Posts by Seeker

35

My Take On Anonimity.

by Englishman in

jw
friends

this is just a few thoughts that i have regarding the subject of anonimity.

yes, i am making this post after being in the chat room with several others including kent and prisca.

it seemed to me that kent posted prisca's pic mainly out of sheer mischievousness and was quite taken aback at her very real distress at having her identity exposed.

Seeker

But I would rather that than not be free to be me, not to have my freedom of thought and action. Isn't freedom of belief even a part of the American Constitution?

How am I not free to be me? I live my life as I wish. Even if I weren't concerned about JW family, even if I had never been a JW, I would always be anonymous online. Too many employers doing Net searches on prospective employee names. I'd rather my name not show up anywhere (not just here), and that will never change.

How does this affect my freedom of thought? How does this affect my freedom of belief? I believe and think what I want. And I choose anonymity for many reasons, only some of them related to JWdom.

45

The WTS in The Zionist Conspiracy

by FatJackMcCracken in

jw
friends

the watchtower society .

in the zionist conspiracy.

by:-jack mccracken 9.30.01. the watchtower society's membership in the united nations as an ngo since 1991, and advocacy of the un charter, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Seeker

Since C.T.Russell's time, spiritistic leanings, demonology, Giza pyramid prophecies, occultic and masonic symbolisms, and Old Testament exegesis have been part of Watchtower theology.

Correction: During Russell's time those things were part of WTS theology. Since then, the Society has ditched virtually all of it.

Russell himself took some sort of secret vow which caused demons to regularly assault him.

Evidence, please.

Russell is alleged to have been a Rosicrucian

Evidence, please.

Prior to the end of the 19th century Russell was alerted to the Illuminati's plot to commence another world conflict in 1914. Unable to identify his source without advertising his Illuminati links, he conveniently seized upon the prophetic works of others,

Evidence, please.

Rutherford appears to have had further insider tips, for in 1942 he predicted that the then defunct League of Nations was going to be revived

Uh, Knorr made that prediction. Rutherford was dead when that happened. And there were no insider tips -- this information about the League was in the New York newspapers before Knorr gave his talk.

32

trick or treating

by teejay in

jw
friends

of all the holidays, for me halloween has the least appeal.. i have a memory of going trick-or-treating once, at my "worldly" father's insistence (he roasted peanuts in the oven for the door-knockers... i remember), about the time my mom learned the truth.

i must've been about five years old.. despite the fact that i'm a hard-core agnostic and a fear of gods or demons are a non-issue, i still have trouble encouraging kids -- under the guise of costumes and fun -- of extorting treats from neighbors.

can i get a witness?

Seeker

larc,

I can understand that, all right, but why not just have a party? Adults can have parties any day of the year. Why co-opt a children's holiday as an excuse?

4

Jesus A WOMAN?

by ballistic in

jw
friends

was jesus a woman?.

recently, at a theological meeting in rome, scholars had a heated debate on.

this subject.

Seeker

LOL, very good. See, when I saw the heading, I thought it was what one gay male said to his partner when he found out the guy was cheating on him in a totally unexpected manner:

"Jesus! A woman?"

32

trick or treating

by teejay in

jw
friends

of all the holidays, for me halloween has the least appeal.. i have a memory of going trick-or-treating once, at my "worldly" father's insistence (he roasted peanuts in the oven for the door-knockers... i remember), about the time my mom learned the truth.

i must've been about five years old.. despite the fact that i'm a hard-core agnostic and a fear of gods or demons are a non-issue, i still have trouble encouraging kids -- under the guise of costumes and fun -- of extorting treats from neighbors.

can i get a witness?

Seeker

I loved Halloween as a child; great fun to dress up and get mucho candy.

I have no problem with it now. Have fun.

What I have always found incredulous is the way adults are taking over the holiday and celebrating it with parties? What's up with that? This is a kid's holiday.

9

Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses- Woodland Park

by Kent in

jw
friends

is kingdom hall of jehovah's witnesses- woodland park congregation a charity??

take a look at this page:.

http://www100.charitablegift.org/annual/recipients/k.shtml.

Seeker

Seeker or Mad's alter-ego, you miss the point. They make themselves look like a charity for the good of the General Public, not themselves. Kent does right to point this out. Thank you Kent and Nelly!

I missed no point. Of course they are being self-serving, but that's a different topic. The topic of this thread was the web site that Kent found. And that web site was merely a collection of names of recipients of money as stated by the donors. In other words, that site isn't calling the KH a charity, some JW somewhere said it. That site is merely a record that somewhere a JW wanted to give money to his or her KH.

Now, if you want to start a thread that shows some wrongdoing on the part of the WTS, I'm there. But this site shows nothing wrong, unless you want to argue that the U.S. government is wrong to classify religions (all of them) charitiable organizations for tax purposes. You could make that argument, but until they change the law, JWs will continue to give money to their local Hall and deduct it on their taxes.

You can call me names if you wish, but my point stands. There is nothing on that site that shows wrongdoing by the WTS, unless you call anyone giving money to their local Hall wrong. If so, fine, start a thread on that topic.

12

Thoughts?

by Adam in

jw
friends

there are those who have left the jws and become athiest/agnostic/skeptic.

some would say those people have had their faith in god so shaken by the corrupt, man-made religion of jws that they have fallen into confusion and need to be shown the "right" way.. then there are those who have left the jws and found another version of christianity they feel is the proper way to worship the god of the bible.

some would say that those people have only swapped one religion for another and have failed to realize the greater truth that there is no god or that you can't know for sure which religion is correct.. i'd like to hear who people think is right and why.. and the more important question:.

Seeker

Adam,

Yep, you and I took similar paths, and we wound up in a similar place.

12

Thoughts?

by Adam in

jw
friends

there are those who have left the jws and become athiest/agnostic/skeptic.

some would say those people have had their faith in god so shaken by the corrupt, man-made religion of jws that they have fallen into confusion and need to be shown the "right" way.. then there are those who have left the jws and found another version of christianity they feel is the proper way to worship the god of the bible.

some would say that those people have only swapped one religion for another and have failed to realize the greater truth that there is no god or that you can't know for sure which religion is correct.. i'd like to hear who people think is right and why.. and the more important question:.

Seeker

There are those who have left the JWs and become athiest/agnostic/skeptic. Some would say those people have had their faith in God so shaken by the corrupt, man-made religion of JWs that they have fallen into confusion and need to be shown the "right" way.

That's not how I felt, or why I became one of those "atheist/agnostic/skeptic" types. Here's why I became agnostic: When my examination of JW teachings and practices provided evidence that they were not the right religion, I knew I had to find the right way to worship God. That was my chief concern. So I started re-reading the Bible, just the Bible. Oops...my new-found examination skills found the Bible lacking in certain, uh, "divine" qualities. Hmmm...now what? The Qu'ran? Hmmm...similar problems. Book of Mormon? LOL. What about other religious groups? Loose confederations of Christians? Individuals with religious ideas? Hmmm...all flawed.

What about the alternative, evolution and such? Hmmm...where are all those flaws I was taught to look for?

That's what happened to me. I didn't feel turned off from God because of my JW experience. I was perfectly willing to accept God in my life in whatever manner He would want me to do. Problem is, if you look at any other religion with the same perceptive eye that can tear apart JW theology, you also find problems, inconsistencies, errors, special pleadings, etc.

If I could find a religion that would act as if it really were from a God of love, I might be interested. So far, none have passed the test. I finally decided that any God worth worshipping wouldn't demand worship in the first place. I expect nothing at death. If I get something anyway, I'll call it a lucky bonus, and be all ears for whatever is next.

4

"We'd have them back next year"

by Seeker in

jw
friends

remember the annual km about the summer convention, and the experiences listed therein about how the brothers were so well behaved some convention manager would say something like, "we'd have them back next year.

" and remember how this was used a one more proof that jws had the right religion?

well check this out from the ap newswire:.

Seeker

Remember the annual KM about the summer convention, and the experiences listed therein about how the brothers were so well behaved some convention manager would say something like, "We'd have them back next year." And remember how this was used a one more proof that JWs had the right religion? Well check this out from the AP newswire:

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Every year they come from across the country to play on the northern Nevada desert. Thousands of techies, trippers and artists transform the ancient lake bed into Black Rock City, a 5-square-mile encampment equipped with everything from medical services to an airstrip.
And then they leave.
What's left behind at the site of the counterculture Burning Man festival are countless wood chips, cigarette butts, pistachio shells, orange peels, nails and other debris.
But this year, more than 25,000 participants from at least 40 states and 20 countries cleaned up their act on the Black Rock Desert 120 miles north of Reno near Gerlach.
Bureau of Land Management officials said a sharp reduction in trash helped organizers easily pass a cleanup inspection earlier this month.
``They've done a commendable job of cleaning up after themselves. It's likely they'll be allowed to return to the same site next year (for the 17th annual gathering),'' said Les Boni, an assistant field manager in the BLM's Winnemucca office.

There you have it. The Burning Man festival -- showing who true Christians are by their conduct...

2

Looking for info

by Tomik123 in

jw
friends

in daily express 30/8/84 i found the following article:.

split as star's thriller fans form the mj cult .

from philip finn in new york .

Seeker

I remember that article and read it at the time. I don't have any sources to offer you, but I can tell you what really happened back then:

POP superstar Michael Jackson has been pronounced the Archangel Michael by adoring young members of his religious sect, the Jehovah Witnesses.

I laughed at this charge back then, but now, who knows? Stupid rumors fly around JWs all the time. However, I still doubt there was much to this because even young Witnesses know the WTS teaching about Michael the archangel, and would have a hard time convincing too many of their friends that the WTS was wrong without being accused of apostasy. My guess is that the author interviewed some young Witnesses, made the suggestion that perhaps Jackson was the archangel, and the Witness responded, 'Yeah, wouldn't that be cool!' in a semi-joking way. As someone who has been quoted in publications on numerous occasions, I have been chagrined at how often my words were mixed around to give a wrong impression. I'll bet something similar happened here.

But it has bitterly divided the two and a half million Witnesses world-wide and upset the clean-living singer.

Oh, there was a bit of an uproar over Jackson at that time, but it hardly "bitterly divided" JWs. Basically, a lot of Witnesses thought Jackson wasn't setting a good example as a JW, and contacted Bethel about him. Bethel got sick and tired of having to answer these questions about Jackson, but that was the extent of the 'uproar.'

Older Church members far from putting Jackson on a pedestal, cannot forgive him for appearing as a devilish werewolf in his smash-hit video, Thriller.

Correct. See below.

Young Witnesses, hooked on the Prince of Pop's music, his dress and his shadow dancing have formed the MJ Cult. They believe the 26-year old multi-millionaire is the Archangel Michael as described in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 12. Verse 1, and "will deliver his people" Part of the passage reads: "And at that time, shall Michael stand up, the Great Prince which standeth for the Children of God."

As I said, I think this is laughable and untrue. They probably loved his music, but a cult?? Somebody misunderstood something.

But more fundamental witnesses feel Jackson represents an unhealthy and decadent faction which is damaging the Church's image. James Penton, a professor of religious studies in Alberta, Canada, said yesterday that Jackson had even been threatened with disfellowship excommunication from the Church because of his "worldly activities." Professor Penton who says he was himself excommunicated in 1981 that Jackson subsequently renounced the Thriller video in an issue of Awake, a sect publication which has a circulation of nine million. In the article, Jackson says: "I realise now it was not a good idea…I'll never do a video like that again."

All true. Bethel got so sick of this issue they had Jackson spoken to about his activities. Jackson then renounced the Thriller video, and it was quoted in Awake! Not long after this, Jackson walked away from the JWs.

The row is expected to explode next month with a week-long series of protests by young dissidents outside the Witnesses' headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

ROFL! Of course not! Yes, there was a protest outside Bethel in the first week of October, 1984, but it had nothing to do with Jackson. Nor was it by "young" dissidents, but opposers in general, protesting the usual stuff. Nor did it "explode," for it was just a handful of opposers.

One of the protest Organisers. Mr David Riccobini, of Connecticut, said "It is the first time Witness kids have had someone to look up to. Otherwise they lead a very drab life."

See how the media gets things wrong? The reporter interviewed someone who was planning to be part of the general protest, probably said, 'What about this Michael Jackson thing?', and the response was above. This gets twisted into a story about how young JWs are going to protest in front of Bethel about Michael Jackson!

Jackson, who often disguises himself to do missionary work for the Church, was touring last night and unavailable But friends say he is "deeply troubled" by the row.

He was troubled, and later left.