Posts by schnell

24

Scriptures rarely mentioned

by dothemath in

a couple of examples of scriptures hardly ever quoted is 1 tim.

2:12- "i do not permit a woman to teach, or to exercise authority over a man, but to be in silence".

or verse 11- "let a woman learn in silence with full submissiveness.".

schnell

They like to reference Jude sometimes, which references the Book of Enoch.

Edit: It occurs to me that they don't often reference that passage though. So here it is, Jude 1:14-15:

14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Edit 2: To compare, here is 1 Enoch 2:1.

1Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them, and destroy the wicked, and reprove all the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done, and committed against him.

It strikes me now that they equate Jesus with Michael and call him the only archangel, completely ignoring the other 6 mentioned in the Book of Enoch. It's not as if they aren't aware of the contents of Enoch, so it's clear that they are being selective.

40

All About The Words We Used

by dubstepped in

in the time since i've left the borg behind i've had a few things hit me as to how words were used.

i'm wondering if anyone else has some similar examples, but here are some things that have made me think:.

watchtower - my whole life i saw this as a thing of protection from outside evil forces, and then when i left someone pointed out "isn't that what they used to keep people in prison".

schnell

@breakfast of champions, I reasoned with my mom on that one, got a laugh out of her. For an organization as homophobic as the WTS, as well as misogynistic about women in positions of authority (thus asserting that the GB will always be a bunch of guys), this "wife-like/mother" idea is just fucking bizarre. You could reason that women can be anointed and thus be part of it, but then they identified the FDS as the GB. If you reason that genders are neutral in heaven, why are women not allowed in positions of authority?

Just weird, all around weird.

40

All About The Words We Used

by dubstepped in

in the time since i've left the borg behind i've had a few things hit me as to how words were used.

i'm wondering if anyone else has some similar examples, but here are some things that have made me think:.

watchtower - my whole life i saw this as a thing of protection from outside evil forces, and then when i left someone pointed out "isn't that what they used to keep people in prison".

schnell

Worldly. Wes Craven was interviewed on NPR years ago and talked about his upbringing in a fundamentalist sect. They used the term "worldly" in the same xenophobic sense as JWs, and Craven said how common he found that to be among such groups.

When his interview was replayed (I think it was on Fresh Air) recently, I came home and talked about it with my wife. That way of seeing this us-and-them mentality in the context of another cult-like group made me stop and think about it.

His thoughts on depicting violence were interesting as well.

12

It's weird to look back at old family stories about our beliefs.

by schnell in

jw
friends

my parents had a story that the first time my dad ever met my mom's father, he opened the door and immediately asked dad, "what are you gonna do if my grandson needs a blood transfusion?!".

grampa was a ww2 vet, an airplane mechanic, a methodist and freemason.

he and my grandmother were pictured all my life as these ogres who opposed my mother's jw conversion and her marriage to my father.

schnell

@tiki I am awake and faded after nearly 5 years of marriage. My lovely wife hangs onto this or that.

As JWdaughter said, that's something I would want agreement upon should it ever arise, not that I hope it does. It is most certainly not a mundane decision.

5

Jesus: Preaching in the 21st century

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

''i liked it better 2000 years when i preached in synagogues,in the fields,by the sea,in the temples,on mountaintops and valleys.now,i've been reduced to making small talk and handing out leaflets to our summer convention titled,''remain loyal to jehovah.''.

''this stupid convention is 80 miles away,3 full days in the middle of summer,bagging your own lunch,paying for hotel and food,and ''making sure you do not reserve seats.''.

'' i hope no one answers the door.''.

schnell

I like how Jesus looks sick to his stomach as he faintly knocks on that door.

29

Is it OK for JW employees to sell lottery tickets?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i do remember reading an article that it is not ok for jw to sell cigarettes at gas stations, etc... i was wondering what about lottery tickets?

they do sell lottery tickets at few restaurants around my home.

if jw works there and rats me out to the elders, i would not give a damn about it but i still prefer not to hear from the elders about it..

schnell

There was a story passed around before it was squelched that a witness worked for the UN in some capacity and asked an official, "So when are you going to ban religion?" And the legend goes that the official said in all seriousness, "How do you know about that?"

Assuming this story is true and not totally apocryphal...

1) Why was he working there?

2) How was the official not pulling the guy's leg?

22

How Do JWs Reconcile Contradictions Between Mt. and Lk. and Their Birth Stories?

by Saename in

does anybody know how jehovah's witnesses reconcile the contradictions between the stories of jesus' birth as found in matthew and luke?

when i was a jehovah's witness, i wasn't even aware of this contradiction; i simply thought that all of it happen—namely that there was a census (luke 2) and the slaughter of the innocents (matthew 2) simultaneously.

but at the time i didn't know that the census took place in 6 ce and that herod the great died in 4 bce, thus placing those birth stories 10 years apart in time.

schnell

Did he die at 9am or noon? Which day?

29

Is it OK for JW employees to sell lottery tickets?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i do remember reading an article that it is not ok for jw to sell cigarettes at gas stations, etc... i was wondering what about lottery tickets?

they do sell lottery tickets at few restaurants around my home.

if jw works there and rats me out to the elders, i would not give a damn about it but i still prefer not to hear from the elders about it..

schnell

Here's one: Can a dub work in a sex toy shop, or patronize one?

My friend had a great response to that. If a brother catches you in there, the fact is, he's there too.

12

It's weird to look back at old family stories about our beliefs.

by schnell in

jw
friends

my parents had a story that the first time my dad ever met my mom's father, he opened the door and immediately asked dad, "what are you gonna do if my grandson needs a blood transfusion?!".

grampa was a ww2 vet, an airplane mechanic, a methodist and freemason.

he and my grandmother were pictured all my life as these ogres who opposed my mother's jw conversion and her marriage to my father.

schnell

I have told her about the belief that a blood transfusion changes your personality, and discovered that she believes it due to a family anecdote of her own.

26

JW requesting food assistance to Babylon the Great.

by sp74bb in

jw
friends

barcelona (spain), jan 8, 2017 at 1.30 pm.

two publishers of the tagalog group in barcelona (public meeting at 4.30 pm) do visit an evangelical church barcelona downtown to receive free food bags.... i can confirm that the queue was long.

the pastor in charge of this church has not allowed me to take picture of some older jw living barcelona downtown, but i was able to catch these young publishers.

schnell

@tor1500, and then they need assistance, so why hate on the government that provides it solely on the basis of religious belief that it's a puppet of Satan?

And then they realize this puppet of Satan is put in its relative position by Jehovah, and their head explodes.