Posts by TonusOH

36

We are now 23 Years past Armageddon as the GB stated

by JohnTron7 in

so the end was going to come by 2000 as documented in the magazines back in the late 80's early 90's.. so how did they get the time off so badly ( over two decades and still nothing) since the gb is jehovah's earthly mouthpiece right ?

.

TonusOH

Interesting. That magazine is from 1961. It doesn't surprise me to see them that confident when looking ahead.

I wonder if Franz was already working on his book (the one that referred to 1975). It was released around 1965 or 1966, wasn't it?

36

We are now 23 Years past Armageddon as the GB stated

by JohnTron7 in

so the end was going to come by 2000 as documented in the magazines back in the late 80's early 90's.. so how did they get the time off so badly ( over two decades and still nothing) since the gb is jehovah's earthly mouthpiece right ?

.

TonusOH

I think there might have been one mention that the end would come by/before the end of the century, but that was revised later to a more generic "in our day" reference. I don't recall that there was ever a particular push to identify the year 2000 as the end. By the mid/late 90s, they had settled into a "very close, any day now, right around the corner, later than you think" frame of mind. No specific days or dates, just a general sense that it was about to happen.

17

Witnesses were Anti vaccine till 1950!

by Witness 007 in

"brother mcmillan wrote "faith on the march" about his wonderful life at bethel.

he wrote of an incident in 1943 where a group of witnesses in jail for refusing military service were against getting vaccinated and he came to the rescue visiting them and telling them it was ok. the reason for this was "the golden age" magazine in the 1920's describes vaccines as puss filled poison...so they were following their watchtower training..

TonusOH

I don't recall hearing anything about vaccines either. I got all of my shots in the early 70s as well. I think my parents were of the generation that had to suffer through many diseases that were all but eradicated by vaccines, so there wasn't much anti-vaxx sentiment at the time. Humanity lurches forward in a three steps up, two steps back fashion. There is the old saying that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, but I think that's just our natural disposition- we repeat the past many, many times before we learn our lesson.

137

I find it interesting that after the cult people still hold on to religion....

by BeaverEater in

jw
friends

im not an atheist, makes no mathematical sense, nor does the buy(more) bull(shit) god make any logical sense... maybe a deist on my best day, in the end you cannot get something from nothing, paradox if you ask me... but in reality i just dont care.

while in, and moving out of the cult, its like a roller coaster, emotionally, yet, for me, over time, i just take it one day at a time, and if appeasing some special deity is required, well i guess i failed.

lol.

TonusOH

It was merciful to kill all of those children, because some of them would have been abused otherwise? That's... morbid.

Wouldn't a better solution be to not kill them, and also to protect them from sexual predators and terrible people? I mean, I'm not as inscrutable as God, but that strikes me as a legitimate option.

34

An analysis of the recent 153rd Gilead Graduation talk by Jesse Morris (member of the US Branch Committee and son of Anthony Morris III)

by jwleaks in

jw
friends

article from the last days newsletter (june 5-11, 2023).

it has been said that by reading the watchtower and awake!

magazines, along with other publications of jehovah’s witnesses, a person will receive, over a period of years, a considerable and broad education.. …would you like to grow in knowledge, obtaining an education of even much greater value than can be received in any college?

TonusOH

I remember that they used to disparage critical thinking. I think they referred to it as "high criticism" at one time, and they taught that it was a dangerous approach, as it might stumble those who do not reject it.

So it's nothing new, they know how to word things so as to mislead the rank and file. Note how that recent announcement states that they "are pleased to inform you" that they have "decided" to produce only one new issue of each of the magazines. They used to produce one of each every two weeks! They want the rank and file to see this massively-reduced output as a blessing of some kind.

137

I find it interesting that after the cult people still hold on to religion....

by BeaverEater in

jw
friends

im not an atheist, makes no mathematical sense, nor does the buy(more) bull(shit) god make any logical sense... maybe a deist on my best day, in the end you cannot get something from nothing, paradox if you ask me... but in reality i just dont care.

while in, and moving out of the cult, its like a roller coaster, emotionally, yet, for me, over time, i just take it one day at a time, and if appeasing some special deity is required, well i guess i failed.

lol.

TonusOH

One point about the story of Job, that disturbs me: Job is described as a righteous person, someone who God is so impressed with that He boasts to the Devil about him. The Devil makes a very poor argument in order to get permission to destroy Job's life, and God is okay with this. Job, in the face of massive loss and overwhelming grief, stays loyal to God. This loyalty is rewarded by God agreeing to let the Devil ravage his body with disease and his mind with the lies and accusations of three "friends."

Job remains loyal, and insists that he will wait on God to explain his plight. Finally, God shows up and... brutally excoriates Job for having the temerity to expect an explanation from Him. He makes a long speech that is basically a "who do you think you are" rant, finally forcing Job --who has gone through all of this because God decided that it was okay-- to apologize for expecting an answer from this being that he had shown unwavering loyalty to.

We are to understand that this callous insensitivity was forgotten by Job after God returned him to his prior life, although his first ten children and numerous servants presumably remained dead. And I guess his wife paid for her wavering, having to birth another ten children. And note that I did not say Job forgave God. If he'd even thought of expressing forgiveness, God might have become so indignant as to vaporize the poor fellow.

The God of the Bible can turn your life completely upside-down on a whim, and you have no right to expect an explanation. And, if the book of Job describes real events, that is just what He did. I can't imagine spending an eternity around someone who has shown a propensity to do things like that. How long would it take to eventually empty the heavens?

137

I find it interesting that after the cult people still hold on to religion....

by BeaverEater in

jw
friends

im not an atheist, makes no mathematical sense, nor does the buy(more) bull(shit) god make any logical sense... maybe a deist on my best day, in the end you cannot get something from nothing, paradox if you ask me... but in reality i just dont care.

while in, and moving out of the cult, its like a roller coaster, emotionally, yet, for me, over time, i just take it one day at a time, and if appeasing some special deity is required, well i guess i failed.

lol.

TonusOH

Iriddle80: The God of the bible is far more complex than you or I can imagine is what it tells me. His ways are not our ways.

Iriddle80: God will destroy people as he sees fit. He made us, it's his prerogative.

You have described a being who has the right --and the power-- to destroy people, and who is also too complex to understand. A being whose "ways are not our ways." We cannot trust this being to have the same sense of justice, mercy, or kindness that we know and expect of one another. The god you describe has taken extreme actions in the past, striking down people for minor actions and even wiping out nearly all life on the planet.

So, what do we have? A being of incalculable power, against whom we are defenseless, and who we aren't really sure we understand. A being whose every action --regardless of how we would judge it if it was done by another human-- is by definition good. Who could, if he so wished, visit torture and death on every living being in existence and still be in the right. Who can do the most seemingly evil things, yet not be evil.

What you describe is the scariest possible thing one can imagine. A terrifying being.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

It's amusing to see him getting such vociferous support from someone calling herself "chastity queen."

17

Witnesses were Anti vaccine till 1950!

by Witness 007 in

"brother mcmillan wrote "faith on the march" about his wonderful life at bethel.

he wrote of an incident in 1943 where a group of witnesses in jail for refusing military service were against getting vaccinated and he came to the rescue visiting them and telling them it was ok. the reason for this was "the golden age" magazine in the 1920's describes vaccines as puss filled poison...so they were following their watchtower training..