Athanasius

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Posts by Athanasius

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  24

  CA members

  by Chameleon in

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  2. friends

  who here is in ca?

  i'm in southern ca, and that's all i'm willing to reveal for now.

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  Athanasius

  Also from Northern California.
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  23

  How significant was the 1995 bombshell - generation?

  by jambon1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering what effect the article on the generation change had on most people here?.

  for years, the trump card on the ministry when replying to the "it will never come in my day" objection to armageddon, was the doctrine of the generation.

  many jw`s probobly held back from making important financial comitments.

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  Athanasius

  I had left the JWs 11 years earlier so it didn't have any effect on me. However, being curious about how the JWs were taking it, I attended the Watchtower Study at a congregation in Sacramento, CA a month before they were scheduled to study the Generation article. Surprisingly the KH was so full that I had to sit in the room used for the second school. I thought it might be the week of the CO's visit. But no, it was just a regular public talk and Watchtower Study. After the meeting I got a copy of the Generation Watchtower and took it home for closer study. A month or so later I attended the same congregation to see how the JWs would respond to the "new light," as it was the weekend for the Generation study. This time I had not problem finding a seat. In fact the attendance was only a third of what it had been during my previous visit. What was also interesting is how few commented during the Watchtower study. Also nobody said anything about this being a new understanding about the generation.

  I thought that the low meeting attendance for that important study article may have been due to the fact that it was early December and maybe a lot of the JWs were doing their Chistmas shopping.
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  29

  Voting with their wallet

  by SirNose586 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i came here in may, i began to see phrases like "voting with their wallets" or "voting with their feet" in regards to declining contributions and declining attendance figures.

  i think i am seeing the former in action..... last sunday i went to the local ca.

  at the half they read the accounts report--aka, cough up that dough report--and there was a "$4,000 deficit.

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  Athanasius

  I dropped $6.00 into the contribution box at the last District Assembly that I attended. Gave them two crisp Chuck Russell three dollar bills.
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  33

  Your opinion: Are those raised as Witnesses more likely to end up godless?

  by under_believer in

  1. jw
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  was thinking about this the other day and wanted to get your (yes: your) opinion.

  i find myself slipping farther and farther down the agnostic scale in my thinking--it's possible that i'll end up an atheist.

  my suspicion is that because i was raised being taught that all other religions are false, that i came to the conclusion that if the witnesses don't have "the truth" then nobody does.

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  Athanasius

  I was raised a JW and until I left the Watchtower in 1984 didn't know any other religion. However, my departure from the JWs didn't turn me against God or religion. Though my spiritual journey took me to a number of religions, I became an Episcopalian in 1991 and still attend Church services.

  But I know others who were raised in the JW religion have had a different experience.
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  7

  Modern day immaculate conception!!!

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hmmm.... i wonder how this could have happened?

  http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyenoughnews&storyid=2006-10-12t132441z_01_han81349_rtrukoc_0_us-vietnam-pregnancy.xml&src=rss.

  death-row prisoner gets pregnant in solitary.

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  Athanasius

  I think you have your doctines mixed up. Immaculate Conception is the doctrine according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived in her mother's womb without the stain of original sin. No to be confused with Virgin Birth, the theological doctrine that the conception of and birth of Christ did not impair the virginity of Mary.
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  37

  How did you feel, when you missed your 1st Memorial?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i remember going to each memorial even when i was inactive.

  i felt that i had to go to atleast that meeting.. then one year, i was sick on that day, and didn't go to the memorial.

  it was a funny feeling to miss the most important day of the year, as a jw would call it.. but i got used to it, when i missed my 2nd and 3rd memorial..

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  Athanasius

  That was a long time ago. I don't remember how I felt, but I don't think I missed anything.
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  20

  Any "tricks" you'd like to play on a JW or at the KH?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'd like to put a crisis of conscience book in their library.

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  Athanasius

  Hi VM,

  Yes, there was a Watchtower article in the late 70s or early 80s about what books should be in the KH library. However, it also had a list of prohibited items. Among those not approved by the Watchtower Vatican were books on "higher critisism." That meant that the Passover Plot had to go. If I remember correctly, there was even a copy of Hans Kung's On Being Christian in the library. Of course it too was discarded. So much for the Watchtower's allowing JWs freedom of thought.
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  20

  Any "tricks" you'd like to play on a JW or at the KH?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'd like to put a crisis of conscience book in their library.

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  Athanasius

  Back in 1971, when I was the Theocratic Ministry School overseer, I added some non-Watchtower books to the KH library in order to broaden the minds of my students. The Passover Plot by Hugh J. Schonfield was among the additions. At the time I found Schonfield's works to be thought provoking and my own personal library contained a copy of every book he ever wrote. Surprisingly the Passover Plot stayed in our KH library until 1981 when the new School overseer, following a directive from the Vatican, removed all non-Watchtower publications from the library shelves.
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  48

  When's the last time you went to the Kingdom Hall?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's been a little over a year for me.. about 15 months..

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  Athanasius

  The last time I attended the KH as a JW was in 1984. However, in 1988 my aunt's memorial service was held at a KH and I attended the service. Since then I've visited several KHs as a non-JW, which is much more fun. But the last time I was in a KH was for Memorial 2004. Told the JWs that I was an Episcopalian doing research on the JW religion for a comparative religion class. The JWs were very friendly and did their usual love-bombing, probably counting it on their time slips. Not surprisingly I was the only one partaking of the bread and wine. Don't know if they counted me as one of the Remnant though.
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  54

  What ever happened to homosexual GB member Leo Greeenlees, is he dead now?

  by chiddy in

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  Athanasius

  Though it has been a few years since I read Crisis of Conscience, if I remember correctly, Leo Greenlees was a liberal on issues like blood, alternate service, etc. Could he have been removed from the GB for political reasons, while at the same time the Watchtower disinformation service spread rumors of sexual impropriety to keep him from speaking out as Ray Franz did? It would also be a warning to other liberals on the GB to toe the line or be exiled in disgrace.

  Remember all the rumors circulating in the early 1980s that Ray Franz, while still a GB member, gave the Memorial Talk in a congregation and invited all to partake? There are lots of rumors, but are there any hard facts that would stand up in a court of law?