Posts by TonusOH

29

We are now around 25 years past the point when Armageddon was to arrive as PROMISED!

by nowwhat? in

absolute worst case scenario, the last of the generation that saw the events of 1914 would have died off would be in the mid to late 1990's!

so we were told in the 1980's!

so now we 3/4 of another generation past that!.

TonusOH

The problem with end-times predictions is that they're so obviously made-up. The Bible has lots of dates and numbers and symbols, but it doesn't have a consistent or clear guide for defining them. So it's easy to come up with a calculation that conveniently places the end of the world on a date within our lifetimes. No one ever believes that we're just another generation that will come and go without seeing the most momentous event in human history... it has to happen in our day!

I recall hearing or reading the calculation that Harold Camping used to determine that the end would come in 2011. It was so odd and unintuitive that I couldn't believe that he ever thought it was legit. On the one hand, self-delusion can be very powerful. On the other, I can't imagine a person being that deluded for so long. But I think a lot of the people who make these predictions really do think that they're on to some amazing hidden cosmic secret. It sure beats convincing yourself that you're really Napoleon.

13

Do Jehovah's really have true Bible studies?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

frequently asked questions.

if i accept a bible study, will i be pressured to become one of jehovah’s witnesses?.

jehovah’s witnesses love teaching people about the bible, but we never pressure anyone to join our religion.

TonusOH

As far as I was concerned, JWs didn’t have true bible studies. What they HAVE with potential recruits are really ‘literature’ studies.

That's a great way to put it. And it's been like that since the beginning. Russell claimed that true understanding could only come by reading his Studies in the Scriptures books; that if you regularly read them, you wouldn't need to read the Bible at all. And if you didn't read SitS regularly, reading the Bible wasn't going to do you any good.

His ego was almost as big as Lloyd Evans's.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

I can't imagine his doing multiple hour rebuttals being the driving force of his channel.

I always preferred his shorter videos, especially those "sushi" ones he did that were a few minutes long. Those required him to focus on a specific point or argument, and I think he was better prepared and more concise. I couldn't sit through the multi-hour videos, and I saw no benefit to the talk-by-talk and point-by-point videos covering entire assembly programs. One of the best parts of leaving the organization was not having to grind through eight hours of 'instruction.' I wasn't going to do that again, even if it was the MST3K guys doing it.

I think his best option now is to (1)admit he screwed up and promise his remaining supporters (and any potential return/future supporters) that he's dedicating himself to getting his life in order. (2)Get back to short, focused videos on current JW news and info --including the rebuttal sushi videos-- and don't do anymore personal stuff. (3)Stop being an asshole. I'm guessing that 1 and 3 just aren't going to happen; he'll probably try to ride it out and won't realize that it's not working until he's well past rock-bottom.

10

JWs are always the victims... Depending on where you're standing

by neat blue dog in

two wt pictures of an adult child leaving home, one to be a jw, and one to leave the jws.

in one, the caption says his family are 'opposing' him, but in the other he's apparently hurting them.

depends on where you're standing.. .

TonusOH

That's been the approach for as long as I can remember. When you are not a JW, they urge you to 'have an open mind' and 'willingness to listen to other/new ideas.' When you are a JW, they warn you against the threat of 'worldly thinking' and the dangers of listening to 'false information.'

Be as independent and free-thinking as you need to be, to allow the JWs to lure you in. After that, think only approved thoughts, or risk being removed from the group (an action which will be blamed on you!).

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

One can scubadive in warm tropical waters and see sex workers in the same trip.

If he'd just said "I'm going to be doing some snorkeling," he might have avoided so much angst!

10

Law of Diminishing Returns

by Rattigan350 in

the law of diminishing returns states: the law of diminishing returns is an economic principle stating that as investment in a particular area increases, the rate of profit from that investment, after a certain point, cannot continue to increase if other variables remain at a constant.

as investment continues past that point, the return diminishes progressively.. from 1900 through the 1980s, the more witnesses that got baptized and pioneered, the more bible studies that could be had and the more additional witnesses that could join and then congregations would get bigger and they would divide and form in other areas.

but in the 1990s the law of diminishing returns kicked in, particularly in the bigger cities.

TonusOH

I think the internet has had a large impact, which might be why things began to change in the 1990s. It has gotten progressively harder to keep membership away from dissenting views and damaging information, as the internet went from a large and sloppy repository of information to a much more streamlined and accessible medium for learning anything you want. It is almost impossible to keep the sheep ignorant of your past when there are websites where you can read actual scans of original books and magazines. The dirty laundry is everywhere now.

And for prospective witnesses, it's a quick web search and suddenly you know a lot more about the JWs than they would like you to know. How many interested people became disinterested after a couple of hours of research?

14

Watchtower Bible And Tract Society Urging Town Of Ramapo To Act On Its Application In Timely Manner

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

https://rcbizjournal.com/2022/03/22/watchtower-urging-ramapo-to-act-on-its-application/?fbclid=iwar2akhf6eq1rrmhihrz4fqdqmf99l_jmkh7pcx70p6olunqfrvuspomer-e. by tina traster.

march 22, 2022. over the past eight months, the watchtower bible and tract society has reviewed public and other comments on its proposed development for 155 sterling mine road in ramapo and has revised its plans.. on monday, the applicant was prepared to present its feis (final environmental impact statement) and hoped the ramapo town board would accept its submission as “final,” to move on to review by the rockland county planning department.. instead, the board deferred making decisions, seemingly because they did not have enough time to review some newly submitted documents by the activist group rosa.. “we’re asking the board to take action on the ‘feis’,” said attorney ira emanuel.

“if you don’t like it, change it.

TonusOH

They have said how they have seen Jehovah's hand in this project. Wouldn't it be great if they were denied the permit to build after going through all this time and expense!

New light!

21

Was 536 the Worst year in history

by pistolpete in

jws believe that today, the time we live in is the worst time ever in history.

i know cause i just had a jw tell me yesterday this was the case.

he pointed to covid, the russian-ukraine war, the high gas prices and the food shortage happening.

TonusOH

I don't think most JWs could explain what makes these the worst times, aside from pointing to a few current events and claiming that we simply cannot sustain our current course. But complaining about how bad things are is a human pastime, and there are examples going back centuries of people wondering if they were living in the last days, as the problems of the world had gotten so out of hand as to be unresolvable.

But if you are part of an end-days cult, every day seems worse than the one before. You ROOT for things to get worse, because that's when you know god will finally put his plan into action. After all, why destroy the world when things are looking up? I'm thinking that god is sitting there, watching the price of a gallon of gas. "At $15," he tells his army of angels, "unleash hell. Err, I mean, unleash heaven. You know what I mean!"

19

Why is God's punishment always nonsensical?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

leviticus 10:1-3. .

the death of nadab and abihu.

10 aaron’s sons nadab and abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the lord, contrary to his command.

TonusOH

I find most of all of Jwism is about made up BS on the fly.

Rutherford was apparently the biggest BSer, his desire to take over for Russell lead him to make a lot of changes and additions to JW beliefs (including the name Jehovah's Witnesses). He really got the ball rolling on the habit of JW leadership finding "new light" everywhere and making stuff up. I can see why Fred Franz was upset when they pushed for an actual governing body; just imagine how many crazy ideas he was ready to run with after Knorr passed away!

19

Why is God's punishment always nonsensical?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

leviticus 10:1-3. .

the death of nadab and abihu.

10 aaron’s sons nadab and abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the lord, contrary to his command.

TonusOH

The OT god is over-the-top in his brutality. In 2 Samuel 6:6-8, he kills a guy for the crime of reaching out to keep the ark of the covenant from falling over. Intent didn't matter. Who this man was, didn't matter. He touched the ark. He died on the spot. Killed by a being that personifies kindness, mercy, goodness, and love.