first of all i noticed that this just seemed like another meeting.
when we drove in we had people parking us in strange ways, not to mention that the amount of cars there was just as many as a highly attended sunday meeting and we do fine then when we have no one to park us.
they had more seats set out and there were no new ones just people who had not come in awhile.
Hehe.. Last assembly I went to there was only one kid getting baptised. It was a child of a JW family. It was so funny, when he/she stood to do the questions the speaker addressed them by name..
"ARE YOU JASON GOING TO DO WHAT THE GOVERNING BODY SAY'S, JASON? JASON ARE YOU AWAKE?"
*names changed to protect the innocent. :-)
http://www.jordanmaxwell.com/articles/religion/christian%20bloodshed.pdf.
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At times I have heard people counter this with arguments about Hitler, Stalin and Chairman Mao. How they used atheism of sorts and are responsible for a number of deaths as well. But I don’t really think what they used was atheism, or agnosticism in its truthful form. They tried to replace religion with worship of the state. More important than people believing in God or not believing in God is that people come to their decision rationally and after much thought. It is blind faith IMO that leads to atrocity, whether that blind faith is placed in a God, or a man representing God, or a lack of God, or the state, etc… The sad bit is that 5% tend to lead the other 95%
that's right guys.
as i told you before, they boe have been considering me for the eldership.
which i don't care for, but since my family is stuck in this cult, i guess i can use the new position to help them see that the holy spirit has nothing to do with me being an elder.
Impressive!
I am not wise, and all knowing enough to question your motives... So..
Let them be noble and GOOD LUCK!
hi.
was wondering if there are any former/current elders daughter that are on the board.. share your experinces or stories about being one.. what did you "catch" elders daughters doing wrong.. yes i am one and be honest with us..
I used to like to go to concerts with elder's daughters.. They would ALWAYS flash the band.. Ahh... Teenage elder daughter boobies.. :-)
thought it might be interesting to put a perspective on things.
while many here have had terrible experiences at the hands of jw's and the wtbts, are there religions that you know of which are any worse?
for example, jw's might disfellowship a member who became known as a thief, but they don't chop off your hand.
I think Neo's religion is worse probably.. He was just searching for truth when morpheus found him, then after some experimentation with drugs (the red pill) he wakes up in what is obviously a converted missile silo, they have surgically altered him and shaved his head. Morpheus turns it around and convinces Neo that he is the messiah, and they make frequent drug induced trips to what they call "the fake world" in order to convert others.
Then some apostate (cypher) gets pissed off and tries to show everyone the truth but ends up just killing them all. I guess no one was ready for truth.
Obviously I was thinking about this while watching the matrix last week. They had their own prophet in the projects, also the whole idea that what you see isn't real and that you have to focus on what isn't real in order to see "truth" kind of gave me shivers..
i posted this on another thread and realized that it was really off topic, so i made it a separate topic because i would really like to read your thoughts about this... .
does anyone know if any reasons are given by the wtbts about why they feel it is such an important part of their teachings to keep guessing about dates and the years things are going to happen?
it seems that it adds nothing to whatever they believe about the bible, and it has only served to create such confusion among their members over the years.
Wow! Some really interesting comments on this thread. When I first started digging I made the mistake of assuming that religion was intelligently designed. For the most part it isn’t. But any good story teller knows that you can lead people along with hints of secret knowledge for a little bit but humans are ultimately disappointed when they don’t know the ending. Take for example Lost. Frankly I’ve given up, when I know the series is over I will rent the DVDs. Or the show “Friends” tied up in a neat little package the show ended with Ross and Rachel together. Everyone said “Ahh…” And that was it. Show some people a divinely inspired chart explaining the pyramids and some might say “that’s interesting”, add in a charismatic man who is convinced of his own delusions and some might believe, give them a date to shoot for and most will hold out at least that long. The ones who do after the date has passed will look around and feel foolish. Just like the two members of the “Heaven’s Gate” cult that didn’t kill themselves, they still felt bad, thought they missed the boat.. (err spaceship). It is easy for someone who is caught up in the furor of serving for a date to just move the date in their mind and rationalize away the unfulfilled prophecy.
I don’t think WBTS is done with dates. They can’t be, they will lose their most valuable members, people who are convinced that they have secret knowledge and if they only hold out a little longer will be laughing it up in paradise.
i've been a jw all my life and am thoroughly convinced this is the truth.
but there is one thing that i just don't understand.
many jw's believe that people who get resurrected in the new system will not get married.
Once we have shed the flesh we will populate the universe with the patterns of our intelligence. (or lack thereof..)
i notice from comments posted that many here who post (and untold scores who lurk) are still "in".
perhaps their social / family circles are too constricted for freedom of mind, and or, they are too afraid to rock the boat.
or too young to strike out on their own and are dependent on jw parents for support.
Knowing what you need to do and doing it. Thats the tough part isn't it? I know I need to go. Thanks for the thoughts I am working on it.
i notice from comments posted that many here who post (and untold scores who lurk) are still "in".
perhaps their social / family circles are too constricted for freedom of mind, and or, they are too afraid to rock the boat.
or too young to strike out on their own and are dependent on jw parents for support.
LOL.. Excellent parallel between the "Truth" and being in an abusive relationship.. Someone should make a chart.
i notice from comments posted that many here who post (and untold scores who lurk) are still "in".
perhaps their social / family circles are too constricted for freedom of mind, and or, they are too afraid to rock the boat.
or too young to strike out on their own and are dependent on jw parents for support.
It is a beautiful thought pickled. I have considered it myself. I will try not to be the one constantly looking for excuses to stay in but I have no answer to the question "Where will you go?" I don't have anything they would consider better than their "Sayings of everlasting life" so obviously I can't be thinking rationally.. :-) Unless I convince them to except the words and faith of Ray Kurzweil. :-)
