Posts by King Solomon

65

New Article - Birthdays, Why the Watchtower stance is wrong

by jwfacts in

i have a new article at http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/birthdays.php outlining why the watchtower stance against birthdays is wrong.

there have been a number of threads on jwn discussing this, and the article collates and summarises the points raised in these threads.

please feel free to point out any errors in grammar or logic.

King Solomon

Cool, thanks for the preview, jwfacts! When can we expect this to be submitted for publication in the Awake! magazine? :)

nugget said:

On someones birthday the idea is to make them feel appreciated, special and loved. None of those are bad things. You only get one birthday a year on which you are the centre of attention and you receive gifts and cards, however you will celebrate many other people's birthdays throughout the year in which you give without expectation of receiving yourself and in which you have the opportunity to make someone else feel appreciated.

Yeah, and that's exactly why they're against it.

It's a classic group-think tactic to do everything possible to squelch the uniqueness and power of the individual, to elevate the group. JWs are worried that individuals will get a big ego and swollen heads from a birthday (as if), and feel emboldened to dare think differently. Any special merit doled out is only for things like pioneering, etc.

mP said:

Weddings should also be banned. THere are lots of murders and killings at weddings in the Bible. We have the infamous story where King David bourhgt 200 foreskins after killing the previous owners as a dowry to Saul to marry his daughter. Perhaps the message in that story is that all xians should bring foreskins or a dowry to the father.

Ewwww.... That was considered a dowry, let alone an acceptabale one? It's passages like that which demonstrate how alien the cultural practices depicted in the Bible truly are....

47

A little update on my family

by sooner7nc in

jw
friends

a few of you may remember that my wife had a kidney transplant early last year.

since then the kidney has been incredible, giving her a new lease on life.

it's really been good to see the light in her eyes that i had missed for quite a long time.. the counterpoint to this good news is the problems we have had with our son coltin.

King Solomon

Mike,

Here's to channeling positive vibes your way; I'll be sure to mention you and yours to Ahuru Mazda (God of Zoroasterianism). :)

6

She has fallen! Watchtower the Great has fallen

by irondork in

you may ask, since watchtower still exercises great influence over the rank and file jehovah's witnesses, why does the dork announce that watchtower the great has fallen?

well, what resulted after 539 b.c.e.

when ancient babylon fell?

King Solomon

Oooohhh, Jam called WT Babylon the Great.... I'm tellin'....

PS I've been to Babylon, and it's highly over-rated. Don't get me wrong: it was good (Hanging Gardens were kinda cool...), but "Great"? Eh, I've had better decadence elsewhere....

18

Irish slaves: the forgotten history of slavery in the New World

by King Solomon in

the bible, ot & nt, certainty doesn't prohibit the most basic of human civil rights, freedom from slavery.

of course, the bible was used to justify the ownership of slaves in america, as in many other lands.. an often-forgotten footnote in the history of america is that there was a time when poor white irish were imported from ireland to be sold as slaves during the 17th and 18th century.

in fact, their worth was considered even lower than that of black slaves, who often fetched a price 10x that of an irish slave!

King Solomon

MP said:

You have imho failed to notice the genius move that Cyrus initiated by letting the Jews rebuild their temple and reinstitute the religious elite. He no doubt realise that its easier and cheaper to let the locals worship in peace provided he controlled the puppet strings and let the religous leaders educate the people to do the right thing in his image.

Oh, I dunno: I tried to keep my post on-point, and not write a doctoral thesis. I didn't mention it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't noted. :)

But since you brought it up: Cyrus established a 10% tax in the conquered lands to fund the State-sponsored religion of zoroasterianism. Not exactly a separation of church and state, but I think they deserve credit for the basic human rights stance. Of course, Xoroasterianism was out-performed by those religions which personalized faith, and commanded that the zealots/fanatics engage in prostelizing work (and also was adopted by the Romans, for reasons as you suggest).

12

And WHAT exactly did they "Witness"? How can JWs serve as "Witnesses"?

by King Solomon in

i'm still trying to wrap my head around what jws think qualifies them to call themselves "witnesses": witnesses to what?.

here's the definition of "witness" (n):.

one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced: a witness to the accident.b.

King Solomon

The whole concept of WITNESSES getting to decide which other witnesses get to testify at the trial is so mind-numbingly ludicrious, it leaves one speechless. That's decision is for lawyers for the prosecution and defense: NOT the other witnesses, NOT the jury, and NOT the judge (well, unless with good cause to deny the request, based on known principles of law). A witness gets ORDERED to testify in a case via written/served subpoena, and ONLY the lawyers can request those be served.

It might be fun to ask the next JW you encounter if you can see a copy of subpoena which requires them to testify. Then after they give you a blank stare (which means "I don't understand..."), excuse yourself with the words they DO understand: "No thanks: I'm not interested".

Except there is no evidence that Satan exists, or ever made any challenge, or ever tempted anyone, or that God exists, or that people 'turn their back' on God, or that the reason for them doing so is because of 'Satan'.

JWs only provide claims (and pretty stupid ones), and not actually any evidence of anything at all.

LOL! In a real court case, the charges would be dropped, and case dismissed as relying on nothing more than unproven allegations and a BUNCH of hear-say evidence. The judge would probably issue an order from the bench that the prosecuting attorney AND the witnesses be held for a 5150 (mental health evaluation).

:)

12

And WHAT exactly did they "Witness"? How can JWs serve as "Witnesses"?

by King Solomon in

i'm still trying to wrap my head around what jws think qualifies them to call themselves "witnesses": witnesses to what?.

here's the definition of "witness" (n):.

one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced: a witness to the accident.b.

King Solomon

Simon17 sez:

God realized that he needed two witnesses...

Touche', well played.

I wonder if the "two witnesses" who testify in a JC have any idea of the implications of Rev 11 for their offering their testimony? That explains ALOT, I guess....

114

Watchtower and Anonymous Links, Updates, News, etc.

by DT in

i wanted to consolidate a lot of the information about the attack of anonymous against the watchtower society.

if you disagree with the tactics of anonymous, that's fine.

this information may still be useful as the public is made more aware of the the dangerous policies of the watchtower society.

King Solomon

To be serious - there are without doubt some serious security issues at the Watchtower, and perhaps their hiring qualifications are to blame.

That's what they get for using slave labor, eh, I mean volunteers, eh.... What DO they classify Bethelites as, nowadays? :)

Irony is, the dangers of home-schooling seem to be coming home to roost....

12

And WHAT exactly did they "Witness"? How can JWs serve as "Witnesses"?

by King Solomon in

i'm still trying to wrap my head around what jws think qualifies them to call themselves "witnesses": witnesses to what?.

here's the definition of "witness" (n):.

one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced: a witness to the accident.b.

King Solomon

Smart baby says:

The JWS are indoctrinate to think that they have been specially chosen to proclaim god's soon coming earthly kingdom. Designated proclaimers of the good news, " You are my witnesses " to that effect.

Interesting, the idea of them claiming to be witnesses to events that haven't yet happened... I dare say that places them in the category of being messengers of prophets, or more accurately, as witnesses of written prophecies.

Heck, let's call a spade a spade: if they had to abide by truth-in-advertising laws, they'd have to rename themselves as, "Jehovah's Cheer Team". They wouldn't create any expectations of being an unbiased party by doing that. ;)

26

Jehovah protects Jehovah's Witnesses !!! Have you heard this?

by Balaamsass in

new story on my google alerts today.

one more real life experience to counter what i have heard old jws, assembly parts and c.o.s spout for years.. jws kidnapped and beheaded;.

abu bandit with p6-m bounty nabbed in basilan.

King Solomon

Truman, even though the words seem hollow to write (knowing they cannot provide any real relief), add me to those who sympathize for the grief experienced from the loss. Your words below reminded me of something:

No, Jehovah failed to do what he as god might have done so easily, leaving the only mercy to come from human agencies like funeral directors who show their compassion freely to our stricken family.

Another example is when Jehovah failed to place a cherub and flaming sword to guard the imfamous "tree of knowledge of good and evil", preventing Eve from eating it (if it was THAT important for them, and all of humanity, not to eat). It's only AFTER they ate that YHWH saw fit to place the cherub and flaming sword to guard the Tree of Life: why didn't he do that BEFORE?

@@@

In one sense, kicking the stilts of people's belief systems out from underneath them by pointing out the flawed logic in their cherished stories can be harful; but on the other hand, it's also morally reprehensible to allow them to wallow in the self-delusions that others will only exploit, to their own advantage.

In my book, reality and "true" truths ALWAYS will out in that debate, as those are the only ones we CAN exercise and rely on as a barometer: the others are just illusions, faux protective mechanisms that only work until they don't.

12

And WHAT exactly did they "Witness"? How can JWs serve as "Witnesses"?

by King Solomon in

i'm still trying to wrap my head around what jws think qualifies them to call themselves "witnesses": witnesses to what?.

here's the definition of "witness" (n):.

one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced: a witness to the accident.b.

King Solomon

Simon says: (sorry, couldn't resist doing that)

Evidence in answer to Satan's challenge that, presented with temptations, people will turn their back on Jehovah.

Oh, THAT question, the big question raised by Adam and Eve.

So will there be a head-count, a show of hands over who wins the right to rule over the Earth? Maybe it's like American Idol, where the results are based on a phone call-in? :)

I thought that one was settled in the real-time trial (or experiment), with Job in the role of guinea pig? Maybe a mistrial was declared on a technicality?

Reminds me of a funny video on the Job account (although it gets a bit crude with the language, the alternate ending is classic. Love Jeffrey's lines: "Lucy, don't stoop to his level", and "if you think about it, his (Job's) piety is EXACTLY why he's being punished"):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVgZqnsytJI&list=UULhtZqdkjshgq8TqwIjMdCQ&index=4&feature=plcp