carrot-dangle-donkeyEvery once in a while, I’m asked why I bother keeping up with current events in the world of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

My answer will usually depend on several factors, including, but not limited to: caffeine concentration in my bloodstream, looming University assignments and general satisfaction with this great probability engine that is life.

If conditions are unfavourable, I will likely mumble incoherently and return to scribbling on the wall with my trusty Crayola. (I find that there is a certain understated madness in the crayon that’s impossible to convey with any other marker. I recommend red for added effect.)

If conditions are favourable, however, my answer would be that keeping an eye on the activities of Watchtower and the Jehovah’s Witnesses is something of a civic duty; their troublesome beliefs continue to cause problems for past and current members alike. From the Governing Body’s stance on homosexuality and feminism to the endless barrage of uncomfortable questions posed by the Australian Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse, there is no shortage of people with a righteous axe to grind against Watchtower.

But perhaps the most insidious effect of Watchtower’s continued presence is the theological “eternal carrot” of the Paradise, tantalisingly dangled just out of reach of the Witness rank-and-file. As we shall see, Watchtower’s construction of the New System does nothing more than stunt the philosophical growth of the average Witness. How can this be so?

Paradise regained

When comparing the differences between the JW concept of afterlife with that of a more mainstream Christian religion, the contrasts appear stark.

Imagine for a moment that you are, say, a Catholic. You, dear Catholic, are given a certain amount of time on Earth to spend in righteous pursuits. Such as donating to homeless shelters, playing the harp and knitting bible verses into ugly woollen sweaters. (Or whatever it is that righteous people actually do. I wouldn’t know.) As an angel, having transcended the physical and gained a greater understanding of the inner workings of the universe, you play the harp some more and play an active role in your local “Holy Rollers” Angelic Bowling Team. Notice now that your afterlife in Heaven is merely a continuation of your existence on Earth.

And what if you are a Jehovah’s Witness instead?

After the eventual arrival of Armageddon (any day now) you are reunited with your loved ones on the Earth, rather than in Heaven. The infinite amount of free time now available to you can be utilised in various ways, including: spending time with friends, exploring the Earth, pursuing hobbies, raising a family, owning a panda as a pet. Etcetera

One conspicuous difference between these two philosophies is that the “rewards” for faithfulness as a Jehovah’s Witness are mostly activities that an ordinary human could work towards right now (with the exception of eternal life, for example). It’s true! You can go out today and buy some seeds to plant a garden! Invite your friends to the cinema to see the new Star Wars! You could become a zoologist or start a family of your own! Or both!

To synopsise: whereas a more mainstream afterlife is a continuation for life on Earth, the Witness afterlife is a replacement for life on Earth. While this glosses over the Witness doctrine regarding the 144,000 humans who are resurrected to heavenly status and rule with Jesus. However, if we confine our discussion to Witnesses with an earthly outlook, the point is equally valid.

Real life? Or just a fantasy?

Given that most activities available in Paradise are essentially within reach, why is it that the average Jehovah’s Witness doesn’t drop everything and start their new life a few years early? I can think of two reasons supported by Witness doctrine.

One. As an upright Witness, it is your responsibility to spend this time preaching the word of God in whatever capacity you can. You are taught that this work is important because it is vital to saving the lives of others and is “never to be repeated” (w10 2/15 p. 9). Being a faithful proselytiser is also vital to progressing beyond Armageddon in the first place.

Two. Life as it exists now is only a pale imitation of life after Jehovah’s divine judgement of the wicked at Armageddon. Wicked people have overwhelmed the Earth! “Critical times hard to deal with” are here! (2 Tim 3:1)

We can see further examples of this in the Witness literature: “Many schools now have student counselors who encourage one to pursue higher education after high school, to pursue a career with a future in this system of things. Do not be influenced by them. Do not let them “brainwash” you with the Devil’s propaganda to get ahead, to make something of yourself in this world. This world has very little time left! Any “future” this world offers is no future! Wisely, then, let God’s Word influence you in selecting a course that will result in your protection and blessing. Make pioneer service, the full-time ministry, with the possibility of Bethel or missionary service your goal.” Watchtower 1969 Mar 15 p.171

“This world has very little time left!” Ironically strong words given that they are now nearly forty-seven years old. But this also gives a key insight into another reason why Witnesses might postpone their ambitions.

“That’ll be 30 seconds please.”

Holding-back-hands-of-timeIn the real world, actions carry with them a temporal cost.

I feel no need to give this a citation because it seems like the sort of statement that almost nobody would take issue with. Want to learn to play the trombone? Sure! Let’s say that it takes fifty hours of practice to gain the level of proficiency you want. Assuming you live eighty years, that’s approximately 0.007% of your life which you can no longer use for any other purpose.

While it’s an overly-simplistic metaphor, the percentage of your life that you put towards a certain end can be thought of as a cost or investment in that activity. Some activities are compulsory- if you sleep eight hours a day, this will be about 33.3% of your life. Work and school have percentages of their own, as evidenced by our quote from the previous section.

In this way, every action taken in life is an investment (some large and others small) towards the grand 100% that is your life. And not all of these investments will be worthwhile, either. There are more than a few percentage points that I’d like to have back.

Of course, when you consider the prospect of Paradise, the whole point becomes moot. If it should happen that you get bored with the trombone then you will have wasted a mere fifty hours out of infinitely many hours. In a very real sense, this is 0%. And the thought of being able to do (practically) anything with no consequences for any mistake is tempting.

Given all of this, it seems unsurprising that many Witnesses seem to live in a state of suspended animation, watching and waiting for a bright, shiny world with no rough edges.

“Stagnant Waters.”

frozen-in-time-2The obvious problem with postponing one’s ambitions for the future is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have the best track record when it comes to predicting the future.

Essentially, what Jehovah’s Witnesses are doing is outsourcing their hopes and dreams to a future that, in all probability, will never arrive. The result is a bizarre state of moratorium- the average Witness seems to have little interest in learning, growing or experiencing anything in this world deeply.

Some that I know have been stuck in the cycle for years. They watch the same DVD’s and TV shows over and over again, avoiding anything new. Some witnesses in moratorium will spend an inordinate part of their time imagining what they will say and do in the New System. Personally, I know more than a few who have figured out where they will live and how they will decorate. This is anecdotal evidence, of course. But I have seen the sentiments reflected in too many Witnesses to ignore the trend.

A witness in moratorium might view further education as a chore rather than an enlightenment. If they travel, they stick to the well-traversed paths and spend far too much time in the hotel room. The conversation is shallow and uncontroversial. Above all, there is no ambition to be found anywhere. Some use the Paradise hope as a “Get out of Sorrow Free” card- why deal with the tough realities of illness and death when they are just transient to you? And through it all they wait for their real life to begin. The rut slowly becomes a trench.

What’s to be done?

dawnThat is the big question. Almost certainly far too big given that philosophers have struggled with the question of the ideal way to live life since antiquity.

There is the possibility that some Witnesses might be so invested in the Paradise that they will never let go. For everyone else–myself included-the solution seems to simply be coming to terms with mortality in one way or another. Though it’s so easy to say and so very hard to do, actively seeking out new experiences is one of the best ways to make life worth living. Self-discovery, engaging with the world, formulating and achieving goals- these are the ingredients for a Paradise right here and now.

I think Wirrow put it best in his stream-of-consciousness entitled “and a new earth”:

deep inside you there is a roaring fire
that is not cooled by comfort or tamed by fear
a fire that burns in all things
a fire that can drag your fellow beings out of stagnant waters
and re-imagine your world with no leader or station

everything in this world is intoxicating
everything is on fire all the time
and you are bound only by the limits of your imagination- everything else will follow
the world will follow
as above, so below
a new heaven and a new earth

Maybe we just need to make a new Earth for ourselves.

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– P B

 

165 thoughts on “The Friday Column: “And a new Earth.”

  • February 19, 2016 at 9:43 am
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    Thank you for this well written and thought provoking article. I have family that have put their lives on hold and it makes me sad. I contemplate every day how I might reason with them, but at this point I would simply be cut off more than I already am. Perhaps I will reach the point where I will cast off my fear of abandonment and speak out. In the meantime I keep hoping they will wake up.

    Regards

  • February 19, 2016 at 9:43 am
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    PB,
    This article is very profound. I wish I could explain the way I feel as well as you. The carrot was dangled in front of me for most of my 55 years of life. But, I slowly realized that there is so much to live for and experience now. I am actively seeking out new experiences. I am on a path of self-discovery. You are correct, these are the ingredients for a Paradise right here and now. Wirrow put it very well. I always had that roaring fire inside me. The Watchtower was trying to cool and tame it. Never again shall I let them attempt that control.

    • February 21, 2016 at 3:24 am
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      This really touched a nerve…I have just started my University degree …. Im 57 … I am only now begining to think of my health and well being … I am only now thinking of places I want to see and things I want to do before I ‘kick the bucket’ … I am in a precarious financial position and I am trying to do something about it …. why am I only doing this now?… because I was brought up by parents who looked down on anyone who put these things ahead of their ‘relationship with Jehovah’…. and was told when young and obtained a place at Uni… ‘if you can do that you can pioneer’… I admit I frequently put my critical thinking ability on a back burner … sometimes I didnt feel strong enough for the fight… sometimes I just threw myself into the ministry and the association of my ‘friends’…. most of whom have left me now… I always used to think…’in the new system’…. now in not amazing health and with a body that needs a radical overhaul I find myself free of mind… and I think I should say…’FREE OF MIND!’…. It is wonderful…and I thank this site…contributors like ruthlee and covert fade…and ones long left like excelsior… you have helped me to stop putting things off and for whatever time I hsve left on this earth I will live and be the authentic me!

      • February 22, 2016 at 6:14 am
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        Why is this comment still awaiting moderation after 2 days?…there is nothing in it that breaks the rules.

        • February 23, 2016 at 11:24 am
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          It may be the capitals…. we had a guy on here who posted in capitals for his own reasons. I think it just sends a red flag up. Nothing to do with the post.

      • February 23, 2016 at 1:20 pm
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        @idontknowhatodo
        Good for you on starting your University degree! It’s never too late to improve your life. True, it may have been easier if started when you were younger, but that’s the past. This is the present and you are building a better future. The key thing I find in recovering from the negative impact of this cult is: Don’t dwell on the past. Additionally, you will be bringing your life’s perspectives into your degree program which will give you a flavor for your your coursework that younger students will not have.

        With all these positive steps, you may have to change your screen name to idoknowhatodo.

        WS

  • February 19, 2016 at 10:43 am
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    This is not a subject we think about much probably, but its so true that many witnesses put their life on hold and do the Watchtower’s will in life rather than their own.

  • February 19, 2016 at 10:45 am
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    Thank you PB, this is relevant for all of us. We only have this moment. No dress rehearsals.

  • February 19, 2016 at 11:15 am
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    great article. So many witnesses put their lives on hold & do not realise their full potential . Why? Because 7 men keep telling them time & again Armageddon is just round the corner.

  • February 19, 2016 at 11:56 am
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    The Watchtower religion makes a person feel like they have been sticking nickels in a slot machine and if you just stick with it long enough, it will pay off. After a person has stuck thousands of dollars into that slot machine, it is very difficult to pick yourself up and get away from the slot machine. All the scriptures that we learned and made us anxious and fearful like “just as in the days of Noah, sudden destruction came upon them” is hard to shake off.

    It took me a long time to lose that fear of thinking “what if they (the Society) is right? Now when I hear people say something like “in the new world I will have time to do this or that” I can only pity them.

    When people in the “truth” do make a career for themselves, they don’t apologize for it and they live in very nice homes and drive nice cars and more than not, they will be the ones appointed as elders and pioneers while the rest of us live from pay check to pay check and struggle because we didn’t make a career for ourselves because we were shamed into not going to college. It’s hard living poor while others who came into the “truth” after they went to college are all around you and living the good life right now.

    The Society preaches that we are all equal and nobody is haughty because they might have a higher education than somebody else but even though those people might not think of themselves as haughty because of their education, we still can’t help but feel short-changed when we go into their homes and see the cars they drive and we don’t have those things. Those people are not waiting for the new world. They are living the good life now and they can play instruments and they can go on vacations and the rest of us have to wait for the new world to enjoy the good life.

    • February 19, 2016 at 1:36 pm
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      That´s exactly it!

    • February 19, 2016 at 4:25 pm
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      thanks for interesting slot machine analogy Caroline, huge amount of resources / sacrifices well-intentioned person invests in this life-style can really make the leaving process mentally way way harder….

      on the other hand, when you adress people in the congregation who are living good life here and now (because of their career choices), you mention things like their nice cars and housing, and IMHO it is questionable if those deserve so many regrets about not having them…..

      Could we agree that the anti-education policies are more harmful because they prevent people from working in fields where they could use their skills in much more useful way?

      I know many intelligent and goodhearted sisters and brothers that would make great physicians, teachers, lawyers, journalists if they were not strongly discouraged from this way of serving mankind, unfortunately deciding for way less stimulating jobs with very low potential for personal development?

      I live in one of the European countries with the lowest standard of living but I realize it is one of the wealthiest countries from a world perspective and I think that majority of the world population would be happier and better off if they could have an education that would enable them to do for a living sth what they could really enjoy, what would speak to their inner self, that would challeng them, sth that they could be passionate about….rather than to have a career that would afford them fancy cars and a houses…

      I still dream, even though i am almost 30 now, about going to a medical university… I might be the oldest in the class, but hey, still not that tragical, being a cult survivor :)

      • February 19, 2016 at 6:13 pm
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        @ Palo. You should do it Palo. You are still young and have time. I became a JW around 20 years old and wanted to do something with my life. I held back bc of not wanting to be a bad JW. I took a job that was labor and nothing against labor. I was in a union that paid decent wages but it was a very Boring Job and di not stimulate my mind. When I was about 38-40 I made a change. I studied and got license for my own business and did very well. It is stimulating work and I enjoy it.

        I am getting cloe to a retirement age and could have retired 10 years ago but Like what I do and I make great money now. The Jw’s like to Gossip about me saying I became Materialistic. Which I did not yet Many have come to me for a loan many times and I do help many out. Some do not pay back even though they promise to.

        My Pioneer wife is so Materialistic and spends money like crazy on nothing. I even caught her after she sent the WT Society $40k for a “LOAN”She ever asked me if it was OK to do that. I was furious and demanded it back from them. They did send it back after 90 days. We are no longer living together after many years . She is from a wealthy European country also and I am an American. We both grew up poor but she cannot stop spending and tries to make JW’s think she is making a sacrifice to pioneer? it is a joke. Do not give up Palo. Go for it. You are young still.
        If you do not 10 years from now you will be sitting around wishing you had done it.
        Do you still attend meetings and are Active JW?

          • February 22, 2016 at 12:24 pm
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            @BABY

            Why should we believe that the WT’s teaching about living forever on a Paradise Earth is correct?

          • February 22, 2016 at 12:57 pm
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            BABY –
            So the Memorial is THE most important date of the year.
            The Governing Body are THE ONLY TRUE CHANNEL on earth?
            They are surely going to celebrate on the correct day aren’t they? March 23rd 2016 Right?
            Oh my God, there is one hell of a bombshell about to drop on this one!!
            WATCH THIS SPACE!!

          • February 22, 2016 at 2:10 pm
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            Baby, I remember maybe 30 years ago or more, I had gone in service on the day of the Memorial and we were handing out invites to the Memorial that night and shock of shocks, a man that I had given an invitation to the Memorial showed up that night and sat through the whole thing.

            I thought it was done really well and made sense to anybody who would come, even strangers but at the end, the man was shocked that nobody partook. He must have thought we were a bunch of Satanists, not true Christians and this probably the reason why: We probably were and this is why:

            Satanists don’t partake of the emblems either. They pass the bread and wine but they don’t partake because they are showing how much they don’t respect the death of Jesus Christ.

            If you take the Scriptures for what they really say and you were actually remembering Jesus’ death and respecting it, you would partake because at Matthew 26:26-28 the Bible says: “As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf and after saying a blessing, he broke it and giving it to the disciples, he said: “Take, eat. This means my body.” Also, he took a cup and having given thanks he gave it to them, saying: “Drink out of it, all of you, for this means my blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.”

            So, Jesus had passed the cup and the bread and he said that his blood for to be poured out in behalf of “many” for forgiveness of sin. When he said “many”, he was talking about other people, other than just the twelve at the table who were supposedly the only ones in a covenant relationship with Jesus.

            There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that only the apostles were the only ones that Jesus’ blood applied to for forgiveness of sins.

            When you read all the scriptures that the Society wants you to read before the Memorial, can you make sense of all the contradictions in the four accounts when it comes to the last days and resurrection as found in the Bible? I remember doing all the Bible reading for the Memorial one year and all it did was confuse me.

          • February 22, 2016 at 4:14 pm
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            Whats going on BP?

          • February 23, 2016 at 4:32 am
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            TARA – ‘What’s going on BP’ –
            I’m still doing research on this one, but it appears that the Society have been, and continue to celebrate the Memorial of Christ’s death on the evening of Nisan 14, which after sundown becomes the 15th. The actual day Jesus celebrated with his disciples was the evening before, i.e. the end of Nisan 13, after sundown which started the 14th. He was arrested that same evening and put to death at 3pm (still the 14th). By sundown, (the evening JWs perform their ritual, which is now Nisan 15th) he was already in the tomb.
            Too many scriptural references and detailed research to write here.
            LLOYD – I really need to do an article on this. Any chance??

          • February 23, 2016 at 11:10 am
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            BABY,

            What are your answers to the following questions raised by
            ex-GB member Raymond Franz in his book CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE, 4th edition, pg. 330?

            ‘What plain statement in scripture could anyone, Governing Body member or anyone else, point to and say: “Here the Bible clearly says”:

            – That Christ’s words in connection with the emblematic bread and wine, “Do this in remembrance of me”, do not apply to all persons putting faith in his ransom sacrifice? What scripture makes such statement?

            – That Christians are separated into two classes, with a different relationship to God and Christ, on the basis of an earthly or a heavenly destiny? Where is this said? ‘

          • February 23, 2016 at 12:19 pm
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            BABY,

            Should the JWs even be commemorating the memorial of Christ’s death?

            1Corinthians 11:25-26:
            “In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death UNTIL HE COMES.”

            The JWs teach that Jesus Christ has already come – in 1914 Jesus began active rulership toward all the world, his kingdom officially taking power; in 1914 Jesus became “present”, invisible to human eyes, but now beginning a judgement period for all his professed followers and for the world.
            So the JWs should have ceased commemorating the memorial of Christ’s death since according to their theology, Jesus has already come.

            http://mmoutreachinc.com/jehovahs_witnesses/1914.html

          • February 23, 2016 at 12:29 pm
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            @Bad Penny,

            Something else to consider when doing your research:

            There is in fact a difference in the chronology of Jesus’ death among the four gospels:
            According to John’s gospel, Jesus was immediately taken off to be crucified on the afternoon of the Day of Preparation for the Passover (John 19:14).
            However, according to Mark’s Gospel, Jesus wasn’t even arrested until later that night and was placed on the cross at 9:00 the next morning, the day of Passover (Mark 15:25).

            So John claims that Jesus was executed the afternoon when the Passover lambs were sacrificed in the temple (Day of Preparation), but Mark claims that he was executed the following morning, after the lambs had been eaten (Day of Passover).

            People have tried to reconcile this difference but have not been able to do so. Bart Ehrman in his book: “Jesus Apocalyptic Prophet of The New Millennium”, pg. 32 – 36, makes the point that though the difference can’t be reconciled, it can be explained:
            http://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/pdf/1999_ehrman_jesus-apocalyptic-prophet.pdf

      • February 20, 2016 at 2:55 am
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        Palo – I fell into that trap of not pursuing further education as a result of the Org’s stance on it when I was younger and it held me back in more ways than I care to dwell on it. In the end it was I that suffered. It was I that had no sense of purpose. It was I that wasted years by living aimlessly. Eventually I decided that I was going to follow my own path and couldn’t care less what anyone else thought. So, while I was still young enough to make a go of it, I studied further and improved my lot in life. My only regret is that I did not do it sooner. Palo, you need to do what is right for you and your circumstances and don’t let anyone come in the way of your plans and what you want to achieve in life. Best wishes with whatever you decide.

      • February 20, 2016 at 6:06 am
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        Palo,
        Don’t give up on your dream. I attended and graduated from a university later in life. Was the best decision I ever made.

        WS

      • February 27, 2016 at 9:00 pm
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        Are you Slovak Palo ?

    • February 20, 2016 at 8:53 am
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      I like your analogy of the slot machine. That is EXACTLY what it is like. You keep putting your money in and pressing the button… or is that pulling a handle? I don’t know, we were always taught gambling was bad. Maybe I’ll go play the slots. More chance of beating the house than the new system arriving tomorrow.

      One of our elders was/is/will probably keep on, complaining about not ‘owning’ his own home. The ‘end’ was just around the corner so why own.. we will rent and have a big beautiful house in the new system… now he and his wife have nothing to show for their money… he is resentful but still keeps putting his money into the slot machine.

      I think many are deep down resentful that they didn’t take that leap of faith and get a Uni. education but opted for the more rank and file jobs. After all you won’t need a certificate on the wall in paradise…. Now with many reaching retirement and nothing in the bank but a state pension times are looking hard but still the money goes in the slot machine.

      I can’t say anything really. I did go into further education and had a great job with prospects but when I moved country my qualifications didn’t follow…. I fell into a trap of putting money in the slot machine and now I face a bleak future financially and alone. I guess I will save up the pennies I no longer put in the slot machine and hope there is enough to supplement state pension. Thank you GB for nothing.

      • February 20, 2016 at 4:22 pm
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        Sadly most JWs sacrifice the present banking on a future that will never come. How many missed opportunities because they were told that by such and such date, or before a certain generation dies off, or before the end of the century. I have heard so many JWs say “it can’t be more than 5 years off.” I have heard that since I was a child and now I’m in my forties. Sometimes opportunity does knock only once – when it does we need to grab a good hold and make the best of it instead of waiting around for false promises made by self appointed prophets.

        WS

  • February 19, 2016 at 12:14 pm
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    PB You are hella funny dude LMFAO. But I really understand your article I am literally at a point in my life where I only once in a blue moon check ex JW sites because I really do not care anymore I am not even angry anymore ( I was really pissed at the beginning and I understand all the emotions people go through ). But honestly I hope this reaches those people who have recently left or been kicked out that they should live life to the fullest there is so much to see and do and places to visit and people to meet and we should enjoy all the free time we have. I see JW’s who are out in service and remember all the time i was dedicating to this religion and I am so glad that at my early mid twenties I have left and enjoying life and pity witnesses who are so convinced that the end is near and that they must dedicate their lives and time to the religion so that they can enjoy life in the paradise that will never come. Alot live in poverty because they decide to regular pioneer and only work part time and can hardly afford a car or a hotel room for when they go to a convention. I think that the later in life people leave the more hurt they feel because they realize they have wasted the better years of their lives serving this religion. Actually current jws my age and younger are really JW’s in name only I still talk to many of them and they go to college and smoke weed and party and etc and yet still go to field service and etc. it’s kinda funny actually. Neways great article.

    CM

  • February 19, 2016 at 12:40 pm
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    When I grow up, I want to be a writer just like you!

    For me, there is no higher compliment on your writing ability to pay you than this.

  • February 19, 2016 at 1:27 pm
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    Don’t forget how they talk about getting a brand new house in Paradise, while at the same time they annually publish info about donating your actual house to the organization (along with whatever else they’d have you part with).

  • February 19, 2016 at 1:32 pm
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    Well, I think that not having a hope for a better life on a paradise earth can be extremely crushing for somebody who has hoped for this all their life! One must remember that more than 80% of earth´s population is living under extreme poverty and simply cannot MAKE this life a paradise for him/herself. What about all those who are very ill or disabled or blind or deaf. How can THEY “travel and see the world” as it were NOW??? How can THEY experience anything else but pain and suffering in this life? I think what most people truely forget is that not everybody on this planet is fortunate enough to even be born in a developed country where there is education for all, let alone sanitary facilities! I do think that putting one´s life on hold for something that “might” come true in the future is wrong. But I think it is quite sad if there is really no hope for the majority of the suffering and dirt poor people and also for the suffering and endangered animals. I can definitely see why so many cling to this hope that they read into the Bible. It is because the quality of life right now is very very bad for most people. And if you work a full time job, there is just not enough time to do anything. And a 2 week vacation out of a year just doesn´t cut it in my opinion! I am still very new to being awake myself and I still have lots of questions. My sister for example is a devout JW and she and our mom are probably one of THE most negative people I have ever dealt with when it comes to THIS system. I think that is wrong as well. They really put their life on hold in many ways (i.e. trying to loose weight but hope for a miracle to be made slim in the new world instantly). My sister constantly says:”Yeah, in this shitty world that we live in…” Everything is very negative to her ever since they learned the “truth” and she and our mom constantly await Armageddon to come very very soon.

    • February 20, 2016 at 6:16 am
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      @Lydia
      There is certainly nothing wrong with hoping for a better future. To your point, many do not have the opportunity to pursue a better life. Does that not make such opportunities much more precious that they should squandered because of the ideals of a cult? So many could be working not only to better themselves, but to make the world a better place for others. Sadly though they put it on hold for a promise that has gone unfulfilled for almost 150 years.

      WS

      • February 24, 2016 at 7:33 am
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        Yes, I understand your point very well! Probably almost 8 million people are doing nothing worth while! That´s too bad! But when you would argue like a Witness about the 150 years delay or however long, they would just quote the Bible that people will mock and say: “where is this End of yours??? Just like in Noah´s day, etc., etc., etc.”

        • February 24, 2016 at 8:20 am
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          Yes, I am aware of their arguments. But my counter argument is Deuteronomy 18:20-22 “But the prophet who dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’ You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

          1874, 1878, 1881, 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1945, 1950, 1975, “this generation,” “before the end of the twentieth century”

          So many failed predictions show they have not spoken in the Lord’s name but rather according to their own faulty nature (compare John 8:44).

          WS

          • February 24, 2016 at 9:12 am
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            So many Witnesses are “craving” the day of Jehovah because they are longing for the “new system” of things but actually the Bible says “woe to those who are craving the day of Jehovah” (Amos 5:18-20) because it says will be darkness and no light and gloom.

            Every time a Witness talks about how bad things are or about sicknesses, etc. they will always say “we need the new system” but do they ever think about all the stuff that is supposed to happen first?

            The newest video the Society has about remembering Jesus at the Memorial has all those people young and in good health and perfect weather and good food etc. but they never think to put into those videos all the blood, guts and gore to get rid of all the people who don’t want to worship Jehovah at Armageddon. They make people dream only good dreams and never the nightmare of Armageddon which would be darkness and gloom and dead bodies laying around all over the place.

            It’s all about making people not think about reality but fantasies to escape the real world around them.

            If you are on your death bed, then maybe it’s a good time to think about waking up in the “new world” but if not on your death bed, it’s so much better to live in the real world and not live in a fantasy world of make-believe and not to put your “real” life on hold but to live it to the fullest and accomplish something with that precious once in a life time life.

  • February 19, 2016 at 2:18 pm
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    I hope people stop wasting the small amount of time we have on this earth and do whatever it is they want. Stop wasting time shunning family stop wasting time in a cult you know isn’t true but keep hanging on for family or friends who don’t actually care about you. Go live your life without apologizing to others. It’s your life things can be hard at the start but you know that the jw are full of it so stop wasting time. People say it’s not that easy and your right it’s not but guess what that’s how it goes. Nothing worth doing usually is easy. I’ve been out for 3 years now I’m 24 I wasn’t a great witness when I was younger but I genuinely tried to do my best at the time of my disfellowshipping. I was kicked out on my butt and tried to come back missing only 4 meetings in 9 months but that still wasn’t good enough for them. So I said you know what I’m just going to follow my heart and not something I never truly believed and guess what life has never been better. Sure I lost some people but at the same time they are choosing to loose me in their lives. I thought we were close friends and family but it shows their true colours and how fake and plastic they really are. Trust me you’ll make new friends better friends people who won’t shun you because some old fart said so. So stop being scared of being yourself do what makes you happy and always follow your heart and you will never go wrong.

    • February 20, 2016 at 6:22 am
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      Good for you Riley!
      You made the right choice in refusing to be controlled by this cult. No need to look back. It sounds like you have a good outlook and a satisfying life. All the best to you.

      WS

  • February 19, 2016 at 2:33 pm
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    It is possible to live forever on a paradise earth?

    1. Would a paradise earth be ecologically sustainable?
    According to WT theology, all of the dead are to be resurrected on earth – can the earth accommodate the resurrected persons plus the JW Armageddon survivors?

    How Many People Have Ever Lived On Earth? 108 billion as at mid-2011 according to Population Reference Bureau estimates:
    http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2002/HowManyPeopleHaveEverLivedonEarth.aspx

    The earth’s land area is: 148 326 000 square km (57 268 900 square miles)

    Based on these figures, the earth’s population density would be 728 persons per square km (1886 persons per square mile).

    How does this compare to the current situation in China?
    According to
    http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/china-population/

    The current population of China is 1,380,045,159 as of Friday, February 19, 2016, based on the latest United Nations estimates.

    The total land area of China is 9,390,784 square km (3,625,800 square miles).

    Based on these figures, the current population density of China is 147 persons per square km (381 persons per square miles).

    So the population density of a paradise earth would be about 5 times that of China. Would this be ecologically sustainable?

  • February 19, 2016 at 2:35 pm
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    It is possible to live forever on a paradise earth? cont’d:

    2. Will the earth last forever?
    It is a scientific fact that the sun being a star, will eventually die like all stars do. As the sun goes through its death throes it will either consume the earth or simply render life on earth impossible:
    http://www.space.com/14364-earth-consumed-red-giant-star-5b-years.html
     
    The sun cannot go on burning forever as it has a finite source of hydrogen fuel which will eventually be exhausted as the hydrogen is consumed by the nuclear fusion process that converts it into helium and light energy – the light energy is needed to sustain life on earth. 

    3. Was man created immortal or is mortality the natural order of life on earth?

    Adam and Eve were never created immortal – whether or not they sinned, they would need to eat from the tree of life in order to live forever hence God’s banning them from the Garden of Eden after they sinned in order to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and living forever as Genesis 3:22 explains.

    Animals and vegetation did not inherit sin, yet all living animals and vegetation die as the natural order of life.

    Mortality is the natural order of life on earth (given that the earth’s capacity is finite):
    Ecclesiastes 3:19:
    “For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.”

    1Peter 1:24:
    “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away.”

    Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2:
    “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die…..”

    • February 20, 2016 at 6:27 am
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      Good points dee2. It has always struck me that everything thing on this planet has a finite life cycle. Plants, fish, birds, bacteria, etc. They all begin life, grow and reproduce and eventually die. Nothing is eternal.

      WS

    • February 20, 2016 at 6:31 am
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      I have never had a chance to research this myself, but a JW elder once told me that there was no word in Hebrew that meant forever. What is translated forever literally means to time indefinite.

      WS

    • February 21, 2016 at 9:38 am
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      ******Adam and Eve were never created immortal – why would there be a need for a Tree of Life if Adam and Eve were created immortal? What purpose would the Tree of Life serve if Adam and Eve were created immortal?

  • February 19, 2016 at 2:37 pm
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    “Personally, I know more than a few who have figured out where they will live…”

    According to August 2015 Watchtower, they no longer have that option. JWs will be told where to live and what work they will be doing:

    “Today, of course, we do not know where each one of us may be assigned to live in the new system of things. However, cooperation will bring us contentment and great happiness as we do Jehovah’s will wherever we live on earth at that time.

    “But what if we were directed to perform a particular aspect of the work that did not appeal to us? Would we submit to that direction by doing our best to carry out and even enjoy our assignment?”

    • February 19, 2016 at 3:41 pm
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      @Fading Truth. That August 2015 Watchtower made me really think too especially the wording ‘ we do not know where we will be assigned to live in the New System & ‘ we might be assigned work we might not like’ .. What like digging graves for billions of dead mutilated bodies of babies,children,women etc?? Or I won’t be allowed to live in my luxury home by the sea playing with the Dolphins but I may have to live in an apartment with 5 other brothers while we spend the next 100 years clearing away rubble of all the demolished buildings caused by Armageddon . Wow !! Realism has hit me between the eyeballs . Perhaps I will enjoy myself now?

    • February 20, 2016 at 12:55 am
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      Hmm, so now the “freedom” of Paradise–each one under his fig tree and eating from his own vine–is gone?

      Commie b*st*rds..

      Interesting the assumption that a massive organization will continue to be required once everyone has “atoned” and been reconciled to God. But, what should really widen eyes is how this “utopia” has no real definition except the artist representations in literature–now gone, except for the website .pdf’s stock photos. Speculations of humans as weaners roasting on a spit–wait, I thought the Lord Jehovah was not one for punishment by fire? Hmmm…

      Conflicting info and contradicting views plus the self-absorbed leadership are a warning to stay away from this festering pot of unconditional obedience = death.

    • February 20, 2016 at 9:02 am
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      OMG I never thought about that! Wow. Talk about being smacked in the face with a wet cod fish! Now they have control over where we live! screw them.

    • February 24, 2016 at 1:33 pm
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      Yep, Watchtowers paradise earth is no different than the current status of JW life. A not so subtle way of telling the JWs that if they want to live in that earth they have to keep their current pattern of life because, really, life won’t be much different.

      Thats one hell of a boring mundane future. No thanks.

    • February 19, 2016 at 4:15 pm
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      Yes, this was a real eye-opener for me 2 nights ago!

    • February 19, 2016 at 11:13 pm
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      @Bright Lightbulb

      The video is in fact pertinent to the article:
      It shows just why we can’t have confidence in any of the WT’s doctrines including the doctrine about the Paradise earth. The WT’s track record of doctrinal changes and flip-flops despite their claim to be God’s only spokesperson on earth, certainly brings the credibility of all of the WT’s doctrines, including the Paradise earth doctrine, into question.

      Not only is the credibility of WT doctrine questionable because of the WT’s track record of doctrinal changes and flip-flops; the WT’s doctrinal credibility is also questionable for another reason:
      As aptly stated by ex-GB member Raymond Franz in his book CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE, pg. 330, the teachings which the JWs claim make them unique, their “Confession of Faith” so to speak, are not supported by simple, clear-cut, plain, direct statements in the Bible; there is just no plain statement in the Bible which a GB member or anyone else could point to and say “Here the Bible clearly says……..”

      Every single one of the JW’s “Confession of Faith” require intricate explanations, complex combinations of Bible texts and, in some cases, what amounts to mental gymnastics, in an attempt to support them.

      The WT’s:
      – track record of doctrinal changes and flip-flops, and
      – the convolution of their unique doctrines
      certainly bring the credibility of all of the WT’s doctrines, including the Paradise earth doctrine, into question.

    • February 20, 2016 at 5:04 am
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      This was the one! the one I had been waiting for. Thanks bright light bulb. Having trawled all the utube sites I could find when I heard this bro I actually thanked GOD because he is so lucid reasonable and logical. I have never heard an exjw reason as this man did he seemed to come to his natural conclusion with the phony org without pain, malice or an axe to grind. My axe is still on the wheel being sharpened! I needed to hear this voice of reason so thanks for posting this most valuable testimony. Note to author what a superb piece of writing, I think you summed up all of what we have concluded and we seem to be on the same page but with differing beliefs and I think get along pretty well (despite the odd troll raising it’s ugly head on occasion).I have just finished Crisis of Conscience I ran the whole gamut of emotion that we all have to face and do so at our own pace on this journey. What staggered me about Ray Franz’s thoughts is that I came to pretty much the same conclusions about doctrine as he did before I read the book. Same line of thought. Also I felt genuine offence at how he was treated so shameful ,wicked even. Sorry if ive gone off topic but I think the carrot analogy is so true the donkeys only see what is in front of them and occasionally have a kicking to keep them in line but eternal life on earth is abou tas promising as a carrot. ruthlee

    • February 20, 2016 at 9:29 am
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      Brilliant. Well done JT. ‘Human opinions elevated to divine status’. The opinion of the writing dept.

    • February 22, 2016 at 6:08 am
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      Thank you Bright Lightbulb and JT. This video gives me some talking points for my sleeping spouse. Thank you so much. I’m trying to be thankful for the little changes I see in him, like not caring about rated R movies, and going out with co-workers. He even asked if maybe all congregations have servant bodies as lame as the two he has come to know well. He has seen ours go downhill, and wants to change halls. However, he wonders if it will be better. I shrugged. Sometimes I’m just speechless.

      Sorry for the digression.

      Thank you PB for your excellent writing.

  • February 19, 2016 at 3:15 pm
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    was awakened about 3 months ago and was shocked when learning the truth about a Paradise, I was raised as a JW and now I’m 42 years old. It did take a few weeks to digest it, because it was all I knew. A few meetings before I stopped going, we had studied a Watchtower that spoke about visualizing yourself in Paradise and commenting on what you’ll be doing there. It’s true we can do it all NOW and not wait. I also felt angry because I had wasted many years of my youth serving in another country and left a well-paid job to be a pioneer and live poorly. 23 years later I’m still struggling to pay my bills because of this and my parents not permitting us to go to College. Most of the jobs that I apply to require a Degree and I have to explain why I don’t have a Degree. Which is kind of embarrassing. So I have to lie. Because of this I always have to accept to work for a company that doesn’t require a degree, which means less pay and less opportunities. I know it’s not too late to go to College now but I hate school anyways lol and would of gone for art or design instead of sitting in an office.

    This article made me think about a brother from the congregation I was attending. He had bought a 2 family house. He invited us over, and I can’t ever forget how guilty he felt for buying this house. Trying to let us know he has good intentions when buying this house and it wasn’t for materialistic reasons. Explaining that it’s a good investment because in 2 years he has plans to leave his job and focus more on preaching and with the money from the renter he can accomplish this.

    I thought back then that he’s not doing anything wrong. Why is buying a home a crime?? I noticed that JWs that are well off and live their life a little feel guilty for doing so. Sad how the Watchtower has strongly influenced this thinking.

  • February 19, 2016 at 4:23 pm
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    Great stuff, i don’t have enuf smarts to do what you do, so i fantasize that i am writing these articles and helping people and that is what you are doing so on behalf of all of us who can’t write profound meaningful articles such as this keep it up… I am out of the watchtower ‘rut’ having realised the only difference between a rut and a grave, is the dimensions…

  • February 19, 2016 at 4:55 pm
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    And don’t forget how unsympathising that thought process is (waiting for paradise) for those that have suffered from child abuse, rape or other traumatic experiences have occurred & you’re told to just bottle up your pain for the new system & nothing gets done about it in the here & now.

    You’re feelings get trampled on over & over because everyone is making excuses, then you feel like you’ve been tossed into the too hard basket because you lack faith in the new system.

    I believe that this has been part of the core issues that seemed to have presented itself with ARC, nothing getting done & victims left to just get over it.

  • February 19, 2016 at 6:00 pm
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    PB I like your picture. Makes me laugh in a good way. My fully indoctrinated sister believes we will live on this earth forever and be like Adam and Eve. I said to her, “that’s impossible, the weather wouldn’t allow us to be naked at night.” Then she said, “oh, noone really knows how it’s all going to be in the new system, we have to put our trust in Jehovah and wait and see. It’s up to him. Whatever he wants will be fine” I feel her answer is a brush off. Her daughter-in-law who was born in the truth went to college and became a school teacher without falling out of the truth. Now she teaches English at a school in Chindu, China and our neaphew is an elder in Chindu, China. They’ve visited Taiwan. One time, while they visited here my sister told her daughter-in-law she is a bad example for others in the truth because she went to college. Oh brother !!!

    • February 19, 2016 at 11:17 pm
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      @Alexandria R

      The following article may be of interest: it looks at the Bible’s description of the original paradisaical conditions in the Garden of Eden (e.g. Adam & Eve running around naked) and discusses whether or not it was possible for those original conditions to actually exist:
      http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/faqs/paradise-earth/

  • February 19, 2016 at 10:19 pm
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    Can you imagine anything closer to a real Hell than living forever and ever with no chance out, under the thumb of overseers who tell you what to do, where to live, and what your ‘job’ will be for the next billion years? Where instead of having eternity to live in freedom and joy and expansiveness, you are still being watched and judged and measured. I would definitely jump off the nearest cliff I could find.

    • February 20, 2016 at 12:59 am
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      @Cobb – ahem, cliff you’re assigned from which to jump…

    • February 25, 2016 at 7:26 am
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      We always used to say, ‘You know when it all dies down and the dust of Armageddon has settled, it will be just our luck to be given a piece of land with ‘Bro. and Sis. Righteous’ to our left and ‘Bro. and Sis. Cutting-Remark’ to our right! Hell, get me out of there! Thank goodness we’re out!

  • February 20, 2016 at 2:47 am
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    Your comments about JWs concept of the afterlife and what they think they have to do seems pretty accurate, but your comments about how Catholics and mainstream Protestants see afterlife and salvation are not at all accurate.

    • February 21, 2016 at 12:26 pm
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      @Sharon
      Can you elaborate on the accepted views that Catholics and mainstream Protestants have on the afterlife? I don’t know about the author’s background, but for me, being raised a JW, I have no other point of reference than that which was presented through the Watchtower coloring of the issue. While l am sure it is the warped, I have no other point of reference. So can you elaborate?

      WS

      • February 21, 2016 at 1:19 pm
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        I was brought up Protestant and was told that when you die you go to heaven…. that was it. Hellfire was a Catholic doctrine. I asked what happens in heaven and was told not to worry about it.

  • February 20, 2016 at 7:51 am
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    For those who have a breath of critical reasoning, and perhaps a timely article.

    Exoplanet Census Suggests Earth Is Special after All
    A new tally proposes that roughly 700 quintillion terrestrial exoplanets are likely to exist across the observable universe—most vastly different from Earth

    More than 400 years ago Renaissance scientist Nicolaus Copernicus reduced us to near nothingness by showing that our planet is not the center of the solar system. With every subsequent scientific revolution, most other privileged positions in the universe humans might have held dear have been further degraded, revealing the cold truth that our species is the smallest of specks on a speck of a planet, cosmologically speaking. A new calculation of exoplanets suggests that Earth is just one out of a likely 700 million trillion terrestrial planets in the entire observable universe. But the average age of these planets—well above Earth’s age—and their typical locations—in galaxies vastly unlike the Milky Way—just might turn the Copernican principle on its head.

    Astronomer Erik Zackrisson from Uppsala University and his colleagues created a cosmic compendium of all the terrestrial exoplanets likely to exist throughout the observable universe, based on the rocky worlds astronomers have found so far. In a powerful computer simulation, they first created their own mini universe containing models of the earliest galaxies. Then they unleashed the laws of physics—as close as scientists understand them—that describe how galaxies grow, how stars evolve and how planets come to be. Finally, they fast-forwarded through 13.8 billion years of cosmic history. Their results, published to the preprint server arXiv (pdf) and submitted to The Astrophysical Journal, provide a tantalizing trove of probable exoplanet statistics that helps astronomers understand our place in the universe. “It’s kind of mind-boggling that we’re actually at a point where we can begin to do this,” says co-author Andrew Benson from the Carnegie Observatories in California. Until recently, he says, so few exoplanets were known that reasonable extrapolations to the rest of the universe were impossible. Still, his team’s findings are a preliminary guess at what the cosmos might hold. “It’s certainly the case that there are a lot of uncertainties in a calculation like this. Our knowledge of all of these pieces is imperfect,” he adds.

    Take exoplanets as an example. NASA’s Kepler space telescope is arguably one of the world’s best planet hunters, but it uses a method so challenging that it is often compared with looking across thousands of kilometers to see a firefly buzzing around a brilliant searchlight. Because the telescope looks for subtle dimming in a star’s light from planets crossing in front of it, Kepler has an easier time spotting massive planets orbiting close to their stars. Thus, the catalogue of planets Kepler has found lean heavily toward these types, and smaller, farther-out planets are underrepresented, leaving our knowledge of planetary systems incomplete. Astronomers do use other techniques to search for smaller planets orbiting at farther distances, but these methods are still relatively new and have not yet found nearly as many worlds as Kepler. In addition, “everything we know about exoplanets is from a very small patch in our galaxy,” Zackrisson says, within which most stars are pretty similar to one another in terms of how many heavy elements they contain and other characteristics. The team had to extrapolate in order to guess how planets might form around stars with fewer heavy elements, such as those found in small galaxies or the early universe.

    The scientists also have similar concerns about the galactic and cosmological inputs of their model but nonetheless they suspect that their final numbers are accurate to within an order of magnitude. With the estimated errors taken into account, the researchers conclude that Earth stands as a mild violation of the Copernican principle. Our pale blue dot might just be special after all. “It’s not too much of a fluke that we could arise in a galaxy like the Milky Way, but nevertheless, it’s just enough to make you think twice about it,” says Jay Olson from Boise State University, who was not involved in the study. Both he and Zackrisson think the Copernican principle could be saved by some unknown caveat to the findings. “Whenever you find something that sticks out…” Zackrisson says, “…that means that either we are the result of a very improbable lottery draw or we don’t understand how the lottery works.”

    But Max Tegmark from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who also was not part of the research, thinks Earth is a colossal violation of the Copernican principle—not because of its location but because of its young age. “If you have these civilizations that had a 3.5-billion-year head start on us, why haven’t they colonized our galaxy?” asks Tegmark. “To me, the most likely explanation is that if the planets are a dime a dozen, then highly intelligent life evolves only rarely.” So should we feel insignificant? Should we be reduced to near nothingness? Not at all, he says. “It might be that one day in the distant future much of our universe will be teeming with life because of what we did here.”

    credit to By Shannon Hall on February 19, 2016
    xttp://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exoplanet-census-suggests-earth-is-special-after-all/

    IMHO

    dogstar

    • February 20, 2016 at 10:25 am
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      @SIRIUS

      Interesting article. What in your opinion are the implications of these scientists’ findings that the earth may be special/unique as it seems to be the only planet in the universe with the conditions for life to exist?

  • February 20, 2016 at 11:52 am
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    @dee2

    >>>What in your opinion are the implications of these scientists’ findings that the earth may be special/unique as it seems to be the only planet in the universe with the conditions for life to exist?

    I can easily see the WT jumping all over this as one of those “I told you so”! meaning we are unique and alone!

    Better is a perspective and comparison. The study is about 1 square inch of sandy beach on this entire planet. We don’t even have the means yet to detect earth like planets beyond what our technology currently allows. Still, it’s not conclusively saying there are NO other earth-like planets out there. As far as an opinion I’m siding on the affirmative.

    IMHO

    dogstar

  • February 20, 2016 at 5:49 pm
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    The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is nothing more than a time-bandit. That is the real crime here. They make you feel guilty for spending time and monies wanting to improve yourself especially when you should be serving them pro-gratis.

    My deceased mother did not and my uncle, now in a nursing home, does not get visitors from the Kingdom Hall after being baptized for over 60 years. Why? Because they are the living proof that Armageddon is not “just around the corner”. The friends cannot face the reality of their own mortality. Pitiful, isn’t it. P.T. Barnum was credited as saying, “there’s a sucker born every minute”. Truer words were never spoken.

  • February 20, 2016 at 8:52 pm
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    Nice article. I recall a brother who took the WT advice of making your paradise hope by talking about it in daily conversation. It is so odd when he talk about paradise when it is so irrelevant to the conversation. It make him look weird instead of sounding spiritual.

  • February 21, 2016 at 1:43 pm
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    Sigh, wow is the the JW world heavy or what?!
    Don’t bring me down ELO . . . ELO!, it must mean something!

  • February 21, 2016 at 5:47 pm
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    They say “hope Springs eternal “, almost everyone has hopes, from winning the lotto, to curing cancer. But, what makes jw land somewhat unique is that both consciencely and unconsciously there is resistant to real and present solutions.
    Case in point, almost ever talk, and ever door to door presentation, starts with how bad thinks are and only getting worse. When you converse with fellow jws it’s, how bad things are, never been worse..if you talk about how certain things are improving, we’ll, brother your faith is waning…we’re addict to bad news,
    And frankly, the Awake does not offer practical solutions ,,,,oh, here, maybe you could sell firewood or lease out a room in your house….like that’s a huge help…problems is what grows this organization ….real solutions to problems, threaten it….that’s why, there’s a constant plea to quit your job, pioneer, sell your house, move away, in a other words, if your stable and happy, change..cut the lifeboats, work without a safety net…..

  • February 21, 2016 at 6:40 pm
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    That little carrot looks so tasty, I think I’ll just have a bite – oooh, so sweet! What, I don’t have to die! I can live forever in paradise on earth!
    Sounds familiar – Satan said to Eve, ‘You positively will not die, why in the very day of your eating from it you are bound to be like Gods, etc……
    Who’s kidding who here, same old lie, same old serpent, except now he’s disguised as ‘The Governing Body’!
    Talking about putting life on hold, a pioneer sister was so proud that her son and new daughter-in-law were serving at Bethel. I remarked that the young lady had wanted to start a family …. Oh, there’s plenty of time for that in the ‘New System’. I wonder how she will feel in fifty years time – childless, no pension, and no ‘paradise’ in sight. Surely, expectation postponed will make her heart sad.

  • February 21, 2016 at 8:20 pm
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    When growing up you don’t think about old age, but eventually it happens & we start to see people dying of old age, then it starts to sink in, & here we are & still nothing has happened except we are getting older, the whole structure now is being dumbed down, old publications disappearing, we use tablets, & young people are being taught not to think, i woke up to reality with the help of a friend who asked me to research 607, not on the internet but by using real books.like my friend we are trapped due to family, but at least i am at peace with my knowledge of the real truth, when was the last time we heard an update on the whole king of the north/south stuff, all gone by the wayside, any body that is new won’t get to learn that, the 1914 lie is going to run out of steam, & on it goes, great comments here on this lastest post, thank you all

    • February 22, 2016 at 4:31 am
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      Wip it –
      It is so true, when you are young, old age seems far off. Why, when we were twenty, we used to think forty was old! Well, when you get there it ain’t. Then fifty, err … OK, the paradise must be coming soon, … sixty, yoiks, I’d better make a will!! I’m on my way to seventy, where have all the years gone? But, hey, I’m not dead yet!
      I too ‘woke up’ when I discovered 607 was a fabrication. This makes 1914 just another date in mankind’s history when the world went mad!
      Dear Wip it, don’t spend your remaining years in servitude just because of family and friends. You only have one chance to enjoy this life to the full. Pretend for your family, if you must, but don’t hold back from the pleasures of life because of them. So let’s eat, drink and be merry! Travel, make new friends …. if in the future days a deity does step in to sort things out – great. (I’m sure you are not wicked enough to have an adverse judgement should it ever come to that!)

  • February 22, 2016 at 5:32 am
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    I bunked off yet another meeting yesterday to go to see a band. Iv’e been missing since xmas. you know I think I may have had 4 or 5 txts in that time and none from my friend and fs partner is that not amazing. It is a good job i’m awake to the shallow stupid donkeys (no longer sheep in my view). The point is that these are not our friends and don’t want to spend paradise with anyone but them selves. Heaven help them when nasty resurrected ones come back and they have to spend hours and hours teaching and befriending those worldly people. Hey it will cut into all that leisure time, piano playing and petting pandas. What a reality check, that good little jdubs will have to be nice and welcoming to everybody even those nasty apostates who may get a new life then . OOOh I cant wait I think I may just sell my shack and give all my dosh to the poorboys of Brooklyn and go witnessing in needy land. But if I slip on the soap in the last hour it will be to no avail just eternal death. Well after a second thought I just say no to the carrot and plod on in this life being who I am and let those donkeys take a kicking from their elders and betters! Carrot cake anyone? ruthlee

    • February 22, 2016 at 7:45 am
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      I’ve been to half a meting since xmas Ruthlee. Same as you, I’ve had a couple of texts and a ‘we popped by’ post it on my door from two elders. In fact the most text were from an mc who flirts with me…… yes hes married and misses me. hmm.

      lol remember the scene in Home Alone – if you dared to watch a Christmas show…. Kevin McCallister: [while watching “Angels With Filthy Souls”] Guys, I’m eating junk and watching rubbish! You better come out and stop me! Thats what I feel like shouting at them but I have no intention of letting them stop me.

  • February 22, 2016 at 7:57 am
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    Watchtower Babble and Tract Society is oblivious to this one fact.

    Not everyone is in the construction trades. Nor would some people ever want to be. If your not in the trades, your best bet is to go to a local community college or a technical school to learn a skill that is marketable.

    Another item Watchtower Babble and Tract Society has a hard time with is that Watchtower does not pay other people’s bills. See Watchtower has it easy. All they do is ask for money and people just cut them checks. You can hear the checkbooks come out of purses everywhere in their Kingdom Halls.

    The above items are the reality of today’s world. I have seen older men beyond the retirement age not have any money in a 401k plan or any retirement savings due to Watchtower Babble and Tract Society reasonings. This is sad consequence of many elderly brothers where their family’s have to foot the bill.

    Watchtower lives in a dream world called a “spiritual paradise”. In this world, people sing in choirs conducted by Governing Body member David Splane. In addition, they have their music videos and their happy construction videos showcasing their various talented brothers working as slaves. Also, do not forget the young brother trying to sell his cow. Does not that sound wonderful?

  • February 22, 2016 at 9:42 am
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    PB your article makes an excellent read but the average Witness might compare it to the scoffers living in the time of Noah. Sometimes one has to take a more theological approach and show with biblical evidence that their philosophy is incorrect. Wilbur Lingle asks the pertinent question: Am I to believe that it will be a wonderful thing to survive Armageddon, get rid of all the dead bodies and bones, clean up all this awful destruction, and then work extremely hard to build a beautiful earth so that all the wicked people who have ever lived can be resurrected and enabled to enjoy what the Witnesses have worked so hard for?

    • February 23, 2016 at 4:36 am
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      Very true and that’s why when you are talking with any witness, you take one thing at a time. Some them correctly from the scriptures that the application is wrong, and is only meant for fit a preconceived doctrine. You have to be tactful, because this GB is becoming more like the pharisees everyday.

  • February 22, 2016 at 11:22 am
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    @PB . I really like the point you make about JWs postponing their ambitions for a future Paradise ,but as you say the GB have a terrible record for predicting future dates for Armagedon or the start of Paradise. So really many JWs have wasted their potential & opportunites to progress themselves emotionally, financially & physically . When after 30,40 or 50 years slaving for an organisation who has got an apalling track record of getting dates wrong since 1874 ( over 140 years) can anyone really believe God & Christ would feed these wrong dates & constant changing interpretation of scriptures so many times . I thought as Malachi says God doesn’t change . What a sad waste of lives for 8 million human beings to keep 7 men in a lap of luxury . Very very upsetting !!

    • February 23, 2016 at 4:32 am
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      On Sunday, I had such discussion with my cousin and he referred to pr 4:18 about light getting brighter and I could only wonder about how great the darkness the GB has cast into their eyes really is.

      I mean, someone can be a regular pioneer and even an elder without having a good understanding and application of the scriptures. All they will do is refer to a certain publication, most do not even read the cited scriptures in the publications.

  • February 22, 2016 at 12:26 pm
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    @Baby

    Why should we believe that the WT’s teaching about living forever on a Paradise Earth is correct?

  • February 22, 2016 at 1:54 pm
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    There are so many aspects of this paradise earth that
    when carried through to a logical conclusion become
    absurd, risible.

    As the resurrected are not allowed to marry they’ll be
    brought back with surplus body parts. The women will
    have no use for their mammary glands or ovaries, a mans
    gonads will be no use to him. it’s certain that unmarried
    people will not be allowed to have sex. (Oh dear, I’d rather
    be one of the pandas)

    In fact the need the whole purpose of the sexes will be
    irrelevant. when the earth is full, procreation will end
    no need any more for male and female.

    Maybe Rutherford ‘s crazy idea that “We will all be brothers
    together” is the answer.

    • February 24, 2016 at 9:55 am
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      @Twmack
      “There are so many aspects of this paradise earth that when carried through to a logical conclusion become absurd, risible.”

      I recall a JW saying that she liked children very much and couldn’t come to terms with the idea that, according to JW theology, if man will be living forever on earth without dying, then at some point the ability to reproduce will have to cease given the earth’s finite capacity, and there eventually will just be an earth with only grown adults, no children. She said she couldn’t imagine an earth without children and so decided that she had better have her lot now since having children in the future paradise would cease. She seemed to have been very disturbed by this.

      • February 24, 2016 at 10:07 am
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        The explanation I remember was that once the issue of ‘universal sovereignty’ was settled here on earth then Jehovah could make other planets habitable so humans could continue to reproduce after the earth is filled. Mind you, no scripture was cited in support of this speculation. I’ve since found out that this is very similar to Mormon doctrine.

        • February 24, 2016 at 11:01 am
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          The Bible states that God always creates with a purpose. That being the case, all the immense universe with its billions of stars & planets are purely physical, ie. for OUR benefit as humans. We can even see the majority of the universe with the naked eye so that tells me that God had/has in mind for us to populate other planets.
          Also the idea that some JWs have that God will stop us procreating is absurd! Only man creates/makes stuff and then thinks, “oh crap; I didn’t realise it did that. I’d better change the design.” If God stopped us from procreating or resurrected ones from getting married again then it would be like him admitting he made a mistake with human design.
          The not marrying WTS idea is another one of their “going beyond the things that are written” teachings. Having said that, there was a recent WT article where they admitted the context of that Bible verse referred to anointed ones so they don’t really know 100% (closest you’ll get to a “sorry, we were wrong” from the WTS)!

        • February 24, 2016 at 7:58 pm
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          It seems the religions which originated in the US during the 1800s were comparing notes after all – Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses – they all do seem to have some things in common, don’t they.

          • February 25, 2016 at 12:10 pm
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            dee2.
            Yes, and one common dominator between jws and Mormons. ..John 10:16 , other sheep, they had hijacked that verse long before Rutherford claimed his own interpretation of it.

  • February 22, 2016 at 4:53 pm
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    I have actually heard an Elder say that, that in the New System their will be no need to bear children, crapola, my Dear Mum said before dying that she had had a good life, i believe that she did, But i also believe that God is now being cruel, she was promised Eternal life, remember the proclamation “Millions now living will never die, & the change in the 1914 generation teaching now makes Jesus out to be a lie er,

    • February 23, 2016 at 1:03 pm
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      Wipe it, – the reason why there will be no need to have any children, is that the great crowd will immediately have to raise the 100000’s of misscarriages, babies, children and preteens of those of the heavenly class, who from 33.c.e down to 1935 lost their children before they reached adulthood. They will be in heaven so those on earth will have a hugh adoption agency operation here.

      • February 24, 2016 at 4:05 pm
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        Pow,

        “Wipe it”. That’s really funny. Automatic speller can be hilarious at times.

        miscarriages was one I often thought about too, then I thought that if miscarriages would be resurrected then the millions who got to breathe life but didn’t get to know Jah would have to have the same chance, it would only be fair but when you’re in that state of delusion you have to stop thinking too much.

        • February 24, 2016 at 5:11 pm
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          @Grace

          Yes “Wipe it”!
          Wipe that damn WT Mumbo-Jumbo from your brain and free your mind!

          • February 25, 2016 at 7:27 am
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            @Grace

            Just thought I would clarify – my comment to “Wipe it” was intentended as an exhortation to all JWs.

  • February 22, 2016 at 6:19 pm
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    Don’t you just love when a Governing Body member explains Journalism Integrity to an award winning journalist in Portugal. Especially when Watchtower Babble and Tract Society does not include the names of the writers who write in their magazines. Nor, do they cite their sources for any publication they write. Isn’t writing your name on your paper the first requirement of Journalism 101. And, the second requirement is to cite your sources. Please David, don’t give an award winning journalist a lesson in journalism when your own people can’t put their name on their paper. A lesson I learned in first grade.

  • February 23, 2016 at 4:26 am
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    I find this article very informative. Most do not understand what the Watchtower organisation is doing, especially when words like Jehovah’s organisation is used. I cannot blame them, most sincerely believe they are doing the right thing but not knowing that a group of men are sing them to achieve their aim.

    I find this about the pharisees of jesus day. They didn’t commit immoral, or worship idols but why did Jesus reject them? Some of the reasons are hear and it’s a clear reflection of the GB and WT organisation

    Pharisaic Laws

    In contrast to the two commands of Christ, the Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws… By the time Christ came it had produced a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness. As such, it contained at least ten tragic flaws.

    (1) New laws continually need to be invented for new situations.

    (2) Accountability to God is replaced by accountability to men.

    (3) It reduces a person’s ability to personally discern.

    (4) It creates a judgmental spirit.

    (5) The Pharisees confused personal preferences with divine law.

    (6) It produces inconsistencies.

    (7) It created a false standard of righteousness.

    (8) It became a burden to the Jews.

    (9) It was strictly external.

    (10) It was rejected by Christ.
    https://bible.org/illustration/pharisaic-laws

    • February 23, 2016 at 8:18 am
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      @edy
      Excellent comparison between the GB and the Pharisees of Jesus day.

      In reference to your other comment above, could the Pharisees have argued that all the added rules were simply new light in line with Prov 4:18? That’s the Watchtower’s excuse.

      WS

      • February 23, 2016 at 9:36 am
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        Prov. 4:18 is half of the proverb, 4:19 is the other half,,,,where the wicked is constantly changing course.

  • February 23, 2016 at 12:37 pm
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    edy, I like what you say, “this GB is becoming more like the pharisees everyday.” On jw broadcasting while Tony Morris talked about the new songs just released he called them “You brothers and sisters.” He made a Freudian slip. It shows there is separation, that’s what “you brothers and sisters’ means to me.

    • February 24, 2016 at 2:19 pm
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      Great video and very relevant to the context of this article. Thanks for linking it.

    • February 28, 2016 at 6:03 pm
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      Thanks Caroline – Very relevant video and so true.
      The one difficult point mentioned was that by staying in a religion that does wrong you are condoning their behaviour. It was easier for me to leave because I had no immediate relatives still in, and the friends I thought I had have shunned me, so no great loss there.
      I do feel for those ones who have to suffer the continual indoctrination for the sake of family ties. I think I would start to feign headaches or some sort of agoraphobia in order to miss meetings and field service!
      It just shows the mental hold religion has over its adherents.

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