Phizzy

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Posts by Phizzy

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  40

  Goodbye yhwh-Goodbye jesus

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  interesting report in a oxford university blog - the world is becoming less religious, (hurray!!!).

  quote: "an analysis of religious trends from 1981 to 2007 in 49 countries containing 60% of the world’s population did not find a global resurgence of religion—most high-income countries were becoming less religious—however, it did show that in 33 of the 49 countries studied, people had become more religious (norris and inglehart, 2011).

  but since 2007, things have changed with surprising speed.

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  Phizzy

  For a good number of years here in the U.K I have met people who not only do not define themselves as " religious" but also find those that do wear their faith on their sleeve to be somewhat peculiar.

  And yet, many of these same people do not identify as Atheist, most like to come across as a sort of Agnostic: " Well. I would like to think there is something Greater than us", and similar thoughts are expressed.

  This does mean though that organised religion is shrinking, attendance at Church, Chapel and kingdom Hall etc has been low for many years here, and is still on the decline. Few who do not attend donate the needed cash.

  The decline of the Church of England as measured by numbers actually attending , and apparently those number are falsely inflated somewhat, means that the pressure to remove the 26 Bishops from the House of Lords, who are there by "right", will mount, and hopefully then lead to the establishment of a proper Upper House. One that is Democratically Elected and has actual power to influence Laws and the direction the Government is going.
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  39

  ExElder Friend Had To Go To His Former Kingdom Hall and this what he told me!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  he was the secretary before he resigned years ago.

  he has a business that kept him involved with the kingdom hall.

  the hall was sold to another church.

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  Phizzy

  WOW ! I hope he gets hold, legally, of that stuff and does what should be done with it !
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  8

  European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) dismissed numerous JW tax cases against Armenia

  by Corney in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  by three decisions handed down over the last year, the strasbourg court has declared 12 complaints, all named "christian religious organization of jehovah's witnesses against armenia", inadmissible.

  the cases concerned imposition of value-added tax (vat) on imported literature - on 67 shipments received between 2007 and 2015, to be exact.

  in short, the organization claimed that, first, the shipments should be tax-free pursuant to article 12 of the freedom of conscience act ("monetary and other gifts received by religious organisations, as well as income received from citizens shall not be subject to taxation"); secondly, the customs authorities arbitrarily determined the customs value of the imports based on, for example, the prices the bible society of armenia (affiliated with the dominant armenian apostolic church) sold imported religious literature.. up until march 2007, there were constant problems receiving regular shipments of religious literature, which should be tax-free but which customs arbitrarily reassessed at unpredictable higher values and then imposed a value-added tax of 20 percent.

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  Phizzy

  Thanks Corney, that gives us an insight in to the problems with the ECHR.

  As you say, it seems as though the JW Legal team mistakenly thought merely going to the European Court would solve their problem without them going through due procedure. They have made similar mistakes in other Jurisdictions, being late with filing stuff with the Court and so on. I cannot quite decide if this springs from their arrogance, or their ineptitude at matters Legal. Maybe a bit of both.
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  28

  I miss old posters!

  by Biahi in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  blondie, flipper, shirley w, where are you?

  did this site get too republican for you?

  i just take those threads with a grain of salt..

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  Phizzy

  I stay here mainly so as to encourage those who have recently left, if I can be of help in any way, I am always pleased to do so.

  I miss the old "in-depth" stuff too, though good old boy Doug Mason provides some !

  Good to hear that some of the Posters of old are still around, but as said above, it is great when people move on, many have used this place as a Half Way House, and once recovered sufficiently from the JW Cult experience, move on and leave JW Land far behind, a healthy choice !

  This is a good thing for Newbies to access as Terry says above : DON'T FORGET you have a monumentally valuable archive here. Just click on your favourite names and the entire history of their topics and post is still available. ( I would add, you can search the Subject you are interested in too )
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  4

  Second Temple Period: Messiahs (Draft)

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have been researching the second temple period (2tp) for a little while and there is more i have yet to do.. i am preparing a series of 5 studies (plus a separate list of resources) and the first study has reached its draft stage.. normally, i do not make a draft publicly available, but for several reasons i decided to do so this time.

  this study deals with the messiahs prior to and during the 2tp.. as this is a draft, i will appreciate – even encourage – any feedback, especially criticisms and corrections.. messiahs (draft): https://jwstudies.com/2tp_messiahs.pdf.

  resources (draft): https://jwstudies.com/2tp_resources.pdf.

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  Phizzy

  Thanks Doug, I will read later, and only comment if necessary, but I must say, your research has been an astounding eye-opener to me, and given me a much broader appreciation of the evolution of the idea of a Messiah, and therefore of the frailty of Christian Doctrine on the matter. Thanks you very much.

  Your links to your Sources also provide many hours of further reading for me !
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  16

  The Importance of Language

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  language is obviously a very important thing.

  obviously, language is essential in conveying ideas - without it, we'd be screwed.. but it goes beyond that in terms of its importance.. first, it's a good idea to use accurate language, especially when talking about important things or discussing difficult topics.. second, we should be free to use the words we want to use.

  unfortunately, there is an attempt by certain people to control what words we can and cannot say.

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  Phizzy

  I agree broadly with what you say, but with the proviso that we should not use words that spring from Racism or Hate and are intended to hurt the person being spoken of. All Freedoms have some limits.

  But there is a strong influencing group who are becoming Word Nazis and it is becoming silly. Another problem is where on-line sites use an electronic system to pick up words that are deemed offensive, these systems make mistakes, and of course cannot distinguish between using a word gratuitously and using it in an acceptable context.

  You can easily end up banned from a Social Media Site for wrongly spelling the word cant for example ! Type U instead of A and you are in Social Media Prison !
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  2

  Comments on a range of topics

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hi,.

  while focusing on completing my studies on the second temple period, occasionally i receive questions which help keep the creative juices flowing, and which help me shape my studies.. my responses are thrown off the top without any time spent in serious research.. https://jwstudies.com/my_responses_up_to_4_december_2020.pdf.

  doug.

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  Phizzy

  Thanks Doug, I shall read with great interest later !
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  11

  We Knew Many JWs That Weren’t Right....what about xjws??

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you think that when people leave the religion that they are basically now, “normal”?

  or do you think it’s more a work in progress?.

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  Phizzy

  I think most of us who leave at least have a few things to work on, some have many. What I find annoying about some XJW's is that they are not prepared to put the work in to change for the better, they think that just leaving is sufficient.

  Listen, if you were an arsehole when you were a JW, you still are an arsehole if you haven't addressed your affliction ! Put on the " New Personality ". LOL.
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  30

  Do you think “Eventually” the Whole World will become Socialist?

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  when i say; “socialist” i don’t mean everyone is equal.

  instead i am referring to “leaders” being rich and powerful, whereas the ordinary citizen being poor, and powerless.. i was surprise that the majority of the world is run by socialist government.

  the last few countries that are not socialist are the united states and parts of europe.

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  Phizzy

  " As flawed as capitalism is, it still works better. "

  I don't know what kind of "Socialism" you are comparing capitalism with, but Capitalism unfettered has been a complete failure for the ordinary person, and just "works better" for the 1%.
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  29

  Publisher's Record Cards

  by Faded4good in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, i haven't been to a meeting in over 17 years and i don't live anywhere near the place i grew up.

  i have had minimal contact with my jw family, essentially just occasional phone conversations.

  i think they could easily guess that i'm inactive but they pretend not to know and they've never shunned me.

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  Phizzy

  DOC, I guess if you really start some very public activism, or are helping JW's to wake up, as I do, then they may target you.

  It all seems so very petty and small minded, but then, they are. I reckon if they deem it too long ago that you were a member to make it worthwhile DFing you, then they will DA you and let it be known, so that JW's steer clear of you anyway.

  It still seems strange to me that they deem it sensible, or even acceptable to people looking in on the Org, to take action against someone who was a member many years ago. If anyone had the money, time and will to do so, I think a Court case for defamation or something would be a fun thing to do, to lay before the Public how very childish and silly they are. What proof could they offer a Court that you had been a member ? no Record Card, just hearsay evidence from people who remember you. I can see the JW's being laughed at in Court, and paying some damages.