What the Watchtower doesn't like about evolutionary science is that if true it takes away the method by which they interpret and understand Genesis and other books of the bible, mainly a very literal one. Those who believe that they have such a grasp on the secrets of the universe don't like to be told that they have to work within certain limits, especially when those limits come from the "world".
drew sagan
JoinedPosts by drew sagan
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23
Remarkably Blatant Antiscience Statements in This Week's WT Study
by hamilcarr inis there still enough room for scientists in the wt?.
16. do we hear valueless things being uttered today?
for example, some scientists say that evolutionary theory and scientific discoveries in other fields demonstrate that there is no longer any need to believe in god, that everything can be explained by natural processes.
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drew sagan
This kind of movement was born out of a very different line of thinking. Some believe that they can talk their way up to God (JWs) others think they can roll their way. Rolling does seem a lot more fun and engaging.
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McLellan book & the GOP reaction...chance to wake up JWs?
by sir82 indon't want this thread to turn political, but.... have you noticed that just about every administration response to scott mclellan's new book attacks the messenger?
"he's disgruntled"..."it's not like him"..."we're disappointed he chose to do this"....etc.
not one word (that i have seen or heard) disputing the actual contents of the book.. sound familiar?
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drew sagan
Just wanted to say that I did do ok with this approach once, but the comparison was not political. I showed Mormon and Seventh day adventist literature that vilified their ex-members as filled with demons among other things to a JW Elder. He was forced to agree that the same kind of things are in the Watchtower and seemed uncalled for. I think the religious comparison would go much farther than a political one IMO.
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McLellan book & the GOP reaction...chance to wake up JWs?
by sir82 indon't want this thread to turn political, but.... have you noticed that just about every administration response to scott mclellan's new book attacks the messenger?
"he's disgruntled"..."it's not like him"..."we're disappointed he chose to do this"....etc.
not one word (that i have seen or heard) disputing the actual contents of the book.. sound familiar?
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drew sagan
I wouldn't expect any events in American politics to really have much pull on a JW. They typically look at the news as a way to verify their own beliefs (any earthquakes today?). I understand your point but most JWs are lost when it comes to politics and have such naive ideas about what goes on I doubt you could ever get a good conversation about it.
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Sad efforts at online preaching
by str8?so is spaghetti..until you heat it up ina little elder in the making, he seems to post quite a few impromptu public talks on youtube:.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdaxl9l5k14.
he seems so sincere too...his sincerity is almost scary..
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drew sagan
Lacks any depth whatsoever. Simply reads a bible verse without context or historical analysis and then begins to juxtapose Watchtower beliefs on top of it. Nothing new here.
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July 15, 2008 Watchtower study edition PDF
by song19 in.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ho0hje.
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drew sagan
thanks!
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Are the "Converted" ever really accepted by those "Born In ?"
by Casper inmy old hall was made up of mostly 3 large families, with some extended added in.
all seemed to be related in one way or another, several generations represented.. coming in from the world at the age of 28, i never really felt that i belonged there.
i stuck it out for 13 years.
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drew sagan
I converted at age 17. I was never as accepted in the group as those who were born in as. I was given the privileges and appointments that anybody else could get, even receiving such things easier than those born in. But in regards to social benefits I never was fully accepted. People liked to look at me and think "that's great what he's doing" but had no desire to become my friend or a part of my life. It made it much easier to leave.
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What should I do with all of these books?
by Confession inwhile growing up, my dad maintained a rather huge wts library.
i liked the idea of being able to pick out one of those old books from the1940s or earlier and read what they were saying back then.
well for the first time, in september of 2006 at the age of 40, i finally became a home-owner.
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drew sagan
I would personally like to get my hands on Awake! bound volumes, which currently I have very little. I think eventually I'm going to convert everything to full color digital PDF's.
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Are They Really Going Mainstream?
by WTWizard ini have seen a number of threads lately that suggest the washtowel slaveholdery is making moves toward going mainstream.
notice a few examples.
the stand on people that are incorrigible being the only ones that are going to die at armageddon is one cited fact that people are pointing to.
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drew sagan
Their only chance is to make it easier for Worldly people to join up. That is, they will make it less burdensome for newcomers to the organization.
I disagree. I really do not believe they are after 'new' members per se. Many of the changes reflect a desire to make it easier for those in the leadership roles (mainly Elders) and will have only a marginal effect on the average publisher.
They have tamed down their message in some respects, but I would argue that this is more related to Watchtowers desire of portraying a particular image of itself. While it may seem like that the image the Watchtower is trying to project itself as is 'mainstream' I think it comes more from a desire simply to be non confrontational. Their members are weak on defending their faith theologically and so what would be the point in putting such members into controversy.
The leaders have known for decades that the door to door work isn't very effective but they continue to use it. They are not as focused on 'getting the message' out as many would think. -
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Are They Really Going Mainstream?
by WTWizard ini have seen a number of threads lately that suggest the washtowel slaveholdery is making moves toward going mainstream.
notice a few examples.
the stand on people that are incorrigible being the only ones that are going to die at armageddon is one cited fact that people are pointing to.
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drew sagan
They are not going mainstream, instead they are simply toning down their message. I believe there is a big difference.
Going mainstream implies making changes and adding things in order to bring in more people. Its consists of molding yourself around the society you are within, rather than creating your own alternate society.
The Watchtower really isn't reaching out to the world around it. Rather it is making changes that will help its internal structure get stronger.
They may copy some mainstream messages into their own, but I think this is more in the efforts to make themselves non confrontational. They just want to do their thing and be left along. I don't equate that with going mainstream.