Posts by Clambake

63

How the Watchtower Screws Up Your View of Scripture

by CalebInFloroda in

while i do not argue the stand of atheism (because as a jew i find it totally logical and acceptable), i have noticed that there are odd carryover preconceptions about scripture that some hold as axiomatic about the bible (at least the hebrew texts), misconceptions that have nothing to do with the jewish scriptures themselves.. so regardless of what you may think of scripture, whether you believe it is of g-d or not, i thought some of you might enjoy a reference to see how much the watchtower teaching on scripture might still be influencing the conclusions you are making today...at least about the tanakh.

jews read their texts acknowledging the following:.

1. no scriptural concept of original sin.

Clambake

I had a discussion with a JW one time about the book of John and “ the word was a god “. I told him I believe John gave a good reference of Jesus being “ the angel of the lord” from the old testament, the figure that was identified as being God and with God. If you look at the quotes from the old testament and how they are used and the I AM statement, I believe the book of John testifies to the identity of Jesus and how he believed Jesus was God in the flesh.

Then I asked “ What do you think the book of John is about and how it relates to the new testament “ ?

Silence. Interesting, I must be going. Good to meet you.

JW if it isn’t some crazy weird code they believe they have cracked really have no idea what the hell the bible is all about. The WTS trains you to think so far outside the box you really forget how to think inside it.

25

All quiet on the western front

by campaign of hate in

recently it seems very quiet in jw land.. jw broadcasting has been in full swing for months now, nobody bats an eye lid at that anymore.. so the question is, what is next?

the next organisation change, the next doctrine change.

it seems like this is the quiet before the storm.. the way things are going, it's almost like they try and one up their last change, things in jw land get that bit more crazy every year.. i'm hedging my bets toward a monthly public talk broadcast straight from new york.

Clambake

My wife just got back from her assembly. There was 4700 in attendance and 11 took the dip. Too make matters worse they were just 12 year old born-ins. In our entire province of 1.1 million people I don't think even 20 people took the dip.

I am beginning to think subconsciously a large portion of dubs want the nonsense to end.

33

Transcription of interview with Rabbi Michael Berenbaum regarding German JW's in the concentration camps

by Saintbertholdt in

a while ago i transcribed a video interview with rabbi michael berenbaum from the university of judaism.

the interview concerns jehovah's witnesses during the second world war in the german concentration camp system.

berenbaum is a historian and specifically researches jehovah's witnesses during the shoah and also the idea of martyrdom.

Clambake

In WW2 the Americans would go from island to island in the pacific trying to get close enough to create an airbase to strike mainland Japan. Each one of these Islands had Japanese defenders who were outgunned and overmatched. When the American would arrive it was just a matter of time, the outcome of the battle wasn’t in doubt. Yet these Japanese soldiers would fight to the last man, not a single prisoner taken. It just made the American soldiers sick. They would end up using flamethrowers to burn them out because of the suicide bombers.

Yet for some odd reason I have no interest in joining the imperial Japanese army. There are lots of stories of bravely or stupidity in WW2.

I think the average JW needs to realize that JW didn’t go to the death camps, they went to work camps and the vast majority of them survived the ordeal.

I think the real heros are the ones who stopped the Nazis, not the ones who babysat the SS childrens.

14

Do you have a JW hero?

by Island Man in

when i say jw hero i mean a jw who courageously did what was right despite the indoctrination and peer pressure to conform to cultishness.

i have an unknown jw hero that i've never met but only heard of from an experience relayed to me about an incident at a jw funeral.. i was told that at a jw funeral internment, a non-jw put a wreath in the shape of a cross on the grave.

shortly thereafter a jw elder came up and removed the wreath.

Clambake

Year ago I had a JW work for me and sometimes I would ask him to unload some trucks after hours. The truck drivers would pay him cash. Usually 50 dollars for 45 mins work. Over a period of a year he would do this maybe 50-60 times. End of the year he would declare this as income and pay tax on it. I am like dude, its cash , don’t worry about it. He was like “ pay to Caesar with is Caesars “ . He was literally the most honest person I ever knew. I later found out he was inactive.

I have seen he out later on Sunday morning in a suit. I think he was might be going to another church now. No disassociation, doesn't care.

I knew another JW that wouldn’t allow his children to even consider becoming baptised till they were legal adults even though they wanted too. Even had words with the elders over this. Only one child out of three become a JW. I kind of had a weird respect for him.

40

INTERVIEW: with an Elder

by TerryWalstrom in

elder: "i'm not sure i know what you mean by 'diversity.'.

elder: "well, it's not quite like that.

elder: "um.

Clambake

In the first century when Jerusalem was sacked , any kind of centralized authority was destroyed yet the apostles kept on preaching. Today when you look at the church ( the entire body of Christ ) , the differences between dominations is really quite minor yet they keep preaching the same message. I think that is kind of interesting.

Jehovah Witness on the other hand get this copy and paste crap every week that is so twisted and ever changing yet because we all teach the same thing we are the only true Christians ? Fook that. An elder bragged to me about how we do this job without getting paid and I was like “ No offence, a monkey could do your job , You don’t have to prepare a sermon or a bible study, it all laid out of for, even the answers in the bible study“. He wasn’t impressed.

Point B. Where the hell does it say in the bible that seven magical men telling us what to do was god’s plan for humanity ? Where is this arrangement ?

32

How to Block an Interrogation by J.W's

by The Searcher in

"don't you believe that this is god's spirit-directed organization?".

"do you believe that god is teaching us through the faithful & discreet slave?

"who else has the truth?

Clambake

I have often wondered if gods plan for humanity was to give us seven magical men in New York it would be a teaching clearly defined in the bible. Outside of the parable of the faithful and wise servant which is a parable, what evidence in the bible this being gods final plan for humanity.

71

They dared !

by coalize in

.

i can't believe they had the cheek to come out with that explanation.. it's no more "new light" it's "new scam"!!

!.

Clambake

Whenever a JW pulls the pacifist card I also love to point out the story of Jehovah God giving the land of Canaan to the Jews and there were people sacrificing their children to Baal and Molach. What did god command they do?

So when Hitler was putting into people into ovens what do you think Jehovah God really wanted from us?

Don’t worry, someone else will always do the heavy lifting.

I have never really got an answer for that one.

34

Do you ever feel strangely drawn towards Conspiracy Theories?

by JW_Rogue in

after mentally awakening to the idea that jws don't have the truth i strangely found myself delving into all encompassing conspiracy theories.

not that i believed them but something about them seemed quite fascinating.

i was especially drawn to the idea of a new world order/one world government.

Clambake

The WTS is basically a conspiracy theory making a person question the whole legimately of the bible with the production of the new world translation.

Instead of knowing let’s say what the book of Romans is all about a JW will isolate an indefinite article , quote something out of context, connect it to something to doesn’t matter and make a whole new doctrine.

It often to me seems like they are working to disprove the bible.

21

Why is the Governing Body pushing the very young(5-12 year old) into getting baptized into subservience to the Corporation?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

i think a very simple reason may be because the very young are pretty much the only ones naive enough to take the plunge these days.

with the internet available to inform people about the deceptive lies printed by the wt corporation it seems that they are getting their member from the less informed population like the elderly and the very young.

they/gb hate higher education because they loose members who get one and so they are focusing on those that are dumb enough to believe their boogie man bull shit about jehovah choosing their corporation and anybody not a part of it he will destroyed at armageddon.. also we need to consider that they view these young people as a potential free labor source so the sooner you get them hooked into baptism with the threat of disfellowshipping you can get more free labor out of them..

Clambake

I know an elder in my wives cong and I think it is a pretty stand-up guy. He doesn’t believe in the whole childhood baptism thing. The interesting part is he has four children and only one become a Jehovah witness.

I was told in the 80s and 90s when Jehovah witness growth was much great there was sort of a movement to discourage childhood baptism because of stories of ruined families and such by suckering kids into something they don’t understand at such a young age.

I guess they are learning if they don’t get them young now they just don’t get them at all.

59

How are the JW's reacting to the new USA gay marriage laws?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

personally i think this is wonderful.

i have nothing against gay people and wish them only the best.. but of course i'm in a minority of one, the jw's around me are posting away on fb the most homophobic vitriol imaginable.

a lot of them are even saying that it's the start to armageddon!!.

Clambake

Nicky

No man would ever apply for common law status.

That is the reason we have common law status.