Posts by schnell

15

God's Rule Book ....The org is setting the scene....

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

i went to my midweek meeting this week.

very interesting....couple of things i noticed in the god's rule book, this week finishing up "the kingdom is born in heaven".

there was a footnote that read:for many years the watch tower was intended mainly for members of the little flock for their personal edification.

schnell

So when did the 7 times and 2520 years come in? I know it's desperately prooftexted BS, but it had to come in some time.

15

God's Rule Book ....The org is setting the scene....

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

i went to my midweek meeting this week.

very interesting....couple of things i noticed in the god's rule book, this week finishing up "the kingdom is born in heaven".

there was a footnote that read:for many years the watch tower was intended mainly for members of the little flock for their personal edification.

schnell

Fascinating. I haven't even looked into that book and haven't gone with my wife to the meeting.

Maybe I just can't get past the title.

12

Your current thoughts regarding the holidays?

by HereIgo in

due to the holidays fast approaching, i was curious about your thoughts and plans for the holidays.

i have been celebrating them now for the past couple of years and ill be honest it still feels weird to celebrate, mainly christmas and halloween.

thanksgiving seems normal because growing up as a jw we always celebrated it anyway (well the day after, but that's another thread) anyway, has it become the norm for you to celebrate now or are you used to not celebrating?.

schnell

My thoughts on the holidays changed when I looked at Mother's Day in the USA and realized it isn't anything like what this cult claims it to be. It's just a Hallmark holiday. The lady who started it in the USA just wanted you to spend it with your mother and outright opposed its commercialization.

One flaw in the argument brings all the others to light.

29

So I just watched Jackson's ARC interview...

by schnell in

thank you, everybody here, for introducing me to this.

no, no i had not heard of this.

child abuse issues have been roundly dismissed as apostate attacks in the congregations i've attended in the last decade.

schnell

If you don't mind me saying so, holy shit Listener!

I uploaded the PDF court document with Losch's signature to my Google Drive. I am never deleting it.

29

So I just watched Jackson's ARC interview...

by schnell in

thank you, everybody here, for introducing me to this.

no, no i had not heard of this.

child abuse issues have been roundly dismissed as apostate attacks in the congregations i've attended in the last decade.

schnell

Thank you, everybody here, for introducing me to this. No, no I had NOT heard of this. Child abuse issues have been roundly dismissed as apostate attacks in the congregations I've attended in the last decade. As a matter of fact, when a certain case in the USA made the press, I was distressed enough to call up a special pioneer about it and ask what he thought. He then assured me that this is the truth anyway, that cases like that aren't the norm and are being handled, etc. etc.

https://youtu.be/gBE_oof1RzE

What the hell, Jackson? What the hell?

He rambles... So often. He dodges every question that he can. He cannot let his yes mean yes and his no mean no, he goes far in excess of that.

Responding to Mister Stewart's line of questioning about a fading individual who is at home when some elders come to his door and find him, for example, celebrating Christmas, Jackson can't seem to see through the specific example of Christmas until Mister Stewart explains that it's an example. The point isn't Christmas, the point is that the individual has faded because of the disfellowshipping arrangement.

Every relatively low-ranking elder would (I should hope) know the answers to all of these questions. They would not (I should hope) dodge them by saying it isn't their field. Deference will only get you so far, and none of these questions were particularly esoteric.

My dad would be yelling the answers at the screen if he saw this. *sigh* I should hope.

And the rambling! Oh god, answer the question you politicking bastard.

I guess I'm not surprised when he stops the discussion to "give a witness" and promote the organization, but really? Do you have to? Do you really think somebody there in that room is going to convert?

And he was baptized at 13, eh? He sees nothing wrong with that at all and nothing wrong with kids getting baptized for the rest of their lives under threat of disfellowshipping?

The length and sheer number of these videos is a bit of an obstacle to overcome, but this was outrageous.

It IS your field. You cannot just claim ignorance.

I'm done. I was done before but the more I see here, I am just so unbelievably done....

35

Another Outright Lie Published 2/17 WT

by LostGeneration in

this info is from the article "who is leading god's people today" feb 17 study edition.. to help them disseminate bible truth in various languages, zion’s watch tower tract society was legally incorporated in 1884, with brother russell as president.

* he was an outstanding student of the bible, and he fearlessly exposed as false such doctrines as the trinity and the immortality of the soul.

he discerned that christ would return invisibly and that “the appointed times of the nations” would end in 1914.. pretty sickening article overall about how badass the gb is, though this little gem is printed as well, paragraph 12. the governing body is neither inspired nor infallible.

schnell

BUT they did have a convention where they said that no one else can lay claim to the prediction that the League of Nations would return.

Um. As a statement, that's doubtful, because we have documents about the League of Nations and United Nations going back to Taft. There were reasons why the League failed, and the USA didn't even sign onto it. (I wonder how that doesn't affect their interpretation of the image of the wild beast.)

If Knorr or somebody said the League would come back in a new form, he was probably just reading the paper. But, they used this in recent years as a sort of wink-wink to say, Brother Knorr was INSPIRED. *WINK* *WINK*

13

Memorial observance screwery.

by Darkknight757 in

had a thought about the memorial observance that is held at the kingdumb hall every year.

there are a few youtube videos of people partaking of the bread and the wine and then making some grand speech before being escorted off the premises.

instead of that, has anyone tried getting a group of buddies together and when receiving the bread or the wine, just eat or drink it all?

schnell

Well on that note, there was one protester outside a convention who sticks out to me. No, it wasn't the guy with a megaphone cussing at us. It was a man who said something I don't quite remember, and then he said, "Challenge the organization."

At the time, I thought for a second that that was so arrogant. How DARE you challenge them... And then I caught myself and I was like, wait no why wouldn't you? What's wrong with challenging them? Isn't that why we have Questions From Readers? Don't our beliefs get refined over time?

Whoever you are, if you're here and you were protesting at Qualcomm in San Diego some time in the last decade, it helped.

But yeah, attacks just feed the instigators and victim complex.

22

I got a voicemail from an elder about meeting with me.

by schnell in

yesterday, i missed a call and got a long voicemail from an elder who would like to meet with my wife and i some time this weekend, with another elder who dealt with my brother.

i haven't responded.

it's meeting night tonight, and my wife has already talked about staying home to do yoga with me instead.. yeah.

schnell

Knowing these two faced POS they want to meet up with you to get enough information on you to DF you. Its up to you if you want to meet with them but you should know what you are getting into.

"Encouragement." Yeah right.

7

Jehovah Witnesses sects flock to Hudson Valley Town

by ToesUp in

interesting article regarding the properties owned by jw's and other sects.. shawangunk - this ulster county town, with a ridge of quartz mountains rising 2,000 feet, is a mecca for rock climbers.

in recent years, religious groups have also begun flocking to the mid-hudson valley municipality of 15,000 residents, putting down roots and scooping up tax breaks.. in 2015, the 29 shawangunk properties with religious non-profit status were worth $148 million, up 85 percent since 1999.. “our town is nearly 30 percent exempt,” said town tax assessor curt schoeberl.

“in the last five or 10 years, the largest tax-exempt group’s growth is religious.

schnell

But hey, they're saving up for when religions have to pay taxes, right?

22

I got a voicemail from an elder about meeting with me.

by schnell in

yesterday, i missed a call and got a long voicemail from an elder who would like to meet with my wife and i some time this weekend, with another elder who dealt with my brother.

i haven't responded.

it's meeting night tonight, and my wife has already talked about staying home to do yoga with me instead.. yeah.

schnell

Yesterday, I missed a call and got a long voicemail from an elder who would like to meet with my wife and I some time this weekend, with another elder who dealt with my brother.

I haven't responded. It's meeting night tonight, and my wife has already talked about staying home to do yoga with me instead.

Yeah. I think she's getting it. Who knows?

I don't really have an interest in this meeting, but I can be sure that they'll come to our door Saturday morning and/or Sunday.

Here's the thing. I've already debated with this elder over the phone before. It was a nice, polite, scholarly debate. He said his part, I responded honestly, and we went back and forth. I am evolutionist and I said my piece about that. He is creationist and as I countered every point he made with science and reason, he eventually concluded, "At some point, you have to decide that there is a God."

I let him go on that because we'd gone back and forth for over an hour. That was the end of the call, more or less. But no. It's not a choice. The truth isn't different for you and me. The truth is objective and provable and DOESN'T require faith. Furthermore, we'd earlier discussed Pascal's Wager and how choosing to serve God blindly is really just choosing the reward that you're promised for doing so. (Compare the accuser's/Satan's words in Job.)

He's a nice guy. But if they get ahold of me at home and ask bluntly if I think this is the truth and want to continue, I feel as with any other sort of lie that I would do more prolonged harm than good by giving in.

PS: Jephthah killed his daughter. Get over it. https://youtu.be/NFyekTrObRc