darth vader rises....chewbacca....clone wars....can lucas please not f*** this one up?
http://www.jackpearce.info/full.mov.
check it out....
Lucas should have left well enough alone. Or at most should have made two prequels.
First focussing just on the struggles between the Jedi and the Sith, and how Anakin starts off on the one side but have alot of adversity come his way. Then have the next flick focus more on the psychological and environmental forces that shaped Anakin to Vader. How he was failed, and how he failed himself.
Episode three has got to be better.
taken from the journal families and society 84 no.
4. cults and families.
my take: although jw's are not fully accepted as a cult in psychology or sociology (jws are listed as an "established sect"), this article has many points that have interested me.
As an example: leading a field service group. I knew that this position entailed directing people to work certain areas and coordinating their actions, but I did not feel as though I was authorized to tell people what to do.
That is exactly how I felt in those very situations. We were conditioned to submit to the authorized direction of the elders, CO, and the FDS. The situation for me when out among non-jws was even worse. For example: I was so socially inept with "worldly" people, that when I was alone once with a female student who had invited me to the university pub for a drink, I was more backward than a fumbling prepubescent kid.
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how did it just so happen that a world war took place in the very year that russell had attached so much importance to?
i realize that he expected 1914 to see the end of the world's governments, and of course that didn't happen, but it still seems to be quite remarkable that this war happened that very year ... a war that would later be construed to be the fulfillment of jesus' prediction in matthew 24:7.. the explanation given on the e-watchman site is that satan deliberately caused the war to happen so as to mislead jehovah's witnesses into thinking they had actually seen the fulfillment of bible prophecy, in order to make them think that jesus had returned invisably.. any ideas?.
I seem to remember having read that Russell made the statement, "The gentile times have ended. The kings of earth have had their day!"
You're right Schizm....and yet in the November WT he prints that cautionary statement. See how it was played at both ends? I would say Russell really believed what he said and taught. But when it came down to it, he left himself enough wiggle room, so that he could shift position if need be. His calculations were initially wrong. He just changed starting points and he just as flagrantly changed the measurements given for the main pathway in the of the Pyramid of Giza to massage the numbers. All so his number crunching would bear out what he thought was prophetic reality. If his followers would still accept all that number juggling, then it wouldn't be that hard of a sell to get them to accept WW1 as similar enough to the total anarchy he was prediciting....then change and adjust the interpretations from there.
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how did it just so happen that a world war took place in the very year that russell had attached so much importance to?
i realize that he expected 1914 to see the end of the world's governments, and of course that didn't happen, but it still seems to be quite remarkable that this war happened that very year ... a war that would later be construed to be the fulfillment of jesus' prediction in matthew 24:7.. the explanation given on the e-watchman site is that satan deliberately caused the war to happen so as to mislead jehovah's witnesses into thinking they had actually seen the fulfillment of bible prophecy, in order to make them think that jesus had returned invisably.. any ideas?.
here's some interesting quotes from this website: http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/itow.htm
Note one is a magazine just after Oct. 1914.
"Studying God's Word, we have measured the 2520 years, the seven symbolic times, from that year 606 B.C. and have found that it reached down to October, 1914, as nearly as we were able to reckon. We did not say positively that this would be the year." (Watchtower, November 1, 1914, p. 325)
Does that sound like they were impressed with their "hit"? Or just trying to ride through whatever came their way?
This next quote shows how they were trying to keep a bit of a range or time buffer for their prophetic speculations, but would have to concede it was all wrong if things didn't go as they said.
".... Suppose that A.D. 1915 should pass with the world's affairs all serene and with evidence that the "very elect" had not all been "changed" and without the restoration of natural Israel to favor under the New Covenant (Rom. 11:12,15). What then? Would not that prove our chronology wrong? Yes, surely! Would not that prove a keen disappointment? Indeed it would! It would work irreparable wreck to the parallel dispensations and Israel's double, and to the Jubilee calculations, and to the prophecy of the 2300 days of Daniel, and to the epoch called "Gentile Times," and to the 1,260, 1,290, and 1,335 days.... none of these would be available longer." (w1907, 10/1, p 295)
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how did it just so happen that a world war took place in the very year that russell had attached so much importance to?
i realize that he expected 1914 to see the end of the world's governments, and of course that didn't happen, but it still seems to be quite remarkable that this war happened that very year ... a war that would later be construed to be the fulfillment of jesus' prediction in matthew 24:7.. the explanation given on the e-watchman site is that satan deliberately caused the war to happen so as to mislead jehovah's witnesses into thinking they had actually seen the fulfillment of bible prophecy, in order to make them think that jesus had returned invisably.. any ideas?.
Neo's argument is what you should seriously consider. It shows you a logical link between turbulent historical times and a flurry of end-time predictions. So one could expect there to be a close range of predicted dates focussing on those very times. That drastically cuts down the possible dates to use if something were to happen.So by a simple and logical prosaic mechanism, you've made a hit much more likely. Its not that hard to attribute it to chance then.
Now if you're looking for a prosaic explanation that would be so specific as to pinpoint "1914", then I don't have one. But there's all their number juggling with 0 and 607 that strongly suggests it was all just chance, but they wanted to believe it was a real hit.
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how did it just so happen that a world war took place in the very year that russell had attached so much importance to?
i realize that he expected 1914 to see the end of the world's governments, and of course that didn't happen, but it still seems to be quite remarkable that this war happened that very year ... a war that would later be construed to be the fulfillment of jesus' prediction in matthew 24:7.. the explanation given on the e-watchman site is that satan deliberately caused the war to happen so as to mislead jehovah's witnesses into thinking they had actually seen the fulfillment of bible prophecy, in order to make them think that jesus had returned invisably.. any ideas?.
Well Schizm, if you check Russell's earliest literature he was saying that the fall of Jerusalem was 606 BCE not 607...that should have brought them to 1915...but they made the mistake of counting a zero year...so they were saying 1914...When WW1 occurred and ended with no big A, they changed their eschatology. They also changed the date to 607 when they realized the mistake of counting a zero year. Later on in the Revelation - Its Grand Climax book the Org said the mistake was by Divine providence.
They made all sorts of "refinements" in their view starting from the first failed expectation of being raptured up to heaven in IIRC 1881. (Someone please correct me here if I botched that date up). I don't think there's anything real behind this touted "hit".
i have heard rumors on here and other places that jw's are now allowing birthdays to be observed/celebrated.
is this true?
i hope so.
Whenever the WTS tries to be (IMHO feigns to be) undogmatic in their publications, its just a tactic to counter the criticisms they receive. Be it a court, or a government agency, whatever.....one can point to the ambiguous writings in the literature and argue that the WTS isn't such a controlling/oppressive cult etc....Meanwhile, all the unwritten content, and the social controls still stand and go by whatever the current view is...which as far as I know is still viewed as a no-no...I wouldn't be surprised though if a dub parent who's in a tough custody battle would be overlooked by an elder body and not reproved if she gave her children birthday parties that year.
i am going to post some links.
if they donnot work when "clicking" on, could someone please change it for me?
i would like to make it easy for people to read.thank for your help.. http://www.canoe.ca/newsstand/londonfreepress/news/2004/10/29/691074.html.
I'm very sorry to hear about this Morty. It can really wreck a child's trust of others. Even if it doesn't turn out to be as ugly as many may suspect this to be, I nonetheless hope the schoolboard will provide the appropriate counselling. The children can be explained things in a way that will help them protect themselves in the future.
these inspiring words will remind you how to make your dreams come true.. "through confidence and perseverance comes the ability to succeed!".
many of you have proven that these words have inspired you to succeed in whatever endeavors you have chosen after having come out of the watchtower.. i have read simon's and many of your post's, where - in you have shown confidence, and perseverance along with the ability to succeed in whatever endeavors you have chosen for yourselves after having come out of the watchtower.
i too, after having spent 30 years serving the watchtower, two and one half years later, after having left he watchtower, i have succeeded in passing my medical examiner's tests and am now licensed to practice in one of the many health care concerns at the young age of 60.. this shows that all of us can go on and succeed after life in the watchtower.. this forum and the many nameless persons who have posted here have been an inspiration to carry on.
Congratulations Dr. BB!
At 60!?!?! You have seriously motivated me to relook at a dream I had given up on.
While I don't believe I have the grey matter for a PhD, I can try for a different undergrad at least.
so the countdown continures to the election and it'll soon be over.
"thank goodness" some might say, eh??.
anyway, on a more personal level, how's the week been for you?
If it was fresh territory then I was stuck (being an MS I had to be an example) doing more numbers around the block till the others were done. If it was just not at homes, then I could just go back to the car for a bit before having to go out and try street witnessing...
