Posts by TonusOH

33

Blood Transfusions & Flood, Questions from Bible student only

by Marbles in

i was never a jdubb, only a bible student.

there are two main questions i have.

let me preface that by saying that i do not believe the bible is true, or the word of god.

TonusOH

The story makes it seem that David raped Bathsheba. I doubt that she had the option of refusing his summons, or may have feared for her life if she turned down the king. And she couldn't have been a willing participant, or god would have rendered judgment upon her for adultery. Either god conveniently let her slide on that (an action that directly led to her husband's murder), or she was innocent of any wrongdoing.

It's a chilling story, when you consider that the people who paid with their lives were the innocent husband and the innocent infant, who was stricken with a deadly malady in order to punish David (who, unlike his unfortunate child, had the opportunity to repent and avoid a death sentence). Plus, his pairing with Bathsheba leads to the birth of Solomon, a great king who also loses his way (but not before becoming part of the lineage that leads to the birth of Jesus... at least in Matthew's gospel).

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

I imagine it was because the responses were meant to be public...

I think the recipients were happy to make their replies public. It's got to be satisfying to do it when you know that the obnoxious, melodramatic blowhard who is trying to convince his followers that he's fighting the good fight against evil bullies will grind away a few millimeters of tooth enamel watching your reply.

I think he's painted himself into a corner with this. Loudly proclaiming his intent to protect himself via legal action, he has a lawyer email a sloppy 'letter of warning' that is little more than a roll of the dice. Now he watches as the recipients mock and roast him ruthlessly in response. What does he do? Drop it and pretend it didn't happen? Make more bombastic threats? Try actual legal action? There doesn't appear to be a scenario where he doesn't find himself in a deeper hole with only a shovel in his hands.

77

Back to the Meetings. It's Offical!

by pistolpete in

yep, the vacation is over, it's time to go to work------for free!

😭😢😓😰😡.

https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/.

TonusOH

Keep in mind that difficult times are often very good to millennialist cults like the JWs. People start to feel anxious and unsure about the future, and many will be quick to hedge their bets when someone tells them that the scary times are the precursor to paradise on Earth. We like to have comfort and assurance that things will be alright, and this feeling is heightened when circumstances seem the most dire. "Bad news" is great recruiting fodder, which is why many JWs seem obsessed with telling you how awful everything is, all the time.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Well, he certainly found a cure for their boredom...

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Is this going to end up a big wet fizzled out nothing burger?

I think it might be something close to that, at least in the short term. The police investigation may go nowhere unless (a)they get the victim to step forward and cooperate and/or (b)they find such a preponderance of evidence that they can make a case without the victim's cooperation. The latter is probably very difficult for such an old case. The former... who knows?

It's possible that there will not be a clear outcome, and he'll focus on that case in the hopes that people will forget the stuff he already admitted to. It's that stuff --the stuff in his book and in his video-- that will be a stain on his reputation until/unless he owns up to it. He may well fade into irrelevance. Spending hours per day trying to keep his YouTube comments sections clear of mockery and derision will be the least of his issues in the long run.

He's also cut off from many (all?) of the avenues of activism that he enjoyed before. Who will want to be involved with someone who has such a bad reputation (and again, this is just from the things he admitted to)? He no longer lends legitimacy to someone's interview show or documentary; he's an embarrassing distraction to the work they want to get done. He's the guy who treated his wife like dirt for many years, and any new information that could come to light would only make him look worse.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

"I'm going to have to add you to the lawsuit" is my new favorite meme.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

It seems as if "rights of personality" are a form of copyright protection. Does anyone have more insight into how this works, in Croatia or the UK? In the USA, copyright infringement would more likely be handled through the use of a DMCA complaint filed with Youtube (or whichever other media site was used). There are, however, limits to how this can be used- the Fair Use principle means that parts of his video can be used as part of a video discussing or critiquing (or, yes, criticizing) him. There is also the fact that he enjoys just this sort of protection from the WTS for his extensive use of their footage, and the fact that Youtube will punish misuse of the copyright enforcement system (ie, if you file false/frivolous DMCA claims, you risk having your channel sanctioned as a result).

Indeed, you might have expected this to be his first avenue of action if he was being maliciously defamed. For one, it's much easier and would be much more effective. But if you're wrong, or just trying to use those tools to hit back at your detractors, you might end up in a much worse spot- sanctioned for your attempts to silence them, which would lead to more videos from those same detractors. And they'd probably be even harsher than the ones he was trying to get shut down.

As for their claims of the crime of insult, that only matters if you're doing so on Croatian soil. There are some European countries that treat defamation as a criminal matter, but I don't think the UK is one of them. And the USA treats it as exclusively a civil matter. It's an empty threat, all the more so for being printed in bold and underline.

I do like the touch at the end where, after making threats and demands, they add "if You [sic] are willing to resolve this situation in an amicable manner." Again... LOL.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Are you telling me that he actually issued demand letters?

It looks like an attempt to scare a few people off. He's probably hoping that at least one or two of the recipients will take down their content. If anyone actually posts an apology, it would be a pretty big win for him. And if anyone sends any money in response to the letter, he gets to pocket some easy cash at a detractor's expense.

If he can get at least one or two people to fold without anything more than a badly-written "letter of warning," he can use that to attack the others and build up his claims of, well... I'm not sure he's out to prove he's innocent at this point, he'd just like to strike back at anyone who isn't supporting him.

The proper response, IMO, would be for anyone who receives the letter to find a local lawyer who will provide a free legal consultation (this letter shouldn't take long to address) and then make a video mocking Evans for such a blatantly desperate grift.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Trying to keep the comment section on his videos clear of anything but adulation will become a full-time job pretty quickly. Especially given the frequency with which he posts new content. If he doesn't develop a thick skin or turn off comments, the next few months could be very entertaining.

15

Watchtower publication says in Paradise we will fly around like Superman!!

by Witness 007 in

golden age aug 25th 1926 p.751 "negative gravitation...you may have wondered how accidents will be avoided in christ's kingdom, since we are told nothing will hurt or destroy.

scientist tell us there is enough atomic energy in one finger nail to propell a battleship.

the people of the future may carry some of this power with them.

TonusOH

A small millennial cult is the ultimate "us versus them" power fantasy. Out of billions of people, god chose you and your fellow believers to avoid his wrath. You get turned into carefree immortals who inherit the Earth (and, with a bit of imagination, the entire cosmos). The people who mocked you, ignored you, oppressed you, and persecuted you have been turned into the dust that you now shake off of your sandals.

And in case you missed it (or simply want to relive those glorious 'last days') there is the "Real Armageddon" blu ray set, so you can enjoy it again and again in brilliantly colored high resolution!