TonusOH

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Posts by TonusOH

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  22

  Is the Watchtower Ultimately a Creation of Fallen Angels?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a watchtower in ceremonial magical tradition is a tutelary spirit of one of the four cardinal points or quarters (east, south, west and north).

  in many magical traditions, they are understood to be enochian angels... originating with the enochian tradition of john dee, a version of it was popularized by the hermetic order of the golden dawn, which became hugely influential in modern western esotericism, including wicca.

  the watchtowers are invoked during the ritual of casting a magic circle.. .

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  TonusOH

  In the 80s and 90s, I can recall discussions my mother had with other JWs about demons and demonic presences and even actual attacks. She would tell stories of such experiences that she had been told about. Once I got out, I noticed that all of those stories were third/fourth-hand tales. I don't recall a single person explaining something that they dealt with directly; it was always a distant relative, or a friend of a friend, and so on. But, oh boy, did we believe them!

  Invisible oppressors are a convenient go-to for a lot of religious and superstitious people, as it can be used to explain stuff that otherwise would make them uncomfortable. If people of other religions are having supernatural experiences that "prove" that their faith is real, the obvious way to deal with that is to claim they are deluded. But that could also be applied to experiences that support their own beliefs. So they prefer to claim that the experiences that do not support their beliefs must have involved demons. It still leaves them open to the question of how they can be sure that they're right about who is being deceived.
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  2952

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

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. 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.

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  TonusOH

  Journeyman: The continued arrogance of specifying a number he expected to join.

  This is only part of the issue. It is a weird approach, to state your exact goal instead of growing the numbers organically. After all, what happens if you surpass your goal? Do you reset it? Do you stop asking for support?

  The other part is that he isn't doing anything to grow his support. His output appears to be low and uninspired, which is what we predicted would happen as the people who did the bulk of the work left. He has nothing to pivot to, in part due to his lack of ambition and in part because his past is still haunting him. (I would encourage him to keep trying to become an influencer, and ignore the people who point out that he looks like a goddamned clown.)

  I expected him to be under 300 by now, but it seems he will hang on a bit longer before he hits that next negative milestone. Ironically, the lack of interest from his critics might hurt him the most-- he won't be able to use 'persecution' as a selling point. Does he ever mention the lawsuit anymore? No? I wonder why...
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  88

  Annual Report

  by St George of England in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the latest report is now available for download on our favourite website!.

  george.

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  TonusOH

  I wonder if the slower decline of JWs is due, in part, to the door-to-door work they did for so long. That's a level of dedication that people cannot help but notice. Sure, many people notice it when they are being bothered on a weekend morning or accosted on the street, but at least some people will admit that it takes some dedication and a bit of brass to keep doing it, especially in places that aren't all that nice to walk around in.

  Could the recent changes lead to less activity in the field? And can this lead to a short-term increase, as people notice that JWs are not going door-to-door as zealously*, followed by a period of decline as they begin to fade into the background of public perception?

  * In other words, the cessation of the door-to-door work might be seen as a sign of the end.
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  16

  Jesus Christ Will Arrive Within The Next Four Minutes! (parody)

  by Nathan Natas in

  1. social
  2. humour

  yes, you read that correctly!.

  jesus h. christ will arrive within the next four minutes!

  in fact, by the time you read this, he may have alreadt arrrived!.

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  TonusOH

  As Tolkien once wrote: "Armageddon is never late, nor is it early, it arrives precisely when it means to."
• 
  2952

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

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. 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.

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  TonusOH

  Probably more arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, and begging. He doesn't seem to be doing much to earn additional support, so it's only a matter of time. I'm just waiting for him to put out a video admonishing his supporters for their lack of generosity, by pointing out that he was only able to take four or five vacations last year.
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  16

  Jesus Christ Will Arrive Within The Next Four Minutes! (parody)

  by Nathan Natas in

  1. social
  2. humour

  yes, you read that correctly!.

  jesus h. christ will arrive within the next four minutes!

  in fact, by the time you read this, he may have alreadt arrrived!.

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  TonusOH

  You're not late, it's still just four minutes away.
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  22

  Is the Watchtower Ultimately a Creation of Fallen Angels?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a watchtower in ceremonial magical tradition is a tutelary spirit of one of the four cardinal points or quarters (east, south, west and north).

  in many magical traditions, they are understood to be enochian angels... originating with the enochian tradition of john dee, a version of it was popularized by the hermetic order of the golden dawn, which became hugely influential in modern western esotericism, including wicca.

  the watchtowers are invoked during the ritual of casting a magic circle.. .

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  TonusOH

  the evidence is too strong to be disputed

  Russell and Rutherford loved doing this-- regaling readers about how ironclad a particular claim was, even though they had no way of demonstrating this. Many of these 'indisputable' claims were later changed, and many of their 'indisputable' predictions did not come to pass. Come on, Watchtower-- show us some of these "genuine manifestations."
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  24

  Why you need Christmas to understand Easter/Memorial

  by Anony Mous in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i went to a christmas evening candlelight service tonight and it hit me.

  i was primarily doing christmas since leaving the jw for the children.

  lots of people do it for family without really thinking of the relevance.

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  TonusOH

  I don't recall them ever emphasizing Jesus's birth. It's a meaningful event to a JW, in that it meant that an important step in Jehovah's promise to redeem humanity had finally arrived. But Jesus is a secondary character to Jehovah for JWs. They make note of it, but do not celebrate it the way other Christian denominations do.
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  3

  Sea Breeze or NewLife, can you translate this for me?

  by SydBarrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tq72jpoq7n4?si=de4g1pc950v8sooo" title="youtube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>.

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  TonusOH

  This is how he came up with the lyrics to Yellow Ledbetter.
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  17

  Rethinking WT Charity Status in Canada.

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  rethinking wt charity status in canada.. .

  https://avoidjw.org/news/canada-rethinking-charity-status-project-straight-arrow/ .

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  TonusOH

  Vidiot: Decrease.

  I agree. If they go fully mainstream, they become just another Christian church. But that requires a long list of changes. These changes will alienate the old-school hardcore JWs, but will do nothing to make the religion more attractive to potential recruits.

  Allowing birthday and holiday celebrations? Congrats, you are starting to catch up. Do away with shunning and the blood policy? Again, lots of other Christian churches don't have this issue, plus it will generate a LOT of criticism from loyal JWs who suffered under those policies. Their view of the afterlife for sinners is better than the concept of eternal suffering, so I guess that's one possible point in their favor (even if it's not unique). Goodbye, governing body? Goodbye, book publishing? I don't think you'd have anything left, if that went away...

  I don't think they can go completely mainstream without shutting down. I'm more interested in how far they will go, and how their decisions will affect the numbers along the way.