heard from the platform: "not all rap music is bad"

by Lonestar13 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Lonestar13

  Just last night i was thinking about the numerous talks, assembly parts and wt articles that repeatedly denounced such "debasing music" such as "rap" and "heavy metal". Remember those? Seems like every week during the 80's that phrase made its way into a public talk or wt study. Then one day, we heard no more about "debasing music". I think it was replaced by the ills of the internet and the evil "chat rooms" etc.

  WELL as we should have it, heard in a talk today, in speaking of "matters of conscience", we should not try to force our views of music, among other things, on others. This of course i knew all along, HOWEVER, the young man giving the discourse took it a step further and proclaimed that "not all rap music is bad". I nearly fell out of my chair. I looked around to see the reactions of the others at this groundbreaking news coming "from the platform", and then i remembered how EVERYTHING must be taken with a grain of salt. I mean, i've heard people quote brothers who have given public talks, or they use phrases like "well unless i hear it from the platform, it ain't true". Hmmmmm does that REALLY mean that not all rap music is bad? Will I begin to hear rap tunes pumping out of the field service cars instead of kingdom melodies? who knows?
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  Mysterious

  I proved that to mom once when I made a bible based rap..I swear I did. At the tender age of about 8 years old too.

  Mom once said she wished they would come down more on content than type of music. She was always after country music and how it was always somebody's wife dumping them and running away with someone else and she didn't think it was "proper"
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  Euphemism

  I had a CO who pretty much said the same thing from the platform at a CA. He was very much a loose cannon, however.

  Fact is, not all dubs have their heads up their asses. I say, good for them. I don't think it signals any sort of organization-wide change, hwoever.
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  Gopher

  I wonder how long that open-minded speaker will last in the organization? He sounds way too reasonable to last very long in there.

  But he's right, it is foolish to condemn an entire genre of music without even hearing it or giving it a chance. I am not a rap fan myself, but I admit there are a few catchy songs in that genre that I kind of liked!

  Oh well... it's much easier to moralize and preach that it's "all bad" or "all good" -- that is much easier to remember and enforce than to allow members to use their individual consciences.

  There is no genre that a believing Christian could find "all good". Heck -- even polka songs tend to encourage excessive drinking.. Roll out the barrel!
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  avengers

  We's all gonna be rappin' from house to house.

  lol.

  Andy
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  shamus

  The dubs are very very very very very very very very very very very very (did I say very?) very very very behind on music. For god's sake, they were still talking about Michael Jackson in 1995!

  When they do have an opinion, it is usual. Heads straight up they're asses. Personal opinion has much to do with what is "good" and "evil". Just beware if you watch "The Simpsons" too. You are bad assosiation (tm) in they're eyes. I mean, give me a break. It's a cartoon!

  I could never get over how stupid they were when it came to "personal" opinion. They would not keep it personal, but thrust they';re conscience onto you, to make themselves feel better. This happened everytime I talked to someone.

  In retrospect it's funny, but it wasn't funny at the time.

  There were huge splits in the congregation, with backbiting going on at all times when it came to "conscience matters" (tm). It was and still is disgusing, and proves just by this one point that they are not the true religion. "Beware of those who come to you in sheeps clothing but are ravenous wolves". How very true of this cult.
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  Room 215

  I wonder about this young sepaker's prospects of getting another speaking assignment!
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  little witch

  At the root of it all, the wtbts began in white america. It spread to industrialized countries to reach other whites. Remember the dubs saying things like Ham is the father of cursed (black) people? They taught that when I was a dub, not so long ago relatively speaking (I am 39).

  The main audience peaked and rejected the tower for many reasons. They knew they needed to expand their audience, and so began the "conversion" of minorities.

  Now those minorities are likely rebelling against the drivel over traditional music and customs, and as usual the tower has allowed its mouth to write a check its butt cannot cash.

  They went after Latino's and hit a brick wall, and had to retract with the pinata deal also.

  Rap music is as much a part of blacks as soul food...It is one of the things that tie them together, it is in short custom. When customs are attacked, expect rebellion.

  Same thing with the Christmas and birthday prohibitions. They never stopped it, they just drove it underground and attatched a little guilt.

  The tower admitted as much by speaking of not picking on customs, that they are up to the conscience etc...

  They are in a state of confusion. They have no common enemy right now (though they are leaning toward Islam).

  The more tolerance is insisted upon in the world, the less favorable audience they will have. Human rights and freedom will spell the doom to the society in my opinion.
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  got my forty homey?

  On a similiar vein I always wondered when I was in Bethel as to why branch offices in foriegn countries were always overseered by a white European man. I'm not a rascist and treat all people on an individual basis, but at one time there were no non-white governing body members either. I think there is one now part of the "helper" class.

  When I served in Bethel it was starting to become a major issue about rap music because many of us city guys liked it yet the older overseer's thought it was the devils music. I've heard bluegrass that was the devils music. In fact they use to tell us not to listen to worldly music at out work stations because when tour groups passed by youngsters would tell thier parents "well, they listen to this at Bethel".

  What a heaping steamy nugget of crap!
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  little witch

  Nugget indeed Homey!

  Are there any minorities on the GB yet? Does anyone know?

  I know JR Brown is black, but I figure they use him a a publicity manuever. To appear outwardly equal. (Just opinion).

  Anyways, going by the country numbers it would seem minorities are the growth factor of the future. I don't think they will have much sucess there. These are tribal countries with a long history of customs and traditions.

  They will also risk being harbringers of assimilation and anhialation of whole groups of people. That is greatly frowned upon by humanitarian groups. Reasonable people do not want to see cultures destroyed.

  Perhaps the Human Rights Organizations need a better understanding of what the tower is all about. They often defend the witness to the peril of whole cultures.