Posts by Gentledawn

7

Question for those who no longer believe the bible is from GOD

by confusedandalone in

do you ever get to the point that you almost can not handle the sight of a thread where someone is trying to justify bible gods deplorable actions?

i must admit i have actually gotten angry over this and it makes me feel awful at times.

for instance someone who acknowledges spending hours studying the bible and cross referencing etc... and they still find a way to acknowledge that the supreme god has somehow asked for this to be written and recorded.. then those that say well i don't believe the entire bible just the parts that sound nice and that i am not ashamed to attribute to the guy i want to cuddle me at night.

Gentledawn

Kind of, sort of.

I've learned a lot from people's anger at Old testament Jehovah's actions. Never really thought much about how big a wank he really was, including when he supposedly had a she-bear shuffle out and kill 42 children because some prophet was called "baldy-waldy" and couldn't handle it.

Or Lot offering his daughters to the nest of rapists outside his door, in order to protect his male (allegedly angels-with-no-powers) guests. And then he has sex with those same daughters later on, who conveniently give birth to literal rival/enemy nations of Israel. Uh huh. Of course it was scheming women who are to blame for that, too.

Or how the one patriarch didn't want his sons to give a woman a child in the name of her dead husband. When his male children kept dying because of being forbidden to give her a baby in the womb, she dolled herself up as a harlot and had sex with the patriarch instead.

And of course none of the men throughout the bible are counted as "whores" or "harlots" for sleeping with multiple partners. just like modern day prostitution: only the prostitutes are commiting a crime and almost never the "john".

Speaking of "Johns": when was the last time the WT named anyone/thing as part of the supposed "John-class"?

Hmmm...

18

Baptists announce JWs 100th anniversary of their failed prediction that history would end in 1914

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.bpnews.net/42379/jehovahs-witness-prediction-spurs-evangelism.

jehovah's witness prediction spurs evangelism.

posted on apr 15, 2014 | by david roach.

Gentledawn

If (and that's a big IF) the WTS crumbles, I suspect that a significant proportion, perhaps even a majority, of JWs would end up as Baptists.

At least in the USA.

Not sure what my husband would do. Most JWs have been indoctrinated against other christian religions so hard that it's damned near phobia levels against them all. I've been sharing everything I read with him, long before I finally sent my DA letter to the local congregation last Sept/Oct. Why he stays with this nest of crooks is beyond me.

The new tithing arrangement even sounds like a last ditch effort of a scam artist/con man. If Jehovah needs money, perhaps he should pray... to whom? Us, the congregations? Yeah, no. God doesn't need money, but thanks for trying to hoodwink the masses yet again, WT leadership/Governing Body, inc/Legal dept., inc..

So glad to be watchtower free.

18

Baptists announce JWs 100th anniversary of their failed prediction that history would end in 1914

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.bpnews.net/42379/jehovahs-witness-prediction-spurs-evangelism.

jehovah's witness prediction spurs evangelism.

posted on apr 15, 2014 | by david roach.

Gentledawn

True teachers commend their student's progress in many situations, in many different manners. Not all persuasion methods are nefarious.

38

Miami Has New Young Partakers

by James Jackson in

jw
friends

snapper creek (miami, fl) congregation, had 2 pioneers (female), partake at the memorial for the first time.

one is 20 years old, the other 23.. the gt delayed again!!

!.

Gentledawn

In the USA, you must be at least 35yrs of age in order to serve as President of the country. The Constitution stipulates as much, because they knew even way back when that a person must be truly mature (not faux, stretched out definition of "mature"), experienced and have a sense of balance.

Not so to become elder in JW lala land. Every time I read somewhere about a young buck in his twenties being counted as an "elder", I shake my head in disbelief. WTF do they think "elder" means? Immediate post-teenager/adolescent? Of course, we're talking about a religion that thinks baptizing 8yr olds is okay, even while most on the inside would deem it unthinkable to give away their 8 year old (or ten, eleven, or even 15yo, for that matter) in marriage at the same time in their young lives.

By contrast, there is no age limit to "anointed". David proves that (1 Samuel 16:10-13).

Another thing in regard to Paul's letters to Timothy: if a person were to take a look back to the historical setting, those letters were just that: letters. The bible itself was merely an unbound, loose collection of scrolls and letters for a few centuries. In fact it wasn't until the third or fourth century (325AD) when the council of Nicaea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea) met and decided what was canon to the "scriptures" and what was not.

JWs put an awful lot of emphasis on some things, claiming bible "scholarship" of some sort, but rarely (as in almost never) do any of the writers/leadership bring up the actual historical context of the world at the time, and who decided what, when, or really by/for whom.

Reason I say this: Paul was a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5) before becoming a christian. Reading his writings from an Old testament-holders point of view (meaning someone who still held various parts of the Mosaic law in high esteem, etc) is very eye opening. None of Paul's rantings about females jibes with how Jesus talked to and treated any women in his day. Also remember that Paul was put to death in 67ad. He didn't even live long enough to see the "generations" teaching of Jesus come to fruition (66ad was the siege; sacking of the ciy happened late in 70ad).

Just a few observations of my own.

206

Took my son (5 yrs) shooting for his first time.

by dazed but not confused in

i went with my neighbor to an outdoor shooting range in the pawnee national grasslands in colorado.

its about 2 hours northeast of denver.

it was awesome.

Gentledawn

My hobby is collecting and shooting airguns. It shares all the same gun safety techniques as regular powder-burner rifles. Some of the rifles designed today can take down big game (big bore pre-charged pneumatics or PCPs, such as Dragon Claw and Sam Yang, both of which are made in Korea. These can be hand-pumped or filled from a scuba tank full of regular air [NOT oxygen! explosion hazard for real] There are other brands now, too). Airguns range from the classic Daisy and Crosman BB/.177cal rifles, all the way up to .45cal, 9mm, and .50cal size ammo.

Two of my .22 caliber air rifles are considered magnum class (20+/FPE at the muzzle), meaning they are not the classic BB rifle type guns. They can take out bigger game that a BB gun should never even be aimed at in the first place.

Shooting can be a sport and a hobby. Does anyone question people who enjoy darts? Or tennis (hand eye cordination)? or baseball? Projectiles are involved and can be quite dangerous under all the wrong conditions in all of those sports, too.

Just my two pennies on it.

36

A silly thought on freewill...

by new hope and happiness in

this was mythought on " freewill" and made me think...i need " air" to breath..so how was i born with freewill?.

Gentledawn

In order to swim under water, I hold my breath. That's freewill and training. I taught my body to take deep breaths ahead of time (slowly but deeply), then I go all the way to the bottom of a creek or pool, and swim as far as I like. I come to the surface and exhale first, and that is self taught. It is both quiet and efficient: it shocks the crap out of people that someone who stays under water for long minutes at a time can surface like a ninja and not be gasping for air after the fact.

Free will is also not eating enough or eating too much, exercising enough or not at all. I used to swim, bike, run... you name it... for miles and miles on end. Being lean, thin and muscular as a woman had some other women at the KH theorizing for a time that I actually had worms! Jesus. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Actually getting to know me first would've helped.

That's the beauty of life. You can make it what you want. You can even blame everything that is bad on external sources. The only person you have genuine control over is yourself.

21

I'm postponing my JW elderette and her BS session again

by Faithful Witness in

i really do have more important things to do this week, so i am postponing my elderette again.

she has not yet contacted me for her "topic of discussion" for the week.

i know she wants time to prepare her speech and presentation.

Gentledawn

With the indoctrinated black & white mentality of all JWs, you are not going to accomplish anything toward them. They will not/cannot break the indoctrination from the inside. Not without direct shock to their own systems. In order for that to happen, it would take a willingness to actually see and critically analyse what all the Watchtower leadership is doing wrong directly (how talks are structured around "persuasive speech" techniques; how many of their teachings are wrong/unscriptural/unnecessary burdens [can debate cross vs stake until cows come home and no one will ever be proven right or wrong on it]).

John 1:1 Greek wording is discussed here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/22bfpk/what_is_the_most_accurate_translation_of_the_bible/cgl8h0t

Perhaps you should assess what the actual goal is on your end of things.

Your sister is shunning you without cause. As a bible student, I made more than a few disasterous life decisions, and not a single witness deemed it necessary to shun me. Ever. Hindsight shows it was all part of the love bombing process, not anything superior in JW love at all. The sis who studied with me showed the difference between pre-covenant Israelites - eating birds without giving thanks to God first did not get them killed- versus after covenant situations that very much ended with people ending up corpses.

Pre-baptismal candidates = getting seduced by people already on the inside. You're special (drawn out by Jehovah Himself, no less!!1!!), brilliant, pretty, witty, showing a spirit of discernment and understanding... blather bloober bloop. All hogwash designed to flatter and ultimately seduce.

vs

After baptism = all the ugliness, pettiness and outrageousness coming to the fore. Personally, I didn't even know we were supposed to be bowing, scraping and general ass kissing to anything called a "governing body" until well after baptism. Also had to be corrected a few times when I used the reasoning that is put to people being proselytized to, instead of the separate rule set for people already on the inside. If you're female, you are dirt, garbage, cannot manage your own affairs and have to accept every nitpicky shitty piece of "counseling" (someone doesn't think your shoes or skirt are formal enough for field service? Yup, that's a'counseling) that comes down the pike.

-------------

Just to show odd wording differences between people being seduced (or goosed along if they are showing signs of weakness/struggling with concepts) verses people already under the hypnotic influence of the leadership (head-nodders):

Study edition November 2013
17. What four conclusions can the elders draw from the account we have considered?

17 Elders who are reading this article can draw some useful conclusions from the account we have just considered: (1) The most practical step that we can take to prepare for the coming attack of “the Assyrian” is that of strengthening our faith in God and helping our brothers to do the same. (2) When “the Assyrian” attacks, the elders must be absolutely convinced that Jehovah will deliver us. (3) At that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s 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. (4) Now is the time for any who may be putting their trust in secular education, material things, or human institutions to adjust their thinking. The elders must stand ready to help any who may now be wavering in their faith.

-----------

Simplified (public?) edition November 2013
17. What four lessons can the elders learn from the account we have discussed?

17 Elders, you can learn some helpful lessons from what we have just discussed: (1) The best thing you can do to prepare for the future attack of “the Assyrian” is to strengthen your faith in God and help your brothers to do the same. (2) When “the Assyrian” attacks, you must be completely convinced that Jehovah will save us. (3) At that time, the direction that you receive from Jehovah’s organization may seem strange or unusual. But all of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether we agree with them or not, because obeying these instructions will save our lives. (4) If any are putting their trust in the education of this world, material things, or human organizations, they must change their way of thinking now. You must be ready to help any who may not be putting their complete trust in Jehovah.

38

Which Conspiracy Theory Should You Believe?

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/which-conspiracy-theory-should-you-believe-in.

it's a quiz to help you pick a conspiracy theory that fits you.

i ended up with "moon landing was faked" which doesn't exactly apply.. .

Gentledawn

Who cares if an individual person uses his/her own thinking ability, even if someone else deems that person and/or his/her thoughts as "conspiracy theorist/theorizing"?

People like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z23tQiua2S0

Also:

• "Gulf of Tonkin incident"

• Bombing of USS Liberty ("USS Liberty incident", someone mentioned this earlier) by Israeli fighter jets, after they flew low overhead 2 or 3 passes. They killed 34 american sailors and wounded 171 more. The pres. of USA (Johnson, I think) did not give medals of commendation (Capt. McGonagle was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest medal given by US military), but left to the secretary of the Navy to award to the Captain.

Just to name two.

But don't use your thinking ability guys, because it pisses certain people off.

"I'm not an expert in _x_ things, but let me give an anecdotal story, followed quickly by a strawman argument about how celebrities got something similar but unrelated to the facts presented totally wrong"

Uh huh.

People think. People talk amongst themselves. To the best of my knowledge, no one around here hired a conversation referee. Watchtower did enough shutting up to most of us here, over the span of years/decades that we were collectively held in thrall by their mind control tactics (another consiracy theory, eh?). In my humble opinion, anyone who starts yammering and trying to shut down conversations because those convos are not "unemotional" and not "purely fact based" is full of crap. But control freaks do abound, i guess.

40

Who loves a good laugh? Comedy thread.

by FlyingHighNow in

post some comedy.

we all need to laugh.

i'll start with:.

Gentledawn

"kissing Hank's a**"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDp7pkEcJVQ

Seen a remake of this posted on an ex-mormon forum the other day. Hilarious, but nausea inducing. This one hits so much closer to home with the whole door-to-door part at the beginning.

edit: linking the 2013 version that was posted to the ex-mormon forum the other day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaFZQBb2srM

24

Male-dominated religions oppress women, Jimmy Carter says

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20140328/feat04/303280035/religion-briefs-male-dominated-religions-religious-rights-jesus-crown-thornes-.

jimmy carter byline male-dominated religions oppress women, carter saysatlanta former president jimmy carter says male-dominated religions contribute to the oppression and abuse of women by twisting sacred texts to portray females as inferior to men in the eyes of god.. the 89-year-old carter makes that argument in his new book, a call to action: women, religion, violence and power.. in an interview broadcast on nbcs meet the press, the former president faulted his former denomination, the southern baptist convention, and the roman catholic church for denying women the same opportunities as men to serve as pastors and priests.. carter said some married men who belong to those churches conclude that their wives are inferior.. the catholic catechism and the 2000 baptist faith and message declare that men and women have different roles but are equal in the eyes of god..

Gentledawn

quoting from : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis

The hostages were formally released into United States custody the day after the signing of the Algiers Accords, just minutes after the new American president, Ronald Reagan, was sworn into office.

Yep. And Ford pardoned Nixon, too. Funny how all of the stuff the Nixon administration did is vastly outdone by what the Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush jr and Obama admins have:

They decoupled banking types (glass-steagall act of 1933, put in place to prevent what caused the 1929 cash to repeat AND the Great Depression)

FCC regulations that stood since 1934 (telecommunications act) were undone, making it so only 6 mega-corps control ALL media. Used to be no single owner could hold more than one type of media outfit (radio, TV, newspaper, etc). I remember it being a really big deal that a local radio and TV stations had the same call-sign, but they had a grandfather clause in effect. No other station around could do it because it was illegal at that point. After 1990s deregulation, Rupert Murdoch became a US citizen and started snapping up small TV stations (and other media outfits, including Roger Eberts employer, Chicago-Sun Times) around the country and they all became Fox affiliates. Disney bought ABC and so on.

SNL skit illustrates it well :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHRMozyOVtk

Jimmy Carter is a highly educated ("After serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific U.S. Submarine Fleets, Jimmy Carter attended graduate school at Union College, majoring in reactor technology and nuclear physics.") man who got patsied by a bunch rich thugs, both inside and outside the USA. Think of all the propaganda that circulated back then, bringing up the fact, over and over again, that he was merely a "peanut farmer".