applehippie

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Posts by applehippie

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  22

  Encouragement letter, insight on the truth behind Jehovah's Witnesses

  by Butterflyleia85 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  (this is a letter i wrote to my cousin after she left from visiting me after 3 years!!

  she flew 5 hours to see me last weekend!!).

  hi ****!i'm so happy you came to ***** and visited me!!

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  applehippie

  marked
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  2

  Baptismal Questions - Database

  by Haelcer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  (1) have you recognized yourself before jehovah god as a sinner who needs salvation, and have you acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him the father through his son jesus christ?.

  (1) have you recognized yourself before jehovah god as a sinner who needs salvation, and have you acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him, the father, through his son jesus christ?.

  (2) on the basis of this faith in god and in his provision for redemption have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to jehovah god, to do his will henceforth as that will is revealed to you through christ jesus and through gods word as his holy spirit makes it plain?

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  applehippie

  Wow! Jackpot. My mom has been trying for the last couple years to find some of these changes. I sent her the database. Thank you for fomatting it so neatly with citations.
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  31

  How can JW's not believe in the soul and yet believe in the spirit?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this is a real puzzler.. for christendom at large there is no problem in thinking of humans as a body (tent) which houses the soul.. for jehovah's witnesses the human is the tent.

  no soul is contained.

  (they make "soul" the same as body.).

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  applehippie

  I just Googled "how often total cell replacement of human body". I remembered from Biology class talking about the continual replacement of cells in our body and generally speaking we are always replacing ourselves throughout our lives, with the exception of certain specialized cells. So, are we "cloning" ourselves anyway- or what? DNA and RNA are made up of building blocks of protiens and are themselves made of atoms. I would think if the were "rebuilt" in exactly the same way in the same order, then I am again "ME". The part that makes me myself are my thoughts and experiences. That's the only part that matters.

  Throughout time, mankind's remains have gotten recycled many times over, through plants, then animals and probably used in the formation and nurishment of other humans. How then can each and every "original" part of yourself be reclaimed?? Why does it really matter?

  The same argument (which I have had with my husband) that says God is capable of anything and can get all our "bits" back applies equally well, in my opinion, to the position that God can totally "recreate" us and we will be who we were- ourselves. To me it is far more problematic to try to pull original parts out of everything else it has become a part of than to go down to the molecular/atomic level and rebuild. That's the way we were designed to work anyway. We eat and nurish our bodies and repair or replace the parts that need it. What's the difference?

  By the way- The Egyptians thought they had this problem solved by preserving the body as a mummy with vital organ stored in jars nearby. However, they scraped out and discarded the brain...
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  10

  Question on Job 14: Does it support, or contradict, the idea of a resurrection?

  by sir82 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a question for all the bible / jewish theology scholars out there..... the wt society has long championed job 14:13-15 as being the earliest reference to a resurrection.

  here it is, quoted from the nwt:.

  13 o that in she ol you would conceal me, that you would keep me secret until your anger turns back,that you would set a time limit for me and .

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  applehippie

  Well then if Job's hope has been destroyed doesn't that mean that God cares more for trees than for man and specifically for Faithful Job?
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  29

  What drove you? Love or Fear?

  by fade_away in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this has probably been discussed here before, but i'm new so sue me.. i think the religion of jehovah's witnesses has been an amazing but tragic social experiment proving that the mind is most vulnerable to brainwashing when it's in an unhealthy state.

  it seems to attract the bipolar, schizophrenic, depressive, and the paranoid.

  it preys on negative emotions like sorrow and fear.

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  applehippie

  And yet for me it's more terrifying and unjust to think of souls being in Hell forever, tormented for eternity. The alternative of just anhilation in death in preferable.
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  303

  I've been outed...

  by brotherdan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so this weekend my wife had a major grand mal seizure for the first time in her life.

  she was rushed to the er.

  a few hours later while i was at her side she had another major one.. it was the scariest moment in my life.

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  applehippie

  Daniel,

  Back when my husband was beginning his investigating and he was so angry at the society, we had many disagreements. He felt that I was against him and would not listen. I did try but he is so forceful at times I really needed him to back off and let me absorb at my own pace. I never denied his right to do for himself what he needed to do but it was all he wanted to talk about and I needed him to just shut up sometimes.

  So, he decided he needed to leave. OK. I let him leave but it took time to get all that organised. Once he got some space,I think he calmed down and started to miss us, me and the girls. It was very hard for me at the time too. I couldn't find a job, that's very hard in this area. I had kids that needed rides to school, and I was caring for his mom, who I loved like my own. He did not give up- sometimes I wished he would just go away but he didn't. He made regular times to see the girls at our house. And he made time to spend with me. I resisted but he didn't go away.

  What I'm saying is, take your time. Don't be in a rush do do what she says. Be solicitous and loving. Show genuine care for her health. She needs some emotional space but you can do that at home. If it comes to you moving out- it doesn't mean it's over yet even then. The nights will be lonely for her too. I know. Do the flowers. Take her to dinner even if it's apparently to "talk" or discuss how things need to be handled. It can work if you give a chance. But along with not giving up, remember not to push too hard. Giving space is just as important.

  We're doing fine now. In many ways it's so much better than it's ever was. I hope that encourages you.
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  55

  Longtime lurker - first post

  by applehippie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  been listening for quite a while to the many conversations found here on this forum.

  i'm a good listener as my friends will tell you.. i am a born in jw, inactive for at least 2 years now.

  i originally joined this forum to find out what my husband was "up to".

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  applehippie

  Oh no Grace, you're fine. You are plain spoken and I do not mind that at all. In fact, you are a reminder that we need to mind our manners and play nice, or be sent to our rooms. LOL. Keep doin' what you do dear.
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  55

  Longtime lurker - first post

  by applehippie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  been listening for quite a while to the many conversations found here on this forum.

  i'm a good listener as my friends will tell you.. i am a born in jw, inactive for at least 2 years now.

  i originally joined this forum to find out what my husband was "up to".

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  applehippie

  Thank you all for so many kind encouraging words. I have seen a general postive change of tone on this forum compared to when I first registered. It is much more focused on encouragement and the pursuit of the facts, and the voice of reason. It was a really scary place before. Part of that is because I was afraid of what I would see but also because the change is real. I know who to read, and who to pass by. I'm not interested in bashing, I'm trying to find my way to doing my best to live up to my personal dedication to Jehovah, and accepting the value of Jesus sacrifice. I was baptised at 14 after careful thought. I resisted doing when my friends did it and even when my sister who was younger than I did it. I meant it then and still mean it, but that was when the vow was different.

  I enjoy the sermons by the Pastor at my husband's church. He puts a lot of thought into what he teaches and it's refreshing to hear the same familiar scriptures presented with a new perspective that still rings true. Wow, a breath of fresh air, and something new to learn.

  My mental blocks in order of importance are Hell and eternal torment, the trinity and the cross. I'm pretty much over the fact that maybe he was hung on a cross. It's certainly possible. But I can't see wearing it, and loving it. It is what it is, a physical object. It's what Jesus did for us that counts.

  Whoops, just looked at the time- gotta get dressed and out to church.

  Thanks again for the warm welcome.
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  5

  My mother was kidnapped- could that really have happened?

  by applehippie in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my mom has been telling me since i was a kid stories about how my grandparents got divorced and amazingly enough the court awarded custody to my grandfather.

  he was a hardworking lumberjack, and a drinker.

  he was also irish catholic.

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  applehippie

  My mom has been telling me since I was a kid stories about how my grandparents got divorced and amazingly enough the court awarded custody to my grandfather. He was a hardworking lumberjack, and a drinker. He was also Irish Catholic. Now this happened in Massachusetts in the late 40's and my grandmother was a JW so I suppose that's why custody went that way.

  Anyway, my mom was a baby. There was an older sister, and a brother. And as the story goes, in the middle of the night the local elders came and took them and my grandmother away and hid them at the Watchtower Farm in Pennsylvania. My grandmother worked there as a cook for a while. Their names were changed, papers and ID created and they moved to Florida where my mom grew up. For eighteen years until my mom was legally an adult, this was an open case. It was in the papers of which I did see old clippings. Originally, this story was told in the sense that they were rescued from the "Catholic court" that wanted to take them away from their mother and Jehovah. My mom feels now that her childhood and the right to know her father was stolen illegally by the Society. Due to her state of mind she dwells on this quite a lot. It was only after she was eighteen that she was reunited with her dad. My aunt, who is much older had found him earlier and convinced him to drop all charges and she would tell him where my mom was. So, in the end, family was brought back together, but you can never get the past back. I loved my grandfather. He always said I was his favorite- but I'm sure he said that to all of us. Who knows. He was a good man when I knew him. He had remarried and my step-grandmother was my third grandma. She made him happy, and "straightened him out". And when he died, we all went to the church for his funeral.

  How could this have happened? Did this really happen with the approval of the Society? How did the authorities never find them? It amazes me.
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  13

  A frog in boiling water?

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know where i've heard it before(perhaps from a circuit overseer talk) but someone associated with jehovahs witnesses made the analogy.

  that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will jump out immediately, but if you put the same frog in a pot of cold water and slowly heat it up.

  the frog will not notice the gradual temperature change and will cook to death.. the overseer or elder used this illustration as a warning to say that gradual changes in morals around us- we will not notice and get cooked alive.

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  applehippie

  No I heard it too at an assembly I'm pretty sure.

  Edited: actually, I think I may have to backtrack for honesty's sake. I may have gotten it in an email from a sister that used to send me many Fwd: fwd:fwd: if you know what I mean. It certainly made an impression at any rate. sorry.