Posts by Max Divergent

So what? Having a patent and having an outbreak (if there is one) are different things. They have nothing directly to do with each other. It's not even a conspiracy theory, it's random factoids mashed together.

What are you getting at?

That USG having a patent on Ebola makes an 'outbreak' of Ebola in the US good for USG? Huh?

Profit? Not even a US court would make a person infected with Ebola pay royalties to USG for their use of Ebola, whether they're in the US or not.

You're missing a step (or a hundred) if you want to make a credible conspiracy theory (whatever that might mean) out of this.

45

New Watchtower video on "real friends"

by cedars in

jw
friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5schopnecog.

it's difficult to imagine how this video could be more disingenuous and hypocritical.

cedars.

Max Divergent

It has nothing whatever to do with JW's, and it's a good video. It's just that it's irrelevent to the Watchtower.

Just at the end it says somthing like "choose your friends wisely, choose real friends" then goes to the JW.org graphic. That was the only jarring note, it's like a website, the JW website, is a real friend.

The e=mc2 graphic was funny: as if physics education is encouraged by JWs! LOL!

46

No bibles at any kingdomhalls, strong rumors the annual meeting is regarding the bible...

by EndofMysteries in

from relatives and contacts in 2 states, there have been no bibles available for a couple months.

one person mentioned to me as well about supposed quotes in the magazines from other bibles.

rumors are that they will announce a new bible, or possibly tell everyone to buy a bible from another place that they approve of.

Max Divergent

The problem with paper bibles is they stay the same forever.

But an online bible can be kept up-to-date so they can make sure it reflects God's Word in real time.

As God speaks, His Word can adjust on tablets in KHs around the world!

And the brothers can get extra help to understand the import of scriptures, so the 'abstain from blood' bit could have an animated gif of someone refusing a transfusion so readers can have no doubt of what Paul meant.

- The elders' version of the bible can have links to the elders' book so they don't forget all the extra secret bits.

- The Sister's bible will have the verses about subjection set to glow red.

- MS's will hack their version so lists of jobs that need to be done at the back of the hall will pop up at timed intervals though the meeting, especially during the boring talks.

- Kids' editions will have real explosions for Armageddon and HD graphics for the birds picking out eyes of bad children.

So, electronic bibles would be a very fine provision of the faithful slave ... see them Write God's Word Daily!

30

Did a householder at the door ever cause you doubts

by perfect1 in

recently on a saturday morning there was a knock on my door.

two ladies asked me if i was familiar with the jws.

i said: yes unfortunatley.

Max Divergent

Yep. But only after I was ready to hear it.

He must have been an academic as he lived near a university campus and the way he talked. I had some silly Watchtower about God existing and I rattled off the standard spiel from the usual scriptures. He said things like, 'Oh, the onlological argument...' and went on to explain the origin and faults of each argument I was putting. What that did was tell me the WTS had nothing more than the theologians and were nothing special. I was just recycling old church rubbish in another guise.

It only made an impact as they were the right words at the right time to the right person.

293

AGM 5 OCTOBER 2013 (UNOFFICIAL RUMORS)

by WatchTower87 in

- 23 day to go .. annual meeting unofficial rumors.

- new bible.

- new nwt (revision).

Max Divergent

I heard (in my heart) the new bible changes may include:

Jesus being omitted and the 'Jesus Class' who represeted the Governing Body / FDS in the first century and up to the commencement fo the 'Jehovah Class'.
The 'Jehovah Class' would includes all past Presidents of the WTS and faithful members of the GB. Other faithfuls since the Jesus Class was completed (possibly in 1874, although there was a movement toward 1914 or 1925) may have been included too.
The bible becoming 168-pages long, hard cover and illustrated. The main bit would be 32-pages and that is all most publishers will need. A 16-page version will be available for the public. New versions come out fortnightly.
A study edition of the bible would be available too. It's online and adjusts as required.

I understand none of this will be explicit in the new bible. Rather, the bible will include all the favorite scriptures and some sections that require the reader to use discenment. Discernment will be provided in the Watchtower.

40

Now I'm not a JW, is it ok for me to...

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

...drink a lot?

gosh i love wine.

i like a good bottle of wine each night, and i have a high tolerance to alcohol, though i never drank much (except for a couple of times with the vodka, but i don't keep that stuff in the house anymore, way too dangerous) as a jw because getting slightly happy is a 'sin'.

Max Divergent

Good on any on anyone for thinking about how much they drink.

A 750 ml bottle of wine is considered 4 drinks not 8.

By the Australian standard (10g of alchohol per standard drink) a bottle of wine is around 8 standard drinks depending on the alchohol content of the wine.

Australia's drinking guide is one standard drink per hour for women

One per hour will reduce the chances of having over 0.05% alcholol in the bloodstream, ie: the drink driving limit.

The Australian drinking guidelines are:

For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces your risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury over a lifetime.
Drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.

A bottle a day person is four times over the first guideline to do with long term health and double the second guideline to do with having an accident during or after drinking.

It's all a choice. And nothing to do with the JWs.

65

Gay MS??

by andysmiles in

about me, i am being raised in a jw family.

all of my family expect for one aunt, who had left but not disfellowedshiped thankly, are in jw.

my father is an elder and so is my grandfather.

Max Divergent

Officially, orientaiton is not the issue - sex outside marriage is. A gay man can be an elder, but if he is intimate with a man then he is a fornicator. A celebate single man can be appointed: gay or straight makes no difference.

Unofficilaly, ignorance and prejudice run deep in line with the socially conservative outlook JWs maintian. Probably rural or outer suburban congo members will TEND to hold more gay-unfriendly attitudes, and inner-city congos MIGHT be less unfriendly, just because of the general community views the members are exposed to.

For example, in an inner city congo we had a single (and always busy!) elder who was as close to openly gay as you can be in the JWs: it was hard for him to hide. He was well liked, generally. And a pair of sisters who were flatmates - one a truck driver - were just never asked why they shared a bed sometimes.

12

Serious question: Can a Jehovahs Witness join a democratic non-religious organisation? If it's not political, can they vote?

by The Quiet One in

e.g a nonprofit organisation that helps people, that requires its members to vote.

is all voting evil and wrong, even if it's not a political party?.

Max Divergent

but how about voting for the leader of a nonreligious and nonpolitical organisation, if it is required of members, rather than merely joining it?

Yep, no problem. That has nothing to do with the scriptural basis they cite for not voting in governmental elections.

They used to vote for elders and did away with that on a different (puported) scriptural basis too.

You can vote as much as you like on anything other than a government of the world: voiting was not the problem for JWs, governments were.

40

Now I'm not a JW, is it ok for me to...

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

...drink a lot?

gosh i love wine.

i like a good bottle of wine each night, and i have a high tolerance to alcohol, though i never drank much (except for a couple of times with the vodka, but i don't keep that stuff in the house anymore, way too dangerous) as a jw because getting slightly happy is a 'sin'.

Max Divergent

I notice you're refering to JWs in deciding if a bottle of wine a day would be OK. F the JWs. They have nothing to do with your choices now unless you let them. You can select another basis for your decisions now.

On the question you ask, is a 750ml bottle of wine a day OK, assuming its drunk over 5 hours.

1) 5 hours a day of drinking makes drinking a big part of someone's day. 7 days x 5 hours a day = 35 hours a week, or nearly as much as a full time job. Anyone can decide for themselves if that's heathy given all the other things you can do in a day and in a week.

2) A bottle of red wine is usually about 8 standard drinks (where a standard drink is 10 grams of alcohol), 7 days x 8 standard drinks = 56 drinks or 560 grams of alchohol. That amount of alchohol would usually cause long term health effects including irreversable liver disease and brain damage. How you think you feel at the time (eg: no hangover) is irrelevent to your health; what is relevent is how many grams of alcohol enter your body each day.

http://www.drinkwise.org.au

Cheers!