Half banana

Joined

• started 79 topics
• posted 3,096 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Half banana

• 
  38

  Breaking: Beards in The Watchtower

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the latest issue of the watchtower shows a man with a beard praying.. .

  i fully expected to see him 'progress' to clean-shaven in the following pictures, but instead he is still bearded when 'applying bible principles'.. .

  i then realized that he was already featured on the cover itself.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  The objection to beards I suppose was when it still carried the idea that if you didn't shave you were a member of the great unwashed. The Wolrd Wars set the syle for minimal hair presence including being clean shaven. Militarism had no time for personal expressions in grooming when the demands of battle are focussed on obeying orders-- exactly as it is in the JW cult.

  The really obvious symbolism of being clean shaven is the JW policy of cultivating the appearances of good religious people, if you look wholesome in a clean cut American way, then the religion looks attractive they think. Jesus condemned "appearances", whitewashed graves he called those who look clean and righteous but like Watchtower governing body policies, they conceal awful things.

  By the way GB member Van Ambergh had a beard up until his death about 1947.
• 
  25

  Tips for a Slow Fade

  by Huxley1979 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm a born and raised witness.

  i was an elder for almost 20 years.

  almost the same in fulltime service.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Welcome to the real world Aldous and well done for seeing through the charade.

  When I realised it was a fraud, I began fading to the point of no fs and not answering at meetings. Eventually I completely stopped going to the meetings, oh my! what a relief that was. When an elder friend called at my house six weeks later, I told him "It (the JW religion) isn't for me". That seemed to stop them taking an interest in me and they just announced at the congo that I was no longer one of J's Ws. That turned out to be the instructions to shun me. So although I was not disfellowshipped, the consequences were the same.

  In your situation you may want to take it slower or looser and am I right you have given up being an elder? Anyway here would be three suggestions, 1 yes fade as slowly as you want, 2 never verbalise criticism of the org to JWs, 3 find good friends outside of the organisation.

  Wishing you well on your journey and keep in touch, we would love to hear how you are doing.
• 
  40

  Resurrection, Reconstruction? What is it? It never made sense to me. Your opinion.

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i never had much faith in whatever resurrection was.

  what appealed to me about jw doctrines was the rejection of the "it's a mystery" defense of the indefensible.

  when i would ask how going into non existence could be reversed when all the atomic parts of who we are had been scattered for thousands of years, the answer was "jehovah can do anything".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Sea Breeze as a committed Christian, part of your faith involves an unquestioning belief in Biblical miracles. I am not trying to be offensive but this would disqualify critical thought because belief in the supernatural is belief in the impossible, when the impossible is acceptable then anything goes.

  Your statement "nearly all critical and textual scholars" is not sound, (do not confuse "Bible scholars" with academic textual scholars) and even if you were accurate, it would not confirm the fiction of the last supper, trial and and death of the God man Jesus. There simply is no concrete evidence for this story, including the miraculous resurrection, outside of Christian propaganda. It is this propaganda and not historical fact which Habemas is quoting from.
• 
  20

  In love with disfellowshipped JW

  by Amberlou in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i started dating a coworker who is a divorced jw.

  found out he was disfellowshipped, and he was trying to figure out how to make things work.

  i am not a jw, and his family is not supportive of the relationship.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Amberlou, welcome to the site. Sorry to say but however attractive your friend is, he comes with toxic baggage.

  One of the methods of the JW cult is to enforce compliance by guilt and by family ties. Your lover will be getting the cold shoulder from his old friends in the religion and especially from his family. If he has few friends then be suspicious, he may be looking to you to resolve all of his troubles most of which will have stemmed from being a JW.

  The JW religion teaches however that family come second to loyalty to the religion. Should you get together you must recognise that at some stage in the future when things are tough, his indoctrination might surface again and he desires to go back to the cult. This is very common -- and where would it leave you?

  So just a gentle warning, before you proceed in your relationship, for your own safety and peace of mind, do make sure that he understands that the JW religion is a negative force within families and has deep psychological pull on those who have been there. Otherwise you are hitching up with an unreliable partner likely to ruin the relationship because of his earlier indoctrination.

  Sorry but that's the JW experience.
• 
  40

  Resurrection, Reconstruction? What is it? It never made sense to me. Your opinion.

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i never had much faith in whatever resurrection was.

  what appealed to me about jw doctrines was the rejection of the "it's a mystery" defense of the indefensible.

  when i would ask how going into non existence could be reversed when all the atomic parts of who we are had been scattered for thousands of years, the answer was "jehovah can do anything".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  @ Sea Breeze, the death and resurrection of the saviour figure was in people's minds in the first and second centuries, there were indeed eyewitnesses to the account of a good man, a healer and teacher who had twelve disciples who himself could resurrect the dead. He was indeed tried at two courts, spiritual and secular, humiliated, crucified and put in a tomb. As the Bible says he did absolutely rise from the dead, he was after all seen by upward of five hundred witnesses . . . very convincing, very compelling.

  What a comfort for us all! The message is clear, the message is: we CAN overcome death!

  Yes I believe every word is true and people really did see these events not just one or two but many many people saw it -- but where did they see it? How did they learn these things? How did five hundred people see Jesus risen from the dead?

  The Bible accounts in the Gospels so compress all of the events taking place at the trial and death of Jesus as to lead textual scholars to realise that the Bible has included a transcription of a theatrical play. Habemas has only assembled 'facts' from these events within a play.

  There is no other external evidence whatsoever that these things literally took place. No Roman or modern historian, or archeologist or textual scholar has the evidence to prove that the gospel is other than a fiction. Reinforcing this, most of the gospel events individually are culled from earlier literature.
• 
  17

  According to History

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to history, now only a reichstag fire is needed to eliminate democracy.

  it is very likely that this will happen.. g..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Gorby I reckon your scenario is rocket fuel for JW beliefs.

  You must remember that the only kind of news worth selling is the sensational.

  Almost contrary to the news we receive, the world really does improve. Embedded in Western style democracies are the institutions designed for social good: medicine, justice, police, education, communications and employment. These are intricately built into the frame of our civilisation and because of the interdependence of each element, all bodies are designed to remain functioning. Everyone benefits.

  There would be no gain from a total breakdown of society -- everyone loses, except the egos of conspiracy theorists
• 
  18

  Gorby has to admit

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for the first time in my life, i have to admit that the world is rapidly deteriorating.

  first i saw a decline in democracy worldwide.

  elections were a tough battle every time, unfair too.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  You can quote a two thousand year old text observing even bemoaning that the world changes, this shows that this perception of decline is a consistent one over time.

  Data indicates the opposite; that we are healthier, wealthier, live much longer lives, are more secure, better educated and experience less war than ever in human history. Remember, the Black death killed between a third and one half of the population affected..........if you got it, you didn't recover.

  When narcissists rule, in a country or a religion, their vision is about their personal standing not the welfare of the many. Prov 29,18.

  Or are you just feelinh low Gorby?
• 
  40

  Resurrection, Reconstruction? What is it? It never made sense to me. Your opinion.

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i never had much faith in whatever resurrection was.

  what appealed to me about jw doctrines was the rejection of the "it's a mystery" defense of the indefensible.

  when i would ask how going into non existence could be reversed when all the atomic parts of who we are had been scattered for thousands of years, the answer was "jehovah can do anything".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Yes, it was a hard to swallow doctrine but it came as part of the JW package.

  When you contemplate what is involved in a mass resurrection of billions of people, you can question what an absurd miracle that would be. Yet JWs, who are forbidden to challenge their leader's ideas, trot out who they will see in 'the resurrection' and hold it as a safety net for themselves for when they die. All of which underscores the real nature of this dream: it is another magic method of avoiding the emotional pain of death alias Blue-pill thinking.
• 
  7

  Did ancient Hebrew's get hign during temple

  by Fadeaway1962 in

  1. social
  2. current

  https://news.artnet.com/art-world/archaeologists-discover-cannabis-biblical-site-1874790 .

  would explain daniel and ezekiel and their visions.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  Yes Fadeaway, "a pleasing aroma to Jehovah" namely cannabis!

  The archaeologists noted that it had been burned with dung so that the aromatic compounds would be released, too hot and it wouldn't work. There was a separate altar also in the holy of holies on which frankincense was burned, this time with animal fat to optimise its aroma. God was clearly into weed -- and psychoactive drugs are a boon to stimulate religious imagination!
• 
  40

  Gorby's question about current US situation

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from the peacefull netherlands i have a question about the current situation in the us.. is a civil war possible?.

  g..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Half banana

  One thing which would help would be better police personnel -- each officer having passed psychometric tests before being let loose into the public arena.

  My first encounter with the US police shocked me with the policeman's incandescent rage at my minor traffic violation due to me being unfamiliar with American laws, something in Britain that would never be expected and especially with foreigners.

  Better police needed.