Posts by NeonMadman

21

Does WikiLeaks have any Scoop on the WTBTS to be released?

by cameo-d in

since wl deals with documented facts, not merely rumors and speculations.....what would you most like to see documented and revealed about the watchtower, the gb members, or the wt true agenda?.

if you could ask wl to dig up information about any curiosity you have concerning this cult....what would you have them investigate?.

do you think there is any information that will be released concerning religions and cults?.

NeonMadman

Didn't they host the pdf of the old elders' manual for a while?

3

does today's daily text fly in the face of disfellowshipping and shunning?

by therevealer in

*** es10 p. 126 december ***.

friday, december 24. happy are the peaceable, since they will be called "sons of god."-matt.

5:9.. if we are the kind of people whom jesus had in mind, we are peaceable and do not render injury for injury to anyone.

NeonMadman

Peacemakers do not do anything that ‘separates those familiar with one another.'

The JW's would claim that it is the person who commits the disfellowshipping offense who is responsible for causing the separation. Not anything the organization does, of course.

16

i have neighbors that the witness are obviously having a bible study with, they come by weekly in skirts and their 4 door car.. i need a good brochure that i can leave on their door everytime the jw's come by.. can anyone reccomend one?.

NeonMadman

http://dispelthedarkness.org/web_documents/stuff_you_shouldnt_do_as_a_jw.pdf

58

Video: Jehovah's Witness Elders Lie and Call Police

by leavingwt in

(via free minds).

jehovah's witness elders lie and call police.

on october 31, 2010 jehovah's witnesses elders lie when asked by charles huff, also a jehovah's witness, if they shun ex-members of the jehovah's witnesses' religion.

NeonMadman

all the posters that don't see what this guy was trying to do? ARE BLIND................

I think most of us see what he was trying to do, and that is understandable. What we have more difficulty with is what he actually DID, which is something completely different from what he was trying to do. What he did was to confirm what the WTS teaches their people about "apostates" - that we are angry, hateful people who only tear down and have nothing positive to offer. Lies can be exposed without such angry confrontation. A "worldly" person seeing this video would be entirely justified in concluding that the JW's are more peaceful and reasonable than those who have left the cult.

8

Why did the WTB&TS side with protestenism as regards the books of the bible

by smiddy in

NeonMadman

In rejecting the Apocrypha, Protestants are following the canon of the Jews rather than that of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. 1 Maccabees is a reasonably reliable historical account of the Jewish revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes. However, it is simply a historical account; I see no reason to regard it as Scripture. There are lots of histories and other documents from Jewish and Christian sources that are valuable, but not regarded as being part of the Bible. The Jewish canon was established before the time of Jesus, and the Christian church basically followed it. The Apocrypha were seen as valuable devotional literature that gave insight into Jewish history and thought, but of distinctly less value than Scripture. If I recall correctly, the RC church did not dogmatically make the Apocrypha an "official" part of their Bible (though there were certainly those in earlier times who regarded them as Scripture) until after the Reformation, as a response to the Protestant rejection of the Apocrypha.

2 Maccabees is another matter. It appears to be a later, more embellished account and has religious issues as well for Jews and Protestants, in that it contains the idea of prayer for the dead. JW's would also have a problem with that concept. That doesn't mean that the book has no value or that it shouldn't be read; only that one must recognize that the problem exists and proceed accordingly. If you're looking for the most reliable text in a historical sense, I'd suggest sticking with 1 Maccabees.

31

7th Day Adventists came to my house... it was weird

by sabastious in

jw
friends

so i get a knock on the door and a minister from a local 7th day adventists is at my doorstep.

it felt very much like a witness.

he asked me about my life and how things were going and if i was a christian.. i explained to him that i gave up christianity a while back and he asked why.

NeonMadman

I attended an SDA church for a short while as a teenager. While they rarely went from house to house for proselytizing purposes, they would have a special campaign that they called "Ingathering" around Christmas and Easter times, during which they would go from house to house in order to solicit funds for their schools and hospitals. They did carry pamphlets that they would distribute, though I think they related more to the social programs of the church than doctrinal matters. IIRC, they may have contained the standard SDA "free Bible correspondence course" offer. I took part in the work a few times myself, and as I recall, it was a lot more fun than going out in field service as a JW. My guess is that the "Ingathering" program, or something very like it, is still alive and well. That was probably the reason that the SDA knocked at your door.

25

The expression 'need greaters'. Anyone else heard this?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

my wife gets emails from someone who is serving in another country.. he keeps on referring to brothers/sisters who are 'need greaters'.. if they are actually using this expression then i have to say that it is the stupidest 'title' that they have ever dreamed up.

so full of their own self importance.. need greaters?..............

.

NeonMadman

"And remember brothers, it's serving where the need is great, not where the great are needed."

5

5000 every week?

by ssn587 in

jw
friends

have heard it a number of times that there are 5,000 newcomers every week to the dubs.

what are the stats for those leaving everyweek?

does anyone have an idea.

NeonMadman

Based on the 2009 and 2010 Yearbooks:

2008 Avg. Publishers: 6,691,790

2009 Avg. Publishers 6,829,455

Increase 2008-2009: 137,665

Baptisms 2008-9: 276,233, or about 5312/wk.

"Missing" Publishers: 138,568, or about 2665/wk.

In other words, over half the number baptized stopped "publishing" in the 2008-9 service year (not necessarily the same individuals, of course). We might attribute a small percentage of this decrease to deaths, but that would be almost insignificant in view of the obviously large numbers leaving the organization.

12

Farmville disfellowshipping?

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

i wonder if i can get into trouble for having a christmas tree and sending christmas gifts on farmville?

wouldn't it be something to be the first farmville disfellowshippee?

i'd like to hear that that judicial committee!

NeonMadman

Would that mean that JW's only had to shun you in Farmville?

14

Christopher Hitchens / Tony Blair debate - November 27, 2010

by Nickolas in

this is the first of nine youtube videos covering last night's debate on religion in toronto.

well worth the time.. http://www.youtube.com/user/hitchensblairdebate#p/u/8/ipmpfu3mmpa.

also available in avi format for torrent download here: http://onebigtorrent.org/download.php?id=10240&export=1&d=1.

NeonMadman

I thought Hitchens was not debating because of his treatments for cancer? He cancelled a debate with Dr. James White for this reason, and I suspect (without having actually watched the video) that Dr. White would have been a more formidable advocate of theism than Tony Blair.