MrMonroe

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Posts by MrMonroe

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  78

  Do you sense that the Watchtower will implode?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since leaving the organization 8 years ago, there have been more significant changes in the actual, physical activities of the organization than occurred in all the 40 plus years i was 'in'.

  bethel closings.

  bethel layoffs.

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  MrMonroe

  Their control over elders and publishers is too strong to allow a splintering to occur. For any significant splinter group to form would require a freedom for members to express what they feel and gain the sense that there are others who share their view.

  The threat of disfellowshipping for any who step out of line and challenge the authority and teaching of the GB is far too strong to allow any more than a handful to leave with the intention of starting something new. I just don't see it as feasible that people would be prepared to accept disfellowshipping, with all the shame and humiliation that entails, to join others, particularly when the level of rhetoric from the WTS against the "rebels" would skyrocket.

  Could it implode? I just can't see it. The movement has a momentum all its own, fuelled by the myth of divine authority and the fear of expulsion and eternal damnation. It also has its own centre of gravity that keeps pulling members (and recruiits) towards it. Few of those ever stop to examine the logic and teachings of the organisation, and because they're not allowed to read or hear criticism, they have no yardstick by which to judge it.

  The internet and media exposure will cause some to drift towards the edge and leave, but the machine will keep rolling on.
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  47

  Which songs/Albums were considered "Demonic" in your Congregation...did you toss some?

  by Witness 007 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  "hotel california" was considered a major demonic song.

  ac/dc stood for anti-christ devils children....{not according to the band} kiss stood for knight s in satans service {not according to the band} anyone else have to toss albums?.

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  MrMonroe

  Hotel California and Stairway to Heaven for sure. I had a JW in the back of my car once who asked me take out a cassette that was playing a Smiths song, "This Charming Man," it may have been, which included the line "the devil finds work for idle hands." I told him even Kingdom Songs mention the devil.

  I chose to stop playing "Blasphemous Rumours" by Depeche Mode; a wonderful song, but it contained what I thought was pretty horrible statements about God. I suppose I still feel a bit uneasy about it, though I play it now.
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  4

  Brooklyn residents not sad to see the back of JWs

  by Mickey mouse in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.observer.com/2011/09/all-along-the-watchtower/.

  all along, the watchtower: can i get a jehovahs witness?

  in brooklyn heights, probably not .

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  MrMonroe

  One more prick to the bubble of their fantasy that people just looooove Jehovah's Witnesses in their neighbourhood because they're so law-abiding and upstanding. Collectively, they are self-centered, self-obsessed people who give very little to any community they're a part of ... because they insist theyre not really part of a community.

  JWs never volunteer for community, school, or public duties. They won't take part in union activities or community protests. They give nothing because (a) they are taught to hold "the world" in contempt, (b) they are kept so busy with the demands of their own religion, which makes huge demands on their tie and (c) they worry that they'll be criticised from within their cult if they do interact too much with the "world".
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  71

  Overlapping generation segment on the new Circuit Assembly program

  by traveb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so there i was at the circuit assembly sunday morning with my eyes glazed over as usual when all of a sudden, bam!

  a demo with two brothers talking about the new overlapping generation teaching.

  the reason it took me by surprise was because it occured during the second talk of the sunday morning symposium, "sanctify god's name by your speech".

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  MrMonroe

  @Drewcoul, yeah, I love that closing comment ... "It makes it more clear, but I need to do more research." Uh, so is it clear or not? Did that discussion of Fred Franz living nearly 100 years actually explain it or not? And where will you do your research? Admit it, mate, it just can't be understood. And why?

  2:01 on the audio: "We have to readjust our understanding of what a generation is." And why do they have to readjust? Simple: because the previous "understanding" meant that those who had formed that generation were now at least 107 years old, and so the doctrine was therefore proved WRONG.

  The "old understanding" was actually pretty clear, and it made sense in a Watchtower way. "The generation that saw the events of 1914 will not pass away before Armageddon comes." That's clear enough. But when the passing of time makes it clear that the doctrine was WRONG, they need to face facts and say, "Hey, we goofed. If Jesus was talking about a generation alive at the time of Armageddon, then tying it in with the 1914 date was clearly WRONG. If we got that WRONG then we probably got a lot of other stuff WRONG."

  But they're too proud to admit they're WRONG. Instead of dismantling their doctrine, they have decided to redefine a fairly basic English word and then force that to fit their doctrine. They can talk all they like at conventions about the lives of old anointed men overlapping the lives of young anointed men. But sorry, that doesn't make them one generation, and anyone with half a brain knows that. I am not the same generation as my grandfather even though were were both alive together for all of the 1960s.

  That presentation had excellent actors, but I doubt even they believe it.
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  1

  JWTalk forum

  by MrMonroe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i can't get into that last thread about what's happening on jwtalk.net.

  and you obviously need a password to get into their forum.. what's the general tenor of the discussion?.

  i'm interested in another thread there as well, in which someone has asked about the reliability of jw articles on wikipedia.

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  MrMonroe

  I can't get into that last thread about what's happening on JWtalk.net. And you obviously need a password to get into their forum.

  What's the general tenor of the discussion?

  I'm interested in another thread there as well, in which someone has asked about the reliability of JW articles on Wikipedia. Damned right the main ones are treliable. They contain info you'll never find in a WTS publication.
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  71

  Overlapping generation segment on the new Circuit Assembly program

  by traveb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so there i was at the circuit assembly sunday morning with my eyes glazed over as usual when all of a sudden, bam!

  a demo with two brothers talking about the new overlapping generation teaching.

  the reason it took me by surprise was because it occured during the second talk of the sunday morning symposium, "sanctify god's name by your speech".

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  MrMonroe

  Yeah, kind of funny. The drones are sitting there in their seats thinking, "Yeah, it's crystal clear." Up on stage they run through it again, and the drones are nodding, "uh-huh .... uh-huh ... uh-huh..."

  But ultimately it's "Huh?" On the way home if they start discussing it, they'll be just a lost trying to explain a teaching that simply makes no sense and is twisting a fairly simple Bible statement into all sorts of weird shapes to fit a pre-determined outcome.
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  44

  Max Larson died today at 96 yrs...Watchtower President since 2000

  by williamhconley in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  watchtower society of new york president max larson died today at the age of 96.. served in bethel since 1938 (73 yrs at bethel) long before geoffrey jackson & anthony morris of the gb were even born.. http://www.jw-archive.org/2011/09/bro-max-larson-died-today.html.

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  MrMonroe

  See Wikipedia article: Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses.

  It's a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania corporation.

  Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. is a corporation used by Jehovah's Witnesses, which is responsible for administrative matters, such as real estate, especially within the United States. This corporation is typically cited as the publisher of Jehovah's Witnesses publications, though other publishers are sometimes cited. The corporation's stated purposes are: “Charitable, benevolent, scientific, historical, literary and religious purposes; the moral and mental improvement of men and women, the dissemination of Bible truths in various languages by means of the publication of tracts, pamphlets, papers and other religious documents, and for religious missionary work.” [ 9 ]

  Originally known as the Peoples Pulpit Association, the organization was incorporated in 1909 when the Society's principal offices moved to Brooklyn, New York. In 1939, it was renamed Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc., and in 1956 the name was changed to Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. [ 10 ] Until 2000, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses was president of both the Watch Tower (Pennsylvania) and Watchtower (New York) corporations, as well as Britain's International Bible Students Association corporation; in 2001, it was decided that the corporations' directors need not be members of the Governing Body. [ 3 ] In 2001 the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York was listed among the top forty revenue-generating companies in New York City, reporting an annual revenue of about 951 million US dollars. [ 11 ]
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  311

  "Mentally diseased" article to be published in The Independent tomorrow

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hi everyone.

  as a parting gift to you all before i take a much needed break from this forum, i thought you would be pleased to know that the independent, a leading uk newspaper, will be publishing a piece on the "mentally diseased" watchtower article in tomorrow's edition.. i would like to thank everybody who has assisted the journalist, jerome taylor, in his investigation.. best wishes to all of you,.

  cedars.

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  MrMonroe

  What cowardly bastards they are.

  A spokesman for the Watchtower Society stressed that the offending article was "a personal matter for each individual to decide for himself" and maintained that "If a person changes their mind about Bible-based teachings they once held dear, we recognise their right to leave."

  Disfellowshipping for blood; shunning for anyone who leaves the religion and criticises it: The directives to members, and elders, are clear. Why do they lie?
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  311

  "Mentally diseased" article to be published in The Independent tomorrow

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hi everyone.

  as a parting gift to you all before i take a much needed break from this forum, i thought you would be pleased to know that the independent, a leading uk newspaper, will be publishing a piece on the "mentally diseased" watchtower article in tomorrow's edition.. i would like to thank everybody who has assisted the journalist, jerome taylor, in his investigation.. best wishes to all of you,.

  cedars.

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  MrMonroe

  And the International Business Times:

  Jehovah’s Witnesses Paper Declares Defectors 'Mentally Diseased'

  Jehovah's Witnesses have come under fire after the sect's official magazine referred to people who left the religion as "mentally diseased."

  Former members have expressed their concerns after The Watchtower magazine told Witnesses to avoid those who have left the religion as if "a doctor told you to avoid someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease."

  The Independent reports it was given the magazine by a current member who has become disillusioned with Jehovah's Witness life, but is too frightened to leave for fear of losing his family.

  The official stance of the Witnesses is that people who leave the religion are "false teachers."

  Current members of the church are starting to believe the term "mentally diseased" could be in breach of British hatred laws; multiple groups of former Witnesses have made an official complaint to the police, who are now investigating the matter.

  A spokesman for the Watchtower Society - the main legal body used by Jehovah's Witnesses - stressed that the offending article was "a personal matter for each individual to decide for himself" and maintained that "If a person changes their mind about Bible-based teachings they once held dear, we recognise their right to leave."

  The investigation continues and ex-members are considering making a complaint to the Charity Commission, as the company that prints the monthly magazine is a registered charity.
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  311

  "Mentally diseased" article to be published in The Independent tomorrow

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hi everyone.

  as a parting gift to you all before i take a much needed break from this forum, i thought you would be pleased to know that the independent, a leading uk newspaper, will be publishing a piece on the "mentally diseased" watchtower article in tomorrow's edition.. i would like to thank everybody who has assisted the journalist, jerome taylor, in his investigation.. best wishes to all of you,.

  cedars.

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  MrMonroe

  Here comes the flood.

  The Telegraph, London:

  Police inquiry over Jehovah's Witness magazine 'mentally diseased' article

  An official magazine for Jehovah's Witnesses that described those who leave the church as "mentally diseased" is at the centre of a police inquiry, it has emerged.

  Detectives are investigating whether the article, published in July’s edition of The Watchtower, is in breach of Britain’s religious hatred laws.

  The article, published in the magazine which is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses across the globe, reportedly warned followers to avoid "false teachers" which it condemned as being "mentally diseased".

  "Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease," part of the article stated.

  "You would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning. Well, apostates are 'mentally diseased', and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings."

  A group of former Witnesses, based in Portsmouth, have made an official complaint to Hampshire Police about the article. Police have launched an investigation.