He would have been DF'd for not counteracting the prevaling "apostate" ideas regarding the afterlife, but rather embellishing them and using them as the basis of parables as a warning to those who rejected him.
Posts by M.J.
-
32Can You Picture Jesus Christ Being a Jehovah's Witness???
by minimus inthink about that for a moment....... if jesus was a jw(as jws claim), how would he have handled various situations??
for example, if peter denied him 3 times, what would've been different?
or if the disciples fell asleep the night before he was to die, how would a jesus christ jehovah's witness have handled it?.......you get the idea.
-
-
-
17
What Is the Real World?
by Satanus inthe wt has it's own definition of 'the world', which they claim to not be a part of.
yet, in following trends, such as fear trends, ultraconservative fashion trends, allowing it's members to take in various media, such as popular music, movies, sports, the jws are part of the world.
yet, by wt definition, they are not.. sitting, thinking yesterday about my life, my social contacts, work, play etc.
-
-
M.J.
The WTS gets to pick and choose what being in "the world" actually means, and it isn't very consistent to any sort of rational thought process. Basically this is another instance of turning a biblical phrase into a buzz word to demonize all non-compliance with the org.
-
16
Cyrus: Yahweh's anointed pagan and conquering ruler
by M.J. ini wonder about the wts's strict view of all worldly governments as ultimately under satan's rulership.
in practice jws are led to take on an uncomprimising attitude of resentment and hostility toward "satanic" world governments, not mere neutrality, as they claim.
i wonder about this in light of romans 13, where world governments are said to be appointed by god, a "minister of god to you for good.
-
-
M.J.
I wonder about the WTS's strict view of all worldly governments as ultimately under Satan's rulership. In practice JWs are led to take on an uncomprimising attitude of resentment and hostility toward "satanic" world governments, not mere neutrality, as they claim. I wonder about this in light of Romans 13, where world governments are said to be appointed by God, a "minister of God to you for good." (13:4) (perhaps this is the reason for the the constant WTS flip-flops on their interpretation of this passage?) I also wonder about 1 Timothy 2:1-2, where it says that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings are to be made for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life...I wonder how many JWs take this to heart and say a little prayer for George W. every once in a while? But most of all, I wonder about the Bible's reverence for King Cyrus. In Isaiah 45:1 Cyrus, a pagan king of the Medo-Persians, is called ?anointed.? Cyrus was indeed a ruler well ahead of his time in the areas of tolerance, justice and mercy, in stark contrast to what was practiced in the preceding Assyrian and Babylonian empires. But he was definitely a conqueror, establishing his relatively just rulership through the strength of his army, using his military might to conquer and subdue nations. And according to scripture, Yahweh even took his right hand to help him accomplish this. (Is 45:1)
One might make the argument that Cyrus was temporarily God's "puppet" to accomplish His purpose for the people of Israel, and to this extent alone he was acting according to God's will. But does this explain away all the words of Biblical praise and blessing for Cyrus the ruler? Compare the Biblical treatment of Pharaoh in Exodus, or to Nebuchadnezzar, or to other tyrranical rulers that were used by God according to His will. Cyrus got the praise for being a just and all-around good secular ruler for the times, showing religious tolerance toward the Jews and allowing them to return home to rebuild their temple.
Fast forward to modern times. There are numerous countries that display religious tolerance to "God's people", practicing a level of justice and fairness unheard of in ancient times. In fact, the WTBTS can probably owe its existance to the protection of religious freedom outlined in the US Constitution. And its purported establishment as the FDS is actually owed to the inherent fairness of the US legal system, when it supposedly "exonerated" the WTBTS leaders in 1919. Yet the WTBTS, in the fashion established by an angst-filled Judge Rutherford, is unwavering in its condemnation of anything having to do with governments and rulers.
-
20
Is the very concept of THE TRUTH the reason cults can exist?
by zen nudist inconsidering that all availible evidence points to the understanding that everything we know is our own mental inventions, symbols our own minds have made... maps of an implied territory, representations, not substance, how can we be sure of anything that arises in our minds at all?
it seems the best we can say is that there is some stability and consistancy to some of the things we experience and some of our beliefs seems useful a lot of the time... but the truth?
what can one use as a standard for the truth?
-
-
M.J.
Here are some points from "Releasing the Bonds" by Steven Hassan on "Reality"
- Every individual has his own sense of reality and is connected to a shared reality with others
- Our perception of reality is influenced by our inborn characteristics and abilities, psychological development, emotional states, and belief systems.
- Our view of reality is influenced (positively and negatively) by memories, beliefs, needs, and social influence
- We all filter and edit the information detected by our senses: we emphasize some things and eliminate others. Otherwise, we would be overwhelmed by a flood of information. In fact, much of the brain?s function is to inhibit incoming information.
- We can never be 100% certain that our picture of reality is objectively correct
- We never fully know another person?s reality
- We are not capable of fully communicating all the things that make up our sense of reality.
- We can?t assume that what we believe is more than a "constructed" view of reality.
- Our internal self-talk interprets, and sometimes distorts, our sense of reality
- We can control some of our inner and outer reality. Total control is impossible, although through discipline (meditation or hypnosis), the mind can develop greater degrees of control.
- We can?t control all of our reality all the time.
- No matter how much we improve and work to enhance our sense of what is real, it is always incomplete, imperfect, out of focus, and distorted.
- The more distorted our sense of reality, the more certain we will be that what we believe is accurate.
The more insistent a person is about the accuracy of his or her observations, the more likely it is that his or her sense of reality is distorted.
-
18
Does niceness work to convert a cult member ?
by kls ini am not talking about screaming at them but i know many talk of helping a person out of a cult with kindness.
has anyone really helped a cult member out with it ?
my own experience kindness has just helped me get walked all over.
-
-
M.J.
I battle with the same types of issues myself, so I know how tricky the situation is. I am often unsure about how to react to it all, but I'm getting better. I always try to keep my JW wife's mindset in mind. I know that in her mind, to not fulfil her requirements to the organization is to turn her back on Jehovah. If I stand in her way, I am standing in between her and Jehovah. So I think a frontal attack on her day-to-day "obligations" will do more harm than good. What I do is I let her know that her devotion to such activities saddens me, although being the understanding husband I am, I will not prevent her from doing it. I think that in any case you should let your spouse know where you stand. This is one area you can be assertive about and demand respect for, just as you respect his position/obligations. I do think that there was an overall positive effect after I let my wife really know how deeply her engagement in her activities really does affect me. It's possible to open them up to be more empathetic, in spite of thier programming.
-
8
Growing up in home with one JW parent and one non JW parent
by jwgirlfriend ini recently found your site while searching for information about jw.
i have been dating a jw for almost a year now and began a thread on the subject.
a few of the wonderful people who responded to me actually shared some of their experiences growing up as a child in a home with one parent who is a jw and one who isn't.
-
-
M.J.
I don't have any first hand experience with this. But my situation is similar to yours except unlike yours its too late for me to turn back. I have a JW spouse and young children. My greatest fear is having these children raised in this organization. This collision course I am on has become a source of stress, anxiety, and real emotional low points, as I frantically and constantly battle to find a light at the end of the tunnel. What I wouldn't give to go back and be in your shoes, while I still had a choice in the matter of where my path would lead me to. Please consider your plight carefully. In your case it will be 100 times worse than mine because he will consider himself the head of the family. Consider the divisions that will develop within your family due to their special set of rules. Consider what your kids may go through in school. What if one of your kids needs a blood transfusion to save his life? What if your husband dies due to refusing a transfusion, leaving you alone with your kids? Don't blow this question off...it very nearly happened to me.
-
20
Philosophy: Satan's tool?
by M.J. ini have heard much railing from the wts about the snares of "worldly philosophies".
according to the wts, much of what is evil in the world, including the teachings of "babylon the great" is rooted in philosophy.
this appears to be one of their hotbutton "buzzwords" to promote irrational fear about anything related to philosophy.
-
-
M.J.
I have heard much railing from the WTS about the snares of "worldly philosophies". According to the WTS, much of what is evil in the world, including the teachings of "Babylon the Great" is rooted in philosophy. This appears to be one of their hotbutton "buzzwords" to promote irrational fear about anything related to philosophy. Although I never took any philosophy courses, I recently heard from a freind that any introductory philosophy course will totally school you in the techniques of identifying logical fallacies. This person said that after taking such a course, he was suddenly able to identify all kinds of fallacies in everything he read, including newspaper articles, editorials, books, etc. It struck me at that point that this could be one of the reasons that the WTS is scared of philosophy! I'd like to give my friend a copy of "Reasoning from the Scriptures" and tell him to have at it!
Note this passages:
*** Awake! May 8 1989 pp.13-14 What Career Should I Choose? ***
Be selective in your choice of [college] courses, for example, focusing on learning job skills rather than worldly philosophies.
*** Watchtower November 1 1992 pp.17-21 Education With a Purpose ***
On the other hand, some of their contemporaries chose to get a university education and fell by the wayside, subjugated by the faith-destroying philosophies and "wisdom of this world."?1 Corinthians 1:19-21; 3:19, 20; Colossians 2:8.
Any thoughts on what is good/bad about philosophy and why the WTS paints it in such a bad light? -
-
-
M.J.
Tell them, "I'm curious about something. I'm sure you could go on all day about what you personally like about being a JW, but could you tell me three things that you do not like about the Watchtower Society?"
If they can't come up with anything convincing or sincere, you can say "any earthly/human organization is going to have imperfections and if one doesn't feel like they can think or speak critically of their leadership, this just sets up warning flags for me and I couldn't even think about being a part of a group like that."
Another effective technique I heard about was a householder answered the door draped in an American flag. The JWs didn't even bother and bid him farewell, although they did find it amusing.
-
1
Boy dies of Leukemia, others live
by M.J. inhere's a touching story about a boy who recently lost a battle to leukemia due to not finding a match for a bone marrow transplant.
yet, through special blood and bone marrow drives set up for him in the community, more than 25 people who attended have so far gone on to donate bone marrow, with most saving lives.
through this, nearly 4,000 people have registered into the national bone marrow registry as potential donors who could one day save lives around the world.. it is fortunate that since 1984, the watchtower society has made acceptance of bone marrow, the source of blood, a conscience matter.. http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/33473.php
-
-
M.J.
Here's a touching story about a boy who recently lost a battle to leukemia due to not finding a match for a bone marrow transplant. Yet, through special blood and bone marrow drives set up for him in the community, more than 25 people who attended have so far gone on to donate bone marrow, with most saving lives. Through this, nearly 4,000 people have registered into the national bone marrow registry as potential donors who could one day save lives around the world.
It is fortunate that since 1984, the Watchtower Society has made acceptance of bone marrow, the source of blood, a conscience matter.
-
29
Spirit-Directed Organization
by UnDisfellowshipped inthis is what the watchtower society claims (i can post quotes if anyone wants them):
* jehovah does not directly communicate with anyone today.
* jehovah is using the watchtower society and the faithful and discreet slave class as his only "channel of communication".
-
-
M.J.
...The slave class strives to avoid being dogmatic...
I think I'm gonna puke!!!