actually, come to think of it, the only truth ever said in my hall was when someone DA'd themselves. "so and so is no longer one of jehobas witnesses." and even that statement is a lie, because the very term "jehovah's witness" is a lie. aarrrgggg!!!
tetrapod.sapien
JoinedPosts by tetrapod.sapien
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17
did they ATTEMPT to save you
by tijkmo inwhen you were before a judicial commitee for whatever reason...did they try to get you to see the error of your ways and thus save you from destruction at the big a...or were they just happy to let you die.. .
i have a theory that goes like this...if you are sorry they think that you are not and df you...if you are not sorry they make an attempt to try and save you because its a kind of feather in their cap.. .
i was sorry...so sorry i thought i deserved to be df...and said that i expected to be..and they later told me i said i wanted to be df...which i didnt..(i was a mental and emotional wreck on the night of the jc although i tried to portray otherwise)....but even if i had, surely they had some responsibiity to try and 'readjust' me.. .
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tetrapod.sapien
by the time i left, they did not care about me at all, and did not even try to meet with me or even find out from my wife what the hell i was thinking.
one elder asked her: "has he read vol.3 in Study In the Scriptures?". like he could understand if i had doubts after reading about the pyramidology of the original apostate that started the cult. i think she told him no, and that was it!
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19
Do JW's stay up late on NEW YEAR'S?
by Donkey Lipz in.
my parents & i stood up late and watched the ball dropped in times square on tv....but i like 2 kno if jw's do it...do they have gatherings on that nite?.
donkey lipz 05
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tetrapod.sapien
ya, the large majority do not. but some, incl moi, snuck out every new years for years to revel and run around drunk screaming "happy new year!!! i love you freaking world!!". but i should stress, only a few engage in this type of behavour. perhaps i am alone in this actually...
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tetrapod.sapien
i wonder about this all the time too. i wish i was one of those kids that had natural critical thinking ability! unfortunately critical thinking ability has to be learned by most of us. the few people i know, who were those kids, had a natural disposition to science and skepticism.
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20
Watchtower and Awake in the waiting room
by kj ini found a couple of nice wt and awake magazines in the waiting room at work today.
i decided to dress them up with some flourescent green labels with the freeminds.org, silentlambs.org, and quotes' website.
hope the jw who left them will come back and check them out .
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tetrapod.sapien
I'm in as well!!!!
me three!
sweet, a new type of service!
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7
ex-JW experiences JW "love"
by tetrapod.sapien inone of my ex-best friends am i over reacting and just being "touchy" and should not send the reply in anger?
it is really worse than death.
he happened to stumble on 3 john vs. 13 & 14 (the same scripture you had wrote on your care package to me for costa rica).
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tetrapod.sapien
one of my ex-best friends replied to my letter of DA that i copied him on by email. i have not replied to it, nor do i know if i will. i am wondering what you all think about my reply? i was angry and hurt (but not surprised), so i am sure that did not help. am i over reacting and just being "touchy" and should not send the reply in anger? or should i send it anyways? His part of the reply is in bold black text, and my potential reply (to his reply) is in red. when you get to the scripture wrangling part, you can just skip over it after the first few scriptures, as you will get the point quickly. i guess it is thereputic to post my reply here, even if i don't send it to him in the end. i was most angered by his comments on "being lost", "worse than death" and "pursuit of truth". thanks folks. here it is:
Dear Friend, Well, it has been almost 2 weeks since receiving your letter. I'll have to say that it was quite shocking (and still is) to wake up to open my email and find out that one of my best friends was lost. I've thought and felt often these last two weeks. It is really worse than death.
that's funny, because i think that you are lost too, but i don't go around arrogantly telling you i think so. it's incredible how you automatically assume that i am wrong and you are right. how would you know it is worse than death if you have never experienced death? i am still alive, and I feel great. how can you condescend to me like that and say that what i have done is worse than killing myself? your presumptuousness is typically Christian. what a horrible thing to say. if it is worse than death, then i wish you the worst of mourning. To be honest, I've been contemplating whether or not to reply to your letter. Not because I don't care. I've assumed that by not talking to me prior to making this decision, it wasn't important to you to hear my input, therefore it won't matter much now.
you're right, this is a very personal decision. your input was not required. as a matter of fact, no one person's input was required, Christian or Atheist. all that was required were the facts, and facts are all i accepted. most civil people do respond to civil letters, i am glad you came around. You've meant a tremendous amount to me and always will. I wish that I was a better friend and that the rock of our friendship hadn't been removed. I'm hopeful for your return one day if your pursuit is truth.
so you have gone the distance then? and followed the facts wherever they led you? even to uncomfortable waters? you already know everything i have found, and you still choose to be a witness? because you imply by your arrogant comment regarding "truth" that you have indeed found the truth, and that you already know for certain what the outcome of my course will be. this is implied. are you some sort of God? can you really say you have "truth" and just leave it at that? i can assure you that my pursuit is truth, and i can also assure you that you will never see me at the kingdom hall ever again! the pursuit of truth is what set me on this odyssey, and since you are implying that you have the truth and that i am lost, then let me say that the probability of truth in so far as humans can discover it, is far far away from your bible and from the 12 old men in brooklyn that you cherish. and speaking of them, you can thank them for removing the "rock of our friendship". ps: when talking with a friend regarding this situation, he opened his bible to find a scripture to leave me with. he happened to stumble on 3 John vs. 13 & 14 (the same scripture you had wrote on your care package to me for costa rica). in return. this image is a "care package" for you.
(he then scans in snippets of my letters to him that included scriptures that i had quoted in the past)
wow, it must have been holy spirit that helped him "stumble" on that great passage. thanks for quoting scriptures. typically christian. "shove some more mythology down the heathens throat. better yet, scriptures that the heathen once used himself!" as if this were some sort of 'wake up call' as to my erroneous ways. if this is the game, then you will be pleased to know that according to The Lord of the Rings, frodo and sam are on their way to mount doom as we speak, to save the world from shadow and evil. they are assisted by men, elves, dwarves, tree ents and wizards. and don't tell me that this is "just a fictitious story", because i have faith in my heart that it is true. and that's all i need! "it's the bible that is false! you are lost! if your pursuit is truth, you will come around to the Fellowship of the Ring." do you see the ridiculousness of quoting scripture at an atheist? but while you are throwing scriptures at me, let me throw some at you. these are some of my favorites: "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." Psalms 145:8-9 (KJV)
"And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead." Exodus 12:29-30
"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." Leviticus 20:13 "And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.... And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses." Numbers 15:32-36 "Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen." Romans 15:33 (KJV)
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor." Numbers 25:4 "But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee." Deuteronomy 7:1-2, 20:16-17 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:8 (KJV)
"And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.... And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? .... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." Numbers 31 "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword". Joshua 6:21 "And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter." 1 Samuel 6:19 "And [Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them." 2 Kings 2:23-24 "...the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." James 5:11 (KJV)
"And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces." 2 Chronicles 25:11-12 "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.... Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children." Isaiah 13:9,15-18 "And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity , nor spare, nor have mercy , but destroy them." Jeremiah 13:14 "...turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness."
Joel 2:13 (KJV)
"Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up." Hosea 13:16 "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." ps 137:9 "Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces." mal 2:3 of course, YHVH the "Rock", changed the way he dealt with humans in the new testament. now, everyone has to await the wrath of his day (with great fear and guilt) when all 6 billion non JW's will be torn asunder by his wrath (as all must express faith in the ransom to be saved). this includes children, if we learn anything from the OT.
pps: please pass on our love to your wife.
if you really care about her, you can do that yourself. your "loving, true religion" broke apart my friendships and family, NOT me. what "love" can be passed onto a fellow christian through an infidel? tell me that? the same love that condescends to me? the same love that causes you to say "goodbye" to me after years of friendship because i no longer agree with the WTBTS of Brooklyn NY Inc.? spare your christian love on me, and do it yourself. ppps: please do not reply.
too bad. you can't pull this arrogance, re quote a book at me that i think is idiotic, and expect to get the last word in. Love, Your Friend if you are no longer going to be my friend, then i don't believe that you "love" me. or perhaps this is the perfect christian love that prays for me? well, your praying is atrophying your imagination . don't pray for me, and don't twist the definition of love . -
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Is the Bible in its Entirety, the Word of God?
by Flash inmankind has been told for centuries that the bible is the 'inspired word of god.
' but is it entirely god's word?
does 'inspired' mean that every word in the bible from genesis 1:1 to revelation 22: 21 is out of the mouth of god or his son?
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tetrapod.sapien
there are some good points to ponder in the bible, but IMHO it can't be the word of an omnimax god.
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WHO IS YOU?
by Terry inthe mind is what the brain does; not who you are.
the soul is an idea that would seem to have testable consequences.
specifically, if the human mind is the product of a "ghost in the machine" and not simply the result of electrochemical interactions, then the mind should not be dependent on the physical actions of the brain that houses it.
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tetrapod.sapien
Do you have a problem with this?
no, i agree with your thoughts.
Do you think that you are MORE than what your brain does?
no.
Why? What evidence do you present to yourself?
i would argue that we are not even more than our brains even physically, as in bodily biological functions. it seems that when the brain dies, so does the mind but also physical processes.
Who is you?
my brain is the hardware, my mind is the OS. i am trying to opensource it, but the reverse engineering is taking so long. damn you microsoft! ...er, i mean, God.
(The above is a condensed version of an interesting webpage EBON MUSINGS which I thought might lead to interesting discussion.)
ebonmusings.org is one of my favorite sites of all time. cheerio!
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Why didn't jesus write the new testement
by Satanus inquestions, questions, and more questions.. did jesus (if he existed) have in mind starting a world religion such as has been created around him in his name?
if so, why did he not write the foundations for it, laying out it's laws and structure?
why did he only rebel and lead a rebellion against the old testement priesthood?
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tetrapod.sapien
Questions, questions, and more questions.
Did jesus (if he existed) have in mind starting a world religion such as has been created around him in his name?
assuming he existed? yes and no. yes he wanted to create a world wide religion from his cult. and no, he would have been horrified to know what had been created around his name now.
If so, why did he not write the foundations for it, laying out it's laws and structure?
because he didn't exist. or if he did, as that atheist kid on the ABC wife swap show put it to his stepmom: "Jesus was just some carpenter that liked to talk a lot." it's a perfectly logical question. why would he entrust something so important to a bunch of bickering fishermen who never really understood what he was talking about half the time.
Why did he only rebel and lead a rebellion against the old testement priesthood?
because he most probably did not exist and the writers developing his mythology could not have had any foresight or political power, and that was the most immediate issue to deal with, the religious establishment for which he came from.
Why did decades pass before anything was committed to papyrus/velum?
because he most probably did not exist and because the myth creators were still mostly formulating the story.Why did he make vague statements to the effect that someone else would start his church?
because he probably never made them. the writer was jockying for political position while trying to sound innocent.
Why did that person not start the church?
because it did not work out for him. and paul was unaware of what had been writen about peter because when paul wrote the epistles the gospels had not yet been written, or he was unaware of them.
Why was a greek educated jew who never knew jesus instrumental in designing church structure and building them?
he was a charismatic leader, and a great business man.
S
nice questions. all answers IMHO of course. -
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Another example of a loving God.
by jula71 ini was looking through the newest wt just to see what "new light" there is now.
i came across the questions from readers, and i was amazed by what i read.
from the may 15, 2005 wt, the question was "why were david and bath-sheba not put to death for committing adultery, whereas their newborn son died?
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tetrapod.sapien
"What kind of a loving God would kill an innocent child to punish the parents?" -- YHVH would. the OT is full of that kind of stuff. i can't believe what a bunch of morons run the WTS. i love reading my mags now that i am out...with a gleeful chuckle.