Posts by TonusOH

32

Bad Associations spoil useful habits. Are the JWs right? Scripturally?

by Open mind in

it has been interesting for me to learn the various ways that the jws twist the scriptures to fit their own dogma.

(of course jws aren't alone in that, but that's another topic.

) two quick examples of jws not following or going beyond the bible are blood and birthdays.

TonusOH

Isn`t that statement "Bad associations spoil useful habits " just plain common sense ?

Yep. As someone on the first page of this topic pointed out, it's the equivalent of the saying "if you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas." There are probably a hundred other ways people make that point.

The WTS takes it further, of course. Any association that isn't a JW in good standing is a "bad association" who can spoil useful habits, such as going to all of the meetings, going door-to-door, annoying everyone around you by constantly preaching, shunning disfellowshipped family and friends, and so on. Hang around the wrong people long enough, and you'll lose yourself to Satan. Next thing you know, you've grown a beard!

49

Start of the Great Tribulation will be announced soon

by joey jojo in

at the 2021 annual meeting, samuel herd revealed new light and claimed the anointed will all have passed away before armageddon.

it has since been revealed that while they will die before armageddon, there will be some anointed still around that will witness the start of the great tribulation.. so the question is, how many years until the existing members of the governing body have passed away?.

im not a doctor, but based on their age and various stages of obesity, im thinking 10- 15 years- give or take, sounds about right.. with that in mind, the great tribulation could be announced any day.. the new understanding has now freed the org from the burden of having to identify a particular generation in relation to the date of armageddon.

TonusOH

Announcing that the great tribulation has begun would be a bold move. I don't think they have it in them, but desperation can make people very bold, indeed.

But wouldn't there need to be definitive 'signs' to indicate that the GT was underway? The name itself implies that something notable and terrible is happening. Would it be enough to point at the "world situation"? That's something they do all the time as a matter of habit, why would the current situation be different?

On the bright side, this might be the sort of thing that leads to a larger-than-normal exodus of followers. And in that sense, it would be a self-imposed great tribulation for the WTS.

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It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

He will be lucky to have a court case to wave around let alone a judgement…..

All the better. I can only imagine how he would try to spin it, if the case was thrown out. I'd like to imagine that it ended with him threatening to add the judge to the litigation and finding himself forcibly escorted from the courthouse.

31

Am I at the right place?

by AnotherJohn in

i’m still a good christian.

i still believe the bible.. i don’t like the wt society, but some of the people, as individuals are good.

there are many nasty jws also.. i have concerns about current events and how close the end actually is.

TonusOH

Hi AnotherJohn, and welcome.

I am pretty sure we have at least a few religious people here. Leaving the JWs doesn't mean leaving religion or God, although that's a good reason to leave. And as exJWs, we have a number of things we can discuss without worrying about whether God exists or not.

Enjoy your stay!

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It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Lloyd is notorious for creating an illusion that they are hurting for money and needing everything to be crowdfunded.

I'm wondering if he will create a crowdfunding page for the litigation at some point. My guess is that he will.

I'm of the same mind as Simon on this- I think Evans sees this whole scenario playing out a certain way, and he is taking a very big risk as a result. Presumably, he'll see the litigation through, then at the end he'll claim some kind of victory or vindication. It's not about collecting from anyone. He probably hopes to have a judgment to wave around, but I think he'll also claim a win as long as there are no formal replies made in court.

But that's more than just an empty victory. His detractors and critics will declare open season on him. Having spent money to file several ultimately useless lawsuits, he won't want to do that again. What are his options then? Ask his followers to fight for him? How many of them will even be left at that point? His take-no-prisoners, with-me-or-against-me act will see him burning one bridge after another, until there's nothing left but scorched earth. Then what?

22

1914- responsible for the biggest decrease in JW's?

by joey jojo in

theres a couple of threads re: 1914 on the board right now and it got me thinking.. the jw doctrine of the 1914 generation is a key doctrine , yet it is probably the number one reason most have left over the decades.. 1975- within one generation.. 1995 - new understanding of the word generation.. 2010- overlapping generation first mentioned- some anointed survive armageddon.. 2015- infamous overlapping generations chart featuring david splane.. its obvious the org is changing the goalposts and constantly trying to squeeze as much time as they can before they have to abandon this altogether.

or will they come up with something new?.

does anyone else think this ever changing doctrine is responsible for the biggest loss of members?.

TonusOH

I remember reading about that, maybe in Crisis of Conscience. I think 1925 had a huge effect on any future predictions. Because they rely on out-of-time urgency, they never stopped predicting the end of the world. But they tried to use language that wasn't as clear and definite as Rutherford had repeatedly used regarding 1925.

Of course, they still slipped up from time-to-time. Most of the times they hinted at a date, they would occasionally use language that was all too clear. Unless they think that "the next few years" refers to more than 80 years.

40

Congregation in PA sues over mandatory reporting

by Corney in

ivy hill congregation of jehovah's witnesses is currently suing the pa department of human services.

it requests "a declaration that its elders are entitled to" clergy privilege, or, in the alternative,.

to the extent that the clergyman privilege is determined to exclude its elders on the basis that they are "members of [a] religious organization[] in which members other than the leader thereof are deemed clergymen or ministers," the court declare the statute to be unconstitutional.

TonusOH

Why don’t legislators repeal the federal laws and make mandatory reporting easy.

If I am not mistaken, current law does not forbid them from coming forward with such information. But it does not compel them to break the confidentiality of the confessional, either. It is up to the clergy in question, whether they decide to contact authorities if they are given information regarding a crime or illegal activity.

Edit: Or, I may be wrong about that, seeing Corney's post above mine.

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