Posts by TonusOH

32

Date of Adam's "Creation?

by Slidin Fast in

how do jws resolve these conflicting facts.. 1. no matter how you spin it, bible chronology calculates to circa 4000 bc for adam's creation.

i followed the trail many years ago and that's what it adds up to.. 2. the most cursory investigation of any branch of relevant science puts man's habitation on the earth as hugely earlier than that.

it's now so well-proved that anyone disputing it is guilty of wilful ignorance.

Most civilizations were established and grew around sources of fresh water, which means that there would have been villages and cities on or near rivers and lakes. It's not unusual for rivers to have seasonal flooding, with the occasional large-scale flood that can destroy crops and buildings and take enough lives that they become part of the local lore.

One "evidence" that is used for the validity of the global flood is that there are many flood stories around the world that purport to there having been a worldwide flood. But the fact that flooding would have been a common human experience, and the way our myths and legends develop, make it inevitable that stories about "great floods" would be so widespread across so many different cultures.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

They do allow divorce for infidelity, though they will encourage even those couples to stay together, lest they bring disrepute to the good name of Jehovah (lol?).

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Just to add: he appears to be a former Bible Student (one of the offshoots of the Millerite movement, like the JWs). He makes two particularly salient points:

1. He notes how harsh Evans was in dealing with the Tony Morris booze-buying video, and wonders how he would have reacted if he learned that Morris had, instead, visited a prostitute.

2. He notes that, among the things Evans has not done, is promise that "it [cheating on his wife with prostitutes] won't happen again." He admits that he cannot continue to support Evans financially if he thinks it is possible that Evans will continue to seek out prostitutes and cheat on his wife.

I wonder how many other patrons feel the same way.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Here's someone whose obsession with the issue is probably very relevant to Evans. It's a former patron who admits to being a very generous supporter (and possibly the most generous of his supporters), but who felt that... well, let's let him explain it:

"I believe that a person who is doing that kind of advocacy work on behalf of a community should live to higher standards and be held to certain standards. Especially when they're critical of hypocrisy of the agency they're criticizing."

This guy doesn't appear to be an exJW, and is an atheist. Nor does he seem to be aware (or bothered by) the way Evans has treated many in the exJW community. In other words, the kind of person that some would expect was not upset by Lloyd's actions. It does seem as if he is aware of the videos from other exJWs, and that those may have had an impact on his decision. Yet his decision is driven by the things Lloyd admitted to, not the stuff he claims are being made up about him.

He makes a very clear case about how Evans's actions affect the way he is viewed now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b6IvHVWBfg

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

The statement is a non-sequitur anyway. If he promised to use the funds only for his activism, at the very least he has to answer to his patrons for it, or they may decide (as they have, by the hundreds) that they do not wish to support him with their money anymore. Whether or not he is a professional activist does not have anything to do with it.

If he wanted to explain himself to his patrons, taking the arrogant "I can do as I please" attitude was probably not the best approach. Because, as he is learning, they can do as they please with their money as well.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

As with anything if you don't like what he does don't watch.

Good advice. For the record, I no longer watch his videos. But I'm morbidly interested in watching as he flames out in public, a downfall that could have occurred behind closed doors if he hadn't decided to stand in front of a camera and tell us all the lurid details. Even that probably wouldn't have lasted long, but he's a big fish in a small pond and he spent quite a number of years splashing about and making the pond rather unpleasant for others. So there's the added benefit of getting a healthy dose of schadenfreude as we watch him continue to very publicly humiliate himself.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

You can't read that 3b section without realizing just what a creep he is. 'Not that it's anyone's business, but the girls-- I mean, the workers-- I "met" were all over the age of 20. So it's okay. They were only half my age, not one-third.'

Of course, none of this means that he was paying for sex. Verifying the age of every 'woman' he meets, "sex workers or otherwise," is perfectly normal behavior. I mean, you don't want to "meet" any underage 'women' when you're out and about and seeking a bit of 'conversation' on the beach in the late evenings. Make sure they're all 20 or older! After all, that's when they stop being exploited by their pimps and become equal partners in control of their lives. Not that he was there to pay for sex! He was just looking out for those poor working girls. I mean, women...

18

Serena Williams thinks she is a JW LMAO

by jojorabbit in

i saw a post pop up on some click bait where serena williams saying she was praying for armageddon to come and that the jws have said we are living in critical times hard to deal with.this was her response to the texas school shooting.

another cult catch phrase.

i am sorry williams you aint no jw.

TonusOH

I don't think I ever heard of bribery in the congregations I was in. But there are at least a few people that I would not be surprised to hear if they had done something like that. An organization like the JWs is ripe for grifters. I recall hearing a few stories (mostly told as warnings) of people who would go to congregations pretending to be an active JW or an interested person, and would ingratiate themselves and take advantage of people to get money or goods/services out of them. Once people started to notice that these persons were taking from everyone and not helping anyone, they'd disappear and find another congregation to ransack.

I don't know if any of those stories were real. There was probably a bit of truth to many of them, but my thinking now is that they weren't referring to people who came out of nowhere. They were really referring to actual JWs who took advantage of the closeness and trust of the membership and made out quite well for a long time. It was probably a mix of trying to warn people to be mindful, but also not wanting to point fingers because they knew no one would believe it, and would more likely be suspicious of anyone who would accuse a brother of being a cheat.

117

14 kids dead and one teacher at Texas school shooting.

by jojorabbit in

another shooting, this time 14 kids dead more wounded and a teacher dead.

i am all for the second amendment and this does not change my mind.

but i do hate this kind of thing, makes my stomach turn.

TonusOH

Comparisons between gun deaths and traffic accidents is ridiculous. Transport is an essential human need.

My point is that we make this calculus every day, and accept risk where we find it useful, even though the cost is staggering. I drive a car. I have never owned a gun, and probably never will. I have reduced the risk that I will be shot by some percentage, but I still take my health/life in my hands almost every day by getting behind the wheel of a car. I also have a set of knives, and any number of other conveniences that introduce a level of risk that I accept, because they make my life easier or better or more pleasant.

We cannot pretend that we don't take risks --and accept a very high price-- for the sake of convenience and for a better life for those who don't pay that price. We draw the line at guns (and rightfully so, in my mind) because they have moved in the opposite direction, where they are no longer the essential need that cars are today. But we do so only because we can give them up without sacrificing convenience. We seek to do so for practical and pragmatic --but not moral-- reasons.

32

Date of Adam's "Creation?

by Slidin Fast in

how do jws resolve these conflicting facts.. 1. no matter how you spin it, bible chronology calculates to circa 4000 bc for adam's creation.

i followed the trail many years ago and that's what it adds up to.. 2. the most cursory investigation of any branch of relevant science puts man's habitation on the earth as hugely earlier than that.

it's now so well-proved that anyone disputing it is guilty of wilful ignorance.

TonusOH

Counting back to Adam doesn't seem all that straightforward, or there would be a definitive scale, or at least an agreed-upon range. Perhaps the latter exists? After all, we are relying on the Bible for all of the dates and ages, unless there are other sources that are being consulted.

I mean, if God wanted mankind to know the date of the creation of the first man, He could have made that much clearer in Genesis. That would've had the additional benefit of giving the whole world a basis for a starting calendar year. January 1, 1 would be the year humanity came into existence. I think it's a pretty good starting point.

(I know, I know... he wouldn't have named it January. Maybe he could have improved on the names of months, too!)