Incognito

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Posts by Incognito

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  20

  Did they use to applaud after reinstatement after being Disfellowshipped, but then it stopped?

  by ThomasCovenant in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i don't remember disfellowshippings happening very often and announcements about being re instated but i think i remember that we used to clap hands if someone came back after being disfellowshipped.

  but then i think clapping wasn't allowed.

  am i correct in my recollections?.

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  Incognito

  As I recall, applauding someone's reinstatement was deemed not appropriate since the person would not need to be reinstated if they had not first committed a sin which they were unrepentant for doing which resulted in them becoming disfellowshipped.

  'Returning to Jehovah' is an automatic expectation and duty which WT considers the reinstated person should not be praised for doing.
  

  The other reason I recall is so as to not elevate the importance of any individual. Similar to not celebrating someone's birthday, no human is to be elevated and praised above any other human. (Right!! Are not Pioneers, Elders, COs etc elevated above R&F JWs?)

  While the Bible provides an example in the parable of the Prodigal son, the father forgave the wayward son and was excited with the sons return after a long absence, holding a feast in the son's honor, even as the father had not yet established the reason for the son's return.

  WT disregards various bible examples of kindness, tolerance and loving behaviour when convenient to WT's agenda.
  
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  20

  In love with disfellowshipped JW

  by Amberlou in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i started dating a coworker who is a divorced jw.

  found out he was disfellowshipped, and he was trying to figure out how to make things work.

  i am not a jw, and his family is not supportive of the relationship.

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  Incognito

  Welcome to the forum Amberlou,

  Unless your BF realizes for himself that the JW religion is not "the truth" and is a cult, there is always a high risk that he will return to it, even if he now denies that.

  The lack of relationship with his family due to him not being a JW will be his family's decision. If his family is willing to break ties and turn their backs on him only because he decided he no longer wishes to remain a JW, then they really don't deserve him or you.

  Will you ultimately accept and respect your BF if he changes who he is so as to satisfy the demands of his relatives? Even if he were to cave into their demands, do you believe they will then accept his relationship with you?

  Giving into demands of relatives is a slippery slope. If he allows them to control him because he fears their rejection, reinstatement will not be enough but they will continue to place further demands on him to continue their approval.
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  13

  Do angels have genders?

  by BourneIdentity in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  many of them came down to have relations with women.

  does that mean there are male angels?

  if there are male and female, what makes them that with no physical body?

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  Incognito

  This was a question and issues I raised on this forum some time ago.

  I recall WT teaches angels have no gender.

  As sexual arousal and stimulation in humans involves hormones and nerves, it then also seems spirit angels are equipped hormones and nerves equivalent to those in humans.

  As genderless spirit creatures not equipped with sexual organs, even if they could somehow create a functioning penis to stimulate to orgasm, that does not require an ejaculate that is compatable with human DNA so as to produce hybrid offspring.
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  16

  JW Memorial Gallery

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jwdotorg released a picture gallery with dozens of images from around the world of jws celebrating ('commemorating') via zoom, organized by continent:.

  https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/global/2020-memorial-commemoration-international-photo-gallery/.

  the vast majority of photos show the people's faces, but this european 'brother' is a rare exception.

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  Incognito

  Nice beard!

  Although wearing his mandatory jacket and tie, he might not be wearing pants.
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  19

  Reasonable question - looking for reasonable responses!

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. current

  why are taxi firms still operating during a "deadly pandemic?".

  i was shopping yesterday and saw taxi after taxi picking people & their shopping up at the supermarket.

  none of the drivers or any of the passengers wore masks or gloves, nor did they keep any distance from each other - in or out of the car.. the drivers all helped to load the bags into the boots/trunks of their cars.taxi-drivers must be seriously at risk of catching/spreading covid 19...

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  Incognito

  looking for reasonable responses!

  For this pre-qualifier, who decides what is and what is not a reasonable response?
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  22

  Any suggestions

  by Xena73 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just woke up and i'm new on here.

  if your an unbaptized publisher can you be disfellowshipped or dissociated?

  please send me a message.

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  Incognito

  Whether someone is disfellowshipped or they disassociate, the announcement is identical: 'Incognito is no longer a Jehovah's Witness' or similar.

  If you successfully stopped attending at 11 yo, why are you now calling in to meetings at 47 yo?
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  22

  Any suggestions

  by Xena73 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just woke up and i'm new on here.

  if your an unbaptized publisher can you be disfellowshipped or dissociated?

  please send me a message.

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  Incognito

  They can also claim a person is 'Marked' or an unsuitable associate.

  Not everything is necessarily announced from the platform but some communications are circulated by the unofficial but effective 'gossip mill'.

  Although JWs claim they do not gossip, many are proficient at doing so.
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  45

  What do you think of the ransom as proof of Jehovah's love?

  by AlainAlam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  consider these excerpts from the bible and the publications:.

  “no one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his life in behalf of his friends” (joh 15:13).

  “for hardly would anyone die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone may dare to die.

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  Incognito

  Wouldn't the true value of sacrifice be from the permanent loss of a valuable item or person?

  While the bible accounts indicate Jesus experienced a torturous death that no man should be forced to endure, as mentioned, the value of any sacrifice he represented was not a result of torture but the value was from his death. Any value obtained from his torture was only to show why he was being put to death. Dying from being struck by an oxcart or other accident would not illustrate his purpose.

  As implied in some of the earlier comments, the value of God sacrificing his son was diminished by the fact that God planned to resurrect Jesus after he died as a man. While it would have been painful for God to watch his favoured son treated in the manner he was, there was no true sacrifice by either God or Jesus as neither lost anything permanently.
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  84

  Do you have any evidence that the GB had bad intent?

  by AlainAlam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you have any evidence that the gb had bad intent?

  as opposed to blind faith/cognitive dissonance and honest mistakes.. i'm inclined to think they have the best of intentions and are just wrong (primarily because the bible is wrong), but i'm willing to consider the evidence otherwise..

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  Incognito

  Often, when posters ask for evidence, each poster has their own hidden criteria of what they will accept as evidence.

  Perhaps only an outright admission from a GB member or documentation that the GB's actions and decisions are made with bad intent will be acceptable, but that is not likely to happen. Even when written evidence exsists (ie: UN proof of association letters and web page) JWs will usually automatically claim it was a fake document, created by 'apostates' to discredit the org. When ex-JW forum members respond to such evidence requests to provide examples in terms of the consequences of GB decisions and actions and GB attempts to conceal, mislead or outright lie (Geoffrey Jackson- ARC testimony) with regard to negative consequences, those examples are usually poo-pooed by the original poster when they don't meet that poster's undefined criteria.
  

  Not everything is Black or White, Good or Bad. Just because the majority here consider the religion to be a cult and its leaders act dishonestly and arrogantly, does not mean everything they do is wrong, or has bad intent.

  When honest mistakes are made, honest people will admit to those mistakes and will usually take steps to correct matters to prevent the same mistakes from being made going forward. What mistakes have the GB admitted to?

  You ask for evidence, but the GB provide no actual evidence they were appointed by God nor that God or Jesus chose the JW religion as an earthly organization, yet, most active JWs continue to give their blind faith that everything the GB claim is 'The Truth' and has God's support and approval.
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  30

  Is that podium thing unique to JW's? Do they build them?

  by InterestedOne in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering about that half-table/half-podium thing that jw's use on the platform.

  is that unique to jw's & do they build them, like shakers had their own furniture?.

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  Incognito

  Because WT is a publishing corporation, they produced many publications over the years which congregation speakers are expected and required to refer to and quote when delivering their talks.

  The lectern design chosen, provides additional space on the lower surface to place multiple publications for easy access by the speaker when delivering 'his' talk. If JWs relied only on the bible and an outline, there would little need for additional space for other publications so a single surface design would have likely been chosen.