Posts by sizemik

i've seen a few threads/posts where some of y'all have heard from jw contacts and how they've stepped up their 'the end is close' rhetoric because of the earthquake/tsunami in japan.

i usually take those things with a grain of salt.

there's always some jw whose cheese has slipped that reads prophecy into every little thing that happens.

sizemik

Just another take on it from 'downunder' here in CHCH NZ . . . you may recall a couple of major quakes here recently.

Most of the centre of the city has been destroyed . . . the rest awaiting demolition . . . looks like an 'Armageddon' illustration right out of one of their publications.

But the JW's here aint doin any crowing! . . . the public wouldn't tolerate it for one minute! . . . things change when it's all around you . . . and the JW's R&F here don't have the balls to crow much at the moment.

Perhaps they're all at home "poopin their pants" . . . can't do much else cause most of the sewers are still busted! LOL

Luvonyall - MS

28

New Disfellowshipping Policy?

by Madmen in

jw
friends

i heard the policy on disfellowshipping has changed, so that you cannot be disfellowshipped if you're not currently "fellowshipping".

does this apply if you're baptised, but haven't associated for over a decade and then choose to speak out in the media (specifically tv) in a way that the watchtower society would consider to be apostasy e.g.

questioning the society's function and/or the very existence of a creator?.

sizemik

First off . . . welcome Madmen! (there's only one of you right?)

Part of me would love to send a letter of resignation as some of my friends have, but I don't want to give them the power that would accompany that letter.

Spot on with that call IMO . . . I declined to "play by their rules" when I left . . . neither DA'd nor DF'd . . . yet.

It does deny a certain power to them . . . over me, as well as active JW's I occasionally bump into.

I get periodic approaches (not that often) from well-meaning friends trying to "snatch me out of the fire" . . . but that can be 'beneficial' too.

Luvonyall - MS

31

June 15 W/T - "Should Youths Get Baptised?"

by sizemik in

the above mentioned article caught my eye for a couple of reasons .

.. it is obvious to most observers that the children of active jw's provide a potential "large army" and in spite of the attrition rate of jw youths (around 2/3's i believe), it's a resource the borg are keen to maximise.

there tactics appear to be encouraging baptism at an ever younger age.

sizemik

Fair comparison WTW . . . it highlight's WHY they CAN do it though . . . they get the parents to push the "cause"

Luvonyall - MS

26

last appeal from my Brother A JW Elder

by jam in

sizemik

I forced myself through the WALL OF TEXT and I think it's basically saying . . . according to "bible prophecy" the God of the Bible, that being Jehovah, is about to slaughter 99%(?) of the human race just to prove a point, just like he slaughtered 99%(?) of the human race in Noah's day just to prove a point, so this is your last chance to be in the 1%(?) that doesn't get slaughtered so he can prove his point.

Oooooh yeaaah . . . why wouldn't we worship a god like that!

Edit; (?) ... actual figures are closer to 99.9% and 0.1%

Luvonyall - MS

44

TO ALL YOU ATHEISTS

by watersprout in

jw
friends

i love you all!

mwah!.

just a thought though.

sizemik

To me the whole atheist / theist debate is the product of a human failing . . . . . . yes, FAILING!

Simply . . . the failure to make room for the "unknown"

It seems to me that the human desire to "know" the "conclusion of the matter" often overrides the "great unknown" and we make an intransigent decision on things with insufficient knowledge. Perhaps for those who have a religious background, this is a legacy to the black and white thinking religious belief invariably espouses . . . thinking in absolutes. Or maybe in recognition of the limited human life-span, we feel we need to "equip ourselves" adequately for what lies ahead . . . death.

What's wrong with saying something like . . . "Current evidence suggests that some kind of evolutionary process was involved in our being what we are today . . . whereas the evidence for the the biblical God being real, seems fragile . . . but I'm not absolutely sure.

Not knowing "for sure" is not a weakness . . . it doesn't make us lacking in something (faith/belief/assuredness/confidence/common sense/intelligence etc etc). It is simply the truth of the matter . . . we don't know for sure.

Allowing room for the unknown in fact requires a certain courage. It means living with uncertainty but without fear, Additionally, it makes us more receptive to further discovery ON BOTH SIDES of the debate. Debating is healthy provided we are not coming from an intransigent position. This is in fact a "closed mind" whichever side of the debate it espouses if it is "absolute". It is a closed mind that usually resorts to ridicule and personal attack . . . theist and atheist alike.

Well . . . that's my take on it.

Luvonyall - MS

40

Will the Watchtower ban Chicken McNuggets?

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

ever heard of transglutaminase?

it's also known as meat glue.

while banned in the eu it is very commonly used in north america and australia.

sizemik

This reminds me of one thing that I always thought was strange......The WTS used to warn members to look at their pet food and make sure it didn't contain blood

Damn . . . things are looking bad for Ober and Ustrel . . . my two pet leeches

Luvonyall - MS

87

FDS says - "No need to check our work. Besides, it will only make God angry."

by Crisis of Conscience in

though i no longer believe the fds is indeed appointed by god, i guess because of what has been taught to me all these years through the wtbts, i still make an effort to try and look at both sides.

and then i come across this number below, which is how i arrived at my title for this thread.

***w81 2/15 p.19 do we need help to understand the bible?***.

sizemik

But nowhere do we read that those brothers first, in a skeptical frame of mind, checked the Scriptures to make certain that those letters had Scriptural backing, that the writers really knew what they were talking about.

But nowhere do we read . . . so what??

Boreans aside . . . it doesn't mean it didn't happen . . . perhaps it was standard practice?

Luvonyall - MS

31

June 15 W/T - "Should Youths Get Baptised?"

by sizemik in

the above mentioned article caught my eye for a couple of reasons .

.. it is obvious to most observers that the children of active jw's provide a potential "large army" and in spite of the attrition rate of jw youths (around 2/3's i believe), it's a resource the borg are keen to maximise.

there tactics appear to be encouraging baptism at an ever younger age.

sizemik

Fair point dc . . . many mainstream Christian religions today also practice infant baptism, but like first century Christianity, they bear no resemblance to the activities of the WTBS today, nor are the results and implications of baptising children in those instances, the same as for a JW youth today.

Luvonyall - MS