Raphael

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Posts by Raphael

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  52

  My Phone Conversation With Watchtower on Tsunami Disaster!

  by Voyager in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my telephone conversation with the watchtower society, was a sincere attempt to find out what active role the watchtower is taking to help the tsunami victims.

  thursday dec. 30, 2004 / approx.

  watchtower call on tsunami disaster.. 1-718-560-5000. wt-recording--thank you for calling jehovah's witnesses.. wt rep--jehovah's witnesses, may i help you?.

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  Raphael

  To be fair on the WTS...they are not a relief organisation...they have a relief department , however it does not operate on the same scale as other dedicated charities or organisations do.

  Also ...organisations cannot legally fly into and out of countries without authorised permision and in many instances government red tape even in the face of a disaster of this magnitude can take weeks if not months to arrange.

  If the WTBTS do have any relief arrangements in place then it is the course of wisdom for them to distribute funds to the branches to use as they see fit ...as local branches would be in a far better position to assess needs in communities they serve than say Brooklyn would be.

  I know from past association and relief work undertaken by the society in some African countries, that branches are reasonably well organised for relief work and local Kingdom Halls have often been turned into distribution centres in times of crises...

  Witnesses, I admit are good at organisation and discipline in these situations and it is in times like these that the training they receive is of benefit for the greater good of others.
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  9

  Who was Charles T.Russell really?

  by anonymouslyyours in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  let me know what you really think and who he was...and i will inform you.

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  Raphael

  Reading and studying his writings, I get the impression that he was actually a decent fellow...I sense that he was deeply sincere in his search for truth , but that he was also very naive and easily influenced by others, hence his involvement with pyramidology and to some degree the occult and spiritism i.e the book "Women and Angels" as an example.

  Unlike his successor J.F Rutherford , there is no evidence to suggest that he deliberately set out to deceive others.To the contrary his writings (STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES - VOLUME 1) clearly indicate that he did not believe in the wholesale conversion of the world, but that God was only calling his church and that eventually the vast majority of humankind would eventually gain salvation ,during the 1000 year reign of Christ. A very liberal view and a far cry from the fire and brimstone, that was being preached from the pulpits of most Protestant and Catholic churches.

  From many of those associated with him - who ceased association with the society after his death in 1916 , there seems to be consensus that he was a very compassionate and caring man , that if he could see the organisation now - he would turn in his grave and condemn the society in the strongest possible terms. Russell was not and never would be a Jehovah's Witness - they are the very antithesis of what he believed in.
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  23

  The Awake magazine: In A Realm Beyond Dumb?

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hold in my hand a typical awake magazine (jan. 8, 2005) - entitled "can planet earth be.

  saved?".

  of course, it trots out the usual formula of half truths that has brought the watchtower.

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  Raphael

  Most articles in Awake are great if your aged 7 - 13 or live in a third world or developing country and I gather from what is happening with recent statistics that this is the market the society are catering for.
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  13

  "God Doesn't Want You To Have A Christmas Tree"

  by astro_girl in

  1. social
  2. family

  i'm fairly new here (more of a lurker than a poster) .

  my mom-in-law (a jw for 50+ years) was just on the phone with an old childhood friend of hers (a baptist and perfectly content with her religion) that lives down south and she told her that "god doesn't want you to have a christmas tree...you should know that by now.

  " grrrrrrrrrrr......i just wanted to slap her.. how dare she try and ruin someone else's holidays spewing her poison!

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  Raphael

  ROMANS 14:5 "Some of the Lords followers think one day is more important than another, others think all days are the same. But each of you should make up your own mind.Any followers who count one day more important than another day do it to honour their lord...the day is coming when God will judge all of us ...And so each of us must give an account to God for what we do."
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  34

  JW Says:--JWs Are "Not Required" To Go Door To Door!

  by Voyager in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.postindependent.com/article/20041217/valleynews/112170011 .

  http://www.postindependent.com/article/20041217/valleynews/112170011 .

  overcast 29. .

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  Raphael

  The witness quoted in the news item is deliberately dishonest or in denial...the door to door work is a fundamental aspect of faith for all JW's. Those who do not share in the work are considered inactive and not counted among annual membership.

  Elders will call aside those who become irregular in the door to door work for a serious chat, and consider those who do not share in this work spiritually weak and lacking in faith, it is also true that they consider this work neccessary for their own salvation as well as those to whome they witness, and teach that those who do not go from door to door will be called to give an account to Jehovah as to why they did not share in the work.

  Congregation members also look down on any who do not share in this work as being spiritually weak and their is a tendency for them to be shown less love and they are also often excluded from social gatherings and they are made to feel inadequate and unworthy of salvation.
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  26

  How many of the Jacksons are Disfellowshipped or Disassociated?

  by booker-t in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  does anybody know the current status of the jackson family.

  is michael jackson disfellowshipped or disassociated?

  what about latoya jackson?

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  Raphael

  I know many who have grown up as Witnesses , but nolonger associate or were never baptised or are even d'fd...such as myself who for many years still refer to themselves as JW's when fillling out hospital forms or census documents etc...kinda like nominal christians who have never really personally accepted christ as a saviour and made a commitment to christianity call themselves christians ...when in reallity they are not.

  As far as monetary contributions are concerned..to be fair...if I think back to my old congregation , the contribution boxes were at the back of the Kingdom Hall , and it was almost impossible to see who was or wasn't putting money in ...so it would stand to reason then that money could not be given back if it's source was not known.

  Being new to this site , but having read posts for some time now, I still do not understand why some seem to pick on every little thing that the WTBTS does or doesn't do ..while no longer a witness, some of the posts seem malicious. I understand peoples anger , but some of it really seems kinda harsh and almost unfair.
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  48

  JW Beliefs

  by treefrog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi there everyone, my name is treefrog and i am new to this site.

  i am a roman catholic so i feel like i'm entering the lion's den here, but not to worry.

  i hope to share my beliefs with you all regarding our saviour, jesus christ.. i hope to shine a light into your organisation (if jesus christ couldn't, how can i expect to!

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  Raphael

  For the record...

  I was a second generation JW..D'fd 11 years ago.

  Grew up in South Africa, now based in the UK...took many years to break free and still often struggle with certain issues of faith.

  However I still believe the scriptures are inspired and that Jesus Christ was/is the promised messiah.

  Real Christianity is centred on Christ and his teachings "I am the way , truth and life" . A Christain is by deffinition an anointed follower of The Messiah, his or her membership is not in an earthly organisation..be it Methodist, Anglican , Catholic etc..spiritual truth as taught by Christ , sets his disciples free from human creeds and traditions and the trappings of institutionalised or organised religion. "The Church", or body of believers still on earth are encouraged to meet together for fellowship in order to encourage and upbuild oneanother - it has nothing to do with salvation , that is as the scriptures teach a free gift - given to those who receive Christ as saviour and accept the work he has done for each one of us as an individual.

  True Christianity is not about rules and regulations , its about being truly free in every possible sense.

  ;-)
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  48

  JW Beliefs

  by treefrog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi there everyone, my name is treefrog and i am new to this site.

  i am a roman catholic so i feel like i'm entering the lion's den here, but not to worry.

  i hope to share my beliefs with you all regarding our saviour, jesus christ.. i hope to shine a light into your organisation (if jesus christ couldn't, how can i expect to!

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  Raphael

  Reply to Happy Guy:

  I meant oldest as far as "Christian Cults" are concerned, if I'm incorrect then please shed some light on the matter,I would be interested to know if any go back further than Catholicism.
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  55

  Can the Bible be used to disprove the Witnesses

  by jaredg in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  lately i have been arguing with my father about my beliefs and such.

  i belive that the wbts is not the faithful and discrete slave and i don't agree with many of the wbts techings.

  the easiest way for me to do this is to discredit the bible but this isn't working with my father.

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  Raphael

  I'm new to this site..so please be gentle...

  I have often visited and read various posts and only now garnered the courage to join.

  I am a second generation JW...but was df'd about 11 years ago, yet for many years I continued to believe it was "The Truth"..until I began a serious investigation into Watchtower history... a scripture that helped to set me free intelectually and emotionally was Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

  Also I found the folllowing course helpful in broadening my understanding of christianity :

  http://alphacourse.org
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  48

  JW Beliefs

  by treefrog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi there everyone, my name is treefrog and i am new to this site.

  i am a roman catholic so i feel like i'm entering the lion's den here, but not to worry.

  i hope to share my beliefs with you all regarding our saviour, jesus christ.. i hope to shine a light into your organisation (if jesus christ couldn't, how can i expect to!

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  Raphael

  There are many , many cults i.e Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Scientologists, Moonies...the list is endless...the oldest and largest however is The Catholic Church, with its long established papacy...it has held many millions captive throughout history and has been a cruel and harsh master.