Posts by Axelspeed

18

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 7-16-06 WT Study (Choose Life)

by blondie in

`choose life to keep alive'.

christian--once.

israel chose to obey...willingly gave...their exclusive devotion.

Axelspeed

Thanks Blondie for the insightful post, as always.

Although Jehovah has the ability to know in advance what will happen, he does not predetermine our individual actions and destiny.

So let me get this straight. I can go the Blockbuster and rent a movie. Then I can take it home and begin viewing it. At this point I can either 1) watch the full movie and wait to see how it ends, or 2) use the remote control (my ability) to fast forward and see how it ends in advance (prophecy) .

Either way, does it change the ending of the movie, or has that already been set?

I've always wondered that if the future can be known, then isn't is already set -- if so, that is a form of predestination.

If something cannot be known or is not predetermined, then it cannot be the basis for real prophecy.

Axel

8

Five years for me

by Jankyn in

jw
friends

yep, it's been five years since i joined jwd.

and still only a senior member.

that would be because i generally only post when i have something to say.. i was on h2o many moons ago (also as jankyn), and i used to lurk on witnet (which i found hilarious, particularly the way that lisa--ldh--would mess with jw heads).

Axelspeed

Welcome to the low-average-post class .

Axel

72

Big announcement after all DC have ended?

by Quandary in

jw
friends

i was told by a reliable source that the organization will be making a "big announcement" at the end of the summer when all the dcs have ended.

has anyone else heard this?

maybe this is the "new light" they have alluded to in recent wt study articles?

Axelspeed

Looks like the CO's Buick with a WT folded on the dash!...double-lifer??
Axel

59

To what belief system do you subscribe? Belief-O-Matic!

by daystar in

jw
friends

take the old belief-o-matic survey and post your results!.

here are my rather interesting results:.

1. unitarian universalism (100%) 2. mainline to liberal christian protestants (83%) 3. liberal quakers (82%) 4. neo-pagan (81%) 5. christian science (church of christ, scientist) (80%) 6. secular humanism (78%) 7. new age (67%) 8. baha'i faith (61%) 9. nontheist (60%) 10. church of jesus christ of latter-day saints (mormons) (57%) 11. new thought (55%) 12. hinduism (52%) 13. scientology (50%) 14. jehovah's witness (48%) 15. taoism (48%) 16. theravada buddhism (45%) 17. mainline to conservative christian/protestant (36%) 18. sikhism (32%) 19. mahayana buddhism (31%) 20. jainism (23%) 21. orthodox quaker (21%) 22. eastern orthodox (20%) 23. orthodox judaism (20%) 24. roman catholic (20%) 25. reform judaism (18%) 26. seventh day adventist (17%) 27. islam (5%)

Axelspeed

Unitarian Universalism (100%)
Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (98%)
Liberal Quakers (96%)
Neo-Pagan (94%)
New Age (89%)

JWs still show up at number 23 on my list.

It's a big change from a few of years ago when they were still in my top 5. I guess you can can that progress.

Axel

114

Announcement: Another favorable court ruling regarding Napa County lawsuit

by AndersonsInfo in

i'm thrilled to tell you about the latest court decision made in california a few days ago which kimberlee norris said would be announced today, monday, on jwd.. on july 3rd, i started a thread where the last two rulings in the napa county, california lawsuit, charissa w. v. watchtower, new york, et al., were posted.

both decisions were favorable to the plaintiff.

see http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/8/116108/1.ashx.

Axelspeed

the elders would be hanging high not the WTS.

I agree. Current elders take note.

114

Announcement: Another favorable court ruling regarding Napa County lawsuit

by AndersonsInfo in

i'm thrilled to tell you about the latest court decision made in california a few days ago which kimberlee norris said would be announced today, monday, on jwd.. on july 3rd, i started a thread where the last two rulings in the napa county, california lawsuit, charissa w. v. watchtower, new york, et al., were posted.

both decisions were favorable to the plaintiff.

see http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/8/116108/1.ashx.

Axelspeed

I bet the WTS is already coming up with new ways to get out of this predicament they've put themselves into. The way this is panning out, they will have to eliminate the communication pathway from the elders to hq. They *might* even have to do away with the 3-man JC.

Now we need to try to figure out how the Watchtower Society will respond to this situation.

I think they saw this coming -- eventually. They are being forced to ramp up the timeline to do this drastically though. You could see they were trying to sever the ties legally to the elders with the direction from the wt the elders were instructed to handwrite in their copy of the elder's manual. It started with the 6 expressions elders were never to include in the S-77 or S-79 forms in corresponding to the wt about judicial matters. They obviously wanted the control of the elders and the congs, but didn't want the legal liability it brought. Now they have to decide, are the elders in or out? Axel

17

DeIndoctrination

by Shazard in

what about using wt tactics against them?

.

how to attract jw and keep them long enough to get chances to reach their mind and plant seeds of doubt about wt?

Axelspeed

Just to elaborate on my previous post.
To a jw, an "apostate" is the most dangerous being walking on 2 legs. Worse than a fornicator, thief, prostitute or drug addict. When an apostate speaks, a jw automatically see a serpent's tongue slip in and out as the words are being uttered. They have been conditioned to believe that an apostate is as close to satan/demon as a human can get.
To break through this defense mechanism takes incredible effort on the person extending the help and/or a lot of courage and self-determination on the part of the jw.
For this reason the person best in a position to help is someone still in who is on his way out. Even someone who is not known as an "apostate" has a better chance of being heard. Living in an area where no one knows your past jw history helps a lot in this case.
A person who is known as an apostate can do the greatest good by innoculating those outside from ever becoming a jw in the first place.

Axel

17

DeIndoctrination

by Shazard in

what about using wt tactics against them?

.

how to attract jw and keep them long enough to get chances to reach their mind and plant seeds of doubt about wt?

Axelspeed

To be honest in my case there is nothing anyone could have done, especially someone who was a known and labeled "apostate". Not while I was still in. I just really got to the point (on my own) where i couldn't do it / didn't want to do it anymore, even if they were right about everything. I was just content to go down with the other billions at the big A. If I went any further the way I was going I wasn't going to make it that far anyway.
On the other hand, there were a couple of individuals who left me with a well thought out question or 2 and then left it at that. They didn't try to argue, or openly criticize the org, just left a question that made you say hmmm. From that point my own thinking processes took over, and coupled with my own malaise about the whole jw thing and how it was affecting my mood, I was on my way out. Learning what I know now just cemented my decision and went aways in getting rid of the fear and guilt.
Different things work for different people, but overall I think a jw has to be ready to receive the information or contemplate the question presented.

Axel

87

Napa Valley, CA Child Abuse Court Case Victories

by AndersonsInfo in

napa wt child abuse case.

two important court decisions, which came out of napa valley, ca, are now available for us to post on jwd.

these significant rulings overturn objections regularly made by the watchtower in recent lawsuits and may serve as a precedent for future lawsuits.

Axelspeed

Yep, looks like the GB do serve a purpose by the WT in anticipation of worst case scenario--loss of tax exempt status. And it looks like the court caught on to the NY/Penn shell game being played.
Axel

10

Downsizing part 2

by Pistoff in

i forgot the most irritating response to the downsizing: i have a close relative, who knows many of the new york insiders, who said this about those who were downsized kicked to the curb:

"it was felt that some were getting too comfortable"

what in the world does that mean?

Axelspeed

I have a feeling this move is going to bite them in the @ss.