it's not worth trying to correct.

6

This is not even close to the cult I grew up in

by phoenixrising in

i was watching some of the may jw cult broadcast.

this push to be a movie studio and other things makes this cult seem like something else entirely from what i grew up in.

they really are trying to use anything they can to hook suckers into being cult members.

Half banana

sp false kingdom promise

6

This is not even close to the cult I grew up in

by phoenixrising in

i was watching some of the may jw cult broadcast.

this push to be a movie studio and other things makes this cult seem like something else entirely from what i grew up in.

they really are trying to use anything they can to hook suckers into being cult members.

Half banana

True things never need to change -- but businesses have to, to meet prevailing market conditions. In all fairness even if there was such a thing as "God's organisation" it would have to change as culture changes but it would not change doctrines would it?

Since the Watchtower is market led and not by God, it has had to rebrand and use new methods and especially electronic media for keeping up subscriber numbers.

So is the new fangled film and TV media expenditure working? Alas, in the Western World it is not.

With all the hype of the imminence of "the end" the number of Witnesses in the developed world is not increasing it has levelled off at zero increase with a prospect of seeing decline in the near future.

Only where people are desperately poor or uneducated and without the internet does the JW faise kingdom promise bring forth new converts. It is worth remembering that these poor and those from unstable war-torn lands are not financial contributors to the WT, they are a drain, a fact no doubt weighing heavily on the minds of the GB.

Their response has been to beg for money from the rank and file -- and (yes Phizzy) to sell off the family silver so to speak i.e. realise the capital in the kingdom halls which were taken away unceremoniously from the individual congregations and which are now being turned into cash to keep the cult going.

38

The Motive of the Governing Body

by jwfacts in

i have been quiet of late, developing other interests, happy that there are a whole group of people producing great resources.

however, i found some old emails from ray franz that promoted me to write an article that answers a question i regularly receive.

it is in regards to the motive of governing body members.

Half banana

Thank you very much for posting Paul, we continue to speculate here on the motivation of the JW governing body because we have little concrete information. You though have supplied some hard evidence from the horses mouth so to speak, by correspondence from a GB member.

Ray discusses the conundrum of recognising the weaknesses of certain JW doctrines but strikingly all at HQ seem wedded to the concept of a divine rightness of The Organisation. In the minds of the GB and through their historical activity going back to Rutherford, it seems to me that they have sacralised the organisation (exactly as they do the Bible) to cultivate it as the product of God's hand. In a similar way the Catholic Church had bamboozled the poor by using extravagantly decorated cathedrals and churches to supply them with an apparent tangible token of the divine.

I remember so often Catholic priests and other religious men were mocked for holding on to their church's teachings even though not believing and yet were tied to the way of life within it. Cannot we see the same hypocrisy written larger in the leaders of the JW religion who appear to fulfil the obligations of office but probably remain internally in denial as to JW dogma, stymied because they would lose all that they value if they left; i.e. the prestige and executive lifestyle with all its earthly comforts and welfare.

Like others on this site, I lost a lot when I woke up and left. Apart from Ray Franz, there seem to be none of the present GB who put truth and personal honour ahead of their cushy life at the top.

20

JW cult suing everyone critical of the cult

by phoenixrising in

its amazing how the cult has changed over the years.

they are now suing everyone who has books or internet presences critical of the cult.

this was never done that i can remember before.

Half banana

Then they must think we are a serious threat to their existence.

19

Politically Neutral and No Part of this World....

by Davros in

jw
friends

nice to be here.

still a pimo and struggling through my fade.

i still have several jw friends on social media.

Half banana

The JW organisation is a business, it requires political skill to control the minds and actions of so many individuals. As their organisational confidence rose due to increasing numbers and consequent wealth in the late 1980s, they were emboldened to join the UN. This was it seems to pave the way for their expansion in the east of Europe and elsewhere.

By its own value judgements the organisation should have been disfellowshipped for this! But in a cult there are no checks or balances, it is totalitarian, the membership have no say, no veto, they are powerless.

Individuals are routinely excommunicated for lesser offences but the leaders place themselves above the principles of the common herd. When their sins were found out by the UK Guardian newspaper, they gave no apology just excuses. To become an NGO member of the UN a necessary part of the formal agreement is to share the ideals of that organisation. The Watchtower is implacably opposed to international efforts for world peace by human agency and for this reason it had denounced the UN from its inception.

They demonstrated they have no conscience. What remains of the JW governing body's involvement in politics is a prime example of their utter hypocrisy. It is the self interest of the governing body which rules supreme in Watchtower land.

5

Ashya king's father plague sent by god

by Fadeaway1962 in

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11530647/ashya-king-brain-cancer-mum-spain-split/ .

Half banana

Then JWs are a plague sent from Satan......

15

The purpose of conversion testimonies and stories

by LeeT in

a hunch has just struck me.we get frequent accounts in the literature and videos of people whose dysfunctional lived have been turned around by studying with the jw's and coming to belief in the org (sorry, jehovah).

evangelical type christian groups also use similar testimony stories.here's the hunch:the purpose of these is quite different among jw's compared to other religions.other groups use these testimonies primarily to persuade non-believers.the jw's use them to reinforce the beliefs of those already in the "truth.

"any thoughts?.

Half banana

I think it's worth pointing out that JW "experiences" are dished out to the already converted since the public generally avoid the KH.

So the life stories of individuals are about the unbelievable blessings showered down from heaven only on those who heroically carry out the wishes of the organisation. (excuse me while I vomit)