Posts by Etude

20

My first encounter

by SB10 in

i don’t know if the woman i met yesterday will ever see this.

but i will forever remember that day for the rest of my life.

my grandfather has been in icu for the past 3 days.

I hate to tell you this but, you were being actively recruited. On top of that, you were kinda stalked. She knew enough about you to take advantage of your vulnerability. It wasn't all out of kindness and concern. Stangers seldom do that. In her case, it was a technique designed to get new members.

I'm not implying that the individual was not sincere. But people are often sincerely wrong. That woman is a victim of a cult that seeks to capture people at vulnerable moments. Of course, the message she offered was attractive and hopeful, maybe even helpful! So is the prospect of winning the lottery. But, what are the chances of that? I don't even discourage you from listening more about what she or her organization has to say. I just caution you to be critical and understand what it is they do. They build a complex edifice of ideas with little to no foundations. And before you waste years being among them, read through this site and find out what they've been up to.

Etude.

8

Watchtower facility tour

by Etude in

i'm curious.

it's been a long time since i've even come near the borganization.

do they still allow "tours" in their facilities?

Etude

How they have changed! It scares me a little. Certainly, they are very protective and have gotten sophisticated. The irony is they don't realize that their increased paranoia is a reflection of their own uncertainty and insecurity. If there's nothing to hide, why hide it? No. I'm glad I asked. I now have no interest at all in visiting any of their facilities. It will never be like going down memory lane. Thanks, everybody!

Etude

8

Watchtower facility tour

by Etude in

i'm curious.

it's been a long time since i've even come near the borganization.

do they still allow "tours" in their facilities?

Etude

I'm curious. It's been a long time since I've even come near the Borganization. Do they still allow "tours" in their facilities? I used to be a tour guide in Brooklyn and at the Farm in Wallkill. It will probably be painful to go back and sneak a peek, but it may also be cathartic. I figure that everyone I knew is either dead, has left or never knew me. Where would I go to pay a "visit."

Etude.

14

I need sources for all the times JWs have expected Harmageddon

by Etude in

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.

Etude

Thanks

Finkelstein

Good argument on the literature-based doctrines! That is why I wanted to clobber them with strategically placed references to their own literary crap. We'll see how it goes.

14

I need sources for all the times JWs have expected Harmageddon

by Etude in

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.

Etude

blondie:

You're a wealth of information!

14

I need sources for all the times JWs have expected Harmageddon

by Etude in

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.

Etude

Thank you, everyone, for the information and commentaries. I didn't particularly want them to go away and keep on with their beliefs. In the past, I've brought up the Mexico/Malawi issue, but they just claim ignorance and I'm left with the feeling they're not going to run home and look it up.

I thought I would concentrate more on stuff they're familiar with. Since they're telling me how bad things are, I pointed out specific examples of the good that is happening around the world. That made them a bit uneasy admitting it. They had asked me what God thinks about the problems in the world. I responded by saying "not much," since he doesn't seem to be around and talk to us about it. Then they trot out the Bible to quote what he said. I said that, if they are His, those words are thousands of years old, and he hasn't said or done much lately.

So, I sought to engage them with what they feel the future will be by bringing up what their predictions of the future have been. I also want to hand them a resumé of what they explain now will happen next. It may seem I´m a glutton for punishment because, in the end, I may not change any minds. But for me, it´s an exercise in polemics and my ability to argue. I´m just not great with popping sources out of my head.

Thanks.

14

I need sources for all the times JWs have expected Harmageddon

by Etude in

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.

Etude

Hi all:

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. I have encountered this info before but am pressed for time. Can anyone help? Point me to past threads of any publication that encompasses this them.

Thanks

Etude.

25

The subtle , yet massive change of Matt 5:32 in the "New" New World Translation

by stuckinarut2 in

so i noticed this change in the text of the new silver nwt compared to the older nwt at matthew 5:32. old nwt:.

"however, i say to you that everyone divorcing his wife , except on the grounds of fornication makes her a subject for adultery...etc" .

new nwt:.

Etude

DATA-DOG: I hope he bought that pig dinner...

He may not have bought the pig dinner, but I'm sure he caressed it a little...porcine-human foreplay.

Etude.

25

The subtle , yet massive change of Matt 5:32 in the "New" New World Translation

by stuckinarut2 in

so i noticed this change in the text of the new silver nwt compared to the older nwt at matthew 5:32. old nwt:.

"however, i say to you that everyone divorcing his wife , except on the grounds of fornication makes her a subject for adultery...etc" .

new nwt:.

Etude

Perhaps the reason would be to eliminate their embarrassment of having to uphold marriage under certain circumstances. If I recall correctly, there was a case when a wife caught her husband screwing the bacon. He was having sex with the farm pig. She refused to be with him from that point onward. But, because it was "technically" not "adultery", she was excommunicated for divorcing the husband. The incident screams of a stupid application to an obviously justifiable moral (ethical) quandary. But the change brings up new problems because now, one can be disfellowshiped for greasing ones pole.

11

Paradise After Death:Mark Twain calls out some of the stupider ideas-

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

"in paradise, i am going to visit [insert favorite bible character here]" - said at least once in their life by every devout jw.now, for some hard, cold practicalities-excerpt from "captain stormfield's visit to heaven"“oh, there are a lot of such things that people expect and don’t get.

for instance, there’s a brooklyn preacher by the name of talmage, who is laying up a considerable disappointment for himself.

there’s millions of people down there on earth that are promising themselves the same thing.

Etude

Oh, it seems very easy to me. Firstly, there's no time constraint. After all, they have all eternity ahead of them to do it. No sense of time to finish. Then, there's the matter of food. You don't eat in heaven, for God's sake! You're sustained by the "glory of God." No chicken nuggets or strawberry shakes necessary there, even if that would be heaven to you. The "Golden Arches" will probably not make an appearance in heaven. Which means, there are no tacos in heaven. Also, there's no sweating in heaven. C'mon. God doesn't want an armpit in heaven who offends anybody. I mean, it's HEAVEN! You don't have to stop and take a shit or piss between hugs. Those are things of the flesh no longer a part of heaven. The question is: after you've done it and hugged everyone you wanted, what do you do next? Beats the crap out of me.