Posts by scotoma

28

Major flub in Slavery Watchtower Study Article

by scotoma in

jw
friends

do you ever wonder if the watchtower writers actually read the context of their key scriptures?.

they seem intent on perpetuating the idea that the jewish law was divine - perfect.. paragraph two asks the question "what would prompt an israelite slave to forfeit his opportunity.

to be free?".

scotoma

Adamah:

I used the term blackmail loosely because ordinary (non legalistic) person's understand that it is obtaining something from another person without using physical force. And ordinary people understand that it is bad. Poetic licence if you will.

Actually in a legal sense it is neither extortion or blackmail. The slave knew the rules when he took a wife from his master's household. So, the Master wasn't doing anything wrong legally. Now if the Master gave a woman in his household to the slave and certified it in writing and then decided to change his mind he would have a problem with the men in the gates. The Watchtower also makes the claim that when you got baptized in recognition of the "spirit led organization" that you knew what you were getting into. That's how they can deny any wrongdoing by disfellowshipping someone who leaves.

Even if the Master is nice he isn't noble and endearing. And to be sure this loop hole was exploited. It was a legal way to retain slaves past the date of release and calls into question the whole system of slavery.

And what would you expect of a Master (Jehovah) who is so unforgiving that he had his only begotten son die from torture?

28

Major flub in Slavery Watchtower Study Article

by scotoma in

jw
friends

do you ever wonder if the watchtower writers actually read the context of their key scriptures?.

they seem intent on perpetuating the idea that the jewish law was divine - perfect.. paragraph two asks the question "what would prompt an israelite slave to forfeit his opportunity.

to be free?".

scotoma

Do you ever wonder if the Watchtower writers actually read the context of their key scriptures?

They seem intent on perpetuating the idea that the Jewish law was divine - perfect.

Paragraph two asks the question "What would prompt an Israelite slave to forfeit his opportunity
to be free?"

They would like you to think of the benevolent master generously obeying the law and liberating
his slave after 7 years and because the Master was so wonderful they would choose to remain
with the master over obtaining their freedom.

By reading the context you get to see that the master is a conniving black mailer.

"Exodus 21:5 "But, if the slave should insistently say, "I really love my master, MY WIFE AND
MY SONS; I do not want to go out as one set free.

So the real answer to the paragraphs questions is that an Israelite slave was prompted to forfeit
his opportunity to be free BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE WITHOUT HIS WIFE
AND CHILDREN.

The problem is the slave that marries a slave and has kids by her can't take her or the kids with
him. The wife and kids are the slave property of the slave master and must remain slaves.

So look at how the Watchtower skips over this unimaginable cruelty with its answer to the
question.

"However for a slave who REALLY LOVED HIS MASTER and who wished to remain in his
service, Jehovah made a REMARKABLE PROVISION"

Remarkable? How is that remarkable? The first thing I would do if I got a slave is make sure he
hooks up with one of my slave women because then I could "remarkably" circumvent the
requirement to give a slave their freedom and at the same time get a whole family of slaves.

The "faithful slave" apparently learned from the master that you can get your freedom from the
organization anytime you want but you will have to forfeit your precious family ties.

30

I regret my disassociation.

by Zoos in

jw
friends

if i knew then what i know now, i might never have disassociated myself.

i realize all i can do is speculate on what could have been.

however, when i consider the number of people i might have been able to help by dropping little thought-provoking seeds, i really regret having jumped to the decision to disassociate so quickly.. ive read the accounts of several people on this forum telling of how stressful it is to be in the position that i just described above.

scotoma

Most people become JW's through friends and relatives.

The reverse also works.

The best way to help people break free is to work on your friends and relatives.

Just like JW's wait for the appropriate time to "witness" timing is everything.

You have to be there at the moment someone becomes conflicted about their trust in the organization.

It's hard to crush an egg by pressing the two ends between your hands. But at the same time a tiny bump will break through the shell.

2

what kind of amazing peace agreement would capture your watchtower imagination?

by scotoma in

jw
friends

embeded in the minds of jw's and xjw's is the watchtowers pairing of some kind of cry of peace and security followed by something referred to as the "disgusting thing standing in the holy place".

there have been many moments of peace starting with the end of world war ii vj day and ve day.

end of korean war?.

scotoma

Gopher,

That has already happened. Those goals were stated and agreed upon in the preamble of the UN

PREAMBLE

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and
to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations.

2

what kind of amazing peace agreement would capture your watchtower imagination?

by scotoma in

jw
friends

embeded in the minds of jw's and xjw's is the watchtowers pairing of some kind of cry of peace and security followed by something referred to as the "disgusting thing standing in the holy place".

there have been many moments of peace starting with the end of world war ii vj day and ve day.

end of korean war?.

scotoma

Embeded in the minds of JW's and XJW's is the Watchtowers pairing of some kind of cry of peace and security followed by something referred to as the "disgusting thing standing in the holy place"

There have been many moments of peace starting with the end of World War II VJ day and VE day

End of Korean war?

Recognition of China and its entry to UN?

End of Vietnam war?

Egypt and Israeli peace agreement?

End of Aparheid?

Collapse of the Soviet Union and its domination of Eastern Europe end of the 40 year long cold war?

Regime change in Iraq?

To be sure there are still some hot spots SE Asia, North Korea, India vs Pakistan. Anarchy on the Continent of Africa.

Would all these areas need to be settled or is there some kind of crown jewel of peace negotiations such as a solid Israel and Palestine situation.

The Israeli/ Palestinian puzzle demands some kind of comprehensive solution that is extremely complicated because of the clash of relgious ideologies Christian/Jewish,Sunni and Shiite Muslim all sitting on the most valuable commodity on the planet - OIL.

If a great fanfare is made over such a peace agreement in the Middle East would you as a JW or even an XJW start looking over your shoulder for the other shoe to drop which would be some gigantic reversal of expectations that could be described as "the disgusting thing that causes desolation" that marks the start of the greatest tribulation the world has ever seen.

This is not a prophecy. Just wondering.

33

Father of four quits job after attending Annual Meeting

by confusedandalone in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvdegzadefa.

this is completely ridiculous.

even as an uber dub i would bnever ever do this!!!

scotoma

Little Phineas should get a toy spear to play with. That way when he grows up and becomes an elder he will be ready to start stabbing people in their genitals.

With all the Bible names, why pick such a dispicable character. Kids are influenced by their names.

36

Quite an interesting first meeting with my Therapist.

by truthseekeriam in

jw
friends

the moment i mentioned jehovah's witnesses he headed over to his file cabinet and handed me this print out.. .

dear beloved one, .

i see your loneliness and fears.

scotoma

I have never been to a psychotherapist or counselor, but I have watched the TV series "In Treatment".

How do you pick a therapist?

If the therapist is to much like you they won't be able to help you address the real conflicts in your life. They will have the same coping mechanisms and blind spots.

If the therapist is opposite of you they will hate you and become sadistic and get some secret pleasure in creating discomfort for you

If the therapist is simply not the kind of person you would take seriously they won't be engaging enough to put in a sincere effort.

It seems that the ideal therapist would be somewhere in between a friend and someone who is indifferent.

You end up switching therapists and you have to lay out a couple hundred dollars to get to know them as persons.

It's as bad as courtship.

If I needed a therapist I would want a free session where I could browse their professional library to see what books and therapies they reference.

I would ask them which therapists they tend to model. Thank them for their time. Read a book or two by the therapist's favorite therapist.

Nice thing about this method is your problem will probably be gone by the time you find your best therapist.

72

Did you ever have a supernatural experience?

by XPeterX in

jw
friends

ok i know some of you are going to mock me but i don't give a shit and you'd better get dafaq outta this thread if you don't beleive in this stuff.. .

so,you ever seen somethin strange?shadow people?felt cold spots?touched by something you can't see?beaten by an unseen force?heard voices/whispers/growls/screams etc?are you sure about it or was it just your imagination?you ever been into the occult?c'mon share your experiences and stories!personally i've never had an encounter with the other side..

scotoma

Calling forth Sylvia Brown... Are you there?

No answer. Must be cuz she died.

14

'Deal with it!' - WT, in so many words

by Gayle in

jw
friends

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20091101/spouse-special-needs/.

an article if a marriage partner has a chronic health issue.

no - did not mention something like - 'just read the bible & you'll feel better.

scotoma

19 For my part I am hoping in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to YOU shortly, that I may be a cheerful soul when I get to know about the things pertaining to YOU. 20 For I have no one else of a disposition like his who will genuinely care for the things pertaining to YOU. 21 For all the others are seeking their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

Philipians 2:19-21

So what's new?!!

22

US Dominance Fading Fast

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://www.businessinsider.com/pisa-rankings-2013-12.

dead last in math and falling in other categories.. zerohedge announced this morning that the chinese yuan just passed the euro in trade finance globally.

this puts it as #2, second only to the dollar.. metatron.

scotoma

fts

Thanks for the corrections to my stereotype.

Things have changed a lot since the last time I was in China -NEVER!