Posts by bebu

101

IMPORTANT: JWS and the CHARITIES COMMISSION

by Dansk in

jw
friends

dear all (especially those in the uk),.

following on from danny's excellent post here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/16/128626/1.ashx i have just sent an e-mail to the charities commission.

some time ago i wrote to you about the dangers of jehovah's witnesses and how they don't deserve charity status because far from helping mankind they are a real danger to it.

bebu

Hi Ian,

I am not familiar with UK laws, so I don't know whether the WTS can get tax relief through other means (such as simply being a religious organization). In the states, there are several tax-exempt statuses.

http://www.muridae.com/nporegulation/documents/exempt_orgs.html

I thought of the Scientology/WTS connection as well. Neither of these organizations is a charity! If the govt can understand that Scientology is group that merely wishes to control people and their money, then it's just a short hop to see the parallels with the WTS.

I liked Moshe's idea about the food drive. Why not bait the JWs to see them reject acting charitably? Why not challenge the govt to get an itemized list of their charitable activities, or how they have added their efforts to any other charity?

For all the TIME they spend in 'service'... where is the ~~beef~~ SERVICE?

bebu

7

The Crane Fly Invasion

by mrsjones5 in

for the last week or so we have been overran by a plethora of crane flys.

if we leave on the porch light at night, the next morning it's crane fly city.

when we leave the house they ascend out of the lawn and bushes and scare the kids (well only my daughter now, the boys are used to it).

bebu

I HATE crane flies--they always seem to fly right into my face. They have no idea what they are doing.

We had a crane fly invasion in my hometown 20+ years back. For 2-3 years they were everywhere in the summer, and then they just went away (more or less). Hope yours will go away soon...!

bebu

16

Baptism Is Pagan!

by Sarah Smiles in

do you remember the person who baptized you?

did they have holy spirit?

or did you just line up at an assembly?

bebu

What do you mean by 'pagan'? Earthy, new-agey, mystical-type stuff? Or something demonic? Is using a pagan concept the very same as idolatry?

Paganism has some rich symbolism that can be appreciated by anybody, even Christians or Jews. Abraham's dad was pagan, and when Abraham left Ur he also abandoned idolatry... but he kept the bulk of the rest of his culture. God didn't electrocute him, but used them, imo. Also, I think of Japanese shintoism as pagan, but there are certainly concepts in it which others can appreciate or use without necessarily buying the whole worldview.

At any rate, paganism is one word which elicits fear in JWs.

bebu

not a pagan, btw

22

Another money saving idea

by mrsjones5 in

a while ago someone here asked about money saving ideas for food.

i told him about the share food program which i used in california but was unable to find the program here in indiana.

i recently found it here but the host location was too far to make it economically feasible.

bebu

Angelfood ministry is wonderful. I connected FlyingHighNow with them in Michigan, and now she's found them in TN where she lives now. I really hope they can help you out, too, sniowbird! FHN said that for the $25 she got a LOT of food, and it was good quality food, too.

Thanks for mentioning angelfood, mrsjones.

bebu

47

post the OT scripture that you find most disturbing.

by oompa in

i am too tired to find mine right now, but it involves men laying in wait to attack and rape sisters going to dance at a circuit assembly.

i think the purpose was to find even more wives for the tribe of benjamin.

great plan god.. ot stuff always weirded me out more than nt stuff, until i found out we have a totally fraudulant nt version, compete with the name jehovah spuriously inserted 237 times, along with many other spurious verses.

bebu

I find the accounts in Judges disturbing, but historical accounts are different from other puzzling/disturbing accounts. For example, you'll find nowhere in Judges that God commanded those behaviors; the events are simply recorded as what people did, the phrase "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" being the major theme from whence all the action sprang. Some of the stories (like Judges 11) seem (to me) to be written to show just how crazy the story could get, with all of society getting involved: threatening visitors, sexual violence, frozen-cold indifference, careless oaths, war, kidnapping... yahoo! We're capable of all kinds of fun.

Harder verses are the ones which we have trouble understanding from the cultural/historical context. Harder because we think that Western "2007" current values are the epitome of all values, and that God should have known that back then and given them all 2007 values back then if He were really doing things right. But I wager that in a few years things we might see changes like polygamy will being a new right, incest being 'private choice', public sex being protected "speech", infanticide being permissible for economic reasons, and so on. And we will think that 2007 was archaic in understanding morality. Morality seems to be a moving target when we look at history and culture.

The hardest verses (and the ones I am drawn to) are the ones where God seems to contradict Himself. Was God lying in Genesis? Perhaps not. Fellowship with God is possibly life of the most important kind--and their fellowship was destroyed immediately. (I notice that God didn't abandon them during the following years, either.) ...Awakened's point about God ordering an image to be made, in order to be healed, is an anomaly, yet is rich with content. I think it gives a nudge to what trinitarians say about Christ being the reflection of God, or a kind of interface, which is easier for us to connect with than a vague "sky" God. It's food for thought.

bebu

40

Your votes will decide: Farewell party for loyal dub VS. Ex-JW meetup

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

i am leaving this up to jwd votes.

please don't just attack the dubs and .

vote the other way because of personal feelings.

bebu

I think you should attend the party with your wife. But I can understand your dilemma! It will be a tough choice.

bebu

32

Should We Really Try to Change Others?

by journey-on in

why do atheists try to change believers?

why do believers try to convert atheists?

why do we feel compelled to evangelize, proselyltize, convert, and change others politically, religiously, culturally, etc.?

bebu

I was thinking about this quote:

As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred,....
This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation.

But why is it sacred, and why does this--and not another perspective--have to be the highest moral obligation? Based on what authority, in other words?

These are values that the folks on the enterprise agreed to when they joined up. Problem is, that time and experience usually bring people to a place where they have to affirm or deny their original 'directive'. This directive is either very true and will be kept, or it will be modified.

Anyway... your original question about "Should we really try to change others?" means that 1) there is such a thing as bad/good, or even simply good/better/best, and 2) whether we have a moral obligation ("Am I my brother's keeper?") toward helping others. (How we might help can also be sorted into good/better/best ways, perhaps?)

You know, I think this is why I'm not upset when most people try to change me/convert me, because I start with the assumption that their motives are altruistic. Of course, there are enough folks who are mostly concerned with their own 'eternal self-preservation' and who try to change/convert others (sometimes by force) to prove they are worthy of living. (Certain JWs and Muslim jihadists come to mind.) That is selfishness at its core, and hardly a change for better for society in the long run.

IMO of course.

bebu

95

What was your first car?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

mine was an old fiat 127, i bought it 1983 and it was at least fifteen years old then!

the seats were vinyl and there were no rear seatbelts so i could send my girlfriend and her sister flying with each bend in the road!

it wouldn't go above 55mph and was rattling like rollercoaster when it finally got there.. the rear window fell out and it finally croaked in puff of blue/black smoke.

bebu

1975 Honda Civic. It was 15 years old when my husband and I got it. It cost us only $150! Had over 200k on it, of course.

We spent about $300 on it and it was a great trusty, rusty commuter car for 2 years in Los Angeles. It was very much like a soda can with wheels. The gear shift fell thru the floor and we just hooked it up with a coat hanger. We was po' folk (students) then, fo' sho.

Then we sold it to a junkyard for $50. Can't beat that!

bebu

153

MY DAD MIGHT DIE DUE TO THE 'NO BLOOD' DOCTRINE

by Mary in

i don't have much time to post as i'm headed back to the hospital, but my father collapsed this morning and had to be rushed to the hospital.

in a nutshell: he needs a blood transfusion as his hemoglobin is dropping (bleeding internally), but thanks to this fucking cult, that's not an option...........he'll accept the fractions but those bastards from the blood liaison committee have already shown up to ensure he doesn't cave............... for those of you who still believe, i'm asking you to say a prayer for my dad........and if anyone from crooklyn is reading this: you better hope my father doesn't die due to your fucked up rules, .

bebu

No one from the Hall has been by to see him-----not one single person. How Christ-like and loving eh? They'll send in the troops to make sure he doesn't violate their man made rules, but not one lousy visit. They make me sick.

Not one lousy visit... ye gods.

bebu

28

you are the evil slave class!

by tula in

jw
friends

well, that's where this idiot tells my friend i am getting my information.

so when did "apostates" rate a whole class of their own?

i have never heard about this before.. this idiot is a jw wannabe.

bebu

tula, I can only sympathize. It really won't matter what you say, because this guy's brain is stuck in neutral and he thinks he's going somewhere because he hears the engine racing in park.

Perhaps you can use this guy's irrationality to demonstrate the glorious results of JW cult thinking.

Remind your friend that the Bible issues strong warnings against following false prophets and teachers, and that TESTING EVERYTHING is exhorted, so as not to be deceived. That will hopefully help him feel permission to listen to your points better.

bebu