Posts by TerryWalstrom

5

A Kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (stealing Christianity)

by TerryWalstrom in

jehovah's witnesses took mainstream christianity and replaced each part of it, one item, one term, one definition at a time, into its contrary.. holy spirit (capital letters) became a tholy spirit (lower case letters) = from a person into a mere forceful gesture.. cross became torture stake.

(eradication of the essential symbol of historical christianity).

soul went from ethereal spirit to a mere hunk of flesh and bone.. salvation by grace became earning your salvation one door-knock at a time.

TerryWalstrom

A wheel is round. It pretty much has to be. There is no Chinese wheel, Russian wheel, American wheel when it comes to roundness and utility.

There is no Arabian Physics or Iranian Physics, or North Korean Physics because atoms and molecules and quarks and such perfectly accord with the reality of how things operate in our Universe.

F always = M A (Force is equal to mass times acceleration) and E is always = to MC2 (energy in ergs is always equal to mass times the speed of light squared.)

There are no national variations or versions of Math, Science, Astronomy, Engineering, etc. for very good reasons.

All of the basic principles in the branches of knowledge correspond perfectly and demonstrably with provable useful and operational instances.
"Opinions" don't count. Peer review is a necessity.

What about RELIGION?

This is my whole point!

In Christianity alone, there are about 40 thousand denominational versions, interpretations, variations asserted to be TRUTH itself, at odds with the other opinions.

SEE THE DIFFERENCE? In Religion it is ALL OPINION!

Euclid's book on Geometry (THE ELEMENTS) was compiled in 300 B.C. It is still valid anyplace on Earth, any school, in any country. Yet, the New Testament, which came about 400 years later--is the most contested text in history as to versions and contentions and interpretations!

Science, Math, Geometry, Engineering, etc are based on Axioms, Principles, Operations which conform to reality in a way which DOESN't COMPORT with national or sectarian "opinions" in a contradictory way that Religion invites.

Shouldn't this be a CLUE?
Christians, Jews, Muslims have their own way of counting time--did you know that?

Do you know what year it is, for example, for a Jew right now? It is 5775.
For a Muslim? It is 1438.

Anything which invites OPINION and INTERPRETATION with equal standing does not match reality.

"Three plus three equals six."
"Not in my church! It equals seven."

That's religion.
For a couple of thousand years, Christian "math" tells us God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost = a TRI-(3-)NITY consisting of 1 God.

That's not a reality where you'd want your paycheck to come from :)

10

Jehovah's Witnesses: DO THEY FACE REALITY

by TerryWalstrom in

article

1.the organization itself denies access to reality and substitutes its own version, interpretations, and meanings.

a.only watchtower approved publications are allowed.

TerryWalstrom

Usually, at a funeral, I see my old "friends" from the local Kingdom Hall.
It sounds unkind of me to say the following and I assure you such is not my intention.
These old "faithful to Jah" friends look like the WALKING DEAD because all the LIFE has been denied them
and they are like people who stood at a bus stop waiting for a bus to Disneyland which NEVER CAME.

They are emptied out.
Unless they've got a certain amount of discretionary money available, they've been stuck like a tree stump in a razed wasteland.

THE DON'T DARE GIVE UP NOW-------at least that's the lie they've bought the mortgage on and keep holding.

3

Sometimes it is better to Not ask! (A cautionary tale)

by TerryWalstrom in

she is of the anointed.. sister richardson, this is my daughter, jenny.. sr: "hello, jenny.".

mom: jenny, sister richardson is 117 years old.

sr: "how old are you, jenny?".

TerryWalstrom

I wish there really was an OVERLAPPING GENERATION of folks who could straighten out the misinformation, disinformation, obsolete information, the quibble, the Ad-Libbing, and malfeasance of Watch Tower continuum.

This religion RE-INVENTS reality again and again and again.
Older J-Dubs KNOW THIS and have learned to do one of 2 things.
1. FADE
2. SHUT UP and grumble

16

10 Questions to annoy Jehovah's Witnesses

by TerryWalstrom in

we are sick with sin and we’re trying to get well, right?

2. when you hire a coach to get you to the playoffs and win the big game, yet you lose...lose...lose.... do you fire him, or, do you keep him on?

well, then, how do you explain fred franz being made president after the 1975 fiasco?.

TerryWalstrom

Had I been asked the questions, I too would have had a go. I'd have been proud of my reply, too.
If no other point can be raised here, I hope it is this: NOBODY asks important questions when they study with JW's because you have to KNOW deeply the history of the Watchtower to see it's patchwork continuum of Ad Libs.
In my book, I Wept by the Rivers of Babylon, I raised this issue. I studied "the Bible" with my best friend who was a freshly minted JW. I didn't know I was going to be indoctrinated. I didn't know I wasn't really even studying "the Bible". I raised common sense objections not knowing the smooth responses had been honed and perfected over the decades.
I had my own version of Annoying--but--not so annoying they couldn't be given answers.

What makes it easy and possible for J-Dubs to refute objections is the fact there is no REALITY to match.

Let's take a Logical and Rational look at something simple:
_________
A wheel is round. It pretty much has to be. There is no Chinese wheel, Russian wheel, American wheel when it comes to roundness and utility.
There is no Arabian Physics or Iranian Physics, or North Korean Physics because atoms and molecules and quarks and such perfectly accord with the reality of how things operate in our Universe. F always = M A (Force is equal to mass times acceleration) and E is always = to MC2 (energy in ergs is always equal to mass times the speed of light squared.)
There are no national variations or versions of Math, Science, Astronomy, Engineering, etc. for very good reasons.
All of these branches of knowledge correspond perfectly and demonstrably with provable useful and operational instances.
What about RELIGION?
This is my whole point! In Christianity alone, there are about 40 thousand versions, interpretations, variations asserted to be TRUTH itself, at odds with the other opinions.
SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
Science, Math, Geometry, Engineering, etc are based on Axioms, Principles, Operations which conform to reality in a way which DOESN't COMPORT with national or sectarian "opinions" in a contradictory way that Religion invites.
Shouldn't this be a CLUE?
Christians, Jews, Muslims have their own way of counting time--did you know that? Do you know what year it is, for example, for a Jew right now? It is 5775.
For a Muslim? It is 1438.

Baptists and Jehovah's Witnesses can look at Bible Chronology and come up with totally different worlds of belief and prediction based on the same Scriptures.
Now you know how all the clever JW ANSWERS are created and effective.

They are based on the world which does not, in fact, exist except in one's mind.

16

10 Questions to annoy Jehovah's Witnesses

by TerryWalstrom in

we are sick with sin and we’re trying to get well, right?

2. when you hire a coach to get you to the playoffs and win the big game, yet you lose...lose...lose.... do you fire him, or, do you keep him on?

well, then, how do you explain fred franz being made president after the 1975 fiasco?.

TerryWalstrom

In all honesty, the JW's who have arrived at my door in the last 5 years have all been so pathetically clueless, young, innocent, and Bambi-like, I haven't had the heart to gut them. I do explain to them, "I used to be exactly like you, doing what you do now. I was a Pioneer, I went to prison for my faith, and I discharged many responsibilities in my congregation."
At that point, IF they want to know more, they'll ask. If they don't (almost always) I say nothing more.
If they do ask, I keep it short and unemotional.
They beat a hasty retreat.
I had one lady walk over to me at Starbucks and hand me an invitation to the Memorial and I responded (as stated above) and she sat down and questioned me.
I answered her many questions in quite a lot of detail.

She was a Newbie and very zealous. Probably from China. She listened and sat there a few silent seconds after processing my responses. Then, she said, "So, you can still come back to the Kingdom Hall. It's not too late."

So, I gave up on rational discourse. I answered her by saying, "IT'S A RELIGIOUS CULT. Why would I ever want to get trapped inside a CULT?"
At that moment her eyes changed color. She couldn't get away fast enough!

None of my reasonable explanations, data, details, etc. made the slightest dent in her head. The final statement about it being a CULT is the only thing which penetrated.
Strange, huh?

Illustrating an important point: You Had To Have Been There

by TerryWalstrom in

she is of the anointed.. sister richardson, this is my daughter, jenny.. sr: "hello, jenny.".

mom: jenny, sister richardson is 117 years old.

sr: "how old are you, jenny?".

TerryWalstrom

(It is the evening at the Kingdom Hall and a JW mom and her JW daughter arrive before the meeting for fellowship.)

MOM: Jenny, come over here and meet Sister Richardson. She is of the anointed.

Sister Richardson, this is my daughter, Jenny.

SR: "Hello, Jenny."

JENNY: "Hello, Sister Richardson."

MOM: Jenny, Sister Richardson is 117 years old. She was born in 1900 when Pastor Russell was still alive!

SR: "How old are you, Jenny?"

JENNY: "I'm seventeen."

MOM: Jenny, is there anything you'd like to ask Sister Richardson?

JENNY: "Sure. My mom says not to worry about preparing for college because Armageddon is coming soon. But, the other girls at school make fun of me because they say I'll end up married to a janitor and poor if I stay a Jehovah's Witness. What do I tell them?"

SR: "Well, Jenny. I was fourteen years old in 1914 when Armageddon came and I was 25 when the ancient worthies returned from the dead and took up residence in Beth Sarim in San Diego. Exciting times!

I was 75 when the 1000 year reign began. If you just wait on Jehovah like I have you'll be just like me someday. I never went to college. I married a janitor and I've never been anywhere or done anything exciting. I've never worked outside the home because I was raising the kids. My husband died and I have no money to live on. My kids are disfellowshipped and they send me money, though. I don't even thank them because they are Apostates and I don't have anything to do with mentally diseased people!"

MOM: Um, uh--let's go now Jenny, the meeting is about to begin and leave Sister Richardson alone--we know she's been on medication and is probably tired and easily confused.

SR: "Bye Jenny. Stay faithful. Wait on Jehovah. I know I sure have."

3

Sometimes it is better to Not ask! (A cautionary tale)

by TerryWalstrom in

she is of the anointed.. sister richardson, this is my daughter, jenny.. sr: "hello, jenny.".

mom: jenny, sister richardson is 117 years old.

sr: "how old are you, jenny?".

TerryWalstrom

(It is the evening at the Kingdom Hall and a JW mom and her JW daughter arrive before the meeting for fellowship.)

MOM: Jenny, come over here and meet Sister Richardson. She is of the anointed.

Sister Richardson, this is my daughter, Jenny.

SR: "Hello, Jenny."

JENNY: "Hello, Sister Richardson."

MOM: Jenny, Sister Richardson is 117 years old. She was born in 1900 when Pastor Russell was still alive!

SR: "How old are you, Jenny?"

JENNY: "I'm seventeen."

MOM: Jenny, is there anything you'd like to ask Sister Richardson?

JENNY: "Sure. My mom says not to worry about preparing for college because Armageddon is coming soon. But, the other girls at school make fun of me because they say I'll end up married to a janitor and poor if I stay a Jehovah's Witness. What do I tell them?"

SR: "Well, Jenny. I was fourteen years old in 1914 when Armageddon came and I was 25 when the ancient worthies returned from the dead and took up residence in Beth Sarim in San Diego. Exciting times!

I was 75 when the 1000 year reign began. If you just wait on Jehovah like I have you'll be just like me someday. I never went to college. I married a janitor and I've never been anywhere or done anything exciting. I've never worked outside the home because I was raising the kids. My husband died and I have no money to live on. My kids are disfellowshipped and they send me money, though. I don't even thank them because they are Apostates and I don't have anything to do with mentally diseased people!"

MOM: Um, uh--let's go now Jenny, the meeting is about to begin and leave Sister Richardson alone--we know she's been on medication and is probably tired and easily confused.

SR: "Bye Jenny. Stay faithful. Wait on Jehovah. I know I sure have."

5

A Kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (stealing Christianity)

by TerryWalstrom in

jehovah's witnesses took mainstream christianity and replaced each part of it, one item, one term, one definition at a time, into its contrary.. holy spirit (capital letters) became a tholy spirit (lower case letters) = from a person into a mere forceful gesture.. cross became torture stake.

(eradication of the essential symbol of historical christianity).

soul went from ethereal spirit to a mere hunk of flesh and bone.. salvation by grace became earning your salvation one door-knock at a time.

TerryWalstrom

Jehovah's Witnesses took mainstream Christianity and replaced each part of it, one item, one term, one definition at a time, into its contrary.

Holy Spirit (capital letters) became a tholy spirit (lower case letters) = from a person into a mere forceful gesture.

Cross became torture stake. (Eradication of the essential symbol of historical Christianity)

Soul went from ethereal spirit to a mere hunk of flesh and bone.

Salvation by Grace became earning your salvation one door-knock at a time.

Jesus went from Divine equality with God to a kind of volunteer fireman caught in a burning building on Earth. He's a Hero but he's not God. (He is a....god.)

Communion went from a daily celebration of Jesus allowing humanity back into divine favor, replaced with a way too boring audience non-participation.

Pontius Pilate asked Jesus "What is truth?" and Jesus was silent, but you can't shut JW's. These folks manufacture THE Truth as their brand logo. Sole ownership!

It is as though two thousand years of Christian worship was a farting contest until the Pyramid charts and invisible Jesus rants were published by Charles Taze Russell.

Conscientious Objectors were transformed into people acting on orders from the GB (bypassing the internal conscience) and ending up with only the Objector portion.
Instead of availing the JW draft age member to Alternate Service to the Community during wartime---the GB pushed young men into wasting their time completely languishing in a local prison as token billboard martyrs for recruitment purposes.

Christians aren't what JW's are--they pretend to become more important than that: as Jehovah's Witnesses. They renounced the cross in 1930 and removed Jesus from their worship entirely by 1953.

Once upon a time, the Watchtower Society was NOT a RELIGION--because "RELIGION IS A SNARE AND A RACKET." But, when they were refused tax-free status unless they could prove themselves to be a religion, guess what happened?
Suddenly, the were the TRUE religion.

The Watchtower Society supports no CHURCH only (at first) ecclesia and (later) Kingdom Halls.

The work of C.T.Russell, J.F.Rutherford, Knorr, Franz, and all the rest has been a steady REPLACEMENT of Christianity with a simulacrum...a stand-in...an alternate decoy...a kind of Trojan Horse.

Rather than a shining light of truth it is a shadow government with insidious policies devoted to holding families hostage to passing whims, adjustments, fear-mongering and a rat wheel of endless repetitious motions which produces nothing tangible but exhaustion and depression.

16

10 Questions to annoy Jehovah's Witnesses

by TerryWalstrom in

we are sick with sin and we’re trying to get well, right?

2. when you hire a coach to get you to the playoffs and win the big game, yet you lose...lose...lose.... do you fire him, or, do you keep him on?

well, then, how do you explain fred franz being made president after the 1975 fiasco?.

TerryWalstrom

1. Why wouldn’t Christians think of their congregation as a kind of hospital? We are sick with sin and we’re trying to get well, right? What hospital kicks the sick ones out the door and keeps the healthy ones?

2. When you hire a coach to get you to the playoffs and win the big game, yet you lose...lose...lose.... do you FIRE him, or, do you keep him on? Well, then, how do you explain Fred Franz being made PRESIDENT after the 1975 fiasco?

3. Knowledge about life, medicine, science, astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry & history is greater and more abundant today than ever before. If you ignore higher education now--who is going to be the most clueless jackass in the room in the years to come?

4. In a dark room, you light a candle. If it is still too dark to see clearly—do you light a new candle and blow out the old one? Then, try again. Explain this New Light crap once more.

5. Humility consists of open willingness to admit mistakes and explain your failures with a promise NEVER to do it again. Arrogance, on the other hand, says this:

"At times explanations given by Jehovah’s visible organization have shown adjustments, seemingly to previous points of view. But this has not actually been the case."

6. A Faithful Servant does not tell guests what they should eat. A Wise Servant would not dare cry, “Dinner is being served” while the guests just sit and wait and wait--unless he needed to have his crazy ass fired!

7. Peter denied Christ 3 separate times out of self-regard in the face of danger. Afterward, Jesus gave him the keys to the Kingdom Tell me again how any disfellowshipped person is WORSE?

8. Willingness to die for a belief seems to be the delight of terrorists and every other radical fanatic. Why do Christians find it heroic too?

9. Okay, you're telling me what "this generation" REALLY MEANS now.....so....um...what the hell was all that other crap YOU SAID IT MEANT?

10. My mother suffered the pangs of birth so I could have a life. She fed me, changed my diapers, held me, dried my tears, taught me right from wrong and was always there for me. What kind of low-life ingrate will it make me IF I turn my back on her now because she won't quit smoking….and you just DISFELLOWSHIPPED HER!!

Interior Governing Body: We now take you to the "DUH" room...

by TerryWalstrom in

imagine a large open field filled with old dudes wearing headphones attached to metal detectors searching for.

anything of value in the middle of nowhere .

imagine these old dudes are the governing body of jehovah's witnesses .

TerryWalstrom

Imagine a large open field filled with old dudes wearing headphones attached to metal detectors searching for

anything of value in the middle of nowhere . . . Imagine these old dudes are THE GOVERNING BODY of Jehovah's Witnesses . . .

One them gets a "bloop" or "bleep" signal

and an alarm cry goes up!

"HERE IT IS! HERE IT IS! NEW LIGHT! NEW LIGHT!"

A phone call is placed to Bethel Headquarters the Duh! Department gets writers going crafting a TRUTH for immediate release!

Bulletin: 1878 is the rapture! Bulletin: 1925 is the resurrection!

Bulletin: 1914 is Armageddon! Bulletin: Romans 13 is the opposite to what it says

Bulletin: 1975 is the End of 6,000 years of human existence!

But wait!

Stop the presses!

The old dude in the bermuda shorts wearing black socks with dress shoes has bent over and dug up something and examined it . . .

Ulp! Turns out, what it really has been discovered is trash, junk---oops! We mean OLD LIGHT!

HEY--WHAT'S GOING ON?

"Jehovah is the Grand identifier of his true messengers. He identifies them by making the messages he delivers through them come true. Jehovah is also the Great Exposer of false messengers." Watchtower 1997 May 1 p.8