Posts by TonusOH

15

Anyone explain the generation idea!

by Witness 007 in

i don't understand we went thru a phase where we down played the generation so now it's the generation that knew the 1914 generation???

is that correct?

how does that even work.

TonusOH

Witness 007: How does that even work.

About as well as any of the other crap they teach. They decided that Jesus's comment about the temple's destruction within the lifetime of those listening to his speech also applied centuries later, to the people who were alive in 1914. It's nonsense. They came up with it to use it as a way to create a sense of urgency. Remember that they kept tinkering with the explanation: first, it was people who were in their teen years in 1914. Then, it was toddlers. Then, it was those who were born that year.

The idea was to make it seem as if the end was imminent. By 1995, they had stretched the explanation so thin that it was clear that it was becoming a problem, as the generation born in 1914 would be 80 years old. So they quietly dropped it, which is how that particular mess should have ended. Why they decided to try to revive it with the "overlapping generations" disaster is anyone's guess, but I am thinking that Tony Morris must have purchased extra booze before that meeting.

3

Text book life

by ElderBerry in

take an example of a young man who grows up in a religious belief system jw or something.

he mostly believes it but in truth is agnostic so is not absolute sure one way or another.. but he goes through the motions and gets married has kids, his kids grow up with the religious belief system.

his wife is also technically a believer but they both have an overall agnostic approach.. this would be the text book life.

TonusOH

"Stay in, you'll be happier!" -- said no one ever.

7

Bible-based versus Biblical

by Vanderhoven7 in

jehovah’s witnesses continue to say their religion is completely bible-based as if this proves they are the one true religion.. gilles gray writes:.

jehovah’s witnesses have a hard time understanding/accepting that the mere fact their teachings are ‘bible-based’ doesn’t establish that those teachings are true/biblical.. the most obvious, simple logic highlights their misconception….

jehovah’s witnesses and their organisation have a long history of untrue and failed bible teachings.. for example, the watchtower once claimed that:-.

TonusOH

They use the term "Bible-based" the way Hollywood uses the phrase "based on a true story."

78

Toasting

by hoser in

jw
friends

when did the jws make the rule that you couldn’t clink glasses together and raise glasses of wine?.

and why the change to being a conscience matter now?.

TonusOH

Another example is toasting or clinking glasses. For years Jehovah's Witnesses have avoided this practice because it may have had origins in false religion.

LOL how neurotic do you have to be to think this way?

(As a former JW, the answer is: extremely neurotic.)

3183

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

ElderBerry: if he stayed a JW even if he was agnostic then he would have let a text book life. Relatively happy family clean and together. Good friends and social life. Real friends that will be there for him.

Keep in mind that this is Lloyd Evans we are talking about. One of his problems is that he is a deceitful manipulator. Another problem is that he is a perverted creep with no sense of loyalty to his wife or family. Another is that he is an insufferable narcissist.

He mentioned some of the problems he was dealing with in his book, where he ran afoul of another elder. Even with it being Evans's side of the story, it's not hard to recognize that the issue is that he acted like an arrogant twat and got called out by an elder who saw him for who he really was. And this was all before he had to admit that he was a sex fiend.

For Evans, PIMA means Physically In, Mentally Asshole. He won't find a happy ending because he always gets in his own way.

3183

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

Staying in would have been a problem for Evans. His issues run far deeper than just doubts about JW teachings.

(edit to add: I am replying to Elena's comment.)

13

Daniel 2:42 , is it really unstable democratic governments?

by raymond frantz in

in its latest front page article titled “political turmoil that fulfills bible prophecy”, jw.org once again attempts to connect current world events with the vision found in daniel chapter 2, particularly the image composed of various metals.

their interpretation of daniel 2:42 is laid out in the following paragraph: "the feet of the image are made ‘partly of iron and partly of clay,’ a combination that is inherently weak.

(daniel 2:42) today, the power of both the united states and britain is weakened by elements within their own societies.

TonusOH

"People violently protest for their rights. Their elected representatives often fail to reach a majority agreement. Because their people are so divided, both governments are at times unable to implement their policies effectively."

It never fails to amaze me how they describe things that are always happening and treat them as if they are a unique sign that can be used to mark a time period. This is such a common theme among end-times predictions. "The sun has risen! The sun has set! It must be the time of the end!" Give it a rest.

24

Hebrews 1: 8 Corruption in the NWT

by Sea Breeze in

the watchtower translates this verse like this: .

but about the son, he says: “god is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness.

- hebrews 1: 8 nwt.

TonusOH

SBF's snarky AI almost makes this topic readable.

7

What was your deconstruction process from being a jw?

by Touchofgrey in

i became aware of jws and the un ,so i checked the internet and found it was true that they were a member, and that led me down the rabbits hole and started to look into the history of the bible students and the behaviour of russell and rutherford etc ,and how much the teaching changed and the internal politics and the failed end of the world teachings etc.. i then found myself in a no man's land regarding god and the bible, i then began to use critical thinking regarding the bible and if there was a god , looking into the origins of the bible and it's stories eg adam and eve story, flood legends, exodus from egypt and if the jesus story was historical or not etc .. looking at the origin of our universe and the planet earth led me to the conclusion that no god exists.

.

the purpose of this topic is just to understand your deconstruction purpose from the jws and not to get into arguments about our now held beliefs or lack of.

TonusOH

I was trying to explain the concept of god and my beliefs in a way that would cover any and every objection, and eventually realized that my belief system relied entirely on presuppositions. Without the presumption that god was real --and the bevy of associated assumptions that formed the core of my belief system-- I had nothing. I kept testing this even after I realized I could not believe in god, and kept coming back to the same conclusion.

Until the day I admitted to myself that I was an atheist, I adamantly avoided anything even remotely anti-JW. Once I felt free of the organization, I dove in. I'm glad I waited, because I did not have to struggle with doubts about whether or not this new information had shaped my point-of-view. There were times when I wondered about a topic or teaching or commentary from the WTS, including one or two things that really made me worry. But I remained loyal and would put those ideas aside. They look very different from the outside!

I have adjusted my views a bit in light of the recognition that much of science (especially at the cutting edge) is well outside of my understanding. I am open to the possibility that a god (or gods) exists. But I have not found one yet that makes sense. The kind of god that explains our world and our universe would likely not really care about us one way or another, aside perhaps from our usefulness as data points, in which case we will never know of its existence. So I don't worry about it.

142

WAR begins.

by lastmanstanding in

things are moving right along.

“israel” has gone to war with iran.. who is fooled?.

this is uncle sam, same as in ukraine.. daniel layed out clearly the events of “d day” june 6, 1944 as the “ships of kittim” would sail against the king of the north.

TonusOH

This person makes one of these topics or posts every year or so. I'm just going to copy/paste my reply from the last two topics...

Predicting war and strife isn't terribly bold, since that is pretty much the entirety of human history once we developed agriculture and established towns and cities and, evenutally, nations.

As I said in that other topic, my prediction is that, when these predictions do not lead to divine intervention and the establishment of god's kingdom, people ~~will learn their lesson and stop making predictions~~ will wait for the next 'time of distress' and make the same predictions all over again. Because that is also part of human history.

I figure I will need this quote in another year or two...