Posts by Phizzy

16

The Mysterious Missing Islam.....

by snare&racket in

i've discussed this before but not in this context alone.. i remember being about 14 years old, 1994 and starting a study in the uk with a charming muslim from the congo.

he was a very pleasant middle aged guy with a big family, two wives, always the most hospitable.

at the time the watchtower had a book on many religions, a thick red book called 'mankind's search for god' so i would read and discuss the section on islam with him.. interestingly, but not surprising, many details they had were wrong about islam and he would explain how and correct me.

Phizzy

The Bible writers were only knowledgeable about their own time, and culture, and narrow geographic area. Their knowledge of history was faulty, as seen by the many errors they made, not just the deliberately made up stuff. They certainly had no knowledge of the future, every prediction they ever made did not come true in the terms that they wrote down, NOT ONE !!

Your point is spot on, the things that are missing from the Bible make it plain that it is written by ill educated men, even for their own time they know little that is common knowledge in nearby Cultures. And so the Bible is 90% very poor Fiction.

4

An illustration of obeying the Governing Body when it makes no sense from a human perspective.

by BourneIdentity in

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Phizzy

I had that very experience of teaching the " right thing", and yet being haughtily told that " the Org does not teach that" as though I should shut up.

I was mercifully, and much to my amusement, proved correct when the Org in one of its many U turns, published my point of view in the very next book that came out ! ( the details of this matter are boring, so won't spell them out).

The one I never got an answer to was the one where I pointed out that Jesus own words were contradictory, completely, in another area than the above, and of course the Elder just stuck to the Org's line, even showing me what a Public Talk Outline said on it, rather than the Bible ! but as I said, "You can't have it both ways ". Either one statement was right, or the other was. Of course, the Gospels contain a number of totally contradictory things, I didn't know that at the time , I was a callow youth, but still took on the Elders !

43

Dumb Elders

by minimus in

jw
friends

i knew a few pretty intelligent elders .

sometimes i would wonder why they remained as elders or even witnesses because they were successful men who made a good living and were highly respected because of their qualities.. that is a rather small group.

most elders that i know of aren’t the brightest bulbs in the sky.

Phizzy

The main trouble with many Elders was and is that they are simply not qualified to deal with things that come their way, but are given the impression by the Org that they are.

When dealing with matters like Abuse, Mental Health , even the personal Finances of the members of their flock, they are simply not qualified and should leave it to those who are, entirely. A huge number of lives have been ruined and even lost because these guys are promoted above their ability, even the intelligent and smart ones are not professionals in the areas I mentioned, so should leave it to those who are, lives depend upon it.

27

What went WRONG with the Great Pyramid teachings of Isaac Newton, Piazzi Smyth, Pastor C.T. Russel

by Terry in

pyramidology .

of isaac newton, piazzi smyth, pastor c.t.

russell:)what went wrong?let’s keep our investigation simple!where and how was the obsession with the great pyramid begun?

Phizzy

That Wiki article is correct, Israeli Archaeologists were sent to find proof of of Israel and the Exodus story, they honestly and correctly reported back they could find No Evidence for it !

And as the Article hints at, Israel as a group comes much later in history than the Patriarchs and the Moses stories are set. The "History" we read in the Bible was invented by returnees after the Babylonian exile to give a boost to Nationhood for those that now occupied the land, they wanted a narrative about their history as a Nation that would justify their position. That same narrative is being falsely used by Israel today, and falsely believed by gullible and ignorant politicians in the Unite States and elsewhere. The whole Bible is really 90% or more a work of Fiction.

This explains a lot !

5

Chelmsford and Mill Hill

by stan livedeath in

whats the latest news on this ?

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been quiet lately..

Phizzy

Good luck with " cashing in " on the Chelmsford project in the future. A business oriented Building Complex built on a toxic Site miles for anywhere significant, when Businesses are leaving the U.K in droves now, and Commercial premises will be two a penny ?

I think they have built a White Elephant.

17

Predictions of The Org in one year.

by Overrated in

jw
friends

i predict that in a year kingdumb halls will be replaced by zoom.

they will still have assembly halls but will charge a heavy entry fee.

baptisms will continue to be so low that would not be worth counting.

Phizzy

The Cult is without doubt moribund. But that gradual dying off will take some time, as their Business Method is so lucrative, it will be a long time before they finally run out of cash.

I can foresee that they will go more on line, eventually. I think they will bring back the usual crap, door knocking, Meetings at the K.H etc to reassure the R&F that all is well.

But they will go on-line almost totally in a fairly short time thereafter, in order to sell more K.Halls and Assembly Halls, and to shed the Third World type places that contribute nothing, and actually cost them money. Anywhere that becomes Internet connected they will still keep on.

If this means shedding millions of members, they do not care, as long as the remaining members still contribute.

Remember, this lot, JW Org, are all about the $$$.

5

Chelmsford and Mill Hill

by stan livedeath in

whats the latest news on this ?

.

been quiet lately..

Phizzy

Yes George, typical JW Org M.O. Use you for no cost as long as they can, as soon as that changes, throw you on the mercy of charity from other JW's. At no cost to the Org.

They did this for many a long year with D.O's ,C.O's and all the other " Full Time" folks, so no change there.

Many years ago, maybe even two decades, when London properties were going up and up in value, I suggested a move similar to the Chelmsford one to a group of Elders, they just nodded and didn't really see the point of what I was saying. Which was, sell on a rising market. They have left it so long that here in the U.K when Brexit really begins to bite from Jan. 1st property prices, especially Commercial property, but even Development too, will fall dramatically, they will sell for far less than even when I proposed it !

40

Goodbye yhwh-Goodbye jesus

by fulltimestudent in

jw
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.

Phizzy

Just because we are the product of chance and Natural Selection, that does not mean that we are unable to make ethical and moral choices, or that we should not do so.

A lot of good, ethical and moral choices are made in Nature, by what some still like to think of as " lesser " species, co-operation and altruistic works are seen.

If we have evolved the intelligence to work out what does the most good and the least harm, we should make those choices, not anything that comes short of that.

27

What went WRONG with the Great Pyramid teachings of Isaac Newton, Piazzi Smyth, Pastor C.T. Russel

by Terry in

pyramidology .

of isaac newton, piazzi smyth, pastor c.t.

russell:)what went wrong?let’s keep our investigation simple!where and how was the obsession with the great pyramid begun?

Phizzy

Thanks for the info. Terry. Several things in your Post I had not actually registered before, although I had read about them.

It is evident that C.T. Russell was a terrible plagiarist, rather than an original thinker, when looking at this matter a decade or so ago I read in my edition of Studies in the Scriptures a Letter that Russell had reproduced from Piazzi-Smythe commenting on Russell's Book. If you read that Letter with an open mind, rather than praising Russells conclusions, Piazzi-Smythe merely is polite enough to acknowledge the Book.

Also, Piazzi-Smythe was not a great, reliable academic to seek praise from !

Also, when reliable measurements were actually made of the Great Pyramid, they differed from the ones Russell was using ! So all his Charts and calculations were rubbish as you say, "Pyramid Inch" or not.

How strange that the JW's still accept, and in fact make as their foundation for all teaching, and indeed their Orgs very existence, the 1914 nonsense that Russell also devised, with very little adjustment. Russell also plagiarized this idea too, from William Miller and later Adventists, yet without it, JW's would not be.

40

Goodbye yhwh-Goodbye jesus

by fulltimestudent in

jw
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.

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.