Athanasius

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Posts by Athanasius

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  6

  A 2016 new years resolution for the world

  by bobld in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  all gov't of the world permanently delete remove from their constitution "freedom of religion.

  " why remove from the constitution because we will have world peace.i have move to say about freedoms of.......... who will nominate me for the nobel peace price?.

  just two ex freedom of religion.ultra-orthodax jew refuses to sit next to woman on airplane.female saudi student died after male medics were prevented from entering the women only campus the list goes on and on.what no human right u.n.. how about this hundred years ago catholics weren't allowed to read the bible(some say they were illiterate)but the pope or holy see they must go to church or they would burn in hell for ever an ever.was this religious freedom or mind control by the holy shit.this mind control still goes on to this day..

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  Athanasius

  You can rail against religion all you want, but you will never have world peace until you can guarantee freedom from poverty to all citizens.

  Workers of the world unite! All you have to lose are your chains.
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  12

  Witness wedding questions

  by snugglebunny in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just wondering about witness weddings and what is and isn't acceptable these days.

  i know that toasts are a no-no, but i'm wondering about other things, such as:.

  is it ok to have a best man?.

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  Athanasius

  Back in 1967 when I married my first wife, the rules were less strict for a KH wedding. In our wedding the best man and the bride's maid were both regular pioneers, but my wife's father was not a JW, and he gave her away. I think that in the 1980s they changed the rules for KH weddings and now require every member of the wedding party to be a JW in good standing.

  They were even less strict in the 1950s as I remember JWs getting married in the KH where with the exception of the bride and groom the rest of the wedding party were all non-JW friends and relatives.
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  6

  Positive comments about JW's today, have your heard any recently?

  by James Mixon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the 60's and 70's you would hear these comments from non- believers,.

  my neighbor is a jw and they are good people, my sister is a jw and i admire their.

  dedication.

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  Athanasius

  I remember back in the 1970s co-workers would ask me: "Why do your people come by so early on Saturday morning?" I always sympathized with them because I also liked to sleep in on Saturday and hated going out in field circus.

  Other than that most of their comments were neutral. After I left the JWs and changed professions the subject has never came up and I've never had reason to discuss my past religious affiliation with co-workers.
  
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  79

  The really cool feeling of community within JWs

  by Phaedra in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i remember going out with other jws after the memorial.. small gatherings.. picnics at some local landmark.. the feeling of closeness, camaraderie, friendship with like minded people you could trust.. haven't experienced it since i left.. really miss that..

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  Athanasius

  My question was regarding governmental structure, and the way you phrased your post, I thought that you were referring to a particular government or nation. This aroused my curiosity as I'm interested in comparative government. It appears that you meant people and their belief or non-belief.

  My mistake.
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  79

  The really cool feeling of community within JWs

  by Phaedra in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i remember going out with other jws after the memorial.. small gatherings.. picnics at some local landmark.. the feeling of closeness, camaraderie, friendship with like minded people you could trust.. haven't experienced it since i left.. really miss that..

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  Athanasius

  Sorry, DJS, but your links still don't answer my question. I wasn't asking about what people believe or not believe and how they treat others. Or whether believers are better people than non-believers.
  

  My question was about the secular-atheist government that you referred to. The USA is secular, but not atheist. Most western European governments are secular but hardly atheist, as some still have state churches.
  

  So which country today has a government that you consider secular-atheist with happy people?
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  79

  The really cool feeling of community within JWs

  by Phaedra in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i remember going out with other jws after the memorial.. small gatherings.. picnics at some local landmark.. the feeling of closeness, camaraderie, friendship with like minded people you could trust.. haven't experienced it since i left.. really miss that..

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  Athanasius

  I'll check it
  
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  79

  The really cool feeling of community within JWs

  by Phaedra in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i remember going out with other jws after the memorial.. small gatherings.. picnics at some local landmark.. the feeling of closeness, camaraderie, friendship with like minded people you could trust.. haven't experienced it since i left.. really miss that..

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  Athanasius

  Hi DJS,
  

  Interesting that you agree with the JWs that worship of the state is a religion. I know several Marxists who would take issue with you on that.

  However, out of curiosity, which country today do you consider most secular and atheist in which the population is the most happy?
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  38

  Re: New Songs for Memorial

  by pixel in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  to all congregations.

  re: new songs for memorial.

  dear brothers:.

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  Athanasius

  I remember the old days when there was live music in the KHs. One of the sisters who played the piano at our KH was a retired night club performer. She played Honky Tonk piano, so she always jazzed up the songs a bit and made them more lively.
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  79

  The really cool feeling of community within JWs

  by Phaedra in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i remember going out with other jws after the memorial.. small gatherings.. picnics at some local landmark.. the feeling of closeness, camaraderie, friendship with like minded people you could trust.. haven't experienced it since i left.. really miss that..

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  Athanasius

  I take it that you meant "more secular state" rather than "atheistic state," DJS.

  The People's Republic of North Korea is an atheistic state, but I wouldn't want to live there and doubt that you would.
  

  
  
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  19

  "Freeness of speech"

  by Wonderment in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this was posted on another thread (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6040010839031808/christmas-tree-word-appreciation), but wondered about how others here would see this with one experience i had as an elder now as ex-jws.. when we were jw's we had to be extremely careful with what we said around the brotherhood.

  if someone said anything out of the ordinary, relationships among the involved were halted immediately, or were never the same afterwards.

  in this place, one can say almost anything without the fear of having a truck run over us.

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  Athanasius

  Hi Wonderment,

  I resigned as an elder and faded in 1984, so I don't know how they handle the public talks these days. But in the 1970s and until I resigned, I used a number of different Bible Translations in my talks, even though the NWT was supposed to be used. as I hated using the NWT. I also quoted ancient Christian sources, Josephus, and modern secular historians during the talks.

  Surprisingly the elders in the different congregations I visited, never counseled me, nor was I eliminated as a traveling speaker. In fact the rank and file JWs gave me lots of compliments. But things have obviously changed since then.