User talk:BlackCab

Penton's book

In response to this statement-

You don't agree with Penton's opinions, though you haven't read his book. Now that's an open mind. BlackCab (talk) 13:51, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

One needs not to eat excrement to know that it is harmful. One can see from the smell and look of it, that it is damaging to eat. The same is true of spiritual food. At work, I have to work very hard to stay positive towards some students from the inner city, who don't really want to learn and who can be very misbehaved and rude. Some teachers can be critical and negative, some maintain a very positive spirit to both the students and the administration. From my experience, working with those teachers who maintain that positive spirit, is a pleasure, and it makes work so much better and helps me to maintain a positive attitude, which reflects in the way I treat the students. The same is true in religion. We can easily give in to faultfinding and a negative, resistant spirit. But even if I didn't wish to stay as one of JW, I know enough about it that there is some good in it, and if I have some ideas which can make it better, why not present it in a positive way, rather than in a critical or slanderous, negative way. So, I've seen enough of Penton's work to realize that he does know a lot, he is educated, and knows how to write, but, he is negative, faultfinding, and resorts to tactics which are unethical, in trying to damage the reputation of JW. So, for me, that is like spiritual excrement. It's unncecessary to read a book like that. If I were to read Holden's book, Starks's book, any number of writers who have written about JW, who bring out both the good and bad, but do it in a non-judgmental way, then that's fine, I'll read, buy and use that book. I did read Holden's book, even though it wasn't all praiseworthy, but somewhat critical in some respects. But Penton's work is low, he resorts to low tactics and there is no reason for me to feed my mind on that type of thing, regardless of his degree. There are proud and unethical people who have doctorates, there are doctors who are arrested for corruption. The degree is not evidence of a man's character.

The Bible says, "Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well spoken of, whatever virtue there is and whatever praiseworthy thing there is, continue considering these things. 9 The things that YOU learned as well as accepted and heard and saw in connection with me, practice these; and the God of peace will be with you.

Penton approaches JW in a manner that is from the viewpoint of an agnostic, who disdains persons and religions with strong faith. The Bible says, there is "no wisdom" "in opposition to Jehovah". Darwin was a very smart man, but, he lacked wisdom because he basically rejected God. There is no reason for me to read Darwin's book, Hitler's book, or Penton's for that matter. I've already considered all of those viewpoints, and reject them, so there's no need to go further with it. Natural (talk) 20:30, 3 July 2010 (UTC)Natural

I think you are being disingenuous. You know Penton was disfellowshipped on the grounds of apostasy. You are programmed by the Watch Tower Society to obey them and avoid reading anything by someone described as an apostate. The WTS brands someone an apostate, expels them and orders the faithful to shun them when they realize that the individual has begun thinking for himself, seeing through the garbage coming from the society and is therefore becoming a threat to a leadership that doesn't like to be challenged.

Penton's book is well researched. It contains both positive and negative material. You are in no position to judge the tone of the book because you refuse to read it out of obedience to the rules imposed by the WTS. One day you might wake up to the extent that organization controls your life. The scripture you quote contains the very important line, often ignored, that we should consider things "of serious concern". Penton's book, like those of Franz, contains much information of serious concern that reveals the deception practised by the WTS in order to maintain its hold on Witnesses. The society often uses that scripture you quoted to persuade Witnesses they should stick to the WTS, but the scripture deals with what the Bible teaches, not what a high-control, paranoid man-made religion teaches. It's such subtle manipulation, backed up with constant repetition, that sucks in people like you because you cease thinking about what they actually tell you.

Similarly your comment about there being no wisdom in opposition to Jehovah ... Penton's book is not critical of God, but it takes a very close look at a religious organization that presumptuously claims to be God's representative. Franz presents very detailed evidence that shows the WTS itself is in opposition to God with the way it robs people of their Christian conscience and seeks to control people in precisely the same way the Pharisees did and many other religions do. Unfortunately you seem too deeply trapped in the mind control of the WTS to see this. BlackCab (talk) 23:40, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

Notice

I have renominated Jehovah's Witnesses reference works for deletion (third-party sourced material already merged to Jehovah's Witnesses publications) at Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Jehovah's_Witnesses_reference_works_(2nd_nomination), and have mentioned your previous participation at the first discussion, the result of which was No consensus.--Jeffro77 (talk) 03:16, 23 July 2010 (UTC)