Posts by VM44

12

When 'this' means 'that', 'you' means 'someone else' and 'shortly' means 'so far in the future you will be long buried and forgotten'

by JWB in

when 'this' means 'that', 'you' means 'someone else' and 'shortly' means 'so far in the future you will be long buried and forgotten'.

"so he groaned deeply with his spirit, and said: 'why does this generation seek a sign?

truly i say, no sign will be given to this generation.

VM44

Does anyone care if anyone from a thousand years ago is resurrected?

No one remembers them as an individual. They have long ago been forgotten.

Depressing!

27

July 15th WT - WT Society Promotes " Freedom " by using Fear & Guilt

by flipper in

jw
friends

of course, freedom means a lot of different things to many different people.

however- to the wt society it means controlling it's jw members through fear and guilt to promote a " conditional " freedom - which turns out to not be freedom at all - just a manipulated socially restricted condition in which jehovah's witnesses are caged animals waiting for the next bit of " spiritual " food to be thrown to them by wt articles like this.. at the start of this article on pg.

7 in paragraph 1 it states that due to lawlessness, none of us have freedom to roam around at night, there are alarms, security systems - so the wt society infers we are all living in fear.

VM44

"While engaging in conversation at the Kingdom Hall, do you keep a firm grip on your belongings lest they disappear ? "

Wasn't there a significant theft problem at Bethel with personal items disappearing?

42

Avoid Testing God in Your Heart - transcript of talk from District Convention 2012

by wannabefree in

for those who don't care to listen to the talk but would like to know what was said ... here ya go .... .

avoid testing god in your heart.

imagine the ancient israelites as they were slaves in egypt, under an oppressive pharaoh.. god brought nine plagues on egypt and then announced a tenth; the firstborn would be struck down.. can you imagine the cry that went out in egypt when the firstborn died, including pharaoh's own son?.

VM44

The following was published in The Watchtower back in 1958:

"It is important, then, that you "keep testing whether you are in the faith," as Paul declared. Keep checking to see whether the things you believe are in keeping with God's Word. But the question is, Are you willing to put your religion through such a test? There is nothing to fear, because if you have the right religion you can only be reassured by the examination. And if what you believe is not in keeping with the Bible, then you should welcome the truth, because it leads to light and life." Watchtower 1958 May 1 p.261 Is Your Religion the Right One?

42

Avoid Testing God in Your Heart - transcript of talk from District Convention 2012

by wannabefree in

for those who don't care to listen to the talk but would like to know what was said ... here ya go .... .

avoid testing god in your heart.

imagine the ancient israelites as they were slaves in egypt, under an oppressive pharaoh.. god brought nine plagues on egypt and then announced a tenth; the firstborn would be struck down.. can you imagine the cry that went out in egypt when the firstborn died, including pharaoh's own son?.

VM44

"Could we be testing God in our heart by doubting His Organization's view on this matter?"

There is a hidden assumpting made in that question.

It is that God's view is the same as that of "His Organization"

Another assumption is that "The Watchtower" is God's Organization.

The Watchtower has stated often that they are not inspired by God, and yet in this talk it is stated that questioning The Watchtower (or God's Oranization) is the same as questioning God!

Lots of Fuzzy Thinking in this talk!

The speaker should be reminded of 1 John 4:1, " Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. "

Any organization that claims to be God's organization must be continually tested in order "to see whether they are from God."

11

"What is the difference between a religion and a cult?" BBC Radio4/Today

by Chariklo in

alert for those in the uk.. bbc radio 4 programme today anounced at 7 am that they are going to include an item on "what is the difference between a religion and a cult.. i don't know which part of the programme, and it doesn't seem to mention it on the programme's website.

but, you can usually pick up replays on iplayer and the programme's podcasts etc..

VM44

Cults: 'Size doesn't matter'

BBC Radio 4, Today:Saturday 7th July, 0816 AM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9735000/9735902.stm

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have separated, possibly over Tom Cruise's devotion to the controversial Church of Scientology and his desire for his daughter Suri to be heavily involved. The story has brought the scientologist to the fore once again, but has the religion been around long enough for us to take it seriously and stop calling it a cult?

Writer and researcher on new religions, Dr David Barrett told the Today programme that a cult is usually seen as "a personality-driven group of people" where its believers are "devoted to a guru-figure".

Founder and spokesperson of the Cult Information Centre, Ian Howarth, explained that when it comes to defining cults, "size doesn't matter" and those who are recruited "tend to be upwardly mobile, intelligent, well- educated and of all ages". He added that the methods of recruitment employed by these groups must be scrutinised because "the basic human right to free choice is removed".

Download:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/zsz8yh

29

When did the religion become a cult?

by Hermano in

am i wrong in believing it was rutherford who took the religion from strange to cult?

under russell they had some strange beliefs but strange beliefs don't make a cult.

wasn't it rutherford who established and reinforced the hierarchichal structure and demanded absolute loyalty?.

VM44

The Watchtower will always be a cult no matter how much they protest.

31

DC Ramblings: A non-comprehensive review of some lowlights

by sir82 in

jw
friends

recently attended the dc.

there have been mny threads already on this, but here are some random thoughts giving my take on what i saw & heard.... .

-- attendance was about the same as last year, averaging around 8000 per session.

VM44

How many members of the GB can read either Hebrew or Greek?

The answer to that question also answers the question as to why The Watchtower feels threatened by those who do study those languages.

31

DC Ramblings: A non-comprehensive review of some lowlights

by sir82 in

jw
friends

recently attended the dc.

there have been mny threads already on this, but here are some random thoughts giving my take on what i saw & heard.... .

-- attendance was about the same as last year, averaging around 8000 per session.

VM44

"Jehovah provides all the spiritual food that is needed - but some feel it is not enough. Some are studying the original Hebrew and Greek that the Bible was written in, as if to check the accuracy of the New World Translation, then discussing their findings in private groups and online. You should read the foreward to the New World Translation. The New World Translation Committee had Jehovah's backing, these other groups do not."

It appears that The Watchtower feels threatened by people studying the original Hebrew and Greek languages.

Then why did The Watchtower publish "The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures" in 1969 and 1985 if they didn't want people reading the Bible in the original languages?

"The New World Translation Committee had Jehovah's backing, these other groups do not."

William Osbeck-The CO that helped me get out of the borg.

by Sadie5 in

jw
friends

after reading cruzenheart's post on the letter about her father, and the treatment he received from the co, william osbeck, and the elders of his congregation, it brought back my own memories of this particular co and his treatment of people.

it was 1995 and one of the hardest years of my life.

in february of that year, i learned i was pregnant with our fifth child.

VM44

"Did this CO Bill Osbeck originate from Sacramento, California? Did he at one time work as a teacher?"

Could this be the person?

OSBECK, WILLIAM OSCAR (Age 77)

Possible Employment / Business Associations:
WILLIAM O OSBECK EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, INC

City, State
DENTON, TX
MIAMI, FL
CROSSROADS, TX
RICHARDSON, TX
TULSA, OK
SPRINGFIELD, MO
SACRAMENTO, CAWALNUT CREEK, CA

14

Watchtower Society Fate?

by mind blown in

from what i'm seeing on other sites many are now coming out of the woodwork to file charges against the wts.. in all reality with the conti case payout, could the wts and individual congregations (also having to pay) really sustain these blows?

and if so how would this play out?

they're not as rich as rc religion.

VM44

We are now seeing the real reason why The Watchtower discontinued the Book Study being held in people's homes!