Posts by konceptual99

23

Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

konceptual99

You can get disfellowshipped for marrying an unbeliever. And it is automatic if the unbeliever is a disfellowshipped witness. I think the branch manual said that if a person would willfully remarry their disfellowshipped former mate, that would be grounds for their disfellowshipping. Someone can "fact check" that but I believe it is one of the only instances where it is automatic disfellowshipping and not automatic disassociation.

Not sure on what exactly there is in print on this matter but I would still suggest that technically it's not the marriage you are getting DF'ed for it's unrepentant and wilful association with a disfellowshipped person.

It's one of those silly WT procedural technicalities that they get themselves wrapped up in because they cannot stop writing pseudo legal interpretations of scripture.

23

Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

konceptual99

It's simple. How could a person disfellowshipped for marrying outside of the Lord get reinstated? Only by getting a divorce. Which God hates and if not for adultery would be non scriptural. Catch 22.

21

"Explaining Your Beliefs About Homosexuality"

by wizzstick in

it's doing the rounds but i've not seen it before.. explaining your beliefs about homosexuality.

there are three pages.

here are my thoughts on each question on the pages:.

konceptual99

WT has started to put a No Crawl to keep bots off their sites, so it doesn't always work.
That said, Here it is: https://web.archive.org/web/20160928231855/https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/teenagers/ask/is-homosexuality-wrong/

So why would an organisation with it's prime mission being the spreading of the good news, that has also been touting jw.org as the best thing to ever hit the internet, that has spent so much time and resources translating content into hundreds of languages, that only last week in their WT study emphasised the critical need for everyone to hear the message NOT want bots to index the content and help make it show up in web searches?

27

Will the UN turn on Religion?

by no-zombie in

as all witnesses know, the opening gambit of the great tribulation will occur when the united nations turns on organized religion to devastate them and leave them naked of people and resources.

however, as jehovah's judgement day has been spoken of as being "imminent", the question that can be fairly asked ... 'is the united nations organization actually in a position to act as god's destroyer of false religion?

while i have no doubt that most within that organization had in the past tried to make the lives of the desperate better, the united nations has unfortunately now become a weak and underfunded political eunuch.

konceptual99

It does not matter how much you criticise this doctrine, Witnesses still hold onto it not least because of the scripture saying "god will put it into their hearts". They don't care what the evidence suggests, they think it's all in god's hands and therefore inevitable.

7

WHAT IS THE MARK AT EZEKIEL 9:5,6?

by blondie in

jw
friends

what has it been in the past?.

in fact the wts says that baptism as a jw is the mark mentioned at ezekiel 9:4-6. that people who are not will die forever at armageddon.. quote.

***knowledge book chap.

konceptual99

Good post Blondie, thanks for noting this. This article is yet another example of where the WT exposes god's real intent with Armageddon and that the only way of putting yourself in line for salvation is by becoming a Witness. Emphasising the need for all to hear the message at the end of the article reinforces the futility of the preaching work and the ability of the WT to actually inform and motivate anywhere near a meaningful portion of the population.

16

My Conclusion After Research

by Disassociated Lady 2 in

since leaving the jws i have looked into many beliefs and have come to this conclusion.. paganism has a high regard for women, as they worship goddesses and respect the female for the ability to give birth to new life.

christianity puts females in second place to males and blames women for male temptations which goes back to eve eating the fruit and tempting adam with it.

they also created a devil with the appearance of the pagan god pan and built churches on pagan worship sites so that people would still go there to worship, but within a christian building.. i have come to the conclusion that paganism versus christianity is about a battle of the sexes.. the fear of demonic forces is taught by religions to deter you from straying.

konceptual99

Since mentally freeing myself of JW teachings I have learnt that there is zero reason to believe in any kind of supernatural force and that respect for others and the environment around us is enhanced by this understanding. Why? Because you are forced to focus on human qualities, appreciate this life is all we have and that no one other than ourselves can make a positive difference to the world and the people around us.

17

IBSA (Watchtower UK) property portfolio for sale

by betterdaze in

behold: ibsaproperty.com“the extensive ibsa property portfolio in north london is now being brought to the market.”ibsa moved to the leafy london suburbs of mill hill in the late 1950’s.

since then, expansion has required the acquisition of further properties in the immediate area, and in some cases further beyond.

in recent years, relocation to a single site which would offer greater economy of operation became more than a matter of interest, and in 2014 a suitable site in chelmsford, essex was purchased.

konceptual99

As with the NY property the criticism is not really about the fact they have property to sell. As a publishing organisation they needed facilities to run an operation and they can't be blamed for when property prices have escalated so much.

The issue for me is about the contradictions with how they tell members to live and how they solicit time and money from them. The encourage members to reduce their footprint in the world whether that is with their education, their job, their work and their social lives. They want people to invest more of their time and energy in activities that are beneficial to the WTS such as preaching and, more critically, volunteer support for building works.

They have used volunteer labour to renovate these properties. They have grabbed hard earned cash from congregations all over the world to improve their cash flow whilst they wait for the windfalls from property sales yet still maintain they need more help, more money, more support.

People that have spent their lives loyally moderating their footprint in the world have nothing to show for their years of servitude yet here is the WTS cashing in on their property portfolio.

How many bethel workers or those that have given up time and money to work as construction volunteers could afford to live in one of the apartments they are selling? How many will get one penny of the oodles of cash soon to floating around WT coffers?

For that matter, how many of the worlds poor, displaced, needy or ill will get one penny of this cash dripping through the fingers of the GB?

That's what makes this whole situation completely sickening...

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

konceptual99

JM...

Science as we know today was invented in a recent time by Christians.

k99

Erm... what about the Book of Optics by Alhazen, a muslim?

JM

Science is a method not books. A book about optics is not about the scientific method.

Some books are validated by the scientific method and assimilated to scientific knowledge.

One idea from a Catholic friar became directly a part of the very scientific method, for example.

Of course science about the method and you claim the scientific method was invented by Christians. If you knew anything about this book you would see that it is acknowledged as one of the earliest examples of the scientific method being applied to a present empirical evidence on a subject. Alhazen (or to give him his Islamic name Ibn al-Haytham) was one of the first theoretical physicists and was just one of a number of scientists using experimentation to produce empirical evidence in the middle east during the middle ages.

Their work fed into the renaissance scientists in Europe.

You can dismiss the Greeks if you wish but it is completely disingenuous to ignore the influence of the work done by middle eastern, Muslim, scientists some considerable time before scientists in Western Europe further developed the scientific method.

6

For Sale: 74 Adams St

by wifibandit in

http://74adamsstreet.com/.

all pictures archived at http://imgur.com/a/rdrkx .

sample:.

konceptual99

Look, look, look.... Come and buy our property that is perfect for turning into a mix of luxury, high rent income potential apartments and prime commercial space. It's in one of the most sought after areas of New York and offers the possibility to present a high end lifestyle and sales potential to your clients. The price is not cheap but we know that this property will make you millions of dollars after the investment you make into the buildings. Don't miss this fantastic commercial opportunity - buy it from us now!

The irony is that they can only sell a property like this to a large property investment company typically representing some of the most wealthy corporate and individual investors in the world. None of those people will be Witnesses. In fact they will normally be presented as the stereotypical fat businessman with their excess and greed. The apartments that are built will likely have no Witness occupants. They will be way out of the price range of most of them with their low to middle incomes - no city traders in their ranks, after all they have been told about keeping their eye simple and being a window cleaner so they have more time to stand by a trolley. How many Witness businesses will be likely to lease commercial space? None I bet - after all few Witnesses have built up sucessfull businesses that would be looking to expand into prime space like this.

They have the gall to impute bad motives to Witnesses who want to renovate or move house, suggesting a material eye yet here they are courting the NY real estate market with their shiny baubles. It's not their selling in itself that is so bad, it's the hypocrisy in how they have such double standards so openly.

Makes you sick.

583

What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat in

while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

konceptual99

Science as we know today was invented in a recent time by Christians.

Erm... what about the Book of Optics by Alhazen, a muslim?