BU2B, here's a link to my new Yahoo Answers question sharing your observations.
Island Man
JoinedPosts by Island Man
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34
The WT's biggest deception?
by BU2B init just dawned on me that one of if not the most deceptive thing that the wt convinces the members of is that the truth does not stand up to investigation.
they teach that lies trump truth.
the reality of course is something entirely different.
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34
The WT's biggest deception?
by BU2B init just dawned on me that one of if not the most deceptive thing that the wt convinces the members of is that the truth does not stand up to investigation.
they teach that lies trump truth.
the reality of course is something entirely different.
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Island Man
An excellent post, BU2B!
Do you mind if I share the contents of your post in a Yahoo Answers question?
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15
Special Meeting at Bethel by GB just before Annual Meeting
by notsurewheretogo ini see there is a special meeting held by the gb at bethel a week before the annual meeting.. .
wonder what that will be about?.
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Island Man
Maybe a few days before the annual meeting some Bethelites, by virtue of their responsibilities, will inevitably get knowledge of new light or new policies to be unveiled at the annual meeting.
But the GB wants to prevent the embarrassment of such confidential information leaking out ahead of its grand revelation at the annual meeting. They don't want apostate sites like JWN stealing their thunder and exposing the fact that there are dissidents at Bethel. So in a desperate bid to avoid this the GB will meet with all the Bethelites to stress the need to maintain confidentiality.
Those who will have the privilege of knowing new info. ahead of the official unveiling will be impressed upon to keep their mouths shut. Maybe they'll be informed that they'll be on lock down for that week, no one being allowed to leave the compound until after the annoucement at the annual meeting; and all their electronic communications would be monitored.
Those at Bethel who wont have the privilege of knowing will be told that, for that final week, they're to treat those who have the privilege of knowing as apostates, avoiding communication with them so that there's no possibility of them divulging the new light to them before Jehovah's great and powerful celestial chariot driven by the almighty GB, drives up on the red carpet at the annual meeting and thunderously proclaims its earth-shattering revelation of new light.
Those Bethelites who refuse to comply with these directives will be expelled from Bethel and disfellowshipped for brazen conduct.
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30
1914 or 1934 ?
by Chris Tann ini have thoroughly researched the watchtower doctrine of 1914, and am convinced it is neither biblically or historically correct.
but every now and then i wonder how ironic it is that world war 1 did start in that year, also pestilence and famine perused.
maybe, just maybe the witnesses are correct.
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Island Man
Another important point to remember about the bogus 1914 doctrine is this: JWs teach christ was enthroned in October of that year and that his first act as King was to expell satan. WWI is supposed to caused by the anger of the already expelled satan. But here's the problem: WWI started in late July of 1914 - months before Jesus' enthronement and Satan's expulsion! So WWI actually does not fit the time line of Jesus being enthroned in October 1914.
It's interesting to note that the last public magazine that featured WWI was suspiciously silent in not mentioning the exact date or month when WWI started. You can be sure that even Watchtower is aware of this inconsistency and tries hard to avoid the subject.
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Dedication of Buildings (e.g. Kingdom Halls, Branch Offices etc)
by IMHO injust did i quick search it doesn't seem like this has been discussed.. why it's such a big deal, especially with branches where they are usually "dedicated" by a member of the governing body?.
is there a spiritual, biblical, theocratic significance.. does it "change" the building?.
should it be "un-dedicated" if it is sold.. i await your insight and responses.. .
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Island Man
It's an example of Watchtower's old testament mentality. I think they use Solomon's dedication of the temple in Jerusalem as the scriptural precedent for this practice.
First century christians never built and dedicated buildings to serve specifically as meeting places. They simply met in private homes of believers. Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman at John 4 is very relevant to this subject. Jesus indicated that true worshipers would not focus on particular physical locations for worship, but that they will worship in spirit and truth.
The way JWs dedicate Kingdom Halls and practically regard them as holy places - as Jehovah's house - flies in the face of Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman. JWs are beggarly looking back to the glamor of the OT temple in Jerusalem. See my related post here.
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138
A question about lying and the Jehovah's Witnesses
by Change Name ini have seen questions regarding how much jehovah's witnesses lie all the time on yahoo answers.
here is the latest question:.
jehovah's witnesses, is lying at any time something jehovah approves of?.
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Island Man
Bumping this thread because of its relevance to a question on Yahoo Answers asked by Change Name. LOL.
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49
Faith - Virtue or Vice?
by nicolaou infaith gives you permission to believe that jesus actually did feed thousands with a few loaves & fishes, walk on water and rise from the grave.
all the evidence proves that none of this happened so why persist with faith?
why be dishonest with yourself?
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Island Man
Let me state what I said here on an older post:
If I were the All-powerful Creator of all the universe it would be a very easy thing to prove my existence, requirements and will in an indisputable and unambiguous way. Everyone would know of my existence and requirements without them having to put forth effort to believe based on limited, ambiguous evidence that is highly subject to interpretation.
I would regard faith as a harmful trait that makes one vulnerable to being deceived. My wisdom would cause me to understand that the concept of faith would make it easy for charlatans to devise all manner of false claims and teachings in my name and conveniently use the faith card to guilt persons into believing them in the absence of conclusive proof.
I would teach my worshipers that faith is a flaw to be avoided and in this way protect them from being easily deceived by charlatans. They would be taught to see the wisdom in refusing to believe false, outlandish claims that require faith since they cannot be conclusively proven. There would be little room for doubt as to who is the true God and what are his requirements. There would not be a multiplicity of false religions as exist today.
An All-powerful God who values and requires faith from his worshipers, is actually molding their minds in a way that makes them vulnerable to being deceived. It seems to me that such a God would not be very wise at all. Conversely, wise is the charlatan who, being unable to prove his outlandish claims, realizes that he can get persons to believe (or at least convince themselves that they believe) if he can convince them that having faith is a virtue and that disbelieving is an evil. It is the shrewd but powerless - the con[fidence] men - that rely on their victims having confidence - faith - in their claims. Faith is useless to the powerful as they can easily get others to know that their claims are true.
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Debating JW's
by will brooks inhi,.
i'm new in this forum and it seems from a quick recce that jw's give this site a miss?
is there a site that jw's use - other than their official one which is restricted to active jw's?.
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Island Man
There are lots of JWs and JW-directed questions in the Religion and Spirituality section of Yahoo Answers.
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What is the wackiest or strangest teaching that Witnesses adhere to?
by stuckinarut2 ini guess there are many, but what would be the strangest teaching, or "wackiest" ?.
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Island Man
The teaching that man has been around for just over 6000 years. To me that's just as stupid as Young Earth Creationism. There's plenty of hard evidence that man has been around for more than 10,000 years.
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I need some help
by RedRightHand infor purely informational purposes, i am planning a visit to a local kingdom hall.
it has been years since i've set foot in one and i need to know what the current terminology is so i don't stick out like a sore thumb.
what are the studying?
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Island Man
This is what I can remember from the top of my head:
The Faithful And Discreet Slave now refers only to the governing body as a collective group. The faithful and discreet slave was appointed in 1919. And the term is now just the Faithful and Discreet Slave - not the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class.
"This generation" that will not pass away before the end comes, now refers to 2 overlapping groups of anointed christians. The first group consists of anointed christians who were anointed on or before 1914. The second group consists of anointed christians who were anointed during the lifetime of any of the anointed members of the first group. The great tribulation is supposed to come before the last member of the second overlapping group dies.
The Presiding Overseer is now called the Coordinator of the Body of Elders (CoBE for short).
The appointment of Elders and Ministerial Servants are now rubber stamped by the Circuit Overseer - not the branch.
The Bood Study is no longer held in private homes. It is now a 30-minute complete congregation meeting called the Congregation Bible Study.
The meaning of the Name Jehovah is no longer limited to God causing himself to become whatever is necessary in any given situation. "He causes to become" has a much broarder application, including him causing to happen, whatever event or circumstances needed to fulfill his purpose. It includes his role as creator, fulfiller of prophecies, etc. Jehovah is the great "All-causer", if you will, causing to happen whatever is necessary to fulfil his purpose.