Posts by Phizzy

44

A book on the pronunciation of God's Name

by Doug Mason in

i am neither recommending nor rejecting the following book.

i am simply saying that i stumbled across it.

i have neither read it nor studied it.. search with: the name of god y.eh.ow.ah which is pronounced as it is written i eh ou ah its story gérard gertoux .

Phizzy

Did the early Bible writers think in their minds that there was a single name for god ? the earliest certainly did in my view, being believers in the existence of many gods they would identify theirs by name. El probably.

But it would seem that as they evolved in there Theology toward being Monotheists, they began to think that god did not have a single name, but many names that described his qualities. It would seem to me that the Exodus scripture is trying to get this point across, that god will be what he wants to be, and can be whatever he wants to be, mostly. I say mostly because a couple of scriptures show clearly where the god of Israel was unable to achieve something, so not Almighty then !

The fuss about there being a single name of god seems to be on dodgy ground, and to insist that YHWH is that name is even more dodgy. If you only believe in one god, as a being above all others, why would he need a name ?

To insist that it is some how virtuous to use a single, discrete, name in any form or pronunciation as JW's do is like most if not all of their teachings, not really supported by a proper reading of the Bible.

8

NEW ARTICLE ABOUT CHILD SEX ABUSES

by Eliseo in

an astonishing article has been published yesterday by the italian newspaper l’indro .

https://www.lindro.it/testimoni-di-geova-il-paradiso-in-terra-per-pedofili/.

Phizzy

Seems accurate, and quite an expose ! let's hope the Italian Government listens !

56

Montana Supreme Court will hear the $35M case tomorrow

by Corney in

the montana case enters the home stretch.

the state supreme court will hear oral arguments tomorrow, 13 september, at the northern hotel in billings during the state bar of montana’s annual meeting (announcement 1, announcement 2).

an introduction to the argument will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the argument starting at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. utc, 9 a.m. sf time, 12 a.m. ny time, 5 p.m. london time, 2 a.m. saturday sydney time).

Phizzy

I may be reading too much in to the word "penitent" but presumably it is used by the R.C church, and therefore in Law in many places, to highlight the fact that the one who has sought confession, by that act of seeking, has shown that he is repentant.

J.W org does not make this assumption, it forms a J.C. to establish whether the person truly is a Penitent or not. In that circumstance they could claim anything divulged AFTER the proceedings had decided the person was repentant could be held secret, but the first approach to an Elder, and the decision process by the J.C. surely cannot be deemed as worthy of being kept secret, at those stages they did not know they were dealing with a Penitent.

19

Psychological Changes in the Vocabulary of the WTS

by blondie in

jw
friends

psychological changes in the vocabulary of the wts.

i have been reading the publications of the wts since i was 6, 60 years now.

we were too poor to have more than one subscription for each magazine so i had to wait until my mother had read it (she let them pile up).

Phizzy

Blondie said " Keep it your resolve not to ignore the aha moments, the contradictions and hypocrisies thinking you have to wait until the boat catches fire before you jump ".

Wise words for those still in. I made exactly that mistake for years before I left. I was well aware that they used manipulative language, which I now identify as classic Mind Control , and used to give it a wry smile, thinking " Well, they have to do that ".

Now they are more blatant and obvious about it, but of course it works, along with the other Control techniques, keeping their members away from Information, and socially isolated to name but two.

I now see this , not as something " they have to do", but as downright Evil !

14

Finding our true identity after spiritual abuse in the Watchtower

by Faith after Deception in

i personally find that when you’ve been around toxic people long enough, either in a family environment or as part of a cult or a highly controlling church, (or worse, both!

), you tend to get a very twisted view of your own identity and also human nature in general.. in a religious context, you may end up feeling that you are a “lowly worm” and that in general, people can’t be trusted.

since all you’ve known of relationships has been painful, complex and tiresome, it can give you the impression that this is the norm and that’s all you can expect .

Phizzy

Finding the real "you" is something we all need to do when leaving an Abusive, Authoritarian, Mind Control Group like the JW Org.

After all, for however many years you were in, they were busy erasing, suppressing, and abusing, the Real You.

I have become the Real Me, ( I was born in, so never had a chance to develop my real personality).

It was a longish journey, about one year for every decade I was in. Now I am happy in my own skin, I am pleased with the kind of person I have become, a Rational, Humanist, Socialist. ( In the real meaning of the last word in that sentence.)

I can appreciate all beautiful things wherever I come across them, with no hang ups, in Art, Poetry and Literature, as well as Beautiful Nature. I no longer fear the future, as an optimist I think the Human Species will surmount all the problems facing it. In life, I do the most good I possibly can, and the least harm.

I am truly Spiritual, without Belief or Religion of any (irrational) kind.

10

Antichrist definition - according to the glorious ones in Warwick

by The Fall Guy in

antichrist - nwt p. 1693 glossary of bible terms - "all people, organizations, or groups that falsely claim to represent christ....can properly be called antichrists.

well this proves that the org can't be the antichrist, because they've never claimed to represent christ - only jehovah!

's can now breathe a sigh of relief)

Phizzy

The Antichrist is one who opposes Christ and puts himself in Christ's place !

The G.B have done both in huge measure.

69

Don't count on witnessing Watchtower's demise anytime soon.

by Roger Kirkpatrick in

jw
friends

the fact that there are pomi ex-jws who have been disfellowshiped or inactive for years who still live in constant fear of armageddon indicates that watchtower will manage to exist in one way or another for years, if not decades, to come.

watchtower, like all other religious cults, operate on the premise that "you can fool some of the people all of the time...and that's enough!

".

Phizzy

I agree LV101, but there was a poster on here who only woke up because of the Abuse scandals. If only a few do so, and find the Road to Freedom it will mean the the Org is losing even more quality members.

The guy, and his wife who left were quite prominent in their area, if memory serves he was a District ( Regional) Convention speaker, lose people of that quality and the Borg's decline begins to speed up !

32

The Environmental Cult

by cofty in

i believe the environmental movement has many of the hallmarks of an apocalyptic millenarian cult.. urgent predictions of doom and fear-mongering.

utopian ideology.

us v them, good v evil mindset.

Phizzy

Some Vegan movements are similar. One lot invaded a Slaughter House and tried to free the animals. Their energies would be better directed toward the major Companies that are far from Green.

On Climate Change, I do wish people would only base their statements on solid Science, or idiots get on Social media, pull apart what has been said, and leave the impression we are not in Deep Do Do with Climate change.

And of course, the major Companies with vested interests are pleased to see the issue obfuscated.

69

Don't count on witnessing Watchtower's demise anytime soon.

by Roger Kirkpatrick in

jw
friends

the fact that there are pomi ex-jws who have been disfellowshiped or inactive for years who still live in constant fear of armageddon indicates that watchtower will manage to exist in one way or another for years, if not decades, to come.

watchtower, like all other religious cults, operate on the premise that "you can fool some of the people all of the time...and that's enough!

".

Phizzy

" I see why it is so hard to get an accurate accounting of true membership. "

It would be interesting, but impossible, to get a true number of really active members, we know from our own experience, and evidence from others on here, that most Field Service Reports are mainly works of Fiction.

It obviously is also totally impossible to estimate how many - if any at all - are 100% believers, with no doubts at all. The ones I have spoken to who I thought were 100% believers in all the Bullcrap turned out to have doubts, and some said they would not do certain things even if expected of them, like Shunning.

So,despite the numbers claimed, the Org has a problem with real commitment.

69

Don't count on witnessing Watchtower's demise anytime soon.

by Roger Kirkpatrick in

jw
friends

the fact that there are pomi ex-jws who have been disfellowshiped or inactive for years who still live in constant fear of armageddon indicates that watchtower will manage to exist in one way or another for years, if not decades, to come.

watchtower, like all other religious cults, operate on the premise that "you can fool some of the people all of the time...and that's enough!

".

Phizzy

Hi SBF,

It is interesting what you say about the Dublin Branch, they used to have a really swish Building out in the Countryside, I know it was for sale for a long time, and they made pioneers and other volunteers go and maintain it, and cut the grass etc ! it must have sold in the end.

I agree that they could sell the Dublin house, maybe soon, the very small Branch could be operated out of someones front room !