ive attended meetings at a handful of kingdom halls in my day.
i would venture a guess of approximately five or six.
ive also driven by many more.
The first hall I attended had lots of windows. When the time came to build a new hall,....no windows. I remember being told that it was due to vandalism, although not one single window, nor any other type of vandalism ever occured at the old hall.
Once the new hall was built, the old one ended up being converted into a "church."
the united states is energy dependant.
like a substance abuse addict, the u.s. will sacrifice anything for the thrill of driving huge sporty vehicles at high speeds, it seems.
well, lets be more precise.
Three Mile Island and Chernobyl provide us with a reminder that these plants can release dangerous radioactivity, or even melt down. The waste from these operations needs to be addressed as well. This radioactive waste is extremely long-lived, with half-lives of many of these radioisotopes being from centuries to millennia long. Is it possible to safely bury this waste without fear of it leaching out? For thousands of years? Do you really think that we could confidently produce such a plan, given our past record? Do we want to burden our children and descendants with the responsibility of this danger___because we weren't able to find a safer way to generate electricity? Most plants also use or generate plutonium and uranium which can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. This will be a never ending temptation for terrorists and rogue nations. If all of the issues of safety, waste, and weapons could be solved, nuclear energy might be a good solution, at least until a better alternative comes along. Unfortunately, as demonstrated by our past, these conditions have not been met nor does it appear that they will be in the foreseeable future. Violations of safety standards continue to appear and the regulatory commission has failed to enforce these rules. Does this inspire confidence in the nuclear industry?
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is there such a thing in jw mythology?
i thought apostacy was considered unforgivable but i can't find any quotes on the topic.
from a 69 watchtower... Questions from Readers • What is the unforgivable sin?—E. M., U.S.A. The type of sin mentioned in the Bible as being unforgivable is not simply a category such as stealing, lying or sexual immorality. These things are serious, however, and may involve unforgivable sin. (Rev. 21:8) But the unforgivable sin is deliberate sin against the manifest operation of God’s spirit. It springs from a heart that is thoroughly and forever alienated from God. “Every sort of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. For example, whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, no, not in the present system of things nor in that to come.”—Matt. 12:31, 32; Mark 3:28, 29; Luke 12:10. Something interesting though is this from a 63 WT.. A brief consideration of Scriptural examples of unforgivable sins and sins that were forgiven should prove enlightening and comforting. From these it will become apparent that it is not so much a matter of what kind of sin it is as it is the motive or heart condition, the degree of negligence and willfulness involved that determines whether it is forgivable or not. These examples show that it is the one who willfully makes a practice of sin after he knows the truth whose sins are unforgivable. Helpful also should be a consideration of what one who has stumbled into sin can do to regain his spiritual equilibrium or balance and joy in Jehovah.
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is there such a thing in jw mythology?
i thought apostacy was considered unforgivable but i can't find any quotes on the topic.
from the 9/15/92 watchtower
5
Some sins are unforgivable. Jesus Christ said: "Every sort of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven." (Matthew 12:31) So, then, blasphemy against God’s holy spirit, or active force, will not be forgiven. The apostle Paul alluded to such sin when he wrote: "It is impossible as regards those who have once for all been enlightened, . . . but who have fallen away, to revive them again to repentance, because they impale the Son of God afresh for themselves and expose him to public shame."—Hebrews 6:4-6.
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by nuclear war, i don't mean 2 bombs like in japan back in 1945, but something much worse, like half of the population of the us being destroyed in a nuclear conflict.. probably jw's would say, no to the question because they think that their work of salvation is soooo important that god wouldn't permit their destruction..
Since your god has never prevented any other tragedy from befalling man and killing millions, even by his own hands, there is no reason to assume he would interfere in a nuclear confrontation.
The entire planet has been booby-trapped with some 60,000 nuclear weapons-- far more than enough to obliterate both the US and the Soviet Union, jeopardize the global civilization, and possibly end the million year human experiment.
Because of the nuclear arms race, everyone in Russia has handed their lives over to the leaders of the US. By the same token, if Moscow decides we should die....20 minutes later, we're dead. We ( U.S and Russia) have spent 40+ years making ourselves vulnerable to instant annihilation. We have made a fools bargain. All in the name of patriotism and "national security".
What makes you think I am an apostate? My elder father and uncle claim that I am NOT an apostate. No jw I know shuns me or considers me an apostate. I even went so far as to accuse the crotchtower of being false prophets. They still don't consider me an apostate.
I would tell a mythical god the same thing that I would tell anyone who was about to kill me.....
"Blow me!"
Fanatics are so easy to rile and excite that the desire to argue with them is often overwhelming
for years i have wanted--no, yearned and longed for-- your approval.
just a small pat on the back, a quiet smile, or some tiny gesture from you that i'd "done good.
" but i wonder if i'm not wasting my years in frustration and in endless hoping for what probably is never going to be.
I'm sorry, this isn't a letter I sent to my mother, but rather it was just intended to be a statement to mothers (or fathers) in general. Please accept my apologies for giving the wrong impression. I have been making a concerted effort to gain some writing skills.
for years i have wanted--no, yearned and longed for-- your approval.
just a small pat on the back, a quiet smile, or some tiny gesture from you that i'd "done good.
" but i wonder if i'm not wasting my years in frustration and in endless hoping for what probably is never going to be.
For years I have wanted--no, yearned and longed for-- your approval. Just a small pat on the back, a quiet smile, or some tiny gesture from you that I'd "done good." But I wonder if I'm not wasting my years in frustration and in endless hoping for what probably is never going to be. So, because I do know that I am basically a good person, a loving son, and that I must give my attention to my own journey to be the man that I think God would want me to be to myself, my wife, and my children, I'm not going to wait for your approval any longer. I won't agonize inside for a small gesture of love from you. I will not set aside hours or even moments of wishful thinking about what "could have been" for us. I am closing out these painful chapters in my life. Someday you might have a change of heart, a reversal, or a turn around of thought,or you might even transpose some of your attitudes. Such a change would be wonderful, and I would welcome communication between us. But for now I have to, as psychologists say, move on with my mind and my heart and tell you I can no longer hope, expect, or even wait for change. I will always love you. You are my mother and I pray things will go well for you. Your son
rom 9:21
hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
i was thinking about this scripture the other day.
From the Insight book:
The potter’s authority over the clay is used illustratively to show Jehovah’s sovereignty over individuals and nations. (Isa 29:15, 16; 64:8) To God the house of Israel was "as the clay in the hand of the potter," He being the Great Potter. (Jer 18:1-10) Man is in no position to contend with God, just as clay would not be expected to challenge the one shaping it. (Isa 45:9) As an earthenware vessel can be smashed, so Jehovah can bring devastating calamity upon a people in punishment for wrongdoing.—Jer 19:1-11.
Concerning the Messianic King’s exercise of God-given authority against the nations, it was foretold: "You will break them with an iron scepter, as though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces."—Ps 2:9; compare Da 2:44; Re 2:26, 27; 12:5.
From a single lump of clay the potter could make a vessel for an honorable use and another for a dishonorable, a common, or an ordinary use. Similarly, Jehovah has authority to mold individuals as he pleases and has tolerated wicked ones, "vessels of wrath made fit for destruction," but this has worked to the benefit of "vessels of mercy," persons making up spiritual Israel.—Ro 9:14-26. and from a 1965 Watchtower:
6 Note how clear this point is made at Jeremiah 18:6-8: "Look! As the clay in the hand of the potter, so you are in my hand, O house of Israel. At any moment that I may speak against a nation and against a kingdom to uproot it and to pull it down and to destroy it, and that nation actually turns back from its badness against which I spoke, I will also feel regret over the calamity that I had thought to execute upon it."
7
To illustrate: All of Jehovah’s creatures might be likened to clay vessels in a potter’s workshop whom Jehovah God, as the Potter, can and does mold as he pleases. But it is up to the individual piece of clay as a free moral agent and an intelligent creature to choose how he wants to react to Jehovah’s patterns and pressures, either submitting to Jehovah and righteousness, or resisting Jehovah and hardening himself in wickedness. But once the creature has manifested his attitude, Jehovah may, can and does at times mold that one further and further, either toward honorable service or toward dishonorable use, as suits Jehovah’s sovereign will and purposes.
