Posts by defender of truth

91

ABC's report on child abuse

by Joyzabel in

nice job!

defender of truth

For any new members who missed this.

https://youtu.be/OPcYn4AiwQE

43

I just found the picture that LisaRose referred to when she said.."A nice turn around for the son of God. The org chart of a few years ago didn't even mention him, the governing body was shown right below the big J, with no mention of Jesus at all. A remarkable change really."
For anyone who wants to know what 'chart' she's referring to:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/255557/know-your-place

91

ABC's report on child abuse

by Joyzabel in

nice job!

defender of truth

BTTT for newbies

41

Vermont Sisters Sue Jehovah's Witnesses For Child Sex Abuse

by Watchtower-Free in

http://digital.vpr.net/post/vermont-sisters-sue-jehovahs-witnesses-child-sex-abuse.

.

defender of truth

Update here for anyone who is interested:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/199000001/judge-partially-grants-partially-denies-jehovahs-witnesses-motion-dismiss

4

Judge partially grants, partially denies Jehovah's Witnesses' motion to dismiss

by defender of truth in

"bellows falls >> the attorney representing the bellows falls congregation of jehovah's witnesses and the new york-based headquarters of the jehovah's witness faith in a case of alleged sexual abuse said a judge's partial granting of a motion to dismiss makes him confident the entire case will get dismissed.. pietro lynn, of lynn, lynn & blackman in burlington, told the reformer that u.s. district court judge j. garvan murtha decided it was appropriate to dismiss certain legal theories raised by annessa lewis, who is suing the bellows falls congregation and the watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc., which she claims ignored reports that she and her sister were sexually abused by a congregation member more than 20 years ago.".

news article.

here is a thread covering this story:.

defender of truth

Another article on the Vermont sisters case here:

"The Jehovah’s Witness church was handed a partial victory in court. The organization is locked in another in a long string of legal battles that tests the ugly assertion that the group allows pedophiles and child molesters to run loose in its ranks."

http://www.webpronews.com/jehovahs-witnesses-get-only-partial-dismissal-in-child-molesting-case-2015-04

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

defender of truth

If you are reading this and you have a belief in a God, do you believe in option 1, 2, or 3 from the above post?

Or maybe you believe that God directly changed the animals from vegetarians to carnivores after mankind sinned? We can call that option 4.

In the case of Options 2 and 4... according to your belief, God has deliberately and voluntarily caused all of the animal suffering and species extinction (all that has occurred because of predation anyway), throughout history. If you have studied ancient predators and the fossil record, that is a hell of a lot of suffering and death over millions of years. Even if you believe in option 4, nobody has yet given a logical and moral answer as to why a personal and caring God would allow such suffering, simply because mankind 'sinned'.

And why do you happen to believe that the option you chose is what really happened?

Is it because you believe in some part, or all of the Bible?

Don't worry, I won't bite. This guy might, though ;)

145

Why attack?

by newqatarjob in

as someone brought up as a jw and been an elder and been disfellowshipped (twice!!!

) i find it difficult to understand why ex jws have to attack the religion, yes religion, not cult or sect.

i am no longer disfellowshipped just do not want to practice anymore.

defender of truth

Wow, WheninDoubt got banned. I feel like a right plonker now for writing a long reply to him.
If anyone feels that he should be taken even slightly seriously, or if you just want a good laugh at his gibberish, check this page out:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/222352/theists-why-does-god-allow-suffering?page=64

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

defender of truth

*reads through indeciperable posts several times* Ah, here is a point that relates to the topic..

Whenindoubt:

"To a theist, why would God allow suffering... God Didn’t, it was inherited by sin, and animals adapted to that sin. Before man, Animals while not inheriting sin, developed its own..."

You are suggesting here that animals developed their own way of sinning? Without any moral code or holy book to define 'sin', how could animals have 'sinned'?

Let's assume that when you say 'sin', you are referring to animals attacking each other, rather than the traditional meaning of such things as heavy drinking, gambling and adultery.
With the various natural tools and predatory instincts that your God gave them, how would they have had any choice except to fight and kill each other in the first place?Absolute nonsense.

Do you believe that:

1) Completely independent of God's design or interference in any way, animals *decided* to begin 'sinning' [attacking each other], perhaps by forming their own predatory instincts from the point at which they were born, as well as selecting their own natural weapons and defenses?

Or
2) Do you believe God made them in that way, to be predators and prey, when he first created them?

Or
3) Do you believe that all animals evolved from the vegetarians that God intended them to be originally, to the point where some became carnivorous predators, millions of years before mankind had sinned?

Assuming you choose option 3, that would still be injust.

Imagine a parent teaching their children to be peaceful and eat a good diet of herbs and vegetables, that the parent had designed to be fully nutritious and sustaining (as God would be able to do in theory).Then this loving parent sits back and watches as the children (their creation) gradually learn to fight with each other, to attack and kill each other, and to feast on each others flesh.

What kind of parent would ever allow such a situation to develop? What kind of God would allow a predator/prey life or death struggle to develop among its own creation?

We know that even children (who are far more intelligent than animals) need both guidance and protection.

One cannot excuse themselves of all responsibility for a life/lives they have created,merely by declaring that they 'were just letting their children develop and find their own way to survive'. Any decent parent guides and protects their children.. not leaving them to starve, or worse still, to fight and even kill each other.

So, the 'creation of vegetarian animals in the beginning, followed by unguided evolution until there were predators' option still wouldn't excuse God for allowing animal suffering and extinction. That is besides the fact that there exists zero evidence of any 'Golden Age' where all creatures were vegetarian. Whereas evidence of predation is abundant.

So, Whenindoubt, what do you believe?

And, if you care to share it, what evidence do you have to support that belief with?
(And if anyone can clarify the points I'm trying to make, please feel free. I have tried not to ramble too much.)

29

How to raise awareness about child abuse.

by DATA-DOG in

here's an idea.

we know the wtbts fears exposure more than anything.

so what if we made an organized, concerted effort to contact every celebrity jw that we can think of?

defender of truth

No response, but I don't suppose that anonymous tweets can even be responded to..
My final word on this campaign:

If anyone wants to use their own twitter account in order to get a reply, I strongly suggest that Sherri Shepherd may be a good one to contact.I just noticed that she 'favourite tweeted' the TruthBeTold documentary.
What do you think that indicates?...

@SherriEShepherd "Thank you for favoriting tweet. We would like to send you copy of Truth Be Told. Please advise."

http://buy.hereliesthetruth.com/

Her twitter page:
https://twitter.com/SherriEShepherd

10

Going Clear: Jehovah's Witnesses?

by StarTrekAngel in

would it ever happen?

your opinion.

defender of truth

Here are updates on the project and feedback on the film:

https://facebook.com/hereliesthetruth

And here is the original thread I posted about it:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/289364/truth-told-documentary-now-available-download
I hope this was of interest to you.