blondie

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Posts by blondie

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  5

  Finding a faith that is stronger than death — or my family’s rejection

  by Tahoe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my mother would be surprised that i did not die alone.. and that, in the end, about 25 people had volunteered to take care of me when i couldn’t do that for myself anymore.. it’s one thing, after you find out you’re going to die from metastatic colorectal cancer, to ask people to bring your favorite kind of gatorade.

  it’s quite another to ask them to stand in the place of dna-sharing family and walk through hospice with you, but that’s what i had to do.. at the age of 23, i turned away from the family of jehovah’s witnesses who raised me.they had wanted me to be an uber-witness.

  so my family forbade me to go to college and instead raised me to be a full-time, door-to-door minister who converted people to their way of thinking — i actually succeeded with one in about 15 years of trying — and to pay my bills by working menial jobs.. every meaningful connection in my life was through a local congregation of witnesses, known as the kingdom hall.

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  blondie

  Here a few more comments about Heidi's life:

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6303791820308480/heidi-hall-life-after-wts-good-read
  
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  17

  The serpent in the Garden can’t be secretly Satan

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we know that the serpent in the garden can’t be secretly satan, because the first time satan is mentioned by name is in a story chronologically after this one, and in that, he is said to be walking.

  remember that the serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly all the rest of his days, but in the book of job, satan is still walking around and chatting with god as if they’d never had a falling out.

  this is when god had to ask satan where he’s been, because his infallible omniscience obviously didn’t know.. so if he had to ask that of satan, who is later described as the lord of lies, then why would god believe him?

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  blondie

  https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2007448

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/141619/snakes-had-legs-until-eden-curse-watchtower-1880-till-1974

  See this detail from an illustration in the 1943 book "The Truth Shall Set You Free"
  

  
  

  see this page https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4b/e4/3c/4be43c2185b1b1cf134923033ee4137e.gif

  
  
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  14

  I need sources for all the times JWs have expected Harmageddon

  by Etude in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i expect that 2 new jw guys in the area are going to revisit me.

  the left some brochures emphasizing how bad the world is and talking about the end.

  i need to break through with examples (wt articles, publication excerpts, etc) so that they can gag a bit.

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  blondie

  You might find this website helpful regarding dates.

  https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/end-soon.php

  https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1975.php

  https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/failed-1914-predictions.php

  https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1925.php

  https://jwfacts.com/watchtower/changed-watchtower-teachings.php

  https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1800s.php
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  22

  You May Now Embrace the Bride!

  by jp1692 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just yesterday, a pimi jw that i've known for years told me that at the end of a wedding they recently attended in pennsylvania, usa, the "brother" that officiated the ceremony concluded by saying to the bride and groom, "you may now embrace the bride.

  no kissing.

  just a hug.

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  blondie

  jp1692, I bet Atlantis has a recent copy.
• 
  49

  As Seen On TV....Have You Ever Tried Any Of Their Products?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you have , was it worth what you paid?

  ?.

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  blondie

  Does vinegar help eggs peel easier?

  That means easy peel boiled eggs! Add salt and vinegar to the water before cooking. ... The salt permeates the shell a little bit, and the vinegar helps to break down the shells, making them easier to peel. Cool the eggs in ice cold water for ten minutes.Mar 5, 2018

  
  
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  24

  See you in a couple weeks

  by Biahi in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  leaving today for rome, and then a mediterranean cruise.

  will not be online, i will miss you all.

  hopefully, when i get back, the wt will have declared bankruptcy.

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  blondie

  Edited, have a good trip. I have never taken a cruise. I was once invited to one full of jws (when I was still a believing jw). I could not afford it, but it made me wonder how these people could spend this kind of money and time but not have the "circumstances" even to auxiliary pioneer.
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  8

  Heidi Hall: Life after WTS Good read

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://religionnews.com/2019/09/26/finding-a-faith-that-is-stronger-than-death-or-my-familys-rejection/.

  in my search, i left behind conditional, behavior-based love and traded it for the unconditional grace shown by a true family, whose bonds have nothing to do with dna.. and i’m dying grateful for that.. (heidi hall, who died sept. 25, 2019, at age 49, was a veteran journalist whose award-winning career took her from the standard democrat in sikeston, missouri, and the southeast missourian to the tampa tribune and the nashville tennessean before landing her at vanderbilt university’s public affairs office.

  the views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of religion news service.

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  blondie

  https://religionnews.com/2019/09/26/finding-a-faith-that-is-stronger-than-death-or-my-familys-rejection/

  In my search, I left behind conditional, behavior-based love and traded it for the unconditional grace shown by a true family, whose bonds have nothing to do with DNA.

  And I’m dying grateful for that.

  (Heidi Hall, who died Sept. 25, 2019, at age 49, was a veteran journalist whose award-winning career took her from the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri, and the Southeast Missourian to the Tampa Tribune and the Nashville Tennessean before landing her at Vanderbilt University’s public affairs office. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)
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  52

  Ruin those Ruining th Earth

  by peacefulpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  it has been mentioned before but since we have been discussing environmental issues on another thread, i thought it might be timely to discuss rev 11:18 which has recently become a popular text for those christians concerned about environmental threats of pollution and climate change.

  is this passage being interpreted correctly?

  did the writer somehow anticipate the modern environmental situation, or did he intend something more in keeping with the bible's general concerns of morality and sin?.

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  blondie

  smiddy3, I don't reconcile it, it just makes me realize how ridiculous those stories are.
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  15

  Demonic Possession

  by Nihilistic Journey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am looking for articles that i recall reading from the magazines.

  i recall getting the magazines through subscription so it must have been in the 1980's.

  they were "biographies" from sisters that dealt with demonic possession and attacks.

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  blondie

  smiddy3, I would think because most of the human "authors" in the bible are presented as male. In a male-dominated world, why would a demon want to appear as a woman.
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  15

  Demonic Possession

  by Nihilistic Journey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am looking for articles that i recall reading from the magazines.

  i recall getting the magazines through subscription so it must have been in the 1980's.

  they were "biographies" from sisters that dealt with demonic possession and attacks.

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  blondie

  I would ask about new cars, you never could know if a demonized person had assembled part of the car or made the dress/pants you wearing.

  I can understand this thinking in a culture/community founded on the belief of demon possession. But not too many in the US take this seriously. They don't view horror films as documentaries.

  As to thrift stores and garage sales, the view as used anything being purchased being demonized is painting yourself into a corner.

  When I went to "pioneer school," when we went out to practice the things regarding talking to people at the door, we had to go with one of the instructors for part of the morning or afternoon. As we walked along, I saw a garage sale up ahead. One of the sisters in the school, was very vocal about demons and garage sales. It happened she and her partner were working across the street from us. As we reached the garage sale, the instructor looked at what was for sale, picked up a couple of things he knew his wife would like and that a friend would like. Went up to pay for them and just mentioned that we were jws in their neighborhood. Complemented them on the well run sale. And that was it. Later, I saw that woman go up to him to chastise him. He pulled aside out of earshot and quietly talked to her. She stormed off, but later was a lot meeker in the afternoon.

  I have found there is at least one person who gets attention when she/he makes themselves the center of a "special" demon event. It is sad that anyone would have to do that to be noticed. The problem was she had an influence on some who thought if you did not have a demon experience, you weren't doing enough and satan did not see you as a worthy target.