Posts by slimboyfat

16

Why Charles Taze Russell was NOT a Freemason

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

the article is now in english.

please let me know what you think.. http://verdadtj.com/atalaya/russell-not-a-freemason.php.

slimboyfat

It reads good to me. A good overview of a subject I've not read very extensively.

10

So, how's it feel, Watchtower -- now that the shoe's on the other foot?

by FatFreek 2005 in

yes, your cult has been banned in russia.

what surprises me is that this hasn't happened in more countries.

what surprises me is that civil suits in the u.s. haven't flooded the courts -- violation of civil and human rights because of the cruel act of shunning of disfellowshipped ones, even members of one's own family.. discrimination is a form of cruelty and civil and human rights define such.

slimboyfat

Shunning is a horrendously stone age way of trying to control and influence others but the law will never make it illegal. You can't force people to talk to others.

I used to think that was a compelling argument. But now I think it misses the point. No law would be drafted to say that shunning another person is illegal. What could conceivably be made illegal is operating an organisation whose policies and documents mandate and regulate shunning. That could technically be made a matter of law, presumably, just as organisations are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, they would not be allowed to formulate and promote and a system that stigmatises former members. So I don't think it's impossible or a ridiculous idea.

Having said that I don't think it's a good idea to go down the route of banning organisations that employ shunning.

Removing charitable status on the other hand seems entirely proportionate and would be effective in my view.

15

Russia banning JWs might not have the "persecution effect" this time

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

russia banning the organization might not have the same effect as the earlier ban did decades ago.. more and more people have access to the internet.

it only takes a few russian jws to start their google search for the first time to discover the truth about their religion.. questions might arise, such as "why is jehovah allowing this to happen?

consider too, the schism that happened when the romanian jws were cut off from brooklyn.

slimboyfat

After large increases in the 1990s JWs had already begun to decline in Russia and Eastern Europe in recent years. The ban this time won't be a replay of decades past. Many JWs were already apathetic. The ban might push many give up JW association altogether and leave a small core of fanatics.

167

Sudden General Election in UK to be held June 8th 2017

by freddo in

theresa may the british p.m. has called for an election.. the house of commons has to vote tomorrow and have a two-thirds majority to agree and the main opposition parties want it to happen too so it looks pretty certain to go ahead..

slimboyfat

Where is Sturgeon unpopular? The Daily Mail?

She is by far the most popular leader in Scotland.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/how-nicola-sturgeon-and-ruth-davidson-s-approval-ratings-have-changed-1-4417273

More and more Scots support indepdence. At the start of the last campaign only 30% of Scots supported independence. Now polls put support at around 50% and the campaign hasn't even started yet.

167

Sudden General Election in UK to be held June 8th 2017

by freddo in

theresa may the british p.m. has called for an election.. the house of commons has to vote tomorrow and have a two-thirds majority to agree and the main opposition parties want it to happen too so it looks pretty certain to go ahead..

slimboyfat

Theresa May called the election because wants a blank check to do whatever she wants.

Labour can't win the election obviously, but many people in England are voting Labour to try to curb the Tory majority.

In Scotland we will likely vote SNP to curb the Tories.

We won't get another chance until 2022 because of May's cynical timing.

Journalists and others have noticed May is not above "playing games with politics" as she puts it.

It will backfire as people vote to stop her getting a landslide.

167

Sudden General Election in UK to be held June 8th 2017

by freddo in

theresa may the british p.m. has called for an election.. the house of commons has to vote tomorrow and have a two-thirds majority to agree and the main opposition parties want it to happen too so it looks pretty certain to go ahead..

slimboyfat

Phizzy what about the 40+ years previous to that when North Sea oil propped up the UK economy?

The fact is Scotland needs to develop its economy whether it becomes independent or not. One industry is in decline, others will replace it. Judging Scotland's economy on one year of low oil price is like evaluating someone's income during a month when they left one job and haven't started another yet.

Scotland still has a lot of oil and gas and could finally begin an oil fund like Norway, especially if the price recovers. And as Scotland adapts to no oil, it can copy many successful small countries without oil such as Denmark. Scotland has great resources and potential including tourism, renewable energy, food and drink exports, pharmaceuticals, financial services, worldclass universities.

Unionists need to explain how relying on handouts from London constitutes a viable economic plan. It's stupid, it's lazy, and it's pretty naive to think English people will go for it.

21

Never Thought I'd Say This, But I've Found Something to Look Forward to in the Meetings

by Sorry in

my therapist inspired me to start looking on the bright side.

even though i've pretty much given up listening to the bs and usually tune out the meeting by playing on my phone/tablet, i find the local needs talk oddly fascinating.

probably because it's the only part that doesn't seem outlined to death (at least at our hall), and you truly don't know what you get.

slimboyfat

Never forget the local needs we had on using theocratic resources wisely, including not using too much toilet paper.

167

Sudden General Election in UK to be held June 8th 2017

by freddo in

theresa may the british p.m. has called for an election.. the house of commons has to vote tomorrow and have a two-thirds majority to agree and the main opposition parties want it to happen too so it looks pretty certain to go ahead..

slimboyfat

Scotland has been a net contributor to the UK for most of the last 40 years.

Why on earth would Scotland be any less "viable" than Denmark, Belgium, Ireland... and other similarl sized countries?

Scotland currently has a large deficit and no oil fund... as a result of being in the UK. The way to improve the situation is to govern ourselves and make better choices than those made on our behalf. We won't solve problems created under the union by remaining in the union.

Whether Scotland leaves or remains in the UK it needs to make its own way in the world. Unionists seem to live In fantasy world where England is going to send free money to Scotland when the oil runs out. Fact is that the UK has net benefitted from Scotland for decades. They will not be eager to begin subsidising Scotland as the oil runs down.

Scotland needs to develop its economy no matter what. Staying in the union and asking for handouts is not an economic plan.

Scotland has huge resources ans potential and could be a very successful small country.

47

Serena Williams Pregnant

by wisdomfrombelow in

jw
friends

now that she has announced that she is 20 weeks pregnant and not married, what is her status in the cult?

.

If Scots don't want another referendum it's quite simple - don't vote SNP in June. That's democracy.

I look forward to the result!