Posts by Island Man

10

CNN Video: Royal Commission's querry into JWs sexual abuse cases

by ScenicViewer in

i'm not sure if this will be embedded or clickable, but this cnn video is a good one.. http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/07/28/australia-jehovah-witness-sex-abuse-hannigan-lklv.cnn.

edit: looks like the link is clickable, but if someone knows how to embed it please do.

.

Island Man

I saw the story on the front page of the CNN website, in the News and Buzz sidebar. It actually made CNN's main page!

58

Royal Commission convened for now, but Jackson is an asshole

by umbertoecho in

i have just finished listening to this man jackson.

i remember him well.

he is twisting things around as much as he is allowed.

Island Man

This last victim has a very extreme story. I'm waiting to see if/how any of the JW elders involved would justify their treatment of this victim if/when they're called to testify.

11

Bible and Mentally Challenged, what does it say.

by James Mixon in

special olympics today here in los angeles, the smiles on those kids faces.. i wonder how were they viewed in jesus day, demon possessed.. it's strange how the bible omit some issues, like slavery and mentally challenged.

folks.

thank god for humanitarian..

Island Man

I believe the man living among the memorial tombs and possessed by a legion of demons, was also described in the bible as being mentally ill. So demon possession was also used to explain mental illness.

30

Speculation ( not theory ) on child abuse inquiries.

by DATA-DOG in

most of you, like me, keep yourself informed as to what's happening in jw-land.

like me, you make it your business to know what's going on.

so i'm wondering why the wtbts is allowing eldubs to appear in these inquiries in australia??

Island Man

I think its because the elders have no choice. If the elders refused to testify then think of the publicity that would cause. That would result in even more negative publicity because now it would be clear that they are actively seeking to hide something.

They probably also underestimated the astuteness of the commission, thinking they can spin the commissioners the way they spin the the public.

58

Royal Commission convened for now, but Jackson is an asshole

by umbertoecho in

i have just finished listening to this man jackson.

i remember him well.

he is twisting things around as much as he is allowed.

Island Man

Wow! Joe Bello's testimony was a huge own goal for the JWs! Did you see how he made an ignorant uninformed fool of himself near the end of his testimony? LOL.

11

Bible and Mentally Challenged, what does it say.

by James Mixon in

special olympics today here in los angeles, the smiles on those kids faces.. i wonder how were they viewed in jesus day, demon possessed.. it's strange how the bible omit some issues, like slavery and mentally challenged.

folks.

thank god for humanitarian..

Island Man

The only reference to mental illness in the bible that I can now recall, is the occasion when David pretended to be insane by letting his saliva run down his beard, as a ruse to conceal his true identity. This account shows that people in OT times knew about mental insanity apart from demon possession.

17

Would the discovery of EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE completely debunk the bible and religion?

by Black Man in

jw
friends

i think it would.

instantly.

in fact, i hope one day soon that we somehow encounter extraterrestrial life because i think there would be a wholesale rejection of the bible and any/all religious institutions.

Island Man

I think it would. Instantly. In fact, I hope one day soon that we somehow encounter extraterrestrial life because I think there would be a wholesale REJECTION of the bible and any/all religious institutions.

How do you figure that? There is nothing in the bible denying the existence of extra terrestrial life so why would such a discovery pose such a huge problem for religion? By contrast, Genesis does implicitly deny the evolution of different species and yet the discovery of evolution didn't result in a wholesale rejection of the bible and any/all religious institutions, did it?

If religious people can turn a blind eye to the far more troublesome, anti-biblical reality of evolution, what makes you think they will be phased by the discovery of ET life. They will just spin it by saying the ET life is part of God's creation that was made as part of the heavens and that simply isn't mentioned in the bible - just as a lot of other things aren't mentioned in the bible. They would say the bible doesn't mention ET life because it simply isn't relevant to the theme of the bible and that the bible is focusing on issues pertaining to earth and man's salvation.

As a matter of fact, the Seventh Day Adventists believe in the existence of other "unfallen" worlds - other planets inhabited by intelligent beings. It is not something they speak about much, but it is in their literature.

62

Basic Bible and Religious Vocabulary the Watchtower Never Teaches

by CalebInFloroda in

when i began formal study of religion and biblical analysis it was like peeling off layer after layer of dark matter, sticky and putrid that had stuck over my eyes and ears and mouth.

i learned that under the watchtower one only builds a widening gap between yourself and the world of biblical academia and scholars.

i used to think i knew a lot because i learned to quote a few scholars or lexicons as a witness.

Island Man

"Those are the evil apostate words of the "wise and intellectual ones" of christendom's clergy! Jehovah's humble people speak the pure language!"

</satirical JW response>

8

Latest cherry picking: August 2015 Awake!First Life: Discovering the Connections between Stars, Cells, and How Life Began

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

the august 2015 awake continues a cherished watchtower tradition: misquoting / cherry picking scientists.. it is clearly a selective use of information because when you read what they are saying, you know they are saying "life is complex, therefore, god.".

whereas the scientists, although they show admiration for life and how amazing it is, also recognize that we are getting closer and closer to understanding the origin of life.

it doesn't seem like it takes a supreme being to make life when you read the next paragraph in the actual quote.http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/g201508/dna-in-your-cells/.

Island Man

I don't know if I would call this a misquote. They only quoted him to support the point that life is complex. They're not making it seem like he's implying an intelligent designer or calling evolution or abiogenesis into question.

I would say this is a case of Watchtower cherry-picking information. They quoted only part of his statement which supports one of their secondary points - a point that the source would also agree with, namely, that life is complex. But they omitted to share the sources thoughts which would go against their agenda of promoting intelligent design.

Not a misquote that the source can honestly fault them for. But definitely a case of Watchtower disingenuously cherry picking information. IMHO.

189

How much was Christ's ransom sacrifice? Equal to Adam?

by jonathan dough in

how much was the ransom?

gods justice did not require an exact equivalent man-for-man sacrifice between the first adam and jesus, the second adam.

gods gift required more.

Island Man

Interesting OP. But there is a far deeper problem with the ransom issue. Adam did not introduce sin into the world. Eve did! But the NT falsely attributes the introduction of sin among the human family, to Adam. Why do you think that is?

Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 both convey the idea that Christ is similar to Adam and 1 Timothy 2:6 can mean "corresponding ransom" given that the prefix anti in antilutron has "corresponding" as one of its meanings. Admittedly it also has "exchange" and "instead of" as meanings and these latter meanings also fit the context of the verse. So I wouldn't be so quick to knock Watchtower's premise that the ransom had to correspond with Adam.

In fact, I think it explains why the NT falsely blames Adam for the introduction of sin into the world instead of more accurately blaming Eve as being the first one to sin and who got Adam to sin. You see, if the NT blames Eve for introducing sin, then that would mean the ransomer who had to die would have to be a woman like Eve was. But the patriarchal misogynistic society in which christianity was born, could not stomach the thought of a woman having such a prominent role. So to solve the issue, they just ignored the fact that it was actually Eve who sinned first, and pinned the introduction of sin on her male accomplice, Adam.

Another possibility is this: The sacrificial messiah that christians thought up in Jesus, is not really the messiah foretold in the OT. The Jews' conception of the messiah is actually the "correct" one - i.e. the one intended by the OT writers - while the christians' conception of the messiah being Jesus, is actually fraudulent. Jesus is just another one of a long line of fraudulent messiahs that popped up around the first century, but with one distinction - he happened to be more successful in inspiring his followers so that he left a surviving legacy behind. That would explain why some of the OT texts that are quoted in the NT as prophecies of christ seem so mundane and unprophetic in their original OT context. The early christians were basically taking random OT quotes that had any vague similarity to Jesus' circumstances and styling them as a prophecy in a post hoc manner.

That would also explain why Adam has to be dishonestly shoe-horned into the salvation-ransom narrative as being the introducer of sin. Jesus was a man and so as a sacrificial offering he had to correspond to Adam and not Eve. But that Eve introduced sin into the world is without dispute when you read Genesis. In fact, it is even apparent that one of the objectives of Genesis 3 is to provide an explanation for why women are subjugated by men, treated as property, and more sinful - because of Eve's sin. Eve sinned first so as punishment women occupy a secondary, servile role in human society - that is one of the messages implied by God's words to Eve when confronting them on their sin.