Posts by alecholmesthedetective

30

New here, well, sort of...

by L3G in

been lurking here for years but finally decided to come out, at least partially.

of all things, the post of 'bats in the belfry' re: the supposed break up of gb member geoffrey jackson and his cute (ex-?

) fiancee a few days ago spurred me to do so.

New here.

by joe134cd in

hi everyone.i have been reading the blogs here for some time and have just decided to have an in put.

i am still a current member of the wts and am sort of planning to fade.

i realise 2 things (1)i have to build bridges in order to replace the ones that will crumble behind.

alecholmesthedetective

Welcome Joe! Enjoy your time here!

You're right, I don't think I knew half of the things you mentioned by the time I faded. Hang in there and watch out for the WT police--the elders! LOL

Alec

13

good news for the nations?! from 07/2013 WT -this is a good take!

by nowwhat? in

i fully realize the revisionist history about 1919 and it has been well documented.. but what i took out of the first article about the chain of events during the great tribulation makes sense and is encouraging.. i could never understand that after doing nothing for 2000 years jehovah a god of love would wipe out 8 billion men ,women and children without given a genuine chance.

so what happens, the u.n. goes after organized religion [do'nt ask me how] then jesus starts judging.. does'nt the bible say that all who call on the name of jehovah will be saved?

so people will have a clearcut path to choose, either put their trust in god or the nations.

alecholmesthedetective

Now go back to the July 15th Watchtower, p. 20 par. 2.

“That faithful slave is the channel through which Jesus is feeding his true followers in this time of the end. It is vital that we recognize the faithful slave. Our spiritual health and our relationship with God depend on this channel.—Matt. 4:4; John 17:3.”

So we don't need Jesus to get to the Father, (mind you, Jesus is not the mediator of the great crowd, only of the anointed) we need the faithful and discreet slave, the GB!

But what I found quite telling was page 13 pars. 14, 15:

“During the great tribulation, after all organized false religion has been destroyed, former adherents will run for cover but will find no secure place to hide. (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:15-17) Then, realizing that there is no escape from destruction, they will weep in desperation and ‘gnash their teeth’ in anger. As Jesus foretells in his prophecy about the great tribulation, at that dark moment, they “will beat themselves in lamentation.”—Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7.

“Fourth, pitched into the furnace. What will happen to the bundles of weeds? The angels “will pitch them into the fiery furnace.” (Matt. 13:42) That

means complete destruction. Hence, those former adherents of false religious organizations will be destroyed during the final part of the great tribulation, Armageddon.—Mal. 4:1.”

This is all in line with what they have been saying for years anyway.

"Only Christian witnesses of Jehovah who successfully pass this test will survive and come forth like fire-refined gold for God's use in his precious new order." Watchtower 1975 Dec 15 p.753 par.5

"And while now the witness yet includes the invitation to come to Jehovah's organization for salvation, the time no doubt will come when the message takes on a harder tone, like a "great war cry."" Watchtower 1981 Nov 15 p.21 "But Jehovah God has also provided his visible organization, his "faithful and discreet slave", made up of spirit-anointed ones, to help Christians in all nations to understand and apply properly the Bible in their lives. Unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do."Watchtower 1981 Nov 15 p.27

These are only some of the quotes one finds when researching what the org has to say on the matter. Be under no illusion--the WT believes only they will survive Armageddon.

Here is a link to a 10 minute recording of a 2007 talk by Bethel Speaker Ciro Aulicino that graphically describes the massacre that Witnesses look forward to.

And now, as for the question of whether I would go back to a god who will bring a catastrophe which will result in the eternal destruction of billions of "evildoers" that do not worship him, yet paradoxically lead to the resurrection of billons of evildoers that did not worship him, (the majority of both groups have never even heard of Jehovah, so what exactly is the difference between the two, what makes one group less deserving of life than the other? There is no overwhelming difference, other than WT's attempt to grow its own membership by using fear against people) my answer is in line with

Christopher Hitchens in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ2LehsA1dk&list=LLjZqicddQi7mh0Ilr7dAXTg

Alec

13

good news for the nations?! from 07/2013 WT -this is a good take!

by nowwhat? in

i fully realize the revisionist history about 1919 and it has been well documented.. but what i took out of the first article about the chain of events during the great tribulation makes sense and is encouraging.. i could never understand that after doing nothing for 2000 years jehovah a god of love would wipe out 8 billion men ,women and children without given a genuine chance.

so what happens, the u.n. goes after organized religion [do'nt ask me how] then jesus starts judging.. does'nt the bible say that all who call on the name of jehovah will be saved?

so people will have a clearcut path to choose, either put their trust in god or the nations.

alecholmesthedetective

Well, you know, Deuteronomy 18:20-22 says:

"20 However, the prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. 21 And in case you should say in your heart: 'How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not spoken?' 22 when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that is the word that Jehovah did not speak. With presumptuousness the prophet spoke it. You must not get frightened at him."

From this we see that it isn’t the ability to make a true prophecy that distinguishes a prophet of god, but the inability to make a false one. All the prophecies, without exception, must come true, not just some. The man, or group of men, laying claim to being god’s appointed channel cannot make mistakes, because god is not supposed to make mistakes. The television doesn’t suddenly start showing something which isn’t being broadcast at the point of origin, does it?

So this is how I realized the WT is a false prophet even though I still believed the bible. After that it was time to examine the bible itself.

But just another point before that. The WT says this on jw.org in answer to the question, "do you believe that you are the only people who will be saved?"

"No. Many millions who lived in centuries past and who weren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses will have an opportunity for salvation. The Bible explains that in God’s promised new world, “there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15) Additionally, many now living may yet begin to serve God, and they too will gain salvation. In any case, it’s not our job to judge who will or won’t be saved. That assignment rests squarely in Jesus’ hands.—John 5:22,27."

So, even though they say no, they contradict themselves by subsequently saying that those who will be saved include (1) those who were alive before Jehovah’s Witnesses existed, (2) JWs, (3) those who aren’t yet JWs, but who will become so before Armageddon. They lay out no hope for any who do not become JWs before Armageddon. When we look at the publications, we see why.

"Only Jehovah's Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the "great crowd," as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil." Watchtower 1989 Sep 1 p.19 "Similarly, Jehovah is using only one organization today to accomplish his will. To receive everlasting life in the earthly Paradise we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it." Watchtower 1983 Feb 15 p.12 "Is it presumptuous of Jehovah's Witnesses to point out that they alone have God's backing? Actually, no more so than when the Israelites in Egypt claimed to have God's backing in spite of the Egyptians' belief, or when the first-century Christians claimed to have God's backing to the exclusion of Jewish religionists." Watchtower 2001 Jun 1 p.16 "During the final period of the ancient world that perished in the Flood, Noah was a faithful preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) In these last days of the present system of things, Jehovahs people are making known Gods righteous standards and are declaring good news about the possibility of surviving into the new world. (2 Peter 3:9-13) Just as Noah and his God-fearing family were preserved in the ark, survival of individuals today depends on their faith and their loyal association with the earthly part of Jehovahs universal organization." Watchtower 2006 May 15 p.22 "Are You Prepared for Survival?"

"There are billions of people who do not know Jehovah. Many of them in ignorance practice things that God's Word shows to be wicked. If they persist in this course, they will be among those who perish during the great tribulation." Watchtower 1993 Oct 1 p.19

3

studying for the meeting tommorrow

by Kaltas1 in

jw
friends

and i got a comment for nearly every paragraph that immediately label me apostate.

so i guess thats what i am now lol.

gotta love the first sentence.

alecholmesthedetective

LOL I couldn't agree more.

Like, now I know TTATT it's all clear, but how couldn't I see that Paul didn't depend on or report to a governing body but was commissioned in the bible directly by Christ, he was sent on his missionary trips by the congregation in Antioch, and he even rebuked Peter, who was supposed to be a member of the so-called governing body. And that's just one of the points you've raised.

Alec

8

...Barbara Andersons Resignation from AAWA...

by OUTLAW in

good evening jwn... .

barbara is no longer vp at aawa..nor is she a member of aawa... she will not be discussing aawa on jwn,or on any other forum... barbara has friends at aawa and will help them out when she can... .

barbara has not given reasons to anybody for resigning... i believe she had too many irons in the fire... she had been expressing for weeks to friends that she was exhausted... from working on another project... everyone concerned will see the fruits of this project in the future... .

alecholmesthedetective

Thank you Outlaw and Barbara.

Alec

77

Distrust and paranoia among faders

by cedars in

jw
friends

hi guys.

i'm interested in knowing whether any other faders out there ever find themselves feeling a little paranoid about establishing contact with other faders or former jws, just in case the unthinkable happens and things turn sour.. personally, i'm now fairly comfortable with the idea that i will be disfellowshipped or disassociated within the next year or so.

i see it as inevitable, and an essential transition in order to do what i want to do with my life.

alecholmesthedetective

Exactly!

What happened to "continue to love your enemies and pray for those persecuting you"? And " do not be considering him as an enemy, but continue admonishing him as a brother"?

Alec

159

Why isn't anyone on JWN invited to the Facebook discussion by AAWA tonight?

by wha happened? in

i guess we're persona non grata now.

take a look at what i found on facebook:.

we're firing up the grill again!

alecholmesthedetective

Are you people kidding me?

We have a schism in what is probably the loosest confederation in history - JW apostates? How is that even possible?

One important life lesson that I learned while working in food service at a circuit assembly is that there's more than one way to core a head of lettuce.

JWN is one way to help disaffected JWs to find their path out, and AAWA is another.

Why not just pull the bunched-up panties out of your butts and live and let live, for pity's sake?

My thoughts exactly.

Alec

5

The Governing Body's Interpetation Of The Faithful Slave Parable Is A Prime Example Of "Wishful Thinking"

by frankiespeakin in

notice the stages of wishful thinking: dream stage, frustation stage, and finally the nightmare stage.. .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wishful_thinking.

wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs and making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to evidence, rationality, or reality.

alecholmesthedetective

Oh brothers we looooove that teaching!

Alec

23

WHY TRUST "THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE"

by Oubliette in

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alecholmesthedetective

Bravo!

Alec