Posts by King Solomon

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

James, are you a lawyer? You sure think like one... :)

Funny that so many don't consider that the bible was written by a people who eventually dominated in the legal field, since the Torah is basically a text of contract law (AKA covenants).

And JWs? They didn't call him 'Judge Rutherford' for nothing.

And of course, JWs have many urban legends to fill in the gaps that remain in the official policy, eg that sister in service who was not murderee by the serial killer because two burly angels were her bodyguards... But again, God must be playing favorites: if they saved her, why not the two in the Phillipines?

But yup: as long as at least two remain, it works to claim the group survived (and hopefully at least ONE of the two has a sneaking suspicion that something just isn't right with what they've been told....).

30

Odd, isn't it? Genesis never mentions Satan; Job mentions a serpent or Adam maybe once or not at all - and Eve gets 4 refs in whole Bible

by kepler in

my concordance searches indicate eve is mentioned twice in the ot and twice in the new.

i guess elsewhere in genesis she must be the wife or the woman.

interesting: since she was the only woman in the world and adam was the only man, i wonder how husband and wife as terminology were invented?

King Solomon

Btw, the important element here is to look at how the astrology given in Genesis fits into the historical context: those constellations were seen as elements of pagan worship, so by ascribiing their relevance to the 12 tribes, the Torah was robbing them of their meaning from other competing practices. In fact, a one-to-one fit isn't important, as they eroded their meaning as a whole via reassignment.

Another example would be the serpent was made fun of, and cursed by YHWH earlier, primarily to say to snake worshippers that snakes are NOT Gods, but creations. Same with Genesis 1:1 being a point-blank attack on those who worshipped naturalistic elements saying, "NO,YHWH made all if this!"

Always gotta consider the agenda of the book, in the context of the beliefs of the day....

30

Odd, isn't it? Genesis never mentions Satan; Job mentions a serpent or Adam maybe once or not at all - and Eve gets 4 refs in whole Bible

by kepler in

my concordance searches indicate eve is mentioned twice in the ot and twice in the new.

i guess elsewhere in genesis she must be the wife or the woman.

interesting: since she was the only woman in the world and adam was the only man, i wonder how husband and wife as terminology were invented?

King Solomon

Hint: the bible claims that "Moses" was trained in the secrets of the Pharaohs, as a member of the royal family. Much of what "Moses" knows is often reflective of ancient beliefs of Egyptians on cosmology, anatomy, etc and was not common knowledge amongst the rank and file. I dare say you'll find more parallels by examining the astrological beliefs of not the Greeks, but Egyptians and Babylonians (the host country when the "final" drafts of genesis were compiled).

30

Checking the shelf life on Jehovah's Witness "Truth"

by Terry in

question of the day (every day!

) for jehovah's witnesses: "if it's the truth, then, why does it keep changing?".

second question is, for the truth that hasn't changed, what is the shelf life?.

King Solomon

Yeah, they don't question why there'd be a NEED for changes in policy (that's easily disarmed by labeling it as "new light"), they focus on the BENEFITS of the change, or interpreting flexibility as a strength.

I get the impression that this person deep-down "in their inner-most parts" knows that it's not the truth, but like many JWs finds it easier to just follow the crowd: the price of buying ones release from slavery is too costly.

Hmm, maybe that's what the condemnation of "men kept for unnatural purposes" refers to: entire families who allow themselves to be locked into the JWs to do the door-to-door work, kept via techniques of psychological enslavement, are condemned for allowing themselves to be "kept"? ;)

30

Checking the shelf life on Jehovah's Witness "Truth"

by Terry in

question of the day (every day!

) for jehovah's witnesses: "if it's the truth, then, why does it keep changing?".

second question is, for the truth that hasn't changed, what is the shelf life?.

King Solomon

Here's actual words spoken by a JW, when asked about changes in policy:

"well, what are they supposed to do, if they know something is wrong? Continue with a wrong policy?"

This person sees the changes as a strength, demonstrating flexibility in the GB, proving their sympathy and love for the flock.

In reality, they're just happy that something that a practice that once was forbidden is now allowed, or downgraded from DFing offense to a matter of conscience, so they can continue doing it as they've always done (or wanted to), except without experiencing the guilt and fear of being caught (eg bedroom laws pertaining to oral sex).

30

Checking the shelf life on Jehovah's Witness "Truth"

by Terry in

question of the day (every day!

) for jehovah's witnesses: "if it's the truth, then, why does it keep changing?".

second question is, for the truth that hasn't changed, what is the shelf life?.

King Solomon

Maybe it's a printing problem, stemming from a mistake made by a newbie Bethelite?

Someone mixed up the invisible ink bottle for India ink, when loading the machine which stamps the spines of publications with the, "use by 1975" stamp.

10

Shunning is easy

by Paralipomenon in

jw
friends

upon reflection over the past 5 years of being out, i've had a lot of time to consider my time as a witness as well as come to terms with my parents shunning us.. that was the biggest shock for me.

contrary to most experiences i've read, my childhood, while focused on witness matters was still pretty happy.

our family always seemed to fall on "family first, religion second".

King Solomon

Great point, paralip.

So what's actually being tested is not so much their faith, but their level of indoctrination, their skills for emotional suppression: there are some who find that shockingly easy to do, being cold-hearted.

Ironic then that for JWs, one's 'faith' actually is measuring how 'emotionally suppressed' they are! But even there, shunning affords the 'opportunity' to improve that skill, ie with each day they suppress themselves successfully, it reinforces the behavior, making it easier to do.

Practice makes perfect!

And the funny bit is, I used to have doubts about labeling it as a "cult", and of course an active JW will actually deny the term up and down, until they're blue I the face! They cannot see it, because they are unable, not knowing any other way (at least those who are 'mental born-ins')

Jesus on sub-conscious: "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do...."

52

Leaving Jehovah's Witnesses is NOT the same as the doctrines leaving you

by Terry in

if you grow up speaking english and you move to mexico you don't automatically speak spanish, know customs, understand currency, possess skills.

for self-support or have any special insight into latino mindset.. .

why would you expect leaving jehovah's witnesses would leave you any less ill-equipped to navigate the real world?.

King Solomon

We do have to live in a new country, with a new language and culture, but that is exciting and fun ! and if we embrace our new land wholeheartedly the past soon becomes "another country".

That comment triggered something to consider:

I was in the military back in the 1980's, and was stationed in Europe (Germany) at the time. I remember that many of the guys who were stationed over there would sit around the barracks, griping about how much it sucked, never go off base, not eat any local food (they'd go to McDonalds on the base), how much they wanted to go back Stateside, etc. It seemed like such a waste to me, as here they had an opportunity to LIVE in a country that most people could only dream of going to visit on a vacation, and they didn't avail themselves of it, but looked at it like a prison sentence. What a shame...

You've gotta grab life by the horns, because while you MAY have been conditioned to think that time doesn't matter (which is what happens when you believe you'll be given ETERNAL LIFE!), it DOES. It truly does.

And while you may think you've wasted time up until now, you really didn't: all of your life's experiences got you to this point in the HERE and NOW, so it's time you take control: not of the past (too late: it's gone), but what's in the future, YOUR future.

34

Jehovah, the God of Parking Lots

by 00DAD in

this idea was brought up on another thread today, but i thought this particular angle deserved it's own thread.

have you ever noticed that jws that have completely swallowed the kool-aid are really whacked in their thinking when it comes to interpreting life's events.

bb, "because i got the parking place and they didn't.

King Solomon

Ahhh, you guys are just haters: he gives ME everything I ask for (but then again, I'm his FAVORITE...)

BTW, this thread answers a question asked about what the 144,000 in heaven actually do?

So aside from 24/7 choir practice and laundry duty (you didn't think those bloody robes were going to wash themselves clean in lamb's blood, did you?), it seems some of those angels are working as parking lot attendents, and personal assistants to elders (maybe the angelic version of Siri).

31

Pascal's Wager, Best Answer I Have Heard

by Diest in

jw
friends

many of us have heard of pascal's wager.

basically that you can bet on god and receive an infinite reward, or you can bet against him and live an easier life for 80 years.

this guy proves that the wager is really misstated.. .

King Solomon

It is an excellent video, I just think from a tactical point of view, the warm appeal to reason will jar to a halt for some people, like a needle being bumped off a record player, on hearing his closing statement.

Yeah, I can't really disagree: in business, the key is to be all things to all people. As the old saying goes, "Sincerity: once you learn to fake that, you've got it made!!" The last thing you want to do is ALIENATE customers for no good reason, when there's money on the line. If people don't learn to control their egos out of common-place decency, then they usually get the point via their pocketbook, LOL!

Here, though, it's a little different: at least for me post-JW, after being spoon-fed "The Truth", I developed a strong distaste for fake anything, including the use of false names (i.e. calling each other "friends", or "brothers", etc).

It's one thing when people put on airs as part of normal business etiquette, but quite another when they do so in the name of "selling" their religion. I prefer my truths unfiltered, straight-on-the-rocks.

However, it's good to recall the Greeks executed Socrates, primarily for being a pesky old curmudgeonly dude who asked a few too many questions... Times may have changed, but people haven't.