Posts by cedars

11

Anonymous ...

by talesin in

jw
friends

as you may or may not know, a group called "anonymous" shut down mastercard last december, protesting suppression of news about the war in afghanistan ..... .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/mastercard-down-hacked-wikileaks-ddos_n_793625.html.

anyone seen this vid?.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating the status quo either. If anything, I can't make up my mind whether it's good or bad, which in itself indicates that this is a worthy thread and the group themselves are worthy of some serious consideration. I was just expressing how myself and some others may react to these scenes of rioting and mob violence that are depicted on the video, even if the group are expressly against it, it still feels as though it is condoned when you throw in the references to "V for Vendetta" etc - not forgetting that those masks were used extensively in the recent UK riots by those whose actions sprang from selfish and nefarious motives rather than any genuine desire to advance social mobility, freedom and fairness etc.

I was actually just thinking about "anonymous" in the context of the WTBTS. Wouldn't it be TERRIBLE if they crashed the Society's web and email system, thereby halting production of magazines for a month or more? The worldwide brotherhood would then have missed an issue of the regular spiritual food at the proper time, and Jehovah would evidently have done nothing to stop this from happening, raising doubts among Witnesses that this is truly God's channel of communication.

Now wouldn't THAT be a shame?

11

Anonymous ...

by talesin in

jw
friends

as you may or may not know, a group called "anonymous" shut down mastercard last december, protesting suppression of news about the war in afghanistan ..... .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/mastercard-down-hacked-wikileaks-ddos_n_793625.html.

anyone seen this vid?.

cedars

I'm all for greater autonomy and social mobility, but my trusty dictionary contains the following definitions:

Anarchy n. total lack of organized control, resulting in disorder or lawlessness; this disorder.

Anarchist n. person who believes that government is undesirable and should be abolished.

Those are dictionary definitions, not my own interpretation. In my opinion, neither of those two mindsets offer a viable solution for a peaceful or "free" society. There always needs to be a degree of governance, and well-qualified individuals who have been appointed to make decisions on behalf of the masses.

I'm sure when the UK riots were underway, those who were having their shop windows smashed or their homes burned weren't thinking "Oh good, the anarchists are here! Now we can have greater freedom from rules, and the general populace (rather than the ruling class) can have a say in how our society is run!"

I'm not saying I'm against what "anonymous" purports to stand for, but I think the constant depictions of rioting and acts of violence against authority figures in their video could easily be misinterpreted as a "call to arms".

5

Being Annointed

by mankkeli in

jw
friends

few folks have wanted to know how god endows individual with the heavenly status , as a new partaker my self, this is the simple strategy;.

'what u proffess is what god annoints, "what u declare is what god makes clear, what u express is what u will experience.

what you feel is what god sees.. there is no big deal..

cedars

Well that's cleared things up!

14

Rutherford residences

by Gorbatchov in

i am searching for information about the residences of joseph rutherford during his watchtower presidency.

san diego (beth sarim & beth shan) is well known.. i seek information about his residence at staten island (rossville?

) and especially more about rumours about a luxery central.

cedars

Atlantis or Marvin Shilmer might be able to help you.

There is also www.watchtowerdocuments.com - they might have something.

11

Anonymous ...

by talesin in

jw
friends

as you may or may not know, a group called "anonymous" shut down mastercard last december, protesting suppression of news about the war in afghanistan ..... .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/mastercard-down-hacked-wikileaks-ddos_n_793625.html.

anyone seen this vid?.

cedars

Hm, what disturbs me about them is the focus on anarchy. They keep repeating "non-violent" etc, but then they show videos of riots and people fighting the police, as though this is what they want people to do while they're busy doing their hacking. I'm all for freedom of speech, but I can't stand mindless thugs making ordinary people's lives miserable just because they are desperate for an opportunity to fight with a policeman or smash a shop window. We had that with the recent UK riots, and it was awful. It would be nicer if this group could distance themselves from this sort of behaviour rather than openly portraying it on their video.

I also don't get all the "V for Vendetta" references. Can't they be original and come up with their own imagery rather than taking images from films they obviously like? I hope they don't try and shut down JWN because I've said this.

60

What Do You Say or Is It Better to Saying Nothing?

by Eiben Scrood in

jw
friends

i miss some of my old watchtower friendships.

usually i can just put the people out of my mind but when a big event comes up like me expecting my first child, i did reach out a bit.

this one friend in particular was kind of like an older brother to me.

cedars

You've probably already reached a decision by now, but I thought the following link might prove helpful:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/215002/1/Am-I-on-thin-ice-with-my-friend

It is a thread I posted a month ago when I was having a very similar dilemma to the one you are now facing. Much of the advice I received is directly applicable to you, and I'm thankful for it, since it helped me to make the right decision.

5

Court grants transfusion order for Jehovahs Witness baby

by yalbmert99 in

court grants transfusion order for jehovahs witness baby sept, 23 2011. http://www.newstalk.ie/2011/news/court-grants-transfusion-order-for-jehovahs-witness-baby/.

cedars

These parents at least seem reasonably balanced, and they don't seem to be kicking up too much of a fuss about it being used as a last resort... interesting. I wonder if they'll get in trouble for failing to tow the party line and be more bullish about the whole thing.

60

What Do You Say or Is It Better to Saying Nothing?

by Eiben Scrood in

jw
friends

i miss some of my old watchtower friendships.

usually i can just put the people out of my mind but when a big event comes up like me expecting my first child, i did reach out a bit.

this one friend in particular was kind of like an older brother to me.

cedars

I did a successful fade. I really doubt they would come after me at this point no matter what I said but I suppose it's possible.

I have found that it is possible to have nominal friendships with active Watchtowerites. I work with two, one of whom is an elder, and they both still talk to me in a reasonably friendly way.

Believe me Eiben, it will no longer be a successful fade if you become complacent and think you can say whatever you like to active witnesses. No matter what's happened before, they can and WILL still come after you if you ruffle too many feathers. Plus, it sounds like you would have something to lose if they did come after you, because your two colleagues would be in an awkward situation and may even feel that they can no longer talk to you, even on work-related matters.

Give it some though. This thread hasn't been open long, but you have already received some great advice. I would just make your excuses and end the conversation. Believe me, I was in a similar situation not too long ago, and asked the exact same question you did. The advice I received was excellent - just walk away. You can only help them if they express a degree of doubt. Nothing he has said in your original post would lead me to believe that he has doubts. He has even gone to the extreme of defending the Society for the way he was treated in the past!

Just walk away, hard though it may be.

60

What Do You Say or Is It Better to Saying Nothing?

by Eiben Scrood in

jw
friends

i miss some of my old watchtower friendships.

usually i can just put the people out of my mind but when a big event comes up like me expecting my first child, i did reach out a bit.

this one friend in particular was kind of like an older brother to me.

cedars

Eiben - are you really thinking of answering him? I suppose how you answer depends on your standing. I assume if he is contacting you now you are inactive and NOT disfellowshipped or disassociated? If that's the case, there's not much you can say to someone with such a well formed opinion without getting yourself in trouble. He's clearly made up his mind, and isn't expressing any doubts despite how he was treated in the past. You need to ask yourself, is it worth it?

Unless you're interested in getting disfellowshipped or disassociated, I would simply commend him for his zeal, and ask him to forgive you if you don't see things in quite the same way at this precise moment.

4

Transfusion or Murder?

by iamwhoiam in

let's say a couple is told by a doctor that the odds are good that thier baby will die prematurely unless a blood transfusion is given.

the parents decide not to go through with it due to thier beliefs.

if the baby dies from not getting a transfusion, is that considered murder on behalf of the parents or atleast criminal neglegence?

cedars

It makes common sense to you and I, but then we introduce the concept of "religious freedom" and the right to accept or decline medical treatment, even towards your infant child, and things get complicated. You're right, it can be viewed as murder - but if it were that simple I think the Society would have been brought to book a long long time ago...