OneEyedJoe

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Posts by OneEyedJoe

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  31

  Why JW's Rave So Much About Conventions

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "it was so beautiful, we are truly blessed!

  now, they also plaster these affirmations all over social media, "this is the best life", “so blessed”, “best convention”.. why the gushing?

  have you ever heard anyone say, “mmmm it was ok”?

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  OneEyedJoe

  Yeah, I think for the true believers, FMF's first post really captures a lot of what makes them declare every convention (and, indeed, every meeting) the "best ever." Then there's the fence-sitters and those that don't really 'feel it' like everyone else (I was always in this group, personally) who just agree and nod along or say it with some sarcasm just because it's the only thing that's socially acceptable to do. Who wants to have an argument over whether or not it actually was the best convention ever? I certainly never did. You'll only lose when everyone starts in on the attack and end up getting lectured and scolded and left receiving suspicious looks for a while.

  Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the true believers and the semi-doubters apart, just because any appearance other than being a true believer results in punishment in some form or another. This just leaves anyone who doesn't really "feel it" feeling as if they're completely alone with no choice but to just go along.
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  9

  Part One of what could be a long introduction

  by LifesNotOver in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello - let me try to explain.

  a couple of months ago or so i joined this forum, then shortly after checked out jwrecovery which seemed a better fit personally and joined them.

  started to feel comfortable there and they closed, and i pouted for a while.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Welcome! We've all been the new kid at some point, don't feel bad. I hope you're able to get time to write more soon. It's always great to hear from new members!
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  21

  "Well now at least they get a ressurection!"

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  yes, that is what a witness said after the police shootings and terrible aftermath of violence occurred this week in the usa..... they said that it now gives them a chance to live forever...as if they would not have had that opportunity if they had not been tragically killed..... of course according to witness teachings, the contradictory thing is that if the big a had come a day before, then those same people would have been killed by jehovah because they were not his worshipers.....

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  OneEyedJoe

  Disgusting statement, but yes it follows as a logical extension of JW doctrine. As a JW I was often bothered by the fact that if you really believed the doctrine and were motivated by love of neighbor to preach then the most loving thing you could do would be to shoot people in the face as soon as they open the door. Since practically no one ever became a JW from d2d preaching, you could be pretty sure you're giving them a much better chance of making it to paradise that way.
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  51

  Dallas Texas 5 Police Officers dead & 6 wounded ?

  by smiddy in

  1. social
  2. current

  and it is still ongoing ?.

  obviously sparked off by the 2 afro american citizens gunned down by police officers these past few days.?.

  when is this sort of violence going to end ?.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Obviously sparked off by the 2 Afro American citizens gunned down by police officers these past few days.?
  

  That's not obvious. It could well have been an opportunist taking advantage of a concentration of police officers at the protest.

  Being a cop is beyond dangerous....
  

  False. It's not even in the top 10 most dangerous jobs. Stats from the department of labor: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/10-most-dangerous-jobs-us-2.aspx
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  3

  October Workbook Contacts

  by darkspilver in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not seen any discussion on the october workbook yet .

  must say, they're kinda blander than the kms.

  oct 31 to nov 6 the contact cards are being promoted - including two of the demos - 'initial call' and 'return visit'.

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  OneEyedJoe

  At the 2014 international convention Loesch made a point of insisting that the org is not moving backwards to old ways of the phonograph and testimony cards, even though they're pushing the use of videos and contact cards. Nope, not moving backwards at all. The name is different so it's totally new!
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  33

  Jesus Knows the Day & Hour Now?

  by KillerJones in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was skimming the july 2016 wt study article and came across a paragraph indicating that, despite scriptural evidence, the governing body indeed feels that god's son now knows the exact day and hour of armageddon.

  is this 'new light'?

  from the second study article, page 14, pgh 4:.

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  OneEyedJoe

  I'm pretty sure this is old hat. I thought the interpretation was always that Jesus didn't know the time when he said those words, but now that we're in the last days the final preparations have been made and he's been let in on the plan.

  In the end, I don't see how it matters since Jesus isn't exactly the forthcoming type with the details.
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  26

  Are gays really condemned in the Bible?

  by jws in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i was having this argument with a friend about the westboro baptist idiots.

  my point is that while they are horrible people, they are pretty much right in that the bible is against gays because it has verses in both the old and the new testament.

  which is one of many reasons to reject the bible as merely man-made rules from ancient middle-easterners.. and she argued that there are problems in translation, etc.

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  OneEyedJoe

  I agree, there's no way to rationalize your way out of the bible being anti-gay.

  Even if you have to rely upon the mosaic law, it's still a big strike against the bible. Eating pork or shellfish or not wearing a fringe on your clothes are not innate like sexual orientation. So even if god only decided to force gay people into a life of pretending to be straight back then, it still shows that god is either a cruel jackass or he has no clue about the life that he supposedly created. Either way he's no god worth worshiping.
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  3

  "The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements" - a book by Eric Hoffer

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have just finished reading "the true believer: thoughts on the nature of mass movements" by eric hoffer.

  the book was published in 1951, during the cold war, yet the theories and principles, that hoffer proposes to explain the phenomena of mass movements, are as relevant today as they were then.

  (there are several threads on this forum that discuss aspects of hoffer's statements and theories.).

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  OneEyedJoe

  Definitely describes the WT doctrine very well. I've often said that the doctrine is intentionally impossible to understand and make internally coherent as a way to train people to give up on trying to understand it and just believe in it. It also, as the quoted passage eludes to, minimizes the self when you find that even the smallest piece of doctrine becomes incomprehensible upon examination. When you find problems with something small but look around and see that everyone else appears to understand it and embrace it, it instills self-doubt. This self-doubt then serves as motivation to seek further safety in the group and it also trains you to dismiss misgivings about the group.
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  32

  God does not desire any to be destroyed?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  so if the idea is promoted that god doesn't want anyone to be destroyed, why does he make it so confusing for people to learn about him?.

  why are there thousands of differing religions?.

  why has "his only true organisation" even taught so many varying doctrines?.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Even better - if he doesn't want us destroyed, why destroy us at Armageddon?
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  27

  Bunker Video: Why No Concluding Scene?

  by Wild_Thing in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering why they ended the "bunker video" as they did ... with an armed militia finding the jws huddled in the corner of the basement ... fade to black.

  the jws watching don't know what happened after that.

  did they kill them?

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  OneEyedJoe

  As has been said - leaving it to the imagination allows the viewer to fill in what they are most afraid of happening in that situation. What one person fears may not bother another, so this allows them to have the largest impact on the greatest number of people.

  Additionally, it allows them an out - if they showed a particular event happening they may receive criticism for claiming that governments are going to shoot JWs or imprison them. Leaving out the conclusion allows them to claim that they've never indicated what would be done in this scenario.