I purchased the reprints on cd-rom that can be found on a variety of websites including freeminds.org Good quality scans and can be searched. Well worth the money. I bought the entire collection, so with the societys cd-rom library in addition to the reprints that are for sale, you can have access to ever wathchtower.
drew sagan
JoinedPosts by drew sagan
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32
How Many Of You?
by justsomedude inhow many of you, when you were an active and zealous jw (assuming you were), were motivated by the paradise idea?
i was basically born in, so i wasn't drawn to the religion, it just was.. the whole idea of the paradise never really exicted me though.
i followed the religion and did what i did because i just believed it was the right thing to do and not so i could obtain the carrot on the end of the string.. how many of you felt the same way?
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drew sagan
I was really drawn to the idea. I fell right into the trap of finally learning "the truth" about Gods purpose for the earth. I can honestly say that it was one of the harder doctrines I have debated in my mind when I first started to question the organization.
One thing has helped me the most in overcoming this. When I simply think about life, the boundries of space and time, and the many possibilites of what can or can not be the future of mankind I am humbled by how little not only I know but how little humans in general know. I live my life by the principles I have chosen to live by, and worship my creator the way I feel he has told me to through his word. I don't think that ANYBODY has enough information about Gods purposes to put forth such a dogmatic additude as to what the future of all life and existance will be. The bible just dosn't talk about such things in detail. Can anybody find one chapter describing what everlasting life will be like? Just my opinion. -
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god losing influence, Religion Gaining Power
by joelbear ingod has very little to do with the daily lives of most people.. religion has a very strong hold on the majority of people across the world.
more and more religion has left behind the tenets that have to do with godliness or christlikeness.
kindness, love, mercy, gone gone gone.
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drew sagan
i couldn't agree with you more. I do think that the worlds relgious systems will have their day of reckoning, but who knows when.
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Be Industrious-Inherit the Promises
by Rooster in1 our study of the scriptures has revealed to us the many wonderful promises jehovah has made.
but who will inherit these?
the apostle paul, writing the hebrews, answers: "god is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name, in that you have ministered to the holy ones and continue ministering.
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drew sagan
If it is the "right kind of work"
Does my memory fail me, or is the work Jesus spoke about the kind that can't be written on little slips of paper or tracked by an international system of worship? Wasn't he talking about love and kindness? The golden rule? Wait, that's not good enough, we need to dedicate our lives to doing what the Society says to gain salvation. -
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The New System, What will we remember?
by drew sagan inthe reason for this post is based on a conversation i had a few months ago with an elder and a very stubborn publisher.
we where out in service and these two guys started talking about how in the new system everything of the past will be forgotten, "the former thigns will not be called to mind", you know how it goes.
anyway i cound't take it anymore.
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drew sagan
The reason for this post is based on a conversation I had a few months ago with an elder and a very stubborn publisher. It went like this:
We where out in service and these two guys started talking about how in the new system everything of the past will be forgotten, "the former thigns will not be called to mind", you know how it goes. Anyway I cound't take it anymore. I decided to get on their nerves a little.
I asked them "do you really think we won't remember any what we are expierancing today, we will simply forget?".
"Oh Yes" they replied, "In time we won't remember anything from this troubbled time of mans history, all these bad things will not come up into our minds".
I asked "Will we still have the Bible?"
"Of course" they replied
"Well, the Bible is full of stories about murder, greed, hatred, war, death, pain, sorrow, ect. If we will have the Bible, and it's full of these things, then how would we ever forget them"
At this point they just got angry and started to talk in circles. Eventually one of them said, "Well, you have a good point".
I find it amazing how people that feel they have the only "truth" that can be found on this earth hold to such poor reasoning. It shows me that people will believe anything, without ever even thinking about it. -
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Have you ever heard a Jehovah's Witness....
by Honesty in.
get upset when another jw says anything that might be interpreted as being disloyal to the faithful discreet slave?.
if so, did it make you feel uneasy?
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drew sagan
I know what you are talking about. I've seen some brothers pretty upset, but if your reasoning is sound they can never really find a good argument against what you are saying, the conversation just stops.
It's amazing how this works. I've known brothers in the hall who are so confident in what they believe, but when you ask them to defend their beliefs they get angry or upset. They view your questions as worthless, the general opinion "whatever is in the magazine is correct" takes them over. They don't know what to do. They are just as lost as everybody else. It's like the phrase goes:
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing -
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drew sagan
When your in a situation like mine, reporting hours that are average and not bad or amazingis a good way to make sure that nobody is going to pay attention to you. I keep it around the 8-10 range. Just because of my current frustration, i think I'm gonna start to report in more of the 5-7 range. See if anybody notices.
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What's The Difference Between A "Worldy Person" & JW???
by minimus injws tell their flock that they are superior to "worldly ones".
that they're better.
how would you refute that??
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drew sagan
Actually JWs are not told that they are better in such a direct sense. Instead they are given vaiours generalized "facts" that tend to encourage the idea that those "in the truth" are much more sound that those "crazy" people in the world.
I've heard CO's and DO's speak to the congregations about how they need to remember that we are not better than anybody, and that we need to preach the good news to everybody. Of course, this is then followed by talks that relate in general and nondescriptive "points" about how the world is crazy and we are so much more sound because (and here is the point) of our BIBLE TRAINED CONSCIENCE.
I think the best way to argue this one is by asking a JW if they feel that there is really NOBODY ELSE but JWs in the world trying to live by the Bibles Standards. Are they all really hypocrites, down to the last one? Or are there people out there that do try to apply these things?
EVERY JW IS TAUGHT THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS OF COURSE THERE ARE!!!! Rembmer we have to find those "deserving ones" out there? Those with the right "heart condition"! Then whats the purpose for that general "worldly" label put on everything, if it dosn't apply to everybody?
Try that out to make their head spin. -
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Nearly a week smoke-free, and I am MOODY!!!
by AlmostAtheist ini've been off of cigarettes for almost a week now.
i'm chewing nicotine gum like mad, but i can still feel myself melting down inside.
the world seems like such a crummy place to be right now.
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drew sagan
Keep up the good work dave!
Two people I am very close with have suffered badly from their smoking. One died this past year, the other had an operation and is now on chemo. It's not pretty. It may be hard to quit, but is well worth it in the long run. My best wishes to you. -
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birthdays
by cr1234 indoes anyone know where the article is in the awake that says birthdays are a conscience matter?
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drew sagan
I agree that the Bible in all reality says nothing about birthday parties. The scriptual evidence given from the Watchtower is very weak. More than anything else, they are another way the Watchtower tries to make itself "differant" from everybody else, helping "prove" they are the only ones serving God.