Posts by TonusOH

26

Why Does the WatchTower Society INVEST in unethical enterprises?

by Terry in

investing in unethical enterprises.

in the ocean, big fish swallow the little fish while the big fish are swallowed by the even bigger fish.. below is an example of this principle.. .

a fellow named mccann donated 50k shares of rand cam engine corp. to the watchtower society.. rand cam engine corp. manufactures aircraft engines for commercial, recreational, and military clients.

TonusOH

From Crisis of Conscience, 2004 edition:

Consider this case that came up for discussion and decision by the Governing Body. One of Jehovah’s Witnesses, driving a truck for the Coca-Cola Company, had as his route a large military base where numerous deliveries were made. The question: Could he do this and remain a member in good standing or is this a disfellowshiping offense?

[...]the majority of the Body decided that this work was not acceptable and that the man would have to obtain another route to remain in good standing.

Even indirect 'support' was unacceptable to the GB, when it came to the rank and file.

46

Bible MIRACLEs!! Are they a Myth or Emeth?

by Fisherman in

the bible records miracles such as resurrections, angels, prophecy and destructive acts of god to mention a few.

are these all a pack of lies?

how do you explain them?

TonusOH

Just consider that a follower of Sai Baba could support their position using the same arguments Fisherman has used. If we set the bar low enough, almost anything can be true.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

"Keeping me involved" sounds like his way of hinting to his patrons that he might quit if the income drops too much. I don't think that holding your channel hostage is the right way to monetize it over the long term. How can he make videos condemning the WTS for manipulating people, when he is funding his channel by manipulating people?

9

For JW's, the 'ORG' is more important than Jesus Christ

by BoogerMan in

in the november 2022 study watchtower, "jehovah's organization" (or variants) is repeated at least 37 times.. the word 'organization' - like 'governing body,' 'trinity,' hell-fire,' & 'immortal soul,' - doesn't exist in the holy scriptures.. interestingly, jesus christ is mentioned only twice in all of the study articles - as an aside..

TonusOH

They diminish Jesus because they see him as competition. Jesus is a mediator, a path between the Christian and God. The GB see themselves in this role. They are Jehovah's conduit, not anyone else. When they refer to "Jehovah's organization" they are referring to themselves. Without them, there is no path to salvation.

Jesus gets in the way of their claimed role and authority. So they try to marginalize him.

282

How Will They End 1914 Teaching?

by EmptyInside in

i'm sure this has been discussed, but 1914 has to go away.

instead of, the overlapping generation teaching, they should have just ditched 1914. .

they should have done that a long time ago with 1975. it's the last of the teachings in the charles taze russell era.. i'm thinking they just will stop talking about it, and it will be out of the mind of the rank and file loyal witnesses .

TonusOH

Remember that Russell believed that 1914 would be when God's kingdom would be established on Earth (ie, not the start of the end times, but the conclusion), and that 1874 is when Jesus ascended to the heavenly throne and began his invisible rule. He taught this for decades and expressed full confidence that God had revealed this to him.

If his confidence was misplaced and he was forced to modify his explanation (and quite drastically, at that), then there is no reason to accept modern explanations, no matter how confidently they are expressed.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

KIMSILVIO: It’s nearly the anniversary of “Lloydgate” 31 January….what’s everyone doing? What should the M7 do?

Another livestream mocking him would be great. Maybe everyone can relate their experiences of how drastically their lives have changed as a result of their conviction for the crime of insult.

13

Desperation - 3 year old Becomes UnBaptized Publisher

by Sea Breeze in

jw's seem to be getting desperate.

this three year old is paraded on a jw blog in cuenca, ecuador.

it is about 1/3 of the way down on the page.

TonusOH

JWs love precocious children. If you can get a very young child to give a comment in a meeting, or read a Bible verse, everyone gets the warm fuzzies. Later, they all comment admiringly about how those parents are raising fine young JW children. It's a feel-good moment. If they can get the children to offer a pamphlet or even give a short sermon, both the JWs and the person at the door get to share an amusing moment, and JWs feel as if this is an awesome way to witness for Jehovah.

My guess is that the ones that are most precocious when they are young are the ones who leave first, because they rarely have any understanding of the Bible or even of JW beliefs. To them, it's all a show, and once people stop admiring them the buzz is gone and they realize that there's nothing underneath the fluff. You can teach children, or you can use them as showpieces. The latter does not work out in the long run.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

It's likely that he was used to the income levels that he was enjoying before 2022. The money hasn't dried up, but he may have kept up his lifestyle and spending until it became clear that there would be no rebound. He may have misjudged just how much his new circumstances would cost, month-to-month. He may be regretting taking so many vacations instead of managing his finances more responsibly.

It's easy to improve your life to match your income level, especially when it seems as if your income will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. I mean, he does not strike me as someone who is good at planning things cautiously and looking towards the long-term.

282

How Will They End 1914 Teaching?

by EmptyInside in

i'm sure this has been discussed, but 1914 has to go away.

instead of, the overlapping generation teaching, they should have just ditched 1914. .

they should have done that a long time ago with 1975. it's the last of the teachings in the charles taze russell era.. i'm thinking they just will stop talking about it, and it will be out of the mind of the rank and file loyal witnesses .

TonusOH

Jeffro: That change only reduced the significance of the amount of time that has elapsed 1914.

The impression I have is that they made the allusion to the year and its significance more vague. It looked like a first step towards ultimately abandoning the teaching, as they had done in the past when the significance of certain years became untenable. I wonder if the issue is that the newer members of the GB are lacking in imagination, or courage.

46

Bible MIRACLEs!! Are they a Myth or Emeth?

by Fisherman in

the bible records miracles such as resurrections, angels, prophecy and destructive acts of god to mention a few.

are these all a pack of lies?

how do you explain them?

TonusOH

Many ancient books/texts "record" miracles. Vespasian was said to have performed miraculous healing, including restoring the sight of a blind man. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of such "records." Maybe they all happened. More likely, it's a common human tactic to "record" things that didn't happen, or "record" details that are not true.

As cofty points out, this activity continues into the modern day. Ask yourself why you are convinced about one set of 'recordings' and unconvinced about others. That might help you understand those of us who are not convinced about any of them.