Fred Franztone

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Posts by Fred Franztone

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  17

  Uncovering "GOD"

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  with self-righteous indignation, the watchtower society (wts) points to its restoration of the hebrew tetragram (hwhy = “yahweh” = = = > “jehovah”) wherever the english translator renders it as “lord”..

  the wts complains that the use of “lord” hides the fact that the name (“jehovah” for the wts) is intended.

  however, with its call of “look over here, look over here”, the wts diverts attention, probably unintentionally, from related information that it, in turn, does not reveal..

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  Fred Franztone

  Have JWs ever given an explanation as to why they use Jehovah and not a more ancient or accurate translation of the tetra?

  Also, wasn't I am that I am a fraudulent definition, invented in the post-exilic period?
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  29

  Anointed Delusions of Grandeur

  by Kohanic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so here is something i've been wondering about.

  how do the 'anointed' come to the conclusion that they are chosen?

  is it some weird collective delusion of grandeur and how is it manifested in such ones?.

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  Fred Franztone

  The only annointed people I ever met were all ancient and senile. They supposedly had a greater understanding of scripture, but their answers at meetings were always incomprehensible nonsense, and none of them were ever appointed.

  Annointed but not appointed.
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  8

  committees

  by dogisgod in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have had some conversations with ex-jw women and i am more than a little concerned at how, if a female, is treated in committee meetings.

  it sure seems (i experienced this when i was young) that the elders have a commonality in trying to create such shame and sexual guilt (especially where none is deserved) that it is beyond abuse.

  i know there are a lot of former elders here.

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  Fred Franztone

  I remember there being a very young and attractive girl in my congregation many years ago who was quite free-sprited and was apparently always up to know good. There was a lot of pressure on her to get baptised, and I can see why now. The elders wanted her to get baptised so that they could call a judicial hearing and listen to all of the titillating details about her reportedly rampant sex life. They have to get their stimulation from somewhere I suppose, elder's wives aren't exactly known for their sexual prowess.

  She did get baptised eventually, but much to the elders' irritation, she calmed down and got married when that happened. So it was back to the soft porn and guilt for them.
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  19

  Prophecy question as hysteria sets in

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a load of j.w's in my family and the congregation i attend as a pimo have been saying the end is very close because the anglo american world superpower is clearly still the king of the south, and russia is now clearly king of the north due to persecuting and banning the religion there and seizing property.. i've forgot what the religion used to teach and maybe still does, about the timing of all this king of north + south stuff, the attack on all religion by the u.n and then the attack on j.w's who will be left standing.

  i mean, i thought jehovah was going to put it into the u.n's minds to ban or attack all other religions, then the attack on j.w's, but witnesses seem to think the end is so, so close because russia has banned them.. it's sad, as some dubs i know have sold their homes and made other big decisions so they can pioneer in these 'very last of the last days'..

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  Fred Franztone

  Was the book of Daniel pretending to be written in the 6th century BC or was it simply about the 6th century BC? There's an important distinction to be made. If I were to write a book about a fictional prophet in the 17th century who predicted events in our day, I wouldn't necessarily need to pretend that the book itself was written back then as well.
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  22

  Things society interferes with

  by Jrjw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was just lying here thinking about mind control and thought it'd write a list just to see how much the wts does try to control every aspect of people's lives.

  some of the things i've come up with are:.

  xmas,.

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  Fred Franztone

  That reminds me of their silly umwritten rule that couples shouldn't hold hands till they're engaged.
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  14

  Important spiritual food

  by moreconfusedthanever in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  todays watchtower study is all about singing complete with instructions on how to sing.,............

  "but we all have the responsibility to sing praises to jehovah.

  so hold your songbook up high, lift your head, and sing with enthusiasm!".

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  Fred Franztone

  Prayer never made sense to me. If God can read our minds and hearts then why do we need to talk to him. And why should we talk to someone who believes we are imperfect, unworthy and won't speak back to us. Even as a believer I thought prayer was stupid.
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  19

  Prophecy question as hysteria sets in

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a load of j.w's in my family and the congregation i attend as a pimo have been saying the end is very close because the anglo american world superpower is clearly still the king of the south, and russia is now clearly king of the north due to persecuting and banning the religion there and seizing property.. i've forgot what the religion used to teach and maybe still does, about the timing of all this king of north + south stuff, the attack on all religion by the u.n and then the attack on j.w's who will be left standing.

  i mean, i thought jehovah was going to put it into the u.n's minds to ban or attack all other religions, then the attack on j.w's, but witnesses seem to think the end is so, so close because russia has banned them.. it's sad, as some dubs i know have sold their homes and made other big decisions so they can pioneer in these 'very last of the last days'..

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  Fred Franztone

  The king of the north was Antiochus. There's no basis for a second fulfilment of this prophecy. JWs are one of the only religions who even believe this to be the case, most are sensible enough to know that this prophecy was about events that may or may not have happened more than 2000 years ago. Tell your family and congregation that no, the book of Daniel isn't about them, if you think their little JW egos can handle it.

  They're correct in one sense though, these are the last days, for the JW religion that is.
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  36

  Is it 16?

  by Jrjw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi can anyone tell me if it's true the society says parents must take their child to meetings until they're 16 even if they don't want to?

  my ex is being a pain about me not forcing my 12 year old to be a witness.

  he doesn't know i'm becoming inactive at moment so i have to be careful how i word things to him.

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  Fred Franztone

  There's no 16 rule, or any specific age, as far as I'm aware. Parents are encouraged to bring their kids so long as they are living with them, but no parent should ever force their child to do anything against their will unless it is life or death. Unfortunately, JWs do believe that missing meetings means death.
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  22

  Things society interferes with

  by Jrjw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was just lying here thinking about mind control and thought it'd write a list just to see how much the wts does try to control every aspect of people's lives.

  some of the things i've come up with are:.

  xmas,.

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  Fred Franztone

  Things that they don't interfere with would make for a very short thread, let's put it that way.
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  23

  Who Do JWs Fear The Most? Top Five

  by Fred Franztone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's a fear-based religion, at its core.

  jws fear many things, but what or who do they fear the most?

  let's find out.... 5) satan.

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  Fred Franztone

  It's a fear-based religion, at its core. JWs fear many things, but what or who do they fear the most? Let's find out...

  5) Satan

  The source of all evil they say. In reality, quite a cartoonish character. I remember hearing constantly about how scary he is and how he's to blame for everything, but I don't remember ever actually being scared of him. His actions always seem very distant and abstract, revolving more around the world stage at large rather than us as individuals. Moreover, the way his entire future is all planned out makes him seem rather inconsequential, and he's viewed with contempt by JWs more than fear.

  4) Eachother

  The fear of being exposed as unworthy and not good enough is very real for JWs. Every witness believes they aren't doing enough preaching and are sinning way more than everyone else. The fear of being found out and humiliated or even disfellowshipped is strong, though not a mortal fear.

  3) Demons

  Unlike Satan, demons seem to be more involved with us as individuals. I remember hearing many stories about them and the chilling things they do. JWs are scared of demons, but only when they're mentioned. Most of the time they're out of sight, out of mind. Although they believe that demons aren't really capable of killing people, they do fear the frightening experience of encountering one, so much so that even now I feel a bit creeped out by Ouija boards, and I haven't believed in demons for many years. It's a visceral fear for JWs, but not a profound one, and quite easy for them to ignore for the most part.

  2) Apostates

  Whereas the JW's fear of demons mainly leads them to avoid direct encounters with demons or at the very least demonic imagery, so afraid are they of apostates that merely encountering their words terrifies them. JWs are constantly warned that even brief exposure to apostate writings is enough to destroy their faith, and with it their relationship with Jehovah and their hope of everlasting life. It's no wonder they fear us apostates so much, we are a threat to their very existence, as far as they are aware. And why are they warned that we can destroy their faith so easily? Because the governing body knows what we know, that their faith is built on very flimsy foundations. They ought to be afraid of us, losing your faith can be a traumatic experience.

  1) Jehovah

  No competition. This is the fear that makes all of the others seem inconsequential. This is a profound and mortal fear, the fear of everlasting death. JWs truly are God-fearing people, in the most literal sense. They are terrified of dying at Armageddon, terrified that their loving heavenly father will kill them for not living up to his standards. It's this fear that gets them to the meetings and out on the ministry. It's this fear that gets them to reach out and to pioneer. It's this fear that makes them convince themselves that they love Jehovah, you have to after all, you can't not love the dear leader. JWs have an abusive relationship with an imaginary being, brainwashed into them by a group of faithful and discreet charlatans, who ironically JWs don't fear at all, but perhaps ought to, since it's they who are pulling the strings and making them so fearful with their endless guilt-tripping and scaremongering.

  JWs are very fearful people, but their fears are profoundly misplaced.