Posts by OrphanCrow

26

QUESTIONING THE OBVIOUS or deconstructing Jehovah's Witnesses

by TerryWalstrom in

what is the most obvious thing you can think of about jehovah's witnesses from the standpoint of worldwide recognition?.

wouldn't it be 2 primary things: the name jehovah and secondly, the public testimony or witnessing?.

let's begin deconstructing those two things.. first, why would christians refer to themselves by any other name than christian?.

OrphanCrow

Terry: Charles Taze Russell's core group of early followers rallied around what?
A NEW BIBLE STUDY METHOD which was detailed Subject by Subject.
The Bible was the center of attention.
What changed?
Russell began shifting appreciation for BIBLE to his OWN writings as superior!
He bragged that a person who used only his Studies in the Scriptures would be far better off than a person who used only the Bible.
This was ADAPTATION and a SHIFT from basic Protestant sola scriptura to CULT control.

To continue in the spirit of 'deconstruction...the 'New Bible Study Method' was modeled after the International Correspondence Schools Home Study Courses.

Two of the early Russell followers (business partners) were textbook writers for ICS. George Fisher and Clayton Woodworth.

I would suggest that your last sentence should read: "This was ADAPTATION and a SHIFT from basic Protestant sola scriptura to corporate control."

29

The "preaching work" is just laughable!

by cookiemaster in

the "preaching work" they're so eager to brag about is just laughable.

they say their number is an indication of god's blessing.

oh, please, give me a break!

I think that the recent move by the WTS to reduce the contact between their 'publishers' and the public is a direct result of the public being better informed about issues such as the rampant child abuse and the WTS' cultic tactics. The WTS does not want the JWs to interact with the householder anymore because of the increasing critical attention that the media is giving them. The JWs are susceptible to hearing things the WTS does not want them to know.

By putting the JWs into public spaces such as campuses and subway stations and malls, the effect is twofold. They increase their visibility in the face of falling numbers and they insulate their existing members by reducing the public/JW discourse (in spite of the trolleys being set in public places).

27

Why are we so hard on JW's??

by James Mixon in

jw
friends

i was thinking about this last night.

what would happen if.

someone new check out this site, what would they think?.

OrphanCrow

Giordano
The individual JW doesn't dream up the abusive polices....... the WTBTS does.

Yes. And it is still the individual JWs who maintain and perpetuate those abusive policies.

Regardless if those individuals have been coerced, they still have chosen to sell their soul down the river. They still have a choice in how they behave towards other human beings. All human beings - not just those within their tiny little circle that they have chosen to retreat to because they are so damned selfish that they will put their own survival above every single other person on this planet. (...whew...that was a bit run on...)

Every JW that I see and meet looks at me as though I will be a rotten carcass for bird food soon. For that, I have no tolerance, understanding or empathy. I am unable to be empathetic towards people who choose to think like that.

Each and every JW believes that they belong to a special, elite group of people. I do not respect those who support elitism.

50

How do Americans feel about Canadians and Britons interjecting their opinions onto hot localized political topics: gun laws, abortion, ect?

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

in addition to the above question, why do citizens of the two above mentioned countries, or other countries, feel the necessity to tell americans how they should interpret the american constitution for localized issues?.

i fairly much have an idea what the general population in the usa feels in regards to the first question.

this could be one of the possible reasons cnn piers morgan poor ratings and eventual firing.

OrphanCrow

cappytan: everyone is entitled to their own opinion on any subject no matter where they're from or who the subject affects.

That is correct. However, it is important to identify your own geo-political positioning when you do so. An opinion that is 'from nowhere' is just that - from nowhere.

And, it is not a good enough response to come from the position of "well, you just don't understand because you are a foreigner". A person has to clarify why the other person doesn't understand by explaining their own positioning on the issue being discussed.

5

JW Disfellowshipping vs. Amish Meidung vs. Bahá'í Covenant-Breaking

by SonoftheTrinity in

saw an interesting short documentary about a woman who was a born covenant-breaker (which is baha'i for disfellowshipped) because she is the great-granddaughter of baha'ullah whose grandfather disagreed with the leadership, as well as the command that no baha'is should live in israel unless they are working for the universal house of justice (their bethel).

i also read somewhere that shunning in many amish communities has been watered down to having to eat outside at weddings and other communal events.

the more comparisons are drawn between jehovah's witnesses and so called false religions, the less they can claim to be the only true religion.

OrphanCrow

Besides 'covenant breaking' and disfellowshipping, both the JWs and the Ba'hai's lay claim to the date 1914 as fulfillment of prophecy. Except, with the Ba'hai's, it was their very own Abdu'l-Baha who prophesied that 1914 was to be the apocalypse:

In a newspaper article from Colorado around 1915, Abdu'l-Baha is pictured as the "Son of the Founder and Present Leader of the Baha'i Movement." A subheading entitled "Predicted War" goes on to say:
"At Leland Stanford university, in October, 1912, this same Abdu'l-Baha predicted the Great War: 'We are on the eve of the battle of Armageddon, referred to in the 16th chapter of Revelation. The time is two years hence when only a small spark will set aflame the whole of Europe."
World War I which began in August of 1914, on the date 'Abdu'l-Baha accurately predicted was considered by scholars, after the fact, to fulfill the same Biblical prophecies as given by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Yet 'Abdu'l-Baha gave the date of this event before it actual transpired in the world, and without the benefit of the "hindsight" of experts who saw, after the fact, that what 'Abdu'l-Baha gave and the date that he gave, was the explicit fulfillment of the prophecy and apocalyptic warning of God...

http://uhj.net/end-time-prophecy.html

13

New Picture for Memorial Season

by Doctor Who in

i think this would work well.... .

OrphanCrow

And the text for the Memorial 2015 shall be Matthew 27:51. Could you all turn your Bibles to that verse and follow along with me:

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

5

JW Disfellowshipping vs. Amish Meidung vs. Bahá'í Covenant-Breaking

by SonoftheTrinity in

saw an interesting short documentary about a woman who was a born covenant-breaker (which is baha'i for disfellowshipped) because she is the great-granddaughter of baha'ullah whose grandfather disagreed with the leadership, as well as the command that no baha'is should live in israel unless they are working for the universal house of justice (their bethel).

i also read somewhere that shunning in many amish communities has been watered down to having to eat outside at weddings and other communal events.

the more comparisons are drawn between jehovah's witnesses and so called false religions, the less they can claim to be the only true religion.

OrphanCrow

The Ba'hai's are apostates themselves. They are viewed as apostates of Islam.

They have interesting history and teachings. The Ba'hai's are very different than the JWs, yet, at the same time, they have developed into an organizational hierarchy that is uncomfortably similar to the WTS. They have recently established a 'governing body' that is in charge of all things Ba'hai.

Notably, the Ba'hai's have a very different view than the JWs towards education. They promote higher education and also hold all of the creative arts in high regard.

23

Is this what the society imagines will be above that 'secret hiding room' in the basement?

by Esse quam videri in

OrphanCrow

Slave: Lastly, two dudes are looking back at the destruction - no dub will EVER do that in fear of Big J maybe mistaking them for Lot's wife and turning them into salt.

Of course. How did I miss that? Silly me.

11

Watchtower Lawyers -- How many?

by VM44 in

jw
friends

this has been brought up before, but i am going to ask it again....just how many lawyers does the watchtower have?

how many have they sent to law school?

and, why do they need so many lawyers?

OrphanCrow

I would suggest they have Lawyers/legal Dept. in almost every country they operate in .

Glen Howe & Associates in Ontario, represent most of the Watchtower concerns in Canada. At least, I think they still do. Glen Howe died a few years back but, I imagine there would be no need to change firms.

3

Where did the idea for the 'Bethel labour system' originate?

by Esse quam videri in