Tristram

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Posts by Tristram

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  26

  Did You Ever Really Listen At The Meetings?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  toward the end of my meeting attendance, i started to pay attention (as best as i could) to what was being said and that was truly the final nail in the coffin.. when you actually decipher the "reasoning" of the "truth", you can't help but see things clearly..

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  Tristram

  Interesting how most didn't pay attention early on (the meetings obviously so mind-numbingly boring) but as they started "waking up" or stopped suppressing their thoughts they did start paying attention.

  That was my case as well, I started actually listening and realizing what was being said. The public talks ceased being "public" and became directed at JW's. The TMS was mostly useless. The Service meeting was either a sales seminar or a guilt trip about not doing enough, no matter what was going on in your personal life.

  Like Undercover said so well, when a scripture was read, I would read the context around it. Most of the time the "point" being made didn't jibe. Especially the use of isolated verses in the Hebrew bible to apply to whatever the point they were trying to make was.
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  33

  The Elder Situation

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was speaking with an older sister who is quite zealous and she is typical of many who are concerned that men are not reaching out.

  she notes that young men in particular have no interest in doing anything, congregation-wise.. the change in this area is quite dramatic, if you can remember that once, being an elder was an aspiration of nearly every brother - and we had plenty of young men to run the mics and hand out magazines.

  i once pointed out to a c.o.

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  Tristram

  About 8 months ago a CO told me that the society was struggling to appoint MS's/Elders to keep up with the needs.

  Funny, I was thinking about this not too long ago. Why do they need so many elders and MS's? What "needs" are there? Endless parts on meetings, endless adminstrative tasks, endless policing and meddling in everyone's affairs. Most of that would be completely unnecessary if the powers that be would release the reins even a little bit.
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  26

  JWs advocate for the release of the Yorkshire Ripper

  by brizzzy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1295224/yorkshire-ripper-peter-sutcliffe-spend-rest-life-bars.html.

  check out the blue box.

  of course jehovah's witnesses would adamantly vouch for a serial killer convicted of butchering 13 women.

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  Tristram

  Just to be fair to the reporting...the JW's said that he "shows remorse" but there is nothing about them advocating his release, unless I missed it.
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  43

  Observations since the book study arrangement finished

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does anyone have any interesting observations since the book study arrangement in private homes finished?.

  are jws happier with the extra night off?

  do they miss the book study?

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  Tristram

  I like the night off and do not use it as a "Family Worship Night". I agree with the other sentiments here though that it has taken away the convivial "family" atmosphere that was at the home book studies. I do think it was a "clampdown", not done to relieve pressure on the friends. The original reason, gas prices, doesn't carry weight anymore, though I suppose we can always get some "new light" about the real reason.

  Other than that, the combined CBS/TMS/SM seems lengthier than the old arrangement, although technically it's not. Maybe its just the thought of sitting through three meetings instead of two.

  My 2 cents, FWIW.
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  8

  This guy used to be a JW...He wrote this while he was at Bethel and sang it to the GB

  by gubberningbody in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqw4w9wgxcq.

  .

  i'm pretty sure anyway....

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  Tristram

  I think we've been Rickrolled!

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling
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  41

  Standing Room Only at Tulsa District Convention

  by darthfader in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my parents were to attend the dc in tulsa, when they arrived, there was no parking and no seats available.

  is this because there are more people in the area or fewer locations and times?.

  any ideas?.

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  Tristram

  Must be the overwhelming success of the tract campaign!
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  101

  "Jesus did not die on the cross" (Gunnar Samuelsson)

  by Titus in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  "jesus did not die on the cross" .

  a new doctoral dissertation in theology from gothenburg university claims that the bible has been misinterpreted when it comes to how jesus died.

  gunnar samuelsson who wrote the dissertation has studied the original texts and sees no explicit references to crucifiction.

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  Tristram

  Why does it matter so much to JWs? That's the part I could never figure out about this debate.

  Amen, Keyser. Anything remotely associated with "Christendom" is anathema, whether it's true or not. I never understood the vehement oppostition to the idea that there was a cross either. I guess it was just more Judge wackiness.
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  80

  Tell me about your avatar(not the Gravatars)

  by asilentone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my avatar is a pic of a cool car, obviously.

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  Tristram

  I was always told not to go to college, and ostracized when I did, so.....
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  35

  How many meetings did you actually enjoy?

  by nugget in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was talking to my husband and we were trying to work out how many meetings we actually came away from feeling enthused or excited by what we had heard.

  not including pre and post meeting association how many wow moments can you recall?.

  we had to conclude that most of the time in the organisation the meeting was something you endured.

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  Tristram

  We had to conclude that most of the time in the organisation the meeting was something you endured. We went to the meetings so as not to feel guilty, to be seen by others, to stop others criticising, because we had an assignment and because we wanted to catch up with others.

  Wow, Nugget...you nailed my feelings exactly.
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  22

  When the meetings seem endless....

  by XPeterX in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  what do you do/used to do?i go to the bathroom for more than 10 mins,then read something irrelevant or think of something irrelevant or go out for a while and so the meeting comes to an end..

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  Tristram

  Whaddya mean "when"? Aren't they all?

  Doodle, make shopping or to-do lists, go out to the car to catch up on sports scores, couple of bathroom breaks. Sometimes I'll read the bible.