Posts by flamegrilled

27

Governing Body Members Autographing Bibles

by HereIgo in

i have an online ex jw friend who pointed out to me that she stumbled upon a may 15, 1999 watchtower that had pictures of governing body members autographing bibles for people.

i have no bound volumes or cd rom copies anymore so i can verify.

two things came to mind, if this is true:.

flamegrilled

Drearyweather's point is fine. If they just did this as a private act as most gifts are made, then I'd accept the argument.

What's different here is that they themselves made a public thing of it. They had someone take photographs and then publish it. If a missionary who nobody knows signed a Bible as a personal gift for a local official and had a picture taken would they publish it?

I think it's fairly obvious that the answer is no, because readers would be scratching their heads thinking - why did they include that?

So we can logically conclude that from their OWN point of view, they included it because Bibles being signed by the GB would in some way be a special thing beyond just a personal touch on a gift.

52

last convention before global attack on witnesses

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

so it's not enough that i'm dealing with post traumatic stress/anxiety and panic attacks all related to my life as a jw (50 years baptized -- i stopped going a couple of months ago) at 3 a.m. i get an email from the other side of the world.

'you have to go to the convention.

bro sanderson says we must watch the news, things are happening.

flamegrilled

Hi Phoebe

I get panic attacks. They first started when I first experienced cognitive dissonance in relation to JW doctrine. That was over 20 years ago. I also dream very vividly and I would have recurring nightmares about Armageddon.

I'm still a Christian and believe in Bible prophecy, but now that I have been away from meetings for sufficient time, and not had to endure the psychological propaganda of the WT, I don't have those same anxieties. Sure, I still get panic/anxiety attacks - but much more rarely now than I used to. And I still have bad dreams, but not arising out of the morbid fear that WT doctrine engenders.

A couple of things that might help in the short term if you have access to them might be to talk to a social worker, or someone else qualified, or to look into some CBT. The good thing about CBT - even if you have to pay for a few sessions - is that you can learn some techniques for coping that you can practice for yourself and improve at, so you're not on an endless cycle of treatment.

If you're still a believer (in Christ I mean, not the WT) then prayer also will be helpful.

In specific regard to the assembly and the hype reflected in the email you received, I can recommend reading this article:

http://beroeans.net/2017/05/18/a-fairy-godmother-religion/

I hope you are able to get some relief from your anxiety.

FG

347

ARC - Case Study 54 - All Exhibits have been released

by jwleaks in

all exhibits for case study 54, jehovah's witnesses and watchtower, have been released by the arc.. http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/exhibits/10908a67-70c5-4103-94cc-dac096fdb585/case-study-54,-march-2017,-sydney.

exhibit list.

joint statement of o'brien and spinks.

flamegrilled

For those struggling to find that quote in OrphanCrow's post (as I was), it's in the "Child Protection Guidelines for Branch Office Service Desks" rather than the "Child Safeguarding Policy of Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia".

It's a very important point. There still seems to be a disconnect between JW leadership's understanding of child pornography, and the standard set by law and common decency.

To allow someone involved at any level with child pornography to go unchecked, except for being "strongly counseled" would appear to be grossly negligent. And yet that's what the policy allows for.

The fact is that a crime would have been committed according to Australian law and the law of most other countries. And it is a crime that can effectively be an early warning system to protect future victims. JW policy simply fails to recognize this.

9

Catching up on the A.R.C.

by The Searcher in

i haven't been here for several days, so apologies if similar comments have been posted regarding messrs spinks' & o'brien's "spiritual & scriptural" replies to the australian royal commission last week.. perhaps this line of questioning by mr. stewart could have helped exposed the org's corruption of the "two witness" rule:.

mr stewart: mr. spinks, does the jehovah's witnesses' leadership base their "two witness" rule solely on the bible?.

mr. spinks: yes.

flamegrilled

HOW CAN WE GET THAT VIDEO TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE? EVEN ANONYMOUSLY?
Sorry - did I shout?

Hi Freddo

I would also like to know the answer to that question. There are a lot of people that I would like to see this, but I'm still at the stage which means I am restricted unless I kiss goodbye to my elderly parents and family.

I feel particularly strongly about this because I was baptized at a young age (older than 10 though) and at the time it was very unusual and it was like I had to get special dispensation based on my "perceived maturity".

GB 2.0 is simultaneously 1) lowering the age, 2) increasing the pressure to be baptized at a lower age, AND 3) doing nothing about the consequences when things go pear-shaped.

If anyone has any tips on how to get this and other videos into the right people's hands anonymously I'd be very grateful.

FG

P.S. I have had previous correspondence with Angus Stewart, as I know many of you have also, and I will send another email today with a link to this. Perhaps that's one thing we could collectively do - share this video with him so that the ARC is fully aware of this.

Further suggestions would be very welcome though

9

Catching up on the A.R.C.

by The Searcher in

i haven't been here for several days, so apologies if similar comments have been posted regarding messrs spinks' & o'brien's "spiritual & scriptural" replies to the australian royal commission last week.. perhaps this line of questioning by mr. stewart could have helped exposed the org's corruption of the "two witness" rule:.

mr stewart: mr. spinks, does the jehovah's witnesses' leadership base their "two witness" rule solely on the bible?.

mr. spinks: yes.

flamegrilled

Very simple video showing the double-speak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LQoGXNcRdQ

26

What Percentage Of The Governing Body Are Pedofiles?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

the reason i ask this is because we heard reports that greenlees was kicked out of bethel because he was one and then we heard reports that another one, jaracz i believe was one all though it sounds kind of iffy to me.. 2 out of i don't how many total gb seems kind of high so i'm thinking that perhaps the percentage is quite higher as this would explain to a degree why the gb have written in clauses to keep the organization from reporting them to authorities.. it is true that part of the reason they remain silent to authorities is because of the reproach it brings to their precious corporation but i think that is only a small part of the reason and perhaps there might be a bigger reason maybe quite a few have been over powered by their darker side and have engaged in this behavior but because of denial and delusion they will not confess and willingly encourage cover ups.. just speculation i know but i'm starting to think that there is a very dark side to all of these guys hidden by their persona(jungian) that is making them stoop so low as to implement these very bad policies..

flamegrilled

Potentially 0%.

33

Jesus, the Great Convincer?

by Simon in

supposedly the disciples witnessed jesus' super-power awesomeness first-hand.. so they were all 100% on-board to-the-death martyrs ... right?.

erm .... judas betrayed him.

thomas didn't believe he'd come back.

flamegrilled

I think you mean central points to the story? Also, do you not know how propaganda works?

Yes, I'm very familiar with how propaganda works, which is precisely my point. Propaganda filters out the negative detail in order to maximize the message in favor of the cause. If you were creating propaganda then you'd be unlikely to write the narrative as it's presented in the gospels. The very fact that Simon in the OP can point out the negative aspects is actually unwitting testimony to the honesty of the accounts.

For sure, it's no proof that these things happened, but it certainly adds weight to the idea that the authors believed in the things that they wrote and they weren't just going all out for telling a story that would best represent their cause.

78

A stunning piece of LOGIC from the Apostle Paul

by nicolaou in

1st corinthians 15 12-17. but if it is preached that christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even christ has been raised.

and if christ has not been raised, your faith is futile... .

flamegrilled

Hi Xanthippe. Paul said that if christ was not resurrected then faith is futile. Christ definitely was not resurrected, that's a cast iron, 100% certainty.

nicolaou,

What is your certainty based upon? Following the laws of science and logic, cast iron 100% certainty has to be supported by some irrefutable affirmative evidence, not simply a sense of doubt, no matter how well founded that doubt may appear to be.

33

Jesus, the Great Convincer?

by Simon in

supposedly the disciples witnessed jesus' super-power awesomeness first-hand.. so they were all 100% on-board to-the-death martyrs ... right?.

erm .... judas betrayed him.

thomas didn't believe he'd come back.

flamegrilled

Judas betrayed him. Thomas didn't believe he'd come back. Peter denied being with him. The rest? Well, they went back to their fishing businesses after the crucifixion.
Heck, even the BS bible story propaganda doesn't have the main characters convinced!

And surely therein lies the rub. If it truly were propaganda why on earth would they have included these details?

28

I cringe when I think about the talks I gave.

by James Mixon in

you brothers who gave talks do you thinks about the crap you spoke from the platform.. thirty years old, no knowledge what so ever of the world we live in, barely making the grade.

to graduate from high school, a year and half in jc college and now with schooling of jw higher.

education i thought i was a hell of a speaker.

flamegrilled

Good topic. Got the T-Shirt.

People used to speak very highly of my illustrations - most of which I realize were completely flawed now. I think I used to use illustrations as if they were proof of something which they never ever are. The gullible in the audience treat them that way too, as they do the pictorial illustrations in the publications.

If anyone is familiar with Greco-Roman history this whole "teaching method" actually parallels the way in which plays and certain events in the Colloseum and other amphitheatres were used. e.g. they would get some guy to dress as a swan and literally rape a woman publicly. This would reinforce belief in the idea that a god called Zeus actually took the form of a swan and seduced/raped a woman called Leda. Just seeing it reenacted was used as a form of proof in the minds of the audience.

So many people during the Watchtower study comment now on details in pictures as if they're proof of something that actually happened, even though it's an artist's impression. It's the same syndrome.