bigmouth

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Posts by bigmouth

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  17

  I Just Knew This Was the Truth as Soon as I Heard It !

  by bigmouth in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i can't count the number of witnesses i've heard, or experiences i've read, who say this.. this is the basis on which they decide to join a high control religion ?.

  do you make important decisions based on gut feeling or intuition or do you spend time researching a matter first ?

  i've made some dumb decisions based on emotion and had to repent at my leisure.. actually, i was thinking about the mother with a missing child who just knows she's alive somewhere and is coming home.

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  bigmouth

  MrMonroe - Yes, that's how I initially fell for the JW's.

  You describe something like a bundled contract for a thing or service....you can't have that without accepting this.
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  17

  I Just Knew This Was the Truth as Soon as I Heard It !

  by bigmouth in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i can't count the number of witnesses i've heard, or experiences i've read, who say this.. this is the basis on which they decide to join a high control religion ?.

  do you make important decisions based on gut feeling or intuition or do you spend time researching a matter first ?

  i've made some dumb decisions based on emotion and had to repent at my leisure.. actually, i was thinking about the mother with a missing child who just knows she's alive somewhere and is coming home.

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  bigmouth

  "the ring of truth?"

  That was exactly the phrase I was thinking of.

  The 'anointed' claim to have certainty they are chosen by some in-definable feeling. Presumably millions determine what they believe based on a ring of truth.
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  17

  I Just Knew This Was the Truth as Soon as I Heard It !

  by bigmouth in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i can't count the number of witnesses i've heard, or experiences i've read, who say this.. this is the basis on which they decide to join a high control religion ?.

  do you make important decisions based on gut feeling or intuition or do you spend time researching a matter first ?

  i've made some dumb decisions based on emotion and had to repent at my leisure.. actually, i was thinking about the mother with a missing child who just knows she's alive somewhere and is coming home.

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  2. 
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• 

  bigmouth

  I can't count the number of Witnesses I've heard, or experiences I've read, who say this.

  This is the basis on which they decide to join a high control religion ?

  Do you make important decisions based on gut feeling or intuition or do you spend time researching a matter first ? I've made some dumb decisions based on emotion and had to repent at my leisure.

  Actually, I was thinking about the mother with a missing child who just knows she's alive somewhere and is coming home. And then they find her body. But hope and positive thought are linked. I guess we believe things just because it feels right sometimes.

  Just musing. Any thoughts ??
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  14

  Plymouth Brethren, ever heard of them?

  by exwhyzee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this religion was started in ireland around the same time as the jw's were in the mid to late 1800's.

  and is still alive today in europe and america.

  my grandfather and his family were of this religion.

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  bigmouth

  It seems to me I remember this book being available at the book counter....that can't be right though...is it? - re. Hislops Two Babylons

  Yes, I bought my copy at the KH about 1981. You could buy a number of Society sanctioned publications such as the Emphatic Diaglott and few other translations of the Bible including the King James and The Jerusalem
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  14

  Plymouth Brethren, ever heard of them?

  by exwhyzee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this religion was started in ireland around the same time as the jw's were in the mid to late 1800's.

  and is still alive today in europe and america.

  my grandfather and his family were of this religion.

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  bigmouth

  Exclusive Brethren have pockets of adherents in N.Z. and Australia too.

  Whilst they don't vote or hold political office, they have absolutely no qualms about donating substantial amounts of money to politicians who support their 'family' ideals. They don't like getting caught doing it either! Big news before the last election in NZ where they were found muddying themselves with money and politics.

  Curious observation; A disproportionately large number of EB women are 'ginger' and have a certain look to them. They are very fond of long denim skirts. The men never wear ties. They avoid the use of fax machines if they can.

  That's all I have to say about that....
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  9

  what I learn from the Bible in-practice?

  by faghatkhoda20 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  [if !mso]> <style> v\:* {behavior:url(#default#vml);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#vml);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#vml);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#vml);} </style> <!

  [endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:trackmoves /> <w:trackformatting /> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:donotpromoteqf /> <w:lidthemeother>en-us</w:lidthemeother> <w:lidthemeasian>x-none</w:lidthemeasian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>x-none</w:lidthemecomplexscript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark /> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp /> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables /> <w:dontvertalignintxbx /> <w:word11kerningpairs /> <w:cachedcolbalance /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont m:val="cambria math" /> <m:brkbin m:val="before" /> <m:brkbinsub m:val="&#45;-" /> <m:smallfrac m:val="off" /> <m:dispdef /> <m:lmargin m:val="0" /> <m:rmargin m:val="0" /> <m:defjc m:val="centergroup" /> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440" /> <m:intlim m:val="subsup" /> <m:narylim m:val="undovr" /> </m:mathpr></w:worddocument> </xml><!

  but my dad referred me to go to the mosque in our area and ask the questions from a religion-man who called mullah.

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  bigmouth

  I work with an Iranian refugee here in Australia. He is a Bahaii Faith member. The above story fits with much of what he has told me. (Except the bestiality ! Proper references required here.)

  I'm thinking, 'out of the fat and into the fire though'.

  The references to the treatment of AOG and other Christians is a little incongruous with a JW of a little experience. The persecution of Christians other than JW's ?? Unthinkable!

  Good Luck dude, don't be surprised when the love-bombing stops when your novelty wears off.
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  80

  2011 Global Survey of Jehovah's Witnesses

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you are visiting this site for the first time, or for the first time in a long while, i would appreciate if you could click on the following link and participate in the 2011 global survey of jehovah's witnesses.

  both active jehovah's witnesses and former jehovah's witnesses around the world are invited to participate anonymously, and the results will be forwarded to the governing body and world's media.. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/t7zm5zc.

  this thread will be updated with the results of the survey (for the time being at least) should you be interested.. in its first 3 days, the survey collected close to 400 responses.

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  bigmouth

  Done.

  What do you expect the results of the survey to show?

  Will the GB pay any attention to it and will they change policy?

  I'll find it interesting though. But I can't imagine the end result being anything other than a curiosity.
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  8

  I am plagued by bad WBTS dreams, is anyone else?

  by PaintedToeNail in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my conscious mind is able to throw off my fears about the wbts being right about the great trib.

  and armegeddon.

  it is able to shut off the panic thoughts when they spring up...however when i go to sleep, it is another thing entirely.

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  bigmouth

  PTN, we've had some very good posts on here over the years regarding dreams revolving around Satan, the demons, destruction etc.

  As the brain processes new ideas and challenges old ones you do seem to get nightmares for a while. Religious behaviour seems to be the worst one for the mind to cope with.

  As Lady Lee said and others have testified, they will fade and disappear. They wont do you any harm.
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  82

  Are YOU a Believer, Atheist, Agnostic, Active JW or WHAT?

  by Greybeard in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sorry if this has been asked before but i would love to know the current ratio on this forum.. i'm a believer/christian former jw for 45 years... born in .

  what are you now and what were you?.

  .

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  bigmouth

  I haven't gained sufficient proof of anything that will move me from being agnostic.

  If, in fact, God exists then what I've learned about him gives me the creeps.
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  13

  Rolf Furuli

  by inbetween in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my experience with jw so far taught me, that among them are all kind of personalities, with their particular reason for joining or staying in a religion (cult) like jw.. you find those with mental problems, those born in, who dont know any better, those with serious problems handling life (drug, alcohol, porn addic, who need strict rules to function).. but there are also quit normal people, who manage their life failry good, they often just accept anything of the org on a superficial basis, without giving too much thought, and going more or less through the motions.. then there are those, who really are deep thinkers, often with higher education.

  besides their belief they take interest in things like quantum theories, history, even philosophy to a point etc..... however, they do not use their sharpe mind when it comes to examining their own religion.

  i can in the meantime even understand this, because mostly they have emotional reasons as well to be a jw, and anything contradicting they put under "cognitive dissonance", and just dont think about it.. however, what puzzles me most, is when some of them, being exposed to apostate ideas, still use all their ability and skills to defend clearly ridiculous positions.. personally i also like to scrutinize things, i tried the same with some doctrine, particularly blood teachings, and could not find a solution, thinking it was my lack of insight.

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  bigmouth

  Highly intelligent and astute people still get caught by scammers and frauds (e.g. Nigerian scams) and we wonder at their gullibility.

  Some are greedy, many are trusting but naive.

  People like Ron Furuli, I suspect, fall into a category of educated people that are unable to admit error due to pride. Imagine having invested so much of your life in a belief system that you simply cannot concieve that you are mistaken. The psychological cost to you would be nearly unbearable.

  Brother Furuli is likely a victim of cognitive dissonance. Poor chap.