Posts by slimboyfat

33

Have you ever thought what the primary teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses is?

by Half banana in

it is not “preach the good news” nor is it “believe in jesus and get saved” neither is it “believe in the governing body of jehovah’s witnesses and get saved” although in practice they do teach this.

no, everything they claim depends on a belief in another doctrine which logic decrees cannot be found in the bible.

the leadership of jehovah’s witnesses put absolute faith in a protestant doctrine which is given a latin name, sola scriptura, meaning “by scripture alone”.. good evidence of the governing body believing in the primacy of this doctrine was when being questioned by the australian royal commission, they resorted to the ‘authority’ of scripture to defend their stance on having “two witnesses” when they are investigating child abuse cases.throughout the hearing they paraded their naive trust in the bible as the highest possible authority proudly ignoring the fact that most people regard it as having been superseded by modern scientific evaluations of what is true.. .

slimboyfat

It is true that JWs sort of believe in sola scripture. Where they differ from the Protestant tradition is they do not believe that correct interpretation of the Bible is available equally to all. For example the October 1st Watchtower 1994 was about the role of the Bible, and included a box titled: "Channel to Understanding the Bible". In this box it states: "All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the 'greatly diversified wisdom of God' can become known only through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave." (Page 8) This seems to be at odds with the Protestant idea that a right understanding of the Bible text is available to all believers unmediated by any church authority.

On the canon of scripture accepted by JWs. I think there is a good argument to be made that Origen listed the Potirpestant canon over a hundred years before Athanasius. Origen was a subordinationist and arguably better aligned with JW Christology.

55

The watchtower does not have the resources

by pepperheart in

if you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.

slimboyfat

They won't do unless circumstances force them. But circumstances may force them.

114

the watchtower is starting to crumble

by pepperheart in

for the december monthly broadcast instead of jws from around the world waving to you and items of how to shun people we will have to make do with repeats of of old gilead videos that have been on the jw website for a good while.

slimboyfat

My post appeared twice because of delays. And both times I managed to misspell the word "effort".

Yes I agree WT appears to be in a real crisis. I don't know how it will play out, but put it this way: as dramatic as the changes of recent years have been, I believe their crisis is such that greater drama is yet to come. I think it is a mistake to think they have restructured in such a way to create a strategy for future stability. As another poster noted, they are sticking their head in the sand over the two witness rule. Every indication is they are doing the same about their financial and organisational problems. And chickens are now coming home to roost.

21

"Are you humble enough to admit you were wrong?"

by stuckinarut2 in

that is a question i want to calmly and politely ask a witness next time i interact with them.

perhaps at a cart.. "the bible says we should be humble.

may i ask, are you humble enough to admit you were wrong on things you believe?

slimboyfat

That's a good one. But they are more scared than humble/proud, I'd say.

I still want to try out my zinger some time:

"Are there any subjects that your leaders won't allow you to discuss?"

To which I expect the inevitable ironic reply:

"I don't want to discuss that."

55

The watchtower does not have the resources

by pepperheart in

if you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.

slimboyfat

Yes there are lots of good things about JWs, if they could just get rid of the bad. It will take some major event to provoke them to change however.

114

the watchtower is starting to crumble

by pepperheart in

for the december monthly broadcast instead of jws from around the world waving to you and items of how to shun people we will have to make do with repeats of of old gilead videos that have been on the jw website for a good while.

slimboyfat

Yes it looks like they are starting to crumble.

I meant 1000 (or more) videos in total, not just monthly broadcasts.

And I meant JWs don't have a culture of giving money. Of course in terms of time and afford they beat most other religions by a mile. It's ironic therefore that WT have failed to turn this zeal toward financial contributions.

Yes it seems like they are collapsing faster than I imagined. Are broadcasts now being phased out? Is the religion itself being phased out?

114

the watchtower is starting to crumble

by pepperheart in

for the december monthly broadcast instead of jws from around the world waving to you and items of how to shun people we will have to make do with repeats of of old gilead videos that have been on the jw website for a good while.

slimboyfat

Yes it looks like they are starting to crumble.

I meant 1000 (or more) videos in total, not just monthly broadcasts.

And I meant JWs don't have a culture of giving money. Of course in terms of time and afford they beat most other religions by a mile. It's ironic therefore that WT have failed to turn this zeal toward financial contributions.

Yes it seems like they are collapsing faster than I imagined. Are broadcasts now being phased out? Is the religion itself being phased out?

32

What’s The Strangest Belief of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

there’s a lot.

i think one strange view is how only 144000 go to heaven.

since the number is mentioned in the symbolic book of revelation, you would expect that the number would be viewed as figurative, but jws say otherwise.

slimboyfat

Overlapping generation is so embarrassing they never talk about it in conversation, ever. Speaks for itself.

55

The watchtower does not have the resources

by pepperheart in

if you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.