NotFormer

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Posts by NotFormer

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  3

  Happy Mabon

  by The_Bad_Seed in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  just thought i'd wish those of the wiccan persuasion a happy mabon tomorrow, and al bittersweet fall equinox, marking the summers end.... -seed.

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  NotFormer

  What would Wiccans be celebrating here in the Antipodes, where it is actually the Vernal Equinox?
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  U.S. 2024 Report on Religious Freedom: Challenges for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan

  by raymond frantz in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  thehttps://youtu.be/ycplox56-rk?si=l51-gppfzccoguhd u.s. department of state’s 2024 report on religious freedom sheds light on various challenges faced by minority religious groups around the world.

  while the report covers many nations, one of the key regions of focus is japan, where jehovah’s witnesses are encountering growing hostility amidst a shifting legal and social landscape.

  this article explores the issues jehovah’s witnesses face in japan and the broader implications for religious freedom in the country.. ### the u.s. report: focus on cults and minority groups.

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  NotFormer

  "The group has called for more balanced coverage that accurately reflects their beliefs and practices, rather than relying on sensationalized accounts from disaffected former members"

  This is the point at which any sympathy I was feeling evaporated. 🙄

  "This bit made me laugh, pot, kettle, black and all that."

  Indeed! Being ostracised and excluded from mainstream society's functions is practically one of their main goals for the R&F, particularly children at the school level.

  "And 'And 'National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales'? Who came up with that title? 😅? Who came up with that title? 😅"

  It possibly is something to do with the widespread backlash against the Moonies after the assassination. JWs being peddlers of religious items and not being team players in a society that encourages that sort of thing probably got caught in the slipstream.

  This seems to be a backlash against high control religious groups after the assassination. At first glance it seems wrong-footed. Officially, JWs are against things like assassination attempts or even owning weapons for self defence. But they can't deny that there are times when an ex who has lost everything, thanks to the religion's interference, has grabbed a weapon and gone postal. We've seen the headlines over the years. Perhaps this organisation* has seen them too.

  Remember that recently an opposition party in the Diet was interested in the abuse of children by the organisation and was highlighting past literature encouraging the violent discipline of children? That scrutiny may have started in the wake of the assassination.

  *National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, that is.
  
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  48

  The Date for the Memorial is WRONG this year!

  by Kelley959 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  an interesting video was on youtube with a person claiming that the memorial date for 2024 was wrong.

  so i consulted three different jewish calendars online and sure enough, he appears to be right.

  i went back to 2014 and forward to 2027. they have the future dates listed.

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  NotFormer

  Well shuck my corn! They are so concerned about the externals that they make that biblical allowance. Ot course, it's shoe-horning an OT principle into a new covenant observance (as is their wont, I suppose 🙄).
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  17

  People who work free for the cult for many years

  by ThomasDam21 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  new to the forum.

  i have a question i did not get any feed back for on another site.

  what to these people who gave decades working for free in bethel when they are 60 plus years old.

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  NotFormer

  "This will be the next watchtower scandal - after CSA, blood and shunning (particularly of minors) that governments will or should be investigating at some point. The big con, or 'vow of poverty' the "free workers" sign, in order that watchtower doesn't have to contribute to social security!!"

  It should be the next big scandal, Diogenesister, but I can't see it happening. The elephant in the room is the fact that the laid off Bethelites will not go to the media and the government to complain about their treatment at the hands of the ruthless WT empire. What little support they now have will be taken away from them if they badmouth the organisation. They'll be disfellowshipped* if they broadcast anything negative about their former "employer".

  * "removed"
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  48

  The Date for the Memorial is WRONG this year!

  by Kelley959 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  an interesting video was on youtube with a person claiming that the memorial date for 2024 was wrong.

  so i consulted three different jewish calendars online and sure enough, he appears to be right.

  i went back to 2014 and forward to 2027. they have the future dates listed.

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  NotFormer

  Since they hold themselves to the date of Passover, according to their calculations, based on OT law, have they ever allowed for the ceremony to be held a month late if extenuating circumstances exist, as the Torah makes such an allowance for Passover?
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  53

  WTS 2024 Annual Business Meeting ...

  by careful in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  ... is just three weeks from this saturday.

  the org has been tight-lipped, really, successfully secret about advance info on these in recent years,.

  now that these relatively recent changes on dress and grooming, reporting fs time, judicial matters, etc.

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  NotFormer

  What's the official name of the meeting? Is it an AGM (Annual General Meeting)?
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  17

  People who work free for the cult for many years

  by ThomasDam21 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  new to the forum.

  i have a question i did not get any feed back for on another site.

  what to these people who gave decades working for free in bethel when they are 60 plus years old.

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  NotFormer

  "But if anyone considers themself a true Christian, they will stil try to help these elderly people, and might even lead them to the true understanding of the two main commandments, to love the Lord out God, and to love our neighbour as ourselves."

  I understand the compulsion towards compassion. The trouble with looking after destitute JWs, who spent their lives denigrating and demonising your church, which actually does have a charitable arm, is that there is a chance that you reinforce the WT arrogance. Instead of being grateful for kindness extended by people whom they have been always taught to hate, the risk is them telling each other: "Hey look, I'm living on dumb Christendom's dime; I'm plundering Satan's kingdom!"

  It's a very fine line and a hard road to tread. No-one wants to see people struggle in their old age, even if the struggle is self-inflicted. It just feels like a kick in the guts when someone brags about "Jehovah™"* providing, when it's really Vinnie's** or Anglicare or the Salvation Army.

  * A scribal error by a 13th century Catholic monk

  ** The Society of St Vincent de Paul (Catholic)
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  48

  The Date for the Memorial is WRONG this year!

  by Kelley959 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  an interesting video was on youtube with a person claiming that the memorial date for 2024 was wrong.

  so i consulted three different jewish calendars online and sure enough, he appears to be right.

  i went back to 2014 and forward to 2027. they have the future dates listed.

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  NotFormer

  'Sadly none of this bothers any J.W who is a solid believer, I pointed this Info. out to a devout elderly J.W lady some years ago, she flounced off, throwing over her shoulder " I don't CARE if the Memorial is held on the wrong day !".'

  Probably didn't have a dog in that fight, anyway, unless she counts herself as annointed.
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  11

  New Zealand: Supreme Court dismisses Jehovah's Witnesses' final appeal for Abuse in Care exemption

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/528110/supreme-court-dismisses-jehovah-s-witnesses-final-appeal-for-abuse-in-care-exemption.

  1:10 pm on 16 september 2024 .

  anusha bradley, investigative reporter.

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  NotFormer

  "Their self righteousness will go ballistic if they won and are exempted."

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6268451857891328/jehovahs-witness-deserved-right-refuse-blood-transfusion-europes-rights-court-rules

  The above win, although being the right decision, has the potential to be that sort of bragging point. Are they going to shout it from the housetops, or be discrete about it? Making too much of it has the potential of bringing the blood policy into the spotlight. The opinion of some on here* is that they are trying to slowly let that policy fade to where it is a conscience issue and it never gets brought up officially again. I personally will not believe that until they disband the HLCs.

  On the NZ Royal Commission, let's hope it shines some light into some darkened corners, now that the WT has been found to be not exempt from scrutiny.
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  125

  Mandated Shunning is a Crime

  by Lee Marsh in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  mandated 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

  "It is to their credit I suppose if they realize they were wrong but it’s too bad a religion gave them permission to be a human being.. "

  That's it in a nutshell. They only reached out because the WT said they could, not because their own conscience said so. That they suddenly want to talk to estranged family and former friends after many years because someone else said so from the pulpit or in writing is reprehensible.