Posts by scratchme1010

35

1975 statements

by A Believer in

from jw org.

“six thousand years of human existence”.

in 1969 the watchtower magazine in czech began publishing a series of articles based on the book life everlasting—in freedom of the sons of god.

scratchme1010

The office in Czechoslovakia sent a letter dated February 22, 1972, to all congregations. It set out a lengthy explanation of reasons why we should not make any definite assertions about the date when Armageddon will strike. It pointed out that no publication of the Society had said that Armageddon will come in a certain year. The letter concluded: “Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world are familiar with these facts, and no one should add any personal claims as to what will happen before or during the year 1975. There are no Scriptural grounds for any claims, and they could have a detrimental effect on the preaching work. Strive, therefore, that you ‘all speak in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.’ (1 Cor. 1:10) For concerning that day and hour nobody knows.”—Matt. 24:36.

What's the point of any of this? Is that supposed to cancel everything else that the Wt has claimed and then changed? Besides, high demand, controlling cults like the JWs never take a full stand of anything, especially something that comes out of their behinds about a date to the end of the world. Of course "they never said such thing", the never do. They "always do" when things actually happen". The rest is about instilling fear and gossiping around.

16

"Intelligent" Witnesses

by megaboy in

after reading some experiences, i have found that this organization has had quite a big change in its operations within the last decade.

back when i was talking to the ocassional witnesses at a local hotspot i remember some of them having respectable intelligence.

what i want to know though is those who have been aquainted with who they felt were more educated and independent in thinking, how they handled the rapid changes.

scratchme1010

Did they give a benefit of doubt to the organization despite the clear signs that there is no solid respect for "truth" and its really just like other religions?

Hard to say about every single JW in the planet. In general, the one thing that remains a constant in the JWs is that they are a controlling group, which means that it requires independent thinking in order for people to have the capacity to give the benefit of the doubt.

Did anyone experiences others that had wake up calls and leave? Did most choose to fade? Did others make statements before leaving?

Look in this forum and see for yourself. There are plenty of people who had wake up calls and left. Do you mean in any of use personally met a person who decided that the JWs are full of --it and left? Otherwise, the fact that you are posting in a forum like this, like, should give you a clue.

I had researched that their HQ had a lot of layoffs and people were homeless and were lied to by the head honchos. Did this have any large scale effect? Was it kept under raps and spun?

Huh?

8

Quotation in book - what are your thoughts

by Tallon in

been away for a couple of months as i felt that i needed a break.

during this period i completed reading a book (fiction), titled; conclave - authored by robert harris.

there is a very interesting sentence in the book which got me thinking.

scratchme1010

How would that even work?

"Pride is one's humility" makes sense to me. People tend to confuse having pride and humility with showing off pride and humility. What you normally see in people's "pride" is bragging, being self righteous, cocky and show-off about how spiritual they are.

12

J.W. Elders Are Knowingly Complicit

by The Searcher in

for anyone who denies that the wtbts teaches jehovah's witnesses & potential converts lies and perversions of scriptures via their literature, here is a prime example:

w88 2/15 p. 9 further corrective counsel - "but because of human imperfection, at times serious disputes will occur.

jesus also provides guidelines for handling them.

scratchme1010

Keep in mind that elders can forgive you or punish you for your sins - as the 1988 Watchtower teaches!!!!!

Knowing this is enough for me to question every single thing that they claim, say or teach. To me, expecting me to submit to people who have been arbitrarily appointed for me to disclose my personal matters, be judged by them and punished by them, that tells me how full of nonsense, how controlling that organization is. Of course, then, anything they teach will be to find ways to reinforce such control, hence, I don't believe anything they say since their real intent is clear.

14

Vow of Obedience and Poverty? WTF??

by NikL in

jw
friends

listener on here started a cool thread about the april 2017 wt which can be found here.... https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4881380162928640/watchtower-april-2017-overview.

it got me to look at it closer and in the opening study they use terminology i've never heard used before namely, "vow of obedience and poverty".... 19 currently, there are some 67,000 members of the worldwide order of special full-time servants of jehovah’s witnesses.

some perform bethel service, others engage in construction or in circuit work, serve as field instructors or special pioneers or missionaries or as assembly hall or bible school facility servants.

scratchme1010

Poverty and obedience are the cornerstones of the WT, that is, for all except the GB.

22

Is it just for social reasons you remain?

by UnshackleTheChains in

as someone who has tried to fade on various occasions, i always end up attending meetings!

why is this the case you may ask?.

if i was single, i would have kissed this high control american religion goodbye many years ago.

scratchme1010

To me, it has now become nothing more than a social club. That's it!
Is anyone else experiencing a similar situation, ie attending meetings primarily for social reasons?

That's what the vast majority of people in any organized religion do. Religious organizations are social clubs. Do you think that people join because of what they teach? They don't know what they teach until they join, so it's not about their teachings.

39

Shunning

by A Believer in

you guys do know that if you just leave and never go back you wont be disfellowshiped right?

i know people who have done exactly this.

you have to commit a sin and you or someone else has to tell a elder.

scratchme1010

You guys do know that if you just leave and never go back you wont be disfellowshiped right? I know people who have done exactly this. You have to commit a sin and you or someone else has to tell a elder.

And your point is... if you read a little of what people post, that's not exactly news.

19

Writers (not God) are at fault

by anointed1 in

if scriptures are written by people who have no sense of justice, it is natural that god would be misrepresented—something that happened to the biblical god.

to mention a few:.

1) david, murderer of the innocent and faithful, wrote portions of the bible.. 2) paul who set in opposition to genuine apostles who were directly trained by jesus himself sarcastically describing them as “superfine apostles” openly declared in some places that it was not spirit, but he was writing.

scratchme1010

1) The incomprehensibly vast size of the universe teaches how insignificant our earth and all its inhabitants are (which means there is no basis for anyone to feel self-important)

So size does matter after all? What does the size of the universe has to do with our relevance? How important a given person or thing is has no correlation with its relative size in comparison to something else. Physical dimensions has nothing to do quality of life or morals.

2) The way planets and stars act too teaches us humility! They move around keeping to their orbits just like vehicles follow lane-discipline on a busy express highway (as though submitting themselves to some unseen authority)

Interesting that you use man-made things (a highway) to explain the vastness of "God's" creation. So let me see if I understand what you are saying: planets that are (some of them) not even part of our own galaxy, that we can't see, that we have no access to, that we need to study advanced Astronomy, mathematics and physics to begin comprehending them, along with the rest of entities that we don't even know... that's supposed to teach us humility, an arbitrarily chosen concept of morality. Not to mention that suck knowledge is available for those who choose to look into it. Sounds a little off-the-wall to me.

3) Plants produce fragrant and beautiful flowers and trees produce fruits for others to enjoy (not for themselves). They too are living lessons of humility.

Prostitutes provide services to men (or women) in dire need of having sex. Drug dealers provide a great wealth of supplies for those who really need to get a fix. Are those lessons of humility too? Besides, go ahead and look for information about these plants:

Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata)
Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna)
White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)
Castor Bean (Ricinus communis)
Rosary Pea (Abrus precatorius)
Oleander (Nerium oleander)
Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)

and see how "joyful" what they produce is.

4) All the stories and histories written show that those who pursued self-importance reaped misery in the end. [shows that all the writers are somehow led by some imperceptible force to come to the same conclusion that ultimately truth wins and ego fails]

Yeah, right. I guess that depends on which stories you read and what you want to pay attention to.

If you don’t see any lessons in those beings—inanimate and animate, you can formulate your life in any way you like, and it is ok if it makes you happy.
But for me, taking lessons of humility from them makes me too happy, and those around me feel comfortable with me.

Yet, you need to come here to brag about it. Some humility. Classic passive/aggressive religious crap.

8

Quotation in book - what are your thoughts

by Tallon in

been away for a couple of months as i felt that i needed a break.

during this period i completed reading a book (fiction), titled; conclave - authored by robert harris.

there is a very interesting sentence in the book which got me thinking.

scratchme1010

Interesting thought. I agree to some extent, except for the sin part, but that's because I don't believe in the concept of sin as a noun or verb.

I think that the intent a given person has is what makes it ostentatious or really simple. The entire concept of having a given set of moral standards and values based on arbitrary interpretations of life, regardless of whether they come from the bible or some other source, promotes such ostentation.

My lifestyle is simple in some ways and complex and sophisticated in other ways. All of it is legitimate, comes from my own set of values and morals, and it's genuine. It is for the simple reason that I choose to have simplicity in certain aspects of my life. I can't care less about pleasing other people over it, including some "god". That legitimacy in my life choices, choosing to be a good peaceful person by myself and for myself, IMO, is what keeps a more restrained life. Not doing it to please "Jehovah", nor to show or proof myself to anyone that I am more right than righteous than anyone else is what make any set of values matter.

29

Watchtower April, 2017 Overview

by Listener in

i'll start with the first study article.. this study article deals with vows made to jehovah.

three main vows are discussed.. 1) your dedication to jehovah.

we are told that it is not possible to claim that our baptism was not valid .

scratchme1010

Who cares

scratchme1010

Posts by scratchme1010

1) The incomprehensibly vast size of the universe teaches how insignificant our earth and all its inhabitants are (which means there is no basis for anyone to feel self-important)

3) Plants produce fragrant and beautiful flowers and trees produce fruits for others to enjoy (not for themselves). They too are living lessons of humility.

4) All the stories and histories written show that those who pursued self-importance reaped misery in the end. [shows that all the writers are somehow led by some imperceptible force to come to the same conclusion that ultimately truth wins and ego fails]