TopHat

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Posts by TopHat

• 
  14

  Just another URBAN LEGEND

  by TopHat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after the prayer, the circuit overseer slowly .

  > stood up, walked up to the .

  > platform and, before he gave his public tal k, he .

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  TopHat

  AFTER THE PRAYER, THE CIRCUIT OVERSEER SLOWLY
  > STOOD UP, WALKED UP TO THE
  > PLATFORM AND, BEFORE HE GAVE HIS PUBLIC TAL K, HE
  > BRIEFLY INTRODUCED A GUEST
  > SPEAKER.
  >
  >
  >
  > IN THE INTRODUCTION, THE BROTHER TOLD THE
  > CONGREGATION THAT THE GUEST
  > SPEAKER WAS ONE OF HIS DEAREST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS
  > FROM A FAR AWAY PLACE AND
  > THAT HE WANTED HIM TO HAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO GREET
  > THE CONGREGATION AND SHARE
  > WHATEVER HE FELT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. WITH THAT, AN
  > ELDERLY MAN STEPPED UP
  > TO THE PLATFORM AND BEGAN TO SPEAK.
  >
  >
  >
  > "A FATHER, HIS SON, AND A FRIEND OF HIS SON WERE
  > SAILING OFF THE PACIFIC
  > COAST." HE BEGAN.
  >
  >
  >
  > "WHEN A FAST APPROACHING STORM BLOCKED ANY ATTEMPT
  > TO GET BACK TO THE SHORE.
  > THE WAVES WERE SO HIGH, THAT EVEN, THOUGH THE FATHER
  > WAS AN EXPERIENCED
  > SAILOR, HE COULD NOT KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND THE
  > THREE WERE SWEPT INTO THE
  > OCEAN AS THE BOAT CAP SIZED."
  >
  >
  >
  > THE OLD MAN HESITATED FOR A MOMENT, MAKING EYE
  > CONTACT WITH TWO TEENAGERS
  > WHO WERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE TALK BEGAN,
  > LOOKING SOMEWHAT
  > INTERESTED IN HIS STORY.
  >
  >
  >
  > THE AGED GENTLEMAN CONTINUED WITH HIS STORY,
  >
  >
  >
  > "GRABBING A RESCUE LINE, THE FATHER HAD TO MAKE THE
  > MOST EXCRUCIATING
  > DECISION OF HIS LIFE: TO WHICH BOY WOULD HE THROW
  > THE OTHER END OF THE LIFE
  > LINE.
  >
  >
  >
  > HE ONLY HAD SECONDS TO MAKE THE DECISION. THE FATHER
  > KNEW THAT HIS SON WAS A
  > CHRISTIAN AND HE LOVED JEHOVAH. HE ALSO KNEW THAT
  > HIS SON'S FRIEND WAS NOT
  > AND HAD NOT LEARNED TO LOVE JEHOVAH.
  >
  >
  >
  > THE AGONY OF HIS DECISION COULD NOT BE MATCHED BY
  > THE TORRENT OF WAVES. AS
  > THE FATHER YELLED OUT, 'I LOVE YOU,: HE THREW OUT
  > THE LI FE LINE TO HIS SON'S
  > FRIEND.
  >
  >
  >
  > BY THE TIME THE FATHER HAD PULLED THE FRIEND BACK TO
  > THE CAPSIZED BOAT, HIS
  > SON HAD DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE RAGING SWELLS INTO
  > THE BLACK OF NIGHT. HIS
  > BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED.!
  >
  >
  >
  > BY THIS TIME, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE SITTING UP
  > STRAIGHT, ANXIOUSLY WAITING
  > FOR THE NEXT WORDS TO COME OUT OF THE AGED
  > GENTLEMAN'S MOUTH.
  >
  >
  >
  > "THE FATHER," HE CONTINUED, "KNEW HIS SON WOULD BE
  > REMEMBERED BY JEHOVAH AND
  > HE COULD NOT BEAR THE THOUGHT OF HIS SON'S FRIEND
  > NOT LETTING JEHOVAH GET TO
  > KNOW HIM BETTER AND HIM GETTING TO KNOW JEHOVAH AND
  > THE PROMISES HE HAS IN
  > STORE.
  >
  >
  >
  > THEREFORE, HE SACRIFICED HIS SON TO SAVE THE SON'S
  > FRIEND. HOW GREAT IS THE
  > LOVE OF GOD THAT HE DID THE SAME FOR US. OUR
  &g t; HEAVENLY FATHER SACRIFICED HIS
  > ONLY BEGOTTEN SON SO THAT WE COULD BE SAVED. I URGE
  > YOU TO ACCEPT HIS OFFER
  > TO RESCUE YOU AND TAKE A HOLD OF THE LIFE LINE HE IS
  > THROWING OUT TO YOU "
  >
  >
  >
  > WITH THAT, THE OLD GENTLEMAN TURNED AND SAT BACK
  > DOWN IN HIS CHAIR AS
  > SILENCE FILLED THE ROOM.
  >
  >
  >
  > THE ELDER AGAIN WALKED SLOWLY TO THE PLATFORM AND
  > DELIVERED A BRIEF TALK
  > WITH AN INVITATION AT THE END TO START A BIBLE STUDY
  > WITH SOMEONE HERE AT
  > THE KINGDOM HALL. HOWEVER, NO ONE RESPONDED TO THE
  > APPEAL. WITH IN MINUTES
  > AFTER THE MEETING ENDED, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE AT
  > THE OLD MAN'S SIDE.
  >
  >
  >
  > "THAT WAS A NICE STORY," POLITELY BUT SARCASTICALLY
  > STATED ONE OF THEM, "BUT
  > I DON'T THINK IT WAS VERY REALISTIC FOR A FATHER TO
  > GIVE UP HIS ONLY SON'S
  > LIFE IN HO PES THAT THE OTHER BOY WOULD BECOME A
  > CHRISTIAN AND LOVE GOD."
  >
  >
  >
  > "WELL, YOU'VE GOT A POINT THERE," THE OLD MAN
  > REPLIED GLANCING DOWN AT HIS
  > WORN BIBLE. A BIG SMILE BROADENED HIS NARROW FACE.
  > HE ONCE AGAIN LOOKED UP
  > AT THE BOYS AND SAID, "IT SURE ISN'T VERY REALISTIC,
  > IS IT? BUT I'M STANDING
  > HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT STORY GIVES ME A GLIMPSE
  > OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE
  > BEEN LIKE FOR JEHOVAH GOD TO GIVE UP HIS SON FOR ME.
  > YOU SEE...
  >
  >
  >
  > "I WAS THAT FATHER AND YOUR CIRCUIT OVERSEER IS MY
  > SON'S FRIEND."
• 
  11

  WT Finances shaky?

  by Uncertain in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  with the dollar devaluing, the real estate market in the usa tanking and the biggest growth in jws coming from the lower income areas, i'll bet they are in financial hurt.

  bigger hurt than the protestants down the street, or the bottomless coffers of the roman catholics.. as the r and f ages, they realize that they must take any measures they can to provide for their "golden years" and are probably reducing donations.

  and as the children leave the fold, they will be less likely to support mom and dad giving their estate to the fds.

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  TopHat

  In NYC, the WTS can turn those empty buildings into apartments and sell them for millions of dollars each. New York real estate has never been better. However, they will have to pay taxes on the profits they make.
• 
  21

  Were We Members of a Religion or Free Labor for a Publishing Company?

  by journey-on in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  all the talk of legal ramifications got me thinking about this one.

  your thoughts?.

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  TopHat

  FREE LABOR...no doubt about it!
• 
  15

  green handshakes

  by DaCheech in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we had a big time honcho do a talk today ( i cannot give the details ).

  after the meeting elder a&%&$ was going around and to me also to ask for donations to this fella!!!.

  can you believe the balls!!.....

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  TopHat

  Let the WTS pay for his gas....Cheap bast**ds
• 
  78

  BIG NEWS!

  by deaconbluez in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been approved to write the cover story for local newspaper about jehovah's witnesses.

  it can't be any more than 2,500 words.

  this newspaper has a huge reader-base.

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  TopHat

  Shunning of JWs who question the Head of the Watchtower organization....NOT very Christian....No free thought or speech
• 
  78

  BIG NEWS!

  by deaconbluez in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been approved to write the cover story for local newspaper about jehovah's witnesses.

  it can't be any more than 2,500 words.

  this newspaper has a huge reader-base.

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  TopHat

  Shunning of JWs who question the Head of the Watchtower organization....NOT very Christian....No free thought or speech
• 
  11

  Let us PREY

  by TopHat in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  scandal brews at oral roberts universityby justin juozapavicius,apposted: 2007-10-06 22:35:48filed under: law news, nation newstulsa, okla. (oct. 6) - twenty years ago, televangelist oral roberts said he was reading a spy novel when god appeared to him and told him to raise $8 million for roberts' university, or else he would be "called home.

  photo gallery: trouble on campusrobert s. cross, the tulsa world / aprichard roberts, seen in 2004, is the son of televangelist oral roberts and president of the university that bears his father's name.

  he's denied allegations of misconduct detailed in a lawsuit filed by three ex-professors.. 1 of 6now, his son, oral roberts university president richard roberts, says god is speaking again, telling him to deny lurid allegations in a lawsuit that threatens to engulf this 44-year-old bible belt college in scandal.

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  TopHat

  Do the members of ORU really believe that "GOD TOLD HIM"

  How many fools are there?
• 
  11

  Let us PREY

  by TopHat in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  scandal brews at oral roberts universityby justin juozapavicius,apposted: 2007-10-06 22:35:48filed under: law news, nation newstulsa, okla. (oct. 6) - twenty years ago, televangelist oral roberts said he was reading a spy novel when god appeared to him and told him to raise $8 million for roberts' university, or else he would be "called home.

  photo gallery: trouble on campusrobert s. cross, the tulsa world / aprichard roberts, seen in 2004, is the son of televangelist oral roberts and president of the university that bears his father's name.

  he's denied allegations of misconduct detailed in a lawsuit filed by three ex-professors.. 1 of 6now, his son, oral roberts university president richard roberts, says god is speaking again, telling him to deny lurid allegations in a lawsuit that threatens to engulf this 44-year-old bible belt college in scandal.

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  TopHat

  Scandal Brews at Oral Roberts University

  By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, AP Posted: 2007-10-06 22:35:48 Filed Under: Law News, Nation News TULSA, Okla. (Oct. 6) - Twenty years ago, televangelist Oral Roberts said he was reading a spy novel when God appeared to him and told him to raise $8 million for Roberts' university, or else he would be "called home."

  Photo Gallery: Trouble on Campus

  Richard Roberts, seen in 2004, is the son of televangelist Oral Roberts and president of the university that bears his father's name. He's denied allegations of misconduct detailed in a lawsuit filed by three ex-professors.

  1 of 6

  Now, his son, Oral Roberts University President Richard Roberts, says God is speaking again, telling him to deny lurid allegations in a lawsuit that threatens to engulf this 44-year-old Bible Belt college in scandal.
  
  Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
  
  She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."
  
  At a chapel service this week on the 5,300-student campus known for its 60-foot-tall bronze sculpture of praying hands, Roberts said God told him: "We live in a litigious society. Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not. This lawsuit ... is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion."
  
  San Antonio televangelist John Hagee, a member of the ORU board of regents, said the university's executive board "is conducting a full and thorough investigation."
• 
  36

  Defending outspoken atheism

  by serotonin_wraith in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well vinny and probably some others have come to wonder about the purpose of outspoken atheism, especially when it is presented in a rude manner.

  here's my thoughts on the matter.. many of us here will have relatives who are jehovah's witnesses.

  we want them to escape from that cult.

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  TopHat

  A believer hardly ever asks about evolution or cosmology, etc and remain open themselves to being proved wrong.

  Who is being more rude?

  BECAUSEssssssss, There is so much information out there about evolution and cosmology that a believer doesn't NEED to ask YOU! Information is thrown at them!
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  42

  Is there a site for fading JWs who remain non-trinitarian Christians?

  by deborahs_song in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you know of one we would truly appreciate the link.. thank you,.

  deborah and family .

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  TopHat

  Has deborahs song up and left us? OR is she posting with another name?