Oh I'm well aware that it's a cult, but I've always been annoyed at the unspoken rule that men be clean shaven. I've already begun to have a bit of stubble for all meetings, and my objective is to work up to having a beard of a few day's growth (how I prefer to look, and how I look between meetings). Now I've got a quote right from the WT that would call anyone who wants to fight me on it unwise. Worst case I stir up a little trouble, best case I can drop one of the WTS's restrictions before I can make my exit.
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
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42
Today's WT study!. Watch out for the "wicked" in the cong!
by stuckinarut2 inhow strange today's study was!.
warning examples of apostacy, and saying to all witnesses "watch for bad associations in the cong".
talk about paranoia and distrust amongst themselves!.
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42
Today's WT study!. Watch out for the "wicked" in the cong!
by stuckinarut2 inhow strange today's study was!.
warning examples of apostacy, and saying to all witnesses "watch for bad associations in the cong".
talk about paranoia and distrust amongst themselves!.
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OneEyedJoe
So, does paragraph 13 mean I can grow a beard with no repercussions?
Opinions about dress and grooming [...] may also trigger controversy. Accordingly, of no scriptural principle is being violated Jehovah's people wisely abstain from arguing over such matters, "for a slave of the Lord dies not need to fight, but needs to be gentle towards all.
I'm going to have to put this one in my back pocket.
Edit: the more I think about this, the more awesome it is. Not only does it give ammunition for you to do whatever you want, it condemns anyone who would fight with you over it (I.e the elders) even if it causes a controversy!
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How much meaning are the rank and file putting on October 2014?
by JimmyPage init's definitely on their minds.
i attended a funeral recently and a jw told me that the person who died almost made it to the 100 year anniversary of the birth of the kingdom.. curious what comments like this you've heard in your area?.
(and can't wait for november!).
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OneEyedJoe
I haven't noticed much excitement, but I'm not rally in tune with the social scene in my congregation. The only thing I've heard was a remark an elder made, saying how good it was that the society was making such a big deal about the 100 year anniversary, since that means "they're not planning on changing 1914 anytime soon." I have no conception how someone could acknowledge that it's possible (likely, even!) that they might change 1914 without seeing the cult for what it is.
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Where is the "worship" at the KH? Maybe I missed it.
by BU2B inworship (verb).
show reverence and adoration for (a deity); honor with religious rites.. .
i was just thinking about the two meetings a week.
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OneEyedJoe
There's plenty of worship going on, it's just all directed towards the GB.
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Not on JW.ORG : San Francisco court orders Catholic workers to attend Jehovah's Witness meeting. Will Jehovah's Witnesses now be ordered to Catholic Churches?
by Balaamsass2 incatholic workers ordered to attend jehovahs witness meetingseptember 8, 2014 by mary maria leave a comment.
san francisco, california in an interesting case of religious rights in the workplace, the 9th circuit court of appeals has ruled that employees of the san gabriel/pomona regional center must attend services from the kingdom hall of the jehovahs witnesses.
the protestant church is not exactly known for its ecumenical cooperation or respect for the catholic church which it often decries as being a supreme object over the whole earth that rhymes with the word lore.. at issue is a five year dispute brought on by catholic employees who care for a disabled man at the facility.
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OneEyedJoe
DD -
I looked up the care organization (I don't remember what i was called) when I saw the other thread on this topic. I found their contact information and sent an email urging them to provide any workers who might attend JW meetings with the jwfacts link, and cited the use of undue influence by JWs.
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Ehrman's blog: Reported public appearances of JESUS in the Modern World
by Terry infrom bart ehrman's blog under the heading of:.
jesus' appearances in the modern world.
of particular interest are instances in which jesus is said to have appeared to entire groups of people, rather than just to an individual.
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OneEyedJoe
But Wiebe points out that it is about the same amount of time between the life of Jesus and the earliest Gospels.
This statement at the end makes me think that this is all an elaborate effort to basically say that the Gospels aren't trustworthy. At least, that's how I read it, and it's certainly a good point if that was the intent.
If that wasn't the intent, it's quite some delicious irony.
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Need to find those Km or Wt articles encouraging all to read the old publications!
by stuckinarut2 ini have been dropping comments to a few re some classic old beliefs and teachings etc... and when asked "where did you read that, or how come you are saying such and such?
" i have replied "well, you remember we have often been told to study and research our old 'theocratic history' and 'old gems' of material?....
now though i have been challenged to prove where this has been printed!.
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OneEyedJoe
Terriffic thread, I'm sure this will be useful to me at some point.
It's funny to me, that by their very publishing of the recomendation to read the older publications it's almost like they're trying to wake people up. What's more likely, though, is that they know NO ONE even reads all the current magazines, let alone the old crap - by telling us to read the old stuff it's just a way of keeping the most hard core followers ever busy, and the rest always have something to feel guilty about.
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How old were you when baptized?
by Coded Logic ini was baptized at the age of 11. like most of us, my commitment wasnt to honor god but rather i was gang pressed into the service of the wtbts.
and, at such a young age, it was impossible for me to appreciate the enormity of my actions.
honestly, how could i possibly have known any better?
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OneEyedJoe
Brother and sister baptized at 5 and 7 years.
How anyone can imagine that this differs in any significant way from infant baptism, I will never understand.
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My neighbor is a return visit. Should I say something?
by Zoos ini stayed home sick from work the other day and noticed a car group pull up to my neighbor's house.
she's a stay-at-home mom.
i decided it was time to retrieve something from my truck to see if i could recognize the visiting sisters.
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OneEyedJoe
Be sure to let us know how it goes. Good luck!
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My evening at the pub - how many ex-JW's do you think there are?
by berrygerry inso i'm having a pint and talking to the owner and his gf.. she's talking about her line of work - leads to my family history - and that my wife is in a strange religion.. the owner snorts, and says very disdainfully that his ex was a jehovah's witness.
i said bingo.. then the barmaid pipes in about her grandma and all of her aunts and uncles were witnesses, and were all out.
but the grandma has witness siblings, so went back after 20 years.
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OneEyedJoe
There was a thread a while back about a WT article that said something like 2.6 million were baptized over some specific 10 year period, but the increase in publishers was half that. So, there's probably at least 2-3 million, if not more.