When I called that 1-800-WHY-1914 telephone number, they sent me a packet of things and one of them was a pamphlet that addressed this exact topic (stuff about early Christians, how the early Church was organized, and how different it was from how JWs are organized). It was very well written and gave a lot of specifics. I don't remember the name of it right now or who wrote (Thomas Cabeen or something like that?)... I could look when I get home. It was a good little booklet. You could probably call them and leave a message and ask for it.
kristyann
JoinedPosts by kristyann
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JWs are very much unlike early christians!
by greendawn indo you think the jws are really modelled on the early church as they like to claim?
i don't think they come close to it in terms of doctrine, authority structure, or mindset.
eg they know nothing about charity towards their own or fellow humans in general, they have a very centralised power structure, they kick against any advice given to the fds, they never celebrate the eucharist, they are jehovah rather than christ centred.
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WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES
by kristyann indoes the watchtower edit those articles about jws on wikipedia all of the time?
some of the stuff is really far out there... like one thing under the "practices of jws" said that jehovah's witnesses are discouraged from but not prohibited from voting... and if they want to vote, other jehovah's witnesses don't discourage them from doing so!
that is obviously not true... i know people that have gotten warned and eventually disfellowshipped for voting in an election.
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kristyann
Does the Watchtower edit those articles about JWs on wikipedia all of the time? Some of the stuff is really far out there... like one thing under the "Practices of JWs" said that Jehovah's Witnesses are discouraged from but not prohibited from voting... and if they want to vote, other Jehovah's Witnesses don't discourage them from doing so! That is obviously not true... I know people that have gotten warned and eventually disfellowshipped for voting in an election. They also really downplayed disfellowshipping and a whole bunch of other aspects of the organization. I changed a few things, but it seems they almost immediately get changed back. They make it seem like no one really cares if JWs follow the rules or not, and that most issues are left up to their conscience and no one bothers them if they don't obey. Yeah, right, elders are constantly showing up and bothering them, everyone talks about them behind their back or considers them "spiritually weak" if they don't follow what they're supposed to. The Wikipedia articles take so many things that one can be disfellowshipped for and make it seem like they're no big deal to the organization, and no Jehovah's Witnesses really care if people celebrate holidays, vote, etc. I changed some things but they'll probably just get changed back. I know you've probably been over this topic before, but I haven't, so let me know, okay? I wonder if the Governing Body themselves sits around and changes wikipedia articles!
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Blood Video
by brutusmaximus innot been on for a while but i was wondering if anyone knew about the new blood video that is getting shown at group studies this week?
i saw a topic a while back about an article talking about new light coming out (flip flop) and wondered if there was a link.
i am not going to the group study but my bro is as he still goes so i could ask him.. just thought i would ask.
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kristyann
I can't exactly tell you about the blood video... but I am going to ask a question of my own in case anyone would be willing to answer it for me. When do they show videos, exactly? At which meetings? Does every KH in the world watch the video on the same day? Like, everytime there is a new video (like the relatively new Young People Ask: What Will I Do With My Life one), do they have some unveiling of it and watch it at a meeting? Is it at the "Public Talk", or which meeting?
Thanks,
Kristyann
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Church members come from far and wide to repair hundreds of houses
by Country Girl inchurch members come from far and .
wide to repair hundreds of houses .
by: jamie reid, the enterprise 01/13/2006 .
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kristyann
Wait... do Jehovah's Witnesses helping in things like hurricane relief, tsunami relief, etc. only help OTHER JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES? They don't give money to the cause in GENERAL? They don't help EVERYONE? What is wrong with them?
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Brother Chronister strikes again! Caught in bathroom w/camera phone and boy
by Dogpatch inpassing this on:.
brother chronister strikes again!.
a two time convicted sex offender that was engaged to a sister was caught in a walmart bathroom attempting to photograph a nine year old boy with his cell phone.
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kristyann
I'm going to write more letters to the media asking them to do stories on JW perverts. The Catholics were sure torn apart by the media, so why not the JWs? (I understand that the Catholics are a much, much, MUCH larger group than JWs, but still, you would think this would definitely be of interest to people... and it's not like there's so many people who would even be offended by it, most people don't like JWs!) Has anyone else written letters of this sort? Why does it never happen? I know that I'd be interested in a story like that, even if I wasn't particularly interested in JWs.
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Daughter let a JW in
by Emma in..by accident.
it's her second day in paris.
someone rang the bell, she thought it was a friend of hers.
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kristyann
Yeah, I kind of was wondering if there is some type of catalog or whatever, too... because JWs used to come to my house all of the time. But then I started dating my boyfriend, whose family is still in the organization (they blame me for him not being a JW anymore even though he wasn't one years before he met me). Since then, we've only gotten pamphlets in the door once. And one time, my boyfriend's "mother" was driving by my family's house. This was when my boyfriend still talked to his family (he no longer does). He asked his "mother" why she had been driving slooooowly past my family's house, and she said she was showing one of her "friends from the hall" where her son's girlfriend lived.... what do you think of that?
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anyone here ever go on a cruise with a large group of JW's?
by PaNiCAtTaCk inive been on two cruises in the early 90's with large amounts of witnesses.
one cruise we had around 85 and the other 175. one night on the larger jw cruise there were 50 or so of us watching this comedian.
he started getting a little crude using words like penis so we all got up at the same time and walked out during his act.
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kristyann
Wait, a bunch of JWs went on a CRUISE? Really? That's so hard for me to believe! (I mean, I believe you, it just doesn't seem like JWs like to have any sort of fun - although a cruise isn't really up my alley, anyway, but most people would probably consider it fun). Did they pass out the literature on the cruise? Did they "witness" to people? Why did they go? Just for the FUN of it, or was there some Watchtower-type purpose?
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What is 'NIV' ?
by caryl innew to the site.
have been away from the jw's since 1985. they have a new bible or what?
i remember the nwt not niv.
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kristyann
Actually, the NIV is a literal translation, not a thought-for-thought translation. It is one of the more "modern" translations, as opposed to the King James Version (a.k.a. Authorized Version of 1611). Newer translations such as NIV and NASB use different manuscripts for translations than the KJV. In general, there are 4 general "text-types" of manuscripts that are used to translate the Bible. They are the Alexandrian text-type (predominant around Alexandria, found in most papyri), the Western text-type (mostly the western area of the Roman Empire), the Byzantine text-type (found in most later uncial and miniscule manuscripts, mostly from the area around Constantinople aka Byzantium) and the Caersarean text-type (which seems, to me anyway, to be the least common one and it's disputed by some scholars). Anyway, the KJV draws almost entirely from the Byzantine text-type, which is considered the "fuller" text-type, while newer versions draw a lot from the Alexandrian text-type, which is considered more "concise." (Modern versions don't just draw from the Alexandrian text-type, though... rather, they seem to be a blend of them all). There is actually a lot of controversy sometimes, because there are many KJV-only advocates who say that the modern versions such as the NIV eliminated important verses to become more concise, to take away from the deity of Christ, etc. (I have met some people like this at a Baptist church that thought the only "true" Bible was the KJV... but most Baptist churches are not like that, at least not in my experience). Anyway, the minority of scholars believe that there was some conspiracy on the part of the modern version's translators to eliminate verses. That's not a popular opinion. Most scholars agree that the Alexandrian text-type is actually the oldest, and that the stuff that makes the Byzantine text-type (used in the KJV) "fuller" was actually added later on. A lot of these verses were probably added in error later on by scribes... being a scribe was a very difficult, very time-consuming job, and it often took place under some pretty hot or pretty cold, pretty cramped, conditions. Sometimes, especially after working awhile, the scribes would add things in because they were used to hearing phrases in the church and they would assume that that's how the phrase should be read. Sometimes scribes would translate things differently because they think what they heard somewhere else was better, or they think that, since the church used a specific phrase so much, it must have been left out accidentally so they would add it in, even though it originally wasn't there. These difference, though, don't make a different Bible... they don't change any important doctrines, etc. I just find this topic so fascinating, and when I read the question, I was very excited!
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Why are so many JWs hicks?
by kristyann inokay, i know this might sound like an obvious question... but in all reality, why are so many jehovah's witnesses hicks?
why does it seem that there are so many in rural areas?
i hope this doesn't offend anyone... i don't really mean it to be an insult to any of you, cause obviously i consider most of you a lot smarter than some regular jw (or some stereotypical hick).
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kristyann
I found this on freeminds.org... it's from the "Armageddon Okies" series by Gary Busselman which he calls "Pretty True Stories." That section of the site is pretty funny. I don't know the story of this Gary Busselman guy, but from what I would guess, maybe he grew up in a (surprise, surprise) rural congregation and is now just poking fun at it instead of getting insulted or defensive about it. I could be wrong about his story, so don't go screaming if I am. But anyway, this is going to be my last post for this topic since we didn't seem to get much of anywhere. The funny Armageddon Okies site can be accessed at http://www.freeminds.org/buss/okies.htm
Runnin with the Dogs
Dear Randy,
Thanks for the intro. Lots of good advice on this net thing. My friend Lee told me that he used to have to get up to pass water 2 or 3 times every night until he started to drink cranberry juice, now he says he doesn't get up at all. So I thought, "what the heck!" I'll try it. By golly it does work. I've been drinking cranberry juice for about 2 weeks now and the last 3 nights I didn't get up at all to go to the bathroom. I still go to the bathroom, I just don't get up. I sleep faster and can get an earlier start in service. Hit the first door at 5:00 AM this morning. Been noticing a lot of not-at-homes. Sure will be glad to get these retirement condos worked.
I've got to go for now. I hear the dogs barking. They've been running in a pack about 2 weeks now.....ever since we quit feeding them. Last week they got the mailman. This afternoon the UPS man tossed out Egor's test tube shipment in the yard. I guess he didn't want to get out of the truck after what happened last time. They all busted except the one with the shrunken head in it. I guess kids need a safe hobby. He tried stamp collecting but they kept sticking to the roof of his mouth. Watchtower brought out some new ideas for family fun a while back. We are going to try them all. We've decided on tennis and we all are anxious for enough bats to get here so we can all play.
That letter with your check in it came back for the third time this month marked "return for postage". We're gonna try it from Iowa next week when Maw goes in for her check-up. We're gonna circle your name in red this time. Sis had another near miss with that relationship thing. She keeps picking out the guys who won't wear ties to the Hall. We keep telling her. Maybe she doesn't notice....she's so short.
Well that's it . I've got to go for sure now. I just heard Bubba's truck pull in. He's been over working on the Circuit Servant's Buick at Mel's again. Now they can't get that sticky stuff off the seats. Loaned him my green Studebaker last month when he went back up to the brambles to look for his wife. Lonnie couldn't exactly make out what it was she was yelling as she ran up that hill. We trailed her for about 3 or 4 miles with the dogs until she ran out of invitations. Dogs feet were all cut up from the rocks.
Don't forget to write.
Love, Gary B.
PS; We had little LeRoy out of the home for a visit and now we can't remember where we hid all the knives.
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Why are so many JWs hicks?
by kristyann inokay, i know this might sound like an obvious question... but in all reality, why are so many jehovah's witnesses hicks?
why does it seem that there are so many in rural areas?
i hope this doesn't offend anyone... i don't really mean it to be an insult to any of you, cause obviously i consider most of you a lot smarter than some regular jw (or some stereotypical hick).
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kristyann
Wow, that was quite a brawl that occured here after I went to bed. How funny is that!? I guess it kind of validated my point that an awful lot of JWs are hicks... ALMOST (not all, but almost) everyone that responded was from a rural area! I asked the question, and it was answered by almost all rural people themselves! That kind of reinforces the point. I think that they meant to argue my point, but in reality they actually just confirmed it. So I guess what I can infer from this is that 1) yes, an awful lot of ex-JWs are hicks 2) most of them are very touchy and defensive about the fact that anyone notices this fact and 3) they like to argue a lot... I mean, come on now, after I left last night, it was a major brawl - which kind of fits the stereotype that people from the country like to brawl. So I guess by my posting this and from the super-touchy responses, I can infer that yes, I am correct, many JWs (and also ex-JWs) are indeed hicks... which, by the way, is no insult... just a curious phenomenon!
rebel8 said:
"Along with that, I have observed what I'd describe as a popular trend among local dubs away from what they think is "sophistication". For example, I cannot think of one female dub I know who owns a suit. No polished/professional look for them. Everything from dress to grooming is very "Little House on the Prarie", which is looked upon as shunning "worldly ways". Then again, I live in WT NY State, so maybe that has something to do with it."
Good points... the Little House on the Praise style of dress (and also style of hair for the women) does seem to be very popular amongst the JWs that I know. It's really interesting that a lot of people that I have talked to, from all over the country, all seem to confirm that this is popular in their congregations.