http://youtube.com/watch?v=errzjgci3gy
Powder was, as I would put it, more along the lines of the "natural" power that might (and I emphasize might) just naturally manifest itself insofar as certain human beings are concerned. Not deliberately developed, or promoted, or the result of some religious experience, or some psychological manipulation, etc.
Just a matter of "it is what it is."
1967 - your word is a lamp to my foot.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/8d5j8y.
this is the book containing the questions for baptism at the time as discussed on this thread :.
bite me, the Lamp book wasn't the definitive "how to," but it certainly was part of the "tightening up" process.
btw, I'm probably not going to be able to assist you further re: the NWT translation changes--just too darn much to do cleaning up our property after the storm here. Sorry about that. Remind me later, and I'll do my best.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=errzjgci3gy
It's a Wonderful Life is one of my favorite movies.
One of those movies that provokes oneself to think about the meaning of life, rather than to blatantly offer explanations. Powder and Phenomenon are a couple others that I like, for the same reasons.
Matrix isn't bad either.
But then nobody has ever accused me of being a decent movie critic. LOL
1967 - your word is a lamp to my foot.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/8d5j8y.
this is the book containing the questions for baptism at the time as discussed on this thread :.
AO, thanks! I'll be downloading that a little later...it's gonna take a few minutes, even with FIOS! LOL
I have some other old stuff that might be of some interest, like Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News, and some older booklets (you know, back when they had really pretty covers).
Perhaps I could arrange to forward these on to you, for our continued entertainment?
Of course, I'd want them back...they are some of my most treasured items.
a man arrives at the gates of heaven.
st. peter asks, "religion?".
the man says, "methodist" .
bikerchic also told me that this was an old one...
but I'd never heard it before, so it was new to me! LOL
Another one (unrelated, but what the heck)--
There are these 3 guys sitting together on a transantlantic flight: A priest, a rabbi, and a Bhuddist. They get into arguing about God, when suddenly there's an explosion and the plane rips apart in midflight.
Well, the priest finds himself free-falling at 10,000 feet, and yells out to God to save him. Nothing happens. So (reflecting on the just-prior conversations), he yells out to Yahweh to save him. Nothing happens. Finally, he yells out to Bhudda to save him.
All of a sudden, 2 huge hands formulate themselves out of the sky, interlock their fingers and gently bring the priest to a stop, several thousand feet above the ocean. The priest is, of course, absolutely flabbergasted, and in his excitment and glee he yells out "Oh, thank God!"
Poof, the hands disappear.
hillary_step, nvrgnbk, superfine apostle, and others that have helped me so much.
they said i would be an atheist within two years, but my metamorphosis has happened virtually overnight.
'how many fingers, burntheships?'.
BTS, you've been hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Stick with me, and I'll have you converted from atheism to agnosticism in no time at all!
LOL
do you find that most of the ones you grew up with left?
i looked around while still active and saw numbers dwindling from my generation.
i pioneered while in late teens/early twenties and several from my class that were friends of mine left years ago.
rache:
Of course, they were telling us like it was a warning but I used to wonder what the total was every year.
The average is about 1% per year:
*** yb92 p. 187 Kenya and Nearby Countries ***
Swept Clean in Kenya
The years following 1975 swept the congregations clean. Those in the truth only with the date 1975 fixed in their minds as to when the end of this wicked system of things would come dropped out as that year became history. From one survey during this period, for 77 new ones 49 others became inactive. Those who had skipped meeting attendance and personal study fell prey to Satan’s snares of immorality, drunkenness, and materialistic greed. Sadly, during certain years, over 3 percent of all publishers had to be disfellowshipped.
*** w92 7/1 p. 19 par. 18 Elders, Judge With Righteousness ***
In recent years disfellowshippings worldwide have been approximately 1 percent of publishers.
*** yb80 p. 11 1980 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses ***
The modern trend toward materialism, pleasure-seeking and the gratifying of fleshly desires has been taking its toll. (For example, had it not been for disfellowshipings, the United States would have seen an increase of almost 3.5 percent instead of almost 1.5 percent.)
*** yb72 p. 170 Dominican Republic ***
Spiritual growth has been the principal objective of all mature brothers throughout the country during the year. Maturity is needed to face Satan’s present tactics. A few years ago he tried harsh persecution and failed. The work grew. Now he attacks by trying to sow discord, through immorality and materialism. It became necessary to disfellowship fifty-four persons during the year 1971. In one city there were 350 publishers at the start of the year. During the year over 4 percent were disfellowshiped. Sad as this may seem, it brought faith in the organization and opened the way for the free flow of Jehovah’s spirit. During the same period the publishers in that city increased 18.3 percent, despite the 4-percent loss.
*** w68 8/1 p. 476 Why Christians Seek to Avoid Loose Conduct ***
Thus it has been reported that close to 1 percent of the Witnesses in the United States were disfellowshiped in the past year, the majority for sexual immorality.
*** w60 12/1 p. 728 par. 21 Separation and Divorce for the Sake of Peace ***
21
During the service year of 1958-1959 there were 6,552 individuals disfellowshiped by the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses for various reasons. Many of these were cases of immorality, either fornication or adultery. Where it became proper and timely, mercy was displayed, and there were 1,597 of all disfellowshiped during past years reinstated during the 1958-1959 service year upon proof of godly sorrow, repentance and reformation. These were put on probation for a reasonable period of time, before being granted again the general privileges of all in the congregation. So, at the end of the said service year there were, out of all those who had been disfellowshiped during recent years, a total of 25,143 still cut off from the congregation of Jehovah’s people. While it is too bad that any should make it necessary to disfellowship them, we are comforted to know that, out of all the hundreds of thousands who are reporting preaching activities throughout the earth, only .81 percent were disfellowshiped. That is only eight-tenths of one percent. Still even that low figure is a warning to each one of us.
Also, as far as the average reinstated:
*** w74 8/1 p. 466 par. 24 Divine Mercy Points the Way Back for Erring Ones ***
Thus, in the United States (where there are now more than half a million Christian witnesses of Jehovah), during the ten-year period from 1963 to 1973, 36,671 persons had to be disfellowshiped for various kinds of serious wrongdoing. Yet, in that same period 14,508 persons were reinstated, accepted back into the congregations owing to their sincere repentance. This is nearly 40 percent of the total.
i speak of the furry kind that burrow under my yard and destroy it.
this year in our area they were terrible.
i do not lie when i state that nearly every square foot of my front lawn was tunnelled this summer, some of it three and four times after i pressed down the tunnels with my feet and mower.
As an aside: I hope I never have bigwilly and Priest73 as neighbors.
i speak of the furry kind that burrow under my yard and destroy it.
this year in our area they were terrible.
i do not lie when i state that nearly every square foot of my front lawn was tunnelled this summer, some of it three and four times after i pressed down the tunnels with my feet and mower.
I've never had to do this myself, but one method used around here is poison gas (I think it's cyanide): You open every hole you can find, toss in a canister, and seal the hole. The gas naturally penetrates through every tunnel...but the trick is that you have to have it come in from every surface opening, or else the critters will find a safe spot where the gas might not reach.
otoh, I do rather like the shotgun approach. LOL
do you find that most of the ones you grew up with left?
i looked around while still active and saw numbers dwindling from my generation.
i pioneered while in late teens/early twenties and several from my class that were friends of mine left years ago.
Most everybody I know are still in, including all my family (except one nephew), and quite a few dozen others. Here and there, over the years, there have been a few "old-timers" who left, but they were the exception rather than the rule: If I had to guess, maybe 10% left.
Perhaps one aspect of this is the age factor: If you've "only" invested 10 or 20 years into the WTS, then as painful as it can be to leave, a person can still feel that a good part of the best years of their life are ahead of them. But when you get to 30, 40, 50 years in, I think the dynamic changes.
