Posts by TonusOH

15

The WT has failed to explain fundamental doctrines

by Kosonen in

jw
friends

sadly the wt failed to teach fundamental biblical doctrines.

i did never really understand the doctrine about ransom while i was still in the congregation.. i did not either understand what it really means that "god is love" as stated in the bible.

i did not either understand from the wt what is love.

TonusOH

As I understood it, the ransom is paid to God. When Adam and Eve sinned, they sinned against God. The blood sacrifice that cleansed those sins from the ledger would be paid to God, and he would then forgive the sin. That is how blood sacrifices worked in Israel, wasn't it?

I think the difficulty in explaining it, is that the concept is not very intuitive. Especially the part where the guilt for the sin is passed on to humanity, and the blood sacrifice therefore cleanses us of a sin we didn't commit, and doesn't redeem Adam and Eve. But it also wasn't a typical blood sacrifice, so the rules don't necessarily have to be the same.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

I think he is already doing all three, plus I expect...

4. Shoot himself in the foot, then shove his foot in his mouth.

10

What do the FREEMASONS really know about JEHOVAH

by raymond frantz in

https://youtu.be/2nc7twdw_9sfreemasons including charles taze russell knew for a fact jehovah is not god's name ,they knew that jehovah is just an amalgamation of vowels of adonai and the consonants of the tetragramaton.

it was common knowledge amongst freemasons prior to 1871 that not only jehovah is not god's name but it was created for the sole purpose of stopping people pronouncing god's real name.i will let that sink in for a moment.

being in full knowledge of these facts makes you think what russell's true intentions were for creating jehovah's witnesses as a religion in the first place because as sure as hell it was not for promoting the divine name.many have tried to make the case over the years the russell was not a mason or if he was he was very poorly educated in the masonic doctrines but this is not the case , in fact if you spend some time reading his writings you realise that the exact opposite is true.he was so thoroughly versed in freemasonry that he was trying to create a cross bread between christianity and freemasonry, and thats what i think his true intentions were to take freemasonry to its next level of infiltration of the christian faith, he was an apostate for the freemasons but russell saw himself as the next albert pike,unfortunately that didn't work out for him and he ultimately paid the price...read the rest herehttps://tevangelinos.wixsite.com/jwupdates/post/what-do-freemasons-really-know-about-jehovah

TonusOH

I think it actually reflects better on a god if they don't care how you pronounce their name, or even if you remember it. I mean, you're powerful enough to create an entire universe without breaking a sweat, but you really REALLY need for the people on this tiny speck of dust to get your name right?

Then again, the OT makes god seem very quick to anger over lots of things, so getting pissed off about his name seems right up his alley. "You put the emphasis on the wrong syllable! That's it. THAT... IS... IT!!! I'm flooding the whole thing. All of it!"

16

Experiences with kiss up kick down Jehovahs witnesses

by hoser in

jw
friends

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kiss_up_kick_down.

i’ll go first.. in a previous congregation we had a pioneer couple that have since gone on to be gilead graduates and are now either in circuit work or translation.

they checked all the boxes off the societies list so they were exemplary.

TonusOH

It's not just the gall of them clearly putting the organization's most minor interests (don't make them look bad at the most local level) ahead of yours (time wasted and money lost with no recompense, because 'god will fix it all in the end'). It's that they don't care if an unscrupulous person takes advantage of one of "the sheep" that they are supposed to be looking out for. Does the slimy contractor get anything done to him? What is the worst they can do, give him a "talking to"? After he got away with what amounts to a crime?

He walks away laughing, and the elders pat each other on the back for 'maintaining the good name of Jehovah by showing how well everyone in the congregation gets along.'

32

“This generation will by no means pass away.”

by Fisherman in

for argument sake let’s assume that this verse should apply to 1914. what are your thoughts on generation?.

TonusOH

This is where having access to their written claims makes such a difference. You can see how their explanation changes, to keep the expectation fresh by implying that time has almost run out. Prior to the 1950s, the explanation was that people who were alive and could comprehend the day's events were the generation, meaning that by the 50s and 60s they would be entering their 70s and 80s. Then they explained that children as young as ten could fit that description. Then it was infants. Then it was anyone born by 1914.

Finally it was anyone who knew anyone who was born by 1914, which is where I think it went off the rails. They should have stuck with their 1995 decision to change the wording and emphasize it less, but without the sense of urgency they have a difficult time recruiting. 'Come join the religion that is awaiting the end... AGAIN' just doesn't have the same draw.

11530

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

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

TonusOH

Shadow banned? lol

48

"Jehovah God"

by Jeffro in

the expression "jehovah god" has always seemed strange to me.

even when i was a jw, i found the term awkward, and never used it myself.

both words are nouns intended to be synonyms of each other, unless the name "jehovah" is being used as an adjective, which is also weird.

TonusOH

I think it's a way of adding honorifics to a person, to demonstrate just how great their stature is. With the idea that god is the ultimate being, it gets a bit out of hand, what with being called Almighty God, The Almighty, Jehovah God, Our Lord Jehovah, and so on.

I'd like to see a competition to see who could come up with the most over-the-top description. "Lord Jehovah God the Almighty, God of Armies, Ultimate Bad-Ass, Best God ever AND Best Human ever, Father of the Universe and Everything in it, the Best at Everything and -apologies to Moses- the Most Humble Being Ever to Exist."

12

Watchtower July 22 - JWs being interrogated need to muzzle their mouths

by Listener in

the watchtower has printed a disturbing article about self control and gives this instruction to the r & f .

self-control also allows us to remain silent when opposers try to trick us into revealing things that could endanger our brothers and sisters.

this might occur when we are being interrogated by the police in a land where our work is banned or restricted.

TonusOH

They are aiming this at anyone who might leak info to exJWs, which then gets broadcast on YouTube and Twitter and Reddit, etc. They're not just reminding the loyal membership to be on their guard, they are warning everyone not to leak embarrassing or incriminating info to 'opposers,' who are eager to use it to discredit the organization.

And, as with anything they try to teach, the lack of self-awareness is always present:

Although difficult to hear at first, a friend's honest comments are what will benefit us in the long run.

"But don't you even think of offering an honest comment to an elder or --heaven forbid!-- a GB member. Just keep telling us how awesome we are... or else."

32

“This generation will by no means pass away.”

by Fisherman in

for argument sake let’s assume that this verse should apply to 1914. what are your thoughts on generation?.

TonusOH

Actually Russell predicted 1914 would bring on Armageddon or the end of human government.

Yes, and the WTS rewrote its history to make it seem as if he'd made one prediction and it had been right on the money. That is what I referred to in my second paragraph. They also whitewashed much of Rutherford's missteps, either relegating them to the memory hole or changing them so that they seemed much more relevant and accurate. I just think that they can revise a lot of their history to suit their purposes, but 1914 is the one they just can't let go.

32

“This generation will by no means pass away.”

by Fisherman in

for argument sake let’s assume that this verse should apply to 1914. what are your thoughts on generation?.

TonusOH

I think they cling to 1914 because they have turned it into a legit prophetic moment in their history. The story they tell is of Russell discovering that 1914 would be the beginning of the last days and, lo and behold, World War 1 begins and a narrative is born. That narrative is easy to package and distribute: war begins, the world goes into decline, the only possible salvation is the kingdom of God with Jesus at the helm. Without the war, it's really just another end-times prophecy that does not convince anyone.

Even now, when it's pretty easy to find out that Russell's predictions were many, that none of them amounted to anything, and that only by radically changing one of them did the WTS create the 1914 'prophecy', they do not let it go. To do so undermines the strong narrative that they used successfully for so long. The farther we get from 1914, the tougher it gets to prop it up, but I think they're too far along to try and salvage it now.

I'm curious what they will do. I still think they will try to ignore it and minimize it as quietly as they can, hoping to cling to the credibility it once gave them but never actually having to face up to it.