Posts by Spiral

16

Were the JWs ever anywhere near a bona fide religion?

by punkofnice in

the religion/corporation has changed constantly since the start.

they appear more whacko than ever.. but, were the jws ever anywhere near a bona fide religion at any time?.

disclaimer: i think all religions are a scam.

Spiral

Religion: A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Or: The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or Gods.

So, by these definitions found online, the JWs are a religion. They believe in a superhuman (notice, not necessarily righteous) controlling power, and they certainly are into maintaining a "moral code governing the conduct of human affairs."

Speaking for myself, I know that growing up I didn't think "our" religion was exciting. It was missing so much that other religions had: contemplative practices, beautiful churches or synagogues where impressive observances could be seen, wonderful holidays and worship days, schools and summer camps. Culture, art, and rich history could be seen, in my case, from afar.

Being a JW was like being in a bargain-basement religion, totally on the cheap. I was sad about this.

34

Circus Assembly Jaw Dropper

by Slidin Fast in

the co got on his hind legs for the public talk and repeated twice "tolerance promotes division".

then backed it up by saying that if one group march for some right, another group will march for the opposite.. so jws are intolerant and proud of it.

f@@@k me sideways.. may explain that the baptism tally was 0..

Spiral

This is probably underpinned by one of their new(er?) expressions, "listen, obey, and be blessed". [Notice thinking about anything is not a part of this equation.]

So everyone has to be the same. In that world, everyone would be lock stepped into the same life pattern.

Easier to control the rank and file that way.

Having said that, I'd also say that this particular CO isn't the sharpest tool in the JW box. A lot of people listening to this might question that statement, even JWs.

34

Circus Assembly Jaw Dropper

by Slidin Fast in

the co got on his hind legs for the public talk and repeated twice "tolerance promotes division".

then backed it up by saying that if one group march for some right, another group will march for the opposite.. so jws are intolerant and proud of it.

f@@@k me sideways.. may explain that the baptism tally was 0..

Spiral

Wow. I'm guessing that also means say goodbye to love and forgiveness and all that other Christian stuff. Perhaps disfellowshippings in his circuit will also lovingly increase.

24

Oh How Far I've Come

by pale.emperor in

so this weekend my girlfriend and i will move into our own place together.

it turns out that “a cord of three strands is stronger” is bullshit and two people in a relationship are perfectly capable of being happy without outside influence.

what a journey i’ve had since leaving 3 and a half years ago!

Spiral

Congratulations, Pale, that is the most awesome news.

Go forward and ENJOY all the wonderful parts of YOUR OWN life!

I'm sure you'll be a great Dad!

14

Dating within JW's

by 720Reddog in

jw
friends

how was dating in your congregation?.

Spiral

Dating in the congregation was always fraught with drama. Then it got worse once you had to have chaperones (what is this, middle ages kind of thinking). We knew couples who had never been alone or had a private conversation before they got married. Or, in one congregation, you could meet at a restaurant (separate cars) and the chaperones would sit at a table close where they could keep an eye on you. Then everyone leaves in their own cars (and the chaperones probably follow you home, IDK) Ugh..... many of those marriages didn't last.

But now I see there is a JWMatch.com website. (Perhaps there's more than one.) I'm sure the GB doesn't approve, but really, if they are going to make people so desperate about trying to get married, they should honor this as a choice. I wonder about the success rate of the marriages it produces.

36

The sky is falling- maybe

by joey jojo in

i am actually not a 'sky is falling' guy, but i wanted to comment on the australian bushfires.. you may or may not believe the science behind global warming, however i personally put more faith in verified, scientific data than the words of fat cat, self-serving politicians.

climate science has predicted, based on data, that we will see more prolonged, extreme weather events, higher average temperatures, rising sea levels due to ocean expansion and glacial melting.

and this is exactly whats happening.

Spiral

Joey Jojo, I agree. Everything is fine..... until suddenly it's not. It doesn't matter if you believe in global warming, climate change, or not, obviously, something significant is happening.

History is full of events that are created by a combination of situations. Sometimes, these inconvenient events have caused people and animals to die.

One would hope that in the "modern era" mankind could think logically and creatively and think of changes to be made to help things get better. If not, if mankind is too concerned with the status quo and selfishly making money, well, then, we might just go the way of all that unfortunate wildlife.

The universe won't blink an eye, and things will go on. Mankind, even one whole planet, isn't really that important on a universal scale.

I'm so sorry that's happening in Australia, I've been following the news and the events are just heartbreaking. I can see these are lifechanging events for all of you in Australia.

10

Question: When did the JWs start having judicial committees?

by Spiral in

i've been reading the book recommended by zing "soul snatchers, the mechanics of cults" (bought a used copy online) and one of the things mentioned was how cults police all aspects of their members' lives.

so it got me to wondering, when did the practice of three men (elders) having a hearing (or should we say trial) and passing judgment on a member start?

did the early bible students do this?

Spiral

Thanks for the information.

When you read a book about cults and look at this kind of thing through that lens, you wonder how anyone thinks joining a group like this (outside joining the military) is okay.

I can remember when I was young a talk about the Catholic Church and how confession to a human priest was wrong. How could confession to a tribunal of brothers be any different? At least at confessional, you're in a booth and supposed to be anonymous, from what I understand.

I think that the judicial committee practice is abuse.

41

147th Gilead prt. 3 - this could stumble people

by neat blue dog in

during gerrit loesch's talk just released, he goes on a long list of the false end times predictions throughout the millennia.

i didn't expect it, but then he goes into the precursors to the bible students who, when their dates failed, changed christ's presence to have happened 'invisibly'.

then it goes right into the jws, and he reads the quote from millions now living will never die about how we can 'confidently expect' the resurrection in 1925, and then the life everlasting book that predicted 1975. of course, he doesn't say how it's still going on, namely with the overlapping generation and its' accompanying convoluted chart, but still, this is more than they've ever said on the subject, especially recently.. it almost sounds like a forced statement, to address any backlash from people reading 'apostate lies' online, because he also says how the gb 'humbly' admitted mistakes, referencing the non-apology after 1975 that disturbed raymond franz.

Spiral

Haven't watched the video, but I'm guessing it is a weird attempt at damage control. Even my PIMI friends (what I have left, can count on one hand) get really uncomfortable when you talk about failed prophecy. It's painful for them to think about, but enough time has gone past that those of us who were born in (or almost) can see that all that stuff we studied and believed is nonsense.

This is when the bOrg will have to start converting into some sort of megachurch, versus being an "on the edge" group who has greater insight into upcoming events. (Which is what they thought they were, LAST century.)

It being so obvious that they have no greater insights at all, about anything.

10

Question: When did the JWs start having judicial committees?

by Spiral in

i've been reading the book recommended by zing "soul snatchers, the mechanics of cults" (bought a used copy online) and one of the things mentioned was how cults police all aspects of their members' lives.

so it got me to wondering, when did the practice of three men (elders) having a hearing (or should we say trial) and passing judgment on a member start?

did the early bible students do this?

Spiral

I've been reading the book recommended by Zing "Soul Snatchers, the Mechanics of Cults" (bought a used copy online) and one of the things mentioned was how cults police all aspects of their members' lives. So it got me to wondering, when did the practice of three men (elders) having a hearing (or should we say trial) and passing judgment on a member start? Did the early Bible Students do this? This aspect of being a JW has always given me the creeps.

24

Latest Circuit Assembly Money Assault!

by eyeuse2badub in

probably not new to many of you but i'm gonna post it anyway!.

i went to a circuit assembly last week at the fremont, ca assembly hall in fremont, ca to be with my wife so she could be there to 'witness' the baptism of a person she "studied" with about 2 decades ago!.

at the main entry to the assembly hall there are 3 or 4 large double door entrances.

Spiral

@Tameria and Joe, those ideas make sense. A "fee" or "membership" (just like online newspapers, etc.) would be far more palatable to the average JW than saying "tithing" or "required" donation, etc. Whatever it takes to bring the money in.