Yes, it was the "harvest festival" aspect that had me wondering if it was JW kosher. Samhain/Halloween is condemned by the WT, but since participants dress up as demons and witches, they present the WT with low hanging fruit.
NotFormer
JoinedPosts by NotFormer
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8
Oktoberfest and JWs
by NotFormer inis oktoberfest one of those holidays that jws can't celebrate?
is simply sitting in a beer tent as a tourist and imbibing a matter for the elders?.
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Oktoberfest and JWs
by NotFormer inis oktoberfest one of those holidays that jws can't celebrate?
is simply sitting in a beer tent as a tourist and imbibing a matter for the elders?.
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NotFormer
Is Oktoberfest one of those holidays that JWs can't celebrate? Is simply sitting in a beer tent as a tourist and imbibing a matter for the elders?
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So, 60 Years Ago
by titch inso, folks, 60 years ago, starting on september 1st, i believe, we, local witnesses in southern california, had the "privilege" of attending the "around the world assembly", at, of all places, the rose bowl, in pasadena.
(i think that it was an 8-day assembly) i was 9 years old then, almost ready to start 4th grade.
so, was anyone else, on this site, at that assembly?
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NotFormer
That would have been very much under the shadow of the approach of 1975. What was the atmosphere like? How did 9 year old you feel about the whole experience?
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Mandated Shunning is a Crime
by Lee Marsh inmandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.
shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.
mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.
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NotFormer
Petrw: "I think the command form of the verb "to love" => could only be used by God. If the governments of this world do it too, it usually leads to the death of a large number of people or in other words: more people always die in the process than should hypothetically have been saved if nothing had been done..."
Spike Jones and the City Slickers: "Not to love der Fuhrer is a great disgrace, So we Heil! (raspberry!) Heil! (raspberry!) Right in der Fuhrer's face!"
(Just agreeing with the point that Government mandated "love" is often worse than whatever it was supposedly addressing. I'm not trying to trivialise an otherwise very serious topic)
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Mandated Shunning is a Crime
by Lee Marsh inmandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.
shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.
mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.
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NotFormer
Lee makes it very clear that "mandated" shunning is what is being argued against. The trouble with the slogan "Shunning is a Crime" is that it can sound like "avoidance is a crime", which can sound like "freedom of association is a crime". If you run with "Shunning is a Crime", then you'll get NAMBLA coming out and agreeing, saying "So stop shunning us!"
Mandated shunning is a very big problem. And for every complicated problem, there is a simple solution; and it is always wrong. There is no simple solution, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing something about it. Starting with the shunning of minor children by their families is a sensible approach. Norway has had a crack at it. Even then, it's not perfect, but they did hit the WT where it hurts, in their wallet. If more governments did this, tying the shunning of minors to religious funding and charitable status, then it might cause the WT to back down on the shunning of minors.
But even then, we know that at the top, the WT is a pack of liars. They could well introduce a policy that looks like they are complying with the letter of "not shunning", while continuing to effectively do it in spirit. We are not dealing with normal, kind , rational people here. At the top, they are a bunch of cold-hearted killers, who happily condemn minors to death by encouraging them to refuse life-saving blood transfusions.
Another problem I see with this campaign is the lumping together of very different groups. The Amish are a harder nut to crack because they give minors the choice when they reach adulthood. They also don't tend to get government funding the way the WT does. So what works for the WT isn't going to work for the Amish.
So what is the answer? Certainly not one big, simple answer. What it will take is a lot of small answers, applied over time. The problem is big and complex, and will have to be chipped away at.
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125
Mandated Shunning is a Crime
by Lee Marsh inmandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.
shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.
mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.
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NotFormer
The terms "forced shunning" and "mandated shunning" are correct. But the campaign is called "Shunning is a Crime". It is not a crime for me or anyone else to shun a member of NAMBLA (not the National Association of Marlon Brando Look-Alikes, the other NAMBLA), or the KKK or neo-Nazis. Sloppy wording will not solve anything, especially when there are governments more than willing to deprive us of yet more human rights. The slogan makes me think more of thought crime, rather than real crime.
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Mandated Shunning is a Crime
by Lee Marsh inmandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.
shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.
mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.
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NotFormer
What about freedom of association? I should be allowed to avoid people I have nothing in common with. What is the dividing line between shunning and the avoidance of those we distrust or otherwise dislike for whatever reason?
BTW, I have never been a JW and I think that their shunning policies are reprehensible. Giving governments power to force association is hardly the way to resolve things.
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NotFormer
Good luck selling that paradise earth! 🙄
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Are Elders prepared to take the fall for WT/GB misdemeanor's / crime ??
by smiddy3 ini have been thinking about this in relation to the directive given to elders to destroy any incriminating evidence they may have either on their pc`s ,e-mails , private notes in their possession, or notes in their witnessing bags ,etc.
to do with child sexual abuse they may still have in their possession.. isn`t that encouraging the elders to interfere with the justice system ?.
to break the law?.
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NotFormer
Their days are definitely numbered. But that doesn't mean that they won't be around for a significant time into the future. Two decades ago when the WT stats said that there were 6m JWs worldwide, everyone was saying that they were running on fumes and that all growth was from children born to JW parents. The figure is 8m now, which surprised me greatly.
IMO, the dark lord is dead, he just hasn't shown the good grace to lie down yet.
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Treatment of Those Trying For Reinstatement
by Vanderhoven7 inwhat happens when a jehovah’s witness who has been disfellowshipped returns to attending the meetings again?.
mark jones writes:.
if it's the same congregation that they previously attended then, yes, the congregation will remember who they are and so continue to treat them as dead or invisible.. one of the identifying marks a cult is that it uses shame and humiliation to control members, to keep them from leaving and manipulating those who escaped into coming back.. a disfellowshipped person is never allowed to quietly leave with dignity.
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NotFormer
The trouble with WT disfellowshipment rules is that they treat all "sin" equally. At the end of the day, the only sin which really harms the org is questioning them. The other sins, like a one off one-night stand, might be embarrassing to those involved, but quick repentance and forgiveness might create a more grateful and gung-ho witness in the long run. Much as I dislike Catholicism, they at least differentiate between "mortal" and "venial" sins. JWs could classify everything specifically against the org as particularly heinous and harder to walk back and be a little more lenient about stuff that is common to all humanity.