Posts by adamah

50

Letter From My Mother: Moire insane Watchtower Rhetoric

by confusedandalone in

again, i apologize to any who think i may be going overboard posting these letters, but i am hoping that i can help prepare others for the type of bombardment that they may face when dealing with mentally diseased witness parents who have no idea just how much control this cult has over them:.

august 19, 2013. dear <my name removed> & <my wifes name removed>, .

i had the privilege of attending the convention this weekend for a second time and i must say that i enjoyed it more than the first.

adamah

Wow, my sympathies, confusedandalone, as that's some heavy-duty evidence of reality distortion and brain-washing, with one bad assumption stacked on top of another.

For some JWs, this fantasy of gaining everlasting life in the paradise Earth is literally all they've got going on in their lives, so it's their only break from an otherwise boring meaningless go-nowhere existence, and it makes them feel soooo good (sometimes such that they go to DC twice!). It's ironic that the JWs are amongst the most HOPELESS people walking on the face of the Earth, and hence are desparately grasping at straws of a pipe-dream.

For many JWs, they literally ARE at the end of a rope, just like Simon Peter, "But Lord, where else would we go?" They have no "Plan B", since they were heavily-encouraged to go "all in" by 'putting Kingdom interests first', etc.

Adam

34

"Whether These Appear Sound From a Strategic or Human Standpoint or Not." - What do YOU think?

by jw07 in

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20131115/seven-shepherds-eight-dukes/.

paragraph 17.

"at that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from jehovahs organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint.

adamah

It's a periodic vague statement intentionally dropped to not-so-subtly remind the R&F readers that "we've (GB) got a secret! We're God's spirit-directed organization, doncha know!".

Anyone who's been a part of a large manpower-driven organization knows a 'Southeast Asian Fire Drill' when they see one, with a message calling for continued vigiliance which is solely designed to get the JW chat lines a buzzin' by moving the Armageddon Threat Con to Code Yellow, movement done simply for the sake of creating a sense of movement.

It's like GB is playing a JW-version of Ouija Board, and gets excited by how the game piece moves when their hands are on it and they move it. The crazy part is how the R&F seemingly ARE impressed, and how they're played like fiddles in the hands of the GB.

Adam

56

Even MORE evidence for "Jesus died on a Cross"?

by ILoveTTATT in

i like jwfact's http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/cross-or-stake.php.

it would probably be interesting to add the information found in this article:.

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/crucifixion/the-staurogram/.

adamah

Phizzy said-

The truth is out there, but difficult for us to get at when bias and personal agenda get in the way. There is a lot working against a true unbiased interpretation of Archaeological finds in the "Holy Land" and vicinity, such an interpretation may show that the State of Israel has no historical right to exist.

Well, that's a conclusion that goes quite a bit beyond what archaeologists like Finkelstein have even stated, since archaeologists HAVE found evidence of ancient Hebrew settlements in Palestine, just no evidence of an exodus from Egypt, etc. There's not going to be an ejection of Jews from Israel anytime soon, with Palestinians filling in the gap.

Adam

268

After 2000 years since JC was executed ,why have we heard not a whisper from GOD ALMIGHTY ?

by smiddy in

he/she had no problem talking to adam and eve ,though they were sinners in his/her sight .throughout the hebrew sriptures, ot, he /she had no problem communicating with fallen man ,imperfect humans , to dictate his will to his subjects by means of prophets , male and female ,according to the bible , the old testament ,the hebrew scriptures , god communicated not once ,not twice ,not even thrice ,but dozens of times during the first 4000 years of human history according to the bible.. why has this god been so silent these past 2000 years ,when their have been atrocities above the scale of anything that has ever been seen these past 6000 years of human existence .. oh you may say that the atrocities were not committed by god they were committed by man.

fair enough .but god intervened in human affairs in such smaller infringements.

with prophets or so the bible says.. the so called apostacy after the last of the apostles , the influence of satan in the world ,( or was that after 1914 ,) and the 2000 year gap when christ was supposed to return ,never mind about all the crap that went before it .. the fact remains we have never heard from god ,any god, or even" a " god, with either his/her approval or disapproval of events good or bad these past 2000 years... smiddy.

adamah

i prefer the universal truisms of aesop's fables to my book of horror stories. :)

Yes, but the 'fly in the ointment' of ALL advice ("universal truisms"), whether the Bible or Aesop's Fables, is that they all require applying one's OWN wisdom to know which situations to which they APPLY, since many are downright contradictory.

eg is it better to follow:

Look before you leap?

OR

He who hesitates is lost?

Obviously both are questionable, since they both attempt to be short perfunctory and curt, when a more proper answer would be somewhere inbetween. However, expressing complex ideas usually requires more than short cliched expressions.

Adam

56

Even MORE evidence for "Jesus died on a Cross"?

by ILoveTTATT in

i like jwfact's http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/cross-or-stake.php.

it would probably be interesting to add the information found in this article:.

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/crucifixion/the-staurogram/.

adamah

This is very interesting and important info for both Witnesses and and ex Witnesses but the fact is that the Romans crucified people, that is what they did. History confirms that is what they did. Why on earth the Watchtower insists on being contrary is beyond me. We do an injustice to ourselves and others by even considering their petty argument which has no historical backing whatsoever.

Just like Judaism has it's cultural markers to ID fellow Jews (eg circumcisions, Kosher, etc), JWs have a few unique traits that make them stand out from the crowd, eg not saluting the flag, not placing hand over heart during National Anthem, no blood, no cross. Freud talked about how groups inevitably engage in the narcissism of small differences, where one group makes a mountain out of a molehill to feel better than the others and to discriminate against other groups ("we do this, but THEY do that!"). Many houseolders simply slam their doors on JWs, and get back to whatever they were doing before they were intruded upon, and the JWs walk off saying how the Worldly people will get what's coming to them in Amageddon.

Adam

12

Reza Aslan (author, "Zealot: the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth") interview on TYT

by adamah in

reza aslan (author of "zealot: the life and times of jesus of nazareth") makes a few points during an interview on 'the young turks' that really deserve their own thread.. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl6e4emx-4k .

his main point often missed by modern-day believers is that the writers of the gospels weren't even attempting to write an accurate historical account (which is a modern concept) but instead seeking to convey truths (truisms) via jesus' use of parables and the story of his life and death.

adamah

SBF said-

I am not convinced this book would be so popular apart from one infamous interview the author gave on Fox. Does this book really have merit above the many other books on the historical Jesus that come out each year?

I had heard about him and his book before the Faux interview (I read other interviews/reviews), but a publicity stunt couldn't have planned any better than the Faux interview, since it hit #1 shortly thereafter.

I have a whole load of books by scholars like Maurice Casey, John Dominic Crossan and others I would read first.

Why would read those, if you already read them?

If you're already familiar with the basic information surrounding what is known about the life of Jesus, you're not likely going to find anything particularly new in his book, since it's a resynthetization of the same basic info. However, the guy has a great writing style and presentation, and I suppose whether anyone find his arguments compelling will be up to the individual reader.

Adam

134

Another story... possibly final story

by confusedandalone in

this is the exchange of text messages i had with my super spiritual brother.

it is sad... it is pathetic... it has helped me realize that i have no connection to these people anymore.

i feel free today.

adamah

Just remember: if they DID own a home, they'd only end up leaving it to the Borg or your brother: just sick how they're willing to use the Almighty $ as a weapon, and then use making it out like YOU are doing Jehovah a favor by giving them $. Just goes to show how a fool and his $ are soon parted under many different conditions.

I said file for bankruptcy... his response is, "I have to let my yes mean yes... i made the bills so I have to pay for them". There is always some Watchtower rule to keep you in a state of want / need and that your only hope for joy is to wait for the New System when all this oppression is gone. Freaking pathetic.

Yup, the Bible is a smorgasborg of rationalizations, where there's an aphorism for every need (whether it actually fits or not is the fly in the ointment, since men are forced to use their OWN morality to decide which of God's "perfect" laws applies.

Adam

12

Reza Aslan (author, "Zealot: the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth") interview on TYT

by adamah in

reza aslan (author of "zealot: the life and times of jesus of nazareth") makes a few points during an interview on 'the young turks' that really deserve their own thread.. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl6e4emx-4k .

his main point often missed by modern-day believers is that the writers of the gospels weren't even attempting to write an accurate historical account (which is a modern concept) but instead seeking to convey truths (truisms) via jesus' use of parables and the story of his life and death.

adamah

It really begs the question of what did the Gospels say, before someone with an agenda got a hold of it (that is, if it even DID have an original message)? And WHEN did it happen?

I have no problem seeing the Gospel accounts of Jesus being penned by those who agreed with the Romans, and wanted to squelch the longstanding Roman-Jewish wars which took 1 millio lives, and had boiled up over 70 yrs (70CE/130CE) led by violent Jewish messiahs such as Bar Kochba. Judas Iscariot is depicted in a negative light as such a zealot, who was rebuked by Jesus. Who does that kind of message serve, if not the Romans, who wanted Jews to accept a newly-syncretized religion created by Hellenlized Jews that was based on the tradition of Judaism?

Adam

39

WT November 15, 2013 on jw.org

by Gayle in

how can we maintain.

a waiting attitude?

article,,just to wait and wait and wait.

adamah

I'm reading it as their periodic need to run a practice fire-drill, as if they've got some top-secret information from Jehovah which they can't tell anyone (opsec, you know) for something that's just about to happen REAL SOON, any minute now. They've learned the dangers of setting any specific dates (and the most obvious is as stated, trying to tighten the ranks ahead of the anticipated disappointment of no Armageddon as we're entering the 100 yr anniversary of 1914, esp for those who remember the "last generation" doctrine). It's the typical alarmist "Chicken Little" stuff, except even less specific; a way to raise anxiety in the troops which will quickly be forgotten by the same troops when 2014 comes and goes, a raising of emotions (non-specific fear and anxiety) in order to block thinking.

I was struck by the picture on page 25 showing an elder using an iPad-like device to counsel a single-family (there's even a close-up of the device)! Are they allowing elders to use those now, or was the prohibition against use on the podium? Seems pretty hypocritical to discourage use on the podium, but then to prominently show one in the WT, as if it's sending an unstated policy change about the dangers of encouraging materialism via use of such devices.

Adam

9

The Watchtower crazy train puts you on this trip of building resistance to people not unlike pavlov and his dog.

by Narcissistic Supply in

jw
friends

the watchtower crazy train puts you on this trip of building resistance to people not unlike pavlov and his dog.

its a process.

it doesnt happen overnight.

adamah

SAHS said-

Watchtower term: “mentally-diseased apostates”

Term “Narcissistic Supply” used: “crazy train”

Principle: “What goes around comes around.”

Conclusion: If Watchtower wants to play like that, then that’s the karma they get. Fair is fair.

So, the old 'lex talionis' bit? Yeah, and that's NOT worked for HOW LONG NOW?

Don't get me wrong: It's great for giving a sense of revenge and venting anger, but many here are hoping to actually have a chance of liberating and gaining back our family members. Simply strengthening their 'persecution complex' and confirming what the GB tells them about apostates and DF is the BEST WAY to drive them deeper into the arms of "their Mother".

It would be nice if you'd read my article if you haven't yet done so (link provided above, and it's not like it's a top-secret strategy or something: active JWs are encouraged to read it, as much as anyone: they need to learn about Milgram's study more than ANYONE). If you don't agree with the approach or have any questions, you can ask them or debate the general approach right here.

Adam