Amazing1914

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Posts by Amazing1914

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  18

  can a person be disfellowshipped without knowing?

  by Crooked Lumpy Vessel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can a person be disfellowshipped and not know about it?

  me and my husband have been shunned the moment we stopped attending meetings.

  no one has ever called and only a few have come by over the last 2 years.

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  Amazing1914

  Yes.
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  9

  Scientists: What can Exponential Growth tell us about the Bible?

  by Caveat in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  need help from all the scientists, statisticians and math gurus out there?

  (perhaps sng?).

  have you researched exponential growth and bible chronology?.

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  Amazing1914

  Caveat,

  Population growth has been increasing in the last 100 years due to significant advancement in modern medicine. We also have several limiting factors throughout history, such as war, plagues, and the fact that people did not live as long on average. For example, just about 150 years ago men lived about an average of 45 years. Today that average is in the late 70s.

  Noah's flood as a worldwide event could not and did not happen, so YEC analysis of this relative to population growth is irrelevant.

  Also, it has been proven time and again that humans have been on earth much longer than the time of Adam and Eve. The latest time frame is about 195,000 years. The evidence is that humans became nearly extinct several tens of thousands of years ago when they were forced to live along the coast of east Africa. They survived on fish, which contributed greatly to significant evolutionary advances in brain development.

  The entire YEC argument is based on fiction and misuses math to make their arguments appear scientific.

  Jim W.
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  23

  Why were apocalyptic books included in the NT canon?

  by logansrun in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  all right folks -- especially you scholarly ones -- let me state a question i've been having: .

  from my understanding of christian history the proto-catholic church selected the books to be included in the nt canon after the first century was concluded (nt canon finalized in mid 2nd century?).

  included in this canon were books which include some apocalyptic sayings of jesus (especially in mark) that obviously were not fulfilled, such as mark 9:1 "truly i say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of god has come with power.

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  Amazing1914

  Hi Brad,
  

  The verses in Matt. 24 are contextually applied to the generation that does see the end time commence.

  I will look up Mark 9:1, but I believe that there are some good commentary on this, such as Matthew Henry Commentary.

  Btw: How did your relatives party go? Did the elders try to bug you, or leave you alone?

  Jim W.

  PS: The modern Bible Canon was really decided by the Catholic Church and took a lot of time to settle. They had arguments about the book of James and Revelation. The book History of Christianity by Paul Johnson gives excellent insight on early church and biblical development.
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  24

  New Here.....And Grieving

  by evita in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been lurking for quite a few months.

  i have been trying to get up enough nerve to tell you my whole story but am finding it painful and scary to write about.

  so here's the shorter version until i get brave enough to spill all the details.

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  Amazing1914

  Hi Evita,

  Your story reminds me of someone I know of, but likely you are not that person. Anyway, many of us share your feelings on this, because we have walked difficults roads. It is especially hard on those who were raised JWs, and then find themselves on the outside looking in at relatives who shun them, or even partially shun them. You are fortunate in that your Mm chose not to shun you entirely. But, even such fortune does not heal the internal pain of what we have lost.

  The healing can be faster for some, and very slow for others. One therapist told me that from the descriptions he has heard over the years, that leaving the JWs is like getting a divorce. People do eventually move on, but they never really totally heal from the tragedy. But, I believe that we can come very close to healing if we take some helpful measures. Based on your description, it sounds like your siblings are not really in the JWs anymore ... so, you have them to be part of your life. You never mentioned yuor father. Was/is he a JW? Is he still alive? Do you have any close friends or any other relatives still in the organization? Once I hear the rest of your story, I will expand on some things I have learned ... and I will deal with the above questions.

  I was in the JWs altogether for 27 years (25 years as a baptized JW). I got my family and a couple of friends out of the organization ... and I rebuilt a new life with my non-JW family and old non-JW friends ... and I have made new friends. But, it has been a long road ... 13 years since I walked away in April of 1992, and almost 10 years since I was forcibly DA'd by the Watchtower legal department.

  Being on this forum and some select others has been most helpful ... other forums are made up of ex-JWs who have gone to the dogs, so I avoid them simply because the rhetoric is far to vitriolic and toxic. There are many good folks here who can give wise and caring help ... so, I hope you will draw upon them. You can start off using the PM service on this site, and have some great one-on-one dialogue. I will look for your continuing story. You can either PM me on this baord to let me know when you post it, or e-mail me at [email protected].

  I have been in several congregations on the west coast, so if you are from that area, then maybe we can compare notes if you like.

  All the best ... take care, it does get better over time.

  Jim Whitney
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  4

  Queen Elizabeth at 16

  by Amazing1914 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  watching the wedding of charles and camilla (chuck and cam to those in rio linda) ... i became curious about queen elizabeth.

  she became queen in 1953 when i was two years old.

  so, i went to the official website of the british monarchy at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page1.asp and read up on her.. .

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  Amazing1914

  Watching the wedding of Charles and Camilla (Chuck and Cam to those in Rio Linda) ... I became curious about Queen Elizabeth. She became queen in 1953 when I was two years old. So, I went to the official website of the British Monarchy at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp and read up on her.
  

  I saw an impressive picture of her at sixteen years of age: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page427.asp

  © Mark Stewart, Camera Press

  She was a real lovely young lady. I notice that most all the members of the House of Windsor, including the two young Princes, are nice looking people.

  Its fun watching the British tradition and ceremony. Britain has set many standards around the world for good government, civilized society, and advancement in all sorts of fields. My ethnic heritage is English, and I am technically supposed to he heir to the Whitney Castle, located near Wales. One day, I hope to travel there, and visit some of my own history.

  God Save the Queen,

  Jim Whitney Now, I shall sit back and sip some tea.
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  13

  The next Pope Murdered?

  by jula71 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  nostradamus had 'grim warning' for new pope

  the pope elected to succeed john paul ii will be assassinated and his death will spark a muslim invasion of the west that will split the roman catholic church, according to an interpretation of nostradamus's prophecies by a leading colombian author.

  "the next pope elected will be subsequently murdered in central italy," said gonzalo echeverri, a colombian investigating judge and author of a book on nostradamus.

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  Amazing1914

  Hi,

  Then comes pope number 112, who will flee Rome because of an attack by Muslims."

  The author of this article is an idiot. Pope #111 was Stephan VI who ruled from 885 to 891 then Pope #112 was Formosus, who ruled in 891-896 and died a natural death. If the author meant Pope #212, then he would be talking about Paul II who ruled 1464-1471. He too lived a long normal life. As for the next Pope, he will be #266.

  Jim W.
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  13

  The Final Pope

  by hamsterbait in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  who was the medieval monk who accounted all the popes to the end of the world in a prophetic document?

  john paul ii (i think he should be called jp the great) was described in the manuscript as "he who stoops in the sun.

  not only was jp a farmworker harvesting potatoes and turnips (believe me you'll stoop), but his charateristic gesture on arriving in foreign lands was to stoop and kiss the ground.

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  Amazing1914

  This can be found in the quatrains of Nostradamus. Some believe he gave very accurate prophecies, others, like James Randi, have proven him a fraud.

  I recommend that you first read the original translations from French to English. Then read the many different intrepretations published since the first translations.

  If I recall correctly, according to the latest interpretation of Nostradamus, Pope John Paul II is the second or third to the last Pope. The last Pope is supposed to take the title Peter. There has only ben one Pope Peter, who was the first Pope. So, the last Pope is likewise Peter.

  Oddly enough, the second or third to the last Pope was supposed to be nearly fatally injured, but then recover. Pope John Paul II was shot in 1980, and then recovered.

  It will be interesting to watch and see if the next Pope calls himself Peter. This will be a major break from a 2000 year Catholic tradition of not using that name.

  Jim W.
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  23

  I have been reading COC

  by fairy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, i have read the first few chapters of the latest edition and am surprised at what i read.. the bickering behind the society - how some decisions were not based on scriptural reference - the 607 date - and where the gentile times 1914 thing came about - the malawi/mexico business - ray franz has a very interesting story about the society/governing body amongst other things.. it seems that ever since he was there, he constantly came across things he didnt agree with.. the voting system that was set up to see what articles went in the magazines.. there was one bit in there about being "scriptually free to marry".

  one sister caught her husband and an animal together....well..you know......and she divorced him.

  she remarried but then told she wasnt free to scriptually marry and they disfellowshipped/dissassociated her.......how ridiculous is that.. and so the story goes........... i thought i would just put my bit in on the first section i have read...will write more when i have read more..

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  Amazing1914

  Noumenon,

  COC is good but a lot of what it deals with can be found on the internet. I enjoyed In Search of Christian Freedom better.

  You have to be kidding! CoC was published in 1983 before the Internet took off. What is found on the Internet in the years since have little to do with CoC. Anything on the Internet that resembles CoC likely used CoC as its source. What makes CoC authoritative is that it is written by a former GB member. Nothing on the Internet has any equivalency. I likewise greatly enjoyed In Search because it went to the next level, and pointed the way to Christ. After reading it, I commenced my plans to leave the organization. Jim W.
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  14

  The RCC is out-pacing the JWs in the USA

  by Amazing1914 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ranked #1: roman catholic church - 66,407,105. .

  see: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04yearbook.html.

  ranked #1: roman catholic church: 62,391,484. .

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  Amazing1914

  Zug,

  " ... both are good at using media events (such as the death of the Pope)"

  The RCC has only started fully using the media during the time of Pope John Paul II. Prior to this, they were less media-conscious. They were so completely entrenched in society that they did not need as much media attention.

  As far as the Pope, the RCC is not really using this as much as the media is demanding to broadcast more because this Pope was most popular. He played a significant role in the downfall of communism.

  I was raised RCC, but my 25 years as a JW pretty well burned the Catholic out of me. Nonetheless, I find the numbers ironic, given the big boasts the Watchtower has made for decades.
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  14

  The RCC is out-pacing the JWs in the USA

  by Amazing1914 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ranked #1: roman catholic church - 66,407,105. .

  see: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04yearbook.html.

  ranked #1: roman catholic church: 62,391,484. .

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  Amazing1914

  When I became a JW in 1968, there was barely 1 million JW worldwide, and only about 200,000 in the USA. We were studying the "Babylon" book, which said that the "waters of Babylon would dry up" ... meaning that the churches, especially the Catholic Church, would decline as the JWs would be blessed and grow.
  

  Each year, as 1975 approached, we saw big increases ... and we talked about the little comments in the back of the Awake! which indicated that the churches were losing members ... or they were almost empty with only a few little old ladies attending each Sunday. We felt vindicated at seeing inner city churches boarded up, or being used for non-religious activities.

  Since that time, the JWs have reached over 6,500,000 worldwide. What is the condition of the churches today? Looking at the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), we find an interesting set of numbers compared to the JWs:

  In 2004, the RCC compares to JWs - just in the United States:

  Ranked #1: Roman Catholic Church - 66,407,105

  Ranked # 24: Jehovah?s Witnesses - 1,022,397

  See: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04yearbook.html

  How did they compare just three years earlier in 2001?

  Ranked #1: Roman Catholic Church: 62,391,484

  Ranked #24: Jehovah?s Witnesses: 990,340

  See: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/01news15.html

  The RCC grew by 6.44% in three years. The JWs grew by 3.23%. At this rate, Armageddon will never come.

  The JWs growth in the USA is slowing. But, for the RCC, the USA is its hottest growth spot. See: http://www.americamagazine.org/gettext.cfm?articleTypeID=1&textID=2236&issueID=385

  How large is the RCC worldwide compared to the JWs? RCC is now 1.07 billion (this figure excludes Eastern, Greek, Russian and other orthodox churches which add another 600 million or so). See: http://www.diocesephoenix.org/vocations/latest_statistics_on_the_members.htm

  The JWs are now 6,513,132 (See: http://www.jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm) So, how does all this stack up since 1968?

  JWs grew from about 1,000,000 to 6.5 million, worldwide. A 650% growth rate over 35 years. Most of that 5.5 million increase was in spurts during the 1970s and again in the 1980s. The RCC steadily grew from about 750 million to 1.07 billion worldwide in the same period. Their growth rate was only 45% over the same 35 year period. But, this means that the RCC added 320 million to its ranks, or roughly 58 times the total numbers added to the JWs. And, in recent years, as noted above, the RCC is now growing twice as fast as the JWs.

  Have Babylons' waters dried up? Or, maybe the RCC and other Christian faiths are not part of any so-called Great Babylon ... but rather, such a silly interpretation of Revelation by the Watchtower seems more like big talk, but not the big walk.

  Put another way: The RCC grows nearly 1.3 million per year in the USA ... that is 30% more than all of the JWs in the USA ... it took the JWs 121 years to do what the RCC does each and every year in the USA.

  Somehow, the waters seems to be flowing just fine in the RCC.

  Jim W.