Posts by konceptual99

56

JW Threatened me with Violence Today :)

by cofty in

i popped into the supermarket for a few things after work today and found myself walking up an aisle alongside a couple who used to be in my tuesday group.

i see them reasonably often and always say hello much to their obvious annoyance.

i noticed that ian was sporting a shaggy beard.

konceptual99

Different people have different views on how they wish to deal with life and former friends/acquaintances after leaving the WTS organisation. Some are happy to leave it all in the past but I see nothing wrong with challenging stupid behaviour if done in a way suitable to the context.

According to Cofty's account, here we have a couple who seemingly are no longer completely under the control of the org yet persist in maintaining the worst aspect of the social control norms of the organisation - i.e. the "lalala, fingers in ears, I can't hear you" avoidance of any minimal acknowledgement of an ex-JW.

The guy could just have reacted to Cofty because he thinks Cofty is a belligerent arsehole. Maybe that's true. but even though I've never met Cofty, nothing he says on here suggests to me that he is needlessly provocative, belligerent or any type of person even approaching an arsehole. I suspect that it's more because Cofty touched a nerve about this guy's hypocritical and illogical actions.

Well done Cofty.

30

Debating evolution, intelligent design and cosmology with a JW

by Thestumbler83 in

ive been having an email exchange with a jw family member and the discussion seem to have become a bit heated and im not quite sure why.

i dont think ive said anything obviously offensive and ive been very careful with my wording.

but i think im sometimes a bit tone deaf with these things.

konceptual99

Hi TheStumbler.

You presented some great stuff but in my experience, including my very own outlook, you can lead a JW horse to water but you will never make it drink unless it wants to. If your father is not prepared or ready to take your eloquent reasoning on board then I think (sad to say) your chances of helping him see reason right now are low.

All the best with your efforts anyway of course!

406

ex-jw-uk

by bigmac in

jw
friends

i'm quite new to this site, & have realised some members have a union jack symbol under their avatar.

i don't.. could we have a "show of hands" from any uk members?

i've already found several by reading older posts..

konceptual99

RBC/LDC...

Basically they have further centralised the construction work, Everything gets pushed out of HQ and then implemented by the LDCs in countries. They are trying to get much of the oversight work done by full time people so that things can happen without depending on the availability of volunteers at fairly senior levels.

More work is being done by outside contractors.

On the ground, grunt work is still essentially the same people who did the RBC stuff but more of the overseers are Bethel workers.

Of course, part of the reason is that now the WTS has done an asset grab they need to have tight control of exactly who gets to have a new hall. They are also moving to bigger projects where outside contractors are more usable.

The RBC setup still allowed for too much autonomy so they have closed that loophole.

22

What Qualifications does Geoffrey Jackson have as a Translator of the Bible ? In any Capacity ?

by smiddy in

geoffrey jackson left school at the age of 15 and began pioneering , he never attended a university ,never studied ancient greek ,hebrew or aramaic at any recognized teaching academy , he has no certificates or credentials / qualifications from any place of learning that is approved by a competent body of religious instruction .. and by his own words at the australian royal commission , under oath he stated that was his primary role as a translator of scripture into other languages .. a 15 year old drop out from school in australia is the chief/ prime translator of the bible for jehovah`s witnesses world wide in their many languages that they preach in .. it would be very interesting to see his report cards for those few years he did attend school .. is it just me , or does anybody else see that his qualifications don`t come up to scratch to be a translator of the old testament or the new testament scriptures , and be taken seriously as a translator of either , into any language.. if i am wrong anywhere in this post feel free to correct me .. smiddy.

konceptual99

GJ has spent alot of time in the Pacific islands apparently and knows the local languages very well. especially Tuvaluan. He and his wife were critical in the translation of literature into this language and they have even written a books on the subject.

This experience is his qualification....

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20150815/let-many-islands-rejoice

Here's a good quote...

In 1980 the branch office assigned us to work as translators—a work for which we felt totally unqualified.

83

What woke you up?

by Israel Ricky Gonzales in

in march of 2014, i was a very active jw, a ministerial servant, gave a public talk, was an attendant for the memorial, and one of 4 cleaning captains for an international convention of 40,000+ attendees.

so what woke me up?

an innocent comment from a co-worker about the candice conti court case rang a bell that could not be unrung.

konceptual99

Incompatibility of the bible with science, especially human anthropology, the flood and evolution

Illogical blood doctrine and hypocrisy about what one is prepared to take without giving.

Constant spin on generations.

Whitewash over pre-1914 doctrine v changes made once predictions failed.

Zero evidence for the operation of holy spirit on appointed men.

Reading Crisis of Conscience.

71

What went through your mind when you saw this Picture?

by John Aquila in

.

konceptual99

I think this is from the Revelation book. I have always laughed at the headbands and sticks. Of course, now beards are the new headbands as far as depicting worldly men go...

406

ex-jw-uk

by bigmac in

jw
friends

i'm quite new to this site, & have realised some members have a union jack symbol under their avatar.

i don't.. could we have a "show of hands" from any uk members?

i've already found several by reading older posts..

konceptual99

@curiousconfused - we may not directly know each other but if you are in that part of the world then we will almost certainly share some common connections.

42

News Which UK J.W.'s Won't Get in their Kigdom Ministry!

by The Searcher in

a source tells me the following: .

for shropshire uk by the name of anthony manning has been removed and judicially reproved.

portishead congregation in north somerset is being merged or disbanded on sept 1st 2015 due to "aging elders, poor attendance, decrepit kingdom hall and landslip" - of course the suspicion is wt just wants to sell the hall off.

konceptual99

Yes

52

Court seizes over one million Jehovah's Witnesses brochures brought into Russia

by StarTrekAngel in

http://red.theworldnewsmedia.org/index.php/en/forum-home-page/jehovah-s-witnesses/93-court-seizes-over-one-million-jehovah-s-witnesses-brochures-brought-into-russia

konceptual99

There are two points here. One is about the rights around freedom of religion and expression versus the potentially greater priority of preventing people from needlessly being caught in a high control organisation.

The second is about the motivation of the Russian authorities.

I don't believe they have a clear, moral and reasonable argument as to why they wish to prevent WT publications from being distributed. They simply don't like it and are cracking down, just as they prevent members of the LGBT communities from driving for having a "mental illness" and just as they imply state acceptance of many forms of prejudice rather than encouraging an open and tolerant society. Russia, at a state level, is culturally backward and pretty crappy place to be if you don't confirm to the norms.

Just because the state might be doing something with some benefits as far as the distribution of WTS material is concerned it does not mean we should be patting this racist, homophobic and oppressive regime on the back.

42

News Which UK J.W.'s Won't Get in their Kigdom Ministry!

by The Searcher in

a source tells me the following: .

for shropshire uk by the name of anthony manning has been removed and judicially reproved.

portishead congregation in north somerset is being merged or disbanded on sept 1st 2015 due to "aging elders, poor attendance, decrepit kingdom hall and landslip" - of course the suspicion is wt just wants to sell the hall off.

konceptual99

And finally... in the past few months there have been several dismissals from the Mill Hill Bethel family for homosexuality. This is directly from a current serving Bethelite.