Posts by Pete Zahut

40

How did Adam and Eve survive when kicked out of the Garden of Eden?

by I believe in overlapping in

it’s funny how a simple question like this is something that the dubs never even consider.

my dad asked this question to a couple of witnesses and they wondered for a minute and said; .

“i never thought about it, i’ll have to ask the elders”.

Pete Zahut

As a JW, it was my understanding that animals and vegetation were created and existed on the entire earth not just solely in the garden. The creation that took place, took place over the entire earth. Fish were in the seas, lakes and rivers, birds flew in the skies and animals roved the earth. That being the case, there would be all the vegetables, roots, nuts and berries that exist today, available for them to eat and Adam and Eve could do so as well once the we’re put out of Eden.

If the story is true, the earth today is still under the same curse, yet vegetation still grows despite the thorns and weeds. There was no indication in the Bible that Adam and Eve (if they existed)had to start from scratch. It only said that their work to grow things from that point forward would be more difficult than it was before. Not impossible.

It seems to me that anyone who believes this story is literal would have been able to easily answer this simple question before the went out publicly offering to study the Bible with people.

15

Blew it this morning with 4 JWs

by Vanderhoven7 in

so i decided to go hunting for jws this morning.

walked to the end of my driveway and who should be approaching...but 2 ladies, one old (dianne) and one younger both with watchtower mags in hand.

dianne shared how the world was under the control of satan etc.

Pete Zahut

Next time you should wear this T-shirt

10

Convention canceled in Queensland

by Festus in

apparently a big regional convention in australia has been cancelled.

instead there will be 14 conventions at the local convention hall.. does anyone from downunder have any idea about the reason?.

Pete Zahut

I suggested in a previous thread that more and more secular venues might be percieving the JWs as "toxic clients" due to all the bad (albeit deserved) CSA-related publicity...

I can see why you'd say that but when you think about it, they have no trouble renting these facilities for concerts and the musicians who sometimes go out of their way to makes sure everyone knows of their bad reputations, not to mention the unruly crowds they tend to draw.

I'm guessing it's more about projected costs and concern over having them covered, due to the dwindling contributions coming in.

236

Do You Think Trump Bares Any Responsibility For The Mass Shootings Occuring?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when any mass shooting happens is it the president’s fault?

i’m talking over the last few decades..

Pete Zahut

I agree with Pete Zahut. If all media outlets voluntarily agreed to never mention the name of a gunman it would reduce the frequency of mass shootings.

Yes and simply report once or twice in a 24 hour period that it happened and stick to the basic facts (time place number of casualties) and refrain from showing video and playing up the emotional reaction of those who witnessed the event.

As it is, they are constantly bringing us instant up dates by the hour and reporting (with video) on every salacious tidbit of information they can possibly find.

21

International convention Utrecht this weekend

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

friends,.

in an earlier posting gorby wrote about attending the international convention in utrecht this weekend, to keep the family happy and make some observations.. guests were gb member jackson and his assistent van der zande, a dutch helper of the gb.. 42.000+ attenders and +/- 250 baptisers.. the convention theme about "love" was not bad at all, from a christian viewpoint.. jackson and van der zande made a good presentation with humor.. the colorfull witness from arround the word were nice and nice to see.. typical witness doctrine about 1914, king of the north, being obient when your kingdom hall will be sold etcetera were hard to listen to.. but the love theme was not bad, and sometimes oké.. i see a transformation to an evangelical kind of tv church.. ifthe typical jw doctrine about years, endtime, education, blood and armageddon would be downplayed, gorby could see some positive side of jw-ism.. mainpoint is that jw try to show love but on a forced base, because they are told to do so.. but, not a bad convention, and a good, humble part of jackson and van der zande, did not expect this.. i write some positive because it is, what it is.. see your opinion.. gorby.

Pete Zahut

If the typical JW doctrine about years, endtime, education, blood and Armageddon would be downplayed, Gorby could see some positive side of JW-ism.

There is usually some beneficial aspect to following a plan or set of well defined guidelines and being answerable to others, whether it's in a religion or a social group of some kind.

I've often said that rather than intervening in peoples personal relationship with God and Policing the congregation members, those who are taking the lead in the JW organization should stick to saying what they have to say from the platform, teaching their understanding of the Bible and God's will, advising people who ask for advice and simply let people apply what they are learning, in their own lives as they see fit.

Any number of injustices and serious consequences can and do take place when unlettered and ordinary men start dishing out discipline and dealing with matters that even highly trained professionals have difficulty with.

236

Do You Think Trump Bares Any Responsibility For The Mass Shootings Occuring?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when any mass shooting happens is it the president’s fault?

i’m talking over the last few decades..

Pete Zahut

Humans tend to "mirror" one another's behavior. Remember the old adage "Bad association spoils useful habits".

When we see someone yawn...we tend to yawn. When we hear a lame joke we tend to laugh when we see that others are laughing at it. This is why they play a laugh track after punchline during TV sitcoms.

When we're around negative people we tend to get more negative ourselves.

There is evidence that the more educated one is, the less they mirror others.

No one should shoot at other people no matter what the President says or does or what is shown in the Media but the actions on the part of the President and the way in which it is highlighted the media can play a part in the overall "mood" of the country. There is evidence that mentally imbalanced and poorly educated individuals are affected more by this and can sometimes be prompted to mirror or imitate these shocking occurrences once they become aware of them or when they've been exposed to them enough.

For this reason, some say that when these things happen, it would be better not to cover them in the media. They blame the media for sensationalizing everything or focusing on behaviors that draw in viewers. This may be an oversimplification of a complex issue, but it seems to me that the availability of weapons coupled with the fact that these events keep people tuned in to their televisions and advertising dollars are involved, we will likely see more of this until something changes.

21

JW Malaise

by Half banana in

malaise according to the cambridge dictionary:.

a general feeling of being ill or having no energy, or an uncomfortable feeling that something is wrong, especially with society, and that you cannot change the situation.

where the dictionary says society, read "the society"........... is there a malaise in the jw world?

Pete Zahut

I'd say that for many JW's it's more a case of rampant Weltschmerz [velt-shmerts]

A German Noun that is used to describe the depression or weariness that arises from comparing the word as it is, to a hypothetical and idealized world.

When physical realities can't match the demands of the mind.

Constant postponement of their unrealistic expectations, has reduced many JW's to the level of highly functioning zombies who don't really know what to think anymore.

Ever visited Bethel?? Lots of that going on there.

52

If You Could Pick Just One Title Of A Song That Would Describe Your Life

by The Bethelite in

jw
friends

what would it be?.

mine would be "rocket man" by elton john.

.

Pete Zahut

Lovely Day

"When the day that lies ahead of me, seems impossible to face....when someone else instead of me, always seems too know the way"

https://youtu.be/sYi7uEvEEmk

144

If You Criticize A Person of Color Are You A Racist?

by minimus in

jw
friends

seriously, it’s getting to a point that you can’t make a negative comment about someone without being charged as a racist, homophobe or sexist!

if you criticize a female, you are obviously sexist.

if you criticize someone who happens to be gay, you must hate homosexuals.

Pete Zahut

It seems to me that most people behave decently most of the time and most people aren't racist and most people have never been treated badly because of their race.

As long as there is money to be made, this issue will be kept alive in the media. They make themselves sound as if they are the guardians of the community and their main goal is to keep us informed when in reality their main goal is to sell advertising.

They know that nobody wants to hear about people getting along even though millions do it every day. No one wants to hear about all the things that the government is doing right or about people who behave decently, so they look for the most salacious behavior to report on, hour after hour day after day year after year even though they are fully aware of the damage they are doing to the country they claim to love.

Why...because It works ! We've got 8 pages of comments on this topic even though I'm sure most of us here have never been treated badly because of our race nor have we ever treated someone else badly because of their race yet on some level we've been convinced that every other person out there is a racist and/or is being discriminated against.

I was out of the country recently and to listen to the news, you couldn't possibly live a normal life in America yet millions upon millions of us do and millions who know better than to believe what's being reported, are risking life and limb to get here.

Speaking of the news....what ever happened to the 200 girls that were kidnapped in Africa...remember that? It was a huge deal a few years ago but then the Eboli Epidemic came along and the plight of these missing girls was forgotten overnight because we lost interest and because (according to the news) half of the worlds population was going to be wiped out by this up and coming epidemic, yet here we are. Did Eboli just go away or did reporting about it stop making money ?

I've come to realize that my inner wellbeing is directly proportionate to the amount of news I'm exposed to. I've been on a news fast for years now and it has made a huge difference in my outlook. The stories come and go without me having to have an opinion about them or weigh in on them.

Are there problems? Yes there are but I realized a long time ago that there are those who capitalize on human fears....just like the good folks at the Watchtower have been doing for over 100 years. They like to focus on the problems and who is to blame and they like to sell you stuff and make money on you and keep you hooked on coming back for more instead of focusing on realistic solutions.

Anyway....It's July....I presume it's nice weather where you are too. I'm going get out and enjoy the warm evening and tomorrow there will be more money making news stories for me to ignore rather than allow to spoil my outlook on life and my view my fellow man. Instead, I will focus on the world around me and what I can do to make it a better place within my own circumstances and for the people I encounter personally.

You folks stay here and bicker about Trump and Racism and who said what....I'll be right back.

6

My Father's Last Words

by Terry in

jw
friends

my father's last words_______in 1972, i was 25 years old following a strong impulse carrying me 1,500 milesaway from home in fort worth, texas.i intended to find him - my dad.

he’d left when i was about half a year old.his home in detroit, michigan had been the first house i lived in at age zero.

i knocked on his door and he answered.

Pete Zahut

“Such as we are made of, such we be. We know what we are, but know not what we may be. To do a great right, do a little wrong.”

Terry.... Sorry to seem like a dunce but I've read and reread the above but I'm not sure what it means or why your father said this or why it meant so much to you. Can you fill me in?

Thanks!