Posts by schnell

8

Can't Edit Bio

by schnell in

hi, i'd like to update my bio as it currently shows "none" but the update profile button isn't clickable.

halp?

!.

How to reply when someone asks about your spiritual health

by RodrigoGuerreiro in

first of all, sorry if i cannot correctly express the original expression used in my native language to ask for the "spiritual condition".. a few years ago some member of the family asks my wife directly how is her "spiritual health" (for me it's one of the many strange vocabulary used by jw like "the slave says...").

she was catched by surprise with the direct question and says that everything is ok... and luckily someone call them for lunch.. my question is: do you have any good answers for that question?

you can be ironic/use some humor because the question is a little bit anecdotical .

schnell

"How is your spiritual health?"

"It's getting quite low. All these opponents leaping around, taking their little shots wherever they can. This one guy was pretty strong. But sometimes when I give a good witness, I feel like I've really gotten a 1-up on them."

46

Some apostates are coming across as crazed psychopaths

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

i'm not sure whether or not my view on this is correct so please leave your input.

in recent months i've been viewing youtube videos.

again, it might just be my view but there has been an increased amount of random people grabbing a camera and doing vlogs.

schnell

There is one YouTube apostate whose videos are reminiscent of Heath Ledger's Joker. Entertaining or not, I'm not about to show his videos to my wife or family.

I will offer legitimate criticism: As much frustration might be in your system, as much as you don't want to be judged anymore and as much as you don't care, if your goal is to get a message out to people, then do try to make it at least palatable.

No, not everyone is going to do that. I get it and it's entertaining sometimes. Even I cuss as I write because that's part of who I am and I want to show that kind of freedom. (That's not to say I cuss or behave like an idiot around all polite company. No, I try to be respectful.)

All that said, there is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from doing this. It's to be expected. You squeeze these people long enough, eventually they will burst. This is what you get when that happens. Some are able to offer a calm, slow-paced criticism of JW scandals, norms and beliefs. Others sound like they're rigging Gotham City up with bombs and happy gas.

49

How do you categorise the Society - Cult or High control religion

by UnshackleTheChains in

i have often seen many categorise the organisation in different ways.

some say cult, some say high control religion.

cult or high control religion?.

schnell

I'm not pedantic about it. They are a cult, they are a sect, they are a religion, they are a scam, and they are a bunch of batshit money-sucking vampires.

32

Giving money is thrilling?

by punkofnice in

watchtower study edition nov 16 pg 19. classic............................ .

schnell

dogon won the thread lmao

14

Lies, and more lies.

by biblexaminer in

i have seen some discussions related to the "kingdom" book, and the recent studies, but, i didn't see the one pertaining to the second chapter of the "kingdom" book.

i may have missed it.

if i have ...mea culpa.. chapter 2, paragraph 29 & 33.

schnell

I mean, the title is a lie.

60

Now I'm Convinced There Probably Is No God

by pale.emperor in

yesterday i made a visit to the museum in my city.

the top floor is the planetarium, which has a connecting room with a huge dome ceiling where they project lessons and lectures and you have a 360 view of the night sky etc.. this particular lecture explained about our galaxy, and how it's only one of billions in the universe.

and then we learned about each planet, some of their moons and the sun.

schnell

It is sort of interesting that the sun God will finally destroy the earth in 7 billion years.

18

Aron-Ra: Meteorology and the Flood

by schnell in

a few days ago, aron-ra posted a new video commencing what he promises to be a new series debunking the noachian flood.

he did this despite the fact that every adult should know it didn't happen, and yet many do.. i'd like to remind everyone what the insight book says: .

the genesis account of creation tells how on the second “day” jehovah made an expanse about the earth, and this expanse (called “heaven”) formed a division between the waters below it, that is, the oceans, and the waters above it.

schnell

@SBF, I can see that. He isn't like that all the time, and he had a video recently where Anthony Magnabosco was teaching him Street epistemology. Magnabosco, unlike Aron-Ra or Dillahunty or Dawkins, is no Rottweiler. He's calm and just asks questions, studies his results and looks for improvement. Interesting guy, and interesting to see Aron-Ra admit he has a problem in that area.

41

Numbers don't lie... and these numbers are beautiful!!

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

the numbers don't lie... definitely slowing down!!.

in the 40´s the average growth per year was 20%in the 50´s it was about 10%they had four decades of solid 5% per yearnow the average for the past 16 years has been 2%.

maybe in the future it will be 1% or 0 or even negative????.

schnell

I like how it started going down after the disfellowshipping began.

6

"Stumbling" and Wussification.

by schnell in

jw
friends

this really annoyed me towards the end.

the watchtower doesn't do its members any favors by frequently warning about stumbling and offending each other.

it's no surprise that this becomes a cult control tactic where you can't even groom yourself the way you want because it might be "cause for stumbling".. with so much emphasis, it became wussification and contributed to the toxic environment of jehovah's witnesses.

schnell

This really annoyed me towards the end. The Watchtower doesn't do its members any favors by frequently warning about stumbling and offending each other. It's no surprise that this becomes a cult control tactic where you can't even groom yourself the way you want because it might be "cause for stumbling".

With so much emphasis, it became wussification and contributed to the toxic environment of Jehovah's witnesses. Typically, they don't seem to take criticism very well, because criticism is also "stumbling". This is well demonstrated in the school when someone gives a talk.

If someone is so bothered by another person, they can take it up with them, but in too many cases, out of political correctness, they just don't. To be fair, that has been recommended, and the Watchtower has stated that being overly offended shows a kind of selfishness.

But they're the ones repeating the message all the time and translating "grace" as "undeserved kindness". They're the ones using this same idea of stumbling as a behavioral control tactic. They're the ones that tell bodies of elders to give "warning talks" (marking talks) about a sin supposedly committed.

As @debihope said on Twitter (and William Gibson retweeted): "Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."

Don't be an asshole, and don't surround yourself with assholes either.