Baahahah! That's not entirely on point but it's funny as hell. I would have said: "...when studied by Witnesses..."
Posts by Etude
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113Elders receive a report that I am openly displaying false religious symbol
by confusedandalone inwhen you look at the image above what do you see?
a sneaker or an outward display that i am now following after another religious group?.
well yesterday i had a 10 minute conversation with an elder who finally got the balls to call me.
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113
Elders receive a report that I am openly displaying false religious symbol
by confusedandalone inwhen you look at the image above what do you see?
a sneaker or an outward display that i am now following after another religious group?.
well yesterday i had a 10 minute conversation with an elder who finally got the balls to call me.
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Etude
The situation you describe, confusedandalone, is typical of the type or reasoning that the cult breeds. It’s possible that HQ could reject the issue as banal and the elders have to stop this line of assault. But if they’re really after you, they could justify it with other things. It won’t change their means of justification. When I wrote to them about the inconsistency between the Malawi party card issue and the Mexican military card brothers had to carry, their lack of response told me volumes.
While at Bethel in the mid 70s, they would not iron your blue jeans. Apparently, Knorr felt that all the gays in Brooklyn Heights wore jeans and did not want to encourage bethelites to look the same. However, if you paid the dry cleaners, they would press them for you. When I moved to the Farm in Wallkill, I tried to get my blue jeans pressed. They refused. When I asked why they said that in Brooklyn the view is they do not press blue jeans at the laundry and they would follow suit. I replied that in Brooklyn they will press them for you at the dry cleaners if you pay. Their answer was: “Well, we’re not Brooklyn.” I took this up to the home servant (whose name I can’t recall). He was a stocky man with salt-pepper hair and walked with a limp from a knee injury or deformity. Regardless, this dude was a black hole when it came to logic.
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Political correctness. What is it to you?
by Hortenzie ini see it as a form of discrimination against non mainstream ideas and opinions.
that's why i don't understand why so many hold it as of a great value.
what do you think?.
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Etude
I guess that's why there's a grammatical part of speech called "synonym". It means that we use different words, or in this case a phrase or expression, in order to mean the same thing. I don't differentiate between being politically correct and being sensitive to others in certain contexts. I say "certain contexts" because I don't think it's always beneficial to be politically correct of "kill" someone with kindness if that will help keep them in ignorance about an issue or unduly protected them from the truth. Sometimes, you just have to tell it like it is.
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Questions During Meetings...Grounds for Suspicion?
by Cold Steel inwith so many meetings during the week, it seems like the opportunity to raise questions would be rich.
i just wondered how probing questions are handled in most kingdom halls.
are they taken as an indication of an inquisitive mind or a potential source of stumbling for weak members?
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Etude
When I was at Bethel and attended the mini-Gilead class for "new boys", the instructor (a smug looking, slightly-condescending dude) stated that we were free to ask questions and let the Bible answer them. However, we were not supposed to use hypothetical situations. Eventually, the subject came up regarding what the Bible states on remarriage (meaning it can only be done if the partner dies or commits adultery). The implication is that a marriage outside of those two conditions would be invalid in the eyes of Jehovah.
I raised my hand and asked: "What if a couple that was married discovered that they were fleshly brother and sister? Would they have to separate? Would their marriage be invalid in the eyes of Jehovah after being consummated? What would be their standing?" With his smug look peering down at me, he reminded me that my question was out of line because I was told not to use hypothetical situations. I stated that it was not a hypothetical but based on a newspaper article I had read about two people who been separated and adopted at birth and later, after marrying, found out about each other. All remember was the frustrated sigh he let out. I don't remember his answer because he really didn't answer. He essentially dismissed my inquiry and went on to other things. I remember pointing this out to my roommate who was also attending the class.
That was the beginning of my awareness regarding how difficult questions are handled. From that point on, I became cautious about what to ask and even more cautious about the responses and reactions I got. I gotta give that guy (the instructor) credit. He really knew how to dismiss my inquiry. I guess it had happened to him before.
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How long will it be
by joe134cd injust wanting estimations on "how long do you think it will be before the society allows internet witnessing as another avenue of preaching".
i feel it will only be a matter of time.
they have to do something to counteract all the negative stuff.
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Etude
Whether they officially allow it or not, it can still count. It would be just like "incidental" witnessing, like when you speak to a co-worker or somebody on the bus. If a publisher wants to use time on the Internet, s/he just has to report it. I don't see a problem there.
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What Are The Expectations...Now??
by Cold Steel inthe society has been teaching that you-know-what is right around the corner for so long that it's lost all credibility.
what are the expecations like now?
do people still expect it to happen very soon, or are more people planning on things like higher education?
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Etude
I've been out of it for so long, I hardly know anyone that's in to have an idea of urgency on their part. However, up until a few years ago, my nephew still believed that the end was near. I started thinking that the tactic was succesful because they keep convincing a new generation the end is imminent by using certain current events to show how they "fulfill" profecy (an old tactic), while carefully omitting events that would contradict that.
I recently heard someone comment that they read some figures showing that, in spite of the Iranq and Afghanistan conflicts, war is on a decline now compared to past years. That would go against the JW conventional thinking, but it won't stop them. They're good at slicing and dicing citations and statements to their benefit to convince the gullible.
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Something NEW is happening with Jehovah's Witnesses on the internet
by Watchtower-Free indramatic growth is being reported on facebook.
groups of xjws.. .
ex-jehovah's witness recovery group 3 admin.
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Etude
This "peak" publishers stat is really crafty of them and typical of the WTBTS. The "average" would yield a more accurate figure. An actuall number, comprising the final number of publishers at the end of a period would yield yet another sum which would vary due to uncotrolled varients. I don't know if it has been done before by someone here, but it would be interesting to show figures, over a number years or decades, documenting the increase in new publishers as a factor of the total count of witnesess. That would reveal at what rate people are leaving the ranks and, proportionately, the actual rate of growth of the organization. When I was in, the exciting thing was the unprecedented growth of the organization as an indicator of Jehovah's blessing. I guess Jehovah has decided to keep the party small and private.
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R U DFshipped?
by DFshipped ini am a dfshipped person who is working towards reinstatement.. i would like to meet anyone else who also would like to return.. i really would prefer not to meet people who want to criticize my desire to return.
i would like to enjoy and offer encouragemnt to others like me.
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95
What was it about Bethel that woke you up?
by cognisonance inone the how many exbethelites thread it was mentioned that some think one either leaves down the path towards apostasy or as a 100% true believer.
i'm curious what experiences did you face at bethel that woke you up (or started to at least)?.
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Etude
One morning, I received a call from a family member while I was living at the Towers Hotel (before they refurbished it and built the tunel). I had been on night shift and was sleeping. This is the way it went. The front desk at the 124 Columbia Heights got a call for me. They would in turn call (not patch to) the front desk at the Towers. The Towers reception would then ring the floor I was in. Someone would pick up the hall phone, knock on my door and then I'd answer the hall phone and learn I had a call at the 124 building.
So, I had to get dressed in seconds, run down and jog the couple of blocks to the 124. As I was approaching the 124 Nathan Knorr noticed my disarray. I could tell he was furing from his look of disdain at me. It seemed he was going to turn around at that instant and dress me down, but I was in too much of a hurry. By the time I got to the desk, whoever called had hung up. That gave me a little time to reflect on Knorr's leer. I thought about it and it made me angrier. I contemplated that had he turned around and said something I would have unloaded on him and quicly end my Bethel career (I was relatively new). I thought: "What an asshole!"
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untitled
by Terry inniight has fallen at the beth sarim mansion.. president joseph franklin rutherford (the "judge") sits calmly sipping whisky from a flask on the edge of his silk sheets at bedtime.
he sets the glass on the night stand.
he begins cleaning his nickel-plated pistol to high gleam.
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Etude
Excellent, Terry! A little more narrative in between the dialog and it should fill in the voids for those who know nothing about those two guys or the doctrines their doctrines as well as their personal lives. It's good enough to entertain a general public. Keep it up!