Posts by Syme

62

Marriage Consummation - emailed question has me stumped

by jwfacts in

i received an email from a jw that got married, but the wife never had sex with him.

they were together for a period of years.

he told the elders, but they said there was nothing that could be done.

Syme

From what I remember, there's no such concept as 'consummation' of a marriage in WT policy. It is the signing of papers by the 2 spouses in front of 2 witnesses that officially starts a marriage. *That* is the actual 'consummation'. So, whether they have sex after that or not, is irrelevant.

Suppose a spouse has an accident when they drive out of the wedding party and gets incapable of having sexual relations from that point on, before having their first night. What then, is the marriage not legitimate because they didn't sexually consummate it? Can the other spouse cancel the marriage, or have another wife? Obviously not. Technically, this is not really different from the experience you shared (it is ethically different). And as we know, when elders look up a case, their only anxiety is to be *technically* correct, i.e. in order with the various regulations. Hence, the disfellowshipping of the poor guy.

52

Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-26-2014 WT Study (Obey Jehovah's Shepherds))

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

fine.

holy spirit appointed overseers to shepherd?

6:1, 2; jude 22) are these not good reasons for being obedient to those who are taking the lead?read hebrews 13:17.. .

Syme

Thanks Billy

To me the most disturbing image of that article was the 1st image (first paragraph) with the shepherd 'taking care of' a sheep. It is a very blatant image: so the elders are actual HUMANS while the rest of the JWs are quite really, SHEEP.

That image discards any claims that the elders are 'equal' or even 'servants' to the r&f...

19

Knock Knock Joke

by jgnat in

.

Syme

If Jesus did the preaching work in JW/evangelical style, he would say:

-Hello, may I take a few moments to talk to you about myself?

32

Observations about last nights meeting...

by DATA-DOG in

... btw it was soooo boooorrrinnng!!!

draw close to jehovah(tm)/bookstudy:.

excruciatingly boring.

Syme

DATA-DOG,

Thanks for sharing the experience, my own from that meeting was just about the same. It is *encouraging* to see that "those things happen to more of our brothers worldwide" .

And nice idea there with the alcohol! I hadn't thought of it myself! Now, that's a good idea; and maybe necessary, for one to cope with the ordeal of the attendance...

18

Do you believe this to be true? 85 people control 50% of the the world's wealth.

by fulltimestudent in

.

from the uk independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/oxfam-warns-davos-of-pernicious-impact-of-the-widening-wealth-gap-9070714.html.

Syme

It is not just true, it is commonplace.

This is simply the system called Capitalism. If you want to have more than average, another one will have less than average. If you want to be ridiculously rich, lots of other people will have to be extremely poor. Capitalism is the system that ALLOWS you to do this very thing.

And in all this, you have the Watchtower saying that being concerned with the social problems of our planet equals to breach of neutrality. So, guess what? When you stay ''neutral'' in cases of injustice, who is the one to gain profit? The one who imposes injustice.

55

JW.org to be banned in Russia

by redvip2000 in

my facebook was "lit up" today with all the out cries about the possibility of the organization's website being banned in russia.. as many of you recall this past august a court in russia banned the website and sought to make accessing the website in russia illegal.

well tomorrow the appeal by the org will be heard in court.

if the appeal is denied, jw.org will no longer be available in that part of the world, causing endless lamentations and cries of "persecution", only to bolster the idea that they are truly hated by the world because they are true christians.

Syme

Classifying the JW religion as "extremist" may sound good; they are extremist, and we know it first hand.

But, please, remember that the Orthodox church in Russia is in pretty well standing. Now, ok, some of you may find joy in the fact that the cult that has enslaved you is being persecuted, but why leave the Orthodox in favor? Are they better?

I can't take the part of the Russian government in this, because the current government of Russia is a nationalistic, religious, exrtremely conservative government, with a president who plays the Tsar. If they want to be severe with the "snare and racket" of religion, they should do it with all religions. The greedy Orthodox priests are no better than jws to be treated like royalty.

69

The Biggest Fear From The Watchtower Organization Is ???

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think the organization is worried most about how jws will stay loyal to their families even as it rejects the admonition of the gb and elders..

Syme

Apathy, I too think.

One the one hand, apathy inside the org: time is passing, more are getting too tired waiting for an ever-coming End. Humanity is not going into chaos, but getting better and better, regardless (and in contrast to) 'prophecies'.

One the other hand, apathy inside, means apathy in preaching. I see this happening worldwide (yearbook): too many wasted hours of preaching, for so few results. I see it also in my cong and town: a lot of hours in the field, with practically zero results. Preaching has been degraded to a mere distribution of brochures and magazines advertizing a website.

So I think stagnation is on the corner. Control, however, will continue to exist in the remaining 'faithfuls'. The GB has nothing to fear of people who willingly (and unwittingly) find joy in being called "sheep", and competing each other who is going to be more obedient.

37

Why would Adam or Eve choose the tree of knowledge instead of the tree of life.

by smiddy in

please help me out here .. in genesis 2:16 it says " and jehovah god also laid this command upon the man: from every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction.

17 but as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it , for in the day you eat from it ,you will positively die.. ok we get that , but what about this ?.

wouldnt it make more sense to forbid the eating of the tree of life first ?

Syme

The Adam & Eve myth is a beautiful myth, full of deep meanings, only if someone sees it just as it is; a myth. If one sees it as a ...historical account, they miss all the important aspects.

Of course they would choose the tree of knowledge above all. It is the same with the Greek myth of Prometheus. Knowledge was the forbidden fruit in his case also. The very case of early mankind is engulfed in those myths. Knowledge of nature, taming of nature's forces, self-awareness, were the unexpected gifts that natural selection gave to Homo sapiens. However, the ultimate gift of self-awareness ("they knew they were naked", says Genesis) came with a dreadful price: the awareness of death. All life forms die, but only Homo sapiens, with the evolved gift of self-awareness, is aware of the eventuality and certainty of his own death. That was the 'punishment' that God gave to Adam & Eve.

Man, far away from his primate past (a time of blissful ignorance), came with the knowledge of his self and his mortality. This enabled him to reach unprecedent intellectual heights, enabled him to conquer the earth, but cursed him with carrying the 'original sin': the awareness of his mortality.

50

It is that time of year again... I AM INVITING YOU ALL TO THE 2014 MEMORIAL OF JESUS DEATH

by suavojr in

jw
friends

yes, it time to gather and 'keep doing this in remembrance of me.

1 cor.

11:24 .. come all to our best memorial ever!

Syme

Sheet! April 14 is also the date of my baptism!

19

2013 WT CD Library?

by blondie in

jw
friends

will the wts be issuing one (or has issued onne already?

) or will the www.jw.org online library be the future?.

Syme

Rewritting of history does not necessarily mean that the WTLibrary will become obsolete. The CDROM contents can be rewritten just as easily as the online material.