Topics Started by bemused

5
Oldest Person Alive
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
following the death of susannah jones of the us on 12 may 2016, the oldest person alive today is emma morano of italy.. many years ago i remember my recently converted relative desperately trying to convince me that i too should become a witness because the world was certain to end before the last person who was 15 or older at the outbreak of the first world war had passed away, so time was short if i was to have any hope of reaching paradise etc etc.. i didn't become a witness and, although i know that jw doctrine has changed since then, it's interesting to note that the late ms jones was born on 6 july 1899 so had just reached 15 when ww1 started on 28 july 1914; ms morano was born on 29 november 1914 so was only 14 at the outbreak of war.

there is no one living who was 15 or older at the beginning of ww1.

i wonder if my relative and other zealous witnesses from that period ever reflect on the nonsense they were preaching then?.
16
More than half of UK population is non-religious
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the british humanist association web-site has reported on the results of the british social attitudes survey, which is a major annual survey, the latest report covering the year 2013:.

https://humanism.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-belief-some-surveys-and-statistics/the-british-social-attitudes-survey/.

for the first time, those people saying they are not members of any religious group are in the majority in the uk, up by three percentage points from 47.7% to 50.6% in just one year.
22
Dissent on JW-Archive
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
in the posts about the australian royal commission there have been several references to discussions on jw-archive.

i'd not heard of that site, so checked it out.

it seems to be used by many active jws - its tumblr style archive is full of pictures of jws doing their thing.
11
Unconvincing Evidence in September Watchtower
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i was looking at the september 2015 issue of the watchtower, which, unlike the simplified and study editions, appears to be aimed at non-jws.

a couple of articles caught my eye that quote biblical sources which are somewhat less than convincing to a non-believer.. firstly 'what do jehovah's witnesses believe?

' says that the core belief is that 'all scripture is inspired of god and beneficial'.
9
8 million - The Population of Honduras
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. bible
i sometimes look at the magazines on jw.org to see what the wt are saying now.

the latest watchtower is a good old fire and brimstone, armageddon is coming any moment now issue, but it was a short article in the april 2015 awake that caught my eye.

it features the country of honduras and is quite an informative little read (though failing to mention the very high crime rate in that country).
10
If there were no shunning ...
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
a lot of members of this forum are still notionally active jws, in many cases because of worries about the loss of contact with family and friends if they were to leave.

i was never in so it's hard for me to judge, but it seems to me that if the watchtower org were to announce tomorrow that shunning is wrong and jws should keep contact with family and friends who leave then the effect would be devasting for congregation numbers.

if so then obviously such an announcement is highly unlikely, but is my view correct?
2
untitled
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. medical
apologies if this has been raised already (i don't check in to the board all that often) but can anyone make head or tail of this from the latest watchtower (study edition):.

a former atheist confessed: the creation convinces me that god wants mankind to enjoy life and therefore he will not allow suffering to go on forever.

also, as the world descends further into ungodliness, jehovahs people are progressing in faith, zeal, and love.
6
Why the Grand Gestures?
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
when i visit this forum, i'm always a bit surprised by those members who, on deciding they no longer wish to be a witness, write long letters to the elders, set out their reasoning in e-mails to family and friends, attend judicial meetings to have their say etc.

i've never heard of an ex-catholic, for example, writing a resignation letter to their parish priest.. i'm a never-in so i can't appreciate the emotions these people are going through.

however they also often say a big worry is loss of contact with family and friends.
4
UN trying to avoid Armageddon
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the latest new scientist magazine says that the un has established an international asteroid warning group, which will compile information on potentially dangerous space rocks and share this information with its member states.

should it prove necessary, the group would oversee any deflection missions.. it started me wondering what negative slant the wt could put on this initiative - trying to defeat god's will perhaps?.
3
Taiwan becomes Japanese
by bemused in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
well no, not really, but i was glancing down the contents page of the january 2014 awake!

and saw reference to a japanese scientist with a suspiciously chinese sounding name.

sure enough, clicking through to the article revealed that the lady is from taiwan not japan.. ok, that's just a silly editorial mistake.