Posts by Syme

6

Does anyone live by any Bible stuff?

by punkofnice in

this is not meant to be a slag off the bible thread.. i had a question asked me the other day and it was: 'do you live by anything from the bible?'.

i had to think about that one because i was force grown in the filthy, disgusting cult of the paedophile loving watchtower(r).. you know what?

i really don't know if i just naturally am a great bloke or if any 'nice' bits in the bible influenced me......or has western culture been influenced by the bible for good and bad?.

Syme

Like ADCMS implied, the people who live literally by the Bible rules are the worst of all. This includes the Quran, which is a spin-off of the Old Testament.

People like Boco Haram, ISIS and Taliban, who slaughter others on the basis of faith, who treat women like domestic cattle (or worse), all those people are people who live literally by their holy book. It is misleading to call them religious extremists: They just DO literally what their Book says. As a matter of fact, the moderate religious people are more hypocrites, since they cherry-pick whichever passages of the Holy Book make them feel comfortable (or are allowed by the law) to follow.

Not to leave Christians outside of this: The Amish and the JWs are examples of people who follow lots of their Bible instructions literally, and genarally are worse than the average secular person. Worse in an ethical sense (shunning, forbidding of normal sexual activity, blood etc.)

The only reason Christians like JW and Amish don't do 100% literally what their Bible says, e.g. killing apostates instead of shunning them, is because the Law of their countries forbids it. When the secular law allowed it (from 400 AD to to almost 1800) they did it, and they did it plentifully (remember the witch trials, not of the Dark Ages, but of the New World in 1600 and 1700s). The Islamists still do it (the killing) because their theocratic states still allow them to.

15

Not willing to meet with Elders? DF?

by thedepressedsoul in

if a person says that they are not willing to meet with the elders or does not meet with them, will that get them df'ed?

there is a rumor about a person who has left the truth (went inactive) about being imoral.

they do not have the 2 person witness so they can't take actions because of this.

Syme

They won't DF you if they don't have 2 witnesses.

However, read the following postrscripts:

1. The 2 witnesses don't have to be witnesses of the same act necessarily, but of the same KIND of act. If, e.g., the act is apostasy, if you spoke like an apostate with 2 different individuals, on different ocassions, a JC can be formed.

2. If you refuse to meet with elders, especially if you do it with an "I don't want to'' attitute, you may be marked.

45

Testimony card returns

by sir82 in

jw
friends

old timers, or careful readers of the proclaimers book, are familiar with the "testimony card" used in the early days of rutherford-era door to door witnessing.

the jw would traipse up to a house, knock, hand the card over to the householder, and wait while he read it.. well, it seems that "everything old is new again".

here is an excerpt from a recent boe letter:.

Syme

integ said " Only a total idiot would simply go to jw.org..."

Well, guess what: That's what JWs are looking for in the field service: TOTAL IDIOTS. That is the "gene pool" for the new recruits. That's where the ''growth'' comes from.

However, to be fair and honest, a not-so-high-IQ is a prerequisite for someone to join ANY religion, especially the whacky ones.

Just look inside a KH meeting (or another's cult's meeting) and ask yourself: "What is the average IQ of those people there?" Then go inside a university lecture hall and ask yourself the same question.

Paul, being honest in his fanaticism, had admitted it: "God has chosen the fools of this world".

49

What is the "new" date JWs are "hinting" at for Armaggeddon?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

after the 1975 "we did not say point blank armaggeddon was coming we only suggested it might come" fiasco what is the new date jws are "hinting" at for armaggeddon?

i know now they do not point to any specific date but hint that maybe it might occur such as before 2000 the preaching work will be finished.

this is a suggestion not a prediction so they can wiggle out of this one.

Syme

Ray Franz had theorized in his COC book that the next date could be 2034, based on the Noah's Flood 'parallel'.

Of course, they would not bring up the 2034 doctrine now, because it's too soon. For the time being, the End is just ''imminent''. If they bring it up, they'll do it about 5 years prior 2034, not more.

152

Something Big is Coming...

by notsurewheretogo in

the annual meeting of the governing body of jehovah's witnesses will be in october 2014.. .. in november 2013, just after the last one they published this now famous statement in the 15th of november 2013 watchtower page 16 paragraph 17 says:.

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

all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.".

Syme

They need to do something with the partakers issue: it is embarassing to see them grow expotentially year by year, while claiming the the End's nearness is testified by the fact of the dwindling partakers.

So, maybe they will declare that EVERYONE now can, and MUST, partake from the emblems in the Memorial; at least, every baptized JW. And so they get away with the partakers issue.

No need to worry about what scripture justifies that, I'm sure they'll find one, and do the proper tweaking to fit their change!

23

New DVD - Has anyone ripped a leaked copy yet?

by outinthemeadows in

i was going to say "i could do with a leak" but that would sound wrong.

so i'll rephrase, has anyone got a leaked copy of the new dvd released at the district sorry regional convention this year?.

Syme

Welcome, wifibandit. Thanks for the post.

Those faces of the poor dubs when I tell them that I've already watched the video :)

7

For past and present elders - Questions in a JC - why so intimate?

by berrygerry in

repeatedly, people who have been in a jc are shocked by both the invasiveness and irrelevant questions asked by elders.. yet, the shepherd book doesn't seem to indicate requiring this?.

if it is something passed on from one generation of elders to the next, then why does it appear globally?.

where and how does the questioning arise?.

Syme

berrygerry, it is not an oral tradition. Rather, it is specific instructions from the Borg that require this kind of intimate questioning.

The reason? Typically, so that elders can know exactly what has happened, in order to be able to give specific help and counsel/discipline.

My opinion is that it has a psychological factor, too: That intimate questioning is a way of exercising power over the 'sheep'. And that is very important. The 'sheep' must know who has power over them, he/she must feel it in their skin, so to speak.

Plus, it feeds the ego of the elders, that kind of exercising power. It sounds twisted, I know, but it's under the greater picture that all of the JC thing is twisted and un-humane in its nature.

This kind of questioning is identical to the Medieval (and later) Inquisition. The only difference is that JCs are not allowed to inflict physical pain and/or death, so they are left with the option of 'spiritual' death (DFing). Thanks to the secular authorities, the Inquisition was banned from carrying death sentences. I think something similar should happen with the JCs. While it would be wrong to expect an authority to completely ban a religion, however banning the carrying out of spiritual death sentences should be something that authorities should look into. I believe that is going to be the case in the next few years.

87

How is the org really run? What goes on behind the scenes?

by Magnum in

how is the org really run?

what goes on behind the scenes?.

i just read an older post on this site that was recently bumped (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/6600/1/don-adams-biography) the post mentioned the adams brothers don, karl, & joel and how influential they are/were at headquarters.

Syme

Listener, you might have a point in there.

On the one hand, the GB can easily delete or DF any BoD member who goes astray. On the other hand, even without privileges, one can still retain his legal position in the WTS. But hey... to keep his legal position one must be elected by the Board. And of course, if the GB says to the other Board members ''do not elect him", what do you think will happen?

Again, the legal authority is completely subject to the religious authority of the GB. Except, of course, if a general uprising in the Board occured, which would allow the Board to make its own decisions, uncontrolled. But that's science fiction, I think. Let's stick to reality, which, IMO, is the above-mentioned statement.

87

How is the org really run? What goes on behind the scenes?

by Magnum in

how is the org really run?

what goes on behind the scenes?.

i just read an older post on this site that was recently bumped (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/6600/1/don-adams-biography) the post mentioned the adams brothers don, karl, & joel and how influential they are/were at headquarters.

Syme

Guys, how can you really believe that people from the Board of Directors or anyone else can be higher that the GB?

Let's say for example that a member of the BoD, even the President (D.Adams), disagrees with the GB and tries to have power over them. So what? The GB can easily delete him of his privileges as an elder, strip him of his Bethelite status (or even DF him), and thus D.Adams automatically loses any power he might have had.

I mean, everyone in the Org, EVERYONE, no matter how high up on the 'technical' ladder he may be, no matter if he's a chief-lawyer, an chief-accountant or a Board of Directors member, is first and foremost subject to the religious authority of the GB. If they like, they strip him of his eldership, and since he's not an elder anymore, he can't hold any position of influence in the WTS.

Don't try to make this more complicated than it is. Remember Occam's Razor: search for the simplest explanation. Which is: the Top of the JWs are the GB, simple as that. They are a self-sustaining and self-propagating group of delusional fanatics, purely Orwellian in nature, who, like the Inner Party, are masters of Doublethink: they know they are decieving the R&F, and at the same time they firmly believe they have the Truth.

59

Books that changed your life-

by new hope and happiness in

i am not much of a reader as i have two many distractions, but i fancy a challenging read, so please list any book that has changed your entire world view on everything.

i remember as a teenager buying at a yard sale, norman vincent peales " the power of positive thinking" and at the time that had a big impact on me.

but i am a little bit more in to " realistic positive thinking" now..

Syme

Excellent question, new hope and happiness !

Here are some:

- The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco

- The Blind Watchmaker, by Richard Dawkins

- a history of Marxism, in my native tongue (lots of books on this, in many languages)

- Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond

- The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin

- some books by Fernando Pessoa (you'll know why when you read him)

I strongly recommend all of them; if anything, they enable you to see how nature and the world truly operate. They are awakening experiences, in other words.