Not only that, at the convention I went to, the heart was beating and it went over the sound system.
Posts by blondie
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24The "figurative" heart
by Sour Grapes inabout 25 years ago i gave a talk about how when the bible talks about the heart that it is the literal heart and how the heart and the brain are connected by nerve tissue.
the watchtower even stated that some people who received a heart transplant would take on some of the personality of the donor.then all of a sudden the borg changed and said that when the bible refers to the heart that it is figurative.
then when ever the watchtower referred to the heart it always put the word figurative in front of it.. does anyone know why there was a change in the use of the word heart?
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16
Sisters
by truthlover123 induring the first talk tonight, the brother giving the talk indicated that now comments were to include sisters!
previously mostly only brothers were mentioned in most prayers or comments - has anyone else heard this tonight?.
the meeting seemed to be positioned directly to and about sisters.
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blondie
RubaDub, if it was a cloth napkin no problem, but a paper napkin, paper towel, kleenex, etc., would be viewed as disrespectful even by non-jws.
As to the OP, I can remember back in the 60's and 70's, the WTS often said brothers when they meant brothers and sisters. In this more enlightened time, in general, non-jws use gender neutral words more, men and women, he/she, etc., and the WTS has followed suit in their publications. I am not surprised that perhaps some men might not see why it is so important to use words that include women.
I remember one anointed woman in the congregation, would say "brothers" under her breath whenever a man from the platform said "brothers" when he meant "brothers and sisters." That was in the early 60's. She was ahead of her time. She would have appreciated seeing this addressed officially, especially in regard to prayers.
For men who don't see why this makes many women feel left out and unimportant, try mentally putting just the word "women" in a sentence when it is obvious that both men and women are meant.
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Sisters
by truthlover123 induring the first talk tonight, the brother giving the talk indicated that now comments were to include sisters!
previously mostly only brothers were mentioned in most prayers or comments - has anyone else heard this tonight?.
the meeting seemed to be positioned directly to and about sisters.
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blondie
carla, the WTS policy is that women cannot teach baptized men in the congregation. There are many rules as to when they can teach others outside the congregation. Bible studies and on return visits or calling on at people's homes, they can teach non-jws. When jw women can pray at meetings held before going out and calling at people's home but with a headcovering because they are representing God in an official capacity (through arrangements by the elders). In some congregations there are not any qualified men, so some jw women, moderate congregation bible studies or discussions of the WT, and pray, all with a proper headcovering (not a napkin or similar) with the direction of a representative of the WT (such as the CO).
I am not supporting the WT rules/policies, just clarifying what they are officially. If someone were to say to a jw, that women are not allowed to teach anyone at all, it would give the jw an opportunity to point out this misunderstanding, and not address the issue that women are not respected even for the teaching they do calling on people at their homes.
The most important work, that Jesus said and the WTS highlights officially, is preaching and teaching. But the bulk of that is done by women, while the men concentrate on what they feel is more important, being an elder or ministerial servant, or having "privileges" not offered to women, giving public talks, parts on assemblies/conventions. In some cases, I have never see some elders/ministerial servants going with a group of jws in calling on people in their homes.
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17
First Xmas? Or older traditions? 🎄
by Theonlyoneleft inis anyone here doing their first xmas this year?🎄🎄.
i love xmas!
almost around the corner and i’ve started thinking of all the prep needed for family time.
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blondie
As some have said here, not all non-jws celebrate X-mas, perhaps the holidays without the religious connotation. But now it is our choice, no one is telling us we should or shouldn't. I know people who never go to a church on X-mas or talk about the so-called reIligious origin. Just a nice time to be with family you care about (I can see that some family members might not play nice). I like the lights, ours are white on our porch and trees in front (we don't have any evergreen trees. We do it the Disney way and have white lights up all year. We got our inflatable snowman this year, snowmen are not symbols of Christmas.
Can jws build snowmen?
*** g90 4/22 p.23***
My daughter, Bethel, was a gift from God rather late in life. We had a kind of storybook relationship. From the time Bethel was an infant, we did everything together. We crouched in fields to study Jehovah God’s artistic flair as we looked at the wildflowers. We made snowmen. —Charles Leibensperger
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Recommend a STEVE HASSAN book for me
by Zoos inmy nephew has awakened but is still at the beginning of his journey.
he doesn't want to leave his mother (my sister) behind and is trying to help her think critically.
(no chance of him being dfed because he was never baptized).
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blondie
Why not Steven Hassan's, first book to start with.
Combating Cult Mind Control, I can remember there were no specific mentions of the WTS/jws, just cults in general. I liked the BITE model and have used it not only to jws but also other people I have met that have left a cult.
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New Massachusetts Bill ProposesTo Fine or Jail Someone For Calling Someone a Bitch!
by minimus inand if you call someone a bitch , you would be fined 150 dollars the first offense and second is 200 plus possible jail time..
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blondie
Why only bitch? Why not certain swear words like the f word, or the c word, or other derogatory words about other body parts?
I haven't read the reason for why bitch was singled out, but I can't think of a reason why the reason would be valid or helpful. After all, who is going to enforce it when there are so many real crimes/problems that need attention.
The school system in Madison, WI, learned that arbitrary laws like "zero tolerance" and does not consider the circumstances, just makes a blanket rule and created an angry response from a large number of people that do not normally agree on other things.
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As a JW Did You Prefer a “Stricter” Congregation or a More Liberal One?
by minimus inin my experience, there were three types of witnesses.
some were barely witnesses while others were extremely conservative types who followed the letter of the law.
and then you had those in the middle who just went with the flow.. i knew many witnesses who “felt safe” being in a stricter environment.they were actually proud that they belonged to such and such congregation because it was filled with strict bethelites..
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blondie
Quite a few people did leave after the 1975 fiasco. In 2 years following 1975, 1977 and 1978, the WTS had a 2% decrease in both years. But then people started "forgetting" or realizing that making an issue, would mean being labeled an apostate, or put themselves in a position where they could not stay but felt uncomfortable staying (many PIMOs ?).
Then of course, new people came in and the WTS by that time had buried that fiasco, children of jws were born after that event which became history of long ago, and since it was no longer mentioned in the publications or talked about by their parents, the children had no reason to wonder about it. And if jws brought it up after that, they were looked at suspiciously.
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The "figurative" heart
by Sour Grapes inabout 25 years ago i gave a talk about how when the bible talks about the heart that it is the literal heart and how the heart and the brain are connected by nerve tissue.
the watchtower even stated that some people who received a heart transplant would take on some of the personality of the donor.then all of a sudden the borg changed and said that when the bible refers to the heart that it is figurative.
then when ever the watchtower referred to the heart it always put the word figurative in front of it.. does anyone know why there was a change in the use of the word heart?
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blondie
Yes, Pete Zahut, the WTS never apologizes, just says that the WT members ran ahead of the organization, that it was individual opinions when it is too clear what happened and those people lived through the events, and it is in black and white in the publications and talks from the platform they heard in person.
If that fails, they say the light is getting brighter and wait on their god to sort it out. I am still waiting.
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blondie
I watched that late last night, 3 a.m., and saw she put forethought into her presentation. Kept it simple, explained policies but stayed away from biblical opinions about prophecy, etc. She did explain clearly some situations that would be strange to non-jws.
She explained about the busy schedule that allowed not time for thinking about how things related to what she had been taught before, how to reason on events in the bible and how doubts were not allowed.
I am going to listen again when I am more awake.
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Do You Think That Belonging To Certain Political Parties Suggests You Are Uneducated or Poor?
by minimus ini hear some people say that if you are a republican or democrat that you must not be very educated, intelligent or monetarily stable.
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do you think it’s proper to paint any person as less than favorable because of their political opinions?
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blondie
Well, when I meet a person for the first person for the first time or I don't really know them, just casually, I hope they don't ask me personal questions, like, am I married, do I have children, how old am I, what religion I am, do I believe in god, am I a Christian, etc. I use the answer I give to everyone that asks a very personal question, "why do you ask?" Then I just say "well that's a personal thing," And change the topic to something that is more in keeping with the casual occasion.
When I was growing up and we socialized with our non-jw family (yes, almost every week at a common meal), the rule was "no discussion about politics and religion (and sports if there were fans for opposing teams)". Everyone kept to that and things went well and stayed friendly.
Yes, no preaching to our non-jw relatives trying to "save" them from destruction at "Armaggeddon." It puts them on the spot in a group situation. I wouldn't like that if someone did that to me.
I figure if someone lights a match and tosses it into the leaves, I shouldn't be surprised when a fire starts. But if someone else does that, I would try to put out the fire without making it worse.