Posts by Island Man

17

INTERESTING QUOTE FROM A DISTRICT OVERSEER

by The Searcher in

i personally recorded a district overseer's statement he made in a talk, regarding calling someone a "despicable fool".

(matthew 5:22) .

he basically equated that term with calling someone an apostate!!!

Island Man

Maybe that DO is awake and is sharing some TTATT on the sly.

8

The Kingdom Hall as a "holy place": Is it scriptural?

by Island Man in

jehovah's witnesses implicitly regard kingdom halls as holy places.

both in talks and in literature, the kingdom hall is sometimes described as a "center of pure worship in the community".

kingdom halls are dedicated to jehovah, in immitation of the fact that solomon dedicated the temple to jehovah.

Island Man

Holy, not in my experience but wanting to keep things safe.

Perhaps "holy place" is a somewhat poor choice of terminology on my part. JWs don't regard the Kingdom hall with the same degree of reverence that the Jews regarded the temple. But they do nonetheless have a measure of reverence for the building. They do regard the physical building itself as being "Jehovah's house". They dedicate the building in imitation of the ancient Jews dedicating the temple so they do have a similar kind of reverence for the KH as the Jews had for the temple. The only difference is in the degree of reverence.

8

The Kingdom Hall as a "holy place": Is it scriptural?

by Island Man in

jehovah's witnesses implicitly regard kingdom halls as holy places.

both in talks and in literature, the kingdom hall is sometimes described as a "center of pure worship in the community".

kingdom halls are dedicated to jehovah, in immitation of the fact that solomon dedicated the temple to jehovah.

Island Man

Some jws think there is some special physical safety for them in the building, KH. That is why some jws in the Philippines ran to the KH and all died.

There was a case in South America where a volcano blew and mud covered the town. If the jws had run uphill rather than to the KH down from the mud they would have lived.

Great examples Blondie! They show how this teaching poses a danger in time of natural disaster and has already cost lives.

Someone should do up a parody of the JWs' 'End of False Religion' kingdom news tract but with only the teachings of JWs that are harmful - blood, two witness rule for dealing with pedophilia, discouraging higher education, kingdom hall as a holy place causing loss of life in time of disaster, etc.

23

False Prophecy Part 3 With A Jehovahs Witness Elder

by Watchtower-Free in

jw: they are not.. kw: but if they were, would you want to know?.

jw: they are not.. kw: im not saying they are.

jw: no.. kw: really?

Island Man

Something else: Steer the conversation to Deuteronomy 18:21,22 and get him to go to the Reasoning Book section on False Prophets. Ask him what that section says about those 2 verses. He would find that those 2 verses aren't once quoted or cited in all that section on False Prophets! Ask him why the Watchtower would write a Section on False Prophets in the Reasoning Book and omit to mention the very pertinent Deuteronomy 18:21,22? They couldn't have just missed it because a portion of that bible chapter is quoted up to verse 20. The writer of the Reasoning Book was apparently afraid to touch those verses in light of Watchtower history of false predictions.

23

False Prophecy Part 3 With A Jehovahs Witness Elder

by Watchtower-Free in

jw: they are not.. kw: but if they were, would you want to know?.

jw: they are not.. kw: im not saying they are.

jw: no.. kw: really?

Island Man

Get him to read Luke 21:8 in English Standard Version. (In that verse Jesus tells his followers not to go after those saying: "The time is at hand"). Then tell him C.T. Russel actually printed a book entitled "The Time is at Hand" and it had false end time predictions in it. Then ask him if you're supposed to ignore Jesus' warning at Luke 21:8 by alligning yourself to an organization started by those who claimed "The Time is at hand.". Ask him if Jesus would choose men who have made false predictions to serve as his faithful and discreet slave after warning his followers not to go after such ones.

44

More WT Propaganda: 10 Year Old Children Should Get Baptized!

by Oubliette in

i just caught this in an upcoming study article which will be "studied" in the congregations the week of 11/18-24/13:.

he and his wife were elated when their eldest daughter, age ten, told them that she loved her parents, loved the brothers and sisters, and loved jehovah very much.

she said that she wanted to dedicate her life to jehovah and get baptized.

Island Man

The great hypocrisy of the organization is that while it says dedication and baptism is the most important decision a person can make; and while it has even compared it to marriage, young minors are being permitted to make this weighty decision even though the civilized world recognizes that young minors are not competent to make such weighty decisions. Meanwhile, young adults are told by Watchtower to wait until they're older and more mature before entering into marriage. Of course, this hypocrisy serves the organization's purposes well. "Trap them while they're young and keep them single to slave for us without distraction, for as long as possible." seems to be the hidden motive at work.

8

The Kingdom Hall as a "holy place": Is it scriptural?

by Island Man in

jehovah's witnesses implicitly regard kingdom halls as holy places.

both in talks and in literature, the kingdom hall is sometimes described as a "center of pure worship in the community".

kingdom halls are dedicated to jehovah, in immitation of the fact that solomon dedicated the temple to jehovah.

Island Man

Jehovah's Witnesses implicitly regard kingdom halls as holy places. Both in talks and in literature, the kingdom hall is sometimes described as a "center of pure worship in the community". Kingdom halls are dedicated to Jehovah, in immitation of the fact that Solomon dedicated the temple to Jehovah. There are also Watchtower policies stipulating what cannot be done at a kingdom hall - even though the very said things can be done elsewhere and presided over by elders and attended by JWs in much the same format as done at the kingdom hall. (think of who qualify to have their funeral at the kingdom hall, as one example)

All of the above show that JWs regard the physical kingdom hall as a holy place. But are christians supposed to view a physical meeting place as a holy place? I think Jesus' answer to the Samaritan woman's question of where should persons worship God, covers this issue. Jesus indicated that true worshippers would not be required to worship God at prescribed physical locations regarded as holy, but to worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:20-24) There are thus no holy places for meeting - only holy meeting sessions convened in Jesus' name and presided over by those worshipping God in spirit and truth. (Matthew 18:20; 1 Timothy 3:1-10)

Note too, that the NT makes no mention of christians constructing places of worship and dedicating these to God. They simply met in homes. The whole Watchtower concept of dedicating a building as "Jehovah's house" of pure worship seems to be an atavism to the temple worship arrangement of OT Judaism. It demontrates that Watchtower has not progressed to full christian maturity but is still allowing itself to be sucked into OT legalism, slaving for them all over again, even after the christ has fulfilled the law. (Galatians 4:9)

113

Elders receive a report that I am openly displaying false religious symbol

by confusedandalone in

when you look at the image above what do you see?

a sneaker or an outward display that i am now following after another religious group?.

well yesterday i had a 10 minute conversation with an elder who finally got the balls to call me.

Island Man

Yeah, that be Rasta colors - which are actually the colors of the Ethiopian flag. But it could also be just colors. Those three colors on their own aren't enough for someone to state categorically that your shoe has Rastafarian religious iconograpy - unless the person has a preconceived negative view of you and is looking for an excuse to rat on you.

13

Some anointed already resurrected??

by DS211 in

elder said this last night that some anointed ones have already been resurrected and 2 cor 5:17 applies to then?

reminds me of the saducees who claimed theresurrection had alreadg halpened...hmmmm.

Island Man

That is not a biblical teaching.

1. The bible says the first resurrection starts at the sounding of the last trumpet. (1 Corinthians 15:52)

2. Jesus spoke of a great trumpet sound occurring after the Great Tribulation. (Matthew 24:29,31)

Therefore, based on 1. and 2. the first resurrection starts sometime after the Great Tribulation.

Perhaps the great trumpet sound mentioned at Matthew 24:31 is the last trumpet. That great trumpet sound heralds the gathering of the chosen ones from every extremity of the earth.

To where are they being gathered? 2 Thessalonians 2:1 says: "However, brothers, respecting the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him . . ."

Is this gathering to christ limited only to the surving anointed? Will the surving anointed go to heaven to be with christ at a different time to the gathering of resurrected ones to christ? Notice what 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 says:

" For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, [ a ] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."

So according to the bible, after the dead anonited are raised up, they and the surviving anointed, ascend to heaven together. All of this takes place sometime after the Great Tribulation at christ's coming which is the start of his presence.

1914 is unbiblical crap! Christ's presence starts with his coming after the Great Tribulation. To say that christ's presence is an invisible century long presence starting since 1914, totally nullifies the encouragement given at James 5:7. (Read it and you'd see what I mean)

The 1914 century long invisible presence doctrine also makes Peter out to be a blind fool for missing the greatest irony of 2 Peter 3:3,4. According to Watchtower's teaching that the start of the presence runs parrallel with the start of the last days, ridiculers living during Christ's presense are asking where is his presence and Peter is completely oblivious to this great irony, making no mention of their blindness to the fact that they actually are living during his presence! (This is madness!)

Not only that, the apostle goes on to speak about the coming destructive "day of Jehovah/the Lord" - armageddon. Peter also speaks about Jehovah not being slow respecting his promise - the promised presence - because he does not want any to be destroyed. Isn't it very obvious from 2 Peter 3 that the bible writer understood christ's presence as starting with his actual final coming to destroy the wicked? Isn't that why in answering the question of the ridiculers he went on to speak about the destrutive flood of Noah's day?

There's something else that's very interesting about 2 Peter 3. Because the ridiculers are obviously looking forward to an active, visible presence and Peter does not point to that expectation as being in error (he only addressed the question of timing and confirmed the presence is visible and destructive), from whom did the ridiculers living in the last days - living in our time, according to Watchtower - learn of a visible, destructive presence? It can't be Jehovah's Witnesses because they're teaching an invisible, century long presence! 2 Peter chapter 3 exposes Watchtower as being wrong, wrong, wrong!

8

Did he really say that?

by Oneoutallout in

something the cobe said that bugged me and i couldn't get it out of my head for a long time.

i was an obedient good little jw.

nothing special, but i did what i could.

Island Man

you know it will be treated the same as peaodophilia if you don't stop

So that means he requires a second witness to your self-abuse before he can do anything about it? (And why do they call it self-abuse, by the way?) But his statement was nothing more than a dishonest bluff aimed at scaring you into quitting. It's not even a disfellowshipping offense!