Posts by Island Man

43

Real Prophecy vs. Watchtower Prophecies

by Perry in

while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.

; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.

we just weren't taught to look for them.

Island Man

A true, verifiable prophecy should be:

Specific - applicable to one and only one unambiguous fulfillment. The moment a prophecy is vague enough to be applicable to any one of a number of events then it suspiciously reeks of the "cold reading" tactic used by psychics.
Not a likely event that one can reasonably guess would happen. For example, if you throw a ball in the air then you can't claim as a prophecy, your prediction that it will fall to the ground. Likewise predicting there would be wars in the future is not a prophecy - it's common sense.
Must be proven to have been written before the predicted event rather than being a historical report dishonestly written as if its a prophecy.

It also bears noting that the NT's claims of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus carry no weight as there's no way to actually verify that the things written in the NT actually occurred. The NT gospel accounts could be fictional or highly embellished with the writers falsely claiming that Jesus did x in fulfillment of such and such scripture in the OT. Without proof that the claims of the NT are true, none of the supposed OT prophecies claimed to have been fulfilled by Jesus have any weight.

Also when one objectively reads some of the supposed OT prophecies claimed to have been fulfilled by Jesus, it becomes apparent they weren't actually prophecies at all. NT writers twisted obscure OT passages that had absolutely no prophetic significance whatsoever and made them out to be prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.

43

Real Prophecy vs. Watchtower Prophecies

by Perry in

while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.

; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.

we just weren't taught to look for them.

Island Man

I can't imagine how the prophecies regarding the restoration of the nation of Israel could be more specific.

It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. What was written in the OT was widely known by Jews and they actively worked toward its fulfillment. The "prophecy" encouraged the Jews to fulfill it. There's nothing miraculous in that.

It would be like a child being told from young by his parents whom he loves and respects dearly, that he will become a doctor when he grows up. The child internalizes that message, causing it to shape his goals and achievements and he works towards it and it becomes a reality. His parents weren't inspired prophets. Their "prediction" served to encourage him to work toward it becoming a reality and it does.

36

There seems to be many jw's marrying outside of org recently.

by atomant in

l was wondering if others have noticed this or is just my imagination?my sister whom has always been a fine example of a dub just got married to an outsider was a shock to everyone as no one knew she was dating an outsider.she seems happy.the elders are to shit scared of her to approach her about the matter.

Island Man

This is unavoidable given that the JW women outnumber the JW men by far. The disparity in the sexes among JWs is strong proof that it can't be the true religion. The true religion directed by God's spirit would appeal to both sexes roughly equally.

It is noteworthy too that the bible considers women to be more prone to sinful behavior than men. So if the JW religion was really all that its chocked up to be, it should be attracting more men than women.

But the truth is that men tend to be more logical and women tend to be more social and nurturing.Thus the JW religion, being illogical, is less appealing to men, but it provides a social atmosphere for women to socialize with each other. I think this is true of many other churches and religions. The JWs are just like the rest of christendom in this respect.

43

Real Prophecy vs. Watchtower Prophecies

by Perry in

while we had our eyes fixated on our "one-time" idol the watchtower and their false prophecies like the generation of 1914 that wouldn't pass away, 1975 etc.

; a number of real prophecies were unfolding.

we just weren't taught to look for them.

Island Man

The only real prophecies that have ever been fulfilled have been those made by scientists.

Notably, Einstein keeps being proven right again and again. His predictions/theories developed decades ago keep being fulfilled (proven right) with modern experiments. The latest fulfillment has been the discovery of gravitational waves.

Darwin also made predictions that have been fulfilled in more modern times. The discovery of Tiktalik is a notable example of how science makes true, specific predictions. It was predicted in advance, based on evolutionary theory, that an aquatic creature matching its description would be found in the particular strata of the geologic column that it was found in!

But religion is a failure. It's predictions are always very vague, clouded in ambiguous language thus enabling the faithful to read into them the fulfillment of their choice. There are predictions in the bible that never came true, like the one about Egypt being desolated for 40(?) years. This never happened!

16

Who can come up with the punch line why JW's are not delusional.

by James Mixon in

jw seek treatment for mental breakdown.. he tells the physician, my non-jw family tell me i'm nuts because i preach we are the only true religion (jws).. the doctor said that is strange because i have two patients that checked in yesterday and they .

each said they belong to the only true religions.

one is a mormon and the other a muslim.. so the doctor thought i will lock all three up in the same room for the night and see what.

Island Man

The doctor asked: "how did you come to that conclusion?"

The JW responded: "Well after spending 6 hours preaching to the Muslim and the Mormon they both were united in their hatred of me and were on the verge of cooperating together to put me to death by forcing a stool down my mouth, because they could no longer bare to hear the powerful words of truth I was sharing with them. Then I recalled Jesus' words that his true followers would be hated; and I also recalled how Jesus' sworn enemies also came together and cooperated to have Jesus put to death. All of that proved to me that I must have the true religion, because just like Jesus said, I was hated, and just like with Jesus, these two opposing false religious believers were willing to unite to kill me."

14

2016--Medical Documents & BOE!

by Atlantis in

2016 medical documents!..

re: simplified advance decision document.

.. https://we.tl/sj94l0wsir.

Island Man

I think that an awake JW might be able to raise a legal ruckus over point 8. of the Advance Decision to Refuse Specified Medical Treatment which states:

STATEMENT OF WITNESSES: The person who signed this document did so in my
presence. He or she appears to be of sound mind and free from duress, fraud, or undue influence. I am 18 years of age or older.

Wouldn't the threat of being disassociated and shunned by family constitute a form of duress or undue influence?

3

New video at meeting this week . . .

by neat blue dog in

there was a new video shown at the meeting this week not available to the rank and file, about a cart witnessing campaign.

usually these things are leaked well ahead of time, was this an exception?

Island Man

What I want to know is, why do they continue to call those parts "Local Needs". If they know months in advance that they intend to show organization propaganda in specific slots in specific months, then shouldn't the OCLAM workbook part for that slot be named something other than "Local Needs"?

It just goes to show that WT doesn't really care about the local congregations' local needs. They wouldn't sacrifice another WT-controlled meeting slot to show their propaganda, but they'll steal the one meeting segment that elders have the most freedom to tailor based on the needs of the local congregation.

24

Further CO Leaks

by wifibandit in

believe inspired truth, not inspired error (s-341a-16-e).

instructions for the circuit overseer’s meeting with the pioneers and field missionaries in conjunction with the circuit assembly (s-312-tk16-e no.

circuit overseer meets with pioneers and field missionaries program for september 2015 through february 2016 (s-335-16-e).

Island Man

All hail BAAL! (Brave Awake Anonymous Leaker )

28

If death is a natural occurrence in the human species, why are we born with the innate feeling to continue living indefinitely?

by Tenacious in

there are some people that do in fact want to die.

these people include the mentally unstable, emotionally imbalanced, and those suffering from ailments or diseases, just to name a few.. i've never met however, anyone, or heard of anyone, who is of sound mind, who just awoke one day and thought it would be an excellent day to die......naturally.. your thoughts?.

Island Man

This makes perfect sense from an evolutionary standpoint. Very early in natural history, there would have been a mix of attitudes toward self-preservation owing to genetic diversity.

In time, those animals that had a desire or drive to continue living on indefinitely, took less risks and cared for themselves better. As a result they lived longer and produced more offspring. Those animals that didn't have this tendency took more risks and tended to die younger leaving fewer offspring. As a result the gene pool in animal populations eventually shifted to the point that it is now made up entirely of genes that would tend to work toward self-preservation.

It all goes back to natural selection acting on a diverse gene pool. Any genetic traits that offer survival and reproductive advantages get selected for and soon become the norm for the population. Genes that worked toward attitudes of self-preservation offered a survival advantage and got selected for and became the norm for virtually all animals. Humans just have a more sophisticated cognitive expression of these traits owing to our more developed brains.

12

Mass baptism nullification 10/2/16 #unJW

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

i thought i would rework this and try it again.

i found an old baptism nullification letter here written by poster balsam, and revised it a bit.. i really think we should do a large-scale baptismal nullification request.

letter and more info here.. i am concerned there is no way to track how many people did it.

Island Man

accomplishes precisely nothing, especially with JWs

As I stated, JWs are not the target of this activity.

Yes we need to think beyond the sleeping JWs. Activism isn't all about reaching JWs. It should be first and foremost about reaching the public, educating the public - inoculating the public. Then the public will do the rest when the JWs come to their doors.

So never be too concerned about a particular method not being effective at reaching JWs. Instead think about if it will raise public awareness.