TheListener

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Posts by TheListener

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  43

  Just got back from the Public Talk/WT study......very disappointed

  by R.F. in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i finally went back to the sunday meeting after missing it for over a month.

  i've been to the tms/service meeting a couple of weeks ago by the way, but i've consistently missed the one for sunday.. i dreaded going, but i think i will go to the sunday meetings every couple of weeks for a while.

  between my dad and another factor, i think it will be best to go that route for a while.

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  TheListener

  Hey R.F.

  I've had one or two of those conversations as well.

  Obviously they want to make sure that you are ok. They don't really want to hear that you're not ok; but they just have to ask.

  They will get around of course, to asking you if you are having any spiritual problems. In their opinion you have either committed a serious sin and are dealing with a guilty conscience or you're becoming weak in the faith and need encouragement before it's too late.

  Let them know for sure that you're not having any spiritual problems but you are [insert your public fading response here] and are doing the best you can.

  If you want to fade you can't give them any reason to suspect apostasy or spiritual sickness that can lead to apostasy or pulling away from the organization.

  When do you think you'll request to stop being a MS? Perhaps you should play the depressed;sick;whatever card when you talk with them and use that as your excuse to step aside. Tell them you need time to get over your emotional issues.

  Good luck.
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  37

  Arguments against Disfellowshipping

  by TheListener in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like a simple step by step explanation that refutes the disfellowshipping policy as practiced by jehovah's witnesses.. obviously, i don't agree with the policy but i have had trouble making my explanations clear and straightforward.. any help would be appreciated..

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  TheListener

  Sarah I would add the following to your thoughts:

  1. Many assume that the man in 1 Cor. is the same as the man in 2 Cor.

  - Some argue that Paul is referring to himself in 2 Cor.

  2. The majority considered him disfellowshipped but not ALL

  - Why is this so? The scriptures are silent. Evidently each individual had to make their own decision on how to treat this individual (evidently, hehehehe).
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  37

  Arguments against Disfellowshipping

  by TheListener in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like a simple step by step explanation that refutes the disfellowshipping policy as practiced by jehovah's witnesses.. obviously, i don't agree with the policy but i have had trouble making my explanations clear and straightforward.. any help would be appreciated..

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  TheListener

  Thanks everybody. All of your comments proved helpful.

  LiveLife - It's good to see you back; I've missed your viewpoint
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  37

  Arguments against Disfellowshipping

  by TheListener in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like a simple step by step explanation that refutes the disfellowshipping policy as practiced by jehovah's witnesses.. obviously, i don't agree with the policy but i have had trouble making my explanations clear and straightforward.. any help would be appreciated..

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  TheListener

  I would like a simple step by step explanation that refutes the Disfellowshipping policy as practiced by Jehovah's Witnesses.

  Obviously, I don't agree with the policy but I have had trouble making my explanations clear and straightforward.

  Any help would be appreciated.
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  16

  Wedding Anniversaries vs. Birthdays

  by PopeOfEruke in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jw's often have big parties or "gatherings" to celebrate wedding anniversaries, esp.

  for the big milestones (20th, 50th anniversary etc).. the process of these parties almost exactly mimic a typical birthday celebration: the couple of honour sit up the front, various people give speeches, show "honour" to the happy couple, there is a meal and drinks, usually an anniversary cake.. exactly the same as a birthday party.. so why is it ok to celebrate an anniversary of a wedding but not the annoversary of a birth??

  when it's usually the "wedding" which sooner or later results in a birth??

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  TheListener

  Pope,

  King Saul was in a cave using the....ummmmm....privy while David was hiding behind him and had the opportunity to kill Saul - of course, being a good boy he didn't. Saul never even knew.

  As far as anniversaries and birthdays; I agree with all of you. It's an irritating and ridiculous distinction. The argument I've heard was:

  marriage is a god given sanctified arrangement so it is ok to honor the arrangement and not the people.

  My comeback is the same: Who gets the gifts? God or the the couple? 'nuff said

  Same with baby showers. The witnesses say, as did I at one point in my life, that it's a celebration of the miracle of life - I say: Who gets the gifts? God or the baby's parents?
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  41

  Will The New Watchtower Kill Off The Awake?

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know if any of you have considered this but is the new watchtower arrangement partly intended.

  to permit the end of the awake magazine?.

  it is a financially difficult thing for a religion the size of the "truth" to publish one - much less two .

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  TheListener

  I mentioned on another thread a while back that I thought the KM would be folded into the Dub-WT.

  There is a KM printed for each branch. Although the WT is identical around the world, it is printed at various branch offices.

  It would not be difficult to add a few pages of branch specific KM articles and announcements on a monthly basis (since that is the same frequency the KM already comes out).

  For all we know the dub-version of the WT will be handed out by bookstudy conductors like the KM is now. In that case it will be as private as the existing KMs.

  Conclusion:

  KM and private dub-WT merge

  Awake and public WT merge

  Result:

  Cheaper pritning costs; less non-donated for materia (the KM); continued control and keeping of some info (supposedly) from non-dub hands.
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  101

  I've been studying with JW's for a few months..

  by MichaelM in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been studying with the jw's for a few months and i've attended a few meetings but things are feeling somewhat strange...i don't quite get the jist of things but i feel that i'm learning more of what the watchtower teachers and less of what the bible actually says.. i never open my bible.. i'm always reading the watchtower pamphlets.

  i really like the people i've met in the congregation and the guy thats been doing the studies with me has been an awesome friend.. .

  but i'm just having some issues.. i mean.. they translated their own bible to suit their own doctrines it seems.

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  TheListener

  Have you ever bought a used car? Had a vacuum salesperson in your home? Or perhaps some other form of sales pressure applied?

  Your witness friend, who I am sure is a good good person, is applying the same kind of pressure.

  We could give you specific questions, but they wouldn't change a witness' mind. If they would my wife would have left by now.

  Anything that requires this much pressure and persistence must surely beg the question: Why?

  There is another poster on the board that I will pm and hopefully you and he can talk. His argumentation skills are excellent and his reasoning sound.
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  297

  BETHELITES - Whatever Became of?

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i often times wonder what happened to certain bethelites that i ran around with during my 1990s tenure there.

  while there are still a few left there, the greater majority of them aren't there for various reasons (marriage, disillusionment, left the borg, etc).

  a couple of cats i wonder about - there was one brother who i believe was from kansas, who got his fingers cut off in a printing press.

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  TheListener

  Wow, what a list of names.

  Brings back old memories.

  I wish I could add info and share the names of those I remember or would like to find.

  Perhaps when I am completely free.
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  56

  Update: So I've been going to some meetings (and other things)

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've been absent from this board from some time, as i've been through alot the past few months.

  firstly, my mother passed away after complications from her surgery.

  so i've lost my entire family since 1999. i'm an only child.

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  TheListener

  I wish you the best wing commander. We all must live our lives in our own way. I'm very sorry for your losses. I can't even imagine the pain you must be enduring. I will keep you in my prayers.

  You have your eyes open and it seems that you do see both sides of the picture.

  All I ask is that you please please please don't allow anyone, the congregation, elders, etc to cloud your view of God's grace. We don't have to earn God's grace and we don't have to earn God's love - he gives it freely and willingly. I understand that once we accept God and Jesus into our lives we will be motivated to act and that is good and acceptable. Being motivated to act, whether it be informal witnessing or living your life with Godly principles in mind, is completely different from having to obey the FD&S, attend all meetings, have the pioneer spirit and maintain a regular monthly ministry, etc etc in order to maintain a relationship with God.

  Good luck, and I look forward to all your updates.
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  5

  Star Wars Robot Chicken

  by FadingAway in

  1. social
  2. humour

  did anyone see this on cartoon network's adult swim last sunday?

  i thought it was hilarious:.

  http://youtube.com/watch?v=fzho7cb9wsy.

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  TheListener

  I loved the part where the emperor said "uh, I love you too" to Darth Vader on the phone

  That was the funniest thing I've seen in years.