Island Man

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Posts by Island Man

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  4

  Was just mentioned on MSNBC that Prince turned down Double Hip Replacement

  by ShirleyW in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  by a journalist, can't remember her name, but he turned down the operation because of the blood issue, she said he was hoping that perhaps their was another way to correct the problem.

  i certainly hope that one line woke some of his many fans about the jws.

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  Island Man

  Did he die because he needed new hips? I doubt it.
  
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  22

  When a crime is commited?

  by Drifting Away in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i responded to someone on another thread, but would love to know this answer.. if a victim adult or child goes to elders and claims they were abused, don't they have to have clergy confidentiality?

  so i was told that they encourage the victim to contact authorities , and they contact bethel, but arent there hands tied if the victim does not want to go to authorities?

  an elder made the comment to me once.

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  Island Man

  But JWs claim that they do not have a clergy. They also condemn the catholic practice of confessing sins to a priest. So according to JWs' own claims about their religion, clergy client privilege of confidentiality does not apply to them. That they are using it to justify their refusal to do the right thing, demonstrates how utterly hypocritical and fork-tongued they are!
  
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  45

  Under WT rules, can JW women file for a divorce? Or can only men file?

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the reason i ask is because while watching the "dateline" episode about ralph candelario, the claim was made that only jw men could file for divorce, not women.

  .

  i had never thought about this before.. also, how does this apply in cases where a husband is "apostate" while the wife is faithful to wt?

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  Island Man

  According to Watchtower rules, the only valid grounds for divorce is adultery. Any spouse, husband or wife, can file for divorce if the other spouse commits adultery.

  Neglect, physical abuse and spiritual endangerment are not valid grounds for divorce. They are only valid grounds for separation.

  If a JW divorces without adultery occurring then that JW loses his privileges. He or she would be disfellowshipped if they unrepentantly started and are continuing a romantic/dating relationship with someone else and/or got married.
  
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  66

  Prince is dead.

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  has anyone heard about this?

  that really sucks.

  lots of dubs are talking.

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  Island Man

  It would be interesting to see what kind of funeral he has given that he was an active JW. Does watchtower bend the rules for celebrity JWs, or are they subjected to the typical, promotion-of-JW-teachings funeral as are regular JWs?

  Given that he was ill before dying, he surely would have contemplated his own funeral arrangements. Did he love Watchtower and Jehovah so much that he made arrangements to have JWs handle his funeral or did he make arrangements to have a non-JW funeral?

  And if he does have a JW funeral with the JWs capitalize on his fame to promote the religion of JWs?
  
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  150

  Evolution: The Deal Breaker

  by Hadriel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  first off i do believe there are some evidences of evolution or i should probably say adaptation.

  i do believe this exists in various forms.. however the deal breaker for me with evolution is the chick or egg problem.

  there are tons of theories that get passed around as proof of evolution however these are usually examples much further down the evolutionary chain.. what i mean is let's start at the beginning!

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  Island Man

  You are assuming that life started with the complex molecules we see today. When life first started it may have been far simpler than the simplest cells in existence today. So the whole DNA - protein synthesis system we know today may not have existed back then and only came into existence very gradually by processes we don't yet know of. I think the fundamental mistake here is the assumption that life started as the simplest cells in existence today, then you're taking this flawed assumption and throwing an argument from ignorance fallacy at it.
  
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  7

  Can you sneeze while sleeping?

  by James Mixon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lets start your day off with a great start.

  don't look it up and give me your answer.. i,m not the only one that comes up with this crazy question.

  lol.

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  Island Man

  If you can walk while sleeping I see no reason why you can't sneeze. Besides, sneezing is supposed to be an involuntary reaction to irritation of the nasal passage. I think involuntary actions continue even while you're sleeping. So I think that you can sneeze while sleeping. Maybe its one of the reasons why you might wake up from sleep - the loud sound of the sneeze - without you realizing it.
  
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  3

  Kingdom Song Parody: 91 "My Father, My God and Friend"

  by Island Man in

  1. social
  2. humour

  91. my evil stepmother says god is just my friend.. life at the hall can be hard.watchtower's walls can bring tears and pain.

  still every day i will bray*, "my life is not in vain".

  for god is not my father, memorial emblems i must disown.

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  Island Man

  91. My evil Stepmother says God is just my friend.
  

  Life at the hall can be hard.
  Watchtower's walls can bring tears and pain.
  Still every day I will bray*, "My life is not in vain".

  For God is not my Father, Memorial emblems I must disown.
  So He is never near me; To Jehovah, I'm not a son.
  Yes the org is my spoon-feeder and my deceiver down to the end.
  Yes, Watchtower, my sick Stepmother, says God is just my friend.

  Gone are the days of my youth; Deeds of a pe-do-phile smashed them clear.
  Still through the wiles of my faith, this rogue is free from fear.

  For God is not my Father, Memorial emblems I must disown.
  So He is never near me; To Jehovah, I'm not a son.
  Yes the org is my spoon-feeder and my deceiver down to the end.
  Yes, Watchtower, my sick Stepmother, says God is just my friend.

  * not a spelling mistake. lol.
  
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  4

  Experiences, a rose by any other name.

  by M*A*S*H in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  every time a jw shares an 'experience' with me (in person or on jw.borg) it always strikes me that basically what they are describing are (alleged) miracles.

  in my mind, i seem to remember i was taught that miracles do not occur in today's world and ended with jesus?

  have i missed something here?.

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  Island Man

  No, no, no! You have it all wrong! The only miracles that stopped are those that cannot be attributed to other natural causes - things like raising the dead; speaking in a foreign language that you haven't been taught; making the lame walk with a touch; etc.

  But the other miracles that could just as easily be attributed to coincidence or natural causes - like a pioneer being given the exact money needed to pay a bill; calling at the home of someone who just prayed for god to show them the way; a mentally ill serial killer seeing an angel accompanying helpless sisters; etc - these kinds of miracles still occur because .... well .... they're less miraculous and so they don't count as the miracles that were done away with even though they're still miracles. lol
  
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  16

  Thinking of writing a book about jw's, what should I put in it?

  by purrpurr in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've just finished reading alan miller's "fade from the truth", i enjoyed it and i love that it's freely available.

  so i was thinking of writing a book of my own.

  not an account of my life but more a simple step by step look at jw's and what they are really like?

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  Island Man

  Here's an idea for you:

  Write a book about the common excuses and rationalizations JWs use when confronted with TTATT - excuses like "wait on Jehovah", "human imperfection", "who else has the truth / where else to go", "that was in the past", "the light gets brighter", etc

  The format could be that you tackle each excuse or rationalization, one at a time. You first mention the name of the excuse as a heading. Then you use sample dialog between a JW and a critic to demonstrate use of the excuse. Then you proceed to analyze and pick apart the excuse showing how and why it's fallacious and/or hypocritical. Then you give a suggested counter response(s) that utterly demolishes and exposes the excuse for the rubbish that it is.
  

  Maybe you can call the book "Hiding Behind Paper Shields" with a sub-theme in smaller print that reads: "The lies they use to defend "The Truth". "Paper Shields" - a metaphorical reference to pitiful excuses and rationalizations used by JWs - would have a double-meaning. The shield is paper in the sense that it is very weak and affords no real protection. It is also paper in the sense that the excuses and rationalizations come to JWs on paper - fed to them in Watchtower literature.

  The cover can have a picture of an insecure-looking JW holding up a literal paper shield against an attack. The shield would be painted with crayons to give the impression that they tried to make it look like a real strong shield made of metal, but the color is not convincing. lol.

  The book would be an excellent resource for newly awakening ones and even the public that is aware of TTATT. You can think of it as being like the reasoning book for reasoning with JWs but specifically geared at exposing and overcoming their pitiful excuses and rationalizations. it would be an excellent resource for dealing with the rationalizations that elders use on judicial committees when confronted with TTATT by an awake JW.
  
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  32

  Are Witnesses really "Bible Students"?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we were always told that as witnesses we were "sincere bible students".... carefully examining the scriptures.. yes, we were indeed taught much about the content of the bible, it's history, prophecies etc..... but it was always from one perspective....that of the society.

  when the society changed its interpretations, we had to do the same..... so were we really "bible students", or "society students"?.

  just a thought.....

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  Island Man

  No. Witnesses play bait and switch with adjectival form of the word bible. They bait the word bible but the actual practical meaning is switched with Watchtower.

  Thus, "Bible study" is, in practice, a study of Watchtower literature. What they call "Bible teachings" is, in practice, the fallible interpretations - and sometimes speculations - found in Watchtower literature.

  They don't actually use Watchtower literature as an aid in studying the bible. They use - or abuse - the bible as an aid in studying Watchtower literature. Watchtower literature is always the focus of their study, not the bible.