Posts by slimboyfat

12

"Jehovah's Witnesses" : A religion - or a denomination of a religion?

by The Searcher in

"a christian denomination is a generic term for a distinct religious body identified by traits such as a common name, structure, leadership and doctrine.

individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church or fellowship.

" (wikipedia) .

slimboyfat

Like everything else, it depends on the context.

Just to mention one perspective, it is common in sociology textbooks to divide religious groups into four categories: church, sect, denomination and cult. According to this definition JWs are classified as a sect rather than a denomination, because they are internally exclusive and externally viewed as deviant, whereas a denomination is inclusive and considered respectable.

The typology is included and discussed in this blog post.

http://benedson.blogs.com/benedson/2005/12/sect_denominati.html

So are JWs a denomination? Not according to one common sociological definition at least.

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

slimboyfat

Thread spoiler alert: the attemp by Cofty's former pastor to reconvert him has not succeeded (yet)

14

JW mention in Geography book

by Nihilistic Journey in

i was reading a book exploring he relationship between geography and religion and found the following quote starting on page 121 of chris park's sacred worlds.. park, c. c. (1994).

sacred worlds: an introduction to geography and religion.

london: routledge.. one of the most dynamic religious groups in terms of disseminating its beliefs is the jehovah’s witnesses.

slimboyfat

Incidentally there's a more recent geographic study of JWs in Ireland that looks interesting.

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-017-9376-6_85

14

JW mention in Geography book

by Nihilistic Journey in

i was reading a book exploring he relationship between geography and religion and found the following quote starting on page 121 of chris park's sacred worlds.. park, c. c. (1994).

sacred worlds: an introduction to geography and religion.

london: routledge.. one of the most dynamic religious groups in terms of disseminating its beliefs is the jehovah’s witnesses.

slimboyfat

How many errors can you pack into a small paragraph!

1. JWs were not founded as "People's Pulpit Association" in 1884. Russell's group,started before that, and the Watch Tower began 1879.

2. JWs are officially JWs, not unofficially.

3. JWs are not pacifists.

4. They have never claimed 200 million members.

5. They do not clam the NWT is infallible.

6. They don't claim JWs in general will rule over the earth but only the 144,000 anointed.

The part on Spain may be riddled with errors too for all I know. If he can't get the general correct there's no reason to trust him in the specific.

50

Why Finding the One True Religion is Impossible

by Simon in

jws like to think they have found the one true religion.

but like so many other religious people, it's usually the religion they were born into, the only religion they know because it's the first one they found or, at the most, one of two or three (typically the second one after they left their first / born-in faith).. the trouble is, there simply isn't enough time to explore and investigate each and everyone of the many thousands of belief systems, religions and sects around the world.. think of it this way: which is the best neighbourhood to live in where you would be most happy and most successful?

not just in the city or even the country you are in, but the entire world.. how would you ever know?

slimboyfat

What religion will I join tomorrow?

47

Hidden message in JW bunker video?

by Dunedain in

so, i was speaking with a relative recently, who is "in" the borg, but is completely aware of the terrible hypocrisy from the gb down.

he is not in the box, and its great to be able to have a realistic, and logical discussion about the current state of the org.. we started discussing, specifically, about that bunker video that was released in december.

how it is being played at all the conventions.

slimboyfat

I guess the reason many of the videos JW.org is producing seem so shocking is because of two trends running against one another.

On the one hand the messages JWs promote are becoming more unacceptable to society at large. Whether that be against homosexuality, shunning family members, or awaiting apocalyptic persecution.

On the other hand the sophistication of the media JW.org is using to promote their messages has leaped forward with technology.

The message JWs are promoting hasn't really changed. They have always warned about persecution and tribulation for example.

The problem is that they've found a striking new medium for delivering their message just at the time when their message is becoming more and more unacceptable to most regular people.

11

A Taxonomy of WT Presidents/GB

by breakfast of champions in

[this is what happens when the semester ends.

idle hands.

so i was thinking of how you would categorize the presidents of the wt, and i came up with this:.

slimboyfat

Henschel doesn't even get a mention. The last of the "anointed" presidents. Talk about the forgotten president. One of the only things I "know" about Henschel is that he visited a posh hotel in Malta, because someone wrote a story about it online nearly 20 years ago.

Not to mention Don Adams and Max Larson, the two headed non-anointed presidency.

35

Im Going To Approach A Witnessing Cart Today

by pale.emperor in

the city in which i work is flooded with those witnessing carts.

today im going to approach one of them and pretend i dont know what they believe.

gonna try and record it if i can.

slimboyfat

Jesus pretty much set the tone as far as tolerating difference and accepting others with differing views is concerned.

Matt 12:30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

35

Im Going To Approach A Witnessing Cart Today

by pale.emperor in

the city in which i work is flooded with those witnessing carts.

today im going to approach one of them and pretend i dont know what they believe.

gonna try and record it if i can.

slimboyfat

ME: Im not trying to argue sir, im just asking questions. I know shunnng isnt in the bible.

Not sure I can agree with that,

They then just ignored me and pretended i wasn't there. Both holding the Watchtower out to... no one. I took my leave.

Ha! That's pathetic. They'd probably clocked you were a JW. They've not got any ethical justifications for shunning, but that doesn't stop them. Apparently they provided a demonstration.

54

Survey: Are you Agnostic or Atheist or Christian?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i am agnostic.

i will count how many agnostics, atheists and christians that are reading this forum regularly.

please answer my question.

slimboyfat

As people who have moved from a faith position to another or to none at all, we migjt be especially aware of the many shades between belief and non-belief.

Believers themselves experience doubt all the time. Faith and doubt are so closely connected they simply cannot be separated, like two sides of a coin. In some ways doubt is an expression of deep faith. In the sense that the anxiety that surrounds the very concept of "doubt" can only really visit those who take their faith very seriously in the first place.

I have moved beyond having mere doubts. I have become skeptical about human knowledge itself. More than simply having the wrong answers, it is not clear that humans are able to ask the right questions.

A dog can't do calculus and a cat can't budget for his cat food. How do we even know whether we are asking the right questions regarding "God"? If we are the products of a blind evolutionary processes, then what possible suvival function would be provided by being able to ask and offer answers for ultimate questions?

How do we know our mutteeings about God or not-God make any more sense than a wolf howling at the moon?

This is what I mean by calling myself agnostic.