Posts by TMS

18

Dissension

by teejay in

jw
friends

beginning over a hundred years ago with the sincerely misguided (albeit egotistical) pastor russell on down to todays corporate incarnation of jehovahs mouthpiece otherwise known as the governing body of jehovah's witnesses, all of the leaderships crimes can be traced to a single kernel of untruth that lies at the very heart of this ungodly organization.

a typical expression of this single but immense seed of falsehood is clearly seen in the following quote, typical of thousands made in the watchtower over the years:... if we fall into the habit of ... ignoring counsel from jehovah through .

his faithful slave class, it will not be long before our hearts become callous, .

TMS

Not much in this life can truly be described as wholly contemptible, but that kind of intolerant arrogance of the viewpoint and, by extension, the personhood of others certainly is. Such an attitude will never be held by one honestly seeking real truth, for truth, the bona fide variety, welcomes, accepts, begs for a challenge – a different viewpoint, no matter its origin. Under such brutal scrutiny, the truth can only be refined and strengthened.

The above paragraph, teejay, would easily fit into a hypothetical Watchtower article, "Are You Afraid of Truth?". Most of us recognize that the WTBS uses "two sets of scales".

Thank you for this insightful thread.

TMS

28

Make up a word for how you felt Sats 3:42 at DAs

by joelbear in

jw
friends

make up a word for how you felt saturday afternoons at 3:42 during district assemblies.

mine is.

aggsniffilated.

TMS

whatifipretendedtogotothemensroomandtoldmywifetomeetatthecarandavoidthetrafficjam

TMS

20

$300,000,000 - Percentage YOU Would Donate To WTS?

by Derrick in

jw
friends

you buy a state lottery ticket with a motherlode of a jackpot similar to one in california recently.. lo and behold you alone win the $300,000,000.. before and after the next meeting you share your joy with the brothers and sisters.

some are naturally curious to know what percentage you plan on donating to the world wide preaching work and local congregation?.

how do you respond?.

TMS

Derrick,

I would suggest that the WTBS avail themselves of appropriate government assistance for which they qualify, perhaps the SBA, for example.

Practical suggestions would be given to the GB with respect to disposal of large, unnecessary real estate holdings, stocks, bonds and other assets.

Surely, these loving suggestions from a mature brother would be well received.

TMS

12

How about an Overseer for the Elderly??

by Mulan in

jw
friends

i was telling my daughter in law about this ongoing saga, with the elders and my mother.

she isn't a jw, and attends a christian church.. when i told her about calling the local elder, who is the presiding overseer, she asked me why i called that elder.

"is he the one in charge of helping the elderly?

TMS

For a brief period in the 70's, "sacred service" was said to encompass caring for "widows and orphans", older ones, etc. Even the word "minister" was under review and temporarily dropped from meeting and publication titles as the ministry was briefly viewed as more than preaching.

This liberalized view, along with the '75 fiasco, accompanied an overall drop in field service and so was discarded in favor of the former and now prevailing view that "our ministry" is our public and platform preaching.

TMS

5

Five Things I would Like To See Before Death

by hillary_step in

jw
friends

five things i would like to see before my ashes are scattered :.

1) glen campbell singing the wichita lineman at the court of henry viii.. 2) henry kissinger dressed in spandex running for a bus.. 3) sergeant major mick jagger.. 4) freepeace giving tallyman the kiss of life - taste and see that i am good...lol.

5) ted jaracz dancing wildly at a rave.. any additions?

TMS

HS,

The last forty years or so, knowing what I know now.

TMS

8

One Dimensional Salvation

by Farkel in

when one removes the blinders, it comes as quite a shock to discover what a simple, one-dimensional religion jehovahs witnesses really have.

what is that good news?

because you wont listen to the good news.

TMS

Farkel, whose obviously been formulating these thoughts for years:

But Jehovah can be playful and forgiving, too. Take Lot. He screws both his daughters and gets them pregnant. In a way, I can’t blame him. No one likes to screw salt-licks. Lot then gets praised in the book of Hebrews for being so righteous. He probably got away without having to pay any child support, too. Trivia question: under what circumstances can one have 4 children and 2 grandchildren with only 4 people total? How would you explain this to your average census-taker?
Take David. He screws a guy’s wife and sends the poor guy to the front lines of battle, guaranteeing certain death. God kills David’s son, but lets him keep the dead guy’s wife for fun and games.

These two accounts always tempered my judgement while serving on judicial committees. Jehovah was the same Jehovah who allowed these things, whether C.E. or B.C.E, right? Now, we're gonna ostracize a teen-ager for puffing on a cigarette?

TMS

41

Is The Governing Body EVIL?

by jst2laws in

i am going to stick my neck out and postulate that the gb is not evil .

nor is the watchtower society as a whole.

i'm sorry this got a little long but please accept the challenge and show me wrong.

TMS

this interesting discussion included these telling, apropos words from Pathofthorns:

It is the belief that this is "God's Organization" that is at the root of all of these problems. Everyone is expendible to protect it, and nothing is too evil in the end if it is considered for the greater good of the Organization.

IMHO, the above mindset allows the GB to function oblivious to the human wreckage their policies generate.

If "evil" is too strong a word, then calloused, insensitive, heartless are available adjectives.

Even the world's beastly gov'ts recognize when economic policies inflict hardships on the citizenry and enact countermeasures, relief. Military excesses or civil right's abuses call for reparations.

When companies feel forced to make brutal economic cutbacks, longterm employees are offered substantial buyouts.

These are typical human responses when tough decisions are made that adversely effect others.

But the WTBS just keeps on keepin' on insulated by the above belief so succinctly put by Pathofthorns.

TMS

14

Bloody good argument, if bled properly

by SixofNine in

jw
friends

i have seen references to the bible verses which describe saul's army, after a long drawn out battle, eating unbled meat.

often, i see this described as an action they took to keep from starving.

in my view, to infer this was done to keep from starving is just silly, and weakens the argument because it is so ridiculous.

TMS

Francois:

Can anyone tell me what's the big deal with "well oiled dishes"?

All I know, Francois, is that it tastes great with "wine on the dregs".

TMS

22

How would a WTS 'operative' behave?

by Simon in

jw
friends

i'm sure several here have posted and tried to be a thorn in the flesh of some of the jw-loyal forums on the net.. what was most effective?

if someone announced "i am an apostate and i think you jws are all wrong and i will prove why" do you think they would last very long?

to be able to do any damage so to speak, a careful masquarade would need to be maintained of being a loyal jw while stying to stir things up.. now, think of how anyone opposed to us 'opposers' would behave here .... would they announce that they are jws and they they were going to "set us all straight" ... or would they pretend to be an apostate ... pretend to 'help with the cause' but try and do more harm than good?.

TMS

Jumping in late as always . . .

The stance of a Watchtower operative would perhaps be primarily that of a lurker, jotting down locations, names, pertinent facts for future reference. . . If any innocent, naive sheep seemed to be straying into apostate waters, perhaps an open email would be discreetly utilized.

Opposition strategy would be carefully noted and incorporated into security considerations for assemblies and meetings. These could be introduced for consideration at the appropriate planning session.

No real WTBS operative would engage in dialogue or refutation in a forum like this. No fine soil here.

TMS

Tim Barton: Criminal or Victim?

by TMS in

jw
friends

posted on sun, apr.

border town clash sparks rights debate.

by karen brooks.

TMS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted on Sun, Apr. 07, 2002

Border town clash sparks rights debate
By KAREN BROOKS
STAR-TELEGRAM BORDER BUREAU
EL CENIZO - A clash between a teen-ager and a U.S. Border Patrol agent has escalated into a battle of civil rights in this scrappy border town, the only city in the United States with Spanish as its official language.
The confrontation between Tim Barton, 18, and Border Patrol agent Roger Muscate started when Barton accused Muscate of hitting him with his patrol unit, and Muscate said Barton threatened him and threw rocks at his truck.
The incident highlights years of bad blood between the former colonia and the federal agency in charge of stemming illegal immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Whether Barton, the son of El Cenizo Mayor Flora Barton, is a criminal or a victim depends on who is telling the story. Either way, he has become a lightning rod in his hometown 15 miles outside Laredo.
Attorneys from Laredo and San Antonio are fighting for the dismissal of federal charges that could land him in jail for up to six years. Activists are raising money for the teen's defense. They claim agents overstepped their bounds and are now using the FBI to cover up civil rights abuses. And researchers in San Antonio and Austin are analyzing complaints and allegations collected from El Cenizo residents last year about abuses by Border Patrol agents.

TMS