Posts by EdenOne

The only "reform" that this organization will ever have will be driven from the top hats - never will a member of the "rank & file", solo or in tandem with others, be of any consequence in producing a true reform. So, for anyone still "in" like me, my advice is: abandon all hope that you may have any impact whatsoever in the changing of course of the organizational chariot. Never will you be called by the GB to inquiry about your ideas. You're nothing but expandable sheep meat, a tiny number in an ocean of numbers. Shut up and listen or be crushed, tossed out and shunned. Period. At best, you may get some of your closest friends and family to awake to the TATT. That's realistically all you can do.

It's way more effective what "apostates" and "closet apostates" do in forums and websites, exposing the WTS, its deviation from Christianity and its blatantly false and contrived doctrines, than any attempts to change coming from within. Look at what happened to Ray Franz, Edward Dunlap and others - and they were part of the "top hats".

Eden

62

Simon, please update my profile picture!

by will-be-apostate in

i've read on another thread you need to delete the cached file of the profile picture so that it can be updated by the gravatar user.

i created a gravatar account, added the email address i use on here and uploaded the an image, but nothing happens.

this was 3 days ago.. could you please solve this problem?.

EdenOne

Just before Focus got banned by Simon, I got a strange PM from him.

He wanted to know the content of one of my posts that got deleted in another thread. Then he went on describing what he was about to do to another forum member that clashed with him [Caedes], and insinuated that, because of the resemblance of avatars, I might be Caedes in a different clothing. It was the second time he has threatened me with interference in my private life.

I frankly found that message pretty disturbing, and replied asked him to abandon the idea of stepping into the realm of someone's life outside of this forum, just to vindicate his authorship claims. I don't know if he ever got that reply before he was deleted. No matter how great his contribution for the awakening of those inside the WTS with his extensive research, his personallity is a problem and such a course of action is outright reckless and dangerous, and cannot be tolerated. I will miss Focus on this forum for his wealth of information, but his condescending tone clearly has rubbed me in the wrong way.

Eden

39

New Article in JW.ORG "Should Christians Drink Tea?"

by EdenOne in

should christians drink tea?.

would you like a cup of tea?.

this seemingly innocent question has been asked countless times, and is regarded as a gesture of courtesy and hospitability in many parts of the world, in both eastern and western culture.

EdenOne

Let's not forget the connection of tea with the obscure cult of teaism ...

Teaism => Taoism .... no proof whatsoever offered to backup such an omnious claim. Plus, "teaism" is an invention :P Yet, when you read it in the middle of the flow, one just tend to accept it without much difficulty.

Eden

39

New Article in JW.ORG "Should Christians Drink Tea?"

by EdenOne in

should christians drink tea?.

would you like a cup of tea?.

this seemingly innocent question has been asked countless times, and is regarded as a gesture of courtesy and hospitability in many parts of the world, in both eastern and western culture.

EdenOne

I wonder how many devout JW's have by now already trashed their teas after due prayer ...

I'm surprised you even considered for a moment it was genuine... lol ... it's a parody.

Now, more seriously. The little exercise above took me less than one hour to write; it goes to show that the Bible can be used to justify even the most absurd doctrine / practice, even deeming someone worthy of 'spiritual stoning' if not compliant with the "new light". Scary, when you think of it. It has been done.

Eden

39

New Article in JW.ORG "Should Christians Drink Tea?"

by EdenOne in

should christians drink tea?.

would you like a cup of tea?.

this seemingly innocent question has been asked countless times, and is regarded as a gesture of courtesy and hospitability in many parts of the world, in both eastern and western culture.

EdenOne

Should Christians Drink Tea?

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

This seemingly innocent question has been asked countless times, and is regarded as a gesture of courtesy and hospitability in many parts of the world, in both eastern and western culture. Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. It has originated in China as a medicinal drink, its origins long lost in the sands of time. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced this beverage to Europeans during the 16 th century, and one century later it would become widely popular in England. It has been said that tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world, after water.

All genuine Christians who take interest in God’s Word, the Bible, won’t fail to notice that, unlike other beverages, such as water, wine or even beer, there’s no mention in the Bible of a drink produced from boiling leaves in water. Certainly, the consumption of a tea-like beverage isn’t mentioned as a habit of the faithful patriarchs, the Israelites, nor among the early Christian congregation. The fact that this beverage originated from a culture that is rife with superstition and idolatry has raised some concern among genuine Christians who care deeply about ‘presenting their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God’. (Romans 12:1) Today, genuine Christians refuse to condone with any behavior just because it may be popular with their local culture. Instead, they’re very interested in learning Jehovah’s point of view. Indeed, Paul advised us to “make sure of all things” – and “all things” encompass the seemingly big things, but also the seemingly small things. After all, Jesus taught that “the person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and the person unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Luke 16:10

The shady origins of tea

In 1905, Wenceslau de Moraes, a Portuguese diplomat in Asia, wrote in his book “The Cult of Tea”: “According to tradition … Darumá, the great Indian apostle of Buddhism, came to China on the 6 th century AD and preached …” He gave up earthly comforts and spent his life on his knees over rocky soil, absorbed into mystical meditations, without even the simple luxury of sleep. “One night, his eyelids closed with fatigue, and he only woke up in the morning. Exasperated for his weakness, [Darumá] asked for a blade and cut off his own eyelids and threw them into the ground … by miracle, the eyelids grew roots, and a gracious shrub, never seen before, that quickly thrived, and whose leafs, when treated and infused in boiling water became a most precious medicine against somnolence and a suitable remedy for the fatigue of vigils. Thus the tea was created.”

In the 16 th century, tea became the centerpiece of an obscure cult in Japan, known as Teaism. The philosophy behind this cult has been described as “the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. [teaism] inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect …” Tea was likely the beverage of choice for the fellowship of teaists, possibly with hallucinogenic properties. Teaism later evolved into modern-day Taoism.

Implications for Christians

As noted above, the appearance of the beverage is intimately connected with false religion and mysticism. “But that was in a distant past”, someone may argue. “Why should it disturb my conscience in this day and time? I don’t drink that beverage with a religious or mystic intention behind it.”

While at first glance that may seem like a sensible reasoning, we must remember that Satan is a master of deception. He enjoys deceiving humans, especially God’s chosen ones, so that he can mock Jehovah God and his sovereignty. (Proverbs 27:11; Revelation 12:10) Satan would certainly take delight that we should ‘deceive ourselves with false reasoning’. (James 1:22) One such false reasoning is that it doesn’t matter what the origins of a given habit are, as long as the contemporary use doesn’t involve a religious or mystic intention. True, many people may not consciously view drinking tea as a religious or superstitious gesture. Yet Paul gave this stern warning: “Whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else,” wrote Paul, “do all things for God’s glory.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) What ‘glory’ would there be for the holy God if we would drink something made unholy – indeed filthy – for its pagan and spiritualistic roots? Wouldn’t we be bringing reproach to Jehovah’s holy name? Jehovah is perfect in a superlative degree; the cult of the “Imperfect” amounts to worship of the creature that is the exact opposite of God: Satan, the devil.

Genuine Christians must remember that Jehovah is the “ancient of days”. (Daniel 7:9, 13) He was present and watching when the first tea was produced. And He knows exactly what was involved in its origin, and unquestionably He felt offended by it, just as He felt offended when the apostate Israelites worshipped phallus-shaped images right under his nose. (Ezekiel 8:17) Likewise, the vapor stemming from each teapot, instead of being a “pleasing aroma” of pure worship to Jehovah, undoubtly becomes like an offensive smell of excrement, because of its connections with idolatry. – Numbers 28:2; Deuteronomy 29:17 [see note]

Christians should consider with prayer the implications of drinking tea in their personal relationship with Jehovah. Some in the congregation of Corinth seemed to think that there was nothing wrong in eating meat that was sacrificed in a pagan altar, reasoning that, since idols were a non-reality, therefore, the meat offered to them had no religious meaning, and therefore, was innocuous. However, Paul condemned that reasoning in no uncertain terms: “Are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers with the altar? What, then, am I saying? That what is sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No; but I say that what the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers with the demons. You cannot be drinking the cup of Jehovah and the cup of demons; you cannot be partaking of “the table of Jehovah” and the table of demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:18-21) Indeed, if a beverage has idolatry and spiritism in its inception, then indeed such drink is “the cup of demons”! Do we want to become ‘sharers with demons’ by drinking tea? Any baptized Jehovah’s Witness who deliberately and unrepentantly choose to be a ‘sharer of demons’, is taking the side of God’s enemies and becomes himself a spiritual adulterer, an enemy of God, and must be disfellowshipped from the Christian congregation. - James 4:4

This is certainly not a matter for personal decision based on a trained Christian conscience. There is much more involved than simply considering if a certain habit may become a cause for stumbling of others. There are clear Bible principles involved, and they involve our perspective of eternal life in the future! Every devout Christian should ‘make sure of all things’, and this includes apparently minor things as drinking an infusion of herbs in boling water. (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Is it pleasing to God to fuse His pure worship with practices that are, at their origin, tainted with false, satanic religion? Certainly not!

What if some Christians have been accostumed to drink tea as part of their upbringging or cultural influence and find it difficult to give up such a filthy, self-abusive habit? They must ponder on the words of Jesus, who said: “If your eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter one-eyed into life than to be thrown with two eyes into the fiery Gehenna.” (Matthew 18:8, 9) If something as precious as an eye should be done away with if it would hinder a disciple’s path of righteousness, what more can be said of a filthy habit of consuming a tea beverage! “Let no man deprive you from the prize”, warned the apostle Paul. (Colossians 2:18) Those who have been addicted to the consumption of tea can find suitable replacements in other beverages that the Bible speaks of in a favorable light, such as wine. – Psalm 104:15

If we want to keep ourselves in God’s love, we must “touch nothing unclean”. (Isaiah 52:11) It may take considerable effort to abandon past wrong conduct and overcome a guilty conscience, but the effort will pay off. Paul wrote: “Or do you not know that unrighteous people will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Do not be misled. Those who are sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who submit to homosexual acts, men who practice homosexuality … will not inherit God’s Kingdom. And yet that is what some of you were. But you have been washed clean; you have been sanctified” (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10) Those who have sinned in the past by drinking tea should take comfort, because even great sins such as male homosexuality and idolatry may be overcome and washed clean. The same principle is valid for tea drinking. Jehovah and his Son Christ take interest in our spiritual well-being and they will generously provide Holy Spirit to strengthen those genuine disciples who seek to acquire the “new personality”. May we be determined to reject evil, and ‘keep abstaining from’ tea. - Acts 15:29

47

A precious gift to all from Jehovah (channelled via Focus)

by Focus in

jw
friends

some souls here may feel i was a little harsh.

if so, i am deeply sorry.

i was abused by a handful right from the start, presumably on the basis of the avatar picture (and 2001 vintage).. when visiting dubland, i often find that others start fights with me - for whatever reason, and i provide quite a supply of them - and when it doesn't quite go the way they expected, they cry persecution.

EdenOne

Why was my comment removed ...?

Eden

47

BOE 2014-07-13 Appointment and deletion of elders and ministerial servants

by WatchTower87 in

2014-07-13 appointment and deletion of elders and ministerial servantsto all bodies of elders.

the link removed by request is also available at the forms link.

the congregation secretary should arrange for this letter to be retained in the congregation permanent file of policy letters.

EdenOne

The only reason is ... if later it is found that there are indeed hideous skeletons hidden in the closet that come to light, then the person can be deleted based, not on the past sin per se, but on the omission / lie / faillure to disclose.

This is the same reason behind the apparently moronic question found on the immigration form for foreigners visiting the US: "Are you a member of, or are you in connection with, a terrorist person or group?" Sounds idiotic, but it's there for a legal reason.

Eden

35

Watchtower Approved Blood Transfusions

by Lee Elder in

we have just published a new article at ajwrb entitled:.

watchtower approved blood transfusions.

http://ajwrb.org/watchtower-approved-blood-transfusions.

EdenOne

marked. thank you.

Eden

152

Something Big is Coming...

by notsurewheretogo in

the annual meeting of the governing body of jehovah's witnesses will be in october 2014.. .. in november 2013, just after the last one they published this now famous statement in the 15th of november 2013 watchtower page 16 paragraph 17 says:.

"at that time, the lifesaving direction that we receive from jehovahs organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint.

all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.".

EdenOne

I agree that the GB has been grooming the flock to accept changes without questioning the leadership.

a) Those changes may seen illogical from a human point of view (read: they are huge doctrinal / organizational changes, that challenge the flock's perception that this is Jehovah's organization.)

b) The Organization is, for all ends, equal to Jehovah. If you're ready to obey God without hesitation or questioning, do the same towards his Organization, because they are "one", just as Christ and the Father are "one".

c) Recent "new light" on the meaning of "Generation" (overlapping generations of anointed christians); faithful and discreet slave (not anymore the anointed class, now it's solely the Governing Body, appointed by Christ in 1919); the exclusion of Russell from any connection with the appointment of the slave (by moving the appointment of the 'slave' to a date after the death of Russell, they managed to exclude Russell and his teachings without having to renegate him - so he can still be honored and venerated, but his fundamental teachings can now be abandoned because he was never part of the 'slave'.); The new understanding of the "3rd heaven" (the GB now concedes that there is a paradise in the spiritual domain, after all).

d) The re-branding of the Watchtower into "JW.ORG"

e) The promotion of the jw.org website as the ultimate means of teaching people world-wide, and drastic slow down in the printing of literature; downsizing of branch offices and printing facilities and staff.

f) Erasure of staff on the payroll: Bethelites and District Overseers. Vast empowerment of Circuit Overseers, while at the same time reducing liability exposure from Bethel.

g) Emphasis on "new" methods of evangelizing (literature carts, street stores, trucks, book fairs, website, e-publications), and less investment on door-to-door evangelizing.

All these recent changes are a strong 'composite sign' (see what I did there? ) that major changes are coming. They won't be pretty for the old-timers and the die-hards.

Eden