my mom called me yesterday to ask how i was doing.
i hadn't seen her in a while, so it was nice to hear her voice.
we went through the motions of jw small talk and then she started telling me about her co visit from last week.
Around the 1970s the District Overseer made a statement at the end of his talk that said "The Society [The Watchtower] has information that we will be attacked soon." I remember asking the man who was studying with me what that meant but I got no response.
I forgot all about it but several years later the same DO said exactly the same thing at the end of his talk. That's when I realized that he was reading from a script that was years old.
i would have to say that ray franz was the biggest influence for me.. when i first got on this board, a poster by the name of james, a former bethelite and organization heavy, helped me understand a lot of the inner workings in the upper echelons of the society.. .
and of course, farkel's common sense approach was (usually) helpful..
well folks you had better get your act together because there is only about 2.5 years before you are held responsible for your way of life.
according to "rapture watch", things are really going to start happening in 2017.. i am already asking the lord for leniency.
http://www.rapturewatch.net/timelines.htm .
there are many theories about the origin of belief in god, such as (1) ancient illiterate people feared forces of nature, which were then personified as gods and worshipped for protection.
(2) invention of agriculture and food surplus led to a new way of life, which included culture and religion..
yet such views are strongly being challenged today by various developments in our times.
Abiathar, I believe that mankind, at least our species Homo Sapiens, had a propensity for spirituality. paleo-anthropologists interpret prehistoric cave paintings as having a religious/ritualistic component - we worshipped what we ate. This however has nothing to do with an anthropomorphic 'god' that you mentioned. You could have spirituality and other beliefs such as animism and ancestor worship without a personal god.
"What is temporary can give only temporary happiness!"
We can be happy throughout our entire lifespan of three score and ten years. That would be temporary but fulfilling. No god needs to be involved.
"That means humans—whether in poverty or in material abundance—would seek spirituality, our inherent nature."
And you assume that it has to be a theistic spirituality that is tied in to belief in god/s. As far as poverty and riches are concerned it is well known by sociologists that poverty stricken areas tend to be more religious - religions that emphasize an afterlife of rewards. Two examples are, the deep south, (the 'Bible Belt') in the United States and ghetto areas. While well off people may be religious/spiritual impoverished people need some extra incentive in their miserable lives. Poverty breeds more religiosity than wealth.
And somewhat off topic:
"Just like water has TEMPORARY nature [becoming vapor when heated above 100 degree] and PERMANENT nature [liquidity],"
Water in all three forms can have a PERMANENT nature. Examples:
i would like to give my opinion of each gb member.
i would probably split them into 3 groups.. group 1 - the hardliners.
tony the 3rd: he knows exactly what hes's doing and saying.
@noontide:
"Why has the Holy Spirit not chosen someone from India, Africa, Japan, The Middle East (and a believer in the JW teachings - baptized) to be part of the GB? Surely someone from these parts of the world would be better able to relate to people within these regions and help bring them into "The Truth.""
In all fairness JWs from the countries you mention are not likely to know English, the default language of the Governing Body.
do you remember how the wt society likes to quote the scriptures that say "the love of the greater number will cool off" in "the last days" and men will have "no natural affection"?
they applied this to "worldly people".
even before my exit i, used to think that scripture applied to members of the "christian congregation" too.. i haven't written to my jw mil in about a year and a half.
Sail Away, do you plan to be by their deathbed in the near future? Pardon me if I sound cruel but if you do you should tell them exactly how you feel.
i have noticed something even long before even looking into ttatt, something about morris bothered me.
i am personally very attuned to body language, facial expressions and general subtleties in human interaction.
there was something about his face that really bothered me, and i will explain it.
matthew 17:20 - he said to them, because of your little faith.
for truly, i say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.. i get the 'message' - if you believe enough (in fact, even a tiny amount - a mustard seed being tiny) then nothing is impossible but really, what a ridiculous statement and idea for several reasons.. there are lots of people who believe things completely and sincerely even to the point of death.
so far i've not noticed any sudden movements of any mountain ranges.
Jonathan, you may be interested in this: http://www.salon.com/2013/02/24/the_myth_of_persecution_early_christians_werent_persecuted/
and this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062104527/?tag=saloncom08-20
matthew 17:20 - he said to them, because of your little faith.
for truly, i say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.. i get the 'message' - if you believe enough (in fact, even a tiny amount - a mustard seed being tiny) then nothing is impossible but really, what a ridiculous statement and idea for several reasons.. there are lots of people who believe things completely and sincerely even to the point of death.
so far i've not noticed any sudden movements of any mountain ranges.
Jonathan Drake: "The explosion of Christ devotion is a documented event. It was everywhere within just over a decade."
Where is the documentation of such a drastic increase within the first decade? I'm not saying that there wasn't any increase but several thousand at one time is hard to believe. Any increase would probably have slowly started and then snowballed after a certain period of time but thousands in one day?
"no matter how charismatic the teacher, there is no way people would convert to something and stick to it when later they were killed by the hundreds and used as torches to light roadways. It's not possible."
Does the name Joseph Rutherford ring a bell? No coliseums but draft dodgers and Holocaust victims and it's later continuation as the blood doctrine (That Watchtower with the montage of martyred children on its front page comes to mind.).
i've made some updates to the user section of the site.
besides some cosmetic tweaks the most notable new feature is the ability to see a listing of the topics someone has posted on - this includes topics they started as well as topics they replied to.. it will look like this when you go to a user page or your own profile page:.
simon.
