new here, so, should i be crossing any lines, i ask your pardon.
recently i asked a question within another's post on the meaning of "junior, senior" statements/levels.
the response i received within that post( and thank you ) was that it had to do with the "number of posts" one has/had made.
(((nowino))),
WELCOME! You will note that I have relatively very few posts under my belt, but my views have been accorded the same weight as many who are "Emperor Class", have been appreciated by many, have been scoffed at by some, and have generally fit in the overall mix about as well or poorly as anyone else's posts. The true absence of clergy/laity was one of the first things I noticed about this site.
most witnesses know that if you dig too hard in their older publications, you're bound to find strange, even ridiculous, quotes.
but they are trained not to put too much thought into these older publications.
if reasonable people could legitimately disagree with the wts at that time, then what does that say about "god's channel"?
AlanF, while I appreciate your views and agree when it comes to the R&F ... I raise the possibility that it is not true of the leadership. It makes brilliant business sense, from a purely secular standpoint. How better to cull the massive herd of potential victims down to those most vulnerable to conditioning? All master mesmerizers know how to find those most susceptible to suggestion.
Of course if someone is resistant to the "spell" it is whose fault? Not the mesmerizer's fault by any means. It isn't really even a trick, it's just fishing for fools. This now takes on an aspect having all the earmarks of a carnival show common in the late 1800s. The more I search my memory the more indication I find that this may really be a case of intentional mass hypnosis - on a grander scale than Jim Jones.
gina and i were batting around how the organization calls itself "god's channel" out of one side of their mouth and then reminds everyone that they are "imperfect men" out of the other.
this allows them to claim a position of authority as "god's organization" while at the same time allowing them to make mistakes and get away with it.
(1975, "generation", all the flavors of blood, etc).
Let's get the JW version of the antetypes correct:
Moses = ???, that's right, Jesus. Jesus is obviously not part of the earthly organization today.
Aaron = ???, that's right, Jesus.
The Faithful and Discreet Slave = ???, that's right, the Jews released from captivity.
The vast mixed company = ???, that's right, the other sheep who hitched a ride on the skirts of the Jews.
So, the earthly organization today is prefigured by the ones responsible. Individually responsible. I have source material for anyone who needs to prove that this is the proper current "light" regarding the typical players.
Can't figure it out ...
ever since leaving the org 10+ years ago, i have often wondered about wearing a cross and if it is wrong to do.
i think the jw's see it as an idol, and i do know that the baptists actually pray to the cross because after i left the org, i became baptist for 2 years and they did pray to the big cross on the wall.
i'm not sure i believe that praying to the cross is such a good thing to do, but is wearing one as a symbol of my belief wrong?
Superman, Batman?
Such violence! I could never wear anything symbolic of wanton violence and mayhem and do-goodery. And those vile Smurfs, with their witching ways ... accursed, I tell you.
Besides, the jammies weren't possessed. Well, I suppose I owned them, but other than that they weren't possessed. They were just very mindful about providing food and crops as long as the proper payers and rituals were done before them.
ever since leaving the org 10+ years ago, i have often wondered about wearing a cross and if it is wrong to do.
i think the jw's see it as an idol, and i do know that the baptists actually pray to the cross because after i left the org, i became baptist for 2 years and they did pray to the big cross on the wall.
i'm not sure i believe that praying to the cross is such a good thing to do, but is wearing one as a symbol of my belief wrong?
Of course it is wrong! It is rankest idolatry to wear articles of clothing! Why, I remember well how my mother always bowed low before her earings and gave them offerings of sweetmeats freshly purchased from the shambles (meat market). And when I think of those halcyon days of my youth, praying to my flannel shirt to protect me from evil and my footed Winnie the Pooh jammies to provide me food and protect the crops <sigh> takes me back, I tells ya!
i have noticed quite a few new members and was wondering how many new ones have signed up in say the last month?
is there a way of finding out this info?
also how many members are there altogether?.
WELCOME! Enjoy all the free food that we don't have! Make sure you sample the dessert tray, stop by as often as you like.
i was raised roman catholic but stopped going about 25 years ago.
i was talking with someone i work with who is a jw and suggested i might look into it.
so here i am.............
ko38, I'm just keeping my word to a friend in need.
hey folks,.
an era in the ex-jw history is over.
kent steinhaug's site http://watchtower.observer.org is being shut down.. it was the first of it's kind, and to this day probably still the largest anti wt site on the net.
go to google
type in watchtower observer
click the second (indented) link
.
i am planning on converting to jehovahs witness, how does this effect my military (national gaurd) status, can i still serve,?
brian,
I recommend asking them first whether it is okay for you to have your own thoughts about scriptural topics or whether you must conform to the teachings of the Faithful and Discreet Slave, whether they are supported by the Bible or not. They will probably ask for an example. Ask them to scripturally prove that the Faithful and Discreet Slave is spirit-directed. Then they will ask if you have been to a Web site just like this one. Be completely honest, and don't let them get by without answering your question.
You won't have to worry about becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
