Posts by Spoletta

22

More evidence beards are being eased in . . .

by neat blue dog in

the june 2017 watchtower tells the experience of a bible student who was homeless and unkempt, but improved his appearance after being preached to.. peter began to change.

he bathed, neatlytrimmed his beard, and put on the betterclothes that don offered him.

peter continued to maintain a clean appearance.. so here we see that with a neatly trimmed beard the watchtower's writers view him as having "a clean appearance".

Spoletta

DD. Not baptized says it all. Wait till he has to do whatever the Elders "suggest" to him.

236

What did President Trump say about Sweden?

by kpop in

this you will never see on the mainstream media.

before you comment watch the whole video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqaigeqxqgi.

Simon. Your idea for a topic view button seems reasonable on a surface level, but would really only gratify those wanting to hear only ideas that agree with theirs. If I only listen to Breitbart and Fox, or conversely the New York Times and CNN, I lose the ability to compare and make informed decisions about the issues involved. By being aware of both viewpoints, I can do my own research, and hopefully separate the wheat from the chaff. Too many posters here only supply links to either right or left wing sources. I trust you to monitor the threads and ban those who become too shrill or hateful.

To quote the X files "the truth is out there". There is way too much Watchtower mentality going on here. Before posting a link, people would do well to consider if it's a reputable source that others won't just dismiss out of hand.

23

Memphis, TN - Memphis, Light, Gas, & Water sued in federal court over allegations of religious discrimination, harassment & retaliation

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.fox13memphis.com/top-stories/mlgw-sued-for-religious-discrimination-harassment-retaliation/496547868.

news video included.

mlgw sued for religious discrimination, harassment & retaliation.

Spoletta

Unfortunately, there's just not enough information here to make a decision one way or another. Were there accommodations he could have made that would have allowed him take another position, or was he unwilling to make adjustments, even if they were possible? Without knowing all details, it's impossible to know who's in the wrong here.

236

What did President Trump say about Sweden?

by kpop in

this you will never see on the mainstream media.

before you comment watch the whole video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqaigeqxqgi.

Spoletta

Bugbear. Thanks for your confirmation. For a group of people who decry the Organization's emphasis on how bad the world is, some of the comments here sound like the blather you hear every meeting at the Kingdom Hall.

So, are the Witnesses right? Is the world getting worse every day? Is there nothing to be done till God's Kingdom comes?

If you want to believe Trump and the Witnesses, go right ahead. I don't.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

Spoletta

Simon. I totally agree with you on PBS. It's my favorite news broadcast. Doesn't it bother you you that it is perennially on the hit list for the far right? They are seriously considering defunding both the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

I guess the Republicans consider them fake news because they report the facts fairly.

236

What did President Trump say about Sweden?

by kpop in

this you will never see on the mainstream media.

before you comment watch the whole video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqaigeqxqgi.

Spoletta

I've read literally dozens of articles on the whole Swedish situation, and can say that according to which "expert" you want to believe, there is a huge problem, or it's not that bad.

So the immigration hasn't worked out as well as it might have. From some of the posts, you'd get the impression that there are mobs of Middle Eastern men roaming the streets, raping women right and left, that Sweden's coffers are almost empty from immigrant's freeloading. That jobs are being taken from Swedes (which seems odd, considering that the immigrants are supposedly not working).

Anyway, it obviously isn't working, so something will be done. What that is, is yet be figured out. But in the mean time we are in no danger of being overrun by immigrants, or enslaved by Sharia law.

What bothers me is the vitriol of the discussions. There are a lot of valid arguments against immigration in its present form. Demonizing the immigrants isn't constructive. I don't think I'm wrong in thinking many are using this whole issue to legitimize their xenophobia. (I'm not including any of you!)

The travel ban was a failure because it was poorly conceived, and rammed down peoples throats, with no thought to the immediate consequences. It was a visceral, feel good action, that created more problems than it solved.

I am not for open borders that indiscriminately let in anyone, but just can't accept that it's not our problem when it comes to fixing the root causes of the whole immigration fiasco.

I have no idea what to do about this, not a clue. But all these statistics are giving me a headache, because you can find a study to confirm any bias you have.

This whole forum is about helping people coming from an oppressive rigid society that destroys lives. I see real empathy and compassion every day from it's members. It's a microcosm of the world at large.

I condemn Islam as it's practiced in much of the world, but don't think its an insurmountable task to try and change it. I don't think the majority of immigrants come to this country to try and make it like their own. I see young articulate women in hijabs that are as American as any of us.

We're in an information age. The internet is slowly eroding the Organization by revealing it's lies and injustices, while offering support for those who want to change their lives.The Arab Spring wasn't just an attempt by Islamic Conservatives to remake the world into an Islamic State. I think many of the people just wanted to live their lives in a free society like those they see in other parts of the world.

Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps people in the Islamic States are really happy with the rules and regulations they live by. I'm sure there are many who are. But I suspect that there are many more who would change things if they could.

19

JWs and legalized Marijuana

by jws in

jw
friends

i know this was probably covered before in some post, but i was curious.

what is the jw stance on recreational marijuana use in the states where it has been legalized?.

i would suspect smoking it, like cigarettes, would probably still be against the rules, but there are ways to use it that aren't damaging to your lungs.

Spoletta

I suspect that used as medicine, marijuana would be accepted by the younger generation of Elders. I think there are probably some Witnesses whose consciences would allow them to eat Brownies. (They just wouldn't let it be known, so as to not stumble weaker brothers and sisters.)

19

JW.ORG Now requires personal address

by AverageJoe1 in

logging on to the user area access today, there appeared a message saying that they now require a postal and physical home address to attach to your profile, with a note saying that the branch may change the details as they see fit.

this raises several questions in my mind:.

why would they need to have your physical address on file?.