Posts by Roddy

25

Greg Stafford --- Update

by ExpandedMind in

jw
friends

good morning!

i found this post on channel c and thought i'd share it with those of you who are interested.

happy new year to all of you!

I feel deeply for Mr Stafford. I feel I'm walking in his path although he is miles ahead of me. As I study independently from, and objectively of, the WT, it is not a coincidence that fewer and fewer intellectuals remain in the JW camp. It is as if the more they know, the worse it becomes. They are either compelled to leave or forced to. With Mr Stafford's situation, I am convinced more than ever before that the JWs have no intelligentsia at all!!!

The brain drain among the JWs and in the WTS is not only real but practiced.

If there are any even pretending scholar status in the WTS, they have to be viewed with intense suspicion internally and they must be overruled by the whim of the GB and other political powers that be.

13

New JW sex abuse lawsuit

by Nathan Natas in

http://www.globe.com/dailyglobe2/001/metro/suit_charges_church_coverup+.shtml

suit charges church coverup.

jehovah's witness group is blamed in abuse of girl.

Roddy

>>Meanwhile, according to the lawsuit, the local Jehovah's Witnesses elders, including Broadard's father, decided only to ''reprove'' him. He kept his title and responsibilities within the church, the lawsuit charges.

And when the girl's mother told church leaders about the abuse, they told her she should not talk about it. The church elders told her they would handle the matter and urged her to ''pray more about the situation,'' the lawsuit charges.

The girl was committed to psychiatric institutions after she was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the abuse, Born said. ''This is almost like a fresh wound,'' he said. ''The effect of it, the trauma, has been dramatic.''<<

This makes me angry and gives me great sadness.

While they throw stones at other religions, why don't we see this printed in the WTS magazines?

11

Burn baby...BURN

by Gig in

jw
friends

tonight is the night...i'm going to have myself a nice watchtower bonfire.

every wts pub i own is going up in smoke...one by pathetic one.

the stack of mags, the books...including my two nwts.

Roddy

>>Tonight is the night...I'm going to have myself a nice Watchtower bonfire. Every WTS pub I own is going up in smoke...one by pathetic one. The stack of mags, the books...including my two NWTs. The end is HERE, a mini WT Armageddon. yes...Yes...YES! <<

Don't burn them. Keep them as hard proof of their old light/new light/back to old light changes. Or sell them on eBay or to WT collectors.

28

Just Had My Elder Visit

by Undecided in

jw
friends

i just got through talking to a couple of elders, they both had moved here from other places, one from fla and one from wis. i can't remember their names.

they said the society had instructed them to call on all inactive ones.. they were nice to me, but had the same old answers that i used to present.

i brought up a lot of things for them to think about, but their minds have been carefully programed so it didn't register.

Roddy

Musky >>I assume the elders use the latest in technology when finding people. I once asked if I could transfer my own records to my new hall.<<

If so, then would the elders will be SO STUPID to foot the bill for these technological services? I doubt it. Will this come out of the congregation's general funds? Why not? If so, will the congregation be informed? Will the congregation know what these expenses are and why they were used? Or will it be sneaked through without mention?

If the elders would use technology, you had better believe that the WTS will not pay for the elders to do it from WTS money. And you better believe that the WTS will be watching the congregation's donations for any significant or protracted drop in the usual amount sent in.

45

Jesus Is God (John 1:1)

by JesusISJehovah in

according to john 1:1, jesus is god.

how do jehovah's witnesses rationalize that blatant statement of jesus' deity?

Roddy

JesusIsJehovah >>In the OT, God says his name is "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). <<

Sorry but I don't buy it. Nowhere in the OT do we see anybody refering to God as "I AM". God was referred by His name.

>>It changes. In the OT, he wanted the Jews to refer to him as I AM, and they spoke Yiddish. We speak English, and because he hasn't designated to us what he wants to be called in English, we revert to the literal translation of the greek (Lord, God etc) or, in the case of the JW's, the Yiddish Jehovah.<<

Sorry but I don't buy that either.

I keep an open mind about things, but I think that Jesus and Jehovah are separate individuals. It really does take a lot of reaching to try to make the case that Jesus and Jehovah are the same person. The Jews were very monotheistic as per Deut 6:4. And Jesus didn't cast any of that aside at Mark 12:28. If he did, it would have not gone unnoticed and I would have expected to see two things: 1) A great deal of writing regarding the debate and discussion among the Jews on the new revelation that Jesus and Jehovah are the same person. 2) A great deal of writing regarding the debate and discussion the followers of Jesus would of necessity be having with the Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles they were converting. All this is missing in the Scriptures.

Jehovah and Jesus are separate and unequal persons. Jehovah is God and Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

13

Blessings for Loyalty

by JH in

jw
friends

did you believe that you would be blessed by god by doing more in the organization?

did you see a relationship between being blessed by god and being active in the organization?

Roddy

Of course. It was drummed into our dear little ears in every magazine, book, meeting, field service, circuit overseer visit, assembly, funeral talk, wedding talk, Memorial, family study, student talk, and everywhere else.

"Are you doing enough for Jehovah?"

"What prevents you from pioneering?"

"Are you reaching out for greater privilages?"

"Are you going out in service?"

"Did you hand in your field service report for the month?"

The more more more you did the happier happier happier we're supposed to feel. And if you didn't, then something is wrong with you. You're blocking Jehovah's spirit. You have a bad attitude somewhere or you are still not doing enough.

You're happy because Jehovah is blessing you.

If you're sad that's because you are not serving Jehovah, you're not studying, you're not whole-souled - it's all your fault! Have the elders work with you. Don't give up. Don't be discouraged. And if you are discouraged, that's your doing, not ours; we're only trying to help.

But it gets to the point after you've been whipped for the umpteenth time when you stop to ask, "So when is this constant badgering going to end? Enough already! Is this REALLY what God requires of us?"

Edited by - Roddy on 30 December 2002 13:14:22

16

Question

by Mantis in

hi, i've been reading this site for quite a while now.

i've read the gentile times reconsidered book and found it very interesting.

i've tried to verify everything in that book and found it to be accurate.

Roddy

Mulan >>Also, there are other religions preaching a Kingdom message. We were always told we were the only ones who didn't believe the Trinity, Hellfire, didn't go to war, the onlyones who used God's name, Jehovah, and the only ones who preached the Kingdom. You will learn that there are others. We definitely were NOT the only ones.<<

There is such an information Iron Curtin it is paranoid. You have to eat everything the WTS says without independant verification or external information. It has been a shock to me that our teachings are not exclusive. I found out that even 1914 is not exclusive because there are many Russellite organizations out there.

Does anyone know of a website that pretty much gives a highlight and summary of what the different religions teach?

24

Nails in The WT Coffin

by hillbilly in

jw
friends

nails in the wt coffin-- what kind of nails?

a while back i posted my opinion that the wt's demise would come at the hand of the "home grown" legal department.

in my scenario i see the lawyers flitering cash out and creating legal manuvers to protect the players ( like any other corporate "legal theft").

Roddy

Hillbilly >>Whats the old saying- somthing about "enough rope and you will hang yourself"? The "Blessing" of The WT CD will be a curse. Many of the articulate, informed comments we find on this ( and other) boards have been formed using the CD . I really doubt that many would have the patience to do the reasearch and comparisons working strictly in a paper format. <<

There is one flaw in your argument. Since the WTS holds the information, then the WTS can make quiet edits to the information. I'm sure even the original 1993 WT CD had damning information quietly altered or removed. Even bound volumes are affected.

The only way to catch the WTS, and to catch them making unannounced changes to their literature, is to have the original published magazines and books, and have all that compared to the bound volumes and WT CDs. Where the comparisons fail that is where the WTS will look double bad: Not only are they caught with the damning information but they are caught in secret tampering of the evidence to avoid being linked with the damning information.

It will take a lot of people a lot of time going over a lot of paper and data but, if this is carefully done, then the WTS will surely be hung by it as you say.

55

Which religion are you?

by Aztec in

i think this is an interesting test.. http://www.selectsmart.com/religion/.

i was not at all surprised by my results!

my most compatible match was secular humanist and my least compatible....drumroll please...jehovah's witnesses..... ~aztec

Roddy

1.	Orthodox Judaism (100%)

2. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (96%) 3. Islam (89%) 4. Sikhism (88%) 5. Jehovah's Witness (88%)6. Reform Judaism (77%) 7. Bah' Faith (72%)8. Jainism (72%) 9. Hinduism (68%) 10. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (64%) 11. Seventh Day Adventist (58%) 12. Orthodox Quaker (55%) 13. Eastern Orthodox (55%) 14. Roman Catholic (55%) 15. Liberal Quakers (49%) 16. Mahayana Buddhism (49%) 17. Neo-Pagan (45%) 18. Unitarian Universalism (44%) 19. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (39%) 20. Theravada Buddhism (36%) 21. New Age (31%) 22. Scientology (29%) 23. New Thought (24%) 24. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (22%) 25. Secular Humanism (19%) 26. Nontheist (17%) 27. Taoism (15%)

I can't believe I'm a Jew! LOL Amazing that the closest Christian religion match is JW. I thought I was Catholic but this says I'm more Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant.

Fun test!

Edited by - Roddy on 28 December 2002 0:27:43

51

Best argument against a Jehovah's Witness?

by Happy in

jw
friends

don't get me wrong, i'm not one to actively persecute jw's, i'm just wondering what you guys think is the best agrument/point to use when a pesky brother or sister just won't leave you alone.

normally, i am willing to listen to their drivel out of respect (even though i have no respect for the wt) but there are times when i am not in the mood to hear them babble.

i normally bring up the 1914 generation point, and it normally works.

Roddy

>>Everyone says that the WTBTS is making a lot of money, and I know they're a billion dollar (b)org. but I don't understand where they get all this money, aside from donations. Don't they give out the mags. free? Anyone wanna explain?<<

The WTS also own stocks in companies. Some directly and some through shadow companies.

What would really be cool is if some senior person from the WTS' general accounting dept were to defect or get kicked out. If that person talked, wow. I wonder if the WTS is serious enough to have someone like that 'disappear' before they ever get a chance to talk?