Posts by joey jojo

37

Reddit thread re Oct 2024 WT with picture of window washer - Theme knocking people who Planned

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

this thread currently has over 300 comments.. it shows a picture of an older man washing a window looking wistfully… then it talks all about how some may have doubts about not having planned and the situation they are in now that they are older, etc.

it refers to others who did plan and who supposedly have ‘apparent’ financial security.

in my opinion, the whole gist of this article is to make older witnesses feel better who did not pursue a career or plan well for retirement.. it tries to imply that those others who planned only have ‘apparent’ financial security - which is to say they don’t (?).

joey jojo

Unless someone is prepared to pay your bills for you, they have no right to tell you what financial decisions you should make in your life.

I know an elder/ pioneer, born in the early - mid 1960's. Father was a missionary/ pioneer. He is the typical poster boy for the org. Pioneered his entire life along with his wife- still pioneering- no kids, rents a house and has a window washing business. He is the super spiritual type.

He was extremely disappointed that the age limit for circuit overseers was changed- he just missed out by being a couple of years too old after the change. And now of course, he is getting older.

What has been his reward for his loyalty? He has witnessed nothing but prophetic failures all his life. Im sure he believed he would never get old and was looking forward to the end coming long, long ago. The sad thing is I know for a fact he is a fairly intellligent guy that could have probably excelled in a chosen career that would have been much more satisfying.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

joey jojo

This then suggests all these elements of the story are primarily etiological. Just as the story is a mythical origin story for why women struggle in childbirth while other animals generally don't and why snakes have no legs, the story is a folk-tale-style treatise on human nature.

There are stories like this in indigenous groups everywhere. For example, the boomerang was once a straight stick that held up the sky but bent because of the weight. That story holds as much credibility as a talking snake. Yet the majority of the world's population belongs to off shoots of abrahamic religions that has a talking snake at the foundation of their beliefs, whether they realise it or not.

25

Trump assassination attempt??

by Diogenesister in

it happened at a rally in pennsylvania, apparently.

he seems ok i've seen a photo of him bleeding from his ear.

this is absolutely nutso....if it's too it doesn't surprise me the way they constantly describe him as "far right" and that his supporters are "maga republicans".

joey jojo

resolute Bandicoot
You came within a cm (3/8") of a civil war yesterday.
RB

Yes, if that bullet found its target, I wonder what would be happening right now.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

joey jojo

Jeffro
joey jojo:
Sigh. I thought the sidebar was unnecessary. Anyway… you referenced animal behaviour that is not present in the story and then when there was a factual objection to the misleading generalisations about animal behaviour, you said it was outside the scope of the story.

How so?

Well, please accept my apologies for causing you so much exasperation.

Of course the animal behaviour, like dogs humping legs is not present in the story, and yes, animals can display traits like affection, jealousy, greed etc. The point I was raising simply followed from Mustard's comments about what is considered good or bad, and who gets to choose that?

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

joey jojo

Jeffro

joey jojo:
You were inconsistent about the scope of discussion. It’s not a big deal.

How so?

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

joey jojo

Jeffro

joey jojo:
In that case, the snake couldn’t validly be accused of deception if it didn’t know right from wrong.
I don’t remember that being in the Bible story.

This entire thread is a discussion from a biblical point of view- I thought that was implied?

A male lion doesnt feel bad about killing his own offspring. Many animals are cannibalisitic. Dogs hump our legs. Is that the normal state of the human condition that god intended?

Jeffro, in an online conversation, nuance is sometimes lost. I think our side-bar has come way off the rails.

For the record, I believe the entire story is a fabrication. Its a human-centric origin story that attempts to explain the current human condition and our place in the universe. It has the same characters as other origin stories: A Creator, a Destroyer and a Preserver.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

joey jojo

Jeffro

joey jojo:

Non-human members of the animal kingdom do not know right from wrong.

That sweeping statement based on an errant comparison with human morality is incorrect. Though other animals lack the same level of complex language and reasoning, various species - particularly social species - demonstrate varying degrees of empathy, fairness, justice, punishment, remorse, cooperation, loyalty, problem solving, etc.

This entire thread is a discussion from a biblical point of view- I thought that was implied?

The topic of whether animals demonstrate social/ problem solving/ compassionate behaviours is another subject altogether.

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

joey jojo

MeanMrMustard
Adam could have wondered the garden, blissfully and innocently raping lions and goats, with his wife, and neither of them would be able to even begin to grasp why that be wrong. Those actions would hold the same moral weight as eating from the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

The original sin story leaves a lot of questions that are difficult to answer:

What did Eve think she would gain by eating the fruit- what was in it for her?

As mustard eloquently points out - why risk a perfectly happy life, raping lions, goats- or anything else that crossed your path?

Non-human members of the animal kingdom do not know right from wrong. A male lion doesnt feel bad about killing his own offspring. Many animals are cannibalisitic. Dogs hump our legs. Is that the normal state of the human condition that god intended?

If adam had eaten eve- how was he to know it was wrong? Was that a better alternative than eating the fruit? How could god NOT forgive him?

Was the only reason that eve ate the fruit was because she wanted the 'wisdom' to distinguish between good and bad?

Did Adam or Eve understand the full consequences of their actions and how it would affect their descendants?

Did they understand that not only would they die, but that god was going to prevent access to the tree of life and curse them too?

Were they destined to die anyway- without eating from the tree of life?

If the serpent was the original liar- heres an idea: why not just kill the freakin snake and save us all some trouble??!!

299

Who told the first lie?

by nicolaou in

this is a continuation of the discussion which sprang from an unrelated topic.. so according to genesis, who told the first lie?

god told eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge she would die that very same day.

in response to that statement the devil told her she would not die.. eve ate from the tree and did not die.

joey jojo

Halcon
The story ends with Adam dying, according to Genesis.

Once again, I feel the need to point out that compared to his offspring, Adam didnt suffer too much.

At first glance this story is a lesson about how our choices affect us. Maybe the real lesson is how our life choices affect others.

57

Holding a grudge

by LongHairGal in

i read something recently on reddit (not sure what thread) where a person related how some jw told them that ‘they hold a grudge’.. this reminded me of something an old jw acquaintance said to me some years back when i related my bad experience in the religion.. so, apparently, jehovah’s witnesses feel they should be forgiven for anything.

people should forget all about it and act like nothing happened and be charitable towards them, etc… when i read in james and ephesians i got the sense ‘holding a grudge’ was referring to the things average people do to offend each other.. i don’t see it applying to a religion that claimed to speak for god and who engendered hateful and unchristian attitudes towards people.. i know because i experienced this.. in addition, some people’s lives were damaged by listening to faulty teachings and interference in things that were clearly none of anybody’s business.. one case in point: them knocking worldly careers and now there are thousands of destitute jws in senior years with nothing.. then in 2023 the religion does away with a century old teaching about counting hours in the ministry.

meanwhile, i got judged over this.

joey jojo

And always remember- 'the GB never apologises' - according to Jeffery Winder,