Posts by zophar

A friend was with Morris in the Traveling Overseer training school a number of years back when Morris was a Circuit Overseer. He said Morris was a real cut up and clown, had great sense of humor.

You can see that at times when he speaks now, but I think the Tight Pants talk and others since have revealed his humorless side!

6

Watchtower policies Versus the Bible

by UnshackleTheChains in

i thought i would run a new kind of topic.

watchtower policies versus the bible .

to start off with.

zophar

Excellent reasoning.

The WT Study during the Annual Mtg related the account of Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They pointed out that there were very few Jews in the city. Paragraph 2 stated:

As Paul sits in the darkness, he contemplates the events of the day. He thinks about the people of Philippi. They do not even have a Jewish synagogue in their city, unlike so many other cities that Paul has visited. In fact, the Jewish worshippers need to gather outside the city gates beside a river. (Acts 16:13, 14) Is this because there are not even ten Jewish males in the city, the number required to form a synagogue? The people of Philippi are obviously very proud of their Roman citizenship, even if it is only a partial or secondary form of citizenship. (Acts 16:21) Could this be why they do not even think it possible that these Jews, Paul and Silas, could be Roman citizens? Whatever the case, here they are, unjustly thrown into prison.

The account in Acts then shows that when God miraculously set them free that the jailer was about to kill himself the WT says:

As Paul and Silas sing songs of praise, a series of totally unexpected events occurs. Suddenly, there is a violent earthquake. The doors of the prison are thrown wide open. All the prisoners’ bonds are loosened. Paul stops the jailer from committing suicide. The jailer and his entire family get baptized.

So they had NO Biblical or Jewish background yet on one night they all get baptized.

JW teaching, study 2 books, go through questions with elders and then get approved for baptism. Here is some interesting instructions:

*** w06 4/1 pp. 21-22 pars. 3-4 ‘Go and Make Disciples, Baptizing Them’ ***
3 To be among those who enjoy that precious relationship with God, one must make a dedication to Jehovah and symbolize it publicly by water baptism. This is in obedience to Jesus’ direct command to his disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) The Israelites listened to a reading of “the book of the covenant.” (Exodus 24:3, 7, 8) Thus, they understood their obligations toward Jehovah. Likewise today, an accurate knowledge of God’s will as found in his Word, the Bible, is essential before one takes the step of baptism.
4 Clearly, Jesus intended for his disciples to have a solid foundation for their faith before they would get baptized. He instructed his followers not only to go and make disciples but also to teach them ‘to observe all the things he had commanded.’ (Matthew 7:24, 25; Ephesians 3:17-19) Therefore, those who qualify for baptism have usually studied the Bible for months or even a year or two, so that their decision is neither hasty nor ill-informed. At the baptism itself, the candidates answer yes to two key questions. Since Jesus emphasized that ‘our Yes should mean Yes, our No, No,’ it will be helpful for all of us to review carefully the significance of these two baptismal questions.—Matthew 5:37.

So there is another comparison of the Bible and the teachings of JW.

27

How to delete my account here?

by video in

how to delete my account here?.

zophar

Stupid forum!!!

If this is a "Stupid forum!!!" ........ does that mean you are stup................?

20

What exactly is grieving gods Holy Spirit?

by Chook in

i had an elder tell me once i was grieving holy spirit but i’m not sure how this dickhead knew..

zophar

Blondie already referenced the WT article I looked at. Like her, I find it interesting that it clearly applies this to the anointed and then like everything else they include the "Other Sheep" by extension. We are just never good enough to get our own counsel are we????

Steve2 made the comment linking this "grieving" with the unforgivable sin. I think that is how the elder was trying to apply it in your case. However, WT literature clearly shows that no one on earth can determine when a person commits an unforgivable sin. So really, it was pretty careless and crass of the elder to apply that to you even by JW standards!

35

Be loyal when a relative is disfellowshipped

by UnshackleTheChains in

well.....they showed that shunning video again.

you know...the one where goldilocks gets disfellowshipped- and the parents look across the hall at her with disdain.....yeah that video.. i was interested to see what kind of answers would be given during the discussion after the video and some of the reactions.

everyone sat there gormlessly staring at the video.

zophar

So when were the JW grandchildren DF'd? Looks like they are shunned by association. How will they learn the "truth", esp with the attractive way their grandparents present it to them?

Oh, and what if the phone call is to inform the grandparents of a medical emergency or a serious accident their grandchild was involved in?

"By their fruits you will recognize them. - Mt 7:16

510

What Music have you Been Listening to this Last Year ? Post You tubes if you Like !

by flipper in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wktxjuyiat4.

.

zophar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhHMZMBPK2E&feature=share

30

Pedophile on The Governing Body

by new boy in

jw
friends

the bottom line there is zero tolerance for any homosexual activity in jehovah’s holy organization.

so all known gays had been kicked out and disfellowshipped before i got to bethel and gays got kicked and disfellowshipped and disgraced when i was there.

sorry, i guess i meant most homosexuals were kicked out in disgrace.

zophar

I would think if this were true and known, Ray Franz would have mentioned it in one of his books since he knew both men well. I don't recall reading anything about that.

Of course, he may not have felt compelled to mention it.

15

When JWs Pray for Houston

by NJ501 in

when i hear prayers given by brothers why do they only pray for other jws not all people??

i remember hearing a comment from my mother saying 4000 jws are affected by this...and i'm thinking yes that is sad but what about the tens of thousands other people affected?

too me it just doesn't seem right to just pray for jws but to pray for all victims.

zophar

During a disaster several yrs ago I prayed and said something to this effect:

"Jehovah, while we are concerned for our Brothers we are really concerned for ALL the people affected."

Received several comments after that prayer. Words like that had never been spoken in that building before!

34

The org tightens the noose on J.W.'s thinking.

by The Fall Guy in

the manipulative use of language by the org in the upcoming circuit assembly talks is as good - or better - than any advertising conglomerate could devise.

the mind-shaping wording is clearly used in order to deter critical thinking by the sheep.. face bad reports as jesus did (9 min.

note to the speaker: explain why spiritually mature people do not become ashamed of the good news or dismayed when faced with negative propaganda.

zophar

Thank you Darkspilver