Posts by Apognophos

75

New forum 'parousia' is upon us! (software version)

by Simon in

the time has nearly come to switch over to the new forum software.

of course it's not completely finished yet (and never will be) but i think it's good enough to go live with and probably already better than the current one.

i'll give you a quick overview of what to expect and post more detail about the changeover process later.. cloud platform.

Apognophos

Sounds great! I like every point but one. I'm not enthused about general users being able to see my post edits; I edit for the purpose of (1) fixing typos (sometimes no amount of re-reading seems to catch them before I hit Submit), (2) making factual corrections, or (3) phrasing things more diplomatically. I don't feel like getting pounced on over something I already fixed, when I'm having an intense debate with someone who decides to click through my post's change history looking for any vulnerability they can find.

More importantly, new users have a tendency to give too many personal details, not realizing that even the Private forum can be trawled by believing JWs who have registered for the purpose of getting people they know in trouble. Also, sometimes users have also posted anonymized text such as emails and failed to totally scrub a name or address from the text. Making the old text versions viewable for everyone will therefore make it even harder to fix leaks of personal information, as opposed to the current system where they at least have half an hour to completely remove that information from the sight of inquisitive users and Google. Half an hour is usually not enough time, however, to warn a user of such a problem and for them to see that warning and take corrective measures; but it's better than nothing.

17

Can your pervert the meaning of scripture even more...

by never a jw in

for a while i have shaken my head after learning how jw's interpret (rather corrupt the meaning of) matthew 8:11. i thought it couldn't get any worse.

i was wrong.

the following is an extract of the march 2015 watchtower in pg 27. the writer is explaining the meaning of mathew 25:31-46. enjoy!.

Apognophos

I prefer not to talk about my pervert.

17

Why must we APPLY for everything?

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was thinking about this today, after seeing another thread on the subject of serving in israel, of all places.

there have been many comments on the recent thread, and the ones a little older, about how utterly ridiculous that premise is.. the bigger question is why do i have to apply?

permission?

Apognophos

I don't know why they are encouraging friends to apply for the Israel campaign, but knowing them, one reason is being able to track how many people go over there. Remember their fetish for number reporting? Secondly, there may be a cultural orientation of some kind for the ones who register. G-d knows there should be. But of course there is nothing preventing a JW from just going over there on their own, as I have known some to do.

Think of this as registering for a tourism trip as opposed to making your own arrangements. There are pros and cons. The Society never said you can't go on your own. Your analogy to the IC is also weak because if everyone who felt like going to Hawaii went there for the IC, they could be overcrowded. There are better places to direct your general anger than at attempts by the Society to organize its events.

3

I'l never sing another song

by naja in

udo jurgens, c omposer of this song died yesterday rip.

Apognophos

Aha, I haven't heard of it, so the reference passed me by.

54

How do you overcome this JW excuse?

by EdenOne in

during one of those meetings that took place before my jc, one of the elders, who was a good friend of mine back then and used to come up with a few outlandish personal views about some teachings, attempted to counter one of my arguments like this:.

eden - "well, if the truth doesn't change, why is it that what we teach as 'truth' has changed over the years (several examples given)?

how can we dogmatically claim at any given moment that we have 'the truth' if our teachings keep changing?".

Apognophos

Clearly I wasn't in a position to win that argument, so I didn't even reply to that. But it stayed in my memory as a monument to religious irrationality.

Granted, that was not the time for you to give him some clever comeback, but I still say it's not an irrational statement. The God which that brother worships is a god who is allowed to mislead and confuse his followers in the name of some bigger picture that we are not privy to. That's not the God that you believe in. So what we have here is a difference of theological opinion.

16

crazy analogy question regarding Jesus' divinity [or lack of]

by TTWSYF in

i heard a preist pose this question and i'll admit, it made me think.. if your neighbor had a dog and a monkey and his dog bite you.

would you accept an apology from the neighbors monkey?.

just asking.

Apognophos

Okay, I didn't realize that the neighbor was Jesus. So... the analogy is saying that Jesus is responsible for Adam's and Eve's disobedience, hence the need to sacrifice himself on Earth? I've never heard this suggested before.

3

I'l never sing another song

by naja in

udo jurgens, c omposer of this song died yesterday rip.

Apognophos

Which song?

26

Campaign to Israel

by humanperson in

i have been wanting to introduce myself but i don't know where to begin.

my husband and i are enjoying our third guilt-free weekend of our lives (both born-in, almost 30).

he has been out mentally for the last year and a half but patiently waited for me to come around.

Apognophos

I'd say the bigger danger is naive JWs getting lynched for tossing the ineffable Name around in the wrong neighborhoods.

15

Freedom of Relgion has been taken away.

by Jeannette in

when a person is disfellowshiped by a religion just because he or she doesn't believe it all is very serious.

some disfellowshiped ones have even taken their own lives because they have been made to feel so bad.

it's down in black and white that parents and friends are supposed to shun them, shunning is acting like someone is dead.

Apognophos

Yes, I don't know if it falls under a violation of freedom of religion, but once a religion is telling your own flesh and blood to shun you because you left or fell out of favor with them, I feel it's crossing some kind of line in the area of human rights.

29

Could the allowance of blood fractions be curtailing the growth of the religion?

by Apognophos in

so, imagine that you're just a regular joe who's not familiar with the witnesses and is looking for the answers to life, the universe, and everything.

you hear a knock at your door.

before long, you are studying with a jehovah's witness.

Apognophos

Heh, could be. Of course, the first three points are taken for granted if the student already accepts the Bible as God's Word, which most do.