Posts by konceptual99

18

Joseph and his generation

by maninthemiddle in

so the wt used ex 1:6 to define a generation from the very beginning.

then in the this september broadcast the same person (splain) who spent 20 min with charts to explain a generation, makes a point that joseph and his brothers were very close in age?

(min 4:29).

konceptual99

This is the transcript of Splane's explanation of Exodus 1:6 from the September 2015 broadcast.

Around 2:50 in September 2015 broadcast.

Now if you were asked by someone to identify a scripture that tells us what a generation is, what scripture would you turn to? I'll give you a moment. Think about that.
My choice is Exodus 1:6. Let's read that. Exodus 1:6.
Joseph eventually died, and also all his brothers, and all that generation.
Now what do we know about Joseph's family? We know that Joseph had 11 brothers, 10 of them were older than Joseph. One of them, Benjamin, was younger. And we know that at least two of Joseph's brothers actually lived longer than Joseph because the bible says that that on his deathbed he called his "brothers", plural, to him.
Now what did Joseph and his brothers all have in common? They were all contemporaries. They had all lived at the same time. They were part of the same generation.
Now suppose there was a man who died 10 minutes before Joseph was born. Would he be part of Joseph's generation? No, because he'd never lived at the same time as Joseph. He was not a contemporary of Joseph's. Now suppose there was a little baby who was born 10 minutes after Joseph died. Would the baby be part of Joseph's generation? Again, no, because the baby would not have lived at the same time as Joseph. For the man and the baby to part of Joseph's generation they would have had to have lived at least sometime during Joseph's lifespan.
So now we've discovered what it means to have a generation, what makes up a generation, it's a group of contemporaries. It's a group of people who have lived at the same time.

As you can see, it's already a very specific and unusual definition of a generation to cover only people that lived at exactly the same time even if the overlap is very small. If you read that scripture and asked someone what a generation was, would anyone interpret that as anyone that was born within a 110 period, even if they then went on to live another 50,60 years?

The point that actually Joseph's brothers were very close in age is consistent with a more typical understanding of a generation as those peers of yours, those around a similar age. I wonder if the WTS has used this scripture with this understanding in the past to attempt to justify previous beliefs where the generation was more like 70 years or so?

9

What is "marked"?

by LifesNotOver in

jw
friends

i've been curious for a while ... what is it when people type "marked" in their posts?

what does it mean and how does it work?

thanks..

konceptual99

If you mean in a post, it's just placing a marker post, like a bookmark, so that they can more easily retrieve a thread in the future by looking at the list of threads they have posted on

82

meeting with elders about WT involvement in UN

by LevelThePlayingField in

i still go to the meetings because of my in wife and it came about that the elders knew of my pissed off attitude about the society getting involved in the un.

so the elders said they could help me get over that and wanted to meet with me.

now just to let you know, i have only told my wife and her mom so far about it, that's it.

konceptual99

Don't forget as well that two elders means they have the required number to state there were at least two witnesses to whatever you say.

As I said earlier, unless you hoist yourself on your own petard, you are probably safe from direct judicial action this time however things like the UN are just big apostate thinking flags. If you want to maintain a status quo then you need to calm the whole thing down, avoid as much contact as possible with the elders and engineer things so you have no reason to open your mouth.

Make no mistake, they will use your words against you.

77

Rumor: Discouraging news from GB at upcoming CA?

by bohm in

jw
friends

this is on the reddit frontpage and sounds super weird.

can it be confirmed in any way by anyone here?.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/4u72dk/what_kind_of_announcement_could_cause_jws_to/.

konceptual99

Given the increasing regularity with which such logistical changes are happening I don't think it's an odd question at all. They are just sending the message to put up and shut up.

82

meeting with elders about WT involvement in UN

by LevelThePlayingField in

i still go to the meetings because of my in wife and it came about that the elders knew of my pissed off attitude about the society getting involved in the un.

so the elders said they could help me get over that and wanted to meet with me.

now just to let you know, i have only told my wife and her mom so far about it, that's it.

konceptual99

I think you are playing with fire and simply raising your apostaprofile with the BoE. They will not be interested in any research you've done other than where you got the material from.

Unless you completely balls things up or have one of the elders gunning for you then I doubt you'll get yourself into immediate judicial trouble but you're lowering the bar significantly.

Even if the elders are ignorant about the UN thing, if they mention it to the CO then he won't be and will make sure they have you on the list of ones to keep an eye on.

I would follow a strategy of avoidance and diversion so that they give up trying to meet with you but if you do have a meeting then say as little as possible and maybe change the subject to something like general doubts and confusion over the generation understanding which you are waiting on Jehovah on.

48

"Mother" Teresa—a Fraud?

by Saename in

i often comment in threads that interest me on this forum.

moreover, some of you may know that i study the history of early christianity.

i once wrote an extensive comment on the historicity of jesus' existence in one of the threads.

konceptual99

I think there is an irony that she was treated in modern hospital with the best care yet her homes for the dying, whilst well motivated and generally clean, lacked doctors and facilities that should have been possible given the amount of money her charitable foundation attracted. This seems to be mainly due to her theological position on suffering.

This was reported by Robin Fox, editor of The Lancet, in 1991 and also by a group of Université de Montréal academics in 2013.

Personally I sit on the fence a little with this. I suspect she benefited from this untouchable persona built up the Vatican and media and criticisms of her should be open for debate rather than batted away with ad hominem. Having said that, for the people in her care the alternatives were probably even worse. It's not a justification or a means to an end but even if the woman was not above reproach and wrapped up in a myth it doesn't automatically mean everything she did becomes evil.

What I do know is that the theological process of making her a saint is utter bollocks.

42

Jehovah's Witnesses post 'anti-gay' 'Harness Your Habits' leaflet in North Devon

by OrphanCrow in

jehovah's witnesses post 'anti-gay' 'harness your habits' leaflet in north devon.

devon and cornwall police have said a leaflet posted through doors in north devon isn't a crime – despite it advising gay people to "control their urges".the leaflet, entitled "how to harness your habits", was distributed in north devon by jehovah's witnesses and contains an article asking "what does the bible say about homosexuality?

"in it, the religious group states that "rejecting homosexuality" is completely different to "rejecting people of a different skin colour" and says their views are the same as people who "view smoking as harmful and even repugnant".it also compares gay people to animals, but says "unlike animals, they can choose not to act on their impulses".the journal was contacted by a reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, who felt "belittled" by the leaflet.

konceptual99

I agree that the message is as much about communicating the party line internally as it is to "help" ones externally. There is zero doubt in my mind that the GB are worried about the general acceptance of all types of sexuality and sexual expression within society affecting the mindset of the membership, especially younger ones.

They are trying establish the "hate the sin not the sinner" mentality and avoid language that implies it's OK to hate gays. They want to ensure that they are not seen by organisations like the Charities Commission (in the UK) and those responsible for taxation as extremists whilst promoting a supposedly tolerant line for members to take that limits the risk that too many people will start to question the whole matter of sexuality and sexual conduct.

I don't think they really care how organisations concerned with LGBT rights really see them. They don't want or even expect people to become Witnesses who are gay or otherwise and know they will never win any kind of argument with those who clearly disagree with any form of discrimination based on the Bible.

All they care about is stopping as many as possible internally from developing a laissez faire attitude to homosexuality and preventing the authorities from using the WTS stance on the matter as a lever to invoke financially painful arrangements.

54

where have the demons gone?

by aboveusonlysky in

jw
friends

does anybody remember some of the sensational demon stories jw's would tell back in the day?

i was a kid in the early 80's and i remember a few times hearing of people having real life encounters with demons.

for example, one sister claimed that before she became a jdub she would regularly talk to demons and they would even fix stuff like her washing machine!

konceptual99

I think you're right SBF. To go on about demons throwing plates around now would just make you sound like a nut case. The only time it's really mentioned now is in relation to scenarios more appropriate to Africa.

11

New Publication (2014) "God Kingdom Rules" -- When Is It Studied At The Kingdom Hall?

by Littleleslie in

i just wanted to know, when do the jws begin to study the 2014 publication called: "god's kingdom rule" at the local kingdom halls?

(i heard it was going to be sometime in the month of september of 2016, this month.).

ll.

konceptual99

Just to correct myself. The paragraph in chapter 2 says nothing about JC's presence in 1874. Chapter 4 does though. They do fess up to it there but use a stupid illustration about tourists and a city guide to explain it away.

137

Mouthy has Passed Away

by Simon in

jw
friends

update on mouthy (grace gough)this is graces granddaughter.

i wanted to send an update that today my beautiful grandmother passed away - surrounded by friends and family.

- may 22 1927 - sept 2nd 2016. mouthys_granddaughter.

konceptual99

Sad news. Please pass my condolences on.