Posts by Anders Andersen

61

Demon possesion, bunch of crap or?

by raven in

i've been using the forum to vent and post a lot more frequently lately as a venting purpose & way to obtain peace of mind with the craziness i've been going through recently as i fade away form the org.

anyways today i'm sitting here at work and thinking to myself about demons... ok i know this sounds crazy but has anyone else out there been traumatized by the thought of demons?

i had a dream the other night, just flat out spooky and i woke and couldn't help but feeling it may have been evil ole' satan and his demons at it again.. i don't want to believe that, (trying not to, & just brushing it under the rug so to speak) but have any of you out there been talked up about demons?

Anders Andersen

Yeah I used to believe that nonsense too. But really, there ain't such beings.

Any effort to prove demons exist under (at least somewhat) controlled circumstances were unsuccessful. So we're left with hearsay, sensational fables, scared people who don't think straight, institutional fearmongering, etc.

Apart from that: if Biblical demons do exist, and our protection is gone when we leave Jehovah or JW.org: please show me from the Bible examples of demon-induced dreams, demon-possessed objects, demons creating shadows, etc. No such thing in there. You're either possessed or not. You're either talking to one or not. That's it.

Don't be scared. There is no such a thing.

@Happydad, look up lucid dreaming. Much fun :-)

12

Canada Legislature passes new bill for the protection of Transgenders. Will this mean the end of shunning policy

by Quarterback in

since shunning is looked upon as a form of hatred crime.

i wonder if these changes may alter the shunning practices in the wt world

Anders Andersen

No. (Haven't read the article)

If really needed they'll change the wording on shunning policy to say it's a matter of conscience to avoid bad association. And then they'll counsel everybody until their conscience is aligned with the corporate shunning policy.

Just like in Bulgaria they promised the government that dubs would have freedom of choice in all medical procedures, including blood transfusions, without DFing or judicial action. And since then the policy is that everybody who accepts blood DAed themselves, unless 2 elders (not a JW!) deem the offender repentant.

They will find a way to make sure they continue to spread ignorance, hate, prejudice and bigotry without their official policies saying as much black on white

18

Mexico ends use of House-to-House Record & Please Follow Up

by wifibandit in

in a letter to all congregations dated april 27, 2016 the central american branch (mexico) has ended the use of s-8-s and s-43-s.

Anders Andersen

Yeah those forms were abandoned sometime in 2000's in the Netherlands as well. Privacy protection laws indeed.

Not that those laws seem to apply to data on active dubs, DA and DF; your very personal records will be stored for years both local and at the branch.

7

Dutch TV crew kicked out of Circuit Assembly

by Anders Andersen in

in the netherlands, a tv crew for powned (a website/tv station known for their non-conventional approach and love for controversy) visited a circuit assembly.

the video starts with them asking 'is everyone welcome here, even criminals, bikers, gays?

', and the answer is of course yes.. then the clip focuses on asking dubs questions about gays and the caleb video.. in the end the crew is asked to stop filming and leave.

Anders Andersen

In the Netherlands, a TV crew for PowNed (a website/TV station known for their non-conventional approach and love for controversy) visited a Circuit Assembly

The video starts with them asking 'Is everyone welcome here, even criminals, bikers, gays?', and the answer is of course yes.

Then the clip focuses on asking dubs questions about gays and the Caleb video.

In the end the crew is asked to stop filming and leave. Their 'implied invitation' has been withdrawn as they were 'creating unrest'.

Possibly they actually were stirring things up a bit and left that out in editing; I wouldn't put that past them.

Video in Dutch here (maybe I'll add a verbatim transcript, but don't hold your breath on it)

http://www.powned.tv/overpowned/aankondiging_studio_powned/2016/05/jehovas_reageren_op_antihomo_f.html

20

May 15, 2016 Re: Answers to 10 Questions Young People Ask

by wifibandit in

may 15, 2016 to all congregations re: answers to 10 questions young people ask.

publication in question: answers to 10 questions young people ask ypq-e.

Anders Andersen

Page 16:

DID YOU KNOW?
Besides physical assaults, bullying can also include:

Verbal attacks. “I’ll never forget the names they called me or the things they said. They made me feel worthless, unwanted, and good-for-nothing. I’d rather have been given a black eye.”—Celine, 20.

Social isolation. “My schoolmates started to avoid me. They would make it seem that there was no room at the lunch table, so I couldn’t sit with them. For the whole year, I cried and ate alone.”—Haley, 18.

Name calling: evil apostates, weak, vicious liars, slanderors, Satan's seed...etc.etc.etc.

Social isolation: marked or shunned much anyone?

19

Today's Text - Draw Close To God... (BUT HOW???)

by Divergent in

jw
friends

here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.

which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.

Anders Andersen

And I walk away frustrated as if I'm talking to air.

Well....that's because you are talking to air.

The Biblical God doesn't make sense on so many levels, it's quite ridiculous to think it exists. And since that flavor is the most spread flavor of God, I tend to assume that if there were a God, this would be it. So my conclusion is: none exist.

BTW isn't it strange that before some Roman emperor made Christianity the state religion, most people on earth worshipped all kinds of true God's, and never heard about Jehovah? Only a small country of shepherds worshipped that one. Doesn't make much of an impression.

Especially because those shepherds at times also worshipped other Gods they thought were equally real as Jehovah. Can you imagine seeing all the supposed miracles by Jehovah, and then go worship a wooden idol? Of course not! So either the miracles never happened, or it wasn't clear Jehovah performed them, or the miracles attributed to the other God's were just as convincing.

For me it was an eye-opening moment to realize that to the Israelites, 'false' gods were just as real as Jehovah.

And they are just as real, as none of them actually exists as a living being....

30

Flying Scotsman Visits My Town

by cofty in

the iconic steam engine the flying scotsman has been restored and is back on tour along the east coast main line between london and edinburgh.

this evening it crossed the royal border bridge in berwick-on-tweed for the first time since it was put out of service in january 1963.. here are few shots.. .

Anders Andersen

Are those the British? Looks a lot like Wagner to me...but apparently world wide blinkers were variants of either Wagner or Witte designs, so that makes sense.

30

Flying Scotsman Visits My Town

by cofty in

the iconic steam engine the flying scotsman has been restored and is back on tour along the east coast main line between london and edinburgh.

this evening it crossed the royal border bridge in berwick-on-tweed for the first time since it was put out of service in january 1963.. here are few shots.. .

Anders Andersen

@stan,

Thanks for pointing that out. Evidently I didn't pay enough attention to the differences between those two. The Witte type blinkers are much more elegant than the Wagner type btw.

Don't sweat the rivet counter mode; I love details like that and am a bit ashamed I failed to bluff myself into the steam engine lovers society :-D

But during my Sunday afternoon Wikipedia railroad journey I learnt a lot about British railroads, steam engines, blowback (the Flying Scotsman had an incident as recent as 2012, semaphores, etc.

And I had some time to spare: my wife was at the circuit assembly :-p

Oh but now I'm wondering what British blinker design would look like....Wikipedia here I come....

63

You know, I've yet to meet a JW who can explain this

by Lady Zombie in

i know that has probably been covered ad infinitum on jwd.

so...... if jehovah is omnipotent, then there is nothing he can't do and nothing he doesn't know.. and, according to jws (as well as most other religions), god is love.

therefore he had to have known, even before creating all of creation, what would happen.

Anders Andersen

@Freeandclear:

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

But the constant failure to provide at least some credible evidence of existence, combined with the utter confusion among those who claim to know about God, and the deafening silence when asking for any relevant answers from either God or its supposed representatives can only point to one clear conclusion: there is no God, or there is a God but it does not interfere with us, so for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist.

32

The Congregational Make Up Research Project: WTB&TS wants to know you.

by oppostate in

we have a bethel speaker on the english side.

they're pretty regular up here since it's only three and a half hours drive from nyc.. but this is a special kind of visit.. it turns out he's involved in doing a special research project and the christian congregation of jw's wants to know us better.. in order for the broadcasting to address issues more meaningful for families, they want to know the demographic make up of the congregations.. he spoke with the secretary about young single publishers and couples 20-35 y.o.

how are they employed.

Anders Andersen

My guess: they're looking for actors/actresses, interviewees and stories for the videos.