The WTS is in favor of free speech and protected rights for itself, not for anyone who is not on their side. In the same way that they will say that it is important to be critical and question authority when they are encouraging people to leave other religions, but tell their members that they must accept the GB's teachings uncritically and never question them. Since they feel that they have God on their side, and Satan is on everyone else's side, they do not feel that they need to see things in a fair or balanced perspective.
TonusOH
JoinedPosts by TonusOH
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23
freedom of speech and loss of rights
by enoughisenough ini was thinking about freedom of speech after watching a clip about the jw suing kevin mcfree.
they wanted to take away his freedom of speech.
but in thinking about it, that is the way of the organization, save they want to control thought as well.
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Keep telling yourself that!
by Lost in the fog inin the latest copy of the elders textbook someone kindly made available to us on this website, i see that "independently organized meetings for spiritual feeding" are still not allowed.
no wonder because independent research would let the scales fall from the eyes.. the gb still insisting that they are guided by the (always lower case) holy spirit and the bible!!
not that the rank and file members need the bible or holy spirit themselves because they are fed through meetings, conventions, assemblies, jw broadcasting and the publications.
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TonusOH
They do not hide their intent: you can only learn the truth through the information provided by the GB. You cannot learn it on your own, and it is even considered dangerous for you to study the Bible without the guidance of the GB.
I wonder how much the videos from the GB are hurting their efforts. The individual members tend to look either crazy, stupid, or too bored to care. How many JWs are unable to shake that nagging sense in the back of their minds, telling them that these clowns cannot possibly be selected by God as the only path to enlightenment and salvation.
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11530
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars
by Newly Enlightened inoriginal reddit post (removed).
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TonusOH
Vintage: Here's the part of Lloyd's post that struck me as being "off". Bear with me. He says...
"Thank you for your support! I couldn't have made this year happen without you."I have to say, he almost had a moment of self-awareness. He did indeed 'make the year happen.' But it had nothing to do with his supporters and everything to do with his lack of self control.
As for the "April 2008" link, those messages were shared in this topic before, and that site shows an upload date of February 2022. The messages I've seen have been pictures which do not seem to have any useful metadata, so there is no way to verify if they are legitimate or just something someone created to make him look bad. I'd suggest anyone who wants to read them should, at the least, sit down first. It's very twisted and sickening. If it's real, arrest and prosecution is the least he should face. If it's not real, it's a truly horrible thing to do to anyone.
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11530
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars
by Newly Enlightened inoriginal reddit post (removed).
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TonusOH
I can see how it would be the worst year of his life, what with his family life being turned upside-down and his business suffering losses and the embarrassment of having his personal life strewn all over the internet and turning his Twitter feed into an endless game of whack-a-mole. It has indeed been a really bad year for him.
2023 might be a better year for him, if he was willing to accept the responsibility for 2022. But he will continue to blame Kim for all of his troubles. So I think 2023 will be quite a bad year for him as well. Possibly worse than 2022. Keep digging, Lloyd!
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Myth of 1914
by peacefulpete inthe wt engages in history revisionism when insisting the world changed overnight in 1914. in fact the european power struggles that came to a head were centuries old.
millions of lives had been lost in the wars of the 19th century, with the world a powder keg the years prior to the assassination of franz ferdinand in june 1914 which is often said, albeit rather arbitrarily, as the start of the war that escalated over the next 4 years into the great war.
take a look at these two pages and ask if the wt's interpretation of history seems accurate to you.
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TonusOH
I think Russell got the idea for the invisible presence from Miller's followers (Barbour?), who did the same thing with the 1844 or 1874 failures. When the expected outcome did not occur (a visible rapture and establishment of a new kingdom) they updated their beliefs and claimed that they were 'expecting the right thing at the wrong time' or vice-versa. Russell would use the same reasoning, if I am not mistaken, adding that the mistake worked out for the best by keeping the faithful in expectation of the Lord's return.
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11530
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars
by Newly Enlightened inoriginal reddit post (removed).
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TonusOH
Maybe we can keep track of which illnesses he contracts each month just before his next Zoom meeting is due. Strep throat, COVID, seasonal flu, common cold, jammed a pine needle up his urethra, and so on.
He might want to remember to actually do the Zoom call from time-to-time, though. Taking your supporters for fools so brazenly is not a good idea. It's like scheduling a $50 'conversation' with a 20-year-old and she doesn't show up. I mean, it's just rude.
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why celebrate xmas?
by enoughisenough inmany on here are ex jw....they have left the jws because of coming to find out the many false indoctrinations.
one of the things learned as a jw is that there isn't anything true about xmas being the birth of jesus.
( matt chapter 2 tells a whole different narrative about the baby jesus than what is portrayed by the christian churches) they learn the ways that are celebrated are pagan practices jesus told the samaritan woman that god wanted to be worshipped in spirit and it truth.
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TonusOH
I'm not a religious person anymore, so for me it's just a festive time where you can engage in some fun rituals, including the gift exchange and decorations. I don't have to worry about the religious meaning of it, or if I am taking part in something that God may disapprove of. I don't think that God is any more real than Santa Claus, so I'm free to celebrate as I wish.
I'm honestly not even conversant with the reasons why Christians celebrate it because all I ever knew was the JW approach. Would God find the celebration of His/His son's birth to be a problem, even if much of it is borne of other cultures and celebrations? I don't know. Jehovah is not the most predictable personality, to me.
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Anyone know of specific subliminal pictures?
by cognac inthe only one i know about is the big jesus in the revelation book.. know of any specific other ones?
i want to show hubby....
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TonusOH
It could be that the artists were having some fun at the WTS's expense. Or non-expense, as I am assuming that these were brothers painting this stuff for free. Being asked to donate time and effort and skill for someone else's benefit might lead to a bit of mischief. Personally, I love the idea that they were sneaking this stuff in.
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Striving for more
by punkofnice ini hate my life!
i have to say it, but i do.. i have a sneaking suspicion that because i was raised in the dangerous jehovah borgness cult, that this is the reason.
i was told if god didn't watch me masturbating or smoking, then he'd let me live forever in perfect conditions.. i left the borg and as a result my jw wife left me and re-married another gung ho jobo.
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TonusOH
I am hesitant when it comes to giving advice to someone who may be depressed, because I think it can be a medical issue that is best dealt with by professionals. But I have dealt with a similar issue to yours, wondering how to deal with a changed perspective after leaving a life that felt carefree (in terms of future worries).
I agree with Simon that it is a huge help to have something that you want to do, that you would do even if you weren't being rewarded for it. Looks like you have that with the band you are in. If you have any other endeavors, work on those. They give us a sense of purpose that is personal, and I think that helps a lot mentally.
One of the things I did at one point was sit down and try to figure out what I wanted in life. Everyone, I believe, wants to be happy more than anything else. But we all have our own ideas of what makes us feel happy, or fulfilled, or challenged, etc. So I needed to find mine. I came up with three things: comfort, security, and control. Comfort meant having a good home life with the necessary creature comforts. Nothing extravagant, just the stuff I felt would make me happy. Security was partly financial and partly wanting to live somewhere that had low crime and nicer people. Control meant just that- having control of my life on as many levels as possible.
Once I knew what I wanted, I could map out a life that checks off those boxes. I'm lucky, I guess, in that my life as a JW was quiet and mostly isolated, so I am perfectly happy living by myself. That helps with the comfort and control parts of my list. Had that not been the case, my list would be different, but I'd still be working to be happy as much as I can.
That would be my advice- find things you want to do, and figure out the things that you need in your life so you can be happy more often, and then work towards those. Nearly everything that makes us happy is free or has a reasonable cost, which means it's only a matter of finding our happiness and making relatively small changes to achieve it.
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Norway: Society hires a Law Firm
by Festus inmaybe society's own lawyers are so bad that they need to hire top notch lawyer's.. funny i thought jehoober would not need any help.. anyway here are the links.
media.
jehovas vitner mistet statsstøtten – vil saksøke staten – vårt land (vl.no).
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TonusOH
They will fight because they want the money, and also because they don't want a precedent set. If one country takes action due to the shunning policy, others may decide to take a closer look at the policy. Shunning is one way to keep the rank and file in line. Losing that would be a real problem for the WTS.