TheListener

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Posts by TheListener

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  23

  Did Ray Franz Go On The "Talk Show", "Radio Show", "Church Circuit" To Bash WTS?

  by ÁrbolesdeArabia in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i notice in ray's books he has a disdain for the more vocal dissidents of the watchtower organization.

  with this being said, did ray franz go on shows like merv griffen, oprah and other "talk mediums" to attack the watchtower society?

  i remember as a kid my mother running up and turning off shows apostates were to appear on, and i can't remember if ray was one of the 'bashers'?

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  TheListener

  Mouthy,

  I have a question. When Ray first started to "wake up", how did Cynthia react? Was she a staunch witness for a time or a long time? I have always wondered if Ray knew what it was like to be the UBM.
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  22

  WOW, just WOW!!! Mrs. Bibiyan Called JWs a CULT!!!

  by Yan Bibiyan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  folks, i am beside myself!.

  mrs. called the jws a cult!

  i, for certain, couldnt believe my ears at first.. quick background info first: mrs. is a second generation successfully faded jw.

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  TheListener

  That is really fantastic news! It definitely gives me hope that one day my wife will one day wake up as well. It would be nice not to be the scapegoat for every issue in her life and family. You know it's the old "if you hadn't left the truth....[enter current situation here]"

  TL
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  32

  Divine name debate - Greg Stafford v Paul Lundquist etc

  by yadda yadda 2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i'm sure this has been discussed in depth before by the scholarly minded on here.

  i'd be interested in seeing any former threads.. what are we to make of greg stafford's theory (and the watchtower society's) that the hellenized philosophy of the early nt copyists caused them to remove the divine name (tetragrammaton or variants of) from the nt writings?

  have any scholars offered a rebuttal?.

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  TheListener

  Does a complete translation of the NT by Trobisch exist? Is it electronic? If so, we could see for certain where he decided to use and not use the name Jehovah.
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  45

  Can someone recommend me a history book?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  not on a specific subject, just in general.

  history is my favourite subject and i'd like to maybe try something i wouldn't normally pick up.

  has anyone read any really good history books recently they would recommend?.

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  TheListener

  Slimboyfat,

  You have a PM
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  21

  Question for ex or current :) bethelites

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if any of you have worked in the mail department or are familiar with how mail is handled.

  two questions.

  1. if a letter is sent to the main bethel address and the name is "the governing body of jehovah's witnesses", will that letter reach them or is it opened and read by an underling who decides if it works it's way to them.

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  TheListener

  Remember the great Rap purge of the late '80s? I remember a Family Study (bethel family WT on Monday night) where the conductor went off on Slayer and other demon bands.
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  21

  Question for ex or current :) bethelites

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if any of you have worked in the mail department or are familiar with how mail is handled.

  two questions.

  1. if a letter is sent to the main bethel address and the name is "the governing body of jehovah's witnesses", will that letter reach them or is it opened and read by an underling who decides if it works it's way to them.

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  TheListener

  Couch and his "homo" comments are legendary. He even talked about how bethelites would visit the Manhattan nighclub CBGBs and could turn "homo" by touching the door handle. He was insane in the membrane.
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  41

  ....and a new wrinkle

  by outsmartthesystem in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i was giving my daughter a hug at bed time last night.

  she stands up at the foot of her bed and wraps her arms around my neck.

  she then asks why i don't serve jehovah anymore.

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  TheListener

  outsmarthesystem, I really feel for you. The stab of pain you must have felt when your daughter said and did that must have been really strong. Your continuing to show love and concern for her and to spend time with her are great. I think the best thing you can do is to let her see by example which parent is less stressed, which parent has unconditional love and which parent puts her and her interests first regardless of what the WTS says.

  I have found in my own life that spending as much time as I can with my kids in activities they enjoy has made a really big difference in our relationship.

  Depending on your situation and your kids personalities it may be helpful if they see you reading your Bible and when you're with them talking about God or Jesus a bit to them. It might make it harder for your wife and others to paint you as a Godless heathen if the kids know otherwise from a young age.
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  8

  What to tell your kids

  by TheListener in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  what did you tell your children about why you don't go to meetings anymore or aren't a witness?

  especially if you have a witness spouse..

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  TheListener

  What did you tell your children about why you don't go to meetings anymore or aren't a witness? Especially if you have a witness spouse.
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  188

  World map showing net reduction in publisher numbers

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  mp has asked which country has lost the most publishers, and i decided to investigate.

  one thing led to another, and i decided to produce another world map, this time showing the net reduction in publishers for each country.. this has been calculated by means of the following equation for each country:.

  2011 total no.

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  TheListener

  Can't we just call it: An Approximation of Missing Members on an Annual Basis - or something equally zingy!
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  112

  2005 - The year the Society began its decline (without anyone noticing)!

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've just finished an article for randy over on freeminds.org, which i've submitted to him for review.

  hopefully it should be online soon, so please keep checking!.

  the article discusses the fact that the watch tower society is already in decline, and suggests the year 2005 as the turning point.

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  TheListener

  Great thread.

  When I was still in I remember thinking the WTS was a very professional and efficient organization. I remember stories of other companies using the WTS as a role model. We had quality audio, quality dvds, quality publications, and our branch offices had all the up to date technology. We even invented MEPS (I have no idea if others use it or even if the WTS still uses it).

  What I see today, through glasses of skepticism, is an organization with the shine wore off. An organization going through the motions. I believe others have stated this as well.

  I have a spouse who is an active devout witness. I have never heard her or any other witness friend she has ever state anything negative about the organization or its cost cutting policies. However, they do all seem truly excited when there is less of something (like one less meeting and less magazines and books to read).

  And from my perspective all witnesses seem to be so busy they can't see straight, so stressed out they can't think straight and so wore out they have every odd medical disease in the book. There must be something to that.