Posts by BackseatDevil

51

Is the U.N. preparing to attack Religion

by confusedandalone in

about 5 minutes ago i get an article emailed to me from my mother telling me that i need to find a way to get back to jehovah and his saving arm... she read an article in a reputable newspaper that all the friends are using to show that its not just jehovahs witnesses who see religion about to get attacked by the u.n.. it concludes with a link to the article and her desire for me to please read it in light of my recent situation.. .

here is the article http://www.examiner.com/article/is-the-un-preparing-to-attack-religion.

the writer bill underwood is a jehovah's witness.

BackseatDevil

I'm not sure why this question keeps coming up. As stated, the United Nations has no real authority to attack, invade, dismantle, or in other ways maim any country on the face of the planet. They have multiple cases of human rights/civil liberties abuses in North Korea, Iran, Somalia, and now Russia. The U.N. has not been able to do anything. Russia has taped torture of young gay men on the internet... the U.N. has done nothing. Even when a country goes off on its own (think Iraq, or the United States going to war with Iraq), the U.N. has limited power about what it can do and prevent.

Their own Human Rights Act prevents religious intolerance and works for peace between faiths, cultures, and languages. The U. N. are humanitarian blue helmets with automatic weapons filled with vaccinations and strongly worded letters, nothing more.

So what, in all this, says that they have the want, desire, or even the ability to go against an expansive, world-wide immeasurable generalized philosophy concept like “religion?”

32

How Many Here Have Ever Been Reproved or DFd?

by minimus in

jw
friends

so far, not me.....

BackseatDevil

MINOR reproves. I was a golden boy, so being reproved always ended with a lot of handshakes, jokes, and refreshments.

I was DF'd once and I never looked back (LEAST I BE LIKE LOT'S WIFE). They... quite literally... have spent YEARS begging me to come back.

What can I say? I'm awesome. (And a little too awesome to be in their little book club.)

40

Are you a good person?

by Xanthippe in

jw
friends

something happened this week to make me think about this again.. it feels like all bets are off and i really don't know what a good person is anymore.. when i left the jws i was so sure i knew what it meant to be a good person.. this has been revised many times since.. i tend to favour the utilitarian approach, the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.. sometimes you have to stick your neck out and say this is not good for me no matter what others may feel they need from me.. no idea where i'm going with this maybe this is a breakthrough in my life or maybe that glass of wine was stronger than i thought!.

any thoughts?.

BackseatDevil

I have an passionate disdain for questions like this (and the thousands of posts asking something similar each year).

“Good” is a extremely subjective allocation and anyone who bestows such upon themselves is purely and shamefully arrogant. Because of the subjective nature of the simplistic term, it would be OTHERS around us who would make the determination if one is “good” or not, not we ourselves

So you ask the question “Are you a good person?” I don't know... I have to ask all my friends and get back to you.

Do I view myself as a good person or do I attempt to be a good person? Not particularly. I view myself as a decent and just person first, and sometimes to achieve that balance one cannot be “good” 100% of the time. Also, I seem to have found a niche with good people where I am bad so they do not have to be. My physiological response to an honest heart is to help them in whatever way they need... and sometimes that means walking over to the dark side for them. I don't mind that. In fact, I find a lot of joy both in exploring dark areas of the planet AND helping out those who beam light.

The fluctuation makes me neither good nor bad... I just... AM.

42

Do The Writing Committee Believe?

by jw07 in

does anyone personally know jws serving on the writing committee?.

what is their outlook regarding the end; are they still truly convinced?.

are they expressing doubts or seem demotivated?.

BackseatDevil

@frankiespeakin Not only that, their new move to Warwick can give an implication of separation from the world, but in all logic they rely on the outside entirely way too much. They make proud proclamations about making their own ink or having their own fruit grown (there is a Watchtower Bible and Tact Society of Florida for example), but they purchase some foods, spices, mixes, machines, and ovens and the vehicles that transports all of this to where it needs to go.

If we are going to take JUST the issue or writing and publication, they are not self-sustaining. They do not mill, process, and manufacture their own rolls of paper, they produce none of their computers nor the programs used to write, layout, and design the magazines. They do not produce the cameras, lights, photography equipment, etc. They use the same infrastructure that all of us use for electricity, water, garbage removal, and internet. EMAIL is the life-blood of this organization, it seems. In fact, their LAN line between the three Bethels is not owned by them, neither is the method of delivery of literature to street-level Witnesses (via United States Postal Service).

Construction means they can create their own concrete plant, but they do not quarry the aggregate, limestone, or the cement. They may own the equipment, but all of them work off gasoline that they do not extract from the earth, refine, and distribute. Everything from the injured, medication, machines, utensils, etc., etc., and even more etc. they are NOT self-sustaining. In fact (I have seen this) they don't even know what to do during a brief power outage. Without millions of SATANIC WORLDLY PEOPLE OUT THERE the eloquently worded arrogance of the writing committee could never reach the hands of the almost 8 million lost souls worldwide.

And they are making no plans to change any of this.

42

Do The Writing Committee Believe?

by jw07 in

does anyone personally know jws serving on the writing committee?.

what is their outlook regarding the end; are they still truly convinced?.

are they expressing doubts or seem demotivated?.

BackseatDevil

I'm going to simplify this a bit. It's always easier with questions like this if you take the “religion” out of the religion. In this case, when you take religion out of Jehovah's Witnesses you are left with a publishing company.

The writing committee works months to a half a year ahead of time and a good portion of their time is spent perfecting ambiguous wording of “information” that will excite bottom-tier witnesses without scaring away those who are not witnesses. And realize they have to do this in a way that puts zero responsibility on the shoulders of the WTBTS should something go viral (i.e. 1975 or 'this is the last memorial').

With that, they do an incredible amount of research that is whittled down to just a few toothpicks over the course of a year's timeframe, giving more dramatics to talks at assemblies and such. All this is SO far in the future, because after the wording is perfected, they still need photo shoots or illustrations, graphics, etc.

As I've mentioned a million times before NO ONE at Bethel is preparing for Armageddon. They are preparing for the next print run. There is no “in case of Armageddon” contingency emergency plan in place or anything. For that, the writing committee does their job. They do it well. Do they believe what they write? Yes, but they don't honestly have time to believe... they have to sculpt statues from shit and sell it as porcelain six months from now.

8

Is there a thread here on JWN about Guy Pierce's death?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i have not been keeping up with jwn lately since i was out of town helping my mom.

.

BackseatDevil

I know his passing is proof that Armageddon is something something.

13

Jacob becomes Isreal, Why? Bible Study Gen. 32-35

by What is Truth? in

i have had a facination with this passage for some time since starting reading james kugel's book "how to read the bible" and i am curious to get your imput.

it is genesis 32: 24-32 where jacob gets his name changed.. i am most interested in how this story relates to the early dealings with isrealite's god.

specifically, who is the person that jacob wrestles with?.

BackseatDevil

OR... Jacob spent the night getting drunk, stumbled out to nowhere to scream at the wind and curse the sand, tripped and hurt his hip.

Don't get me wrong, I like his version better... but please, we've all been there.

79

Why are there no black angels?

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

jw literature is racist as hell.

jesus looks like an american folk singer, the governing body look like a corrupt version of an enron luncheon.. the jw's literally print different magazines for africa with african pictures, black people instead of white, to make it 'more appealing' to them.... just to be clear that means they think the opposite is true too!.

....and then there is the lack of black angels..... .

BackseatDevil

Please keep in mind: angels are God's slaves. So....

Just thought I'd throw that one in there. LOL.

26

Do you sense "a sense of urgency" in the congregations?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

now that we're in the 21st century, and all those pre-millenium worries that a few had about armaggedon seem to have gone, everyone seems to be getting on with their lives, buying homes, going on cruises and planning for their retirement.. not everyone does these things, but there is so little talk about the great tribulation, armaggedon and the new system, you can't help but wonder if they are just going through the motions.. i see young people at the hall - they couldn't care less about spiritual things, although they may comment and go out in service.. i see people in the 30s quietly getting on with life - a few are building their own homes from scratch, others are planning on moving and some have bought new cars.. nothing wrong with this, but each of these things show an investment in the future.

a car has to be paid for (if its a lease), a home needs a 15/25/30 year mortgage and this all takes time.. time with a capital "t".. let's face it - the urgency is gone.

no one thinks about the "time of the end" and everyone does their own thing.. families are still having children.. one of my college professors once asked me: "how do you know that people have confidence in the future?".

BackseatDevil

Sometime, when I have to pee... and I've been holding it in a real long time and I don't know if I'm going to make it or not but I don't want to speed because there are a lot of jerk cops in my area and so I just try to breath calmly - in. out. in. out - and then I hit a red light... then I have a feeling of urgency.

Other than that, I don't have that... AND NEITHER DOES ANY JEHOVAH'S WITNESS.

What they have is urgency to convert and urgency to get their way, they have an urgency to be RIGHT. They have NO urgency about the actual 'end of days' or time in general. In fact, I noticed (I posted this elsewhere) that as people get older in the "truth" they get so used to waking up and it NOT being in the new system, they become complacent about what they do, how they do it, and (worse) the effect they have on others.

40

Memorial compulsory for "respectful observers" ?

by sparrowdown in

maybe i am ignorant but why why why pray tell.

if i am not jewish and not of the 144k why is it necessary (compulsory even) for me to attend the memorial ?.

what is the scriptural precedent?.

BackseatDevil

Ritual. It's important. The Catholics have their version of the "Memorial" every day for mass. Jesus said to keep doing it to remember him, he didn't say how often. It is assumed yearly, but he only used the passover as a gathering point. If you do the same ritual at the same time as the previous religion from which you stole the evening, you might as well just celebrate the damn Passover and stop being disrespectful for stealing the holiday.

I digress. Jehovah's Witnesses need ritual outside the routine of meetings and prayers. That's all. It was mentioned already, everyone sits around watching no one do anything... mourning their religion with heavy heart and crispy bread. It's so f**king depressing. No way that any god would want that group of Debbie Downers hanging out with him in heaven OR on earth. Geez.

You will know a cult buy a few things: It's exclusion of others, assumtion of porprietary information, ritual, ease of which one can exit.

The Memorial is two of those.