Interesting quote from his book Crisis of Conscience:
"Herein lies a paradox. Despite their intense activity in door-to-door witnessing, most people actually know little about Jehovah’s Witnesses aside from their position on certain issues of conscience. They have heard of their uncompromising stand in refusing to accept blood transfusions, their refusal to salute any flag or similar emblem, their firm objection to performance of military service, their opposition to participation in any political activity or function. Those familiar with legal cases know that they have taken some fifty cases to the Supreme Court of the United States in defense of their freedom of conscience, including their right to carry their message to people of other beliefs even in the face of considerable opposition and objections. In lands where constitutional liberties protect them, they are free to exercise such rights without hindrance. In other countries they have experienced severe persecution, arrests, jailing, mobbing, beatings, and official bans prohibiting their literature and preaching. How, then, is it the case that today any person among their members who voices a personal difference of viewpoint as to the teachings of the organization is almost certain to face judicial proceedings and, unless willing to retract, is liable for disfellowshipment?"
w69 3/15 p. 166Why It Is Wise toExamine Your Religion;We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught byanyreligious organization with which we may be associated.Are its teachings infull harmonywith God’s Word, or are they based on thetraditionsof men? If we are lovers of the truth, there isnothing to fearfrom such an examination. It should be the sincere desire of every one of us tolearn.........
w74 1/15 p. 35- When persons are in great danger from a source that they do notsuspector are being misled by those they consider theirfriends, is it an unkindness to warn them? They may prefer not to believe the warning. They may even resent it.But does that free one from the moral responsibility to give that warning?....It would have been far easier to keep silent or say only what peoplewantedto hear. But faithfulness to God and love of neighbor moved them to speak.
bh chap. 11 pp. 110-112 pars. 12-15- Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever....student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. What should the teacher do?....suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class howhewould solve the problem...he knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point willbenefit the whole class.When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class....consider two things that the teacher in our illustration would not do............he would not stop the rebel student from presenting his case.
sm pp. 17-18 par. 8 -Hence, a wise man will examine the things he has received from his parents,including his religion.He will keep thegoodthings and reject those things that arenotgood. This is essential if he is to find thetruthabout religion.
g84 8/22 p. 28- The Catholic church........occupies a very significant position in the world andclaimsto be the way of salvation for....millions of people.Anyorganization that assumes that position should bewillingto submit to scrutiny and criticism.
First off, Witnesses basically believe in an immortal soul, though they would be offended at that statement. They get around the issue by calling it "Jehovah's memory". An instance of this is in theWatchtower(w07 11/1 p. 26 par. 16) where it says:
They are protected in Jehovah’s memory. There is no safer place for them to be.
So, for example, let's say that some pioneer elder who has fifteen kids (that he's successfully raised in the 'Truth') dies tragically while doing business territory and helping an old lady cross the street. He's pretty much guaranteed a spot on the ole list, so he gets 'remembered' by Jehovah and his wife and kids.
Time passes, Great Tribulation comes and goes, Armageddon happens with lots of screaming and pain and clergymen getting crushed by collapsing steeples. New System arrives. (Geez! Took long enough!) Now it's resurrection time.
So Jehovah consults his list and sees our elder's name (we'll call him GA for 'Good Associate' and decides it's time to bring GA back.
So what happens? Does Jehovah scrounge around for all of GA's molecules and put them together again? Nope, that part of him is gone (and potentially being used in other humans - Ewwww!!!). TheWatchtowerexplains (w00 7/15 p. 16 par. 2):
Resurrection through a reorganization of original atoms is illogical, and humans do not have an immortal soul. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Ezekiel 18:4) Jehovah, the God of resurrection, does not need to reassemble atoms of matter that originally constituted a human body. He can fashion new bodies for those resurrected.
So Jehovah doesn't need to search for anything - that's great news! He can just sink a shovel in the dirt and get all he needs to build a hunky bod for GA. He gets to work and makes our buddy a body.
So now God is standing there with a lifeless assembled corpse in front of him. What's next? Oh, right. We need crank this thing up and get it started. This is where it gets interesting, and complicated... and confusing... TheReasoningbook (rs p. 333) says:
According to God’s will for the individual, the person is restored in either a human or a spirit body and yet retains hispersonal identity, having the same personality and memories as when he died. (Italics mine)
So GA gets infused with his own personal identity. What is that? I don't know. No, seriously, I don't know. It's not his body, that's already been discussed. Is it his memories? No, because that's just GA's memories, that's not GA, you can download them into anyone or everyone. Is it his personality? That's not GA either, that's just wiring. What the heck is GA?!?
To put this into perspective, let's put ourselves in GA's wife's shoes. Here is her resurrected hubby, young and hot, and just like she remembered (she's hot too btw). But how does she know it's him?How does she know it's not just some conglomeration of molecules that was downloaded with GA's memories and wired to act like GA?She doesn't! And GA's no help either, because all he can remember is the good things about being GA. So neither of them know if GA is the real deal. They're both useless!
And to really complicate things theInsightbook (it-2 p. 786) says:
It is the soul, the person, that is resurrected, with a body to suit the environment into which God resurrects him.
Wait! What?!? Now, to be fair, this sentence is in a paragraph about those with the creepy heavenly calling. But it specifically says that the soul is different than the body - it's the person, apart from the body. In fact, it sounds a lot different than just being in Jehovah's memory. If I take GA's soul and put it back into some body (any body) - that's GA? Apparently, but don't ask me to explain, cuz' I don't get it. To me, it sounds like something survived when GA's body didn't, and when that got implanted in a new body it became new GA.
This brings us back toWitnesses believe in an immortal soul.They really really want to believe that their dead loved ones will live again. But they also believe that there isn't anything that actuallyisthe person, just memories in Jehovah's head. In that case, they can never be sure that their resurrected loved ones are who they used to be. This would terrify them if they ever took the time to think about it. But thankfully we can rest assured that Witnesseswon'tthink about this and therefore wewon'tever have to talk about GA ever again.
Of the many hundreds who visited the construction site, one gentleman observed that the Witnesses were building “churches” while his religious denomination was selling them because of dwindling membership.
Both English and Spanish congregations are having reorganizations. It is not clear if this will result in Kingdom Hall closures. A special meeting was held in Yuba City last Saturday with a little over a dozen circuit overseers and all elders concerned (some say it was almost a thousand). A Spanish language reorganization was to follow, occurring yesterday. Members of the branch attended. Announcements on the results of this meeting will be announced this midweek meeting.
90% Chance halls will be combined and sold
They're not going to go through all the work of 'reorganizing' andnotclose any Halls. From what I've heard, land is going for crazy prices out there so I'm sure they're motivated to sell some Halls.
Would a Hebrew have understood the prohibition on pork as meaning he had to avoid "major" pig fractions (ham, bacon, ribs) but "minor" pig fractions like pickled feet and fried pork rinds were ok?
Jehovah's Witness sexually abused his niece and is sentenced to 10 years in prison
Nuevo Diario (Argentina), Friday, June 15, 2018
It was held in the Palace of Courts.
On the day of this Friday, the trial of the Jehovah's Witness, Eduardo Ismael Ávila, was held for having sexually abused one of his nieces.
The official defenders Silvia Gerez and Lisa Vega, who assisted the accused, requested the acquittal of the latter for the benefit of the doubt, and secondarily a minimum penalty for simple sexual abuse.
While prosecutor Gabriela Gauna had requested a sentence of 13 years in prison
Finally, he was sentenced for 10 years in prison.
Read original language:
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Jehovah's Witness Sentenced for Violating Minor Niece
El Liberal (Argentina), Friday, June 15, 2018
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The ruling was made known at the end of a trial that was held in the Palace of Courts.
A Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping one of his nieces, ages 10 to 12.
According to judicial sources, the accused was identified as Eduardo Ismael Ãvila.
He was also acquitted of another similar accusation, to the detriment of a sister of the victim.
En la jornada de este viernes, se realizó el juicio al testigo de Jehová, Eduardo Ismael Ãvila, estaba imputado por haber abusado sexualmente de una de sus sobrinas.
Le Point (France), Saturday, June 16, 2018(via Google Translate)
Two men were indicted for attempted murder. One of them is suspected of attempting to murder his wife whom he could not divorce.
PICTURE: The facts occurred in June 2017 on the side of Champs-sur-Marne
It took nearly a year of investigation to the police of the criminal brigade of the regional direction of the Judicial Police of Versailles (Yvelines) to bring to light the chilling scenario of an attempted murder on a Jehovah's witness, Pre-millenarian religious movement that federates more than 8 million active members worldwide.
According to our information, a man in his thirties was indicted for "attempted murder" in mid-May by an examining magistrate from Meaux (Seine-et-Marne), before be placed in pre-trial detention. An accomplice, employed like him in the building sector, followed the same path. The latter admitted that he had been recruited by the first to lend him a hand in the execution of a plan that was meant to be Machiavellian.
In the impossibility of divorce from his wife - such a separation is proscribed in Jehovah's Witnesses, except in the case of infidelity - this husband is suspected of having simply tried to kill her.
An accomplice recruited for a few hundred euros
The facts occurred in June 2017 on the side of Champs-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne). During his custody, Alain* initially denied his involvement, before asserting his right to silence. On the other hand, his alleged offender has confessed. According to our information, Arnaud* said he was "recruited" by the husband, determined to separate from his wife for a few hundred euros.
Arnaud was then exposed to the macabre scenario. "The murder was to take place during a picnic in the forest," said a judicial source. Once the woman was murdered by her husband with a firearm, the mate would have to recover the weapon used and the business carried by the murderer to remove any traces of firing residue. Then the murderer had to believe in an attack by strangers, before taking refuge with the police."
A chilling scenario, but that finally seized. The day of events, Josette* is invited by her husband to a bucolic dinner on the edge of the forest. During this evening, the husband assures him that he has a surprise to make to his wife: Alain pretext to have him put a jewel around his neck to position himself behind her. That's when he took his Long Rifle 22 caliber gun to shoot Josette's back.
The victim survived his injuries
Seriously touched, almost at close range, the wife collapses, but does not succumb. All under the eyes of Arnaud, stayed at a safe distance to avoid being spotted by the victim. "We understand then that the husband found himself disconcerted in front of the body of his wife who was not dead, says the same source. His accomplice then came on the scene to recover, as expected, some of his clothes to deceive the upcoming investigations. The husband asked him to shoot him at the level of one shoulder to make believe a double murder attempt perpetrated by strangers. His mate performed himself before disappearing. The injured husband then alerted the helpers, and then was treated.
After several months of recuperation, his wife got back on his feet. "It's a real miracle ..." blows a close file. Inconsistencies in the narrative of the facts by the husband were quickly uncovered by the investigators of the crime of the PJ of Versailles. "Important telephonic investigations have made it possible to establish contacts between the two men who met shortly before this attempted murder," the source added. They both worked in the building, before being connected by common knowledge."
After this attempted murder, the two men were particularly cautious: they never spoke again to scramble the tracks a bit more. But the police officers of the Versailles PJ have managed to establish contacts between them before the bloody picnic. The murder weapon has not been found.
* The first names of the alleged perpetrators have been changed.
You can openly and publicly question if the President of the United States is fit for office. You can question his policies, his statements, and his character. Your family and friends will not be taken away from you.
You can openly and publicly question the policies, fitness for office, statements, and character of governors, senators, congressmen, judges, and various other politicians and leaders in the United States. Your family and friends will not be taken away from you.
If you believe in a god, you can pray to your god questioning his authority, ability to rule, his decisions, and his purpose. When you open your eyes, you will find that your family and friends have not and will not be taken away from you.
Jesus had his authority questioned many times. (Matt. 21: 23-27) According to the Bible, he would have had the power to punish those questioning him. Yet, he did nothing to them. He harmed no one physically or emotionally.
You can confidentially question the ability to lead, the validity, the teachings, the doctrines and policies of the Governing Body to only two family members or close companions. Your family and friends WILL be taken away from you. You will be labeled as dead, evil, and mentally diseased. You can and will likely lose all the social connections and relationships you have developed over a lifetime.
Only absolute dictators take away the rights of those they rule if their authority is questioned. Look at the examples of Stalin, Hitler, Bashar al-Assad, and Kim Jong Un.
The Governing Body today will attend court hearings in other countries rejoicing when freedoms are granted to their followers. They will organize letter writing campaigns to lobby for religious freedoms of Jehovah's Witnesses. They will take legal arguments to the highest courts to fight for the rights of the organization that they govern. Yet, all it takes for you to lose all of your freedoms to be with your very own family is the admission to enough witnesses that you no longer believe the Governing Body are chosen by God and have authority over you.
Did You Know? The Governing Body will fight tooth and nail for their own perceived freedoms, but they have no problems taking away your own freedoms and declaring you dead if you dare to question them.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean police and prosecutors on Wednesday launched separate and unexpected raids on Roman Catholic Church offices to seize documents relating to mounting claims of sexual abuse and cover-up.
Â
Chilean national prosecutor Jorge Abbott (C) arrive at a apostolic nunciature for a meeting with Special Vatican envoys archbishop Charles Scicluna and father Jordi Bertomeu in Santiago, Chile June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido
The raids came just hours before Vatican abuse investigators sent by Pope Francis met the countryÂ’s top prosecutor to discuss collaborating on civil and canonical probes.Â
Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, a special envoy from the Vatican, told reporters that it was “very important” that Church and state work together to protect children alleged to have been abused by priests and clergymen.Â
“The canonical process should in no way impede the right of people to exercise their right to civil justice,” he said at a news conference in the capital Santiago.
Special Vatican envoys archbishop Charles Scicluna and father Jordi Bertomeu attend a news conference in Santiago, Chile June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido
Hours earlier, police and prosecutors raided the ChurchÂ’s judicial office in Santiago, surprising Church leaders.Â
Jaime Ortiz de Lazcano, the Archbishop of SantiagoÂ’s legal advisor, said he was in a meeting with Scicluna when he was asked to go to a court hearing about the impending seizure of documents relating to an abuse case the Church had investigated in January.Â
“I was very surprised when they told me ‘Father, go to the court because thereÂ’s going to be a raid,’” he told reporters.Â
“ItÂ’s not common that (prosecutors) solicit information from a canonical investigation, but we are entirely willing to cooperate.”Â
Prosecutor Emiliano Arias told reporters outside the Santiago raid that he was investigating “individuals working for the Catholic Church, not the Catholic Church itself.”Â
“In Chile, everyone is subject to ordinary justice,” Arias said.Â
Prosecutors and police earlier in the day raided the office of the bishop of Rancagua, south of the capital, to seize documents. RancaguaÂ’s bishop suspended 14 priests last month amid allegations of “improper conduct.”Â
Chilean prosecutors have also submitted a formal request to the Vatican for information it has gathered about priests and Church workers accused of sexual abuse, the local El Mercurio newspaper reported on Wednesday.Â
The judicial authorities are at present investigating “at least 40” cases of abuse within the Church from across the country, the paper added.Â
Scicluna and his colleague Father Jordi Bertomeu, a Spanish official from the Vatican, arrived in Chile on Tuesday with orders from Pope Francis to ensure the Church responds to “every case of sexual abuse of minors committed by clergymen.”Â
Their mission follows the surfacing of multiple allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up in the Church dating back decades.Â
Reporting by Aislinn Laing, Dave Sherwood and Antonio de la Jara in Santiago; editing by Caroline Stauffer
So if Adam and Eve had never fallen from grace and been immortal and procreated, that means everyone ever born wouldn't have died....the earth would have been overpopulated long ago to the point where no one would we all go? A recent estimate says that by 2050 113 BILLION people will have ever lived on earth.....
“The Perfect Man”, Muhammad... Glad to see the lie that “Islam is a Religion of Peace” isnÂ’t being tolerated anymore. Very eye opening to have educated myself on its true history.
Raymond Franz
in Topics
Posted
Interesting quote from his book Crisis of Conscience:
"Herein lies a paradox. Despite their intense activity in door-to-door witnessing, most people actually know little about Jehovah’s Witnesses aside from their position on certain issues of conscience. They have heard of their uncompromising stand in refusing to accept blood transfusions, their refusal to salute any flag or similar emblem, their firm objection to performance of military service, their opposition to participation in any political activity or function. Those familiar with legal cases know that they have taken some fifty cases to the Supreme Court of the United States in defense of their freedom of conscience, including their right to carry their message to people of other beliefs even in the face of considerable opposition and objections. In lands where constitutional liberties protect them, they are free to exercise such rights without hindrance. In other countries they have experienced severe persecution, arrests, jailing, mobbing, beatings, and official bans prohibiting their literature and preaching. How, then, is it the case that today any person among their members who voices a personal difference of viewpoint as to the teachings of the organization is almost certain to face judicial proceedings and, unless willing to retract, is liable for disfellowshipment?"