Posts by Phizzy

23

"The Truth"

by Ding in

we all know that jws consider the wt religion to be "the truth" and refer to it as such.. granted, that phrase is used repeatedly in the literature and from the platform.. but it's obvious that much of what the organization used to require jws to teach house-to-house as important truths--even within our own lifetimes--has been abandoned.

it's been replaced by "new light" and "refined understanding.

what's meant by "the 1914 generation" is a prime example.. in fact, i think it would be hard to find another religion that has changed so many of its teachings, especially in such a short period of time.. so why do jws still believe their religion to be "the truth"?.

Phizzy

Yes ! the oft repeated word serves to convince them that it is a reality, that they have the "truth", and that EVERYONE else does not !

This gives them a smug feeling of superiority.

The Scripture used to excuse the constant Doctrinal changes, Proverbs 4v18 in the most blatant example of irony, is not talking about "truth" at all directly, and certainly not religious truth : " The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,

shining ever brighter till the full light of day.".

It is a Proverb about how if you are righteous, your way through life becomes clearer the longer you live.

Charles Taze Russell pointed out over 100 years ago as he founded the org. that when it came to "New Light" in understanding the Scriptures, it could only be called that if it ADDED to an old understanding, if the new "understanding" replaced an older one, what was replaced was never Truth .(Feb. 1881 W.T from memory).

Jehovah's Witnesses should take note of that !

All the while they were teaching the old discarded ideas, they were teaching untruth, what does their God think of such teachers ? Exactly, but while they were teaching lies they called those teachings, and their religion "The Truth", and if you as a member loudly pointed out from Scripture the correct view, you would at the time be thrown out !!!! God's Spirit Directed Organisation ? Nah.

23

WT Style Pacificism

by Sea Breeze in

episode 203 of netflix ... i am a killer looks at the murder of christopher chavez in texas.

christopher chavez was a 22 year old ministerial servant and a born-in son of an jw elder.

after a thursday night meeting and a quick bite to eat afterwards with friends at a local restaurant, he was kidnapped, taken to a gas station and forced to drive his killers around for hours while they were in the back seat.

Phizzy

A little lad in our Congregation, about 8 years old, had picked up on the idea that he was not supposed to defend himself, and so was being bullied and punched at School by one boy in particular.

His father, a wise Elder told him that sure, he could defend himself, no way was he expected to take being bullied and physically attacked.

The next day he went to School and punched the Bully several times, he had no more problems at School.

But if that little lad had not been properly guided, he could have suffered as the guy in this Thread did in later life.

11

Memory and memorization

by Terry in

jw
friends

3.1415926535807932384626433i used to be able to go to a hundred from memory.

my son and daughter can do so.age 75 has cheated me a bit in this regard.what sort of things have you memorized (whether useful or useless)?i can recite the entire rime of the ancient mariner to this day, btw.there are many so-called tricks for remembering things that can be easily learned and i've read all or most of those books.the amusing thing about such memory is this: nobody cares!

"why do you need to memorize when you can just use your iphone?sigh...i memorized the periodic table of elements one day at work.

Phizzy

I can sing the Song "How Much is That Doggy in the Window" backwards, I memorised this skill over 50 years ago. It has never come in useful.

88

New method to absolutely date Fall of Jerusalem.

by waton in

for what it is worth to those interested.

1914.. tel-aviv university.

"biblical military campaigns reconstructed using geomagnetic field data.

Phizzy

Slimboy's point is correct according to my reading of the paper which there is a Link to in the Article.

So, yes, we cannot say the Scientists that did this have proved beyond doubt that Aviv in 586BCE was the date for Jerusalem's destruction, but by looking at the other events that are dated without doubt and working them from 539 BCE if you want to do that, then the 586BCE date is not far out, it could be a few months at most, but had there been a disparity of much more than that the Scientists would have been alerted and checked it out.

I am surprised they used the Aviv 586BCE date as an anchor merely accepting it as spot on from the Hebrew Bible, but as I say, no BIG discrepancy in that can be calculated however you try to do it.

18

IICSA Final Report

by Phizzy in

the english legal system's independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has issued its final report, and its recommendations.

to read the report in full just google iicsa report, if you search on the iicsa site you can find the specific investigation into j.w's.. but this recommendation from the final report is interesting, esp.

the first and last sentences.

Phizzy

" Has the redress scheme that WTC finally signed onto resulted in any money being paid to victims from WTC coffers? " That is in Australia ? I would like to know the answer to that too, in as much details as is known !

The above report is suggesting a similar redress scheme for England, if it is implemented, hopefully soon, we shall have to watch what happens !

The Org. cares more about hanging on to its money, than making life more bearable for its Victims.

27

Jehovah's New Light

by Vanderhoven7 in

what new light from jehovah did you find hard to swallow?.

the conversations in the attached video are enlightening.

the graphic is hilarious.. https://youtu.be/byj3zrpbuvg.

Phizzy

Sorry to appear Nit-picking Van, but your question at the start of the O.P. made me immediately say to myself "J.W new light does NOT come from Jehovah!" .

I know you are well aware of that, but certain things make me angry, as when someone who is obviously "awake" still calls it the "Truth".

Back on topic, right from when I was very young I found "New Light" hard to swallow, I remember asking my old man about why things had suddenly changed with the "Your Will be Done" Book I think it was, late 1950's ?, that had a new interpretation of Daniel. Dad's explanation was far from satisfactory to me I remember, and from then on I looked askance at what came out from H.Q.

Sadly for me in a way, when I left home I joined a Congregation where a good number were sceptical and we used to tear apart all sorts of things from "new light" to procedural stuff, but all remained as J.W's . One C.O told me that some of our former C.O's told him that they did not like the visit to us because we were "all such rebels". If I had not been in a milieu like that, where I felt comfortable, I would have woken up fully, and left much earlier than I did.

Since I have left they have had the laughable total nonsense of the Overlapping Generations, anyone who swallows that and its ilk has to be bereft of all critical thinking ability.

20

For Born-Ins - If You Were 18 Again, What 7 Things Would You do Differently?

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

here's mine:.

1. go immediately to college and study construction management.

2. set up an ira and start contributing every year.

Phizzy

The O.P is not clear as to how much you are supposed to suddenly know at 18 that you know now.

Assuming that I suddenly knew what I know now at age 18.

1) First, and most importantly, get out of the religion, doing so in a manner that gave the least pain to my family.

2) begin to invest in Property.

3) get a career that would earn me money, to invest in property and Shares.

4) Become Political, and work for a better World.

5) selectively have a number of love affairs.

6) Have children. They have made me a better person.

7) Work to expose Abuse in all its forms, and to change the Law to rectify this.

20

Religion vs. The Gospel

by Chalam in

hello jwners,.

the jw i chatted with recently directed me to matthew 24 with regards to the witnesses and highlighted matthew 24:14. i asked him what "this gospel" is.

the only answer i got was "i'm not sure what you mean".. .

Phizzy

Dis. J.W You make an excellent point, and one which just shows I should have read the O.P with the care and attention you did !

Stephen/Chalam is wrong to claim that Paul asserts anywhere in his genuine writings, that Jesus is God in a trinitarian sense.

Paul's view of Jesus is that he was pre-existent in heaven, and that God (the father) raised him from the dead. Quite where Paul stood on the extent of the Divinity of J.C. is not clear, but certainly there is not one hint in his writings of even a nascent trinitarian view, as far as I can see.

What was plain was that the Gospel he preached was that if you became "one in Christ" not only Sin from Adam was cancelled, but the power of Sin in your life now. This message obviously appealed, hence the fast spreading flame of Christian belief after Paul's ministry.

38

Which of you readers are being shunned by their relatives / friends ?

by stan livedeath in

a simple " me" if you dont want to say more--or a short explanation about who is shunning you and how long has this been going on.. i'll set the ball rolling: my daughter--her husband and children; my younger son --no contact from them for 40 years...because i left their religion.. (edit--i just noticed the typo in the header--if should be of ).

Phizzy

This from the wonderful LongHairGal :

" Remember, the shunning routine doesn’t work without an audience to appreciate it."

What a great point ! I think too, if we get the chance to negate what they do, by giving them at least a cursory nod, or even a "Good morning" and even a smile ? as you would any person you once knew, it is great to do, preferably without engaging in conversation, they don't deserve that, but then they know their Shunning attempt has failed.

18

IICSA Final Report

by Phizzy in

the english legal system's independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has issued its final report, and its recommendations.

to read the report in full just google iicsa report, if you search on the iicsa site you can find the specific investigation into j.w's.. but this recommendation from the final report is interesting, esp.

the first and last sentences.

Phizzy

The English Legal System's Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse has issued its Final Report, and its recommendations. To read the Report in full just Google IICSA Report, if you search on the IICSA Site you can find the specific investigation into J.W's.

But this recommendation from the Final Report is interesting, esp. the first and last sentences. :

" The first relates to the introduction of a statutory requirement of mandatory reporting. In effect, it requires individuals in certain employments (paid or voluntary) and professions to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the relevant authorities. Failure to do so in some circumstances could lead to the commission of a new criminal offence of failure to report an allegation of child sexual abuse when required to do so. The second concerns the establishment of a national redress scheme for England and for Wales, to provide some monetary redress for child sexual abuse for those who have been let down by institutions in the past. This is a fixed-term scheme with straightforward processes to ensure that, as far as possible, victims and survivors secure efficient access to the help they need. The redress scheme is not a substitute for criminal or civil justice systems and it does not replace the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The government should seek contributions to the scheme from the institutions affected."