Maybe we're part of the computer that is trying to figure out the question to which the answer is "42"...
tim3l0rd
JoinedPosts by tim3l0rd
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89
Richard Dawkins talking about a Creator
by FusionTheism inrichard dawkins admitted that information inside of dna, and the origin of life on earth, might point to intelligent designers, perhaps extraterrestrials.
(see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boncjbrrdq8 )richard dawkins further admitted, in a debate with francis collins for time magazine, that science might point to a creator existing, but that this creator might not be anything like yahweh:.
time: "could the answer be god?
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No no No No NO! Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT COOL NOW!
by TerryWalstrom inthey obviously know it.. in the last few years, a more modern, hip, and cool image for their brand has been foisted on the public at large.. jw.org.
(sidebar: a group of us witnesses, when i was a teen, were sternly lectured by a circuit servant about how wrong it was to refer to ourselves as jw's.want to know why?
he said, "reducing jehovah's name to mere letters of an alphabet is blasphemy!
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tim3l0rd
Maybe it was ASL that started the "JW" trend. The internal sign for Jehovah's Witnesses has been JW for as long as I can remember. -
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No shorts or printed T-shirts when making ready the stadium before the RC
by Powermetal4ever injust heard the stupidest thing ever on this weeks service meeting: it was regarding the volunteers for cleaning the stadium before rc.
they are not allowed to wear shorts or printed t-shirts .but hey its summer!
its gonna be warm!
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tim3l0rd
That rule is because they don't trust the r & f to know what would be considered "decent". Someone might show up with shorts that are too short or a logo that is offensive. ::gasp::
I visited Belize once and was told how the JWs there even cleaned their KH in dress clothes and took offense when JW tourists (coming off the cruise ships) would want to come in to the KH in non-dress clothes (even though there was no meeting going on).
I will say that the standard of dress is one thing that I am always impressed with. It's obviously mandated by the org, but, compared to standards of dress among "the world", they stand out. I know it's judgmental now but I was always proud to be dressed up. We would frequently get comments about how well dressed everyone is. I was proud to be "different". Now I see it was all vanity anyway.
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John 21:23 a new argument for JW's regarding false prophecy promoted being OK
by ILoveTTATT2 ini want as many minds put into this as possible.. there is a new argument among the extreme jw apologists, saying that even the disciples promoted mistakes.
they base themselves on john 21:23. keep in mind, i am not a believer but i want the answer from a believer's standpoint, please.. .
nwt:.
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tim3l0rd
Even if they had a wrong belief, there is no evidence that this was published, announced in talks, or pushed as something that everyone HAD to believe or be ousted from the congregation. Others could obviously hold a different belief. That would be my argument.
I've had this conversation with my wife several times now. How can I teach something as truth that cannot be questioned to my bible student even though I know that "truth" could change in a decade, a year, a few months? How is it fair to enforce this policy of absolute unity of doctrine when the doctrines change regularly? All I get is a shoulder shrug.
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'Conti' Court decision secures Watchtower's Policy of confidentiality
by telemetry11 inthe court on the rule of confidentiality of penitential communications and evidentiary privilege--.. decision reads:.
"the law generally protects the confidentiality of communications with clergy like those of kendrick to the elders here.".
"if the person has a constitutional right to independence in making religious choices, the recognition of an evidentiary privilege is an apt means of protecting that autonomy.
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tim3l0rd
Every lawyer who has ever sued a corporations has stated that money = change. It's one of the most powerful ways to encourage change. You can't put a corporation behind bars. If religion hides behind the first amendment, then attacking their source of power (money) is the best way to pursue change from the outside.
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Exposing one's identity. When?
by kairos ini've been toying with the idea of just coming out and posting my name and location as an attempt to be available to locals that secretly browse the forum that have known me for up to 25 years.
( "reaching out", so to speak ).
i'm not da'd or df'd, so this most certainly could end in a dramatic confrontation.
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tim3l0rd
I think the reason for the change in the kingdom hall design is just to match the ugly logos. The logo horribly clashes with every kingdom hall that I've seen them on. -
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Turning disassociation around on the org
by tim3l0rd inrecently i was researching the scripture used to justify why da'd ones were to be shunned the same as df'd ones and decided that this could easily be turned around.
they use 2 john 9-11.. 9 everyone who pushes ahead and does not remain in the teaching of the christ does not have god.+ the one who does remain in this teaching is the one who has both the father and the son.
10 if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him.
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tim3l0rd
Thanks leaving_quietly! That's another scripture I need to add to my list of reasons I'm leaving. -
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Would you warn your neighbors if a child molester lived on your street?
by Stealth injust found out that someone who lives 4 doors down was convicted of molesting a 4 year old child twice.
the second time was after he was arrested and released on bond from the first arrest.
having two 4 year old children living in my home, i am concerned.
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tim3l0rd
If he's on the sex offender registry, you could pass a flyer around with the web address of the registry and strongly suggest that everyone check their neighborhood. This would probably be better than coming right out and stating that so-and-so is a child molester. Plus they get to see it with their own eyes and it's not just Stealth down the streets word. -
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Turning disassociation around on the org
by tim3l0rd inrecently i was researching the scripture used to justify why da'd ones were to be shunned the same as df'd ones and decided that this could easily be turned around.
they use 2 john 9-11.. 9 everyone who pushes ahead and does not remain in the teaching of the christ does not have god.+ the one who does remain in this teaching is the one who has both the father and the son.
10 if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him.
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tim3l0rd
Recently I was researching the scripture used to justify why DA'd ones were to be shunned the same as DF'd ones and decided that this could easily be turned around. They use 2 John 9-11.
9 Everyone who pushes ahead and does not remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God.+ The one who does remain in this teaching is the one who has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him. 11 For the one who says a greeting to him is a sharer in his wicked works.
Reading this, it's very easy to apply this to the org since their own publications have many examples of them pushing ahead of the teaching of the Christ. While the org can argue that they aren't prophets (even though they act like it and have even used the word to describe themselves), they can't argue that they haven't pushed ahead since many of their teachings have subsequently been reversed. The original teaching of 1914, for example, is a clear indication of pushing ahead. Also the types and anti-types teachings that were recently changed, organ transplants, Jesus coming in 1914 vs Jesus presence in 1914 all are easy examples of the org "pushing ahead".
I thought this might be a useful reasoning to use with JWs who say that the GB are not prophets. I shared it with my wife (still-in and I'm still going for now) and she didn't deny that the org could be guilty of pushing ahead.
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baptism regional Convention
by antes8080 inhello friends during the weekend i was in the san diego regional convention and the number of baptisim was way down.. there were 51 who got baptise thats the lowest number i ever seen, the attendance was 14,000 plus .
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tim3l0rd
7 men and 12 women. At least the ratio of women to men is staying the same.
Growth has been in the foreign language congregations for a long while. Less access to older publications, a less educated group, immigrants working for peanuts, all these things make these people ripe for plucking by the WBT$. I've even heard still-in bethelites admit that growth in the US would be negative if they only counted English congregations or separated the language groups on the annual report.