Reading this thread, after so many years have passed, and after yet ANOTHER, even more RIDICULOUS, newly revised generation teaching, it's not only funny, but quite sad, really. I can't wait for the next revision in another couple of years, or sooner if people keep complaining.
TimDrake1914
JoinedPosts by TimDrake1914
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New Generation Understanding
by momzcrazy inhello everyone, i am new here and newly freed from the snare of wtbs.
my sister, also newly freed, said our mom told her at the annual meeting there was a new "understanding" on the generation confusion.
it is now the annointed that will not pass away.. has anyone else heard this?
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Preach or Tithe- Publishers choice
by All for show inmy siblings and i have been talking about the money woes.
we have thrown around the idea for them to keep the preaching/pioneer arrangement to keep some busy.
to increase cash flow they can institute a new tithing arrangement.
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TimDrake1914
I would love for this happen, because it will only lead to another nail in the WT coffin. -
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What is the monthly stipend that the bethelites receive every month?
by StephaneLaliberte inwhat is the monthly stipend that the bethelites receive every month?
does any one has an actual number?
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TimDrake1914
To play devil's advocate, when they enter Bethel, don't they have to sign a vow of poverty? So aren't they expected to "live poorly"? Granted, I'm sure the GB are under the same vow and live quite a different life from a regular bethelite. Not fair at all, of course. But then again, we are talking about a cult aren't we?
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Just read "Zealot - The Life And Times Of Jesus Of Nazareth"
by EdenOne inso, keeping in mind that mrs. eden isn't so comfortable with english, i have been searching for books on the subject of the historical jesus and who wrote the bible, and i got very frustrated because there's not a lot of those in my native language.
most of what i read in english simply hasn't been translated, which is a shame.
in any case, i managed to get two: bart ehrman's "misquoting jesus" and reza aslan's "zealot".
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TimDrake1914
I follow Bart Ehrman on his blog, and it just so happens that he had an entry about Reza's book Zealot. I actually read Zealot before any of Bart's books and was also quite impressed with it. However, Bart didn't look too favorably on Reza's book, probably because he doesn't feel Reza isn't really well qualified to talk about early christianity. Having read Bart's books, I can see why he would think that, since all of his work is about early christianity. Bart seemed to view Zealot as more of a fictionalized account of Jesus, rather than an actual scholarly take on Jesus. Nevertheless, it was an easy and entertaining read, even if it's not totally accurate. If you want on something scholarly on the Hebrew scriptures, see if you can find Richard Friedman's Who Wrote the Bible. It's a pretty easy and fascinating read. For something on the historical Jesus, Bart has another book called How Jesus Became God. I haven't finished reading it, but I'm pretty sure it will have a lot of info on the historical Jesus. Another book I would recommend from Bart is Jesus, Interrupted and Forged. Two great books that I really enjoyed that talk about how the new testament came about and how it was corrupted, and which books in the bible were probably not written by who we think they were. -
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My first post
by thewalker inhi, i just joined the board and wanted to present myself.. i'm active, in fact very active in congregation activities serving "where the need is great" in a foreign language congregation somewhere in western europe.
as a young brother, i'm seen as an example as i'm doing all a good witness should do.. i had doubts years ago but i decided just to ignore them and move to another congregation to preach more.
that worked for some years but i'm now at the exact same point.
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TimDrake1914
Welcome my friend. You are among friends here. Some of us may be gentle with our words, while some of us may be more blunt, as you have already seen for yourself if you've been lurking. But the one thing that we all have in common is that we understand you, we have been there, and our arms are always open to those like you who feel lost and alone within the organization. You are not alone. Your doubts are valid, and you have found a place where you can finally speak your mind if you need to. Also, be sure to check out our other community on reddit.
It's another fast growing community where you will find others just like us. You will be well received there as well, as you have been here.
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Couldn't take it anymore.
by Darkknight757 inso i decided yesterday to give my wife's full disclosure.
not sure it was the best decision considering she holds very firmly to the resurrection hope so we can see our babies again.. anyways she is agreeable to begin a study to find a better truth.
where is a good place to go to get some good reliable biblical info on the web that we can consider together?.
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TimDrake1914
Personally, I would recommend the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). It was translated by a committee of established biblical scholars, using the the oldest and most reliable manuscripts available. From what I've read of it, it has the least theological bias of all the different translations out there. -
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Does a brother have to be appointed an MS to be an account servant?
by 4thgen inas many of you know, my ex-husband was removed as an elder for child abuse.
i was told at the time he would never be reappointed in any capacity.
yet i heard today he was appointed as an account servant.
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TimDrake1914
Yes, that can happen. I know of a couple of congregations that used brothers with no privileges to be the accounts servant. Usually, it's because they don't have enough appointed brothers to serve, so they use whoever they can. -
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Stephen Lett will be present at our next assembly.
by StarTrekAngel ina letter was read to the congregation last sunday.
i wasn't paying much attention until i heard stephen lett will be delivering a talk.
at first i thought it would be as a recorded video, as it was in the last assembly.
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TimDrake1914
@cappytan Do you have a website or instructions on how to turn that router you linked into a Piratebox? I'd love to try it one day. -
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Stephen Lett will be present at our next assembly.
by StarTrekAngel ina letter was read to the congregation last sunday.
i wasn't paying much attention until i heard stephen lett will be delivering a talk.
at first i thought it would be as a recorded video, as it was in the last assembly.
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TimDrake1914
@antes Wow, I never heard that aspect of Tony's visit. I'm pretty sure he might've mentioned apostates. But the only thing I remember is him saying something like "if you don't want to be here, just leave", as if it were that easy to just leave the org. But I wouldn't put it past him to be so paranoid as to feel he has to go and hide in the CO's apartment. But even back then, he already sounded as condescending as he does now a days. -
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Stephen Lett will be present at our next assembly.
by StarTrekAngel ina letter was read to the congregation last sunday.
i wasn't paying much attention until i heard stephen lett will be delivering a talk.
at first i thought it would be as a recorded video, as it was in the last assembly.
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TimDrake1914
Here in San Diego, we had Tight Pants Tony come and give a talk at our Circuit Assembly (Spanish circuit, using a translator for his talks) about 2 or 3 years ago. Since this was before JW Broadcasting, GB members didn't yet have the type of "celebrity status" they enjoy these days, so most things were pretty low key. From what I remember, he sat towards the front of the Assembly Hall, but still in the general seating area, close to where the backstage area could be accessed. He was available for people to go and say hi to him and his wife and take pictures with them. But he got the same type of reception that most other Branch reps usually got. But since he doesn't appear very "personable", I think most people didn't feel too inclined to go out of their way to go up to him and greet him. From my experience, at least in our circuit, if the speaker was really good and looked very personable, people would make an effort to go up to them after the assembly and say hi. With Tony's case, before the assembly was over, they made it a point to say that Tony would not be available after the assembly to go up to and greet him, since they had to fly out right away and head back to NY. To me, that sounded like BS since I had heard from someone else that he wasn't due to fly out until the next day. So I assumed he just didn't want to stick around too long after it was over.
The only other time we had a GB member come and visit was for the Assembly Hall re-dedication (after a thorough re-model). I think this might have been before JW Broadcasting as well, but the crowd was a mixture of both English and Spanish speaking congregations. Stephen Lett came down for that, and he got quite a different reception. After the program was over, he was swarmed by a huge group of people, as if he was a rock star. People were pretty much just trying to get close to take a picture with him. It was a mob scene really. I'm sure he probably didn't feel comfortable with it, and I'm pretty sure he got this type of reception because most people find him "personable" and just eat up the way he gives talks.