Posts by Sea Breeze

27

The point of existence and how it refutes the Trinity

by slimboyfat in

rowan williams, the former archbishop of canterbury gave an interesting answer to the somewhat stark question, what’s the point of us existing?

as a christian, my starting point is that we exist because the most fundamental form of activity, energy, call it what you like, that is there, is love.

that is, it’s a willingness that the other should be.

Sea Breeze

@SBF

I don't believe the Trinity is refuted at all:

God is love. Love can only be expressed in community. God is a communty of three persons in one substance. Therefore he is complete.

God's nature requires him to be such that he is.

To say there was a time God couldn't love and needed to create us in order to be complete, is to say he wasn't complete without us and therefore wasn't God at some point in the past.

It suggest an upsidedown world. One where God needs us and not the other way around.

22

What is the current Watchtower "rent charge per publisher" for Kingdom Halls in the USA???

by Balaamsass2 in

i was following a few threads in reddit from current pimo jws complaining about local announcements regarding halls being short on their per publisher "rent payments".

third gen and i have been out pomo for a while...so how much is this charge now?

could this be part of the recent push to get people to "come back" or get re-instated...if it even is online and 15 minutes of service per month?

Sea Breeze

Last I heard the assessment per publisher in the U.S. was: 11.50 per month for the World Wide Work

Wow, that is a small price to pay for being able to believe that there is no consciousness after you die, no judgment after you die, and that even if you screw everything up in this life you get your sins forgiven by dying. A big bonus (at no additional charge) is getting a do-over living in a timber-frame mansion next to a giant waterfall and a global petting zoo.

Seems too good to be true.

55

What the new JW light position really is 👍

by ElderBerry in

i’m still an elder and i consider myself jw light.

as my fellow elders are.

we don’t throw our weight around like elders used to in the past, it’s all very easy going these days.

Sea Breeze

They do shadow birthday celebrations and ignore most of the directions from the fat old men in upstate NY.

Wow. It's psychologically worse now than it used to be. If you are a kid growing up in a family "strong in the truth", and you see elders being hypocritical; that would serve to wake up kids even faster than before when everyone believed the GB spoke with the voice of God.

When you wake up at 13 or 14 in a family that is "strong in the truth", there is literally no where to go but the street, especially if you are a kid who is not afraid of confrontation and who likes to talk alot.

Kids who talk too much don't make it far in a cult. May God protect them as they try to navigate the complete chaos they were born into.

5

Ebion

by peacefulpete in

early christianity was every bit, if not more, diverse than christianity today.

one of the very early sects was named the ebionites.

we have unfortunately nothing left of their own writings apart from a few quotes from what epiphanius believed was their recension of matthew.

Sea Breeze

Early Christianity was every bit, if not more, plagued by heretics as it is today. Fortunately, we have thosands pages of wrtings from the foremost Christian leaders (then and now) naming who they are, how they got started, and the specific teachings that made them abberant.

22

What is the current Watchtower "rent charge per publisher" for Kingdom Halls in the USA???

by Balaamsass2 in

i was following a few threads in reddit from current pimo jws complaining about local announcements regarding halls being short on their per publisher "rent payments".

third gen and i have been out pomo for a while...so how much is this charge now?

could this be part of the recent push to get people to "come back" or get re-instated...if it even is online and 15 minutes of service per month?

Sea Breeze

"Pay us money every month and we will let your old "friends" and family talk to you again !"

Cults sell you things you already have, but never noticed.

47

What does God eat ?

by stan livedeath in

beans ?

( human beans ).

to those of you that believe in god: do you all believe the same thing ?.

Sea Breeze

Fish

15

The Share of Religious Americans will continue to decline- New York Times. Why? New Pew Study

by Balaamsass2 in

locally, in northern california i have seen/heard a drop in jw and mainstream church attendance especially in person attendance.

(exception: a new creepy local new-age charismatic/pentecostal group: "bethel church" 11,000 and growing mega church(kundalini yoga/sex combined with prosperity gospel, trumpism, guns, rock music, dancing, glitter, speaking in tongues, and faith healing).. for me this paragraph sums it up regarding jehovah's witnesses: " ...smith described organized religion to me as having become a “polluted” idea in the american mainstream, because of the publicity around sex abuse scandals and financial malfeasance in many different faiths in the ’80s and ’90s as millennials came of age.

“the scandals violated most of the virtues believed to make religion good,” smith wrote.

Sea Breeze

Looks like the Spaghetti monster church has been declinng too.

On July 24, 2013, CNS News reported: "Atheism is in decline worldwide, with the number of atheists falling from 4.5% of the world’s population in 1970 to 2.0% in 2010 and projected to drop to 1.8% by 2020, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass.

On September 27, 2014 in a blog post entitled The Atheist Disillusionment, the prominent atheist PZ Myers declared:

“

"I will make a prediction, right here and now.... The number of people identifying as atheists will stagnate or even shrink, because organized atheism is happily in the process of destroying itself with regressive social attitudes, scandals, and their bizarre focus on irrelevant metaphysical differences that don’t help people...Unless we change. I don’t know that we can".

Atheists as a percentage of the world's population have declined since 1970 and global atheism is expected to face long term decline.

On March 15, 2024, Frontier Partners International reported concerning global atheism: "Simultaneously, atheism, which once saw a peak around 1970 with 165 million adherents, is on the decline. The current growth trend for atheism is -0.12 percent, with their number falling from 147 million in 2020 to 146 million in 2024.

10

The Apostles Creed vs. Watchtower

by Sea Breeze in

the apostles creed could be recited in less than a minute in latin.

it was like an ancient youtube video clip: christianity in less than a minute.

it is very ancient, reaching back to the 200's.

Sea Breeze

@ SBF

I have never heard a Jehovah's Witness say the words: "I believe in Jesus our Lord", except when challenged by Christians they are encountering.

When JW's talk among themselves, it's all Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah.

"He descended into hell".

JW's would NEVER say this. His tomb was above ground. There was nothing to descend into according to WT indoctrinated JW's.

I couldn't help but notice how you forgot the most important point that applies to us:

10. the forgiveness of sins,

Wt. teaches that since 1935 new believers are not justified (no forgiveness of sins).

JW's believe in working for their Salvation and reject the New Covenant for the forgiveness of sins, like you.

I have asked you many times to justify your personal rejection of the new covenant "for the forgiveness of sins" Jesus offered in Mt. 26: 27-28. But you refuse to defend your position. Why?

Why not just come out and say that you believe in another way of Salvation other than the new covenant, the one that carries the blood value of God's only-begotten?

Isn't that an accurate evualation of your position?

25

What are some of the more exceptional self-authenticating claims made by Jehovah’s Witnesses?

by Vanderhoven7 in

let's start the ball rolling with two connected claims.. the religion of jehovah’s witnesses is the one true religion.

all other religions are satanic, including all the churches of christendom..

Sea Breeze

JW's are the only church who claim they were specifically named in scripture: THE Faithful and Discreet Salve.

4

JWs and the Lord's Prayer

by punkofnice in

how often do you hear the lord's prayer at the meetings or in jw homes?.

i don't know if they revised their stance with the new leaders in america, but i don't recall it having much weight when i were a wee'un.. i think the nwt said, 'pray then, this way....'.

so, jesus gave instructions on how to pray, as in actual words to say.......so the jws don't?

Sea Breeze

They stop when they get to the part that says "let your kingdom come". Then they start berating Christians for not recognizing the Watchtower as the physical manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth.

JW's are apalled that others do not recognize the "clear evidence" that Jesus has appointed them as rulers over all the earth in his stead. Their message is: now you have to do business with us, not Jesus if you want life..... just exactly as Jesus predicted.

Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. - Mark 13: 6