I'm not a full blown spelling nazi, but one thing that really does annoy me is the misuse of homophones; they're, their, and there, for instance. You're and your are frequently misused as well. In chat rooms, it makes me want to scream when somebody says "im board, due u want too talk?" If I'm in a particularly self-righteous mood, I sometimes bait such people... "sorry, I don't like wooden conversationalists".
AllAlongTheWatchtower
JoinedPosts by AllAlongTheWatchtower
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19
Paragraphs Please - Your Online Pet Peeves
by Mysterious inwhat are some of your forum pet peeves?.
paragraphs - please use them.
i'm sure you have something to say but if it makes my eyes bleed i pass.. capitals - i don't know about you but i think this just looks juvenile but no worse than this.
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28
What is/was the last most believable date for second coming/Armageddon?
by AllAlongTheWatchtower ini was never a witness, i joined this site after my wife started studying with them, and i got upset over some of the things that resulted from that.
however, i grew up in a similar high-control group called the worldwide church of god.
much like the witnesses, in the mid 70s ( i forget the exact year, i was only in elementary school in those days, but it may have been 75, just like jws), there was a big push toward the end being at hand, the great tribulation is coming, etc etc.
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
I was never a witness, I joined this site after my wife started studying with them, and I got upset over some of the things that resulted from that. However, I grew up in a similar high-control group called the Worldwide Church of God. Much like the witnesses, in the mid 70s ( I forget the exact year, I was only in elementary school in those days, but it may have been 75, just like JWs), there was a big push toward the end being at hand, the Great Tribulation is coming, etc etc. I remember when this flopped, that a lot of people began speculating as to just what happened, and when the 'REAL' end would come.
Everybody had their own pet theories. One that I recall, was that it would be whatever the failed year was, +3. So assuming the WCG failure was in 75 just like the JWs, then 75+3 = 78. The reasoning being, that since Christ was actually born in 3 BC or thereabouts, that there was a 3 or even 4 year 'fudge factor', depending on whether you counted a year zero or not. Well, that came and went. Another pet theory of many was that it would be 1999, because 999 upside down was 666, and because it was very close to being 2,000 years (Many believed that time was divided into eras; 2,000 years roughly pre-flood, 2,000 more flood-Jesus, then 2,000 years Jesus-Armageddon).
I'm now an atheist, but still have sort of an intellectual curiousity into what people believe about this, it's not only the JWs who think doomsday is right around the corner. But the doomsday prophets are running out of believable dates-when will the last date be here that can still be supported biblically? When I was still a believer, I thought surely that the very last possible year would be 2004 or 2005 at the latest, after all it was 2000 years plus a few for a safety margin. According to the wikipedia entry on Anno Domini (link and quote below), there is possibly as much as an 8-10 year difference in accuracy, though. However you look at it, and whatever (in)accuracies and overlaps there are, surely we are running out of time for ANY biblical support of a 6,000 year "reign of Satan" followed by Armageddon and a 1,000 year millenium. Anybody got their own theories? And what happens when people realize this? Do they go on believing on faith anyway, or does Christianity quietly begin to fade away?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
"It is hard to date Jesus' birth because some sources are now gone and over 1900 years have passed since the Gospels were written; however, based on a lunar eclipse that the first-century historian Josephus reported shortly before the death of Herod the Great (who plays a role in Matthew's account), as well as a more accurate understanding of the succession of Roman Emperors, Jesus' birth would have been before the year 3 BC/BCE."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini
"Another calculation had been developed by the Alexandrian monk Annianus around the year AD 400, placing the Annunciation on March 25, AD 9 (Julian) — eight to ten years after the date that Dionysius later calculated. This Era of Incarnation was dominant in the East during the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire, and is still used today in Ethiopia, accounting for the 8 or 7-year discrepancy between the Gregorian and the Ethiopian calendar."
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Who owns the Society?
by return visitor ini know that the wt bible & tract society is a corporation with a board of directors, but who actually owns the corp.?
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
I tried to do some research on this, lots of dead ends and stuff that lead to RandCam information so far. One thing I found that might interest some people is a letter from 1917, from A.N. Pierson and J.D Wright to the bible students; basically calling Rutherford a usurper, and informing the bible students of the shakeup at headquarters after Russell's death. Maybe you guys have seen it, and it's all old hat to you, dunno. Here's the link, check it out: http://www.biblestudents.net/history/light_after_darkness.htm
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You and an elder ONE on ONE, who would win ?
by JH inlets say, you would be alone with an elder in a room, and you wouldn't be allowed to come out of that room until both agree that either the watchtower is wrong or they are right.. who would win the discussion, you or the elder?.
you would be allowed to bring a bible and their literature to prove what you want to say..
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
With or without resorting to physical violence? Because if the outcome is either I lose, and become a JW, or he loses, and renounces being JW...it'd pretty much be like the old question of unstoppable force vs immovable object. And I have short patience with fools.
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The end is so near because.....
by OnTheWayOut inthe governing body allows the running rumor to gather speed, and pushes it along.
that "armageddon is so close, we really mean it this time.
what is their advantage in doing so?.
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
"JWs know the end is so near because the population of carrion birds is increasing for no apparent reason!!" - Scully
Well, there you have it, folks! Now we know why the bees are being killed off that everybody was talking about on here a few weeks ago. Those poor crows and vultures are waiting for the big A, and it hasn't happened yet, so meanwhile, they have to snack. lmao
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Who owns the Society?
by return visitor ini know that the wt bible & tract society is a corporation with a board of directors, but who actually owns the corp.?
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
Wait...so the GB isn't even in charge?! I had thought the GB were in charge, both the providers of "new light" and CEOs all in one.
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what was the strangest/worst counsel you recieved from elders ?
by flipper inhaving been in the organization for 30 years, after i got out i reflected on this.
as a teenager i was told to not let my hair grow over my ears because i might stumble other young ones in the congregation.
also, in order to carry the microphones i was told i couldn't wear white socks, had to wear black or dark blue socks.
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
"We can't tell you NOT to come to this congregation.......but could you go somewhere else?" - bronzefist
WOW! What a golden opportunity to begin a fade-did you take it?
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What should people know about JW?
by Mrs Smith ini have been asked to talk to a group of people about jw.
what would you say is the most important thing non-jw need to know about the wbts.
this is what i have in mind, please feel free to comment.. 1) jw history.
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
I'd say much depends on who your target audience is; all the points mentioned are good ones, but you may want to skim a topic or two, or emphasize one the most, depending on who this group of people is comprised of. A group of lawyers and police would be very interested in hearing about what theocratic warfare is, clergy will probably be more interested in failed prophecy than others, etc. Of course, some of the things JWs do or believe are rather alarming, and will be interesting to any group you speak to-like the blood policy. A support group for non-JW spouses would want to hear a little bit of everything, I think.
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Did you suffer any PHYSICAL impairments DUE to the jdubs?
by sinis inwhen i was in i regular pioneered for years and had to wear those shitty wing tipped dress shoes.
i tried wearing flat front dress/casual shoes but the asshole elders said they were wordly.
well i now have foot problems due to having my feet crammed into a fucking sardin box and literally walking to china.
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
As a kid growing up in the WWCG (Armstrong), much like JWs we thought doctors were evil, not to be trusted, worldly, etc. The nearest congregation for us to attend services was about 1 and 1/2 hours away by car. I frequently got carsick, especially if made to read while in a moving car (articles of the Plain Truth, a common practice to 'not waste any potential time' by parents). Eventually they did take me to a doctor, who suggested I have my tonsils removed. It didn't work. Still get carsick to this day if I try to read in a moving vehicle. While I can't attribute this directly to the WWCG, it was the underlying cause, and medical thinking has changed since the 70s, tonsils may be an important part of the immune system-which I no longer have.
At about 11 or 12 years old, I became very ill...bedridden, fever, severe joint pains; so much so that I had to use crutches for a week or so. Never went to the doctor, though I was taken to the elders to be prayed for and annointed with oil *rolls eyes*. My father suspected it was rheumatic fever, if he was right, that can have lasting effects and damage. Since I wasn't diagnosed by a doctor as having it though, it's not in my medical records, and in fact when I joined the military I was specifically told by the recruiter to not list it as a 'previous medical condition' because it would automatically disqualify me, and there was no proof I had it.
I'm not technically 'obese' by the medical definition, but I am overweight (6' 225 lbs). I have some very bad eating habits, and tend to binge eat on occasion. I think much of this stems from all the many fasts that I had to go on as a child in the WWCG, I learned at an early age to stuff myself before a fast, and often did so again after the fast was over.
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..Creative Insults..
by OUTLAW inevery once in awhile people will get choked with each other and name call..usually it`s not that creative..sh*thead..assh*le..ect..then there`s my favorites like hillary_step..that guy can insult an idiot and it`s unlikely the person will ever get it..lol!
!..that always cracks me up..lol!
!.....what i`m looking for is creative insults!
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
One of my personal favorites is to tell someone to point to their own head while spelling the abbreviation for the word mountain out loud. In a few hilarious (and maybe I'm evil for this) instances, I managed to get them to repeat it several times before they got it.