Posts by TonusOH

8

What Did You Do For Fun That You Felt The WT Frowned Upon?

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

in the light of the lifting of sanctions on glass clinking and recent threads on chess and dvds of lord of the rings, was there anything you did for fun, as a hobby or for recreational purposes that you felt might be "taken the wrong way" if it came to the attention of the elders or sister busybody?.

TonusOH

I had been fading for so long that my life didn't change much after I decided I was no longer a JW. But I do recall a couple of things that I did, that I would not have dreamed of doing as a JW:

I watched The Exorcist. I have been a huge horror fan since I was a young child, but some movies were definitely out of the question, as they might be an open invitation for real demons to enter my life! At this point in my life, I was losing any fear of the supernatural, and how could I be a horror fan and not watch one of the most popular horror films of all time?

I bought and played Diablo III. Same reasons; I was a fan of video games in general and RPGs in particular. I had (secretly) played a couple of them, such as Might and Magic. But a game literally titled Devil was a bridge too far. Once again, after I learned that I was afraid of things less substantial than shadows, I had no issues playing and enjoying it for years.

Oh, I also swear like a sailor, something I absolutely never did as a JW.

5

An interesting article on the Sons apparent identification as Wisdom

by Blotty in

"none of the three apologists attempts to express the coming forth of .

the word with the verbs ‘to create’ (κτίζειν) and ‘to establish’ (θεμελιοῦν) .

from prov 8:22–23.

TonusOH

Two posts, totaling more than 4,300 words, in about an hour.

Does anyone even read these, anymore?

10

JWs can toast now….what’s next

by FFGhost in

so you can see from multiple topics here (& elsewhere), based on gb update #4, jws now have permission to toast.. there’s been a boatload of “xyz is now allowed” over the past couple of years….beards, no ties in field service or at the kh, sister can wear pants at the kh & in field service…... what do you think is next?.

a lot of folks are speculating on birthday celebrations being allowed, and i agree that will eventually come, but i don’t think it is next.

too big of a jump.. heres my guess:.

TonusOH

Birthdays could be on the block because it's a pretty easy one to reverse. The reasons for forbidding it are pretty thin (two birthday celebrations in the Bible involve the death of an innocent) and they have never forbidden the celebration of wedding anniversaries or baby showers, so the concept of celebrating such things is not alien to JWs.

It's a fine line to walk, though. How many changes can you make before the rank and file start to realize just how much control they have over your life? Giving back a few freedoms might make them aware of how many normal and reasonable things they still cannot do.

15

Anyone explain the generation idea!

by Witness 007 in

i don't understand we went thru a phase where we down played the generation so now it's the generation that knew the 1914 generation???

is that correct?

how does that even work.

TonusOH

Witness 007: How does that even work.

About as well as any of the other crap they teach. They decided that Jesus's comment about the temple's destruction within the lifetime of those listening to his speech also applied centuries later, to the people who were alive in 1914. It's nonsense. They came up with it to use it as a way to create a sense of urgency. Remember that they kept tinkering with the explanation: first, it was people who were in their teen years in 1914. Then, it was toddlers. Then, it was those who were born that year.

The idea was to make it seem as if the end was imminent. By 1995, they had stretched the explanation so thin that it was clear that it was becoming a problem, as the generation born in 1914 would be 80 years old. So they quietly dropped it, which is how that particular mess should have ended. Why they decided to try to revive it with the "overlapping generations" disaster is anyone's guess, but I am thinking that Tony Morris must have purchased extra booze before that meeting.

3

Text book life

by ElderBerry in

take an example of a young man who grows up in a religious belief system jw or something.

he mostly believes it but in truth is agnostic so is not absolute sure one way or another.. but he goes through the motions and gets married has kids, his kids grow up with the religious belief system.

his wife is also technically a believer but they both have an overall agnostic approach.. this would be the text book life.

TonusOH

"Stay in, you'll be happier!" -- said no one ever.

7

Bible-based versus Biblical

by Vanderhoven7 in

jehovah’s witnesses continue to say their religion is completely bible-based as if this proves they are the one true religion.. gilles gray writes:.

jehovah’s witnesses have a hard time understanding/accepting that the mere fact their teachings are ‘bible-based’ doesn’t establish that those teachings are true/biblical.. the most obvious, simple logic highlights their misconception….

jehovah’s witnesses and their organisation have a long history of untrue and failed bible teachings.. for example, the watchtower once claimed that:-.

TonusOH

They use the term "Bible-based" the way Hollywood uses the phrase "based on a true story."

79

Toasting

by hoser in

jw
friends

when did the jws make the rule that you couldn’t clink glasses together and raise glasses of wine?.

and why the change to being a conscience matter now?.

TonusOH

Another example is toasting or clinking glasses. For years Jehovah's Witnesses have avoided this practice because it may have had origins in false religion.

LOL how neurotic do you have to be to think this way?

(As a former JW, the answer is: extremely neurotic.)

3184

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

ElderBerry: if he stayed a JW even if he was agnostic then he would have let a text book life. Relatively happy family clean and together. Good friends and social life. Real friends that will be there for him.

Keep in mind that this is Lloyd Evans we are talking about. One of his problems is that he is a deceitful manipulator. Another problem is that he is a perverted creep with no sense of loyalty to his wife or family. Another is that he is an insufferable narcissist.

He mentioned some of the problems he was dealing with in his book, where he ran afoul of another elder. Even with it being Evans's side of the story, it's not hard to recognize that the issue is that he acted like an arrogant twat and got called out by an elder who saw him for who he really was. And this was all before he had to admit that he was a sex fiend.

For Evans, PIMA means Physically In, Mentally Asshole. He won't find a happy ending because he always gets in his own way.

3184

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

Staying in would have been a problem for Evans. His issues run far deeper than just doubts about JW teachings.

(edit to add: I am replying to Elena's comment.)

13

Daniel 2:42 , is it really unstable democratic governments?

by raymond frantz in

in its latest front page article titled “political turmoil that fulfills bible prophecy”, jw.org once again attempts to connect current world events with the vision found in daniel chapter 2, particularly the image composed of various metals.

their interpretation of daniel 2:42 is laid out in the following paragraph: "the feet of the image are made ‘partly of iron and partly of clay,’ a combination that is inherently weak.

(daniel 2:42) today, the power of both the united states and britain is weakened by elements within their own societies.

TonusOH

"People violently protest for their rights. Their elected representatives often fail to reach a majority agreement. Because their people are so divided, both governments are at times unable to implement their policies effectively."

It never fails to amaze me how they describe things that are always happening and treat them as if they are a unique sign that can be used to mark a time period. This is such a common theme among end-times predictions. "The sun has risen! The sun has set! It must be the time of the end!" Give it a rest.