Posts by TonusOH

22

On May 3, 2024, the worldwide United Methodist Church apologized to survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

by was a new boy in

'many survivors of clergy sexual abuse have never received an apology or any acknowledgement of the harm they suffered.

but at the may 3, 2024, meeting of the general conference of the worldwide united methodist church in charlotte, north carolina, the following resolution of apology to all survivors and their families was approved.. .

“the united methodist church apologizes for the times we allowed our desire to protect the church to outweigh our desire to care for victims and survivors of sexual misconduct.

TonusOH

I'd be truly shocked if the GB offered even an acknowledgement of the scope of the problem, much less an apology. Too much ego for that to happen.

As for "[e]ducate Church leaders regarding sacred trust in ministerial relationships and power imbalance within those relationships"? What education is needed? How do you become a 'leader' in any Christian church without somehow figuring out that you should not molest children? No one needs "educating" on this topic. They need to change policies so that the people doing this are reported to the authorities and removed from their positions right away. They need to stop protecting people who do something that you know is wrong and evil.

How can any organization even begin to address this issue when they pretend not to understand the actual problem?

15

Did you consider Paul as false prophet?

by PeterNobody in

dear brothers!

you as a bible researchers, refused the catholicism, but still use the books which catholic church defined as the source of truth.

did you consider paul as a false prophet?

TonusOH

PeterNobody: He claims, knowing 10 commandments makes the people sinners! Those are Satan's words!

It sounds, to me, as if Paul is describing the concept of divine command. He's not slandering god, he's making god the sole arbiter of what constitutes sin. This isn't a foreign (or even controversial) concept to many Christians.

3059

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 had been wondering what the split was of patrons in the various levels, since that would determine how well he was doing financially. If a lot of them were in the $50 tier, he could still be in good shape. The change to the tiers would indicate that there are either none, or just one or two as Aude says. I doubt he'd want to schedule more than a couple of calls a month; he didn't seem too enthusiastic about the Zoom calls, after all.

This could be a bad move, though. Does anyone really want to have a monthly 1-on-1 conversation with him? Does he want to have them? Paying $50 a month to either be ghosted or listen to 10 minutes of excuses before some 'emergency' ends the call sounds like a bad deal.

3059

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

Looks like he ended the monthly Zoom videos?

But replaced them with monthly 1-on-1 meetings? That should go well...

3059

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

That also demonstrates his lack of self-awareness. Having gotten a new lease on life, he built a brand that provided him with more money than he should have known what to do with. That was a great opportunity to count his blessings and get his shit in order, including helping his in-laws financially and contributing to a stable home life. The kind of thing you might do as a show of appreciation for not being kicked to the curb like you deserved.

He blew it all up. And he has not stopped lighting matches.

14

2024 Pioneer Manual!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

they are calling this the 2024 pioneer book.

it was actually printed in september of 2023, but that will be alright.

click the 3 white dots at the top right to download.. .

TonusOH

The WTS has probably spent more time trying to find Atlantis than even the most dedicated archaeologist.

14

A Real Man

by Vanderhoven7 in

the meaning of true love from a man.. by elizabeth rossi, freelance writer .

i hate to say this but most women will go their entire lifetime and never experience the meaning of actual true love.. it's even slightly depressing to think that most people will never understand how powerful this picture actually is; a prime example of how men should be treating their partner with everyday that passes.. we unfortunately live in a generation with men who have no idea what it takes to be a real man.. let me give you a couple examples of a real man ....... a real man asks about your day and genuinely cares about the answer.. a real man respects your boundaries and never forces you to anything you're not ready to do.. he makes time for you, and takes that time to learn and understand who you are as a person.. a real man consistently shows you the definition of effort with every day that passes.. he will call you randomly throughout the day just to check on you and your mental health.. a real man is undeniably committed to you and looks for new ways to fall in love with you with every day that passes.. he makes protecting your heart a number one priority.. a real man never makes permanent decisions based on temporary emotions.. he never confuses you on where you stand in his life.. a real man apologizes when he is wrong and stays true to his character.. he doesn't mind hurting other people's feeling to protect yours.. a real man gives you affection without sexual expectation.. a real man refuses to entertain any women that isn't you.. he has genuine intentions with you from day one and shows you how it truly feels to be a priority rather an option.. a real man will help you heal from the trauma that nobody apologized for.. a real man values you and would never put themselves in a position to lose you.. take my advice and wait for the man that never let's you fall asleep at night questioning your own self worth.. .

.

TonusOH

Those are actually pretty old lists of things that mark the 'ideal man.' It's mostly wishful thinking. It would be interesting to see how those lists evolve over time. What would be the traits of an ideal man 150 years ago? Probably less about feelings and more about strength and assertiveness. A current day list would be tricky to write, since we no longer agree on what a man even is.

49

40 Years Ago Today: May 15th 1984 "1914 Generation" issue was released. False prophecy, thy name is WatchTower.

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

it's incredible how this cover, and also this "series" of watchtower's is burned into my mind.

i was almost 5 years old when these were released.

“1914 and you” — may 1, 1984 watchtower.

TonusOH

Russell's original interpretation of 1914 was that it would be the end, not the beginning of the end. I'm guessing that the people who were really disappointed in his mistake were the JWs who believed that he was guided by anything but his own ideas. The rest of us were taught that he never said any of this, that he pegged the start of the last days because god was helping him. My generation of witnesses would have been disappointed by 1975, not 1914.

21

Lithuania Set to Mirror Norway's Approach on Jehovah's Witnesses

by raymond frantz in

it is proposed to the seimas not to grant state recognition to the religious community of jehovah's witnesses.

lithuania05/05/2024 09:30. jehovah's witnesses; baptism associative / e. ovcharenko / bns photo.. it is proposed to the seimas to refuse to grant state recognition to the lithuanian jehovah's witnesses religious community.. community representatives told bns that they hope that parliamentarians, taking into account the practice of the european court of human rights, will make a different decision.. the draft resolution registered by the chairman of the human rights committee of the seimas, tomas vytautas raskevičius, states that this community does not meet the requirements of the constitution and the law, that its education and rites do not conflict with laws and decency.. "the ministry of justice has determined that the religious teaching of this community is possibly not compatible with the constitution of our country in two aspects.

the first is that jehovah's witnesses oppose blood transfusions due to certain aspects related to health care (...).

TonusOH

I am wondering if there are any other EU states that subsidize religious groups the way Norway does. The WTS will challenge this ruling because it could cause a cascade effect, and if there are any other nations that pay you for being a religion, they stand to lose out on that money.

But this will also be used by them for PR. "Look at how they oppress us! Just as we predicted before the end!" Meanwhile, the main effect is that they can't sign official marriage documents. They can still have a fancy wedding celebration with all of the trappings, but they can't make it official. This slightest of inconveniences is the price they will pay. And they will paint it as persecution that proves the last days are almost over (yet again).

It's a weird way to encourage people to join, though. "Become part of our non-religion before it's too late!"

49

40 Years Ago Today: May 15th 1984 "1914 Generation" issue was released. False prophecy, thy name is WatchTower.

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

it's incredible how this cover, and also this "series" of watchtower's is burned into my mind.

i was almost 5 years old when these were released.

“1914 and you” — may 1, 1984 watchtower.

TonusOH

If they need another iconic cover, they can use that one with a picture superimposed over it, of more recent JWs. In other words, the images should.... OVERLAP.

I was 16 in 1984, too. By this time I was probably wavering in my confidence that I would not graduate high school before the end of the present system of things. The same doomed world that is still here, 40 years later.