jwfacts

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Posts by jwfacts

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  9

  A different spin on birthdays

  by FatFreek 2005 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  about birthdays.

  several days ago i was waiting at the deli for the next batch of fried chicken when a man in his sixties came in.

  he had called in his order two days earlier.

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  jwfacts

  Excellent point that I haven’t properly thought about before. A celebration of life, not of death as Watchtower wants to make followers believe.
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  48

  Corporal punishment

  by Incognigo Montoya in

  1. social
  2. family

  so i just finished watching the latest cedars video on spanking children.

  i like lloyd, and think that overall he does a good job covering issues in his videos.

  but i've gotta disagree with him on this issue, to a point.. i don't agree with beating your children, but i do believe in spanking, when appropriate.

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  jwfacts

  Countries and States vary as to what level of physical discipline is acceptable. A slap to alert a child is different that hitting a child with a rod because they spoke at the meeting, such as I used to receive at home. It is difficult to specify or agree on exactly what that limit should be.

  getting hit by a car.
  

  This is an interesting example. A parent will act instinctively to protect their young child. When my son would run towards the road, I would grab him, and then explain what could happen. As young as 2 or 3 he understood the road was dangerous. He had seen dead birds and mice and comprehended that the same could happen to him. At that age I still needed to watch him, as kids are easily distracted, but he never intentionally ran onto the road as he comprehended the consequences.

  My friend on the other hand has a son the same age that would run onto the road. She would grab and hit him. His reaction was to immediately run to the road again, possibly in defiance of how he was treated. Her screams that he will get run over, threats and physical abuse taught him nothing about the danger of the road. This same mother advocated strongly against domestic violence, as she had been with a violent partner.

  I took away two points from this. Firstly, if a person is against violence towards adult family members, how can they justify violence towards children? Secondly, hitting a child teaches little, and a child may end up rebelling against the treatment rather than learning from it.

  A child that learns not to do something to avoid a beating is similar to a child taught not to do something because Jehovah doesn't like it. They don't learn anything productive, and at some point need an educated reason for avoiding certain behaviour. A beating followed by a discussion on why they got a beating may teach a child why something is wrong, but I have found that the discussion on its own to be just as effective. A child can be motivated to behave out of love of a parent more effectively than one that behaves out of fear.

  There is far too much violence in the world, and teaching a child that hitting someone is the easiest way to control them perpetuates that cycle.
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  13

  NWT Being the Most Accurate

  by VIII in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was going through my old files and came upon an email between some family that i was privy to.

  it is about the nwt bible and alex trebek asking what is the most accurate bible, etc.

  i am copying and pasting this (for nathan natas...) so he will have so fun data to carry with him with that jw bible as he goes door-to-door.

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  jwfacts

  Considering how BeDuhn rated the NWT highly in Truth in Translation, it is interesting how little Watchtower has referred to it. The reason is that the book is also highly critical of the NWT for its inclusion of the word Jehovah in the New Testament, and reading Truth in Translation is likely to affect the faith of a JW as much as it helps it.
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  48

  Corporal punishment

  by Incognigo Montoya in

  1. social
  2. family

  so i just finished watching the latest cedars video on spanking children.

  i like lloyd, and think that overall he does a good job covering issues in his videos.

  but i've gotta disagree with him on this issue, to a point.. i don't agree with beating your children, but i do believe in spanking, when appropriate.

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  jwfacts

  adult mistakes carry far greater consequences than a spanking, which is why I believe spanking to be a good disciplinary tool, when implemented properly. Adults are fired from jobs, divorced, thrown in prison, seriously beaten, stabbed, shot, and killed, when they lack self control and respect for others.
  

  Disagree. A child's mistakes can have just as great consequences, such as leading to the loss of their own life and that of others. Spanking is not the way to teach children in such situations, any more than hitting an adult as a way of training is acceptable. Educating a child should always be the first step. For defiance, then there are similar punishments as those acceptable for adults, which can be doing chores, taking money/items or grounding.

  Physical violence against children is usually a lazy, easy response. Studies show the long term consequences are adults that are more likely to fall back on domestic violence as an automatic response.
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  11

  Watchtower can be greatfull they gave Michael Jackson the flick when they did

  by joe134cd in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was just thinking how greatful wt can be that they dfed him when they did.

  could you imagine the hammering they would be taking now from the ex-jw community, in light of the recent documentary.

  i’m by no means sticking up for them i’m just saying, that’s all..

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  jwfacts

  They didn’t disfellowship him, MJ chose to dissassociate in 1987. They can be grateful to him for that.
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  25

  Paradise Earth

  by Jeff1 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just recently i was looking at a topic on jwfacts entitled 'paradise on earth forever.

  ' from the research paul did on this topic he mentioned that there is no biblical evidence of an earthly resurrection.

  i haven't heard this before but wanted to get some thoughts on this topic.

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  jwfacts

  The great crowd are in heaven, as the Bible plainly states, it is not just the 144,000. This doesn’t do away with the ressurection hope.
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  27

  Infiltrated Elders?

  by john.prestor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i'm watching john cedars commentary on the annual meeting from this last october, and at one point he shows a clip of garrett loesch talking about the struggles jehovah's witnesses faced decades before in the soviet union.

  he claimed that police officers, maybe the kgb, infiltrated congregations which met in secret by studying with jehovah's witnesses, getting baptized, and then working their way up to becoming elders.

  ceders jokes that this shows what kind of role holy spirit actually plays within body of elders, but another interpretation came to my mind just now.

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  jwfacts

  A mole is the term for a spy that infiltrates an organization and works their way up the hierarchy. Particularly in Comminist countries, where Jehovah’s Witnesses are under ban, it does not sound unreasonable that it occurred.

  For the Governing Body to discuss that this happened is not a smart move, as it completely invalidates their claim that appointments are under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

  I don’t know of specific cases where this has happened. I know of a number of cases where family members get reinstated, despite not believing it is the truth, simply to talk to relatives. This too shows Holy Spirit does not direct the organization.
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  22

  Emotional Moment...

  by babygirl30 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday i was looking to share a pic with a friend of mine, and i swore it was in my photo albums (i have 3).

  so i start going through them, and i see so many jw pics!

  i had a huge group of friends when i was 'in', and so there is just pic after pic of assemblies, dinners, game nights, rbc projects, my family and the house i grew up in, people from the hall, etc.

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  jwfacts

  I have those same moments looking back on old photos, particularly of family that mostly are still in. However, over time more and more have also left. I have a circle of close friends who were close as JWs and even closer as exJWs.
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  42

  Hello Everyone, Another JW Has Left!

  by SuperGirl in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just want to introduce myself and let you know that this site is working and is a big help to lots of jws with doubts.

  i've been lurking for about a year, the first couple of times i was frightened and literally shaking visiting an apostate site but it's the only place i can come to for sanity.

  the religion has become a nut house.

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  jwfacts

  Our son had said that although he'd like to live in the new system he'd rather have a full relationship with his dad even if it was for a few years rather than spend an eternity without a dad. The elders tried to "reason" with him by saying that he could have "spiritual" fathers in the org. From then on my son was adamant not to set foot in a kingdom hall again.
  

  Such a cool kid, sounds like something my son would say. His father must be proud of him.
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  51

  They would Stone us if the law would allow

  by ElderEtta in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  several years ago unless i was dreaming i read a watchtower quotation that effectively said that they would execute us as disfellowshipped individuals if the law would allow.. was i dreaming?.

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  jwfacts

  I think it has been reprinted more recently as well but couldn’t find it.