DD - if I remember correctly loesch said that the understanding at the time was that non jws could survive Armageddon too, and that the millions were made up of non jws. I guess jws at the time got their exclusivity from believing that they were all of the heavenly calling or something. Or maybe it was just a fabrication from the German.
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
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22
Millions now Living Will Never Die
by skin inthis is the title of a watchtower book published 95 years ago in 1920 by j f rutherford.
it still gets an occasional mention at meetings about how it was a turning point in the history of the watchtower.
but how many witnessess today can answer this question.who are these millions of people alive in 1920 that would never die?
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What really woke me up: I started noticing most JWS are weirdos..
by kneehighmiah inthankfully my parents are converts so they aren't wierd.
seemed pretty popular by all accounts.
they are "popular" jws even now.
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OneEyedJoe
This was one of the first articulable doubts that I had in my childhood. When I was about 14-15 I realized that I was already smarter than most of the r/f in the congregation, and a much higher percentage than average seemed to have some sort of emotional issues, especially the converts.
My father explained to me that just as the apostles where "unlettered and ordinary" these people where humble and therefore where sincerely seeking god and willing to accept his direction. That never really sat well with me either but it basically told me that I wasn't going to get a satisfactory answer so I just stopped asking out loud...
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can someone give me thier opinion on matt 11 11?
by sowhatnow ini dont get it.. who is being spoken about?
first of all wouldnt moses be greater that john the baptist?
and yet im greater than john?
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OneEyedJoe
You're probably familiar with the JW interpretation of it - John (since he died prior to Jesus' death) was not of the annointed. Anyone who's annointed is a "greater" one than even John, just by virtue of the fact that they're annointed.
From a more objective perspective, I'd guess that this would probably be interpreted as saying that anyone who is currently in heaven is better off than John (who, at the time, was still alive on earth) even though John was a great man indeed.
In any event, it's all just a collection or random crap that sounded good to someone 2 thousand years ago so sometimes it's just not going to add up.
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Changed: Head coverings for sisters, w15 2/15 QFR
by wifibandit indoes a female kingdom publisher need to wear a head covering if she conducts a bible study in the presence of a male publisher?.
in a questions from readers item published in the watchtower of july 15, 2002, it was stated that a sister should cover her head if she conducts a bible study in the presence of a male publisher, whether he is baptized or not.
further consideration of the matter suggests that a modification to this direction is appropriate.. if the male publisher who accompanies the sister while she conducts an established bible study is baptized, the sister would certainly want to wear a head covering.
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OneEyedJoe
I may be incorrect but its my understanding that baptism was for forgiveness of sins nothing else, as per mentioned in acts.
You're thinking of when you're baptized in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. When you're baptized in the name of the watchtower society, you get a bunch of added perks like making women wear napkins on their heads, carrying microphones, and more!
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A real chat with my brother
by All for show inmy brother called to chat, which is shocking from the man of few words, off the cuff i let him know last weekend i learned that the outrageous socks he wears are inappropriate.
i let him know i would no longer be associating with him and the fact that he has been inactive for the past 10 years he has blood on his hands and i didnt want that dripping all over my freshly cleaned floors.
i also told him the internet was no longer naughty, but the fact that he wasn't an ms ever, showed his lack of spiritual maturity.
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OneEyedJoe
Well you might be saving them a lot of heart ache by sharring TTATT with them now. As many have related here, often people can be out physically but it just takes some major life event to get them sucked back into the cult. Educating them before that happens will innoculate them against any possibility of getting pulled back in somehow.
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I need help
by tiredroadie inim new here, and dont know much about jw, other than what im reading.
i have my best friend who is having bible study in her home with 2 witnesses, and she is soaking it in.
she is very defensive and is getting more and more closed off.
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OneEyedJoe
I reccomend reading "Freedom of Mind" by Steven Hassan, or at least look up some of the material on his website www.freedomofmind.com
As has been said, don't outwardly oppose them. Be interested and ask detailed questions to get them to think about things. For some questions to ask, check out: http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/questions-to-ask-a-jehovahs-witness.php
Another tack to take would be if you talk to them about another group that they would agree is a cult. The mormons are a good example. Explain how these other groups use mind control techniques to indoctrinate people, and your friend will likely begin to see that the JWs use the very same techniques. One technique is to get them to tell you themselves what would cause them to end involvement with the cult. This will require some research on your part (jwfacts.com is great for this) to see what damning evidence there is towards the cult. Steven Hassan, in one of his videos, talked about how he questioned a JW in this fashion and got them to admit that if a Governing Body member (the GB is a committee at the top of the pyrimid in the cult) left the organization because they realized that what they taught wasn't from the bible. This indeed has happened, and the man wrote a book about it.
Look up youtube videos created by ex-members and have them watch them. If they're already to the point where they're weary of looking at anything from ex-members, ask them if they'd stay at a hotel or eat at a restaurant that had thousands of negative reviews just because the proprieters of the restaurant/hotel say that the place is wonderful? How much more important is the decision on what religion to join? Shouldn't they have ALL possible information in order to make an informed decision?
Also, don't use the word cult with them, use "group" or "organization" as the word cult will set off alarm bells in their head that tells them that you're attacking them.
Lastly, the key to all of it is that you cannot stop showing love to your friend. The love that they'll recieve in the cult is conditional upon their acceptance of cult doctrine and behavior - your love is unconditional and they will see the difference. Get other friends/family involved and present a uninted front of concern (not opposition) to them. As others have said, direct opposition will get you nowhere. The people studying with them have probably already told them that satan may cause close friends or family to oppose their study - if you oppose you'll just be playing into their predictions. You might want to put out the word to their family on this as well. Any opposition will seem to confirm that the people studying with them are from god, and you are being controlled by satan, because they predicted it. Love and genuine concern and interest is the only way to go.
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Changed: Head coverings for sisters, w15 2/15 QFR
by wifibandit indoes a female kingdom publisher need to wear a head covering if she conducts a bible study in the presence of a male publisher?.
in a questions from readers item published in the watchtower of july 15, 2002, it was stated that a sister should cover her head if she conducts a bible study in the presence of a male publisher, whether he is baptized or not.
further consideration of the matter suggests that a modification to this direction is appropriate.. if the male publisher who accompanies the sister while she conducts an established bible study is baptized, the sister would certainly want to wear a head covering.
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OneEyedJoe
I think i've posted this here before, but once when I was probably 4 or 5, we met for service and it was all women and children under 12. It fell to the woman who's house we were in to conduct, and she asked her son to find her a hat. He came back with a mickey mouse ears hat, and that's what she conducted the meeting for service in. Not a lot of things more ironic than wearing a mickey mouse hat in order to show respect and preserve the dignity of the arrangement.
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Ever since I learned TTATT, I stopped contacting a sister who I wanted to date
by Yondaime ini was head over heels for this girl, but when i realized i was in a self destructive cult i realized tieing the knot with her would screw up my future.
this makes me think of the highschool sweethearts i turned down that were worldly.
now she gives me dirty looks whenever our eyes meet a the hall or at gatherings.
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OneEyedJoe
It's difficult for you both now, but in the end you will both probably be better off.
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Changed: Head coverings for sisters, w15 2/15 QFR
by wifibandit indoes a female kingdom publisher need to wear a head covering if she conducts a bible study in the presence of a male publisher?.
in a questions from readers item published in the watchtower of july 15, 2002, it was stated that a sister should cover her head if she conducts a bible study in the presence of a male publisher, whether he is baptized or not.
further consideration of the matter suggests that a modification to this direction is appropriate.. if the male publisher who accompanies the sister while she conducts an established bible study is baptized, the sister would certainly want to wear a head covering.
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OneEyedJoe
Hair splitting at its best.
My thoughts exactly. And, what's more, hipocrisy at it's best. Taken from the "Draw Close To Jehovah" book, page 152-3, par 10 and 11:
The religious leaders buried God’s Law under a mass of man-made rules and regulations. The Sabbath law, for instance, simply forbade work on the Sabbath, setting that day aside for worship, spiritual refreshment, and rest. But the Pharisees made a burden of that law. They took it upon themselves to decide just what “work” meant. They labeled as work 39 different activities, such as reaping or hunting. These categories gave rise to endless questions. If a man killed a flea on the Sabbath, was he hunting? If he plucked a handful of grain to eat as he walked along, was he reaping? If he healed someone who was ill, was he working? Such questions were addressed with rigid, detailed rules.
In such a climate, how was Jesus to help people understand what justice is? In his teachings and in the way he lived, he took a courageous stand against those religious leaders. Consider first some of his teachings. He directly condemned their myriad man-made rules, saying: “You make the word of God invalid by your tradition which you handed down.”—Mark 7:13.
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U.S ZONE VISIT PROGRAM
by alexandre inwho have the program of this zone visit ?.
please send to us!
send a resume ,a synopsis!.
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OneEyedJoe
Just US branch