“a circuit overseer started out by saying that on this last round of the circuit, the one thing he noticed the most...is that everyone is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually drained...and that cuts across all barriers and demographics within the truth.
he then said that the one common thread that ran among nearly everyone was this: we feel guilty for feeling bad.
he said because we are told to endure with joy, our minds can cause us to feel enormous guilt over feeling this way...and then, my dear brothers and sisters...he proceeded to blow our collective minds.. he asked us to turn to daniel 8:27….
The Irony of "Jehovah's Happy People" !! it is a miserable religion, all joy was wrung out of it decades ago, hence the huge quantity of obviously depressed J.W's, but I think nearly ALL J.W's suffer a hidden depression.
They are told that non J.W's are not happy, a M.S who came to visit me some time after I left actually said to me "But you can't be happy" !! What a Twat, leaving gave me a true, lasting happiness I had NEVER experienced in my life before !
Phizzy, a Happy Humanist Non-theist.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/a-registered-sex-offender-became-a-ministerial-servant-for-jehovah-s-witnesses-in-springfield-he-s-now-in-prison-for-assaulting-child/ar-aa1h4vjg.
a level 3 sex offender who moved to springfield and secured a role with the jehovah’s witnesses religious organization is now in prison.
jay aaron smith, 62, was sentenced recently in hampden superior court to 15 years in prison for several counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.
The Org. itself is responsible for this, they refuse to take on the Moral Duty to do a Criminal Records check, and then appoint known offenders !
Small Clubs and Associations here in the U.K, and of course the larger ones, do this. No one is appointed to a position of Authority and therefore power, who has any kind of Criminal Record.
If the Org's claim that they " do not allow members to be alone with someone...... blah...blah.... it is the parents responsibility ..blah ...blah..." was something that worked they could continue to hide behind that nonsense, but NO IT DOES NOT WORK ! or these things would not keep happening.
I hope another huge Law Suit goes their way over this. Maybe, just maybe, then they would then live up to their Moral Responsibility to make sure the vulnerable members are protected.
uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.
That execrable alleged kiddy fiddler has got a very young Asian girl to post friend requests on F.B with his mug in the background. What a Creep !
Looks very Culty. I remember when I was a keen JW, trying to "make Disciples"......... sort of, I never seriously "did return visits" with the aim of actually making someone join the Cult, and never actually started a Bybull Studdy, but I recall on several occasions thinking "This is a waste of time".
It must be even more Soul Destroying today, especially here in Europe, where people increasingly do not want to associate with an organised religion, and the majority of people are not at all impressed by what the Bible says, most ordinary people I speak to think religion and the Bible belong to a past era. J.W's have a VERY hard job to sell their brand here in Europe. The Gullible are in diminishing numbers here.
so my mother passed on 20 aug 23 from the big c. i was there when she went.
that was indeed very traumatic.
i won't go to describe it.. dad went 17 years ago so there's just me now.
Being cult like to the extent of rudeness is downright disgusting, but the more they become entrenched in that kind of behaviour , the more people will be repelled , GOOD !
I am glad the occasion went well for you Punkie, keep that chin up ! Keep on Rockin' !
so my mother passed on 20 aug 23 from the big c. i was there when she went.
that was indeed very traumatic.
i won't go to describe it.. dad went 17 years ago so there's just me now.
So sorry to hear that, I know the pain and grief that accompanies the loss of a dear loved one, especially your mother.
My own dear mum, a JW until she died, passed away over a decade ago. I still think of her often, with fondness, and miss the old girl, even though we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things in life, from when I was young, and latterly of course, on her beliefs.
I'll be thinking of you, I hope you get the support you deserve.
Love yer Punkie.
it-1 p. 127 - "they may also claim to serve god but reject (don't serve) his representatives, his visible organization.
such ones willfully abandoning the christian congregation (the org) thereby become part of the “antichrist.”" .
Look, they CANNOT say that ! I am the Antichrist !
I don't think "Jesus" ever existed, that he is totally mythical, such Myths being based upon much earlier Myths, going right back to Canaanite religion.
You cannot get much more anti than that !
zoe has nephew in the new bethel and we have been there to visit him.
even had a meal in the new dinning room and had a tour.. it was a bit underwhelming and the display of old bibles open to pages showing jehovah’s name is supposed to prove everything they say is spot on!.
everyone is talking about the upcoming dedication where members of the gb are flying over.
Another JW Non-event, all for the faithful, and at huge expense, all paid for by the faithful
this is a topic discussed in a current article in the hongkong based asia times*.
find it at: https://asiatimes.com/2023/09/nones-still-no-match-for-us-christian-nationalism/.
the claim is made in the article, that near 30% of americans are non-believers, and that this number is increasing.
" It just means people do not conscientiously see value in these social structures. "
I think this is the case with many here in the U.K, yes, we have over 50% who say they are not affiliated to any religion, but that does not tell us about the beliefs of those people, some will be non-theists of some stripe, but many will still believe in some sort of god, or a vague "Higher Power".
But this is encouraging, that throughout Europe, and to a small extent the USA, the grip of Organised Religion is loosening. People do not see the need to be affiliated to, or attend a Church.
Let us hope this powerful trend continues !
acts 15. the pericope has been long interpreted by the catholic church as a proof text for a central authority.
churches like the wt repeat this claim.
however, reading the text without this coloring reveals something very different.. the story starts with paul and barnabas going to the antioch church and there they encounter pharisee christians from jerusalem (15:24) contradicting the doctrine held by the antioch church.
Phew ! there was a lacuna on here,with no "peacefulpete", I thought you had maybe converted to Scientology or something !
Good to have you back ! and thanks for yet another erudite and thoughtful Post !
Your Post confirms the view of most who study the N.T properly, that the N.T works have not only been edited, but even in the first place were written with an Agenda of establishing what was considered "orthodox" so as to class anything else as "heresy".
This is an important find, as this Text gave impetus to he power of the established orthodoxy, and more power into the hands of the hierarchy.
No wonder the J.W org like it ! They make a great fuss about establishing the purity and accuracy of the Text, and yet blithely ignore late interpolations and editing.
