Posts by TonusOH

37

If you were to design a new religion?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

what the jw sect has become and is slowly becoming is far more near what i thought could be a good religion based on the bible.. no more counting hours and no more blindly following direction now they admit they are not inspired.. i would like to design a new sect inside the jws.

it has to be kept secret because the elders would not like it.. this new sect involves giving a tick every month or so saying you are still kindof active talking about the bible.. going to meetings occasionally and attending on zoom sometimes.

very rarely go to ministry groups but don’t ever do first call, just say you are doing street work and have a nice walk somewhere maybe the shops or the park.

TonusOH

A religion based on the Bible wouldn't be very new.

But if we were to design a new religion, I guess the idea would be to figure out what would serve humanity as a whole, instead of the smaller regional societies where most religions were born.

Encourage curiosity and inquiry. Promote learning and education. Encourage critical thinking and use of reason and logic. Promote generosity and the health of the community.

Condemn divisive and demeaning language. Condemn violence. Expect explanations instead of justifications. Discourage fallacious thinking.

I think those are useful as a starting framework.

13

Six minute video of WTBT$ begging for money, now on JWBorg website

by EasyPrompt in

six minute video of wtbt$ begging for money, now on jwborg website.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/accomplishministry/pub-mwbv_202311_1_video.

"thank you for 'setting something aside'" robert butler.

TonusOH

It used to be "millions now living will never die."

Now it's "when you make your will..."

16

Son out?

by Nantiques in

jw
friends

our son joined the wts 20 years ago.

we, his parents and siblings are not jws.

he is now 41. he knew we were "opposers" from the beginning, and so we were pretty much shunned by him.

TonusOH

I agree with Ding. He may be working his way back and might need some time before facing that particular issue. He may need to feel comfortable first. Take your time and show him what he has been missing all these years.

120

Index of Evidence for Evolution Threads

by cofty in

re-posting this for reference.. #1 protein functional redundancy comparing the sequences of amino acids in ubiquitous proteins confirms the relationship between all living things..

#2 dna functional redundancy comparison of the dna that codes for the amino acids of ubiquitous proteins predicts the tree of life with an astonishing degree of accuracy..

#3 ervs endogenous retroviruses that infected our ancestors are found in the same place of the genome of our closest primate cousins..

TonusOH

I am curious what the UMass Biological Anthropology course teaches that convinced you that evolution is not true. I am pretty certain that UMass has a biology department, and that this department teaches biological evolution (and is probably not the only course that teaches evolution as part of the curriculum). So either they have a department that completely undermines another, or you came away with a very different impression than they intended.

What did you learn that led you to think the following?

EasyPrompt: If you want to become an expert in evolutionary theory and get some special letters after your name, it costs more. But you learn the vocabulary and you can speak with other "experts" in that language. When people hear you talking, they recognize the language. They can quote it and share it with others too.

3144

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

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

Simon: I've often wondered this. He will make a claim, which suits whatever argument he's trying to make, then 10 minutes later he's making a contradictory claim.

It reminds me of the WTS. They will promote rational thinking and free inquiry when referring to other religions, then will turn around and demand that followers close their minds to any critical examination of their own doctrines.

It is self-serving. Any argument that serves their purposes is useful. If you point out the contradiction, you are simply an enemy trying to mislead the faithful. If you are a JW and you point out the contradiction, you have been poisoned by apostate thinking and cannot be trusted or reasoned with.

Sounds very much like Evans.

3144

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

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

I saw on NPR that in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison explained how they tried to recover frozen assets in China by, well... let's let NPR explain it:

In early 2021, a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange froze Alameda's trading account, and the firm lost access to approximately $1 billion in assets.

For months, Bankman-Fried tried to regain access to those assets through a variety of methods. Ellison testified how colleagues at Alameda set up accounts on the Chinese exchange tied to the identities of Thai prostitutes, hoping they could somehow use those accounts to siphon the money away from the frozen account.

Who knew that Thai prostitutes were so versatile? They can help losers try to unfreeze international assets, or dress up as maids to help losers with their tampered sexuality. The options seem endless!

3144

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

by Simon in

jw
friends

uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

TonusOH

I wonder if he can hide how many of the subs are free. If not, we will be able to watch as the number of free 'patrons' approaches (and surpasses) the number of paid supporters. Maybe that can be the next guessing game- when will the crossover point be?

13

You might be a JW if you...

by Ron.W. in

this is a little out of date.

i found it earlier deleting some emails from a good few years ago:.

feel free to add new lines to this old list!.

TonusOH

If you're a man past his 50s who is obsessed with what teenage girls are wearing, you might be a JW.

24

Why Jehovah's Witnesses are WRONG about Christmas

by David_Jay in

as you know (and are probably tired of hearing me repeat), i’m jewish.

yes, i was a jehovah’s witness when i was a teenager and into my 20s, but returned to my roots and now celebrate chanukah when the holiday season comes around each year.. so why am i writing about christmas?

well, that’s because i thought i would share something about how jehovah’s witnesses teach against christmas.

TonusOH

When I was a child, some of the family on my father's side would visit for Christmas and bring gifts. My mother absolutely hated it, she did not want us to have a positive memory of a 'pagan holiday.' She is a hardcore JW from the start, and saw holidays as another way for Satan to work his way into your heart.

Today, I'm not religious, but I do celebrate holidays. Because they're awesome. If god was real, she'd have a shitload of holidays for us to celebrate, I bet.

9

Trust Our (Neither Inspired Nor Infallible) Life Saving Direction?

by Ron.W. in

wt 2013 11/15 p. 20. at that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from jehovah’s organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint.

all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.. wt feb 2017.

"the governing body is neither inspired nor infallible.

TonusOH

Yes, this has always been the approach. Even since Russell's day. Imply (or outright state) that the leadership is guided by holy spirit in order to give weight to what they say. Then, when it is convenient, point out that they are mere men and capable of error.

I wonder if the current group has grasped on to that approach a bit too firmly? They appear to feel as if the latter part will cover for the most drastic and controversial changes. A "get out of responsibility" card that the rank and file must accept whenever it is played.