Posts by TonusOH

189

What evidence is there for a biblical jesus?

by Touchofgrey in

is there any independently verified evidence that a miracle worker called jesus existed and did the things that the bible said he did?.

the four gospels were written by unknown authors many decades after the so called events, so can't be considered as eyewitness accounts.

i think that there may have been a apocalyptic preacher who was executed by the romans and the story evolved from their.

TonusOH

If Jesus was indeed the messiah and was known to perform miracles, why would the rabbis see him in a negative light?

62

Ten reasons Jehovah’s Witnesses have the true religion (plus a bonus one)

by slimboyfat in

thinking back when i was a true believer these are probably the top ten reasons why i believed jws are the true religion.

1. they show love among themselves by not going to war.

not killing your fellow believers in any circumstances, including war, would seem to be a very basic requirement for true christianity.

Some of the recent changes made me think that they are slowly moving towards the mainstream. After so many years of such strict orthodoxy, they cannot embrace mainstream Christianity all at once. But they can begin to move in that direction a few bits at a time. Moving Jesus into a more prominent position would make sense in that context, especially if it is combined with the idea that the GB is fallible and can make mistakes.

The idea of putting the GB in a truly subordinate position to Jesus would be fairly radical, but also a concept that the rank-and-file could accept. Especially if it means a gradual lessening of the 'obedience to the GB' policy. I'm not sure they can go all the way in that direction without leading the rank-and-file to wonder why they don't just go to another church. So I might be on the wrong track. Still, it will be interesting to see if any more changes are made in the near future.

28

C t Russell and jellyfish case

by Jaime l de Aragon in

c t russell and jellyfish case.

then he said, "i am like a jellyfish.

i float around here and there.

TonusOH

This topic was linked from a Reddit thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1fp54om/what_is_the_most_disturbing_thing_you_have_found/

I had read of Russell's... affair(?) with Rose Ball, and recall reading some of the testimony that can be found on the site linked in the first post here. It is a reminder of the kind of man Russell really was.

135

Rumour 144,000 literal number teaching to be abandoned at Annual Meeting

by slimboyfat in

say it ain’t so!

.

in one sense it’s a no brainer because the figures just don’t add up any more.. in another (negative) sense it’s a no brainer because it’s been fundamental to jws since year dot and might undermine the whole thing?

TonusOH

Jackson is such a weasel in those transcripts. So much for being brave in the face of persecution. JWs in Malawi held fast through literal beatings and torture. This guy shrinks in his chair when asked a question.

They "hope to [...] be [Jesus's] disciples"? It's "presumptuous" to think they're god's only mouthpiece? Pathetic.

3032

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

Any of them located in Phuket? Asking for a friend.

25

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS STUPID: a special category of ignorance

by Terry in

worse than being stupid is thinking you are smart while you are stupid.. i should know.. for many years i was a special category of "stupid"; i was jehovah's witness stupid.. .

what does that entail?

listen and i'll tell you.. ___________________________________________________________.

TonusOH

Based on the OP, I was definitely JW-stupid for a long time.

Now I'm just plain stupid. It's a considerable relief.

135

Rumour 144,000 literal number teaching to be abandoned at Annual Meeting

by slimboyfat in

say it ain’t so!

.

in one sense it’s a no brainer because the figures just don’t add up any more.. in another (negative) sense it’s a no brainer because it’s been fundamental to jws since year dot and might undermine the whole thing?

TonusOH

FreeTheMasons: The fallen angels didn't materialize as women.

I know that. To covet is to desire. They coveted those women's bodies because they wanted to have sex with them. Which means that these spirit beings were capable of being aroused by human bodies. Which makes no sense whatsoever. It also makes no sense for a god who is hung up on sexual misconduct to make angels capable of (1)wanting to have sex with humans and (2)shifting into a physical form to do just that.

135

Rumour 144,000 literal number teaching to be abandoned at Annual Meeting

by slimboyfat in

say it ain’t so!

.

in one sense it’s a no brainer because the figures just don’t add up any more.. in another (negative) sense it’s a no brainer because it’s been fundamental to jws since year dot and might undermine the whole thing?

TonusOH

FreeTheMasons: Being a human is a gift. It's such a cool gift that some of the angels coveted it.

As I recall, what they coveted was the nubile bodies of young human women.

The idea that angels would give up such a hallowed position for a fleeting experience is almost comically silly. The only thing sillier is the idea that such beings would have become aroused at the sight of a young lady, or that a god who is so famously uptight about sex would have made them capable of such sensations.

135

Rumour 144,000 literal number teaching to be abandoned at Annual Meeting

by slimboyfat in

say it ain’t so!

.

in one sense it’s a no brainer because the figures just don’t add up any more.. in another (negative) sense it’s a no brainer because it’s been fundamental to jws since year dot and might undermine the whole thing?

TonusOH

Journeyman: Admittedly, it might seem a bad idea to imply a lot of your members are deluded or even mentally unwell(!) as they hinted

This might be a good reason to drop the literal number. I think they said this (about partakers possibly being mentally unwell) in the hopes of getting people to stop partaking, so that the number of the remnant would drop again. Then they could go back to saying "look at the dwindling number of partakers! The end must be close!"

But the number has just continued to climb. We went from a low of around 8,800 to more than 22,000. The number is an albatross now; it is difficult to reference it without being reminded that it has increased significantly after the change in 'understanding.' The ship has sailed.

A change that makes the number inconsequential might be the first step to dealing with the problem. The eventual last step would be that they could ignore it, since the number would no longer matter. The concept of two groups (one heavenly, one earthly) could still be used, without the issues that a hard number creates.

125

Mandated Shunning is a Crime

by Lee Marsh in

mandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.

shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.

mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.

TonusOH

LHG: So, how would I really feel if people who shunned me decades ago all of a sudden came up to me smiling and wanted to be friends???

And remember, if you were to tell them to go away, they would justify themselves to one another. "Oh, she is just a bitter person. This is what happens when you turn from the truth." And so on. It would not even occur to them how it must look from your point of view. That the same people who turned their back on you have been given permission to pretend that they care now. We are supposed to be grateful for this?