"The" Lebanon makes no sense. Why the specific article?
You might watch Lebanon, or the Lebanese, but watching "The Lebanon" makes no grammatical sense.
S4
Seeker4
JoinedPosts by Seeker4
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New JW Speculations: "Watch the Lebanon!"
by Sirona inok a couple of jws in my family have said this.. we were talking about usa politics and the comment was made "it doesn't matter who gets in....it will all result in the same outcome.
watch the lebanon!
" (jw gives a knowing look and emphasises the lebanon bit).
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Seeker4
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APOSTATE PRESIDENT: Op Ed May 12 NYTimes WHO DOES THIS REMIND YOU OF??
by Seeker4 inbelow is an op-ed piece from today's ny times.
what does this religion remind you of?
all "true" religions seem to have the same approach to those who question.
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Seeker4
Here's a breakdpwn of the most interesting points for those who prefer not to read the whole thing:
"Like all monotheistic religions, Islam is an exclusive faith.
"His conversion, however, was a crime in Muslim eyes; it is “irtidad” or “ridda,” usually translated from the
Arabic as “apostasy,” but with connotations of rebellion and treason. Indeed, it is the worst of all crimes
that a Muslim can commit, worse than murder (which the victim’s family may choose to forgive).
"With few exceptions, the jurists of all Sunni and Shiite schools prescribe execution for all adults who leave
the faith not under duress; the recommended punishment is beheading at the hands of a cleric, although in
recent years there have been both stonings and hangings. (Some may point to cases in which lesser punishments
were ordered — as with some Egyptian intellectuals who have been punished for writings that were construed as
apostasy — but those were really instances of supposed heresy, not explicitly declared apostasy as in Senator
Obama’s case.)"
JW's, Jehovah's own little jihadists!!
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APOSTATE PRESIDENT: Op Ed May 12 NYTimes WHO DOES THIS REMIND YOU OF??
by Seeker4 inbelow is an op-ed piece from today's ny times.
what does this religion remind you of?
all "true" religions seem to have the same approach to those who question.
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Seeker4
Below is an op-ed piece from today's NY Times.
What does this religion remind you of?
All "True" religions seem to have the same approach to those who question.
Ain't religion a grand thing!?
S4
The New York Times
Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By
May 12, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
President Apostate?
By EDWARD N. LUTTWAK
Chevy Chase, Md.
BARACK OBAMA has emerged as a classic example of charismatic leadership — a figure upon whom others project their own hopes and desires. The resulting emotional intensity adds greatly to the more conventional strengths of the well-organized Obama campaign, and it has certainly sufficed to overcome the formidable initial advantages of Senator Hillary Clinton.
One danger of such charisma, however, is that it can evoke unrealistic hopes of what a candidate could actually accomplish in office regardless of his own personal abilities. Case in point is the oft-made claim that an Obama presidency would be welcomed by the Muslim world.
This idea often goes hand in hand with the altogether more plausible argument that Mr. Obama’s election would raise America’s esteem in Africa — indeed, he already arouses much enthusiasm in his father’s native Kenya and to a degree elsewhere on the continent.
But it is a mistake to conflate his African identity with his Muslim heritage. Senator Obama is half African by birth and Africans can understandably identify with him. In Islam, however, there is no such thing as a half-Muslim. Like all monotheistic religions, Islam is an exclusive faith.
As the son of the Muslim father, Senator Obama was born a Muslim under Muslim law as it is universally understood. It makes no difference that, as Senator Obama has written, his father said he renounced his religion. Likewise, under Muslim law based on the Koran his mother’s Christian background is irrelevant.
Of course, as most Americans understand it, Senator Obama is not a Muslim. He chose to become a Christian, and indeed has written convincingly to explain how he arrived at his choice and how important his Christian faith is to him.
His conversion, however, was a crime in Muslim eyes; it is “irtidad” or “ridda,” usually translated from the Arabic as “apostasy,” but with connotations of rebellion and treason. Indeed, it is the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit, worse than murder (which the victim’s family may choose to forgive).
With few exceptions, the jurists of all Sunni and Shiite schools prescribe execution for all adults who leave the faith not under duress; the recommended punishment is beheading at the hands of a cleric, although in recent years there have been both stonings and hangings. (Some may point to cases in which lesser punishments were ordered — as with some Egyptian intellectuals who have been punished for writings that were construed as apostasy — but those were really instances of supposed heresy, not explicitly declared apostasy as in Senator Obama’s case.)
It is true that the criminal codes in most Muslim countries do not mandate execution for apostasy (although a law doing exactly that is pending before Iran’s Parliament and in two Malaysian states). But as a practical matter, in very few Islamic countries do the governments have sufficient authority to resist demands for the punishment of apostates at the hands of religious authorities.
For example, in Iran in 1994 the intervention of Pope John Paul II and others won a Christian convert a last-minute reprieve, but the man was abducted and killed shortly after his release. Likewise, in 2006 in Afghanistan, a Christian convert had to be declared insane to prevent his execution, and he was still forced to flee to Italy.
Because no government is likely to allow the prosecution of a President Obama — not even those of Iran and Saudi Arabia, the only two countries where Islamic religious courts dominate over secular law — another provision of Muslim law is perhaps more relevant: it prohibits punishment for any Muslim who kills any apostate, and effectively prohibits interference with such a killing.
At the very least, that would complicate the security planning of state visits by President Obama to Muslim countries, because the very act of protecting him would be sinful for Islamic security guards. More broadly, most citizens of the Islamic world would be horrified by the fact of Senator Obama’s conversion to Christianity once it became widely known — as it would, no doubt, should he win the White House. This would compromise the ability of governments in Muslim nations to cooperate with the United States in the fight against terrorism, as well as American efforts to export democracy and human rights abroad.
That an Obama presidency would cause such complications in our dealings with the Islamic world is not likely to be a major factor with American voters, and the implication is not that it should be. But of all the well-meaning desires projected on Senator Obama, the hope that he would decisively improve relations with the world’s Muslims is the least realistic.
Edward N. Luttwak, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is the author of “Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace.” -
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Who predicted something awful to happen in the month of May?
by inkling indidn't a recent poster (last month) predict horrible events to happen this month?.
i wonder if the cyclone counts.... .
[inkling].
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Seeker4
THANKS! Glad you reminded us. This is what I posted on Winnowers thread: So, on June 1st we will all know if we have just been listening to another false prophet - or not.
Wall Street will collapse in May, eh? That's pretty specific prophecy. If it doesn't happen will you come back on here and 'fess up that you're a false prophet and don't know shit about what you're talking about?!
If you're right, I'll become an ardent supporter.
My money is not on Winnower!
We need to remember this thread and make sure it doesn't disappear.
So, still have yet to see the world financial collapse, but still a few weeks to go!! S4 -
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Looking for Old Friends
by Wordly Andre ini'm going to start this topic, i know some of us know people who have left before we did, and have lost touch.
so i'll go first, i am looking for jennifer n. of lancaster/palmdale ca area, she had a son and i use to hang out with margie.
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Seeker4
I had a good friend, from childhood, Ernie Blanchard, who with his wife Debbie and sons Trent and Todd, was in the Lancaster, CA congregation.
Ernie's no longer a JW, wife remarried out of the Witnesses. One son, Todd, may still be active.
I noticed Lancaster was mentioned above. The names ring a bell?
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Do You Really Like/Love Who You Are?
by minimus indo you love yourself?
do you think that other people enjoy being around you?
?
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Seeker4
More and more as time goes on. Learning to accept my few minor flaws has helped. Uh, yeah sure!! Ha ha!
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President Obama and a Democrat Congress Will....
by owenfieldreams in1) raise taxes, and not just capital gains.
income taxes will be raised as well.
and if you make more than $200k/yr, you are "rich", and defined as such you will get soaked; thus, you will have little incentive to keep earning what you do now,--the opportunity to make a nice profit will simply not be there....and all of us working stiffs fortunate enough to make over $50 k/ yr, you better hold on to your wallets as well... we are going to pay for the social security bailout.
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Seeker4
Isn't it grand to be able to debate all this shit?
You'd NEVER have a discussion like this in the Kingdom Hall!!
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Our CO gave a talk to kids. Stay OUT of school!
by easyreader1970 inhe wanted to talk to the young ones in the congregation.
the main theme of the talk had to do with avoiding higher education.
basically the main idea was this: witnesses are losing alot of young people here in the last few years.
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Seeker4
I have a very intelligent granddaughter who's parents - my daughter and s-i-l – are still JWs. I was talking with my son in law the other day, and I told him to make sure not to fall for the "no college" line. My granddaughter is bright and talented and deserves to be able to use her gifts.
He said, "Yeah, they really seem to be on the whole anti-higher education kick again." So the JWs notice it. He also told me not to worry, they won't pay any attention to that.
I really wish some of the friends would have the gumption to call these COs on this talk. I'd love to rip one of them a new one on this.
I also agree that this is one area where the WTS does itself no good. There are a LOT of the friends who see this as total bullshit. If you've got a brain, a religion that complains that the more education you have the more likely you are to leave it, well what is that really saying?! Isn't there a thread where someone quoted a brother as saying, "we're losing all the smart people!"
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Don't think it won't happen here
by JimmyPage inthese days you hear alot of talk in the borg that persecution will break out in the usa.
"don't think it won't happen here," says the speaker, "we americans have it too easy.
satan will target us too.
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Seeker4
Rutherford actually sought the violent "persecution" in order to push things in the courts. I don't see it happening again.
I used to give the talk "Courageous Yet Cautious In the Face of Persecution." Lots of silly stuff in that talk!
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danielp:
From the responses on here, I think there would be a few others stumbled as well!
I was definitely a liberal elder who had to be shown something was definitely wrong before I'd do anything. I remember a couple coming to me concerned about oral sex. They liked it, but felt guilty. Even as an elder I told them, "It's been a common practice for thousands of years, and the Bible says NOTHING about it. Do what you want and don't feel guilty. You'll never see me taking any action on it as an elder."
Stumbling was always a word I had trouble with. Almost ANYTHING you did you could get counseled on that you "might stumble" someone. It was a concept that allowed the elders to stick their noses into anything they wanted, all on the guise of protecting the flock from being "stumbled."
In many ways, lots of Witnesses are like "spiritual babies," getting "stumbled" over this and over that. I'm not saying this about your comment, just that it was an incredibly judgmental thing, having a lot to do with rules and regulations and each person's interpretation of them and almost nothing to do with Christian freedom and spirituality. It's part of what made being a Witness a suffocating experience.
I remember sitting in on discussions because one sister was stumbled at another's slit in her skirt at a CA, or because some brother was wearing a knotted bracelet, or because a brother's hair was a little long or on and on and on. High control groups with lots of rules like the Witnesses breed an atmosphere of judging and repression among the members.
edmond dante - Your points are well taken. Our schools here don't mix much religion unless they are established by a religion and are not public schools.
S4