Posts by Landy

18

Dutch Elections

by Yesu Kristo Bwana Wangu in

voters are going to the polls in the netherlands in the first of three crucial eurozone elections this year.

.

the voter turnout might set a new record.. what do you hope will be the result?.

Landy

Well done to Holland for showing the way to the rest of Europe.

Anders - get a grip man. Your vote is too important to waste on dithering.

35

New member + anyone attended/seen the Zone Visit?

by Isambard Crater in

jw
friends

i'm a new member so wanted to say 'hi'.

i live in the u.k, was born in, fell away as an unbaptised publisher, got baptised in my 30s for reasons i'm retrospectively unsure of, and lost my faith about five years ago around the time of the original a.r.c.

now, being unable to leave is making me physically, emotionally and mentally ill.. i have been visiting this forum for a couple of years and wanted to post my first message to see if anyone has attended, heard or watched the zone visit broadcast thing happening this month?

Landy

WT....a truly captive organization. Sad.

A prison where the bars are purely in people's minds.

35

New member + anyone attended/seen the Zone Visit?

by Isambard Crater in

jw
friends

i'm a new member so wanted to say 'hi'.

i live in the u.k, was born in, fell away as an unbaptised publisher, got baptised in my 30s for reasons i'm retrospectively unsure of, and lost my faith about five years ago around the time of the original a.r.c.

now, being unable to leave is making me physically, emotionally and mentally ill.. i have been visiting this forum for a couple of years and wanted to post my first message to see if anyone has attended, heard or watched the zone visit broadcast thing happening this month?

Landy

Why cant you quit, you're a grown adult aren't you?

Learning to say no is an important life skill.

Bizarre, isn't it? It's the one thing that's amazed me since I've started coming here.

9

Article: Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to change two-witness rule because ‘that’s our stand’

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/jehovahs-witnesses-refuse-to-change-twowitness-rule-because-thats-our-stand/news-story/ee1f5bdd2561d99f6d1f608f039ee200.

jehovah’s witnesses refuse to change two-witness rule because ‘that’s our stand’.

rohan smithnews.com.au.

Landy

They don't need to change the two witness rule. It's up to them how they run their own internal judicial matters. What they need to do is sort out their response to an allegation of a crime.

It's very simple. Report an alleged crime to the authorities.

That. Where it involves minors anyway.

19

Is ignorance an excuse?

by stuckinarut2 in

i have always maintained that i hold nothing personally against individual witnesses, even those that have actively slandered our name and reputation based on the actions of some individuals.. i have often said that all these ones, (even the ones spreading gossip), are victims of the culture of the organization, and the directions of the gb.. but recently i have been rethinking this, and wonder if ignorance is really an acceptable excuse?.

i mean, with so much information now readily available about the society, its origins, its scandals, issues and conduct, is it simply ok for a witness to remain wilfully ignorant about the organization that dictates every aspect of their lives?.

is ignorance an excuse?.

Landy

Democrats think republican views are ignorant and wrong.

Republicans think democrat views are ignorant and wrong.

People have different views and different beliefs. C'est la vie.

JWs (and anyone else who believes in a theistic god) have different beliefs to me.

As long as they have them in a peaceful way, people are entitled to believe what they like without being called ignorant and stupid.

14

Something that doesn't get discussed all that much...

by Vidiot in

...but i believe is relevant:.

just how much is the watchtower organization's "business model" dependent on its tax-exempt status?.

is it truly sustainable without it?.

Landy

I think it would be a blow to lose their tax exempt status and they would do anything to avoid it, but they would cut their cloth accordingly and survive. Their cash reserves are huge.

They have the advantage of being multinational so they can also up and shift their operations to another more tax friendly country.

And you can bet your bottom dollar they would use every aggressive legal tax dodge to keep from paying tax.

23

"Best life ever" ?????

by charity7 in

is this a slogan that was recently come up with for jw's?

i've seen it used as a hashtag on instagram for jw's, key chains, cakes, about me biography description... the first thing i thought was, isn't that a little pretentious?

they complain so much about this life.

Landy

Different people enjoy different things. I'm not going to be arrogant enough to say someone's not happy when they are. Some people find the social aspect of being a JW enjoyable - that's fine, I'm not going to judge them for it.

47

What do you think the Australian Government will do?

by Richard Oliver in

i am not wanting to start a fight.

i just want to hear what people think.

honestly and realistically, what do you think the australian government will do, with watchtower, when they receive the full arc report?.

Landy

If NOTHING happens becouse of the ARC at least some eyes have been opened to how the WTS deals with these matters.Karter.

Personally, I think that is the key. The ARC is toothless. Nothing will happen.

I'm also not sure who much effect it will have on public opinion. I've never seen it on the news. I was brought up as a JW and I'd never heard of it until I came here a year or so ago.

If I went out in the street and asked a 100 people what they thought of the ARC investigation into JWs and other organisations handing of child abuse cases I know for a fact I would get 100 blank stares.

It's big news in the bubble that is this place because we all want it to be big news. The reality is that it isn't big news, not at all.

47

What do you think the Australian Government will do?

by Richard Oliver in

i am not wanting to start a fight.

i just want to hear what people think.

honestly and realistically, what do you think the australian government will do, with watchtower, when they receive the full arc report?.

Landy

RO has proven himself adept at asking then ignoring answers and at the same time taking another opportunity to articulate his own pro-JW organization views on its response to allegations of child sexual abuse.

He's also adept at providing a more objective version of what is happening in ongoing court cases. I have no idea whether he's pro JW or anti JW, and I don't really care. His posts on the court processes and giving the realistic outcomes are sometimes worth reading and if he's bullied of this site by imbelices that would be a shame.

But, not to worry, if he goes, we've always got Outlaw and his stupid pictures to keep us informed.

19

The Evolution of Morality - Jonathan Haidt

by cofty in

the question of how humans came to have a moral sense is one of the more interesting challenges offered by believers against unguided evolution.

even informed christians who accept the reality of evolution feel a need to add an additional step where god imbued man with a conscience.. non-supernatural explanations of the origin of morality usually focus on simple examples of reciprocal altruism and the ability to empathise with fellow creatures.

secular moral systems most often rest on the single foundation of the effects actions have on the well-being of conscious creatures.

Landy

I remember reading/hearing somewhere (it may have been Dawkins) that morality, or the desire to do what was 'right', evolved because we developed in small groups. We soon came to realise that we got along better by being nice to each other, and because we were in small groups, and we knew everyone very well, it was easier to be nice to them than to not be. It's thought that those who went against the developing social norms were perhaps killed or exiled.