Posts by Emery

3

The Hair-trigger Aposta-sense

by Londo111 in

jw
friends

when you are in, i mean mentally in, did you ever unintentionally set of someones aposta-sense?

i was among close friends (so i thought) and i let my hair down for a bit and questioned whether the flood really covered every inch of the earth.

i asked, if this is supposed to be noahs eyewitness account, wouldnt the flood just cover the whole land as far as the eye could see?

Haha, yes I remember mentioning something interesting I learned in biology class one night with some JWs. *Sorry if I have this wrong*-- it delt with our cells copying themselves repeatedly over time and that this has been linked to why we get old and die. Once I said this, 2 of my Jdub friends pounced on me and said..."thats wrong, the reason we get old and die is because Jehovah punished Adam and Eve." I thought they were joking at first and laughed it off as I knew that this was common sense, but they insisted and got offended that I would dare consider what a "wordly" teacher at my high school would say over the faithful slave. I then got pretty agitated and infuriated with them. We got into a back and forth discussion, and by the end they told me I was going against what the slave had to say, which was dangerous talk.

Lets review: It's a cult!

24

Don't Blame the Organization for Imperfect Humans

by ranmac in

i think everyone here has heard this as a response to questioning or serious concerns about the religion.

i think its a cowardly retort.

a flimsy cop-out.

Emery

Great post ranmac, it truly is amazing that the organization requests their members to give them full immunity yet doesn't provide the same in return. I immediately thought of this scripture while reading your post.

Matthew 7:3 " Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but don't notice the log in your own eye?"

So why is it we "apostates" blame an organization run by imperfect humans? Because these imperfect humans choose to punish people for being imperfect. A silly and disgusting situation that should be exposed for the whole world to see.

18

What if you were DF'd for apostacy, but instead of the expected...

by respectful_observer in

this is a hypothethical, so i'm not looking for whether you would ever do this, or "why would you want to subject yourself to this...", but rather, what would happen if some did do this..... .................... you're half of a married jw couple, and you admit to doubts about certain wts teachings and it leads to an eventual disfellowshipping.

but instead of walking away from the kingdom hall forever, you stay put.

you faithfully go to every meeting with your spouse.

Emery

I had the same situation playing around in my head for some time. I think this would have to last a long time before anyone would be bothered or curious enough regarding your stance. Your time and patience would be better spent elsewhere rather than trying to convince members of an apocalyptic cult that you're a good person.

10

Examples please; How does the WTS 'bait and switch' after Baptism...?

by The Song Remains The Same in

i was wondering if there is a list already on here that presents the key 'game changers' or 'bait and switch' points that will happen once you get baptised?

this can include behavioral changes by the already members towards the newly baptised.. i've read somewhere about the 'love bombing' and how that stops, heard a bit about the time-in-service reporting, and that pressure to attend the meetings goes up (esp.

if missing a few).

Emery

AndDontCallMeShirley thank you for pointing these references out! *marked*

32

If you tried to get your doctrinal or historical questions answered by an elder in your cong...

by NeverKnew in

what was the result?

i have seen answers strewn throughout many posts but never consolidated.

this is important.

Emery

You can ask a few questions here and there. However, you will be told to stop thinking and wait on Jehovah...and at the end you will get asked the loyalty questions, they are the only ones that matter. Your get out of jail free card is to say "Yes I believe in the faithful and discreet slave." or "I believe this is Jehovah's spirit directed organization."

35

Who are the men that REALLY Run the WT?

by Zordino in

jw
friends

with all of the manipulating of people's lives and subliminaly coercing witnesses to give their wills and other belongings to the wt upon their death or sooner.

also with all of the manipulating of younger one's in terms of coercing them into not doing anything with they're lives except "spiritual pursuits" for the sole purpose of furthering their own corporate interests, is there possibly some men behind the scenes who really call the shots and using the gb just as puppets in a huge money making scam knowing full well the the whole jw thing is a complete pile of crap?

in other words, are these "bosses" conscientiously manipulating the r & f on purpose knowing full well what they are doing to their member's in so many ways?

Emery

I think its a mix of the governing body and their lawyers.

37

BOOK: Jehovah himself has become king - Robert king

by *lost* in

i just got my first book ... to start with.

the next one will be ray franz, crisis of conscience.. so if there any believers or semi-believers that would like to chat about it i would appreciate your comments.. also it may help any visitors to this site, who may be questioning things.. .

lost.

Emery

I own the book, its good at exposing the UN scandal and how the spiritual paradise the organization claims to have is false...but in the end --paradoxically-- he still believes 80-90% of JW theology, and encourages people to stay with the organization. He maintains that Jehovah's organization MUST apostasize according to prophecy and that it's somewhat of a litmus test from Jehovah to all witnesses to see their true faith. He doesn't help his case as the only way it can be Jehovah's organization in the first place is if 1919 is true, a subject which he dances around in his book. I remember finishing the book and thinking...."Should I stay or should I go?" Causing an already existing cognitive dissonance to become even greater.

I would strongly suggest reading Ray Franz' work before reading Robert Kings.

FYI, Robert King strongly discourages reading Ray Franz' books as they completely dismantle the organization's authority or claims to divine appointment.

43

Markan priority and the synoptic gospels

by 88JM in

this might be a question for leolaia, but i noticed in researching the gospel of mark this week that the dates the wtbts gives for the writing of the other synoptic gospels does not seem to agree with most new testament scholars.. the all scripture book gives the following dates:.

matthew: writing completed: c. 41 c.e.mark: writing completed: c. 6065 c.e.luke: writing completed: c. 5658 c.e.this would put mark as the last of the three synoptic gospels to be written, and therefore the wtbts does not adhere to the markan priority hypothesis.. wikipedia states that: "the theory of markan priority is today accepted by the majority of new testament scholars".. .

is there a good reason why the wtbts dates the synoptic gospels in that order?how can they date matthew and luke so early?is it merely because the wtbts rejects the possibility of a "q" source, and possibly even the idea of collusion between the writers altogether?or is it because many scholars put the writings of luke and matthew after the destruction of jerusalem, meaning the "prophecies" of destruction became historical accounts of past events by the time they were written?

Emery

mP,

Well don't get me wrong, I am not a believer either and hold no theological investment in the NT, but I totally disagree with Robert Price's mythicism and academic credibility. Again, if you havent already, I would strongly recommend listening to Ehrman's rebuttals to Robert Price before jumping on the mysticism band wagon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt_pyrU8V3U

I have nothing to gain by arguing for the existence of Jesus, however I do believe that a historical person by the name of Yeshua Ben Yosef (Jesus) did exist. He was a jewish apocalyptic follower of John the Baptist and was later executed for disrupting the jewish community with his teachings. The majority of scholars and historians who specialize in the New Testament will agree that he did exist.

36

How long did you keep rooting for Walter White?

by slimboyfat in

isn't this guy like the greatest anti-hero of all time?.

as the series wears on it is getting more and more difficult to sympathise with the guy.

but i must admit i stuck with him pretty far.

Emery

"And dont forget my dippin' sticks yo!"

100

Shiver Me Timbers I Gots a Bible Study Matey!

by RayPublisher in

the new wt 2013 june tells kids that they might get to study with a pirate someday!

perhaps johnny depp will be resurrected for just that purpose?.

.

Emery

Apparently Jehovah will resurrect the wardrobes we died in.