Posts by TonusOH

35

Former Elders Please - Disbeliever recently married to a JW

by doasthouwilt in

jw
friends

i recently married my best friend of 32 years.

she is a life-long jw and once an active pioneer, i am a 'worldly' person through-and-through, always will be.

we married because it was the only way we could find a way of staying together while giving her a path back to her religion ultimately, which she does not want to (or cannot) let go of.

TonusOH

In my experience (not direct, I did not serve as an elder), they may be lenient with someone who is forthright and explains their situation to them before they are discovered and confronted. Your wife would still have some sort of sanction applied, but it may not rise to the level of a DF. Then again, if she was committing fornication for a period of years before marrying a non-JW, they may feel that they have to DF her as an example.

The impression I get is that she understands that this may happen and is hoping that she can get back in the org's good graces with an eye towards convincing you to join her. I think her long-term goal is for both of you to be PIMI JWs. But if you're happy together and the only friction is from what the organization will do, it might be the wakeup call she needs, at long last.

15

Future

by punkofnice in

i wonder what this earth will really be like in 500 years from now?.

what are your thoughts?.

TonusOH

I think the planet will be fine, but life on it will be tested. Then again, that's how things have always been. 500 years is a short geological timespan, so there may not be any supervolcanic explosions or major shifts in the Earth's crust that cause massive changes and large scale death and destruction. And the next major meteor strike might still be millions of years away. Or a week...

I do wonder if the world will be in some backwards state due to a war or other man-made cataclysm. The human population is still growing, and that means a need for more resources (food, land, clean water, etc) and a greater temptation to take what is needed by force. I'd love to think that we'll end up solving all of our problems and building a utopia, but our minds aren't built that way and we won't have evolved enough in 500 years to fix the many issues that keep us from taking that next step.

On the other hand, we'll have technology that can display a movie directly on your retinas and deliver sound directly to your brain. So we might not even notice that the world is disintegrating around us.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

The websites that he has to pay to keep running are shut down, and the website that can generate cash through sales is still online. Not really a surprise.

13

Does anybody ever wonder why ?

by smiddy3 in

jw
friends

supposedly, god jehovah, el , or whatever else he may have been called many thousands of years ago, or so the storys goes ,dealt with humans on a regular basis communicating with them for either good or bad.according to how they pleased him or displeased him.. so the bible record says.. how is it that god , jehovah or whatever other name you want to call him has not communicated with humans on any level for the past 2000 years ???.

in this scientific ,technological age ,wouldn`t you think this would be the time he would communicate with the potential dangers we face in potentially destroying ourselves and ruining the planets wildlife unless he interveined ?.

that`s if you even beleive that such a god actually exists .. and if he does why so silent in this day and age,?.

TonusOH

I've heard some people say that for God to reveal himself today would affect our free will. I don't think that would matter. The free will of the people who got to see God and hear his voice directly was not affected, and some of them used their freedom to turn from God. And frankly, would it be so bad if God revealed himself and we were able to make our choices with the full confidence of knowing? This is the same God who wishes for all to be saved. Why not take a step that would bring far more people to salvation?

14

New rules for inactive ones?

by Lynnie in

have the rules changed as far as disfellowshipping inactive ones when it's clear they are engaged in "wrongdoing?".

i have a cousin in seattle who was disfellowshipped about 3 years ago or so and then went through the process of being reinstated (took only 6 months) and then proceeded to fade and do nothing regarding the jw's .

fast forward to today and now she's had a baby out of wedlock and the uber jw elder father and mother are all on board somehow.

TonusOH

Sometimes it's easy to see the favoritism at work. If you are in long enough, you will see examples of it. And if you are close to some of the elders, you get to hear about a lot more of it. Not only is it always a bit surprising that it is happening, it is even more shocking when you realize that they are fine with breaking certain rules or looking the other way, even though the Sunday sermons are all about minding those little things and not chipping away at one another's faith.

I think it is one of the things that very quietly undermined my own faith. How can you say "no exceptions, you must be perfect like God" on Sunday and then shrug your shoulders when you see people who don't even try, and nothing happens to them?

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

DerekMoors: Who is he to talk about evasion and deception?

An expert in both fields!

Not sure about the respectful part. "Revealing" definitely applies, after his confession video.

30

Opinions on the Divine name in the New Testament? + an interesting question

by Blotty in

i am genuinely curious and mainly posting this for research purposes, i do not have enough knowledge on either of these subjects to debate them in any useful manner.. (this information is as far as i am aware and may be incorrect in places)as most know the nwt is known for placing a form of the divine name in the nt (new testament) - while i agree the evidence is significantly weak for it too appear in the nt, a few things must be considered - (from my limited research)rev references the name twice (3:12, 14:1)early copies of the lxx contain the divine name (likely the versions that the nt writers copied?

stafford has a couple of videos on this subject)it was emphasized over and over the name [divine name, which ever form you prefer] would be "known" (other words used aswell) forever - if this is true, why then go against your own message in some cases and replace it with a surrogate?some also claim the nwt is dishonest for not translating some occurrences of "lord" as the divine name - common ones i notice are: phil 2:10-11, 1pe 3:14-15, heb 1:10yet these all use "lord" as a title not a proper noun, seems to be staunch trinitarians who make this claim most oftenscholar qualifications:why does a scholars qualification's matter?

sounds dumb i know.

TonusOH

Kaleb, this is definitely not a pro-JW site.

11

Looking at things from Jehovah's perspective...actually, the Watchtower Society's perspective

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the watchtower—study edition | march 2022. study article 12. do you see what zechariah saw?.

11. what challenges do some of jehovah’s worshippers face today?.

11 change is challenging for many of us.

TonusOH

They like to push this idea regularly, to keep the rank and file in line. They are not shy about equating the GB with Jehovah himself, in order to stress that they have the authority to make decisions that should not be questioned. It is breathtaking how arrogant they sound sometimes.

7

Philosophical Question

by budbayview in

according to the bible, there was dissention in heaven or god’s kingdom.

in god’s own courtyard, the factors existed for such, that perfect creations morphed into gods’ opposition, even in the presence of the universal creator.

accordingly, they are still at it, hell bent on destroying all.. here is my question; how is it that the creation thinks they can win a war with the universal creator?

TonusOH

That always struck me, the notion that the beings closest to God would ever turn from him. I had the impression -as did many other Christians I knew- that God is the ultimate being, a person of vast intellect, wisdom, and love. The perfect father, the great teacher. To meet Him would be an unimaginable experience.

And yet... one angel is so unimpressed that he turns against God, to such a degree that he earns the title of "opposer" (or something to that effect). The two humans who were direct creations of God are easily turned away from Him as well, by a talking animal of all things. Other angels apparently chose their own boners over fealty to God. That is insane.

21

The Great Tribulation

by Fisherman in

will the great tribulation hurt individuals more than what job, jesus, roman punishment, naz&i germany, hiroshima, jail, capital punishment, disease, pain, terror, horror, soldier in the battlefield or some terrible pain people experience this very moment?

how worse can pain and suffering get.

it is very common.

TonusOH

He means "Y". As in, "not Z."