Posts by konceptual99

8

Contradictory Information on the Life of Geoffrey Jackson

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

in geoffrey jackson's autobiography published in in the watchtower, he states that him and his wife went to serve as missionaries on the island nation of tulavu in 1979, and there were only 3 baptized witnesses in all of tulavu, and he translated all of the witness literature into the tuvaluan language in 1980, printing it right there on the island.

the article says they served as missionaries there until 1985 when they were assigned to the samoa branch.. .

in july, 2008, the watchtower society penned a letter to the un human rights council about the treatment of jws in tuvalu.

konceptual99

Good catch Wild Thing. How did the UN letter come to light? Is there a way that a JW could find his letter easily or via JW sources?

182

Major congregational quake in Southern California

by Hecce in

this notice is not official yet and it should be confidential until released thru the proper channels.

a friend of mine told me about a huge elders meeting in southern california.

the subject was the relocation and dissolution of some congregations; it seems that this is the result of some project that has been going on for some time and is going to be implemented right now.. please let me know if this is happening all over the country?.

konceptual99

Very interesting theory Jeff and it would not surprise me at all. The theological issues that the WTS have are terminal in the long run but as long as the org has money then life goes on as normal for the heavyweights in their ivory towers. Any strategy to maintain funds over pure scale of membership has to be a winner for them

17

If Watchtower can use a non-sequitur to say that Jesus now knows the day and the hour, despite Matthew 24:36 ....

by Island Man in

... where's the good sense preventing them from again making a date prediction for the end and using a non-sequitur to justify their claim in the face of matthew 24:36?

"... but christ has been empowered in heaven to wage war against satan's world.

(rev 19:11-16) thus, it is reasonable to conclude that jesus now knows when armageddon will occur...." - watchtower july 2016, page 14, par.

konceptual99

I would bet big money on the WTS never setting any date ever again. The nearest they may come is to say "not before" but that is another giant step away from anything they have ever done before and completely contrary to their current modus operandi.

They have learnt that they don't need to set dates just an expectation of imminence and sense of urgency. They can spin the current generation teaching out for some years yet then just replace it with another doctrine.

My parents lapped it up from the late 60s. I lapped it up for the best part of 30 years. The next generation of young ones are lapping it up again.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

konceptual99

Even if there was a clear replication of how life started tomorrow then it would still be in very controlled circumstances which, as memory serves me, JWs have already referred to and dismissed as (a) still needing the right set of circumstances and (b) a big difference between sparking life in a cell and the diversity and complexity of life as we see it now. Basically they simply move the goal posts to where they see the the God of the Gaps fitting once more.

You only have to look at how they treat far more well established scientific theories around things like human anthropology, Egyptian archaeology and flood geology to see how easily they bat away the direct contradictions to their theology.

Cofty is right - the basic teaching on life-force does give them a theological issue should the science on generating life get to the point of removing all the gaps. The question is if science is likely to get to this point to the extent that it would cause a major theological problem for Witnesses before the JW organisation collapses in on itself anyway?

35

WT “Study” for 11th Sept 2016 – “Why Must We ‘Keep on the Watch’”?

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

i was really puzzled when i opened this edition of the wt magazine at the above “study”.

what on earth has this picture at the top of page 13 got to do with christian watchfulness?

i wasn’t making a connection at all.

konceptual99

Splane was the messenger in the boredcast but I tend to agree with the sir82 - this fixation with procedural nonsense as if it's some kind of loyalty test smacks of Tony the Turd's obsessions.

At the end of the day though the whole GB is just one big human centipede of self-aggrandisement.

12

School for Kingdom Evangelizers Office Guidelines

by wifibandit in

school for kingdom evangelizers office guidelines skeog-e 10/14.

and to help you prepare for the ske .... bscc tests and answer keys.

konceptual99

Pretty interesting stuff as ever wifi...

Found a few little things from a quick skim..

What is the secret to a successful marriage? [F-13; w11 2/1 9 pars. 5-6; g 7/08 9 pars. 5-6]
The secret is love for God and willingness to apply the counsel contained in his Word, the Bible.

So it is impossible for a non JW, or even presumably a religiously divided, marriage to be successful.

How do graduates of Gilead School differ from Christendom’s missionaries? [O-20; jv525 par. 1]
Christendom’s missionaries have established hospitals, refugee centers, and orphanages to care for people’s material needs. Casting themselves in the role of champions of poor people, they have also stirred up revolution and participated in guerrilla warfare. In contrast, graduates of Gilead School teach people the Bible. Instead of setting up churches and expecting people to come to them, they call from house to house to find and teach those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

They minimise the charitable works like it's a badge of honour...

Explain the difference between the Governing Body and the various legal corporations. [H-14; w01 4/15 29, fourth question] [1]
While directors of a legal corporation are voted into office by its members, the Governing Body is ffi
not appointed by any man but is appointed by Jesus Christ.

Just confirmation of the hubris of the GB - chosen by Jesus so you'd better do what they say.

Overall there is nothing there that you won't find in the publications but interesting nonetheless.

Thanks for the post.

24

To all former Elders – what are your thoughts

by Tallon in

if you were part of a judicial committee, and knowing what you know now, what was it like for you to sit on jc’s?

how did you feel if someone was reproved or df’d?

were you ever on a jc and you disagreed with someone being reproved or df’d and were overruled – how did you feel?

konceptual99

I was never an elder (fortunately) but my father was for many years and I have known and been good friends with many. I was also an MS for decades, seeing and hearing loads.

From what I have seen and discussed with ones over the years both before my awakening and after, it is clear that every body has these two types of elders described by Cofty. The problem is that often the legalistic ones are the assertive bullies that dominate the rest of the body and then have their minions trying to be even more legalistic so as to try and impress them. The result - the more humanistic ones are the minority and in no position to promulgate change or influence a more loving arrangement.

At the end of the day most elders on a JC tell themselves they are doing what Jehovah is asking them to do. That's enough to deflect most, if not all, of any disquieting thoughts they may have.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

konceptual99

Science includes abstract thinking and esoteric knowledge and discussions. The problem comes with SBF clearly not understanding some of the things he is quoting or discussing.

Of course science does include those things however Cofty, to his credit, tends to stick to the empirical. SBF seems to automatically want to introduce the philosophical whenever he sees Cofty present a position. I would suggest that some take Cofty's consistency with the empirical as dogmatism which, of course, is completely the wrong thing to do. Whether that perception drives SBF's responses to Cofty or not, sometimes his posts are certainly obtuse and potentially just pseudo-intellectual nonsense. The worst part is that then the discussion goes nowhere.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

konceptual99

I enjoy both Cofty and Slims' posts.

Cofty's posts over the years have been instrumental in helping me develop critical thinking skills and see how the scientific method has consistently answered many, many questions about the universe and world around us. Regardless of how you read his posts he overwhelmingly refers to well researched, peer reviewed and well accepted material that presents empirical data to support hypothesis and theory.

SBF (IMHO) takes a more philosophical approach to things. Over the time I have been here there have been many encounters where SBF will, essentially, play devil's advocate. He'll extend the conversation beyond the pure scientific method to include more esoteric and abstract thinking.

From my own perspective sometimes SBF raises interesting points and invites thinking out of the box however other times the comments come across as being esoteric, even obtuse, just for the sake of being so. Sometimes this seems to raise strawman arguments. I would also say that it seems as soon as Cofty posts then SBF will post some philosophically based rebuttal. Sometimes this leads to the conversation simply being derailed.

I can see why Cofty would take this as trolling. On the other hand I think that SBF is one of the few posters on here that can argue for a different but still non-theistically based position. It's a shame that the engagement often leads nowhere.

44

The 1914 doctrine: How long it will last?

by opusdei1972 in

one hundred years have passed and the society still supports this lie, which of course, is the basis of their other lies, like that of the unfaithful and not discreet slave appointed in 1919. however, i wonder, what will happen after 50 years, when the overlapped generation will pass?.

and if you want, what will happen with this religion in 2100?, could it survive with the same lie??

?.

konceptual99

Fair point DOC.