public perception a problem for jws.
monday, june 8, 2015.
a christian apologist says christians should use discernment when dealing with jehovah's witnesses, who have recently launched a massive worldwide proselytization campaign.. throughout this summer and continuing through january 2016, jehovah's witnesses are holding thousands of "imitate jesus!
Yea, that approach is easily dismantled by even a casual observer. How much quicker and easier to demolish that kind of reasoning inside the indoctrinated mind of a JW.
But I suppose the warning was directed toward non-JW Christians. Well, if it works, great! The reasoning doesn't really have to make sense... it only has to feel tingly.
saw this in the paper today:.
the jehovah's witnesses church in australia is the latest religious group to come to the attention of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.. the child sex abuse royal commission will hold a public hearing into controversial christian group the jehovah's witnesses, next month.. the inquiry, to be held in sydney, will hear from people who were allegedly sexually abused within the jehovah's witnesses church in australia.. it will examine how the jehovah's witnesses church and its company, the watchtower bible and tract society of australia, responded to claims of child sexual abuse within the organisation.. a victorian inquiry into how churches handle child sex abuse claims has previously taken submissions from former jehovah's witnesses who alleged instances of paedophilia, sexual assault, blackmail and death threats.. the organisation has 64,000 active "disciples" in australia but has also been described as a cult.. jehovah's witnesses believe their church is the one true religion and all others are wrong.
they are among a number of religious groups which have been examined by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse including the catholics, anglicans, australian christian churches and the salvation army.. the jehovah's witnesses australian headquarters has been contacted for comment about the inquiry which is scheduled to begin on july 27.. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/jehovahs-witnesses-to-appear-before-sex-abuse-royal-commission-20150622-ghue73.html.
We'll need to resurrect this thread toward the end of July to remind everyone.
For those of us in the United States there is about a 10 hour time difference. Might be able to watch some of the hearing with my morning coffee.
the latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.
he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.
not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.
I live here in South Carolina where all this church shooting and flag crap is going on. I have two observation to make.
Yes, there is a climate of racial prejudice in this area, practiced by a radical and minority on both sides. I happen to work in an environment where that minority (on the white side) is prevalent. When crimes committed by blacks hit the news the boys at work are quick to judge the entire race on the stupidity of the black offender. When this white boy shot up a church full of black folks... I heard crickets. Actually, I overheard one of our more voracious rednecks say, "The sad part is there were so many empty seats."
For the most part, I think mainstream black AND white folks couldn't care less whether that flag lives or dies. It's a non-issue that flares up amongst the "extremists" once in awhile and usually drags the rest of us reluctantly into the battle. I THINK I am sensing that correctly.
Those of us who don't really care one way or the other, I THINK, would like to just see the flag go away so we can be done with the stupidity. This issue flares up every couple of years around here, while you folks are getting a taste of it now because of the international attention on the church shooting. We also recognize that the only people who tend to fly the flag in their yards or on their vehicles, do seem to be of the type who are disappointed by the limited attendance at Emanuel AME church last week.
my guy with the lurk account on jwtalk (where all the kool-aid drinking jws go to talk about how wonderful 'the twoof' is) sent me some more interesting threads, here's one:.
spoiler: starting new the new service year september.
"there will be new directives from the branch through the circuit overseer on dress and grooming that will disqualify one to be a congregation publisher.
a witness friend wanted to meet up recently and talk.
since this person was a close friend and who i thought had a level head, i'd go ahead and speak with him.
our conversation actually helped me figure a few things out not only for myself but also about the witnesses.. so we're talking and i'm telling him my experience and the doctrines that i disagreed with as well as the scandals that made me disgusted with the organization.
"those are small details, the core of our beliefs hasn't changed."
Uhm...
In the beginning Charles Russell was the faithful slave.
Now he's not!
In the beginning Armageddon would be here by 1914.
Now it won't
In the beginning we prayed to and worshipped Jesus.
Now we don't
These and many other core teachings have been gutted from Watchtower's foundational teachings. I guess they have it in their minds that whatever teachings were lucky enough not to get the axe over the last 130 years constitute core teachings.
he kind of invited me to a barbecue or something, and asked if my parents wanted to come along as well.
it felt really awkard, i mean i am 20++.
i was sceptic, so he told me he would send me a sms about an other fitting day instead.i probably didnt look too happy about that either, so he told me that maybe he could invite some other in the group.
i have waited for so long to see some sort of justice given to my daughters.
it is far too late for me.
i have the same story as so many do on this site, so i won't bore you.
A hard story to read, with a happy ending.
Just WOW! at your courage.
i just got a call from a friend who informed me that a brother whom i've known for a while and is an elder, just found out last night that his wife of 20+ years declared she was gay, and left him..
i still need to confirm but my friend is very reliable and was close friends with the family.
heres the thing, she spent 20+ years with this man, has children with him and now decides she wants to follow her heart.
Steve nailed it.
Heteros have only themselves to blame for cultivating a society where gay people grow up afraid of being themselves. It ultimately victimizes everyone.
i was told that today by a jw...no more to say.
zambia has one of the highest concentrations of jws in the world.
their influence has impacted the political climate in that country to such an extent that the president attributes low voter turnout to the jws.. http://www.lusakatimes.com/2015/06/04/deregister-jehovah-witnesses-for-promoting-voter-apathy-cosmo-mumba/.
"national revolution party leader cosmo mumba has appealed to the register of societies to force jehovah witnesses to start singing the national anthem and participate in national elections or be banned.dr mumba told prime tv in lusaka that jehovah witnesses are the ones responsible for the prevailing low voter turnout in recent elections.he said theregistrar of societies should immediately force jehovah witnesses to start voting or ban them from practising in zambia.dr mumba said singing of the national anthem is a sign of patriotism and wondered why jehovah witnesses have been allowed to disregard symbols of national pride and patriotism like the singing of the national anthem.he claimed that zambias democracy may not grow if institutions such as the jehovah witnesses are allowed to continue operating in zambia.
