StrongHaiku

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Posts by StrongHaiku

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  17

  If you were undeniably anointed with holy spirit what would you do?

  by Splash in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so you have had some kind of supernatural revelation, a personal message from god and some miraculous sign that you have been personally chosen by the almighty, what would you do?.

  would you be the same as every other wt'ite, dragging yourself to the meetings, getting your 10 hours in each month, maybe pioneering?.

  listen!

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  StrongHaiku

  I would go to a hospital and get an MRI...
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  81

  Do you believe Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body is the "faithful slave"?

  by Marvin Shilmer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this question is known to be posed by jws to other jws as an acid test of loyalty.

  i'm not the first to notice what i'm about to point out and comment accordingly, but today i felt compelled to add a short article on my blog highlighting the new language that governing body member geoffrey jackson supplies as a response.

  a person who honestly hesitates to respond with a robust "yes!

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  StrongHaiku

  Splash - Instead we get a wishy washy answer from a weak man removed from his fan base.

  Your entire post totally resonated with me. I could not have said it better.

  The way he answered was a slap on the face to every JW who has died for publicly stating loudly with bravery and pride "We're Jehovah's Witnesses, we speak out in fearlessness..." What a coward.
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  35

  We're All Going To Die

  by Garrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  life has been busy, but i am now on 2 weeks vacation which allowed me some thinking room.

  and here's what's been on my mind.. we're all going to die.

  no matter what we do, our fate is sealed.

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  StrongHaiku

  “Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.” - Marcus Aurelius
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  26

  Depressing chat to my still-in brother about the RC

  by Lemonp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is a quick breakdown of our conversation (by text message).

  me: "have you read about the royal commission?

  the org has been covering up child abuse.

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  StrongHaiku

  Lemonparty.org - Him: "The Royal Commission is how Jehovah is fixing it"

  Yep. That's pretty much what I would have said when I was a JW 30 years ago. The first person we learn to lie to is ourselves.
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  4

  Are the J.W's that are appearing before the R.C. counting the time for their F.S report?

  by karter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i bet they are.

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  StrongHaiku

  I wouldn't put it past them. Yeah, they will. They can also put down some "placements" (e.g. WT publications, the Elder's book, the Branch Procedures book, etc.) in their time slips...
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  82

  Quality Thinking - Warning: Long Post Ahead

  by Viviane in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  recently, several threads have had some debate about logic, evidence, critical thinking and skepticism.

  i wanted to write a post discussing those things, hopefully to clarify what those things are, why they are important and how to use those tools.

  first, logic, at its core, is simply a method for how to reason validly, how to draw conclusions based on a premise.

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  StrongHaiku

  Viviane - "If you haven't bothered to learn about evolution, biology, etc., then your opinion on the truth of evolution doesn't carry any weight."

  I second Phizzy as well.
  

  This is one of the best lines yet. Nicely done.

  It is a good reminder to continue to keep up with our understanding of science, technology, society, politics, etc. We should either have a good understanding of the arguments or simply say "I don't know".
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  21

  Why the Bible is a poor moral compass

  by Diogenesister in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  please don't click the link if you feel details of abuse would upset you http://jwleaks.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/letter-to-the-director-of-public-prosecutions-from-steven-unthank-in-relation-to-discontinuing-the-criminal-trial-february-2012-pdf.pdf.

  looking at some of the events that led up to the rc in australia i came across this letter, submitted to the d.p.p.

  by steven upthank, in relation to the crown discontinuing prosecution of the governing body of jehovahs witnesses.

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  StrongHaiku

  CalebInFloroda, I have to say that I am totally confused and maybe you can help me.

  Based on your comments it seems to me that you are saying that the Jews had a notion/idea/relationship with G-d (predating the OT) which, over time, was codified over time in the OT. And, that the OT reflects both cultural and religious ideas that cannot be well-understood let alone be used as a foundation for other religions because of the very specific and unique perspective (e.g. one needs to have the context of the Jewish religion and cultural history otherwise you end up with problems). If I got it wrong, my apologies.
  

  However, I am still fuzzy on how ideas are reconciled. For example, how would you would address G-d's endorsement of mass genocide of men/women/children, slavery, stoning, and all sorts of things that we (as a society) and Jews would now find indefensible, immoral, etc.?

  When you read those passages from the OT is your perspective "that was then, this is now"? Do you look at these acts as a reflection of the character of the G-d of the OT or is it strictly tied to the character of the people of the time?

  I guess I am trying to better understand how you reconcile the G-d of the OT as it relates to some of the things you say. Thank you for your patience.
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  22

  Good news RE - Geoffrey Jackson and the RC

  by iwasblind in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hey guys.

  this was just put up on the rc site.

  rc will recommence on the 14th august.. http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2015-08/public-hearing-into-the-jehovah%e2%80%99s-witnesses-to-rec.

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  StrongHaiku

  I was just thinking about all of the countless faithful JWs (some of us) who were tortured, raped, beaten, abused for not signing a loyalty card or not saluting flag, etc. I was just thinking about all of the JWs (some of our family) who died not taking a blood transfusions. I was just thinking about the endless numbers of JWs (so many of us) who made life-altering decisions to not take a job, leave family behind, not take higher education, volunteer countless hours door-to-door-to-door, and made substantial personal sacrifices, to stand up for the Jehovah and his Organization. I was thinking about many of us who never got to say "goodbye" to our loved ones. Many of us and others did it all without a second thought and were honored to do so...

  Geoffrey Jackson had to be asked to take a minute of his busy schedule to set matters straight. His main excuse for not attending is "compassionate care" to his father who is ill.

  I think I will reserve my compassion to the endless number of JWs who laid down on the road before him.
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  24

  A question the Chair (Mclellan) may want to ask G. Jackson

  by Indian Larry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  mr. jackson, we have heard testimony from mr spinks and mr. obrien that women will never have leadership positions in the congregation.

  as i understand it mr. jackson, you interpret revelation 7 to mean that only 144,000 will go to heaven and that these 144,000 will rule the earth.

  i also understand that your organization teaches that women are part of this "remnant" of 144,000. can you explain why jesus christ is willing to put women in leadership over the entire earth but you are not willing to permit them to have anything to do with helping victims of pedophiles in your congregation?

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  StrongHaiku

  Vidiot - A consequence of the RC (unfortunately for the WTS) is that the exposure of the policies' flaws cannot help but - as far as JWs are concerned - inevitably call into question the validity of the beliefs.

  I have to say that I was truly surprised at times at the questions the RC asked about beliefs in general. But it started to make sense after a while. I think the RC was trying to understand ("get a feel for") the limitations/constraints of the how the beliefs impact policy and where the Organization can/cannot flex/accommodate to possible recommended changes. I think they were trying to get a clear understanding on what is negotiable vs. non-negotiable for the JWs.

  At times, I even got the sense the RC was trying to help the Organization with finding a way to help them reconcile their religious beliefs (provide a loophole) in order to align to a more enlightened 21st century understanding of what is best. I think it is starting to dawn on the RC members who they are dealing with here and you can see it in their reactions. Pure, unadulterated shock and revulsion.
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  33

  Ever wondered

  by NoIdeaWhatToBelieve in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was very hooked on the rc videos, really interesting to watch.

  i started questioning stuff a couple of months ago.. however there is still a scenario that makes me wonder.

  considering the israelites as god's chosen people and the kings as anointed, the bible shows many bad decisions the people made, including the rulers that were anointed.

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  StrongHaiku

  NoIdeaWhatToBelieve, I empathize and wish you a grand adventure of discovery...

  One thing, have you ever watched the movie "Inception"? Layers, and layers, of being in dreams/delusions until someone (or yourself)"kicks your chair" and you wake up from one layer. You need to continue "kicking that chair". You will be surprised at how many things we all took for granted as "truth/reality".

  Vidiot said it well - "It's not all that much of a stretch to go from "they had it once but lost it" to "they probably never had it"."

  Don't stop there. Keep asking questions.