Scully

Joined

• started 371 topics
• posted 14,028 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Scully

• 
  25

  A baffling physics question

  by FatFreek 2005 in

  1. social
  2. current

  for several weeks i've been treating myself to a hot chocolate milk (well, soymilk) before bedtime.

  some 16 oz soymilk which i heat on high in our microwave oven.

  this is just enough time where the liquid begins to bubble along the top edge.. i then take it out of the microwave and place it on my kitchen gram scale, stir it good enough to redistribute the heat, then reset the scale to zero grams.. next, i squeeze in the hershey's sytup, "special dark mildly sweet chocolate" (fat free) into the warmed soymilk till the scale reads some 30 grams.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  How much of the liquid adheres to the spoon (via surface tension) whenever you stir it?

  To know that, you'd have to weigh the spoon after stirring your beverage to see if it has gained weight.
  
• 
  70

  Apologists saying that the JWs shouldn't be banned, what the hell!??

  by Crazyguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it's been brought to my attention that there are xjw that say they support the witnesses and don't think russia should ban them.

  i would just like to remind all of you that jws are guilty of murder, causing higher rates of suicide, covering up child molestation, and keeping members in prisoned because if they leave they loose family, financial support, possible employment etc.. sure their not strapping bombs to their chests but they easily get members to kill themselves with their blood policies.

  they are an extremist group!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  One of the backbones of the WTS is its history of growth during times of persecution.

  In Thirty Years a Watchtower Slave, Schnell described direct orders from Rutherford for JWs to create social unrest in order to challenge the laws against door-to-door preaching. JWs were arrested for defying Caesar's Law™ and WT lawyers represented these JWs in court in order to "legally defend and establish" the JW religion and its preaching work as legitimate expressions of religious belief, protected under the Constitution of the United States.

  Similar behaviours followed in Canada, especially in Quebec under its Premier, Duplessis. These acts of civil disobedience were a direct attack against the Catholic Church's opposition to JW activities. James Penton (before he was DFd from the JWs) compiled a volume of legal victories enjoyed by the WT in Canada, and the growth of the movement in the aftermath.

  Every governmental push against Watchtower has resulted in pushback, not just from WT's own legal teams, but from JWs around the world. It makes JWs more entrenched when they feel that they are seeing prophecy fulfilled, when Jesus' words about persecution against his true followers seemingly takes place (even when WT officials are the ones provoking the governments in the first place).

  My family started associating with JWs in the early 70s, and the one thing that seemed to tip the scales permanently in favor of the JWs was the outbreak of persecution in Malawi. I was only just in the early grades of elementary school when we were gathered for a Circuit Assembly™ in a school auditorium and heard about the horrible things that JWs were suffering in Malawi. We were asked to write letters to the President of Malawi decrying the persecution of innocent people. What we didn't know was that it was the government's denial of land ownership to Watchtower that was the trigger for Watchtower to forbid JWs from having a 25¢ government issued identification card, which incited further government action against JW citizens.

  Meanwhile, in Mexico, Watchtower could not erect Kingdom Halls, but *could* label their properties as "cultural societies". JWs were not permitted to partake in Mexico's military service (just like they were not permitted elsewhere), but individual JWs could pay a bribe to an official to stamp their cartilla to indicate that they had completed their military service, and Watchtower turned a blind eye to this corruption. We never heard about these goings-on that were concurrent with what was happening in Malawi, except to hear them boast about the phenomenal growth of the JWs in Mexico.

  Persecution, whether it is real, imagined or manufactured (as is Watchtower's modus operandi), is a fantastic way to bond people to leaders, to get people to side with the 'oppressed' members of their faction, and to rally the troops so to speak. Whipping up the emotions of other JWs ("our poor Brothers™ and Sisters™ in _____ are being arrested and having their property seized") puts the entire JW population on Red Alert that Armageddon™ must be closing in! It's a sign!!

  The way to dismantle a group is for outsiders to be indifferent to these groups. When outsiders become indifferent to JWs, JWs become apathetic, as we've seen in the last decade or so, with numbers dwindling, young members leaving and looking for a way to better themselves without the religion.
  
• 
  24

  I finally get why people like to shun.

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it finally hit me today.

  why do religions enjoy shunning.

  because many people feel like being close to god makes them special however just being special is not enough for many religious people that shun they must feel extra special how?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  I think it's also part of the religious hierarchy. Think about the caste system: you have the few wealthy highly respected people at the top (leaders/royalty), then another well respected group (warriors, noblemen, teachers), followed by merchants/traders; then service providers, farmers; and finally the untouchables.

  Shunning among JWs makes people who have left The Truth™ "untouchable" - the lowest of the lowest class possible. IIRC, they've even said that a believing JW who is a child molester is a better associate than an Unrepentant™ Apostate™. We've committed the ultimate sin of disagreeing with the Governing Body™ and being able to prove that they are not worthy of the station they hold. Shunning us - treating us as though we are dead - is a show of solidarity with the baboons running the machine.
  
• 
  20

  $25,000 for one-day assembly in our area

  by Bonnie_Clyde in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  they started out with a $3,500 carry-over but by the end of the day they were short $25,000.

  the speaker eloquently beseeched the audience to go the atm machines and give their generous contribution or at least their widow's mite.

  after the sessions were over, our friend who attended walked from one end of the assembly hall and then to the other end and noticed long lines up to both machines with people who couldn't wait to run up their credit cards.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  Here is an explanation of how the scam works. It was written by JT back in 2003:

  Circuit Accounts Servants Confesses how the SCAM WORKS!!
  
• 
  9

  Not Inspired, Not Infallible

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  it occurred to me this morning while one the train to work that jw's, including my family, use the following weasel phrases to excuse the errors they've made over the years:.

  "god uses imperfect men".

  "jesus didn't say he'd give perfect spiritual food".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  They're Imperfect™, all right. They're so Imperfect™ that they signed an agreement with the UN "so they could access the library". Any other Imperfect™ JW would be Disassociated™ for using the gym or swimming pool at their local YMCA.

  They're so Imperfect™ that they consider child molestation, not a crime, but a "sin" so they can avoid contacting the Superior Authorities™ so as not to Bring Reproach on Jehovah™, forgetting that having sexual deviants who target and groom children is the actual Reproach on Jehovah™. So much for Keeping the Congregation Clean™!! [eyeroll]
  
• 
  37

  GB asks every JW to give Putin their home address

  by MrHappy in

  1. social
  2. current

  jw's around the globe have been encouraged to write letters to putin and the russian government.

  they are expected to give their personal details on the envelope.

  i appreciate that this might be normal when writing to your own government if they are tolerant, but is this not a bit strange that the gb want to give putin the address of every jw in the world?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  I would NOT put my own address on a letter written to a dictator.

  Instead, I would put the official address of the WTBTS serving the country the letter originated from.

  Let's watch what happens when Putin paints bull's-eyes on all of the WT branches in the world.
  
• 
  39

  "Forced" study with an Elder - The first question i will pose, help appreciated.

  by CitizenofEarth in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hello folks.

  as some of you might know my dad couldnt keep quiet about my view of the world, so i have been "forced" to study with an elder.

  otherwise i would be dragged to questioning, which is to much pressure for a young inexperienced person like me.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  Don't start with that one, please! You'll be Marked™ or worse faster than you can possibly imagine.

  Try something that the Elder™ isn't prepared for, and won't be able to answer.

  Like this:

  C: "I'm having a hard time understanding why everyone hates Judas so much."

  E: "Well, he betrayed Jesus, duh!"

  C: "Yes, I get *that*, but nobody seems to get that the betrayal was essential in order for prophecies to be fulfilled about Jesus. If *nobody* had betrayed Jesus, he would never have been able to fulfill the prophecy, become The Lamb of God, and a sacrifice to atone for our sins."

  E: "Well he was just a bad guy."

  C: "Was he *really* though?? Or is he just a scapegoat for people to hate? Aren't prophecies like puzzles? All the pieces are necessary in order to complete the picture. Without Judas, Jesus would have just been some smart Jewish guy who was really popular with the people. Those people were willing to hide Jesus and help him escape from the soldiers who were searching for him, who knows if he ever would have been found another way other than by being betrayed?"

  E: "Well, this has been a great chat. I have to run, my wife wants me to pick up milk on the way home."

  C: (to himself) BOOOOM! (mic drop)
  
• 
  23

  How deep is the rot?

  by JeffT in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  by now it seems obvious that the gb and other leaders of the wtbs are corrupt.

  the pedo scandal and various financial schemes are sustained by either lack of concern or greed at the top.

  my question is how far down the food chain does this go?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  Alarm bells went off for me when I was reading under the heading LIE in the Insight volumes. In there it says "true Christians are under no obligation to divulge truthful information to someone who is not entitled to it."

  Let that sink in: True Christians are under no obligation to divulge truthful information to someone who is not entitled to it.

  They preface that statement by saying malicious lying is unacceptable, but then continue with the thought that it's quite all right to massage the facts in order to keep the WTS out of trouble with Worldly Authorities™. We saw a fair bit of that happening when Geoffrey Jackson was being questioned by the ARC, under oath.

  How far does it go? I've seen JWs blow off hard questions from Householders™ in the Door-To-Door™ Ministry™. I've seen people keeping secrets on the basis that the other person "is not entitled" to the truth of a matter (not involving confidential legal or medical stuff, just lying about mundane stuff to someone else so there would be no awkwardness for them for not including the other person in a social activity).

  Finally, it occurred to me: This very line in the Publications™ (its predecessor, Aid to Bible Understanding contained the exact same words) gave the GB a lot of leeway in 'not divulging truthful information' to the Rank and File JWs™ in the Publications™, in Talks™ from the Platform™, and in their interpretation of Scripture™. That would account for all the academic dishonesty in the Creation book and other Publications™. JWs would point at the bibliography and automatically think "Wow, look at all the Worldly™ research that backs up our beliefs!" and yet, when someone (Alan Feuerbacher, aka alanf) decided to do their due diligence and look up the quotes, almost without exception the quotes were misquoted, taken out of context, or completely bastardized to support WT doctrine when the original quote did nothing of the sort. It proves, without a shred of doubt, that the GB doesn't consider its own die-hard followers to be "entitled to" the truth.

  When that thought crystallized in my mind, the whole house of cards fell apart and I was no longer under their spell. When I've discussed this with on-the-fence JWs, it did the same thing to them.
  
• 
  12

  Found a new difference between the old NWT and the new one...

  by ILoveTTATT2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday i read jeremiah 8-11 because that's what was studied in the clam.

  i am in a different city and decided to go to the meeting to check it out and possibly ask the witnesses some questions and see how they treat a "newcomer".anyways...nwt, 1984 version:.

  (jeremiah 10:13) 13 at [his] voice there is a giving by him of a turmoil of waters in the heavens, and he causes vapors to ascend from the extremity of the earth.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  What significance does that particular interpretation have for any JW or any other person of another denomination?

  I can't think of any, but maybe you can.

  Pointing out a detail like this to an Active™ JW will likely get you branded as a nit-picker, and someone who just wants to be negative for the sake of being negative.

  I agree with you, in principle, that the translation of the NWT is highly questionable and completely unreliable, but given that it's on something that is of such negligible importance, I sincerely hope that you find bigger fish to fry than this.
  
• 
  17

  Emotionally very ill but can't face consequences of leaving

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm a new member so wanted to say 'hi'.

  i live in the u.k, was born in, fell away as an unbaptised publisher, got baptised in my 30s for reasons i'm retrospectively unsure of, and lost my faith about five years ago around the time of the original a.r.c.

  now, being unable to leave is making me physically, emotionally and mentally ill.. i'm not strong enough to da and live with the family consequences, and despite having several good friends outside the faith, none of them could support me in an active way as such.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Scully

  Do you have a job or a work related project that could possibly require you to work on a Meeting™ night?

  Do you have an interest that could temporarily occupy a Meeting™ night? Something like a cooking class or Zumba class once a month, then twice a month? Or a course that you'd like to take, like belly-button contemplation and meditation?

  It sounds like it's taking an emotional toll - have you been to a doctor? Maybe you would benefit from some medication to stabilize your mood or dampen the anxiety you have. Toward the end of my tenure with the JWs, I was on antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication, just to get through Meetings™.

  Headaches, tinnitus and increasing sensitivity to florescent lighting are also good Get Out Of Jail Free cards to play occasionally. Also contagious illnesses are a good excuse too. You don't want to expose the elderly or children or pregnant Sisters™ to something contagious, right?