Posts by FFGhost

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

I see nothing wrong in putting a lot of efforts into it.

So you'd recommend the Petrus over the Charles Shaw, then?

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

Actually, they've never stated the requirement that the wine has to be kosher. They just say "unfortified red wine."

In one article a while back, they even suggested using Chianti - I $#!+ you not.

Apparently, Brother Has_An_Italian_Wine_Distributorship needed a little marketing boost that year.

4

The importance of being Satan or the Devil

by Etude in

while the word "satan" appears in many translations of the old and new testament, it is much more common in the n.t., with only a few mentions in the o.t.

the word "devil" seems almost exclusively used in the n.t., at least in the few versions i checked.

this may have something to do with the word origin, satan v devil.

FFGhost

the figure questioning god in this fable is obviously not thought of as actually existing as a "being". It is a long Metaphor, for teaching purposes, not a Book about the Spirit world to be taken literally.

Of course that is true.

I just find it so completely...bonkers... that the cornerstone of JW theology, the "issue of universal sovereignty", their entire outlook, hinges on the concept that Genesis chapter 3 and Job chapter 1 are literally factual, that they absolutely describe real events that definitely occurred exactly as written.

Imagine, building a religion whose entire raison d'etre literally hangs on accepting 2 obvious metaphorical legends as absolutely true. Imagine building an entire organization and writing literally millions of pages and spending literally billions of dollars, based on accepting as "real" stuff that normal, sane people with anything more than average intelligence and a modicum of education realize are just....legends. Myths. Stories invented to try to explain complex concepts to simple people. Thousands of years ago.

It would be like someone 3000 years from now finding a couple dozen Superman comics from the 40s, accepting them as literal history, and building an empire from it.

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

So can you drink it at the end or do you have to dump the bottle down the drain? I know there was some controversy about people taking the bottle home decades ago.

Are you kidding? These are JWs we're talking about here.

The only "controversy" I can ever recall were disputes on who got to take the bottle(s) home. No such controversy last year or this year with the bread and wine right there in the JW's homes.

I would bet my entire fortune on the prediction that well over 50%, maybe closer to 70 or 80%, will start drinking the wine within seconds (not minutes, mind you) of the Zoom meeting's end. A similarly high number will eat the bread, though I suspect more than half will spread a little cheese or pate on it first.

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

I don't think there is anything formal, in writing, from HQ or any branch.

There was a CLAM meeting part last week, on "Preparing for the Memorial". One of the points covered was that "with advance planning, it should be possible for most publishers to acquire the Memorial emblems".

So it was more of a verbal instructions thing. I've also seen informal lists with WT references on how to make the bread & what kind of wine to use.

Are you really an ex-CO?

5

Suggested Songs for this year's Memorial

by Vanderhoven7 in

here is a memorial-worthy song...at least in my books.

got any other suggestions?.

https://youtu.be/5fa58v6lrto.

FFGhost

"Clowns to the left of me

Jokers to the right

Here I am

Stuck in the middle with you"

14

Avatar (2009) - a mixed-bag but entertaining movie

by LoveUniHateExams in

so a few months ago i saw avatar (2009) from beginning to end for the first time.. if i'd seen this when i was ten, i'd probably have loved it.

i find the film entertaining but i do have issues with it.. the movie is beautiful to look at, and there's definitely some interesting concepts.. but star wars it ain't.. first issue, the na'vi: these are blue-skinned humanoids with tails.. my first question is: why do blue monkeys who live 5 light years away on an extrasolar moon have african accents?!.

i know what writer/director james cameron is doing in this film.

FFGhost

It's still not clear what an "African accent" is.

If I told you that you had a "European accent", what would that mean? Does an Welsh accent resemble a Slovenian accent?

14

Avatar (2009) - a mixed-bag but entertaining movie

by LoveUniHateExams in

so a few months ago i saw avatar (2009) from beginning to end for the first time.. if i'd seen this when i was ten, i'd probably have loved it.

i find the film entertaining but i do have issues with it.. the movie is beautiful to look at, and there's definitely some interesting concepts.. but star wars it ain't.. first issue, the na'vi: these are blue-skinned humanoids with tails.. my first question is: why do blue monkeys who live 5 light years away on an extrasolar moon have african accents?!.

i know what writer/director james cameron is doing in this film.

FFGhost

giving them even vaguely African accents is frankly ridiculous

There are literally over 2000 languages spoken on the African continent.

What exactly is an "African accent"?

I agree the movie uses a sledgehammer to drive its point home.

6

I was looking at getting a set of the 1989 BV but not sure if it has what I want Help please

by mickbobcat in

so i am looking for the watchtower that has the part about within our 20th century armageddon will come.

but i know they changed it on some bv.

i have an offer to buy one on line but not sure what page i need them to take a picture of to let me see if its the changed version to in our time.

FFGhost

They changed it in the bound volumes. You will have to look for an originally printed magazine to see the "within our 20th century" quote.

For anyone not knowing what this refers to:

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/20th-century-2000.php

46

Complexity, Evolutionists Biggest Problem

by Sea Breeze in

recently, some scientists modeled one of the simplest known cells - that of a bacteria.

it took an army of 128 computers running for 10 hours to process the data required in the 25 categories of molecules that are involved in this "simple cells'" life processes.

think about that for a moment - 128 computers running for 10 hours just to compute the data, not actually do it mind you; but just to model the known processes in one of the simplest known cells, which is many orders of magnitude simpler than a human cell.

FFGhost

Arguments such as in the OP can be reduced to one simple sentence:

"I can't understand [X], therefore God must have done it."

Reminds me of how the Watchtower goes on and on about the Bible providing "satisfying" answers to "life's big questions" - not true answers, or accurate, or logical, or reasonable, or verifiable, but "satisfying".

It is "satisfying" to think there is a big invisible man in the sky overseeing and controlling everything. There is of course no evidence for such a conclusion, but it is "satisfying" to think so.