That really is some sick thinking, I can not believe anyone would have such a fixation on the end that the jws do. But I guess that would mean more tamiflu for the rest of us.
insearchoftruth
JoinedPosts by insearchoftruth
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32
Scary JW Thinking About the Benefits of Bird Flu
by Severus ini heard this from a pioneer recently.
"this bird flu will be the next major pestilence.
even if it wipes out millions, that would be a good thing because jehovah will be able to resurrect them.
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A 'Screw the Publishers' GB Strategy?
by metatron inwhile a man might hold a particular office, there is no guarantee that his personal faith will continue.
there are a number of older.
brothers , at bethel and elsewhere, who quietly hold to a 'it's a good life' view of the 'truth' - as opposed to the blind zombie-faith of.
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insearchoftruth
So true with respect to the bible teach book, but it serves their purpose of making the 'students' think that they are quickly catching on to the message and the true meaning of the bible, even when the bible is only used as an individual reference every once in a while. Plus it makes it easier to
sellplace to those with less education, because there can not be many people that it is written above. -
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How do they decide which is which??
by Super_Becka inok, i know the notion of pagan symbolism has been beaten to death on this board, but i still have a question about the whole concept.. so, the wts bans pagan elements.
we can see that in their arguments against christmas and christmas decorations, and other similar things.
they forbid the use of anything with pagan origins.
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insearchoftruth
Another great question Becka (spelled it correctly this time!). Other things I have questions about are wedding rings, I thought that the tradition of the honeymoon was pagan as well and it amazes me that wedding anniversaries can be celebrated because I can't remember them being specifically addressed in the bible.
One of the posts I read on line here a bit ago also talks about how some currency in the US has pagan symbols on it, such as a the pyramid on the one dollar bill, but I would venture to guess a jw would never refuse a few of them for a wt or an awake, would they.
A lot of the rules seem to be at the whim of the governing body, because if you look at the history of the organzation, birthdays and Christmas were both celebrated when Jesus invisibly returned in 1914 (there words not mine <grin>) and then spent time evaluating the jws (who were not the jws at the time) to declare them the only religion.
One holiday I really question that is banned is Thanksgiving, what is the reason for that, I can not even think of anything pagan about its background.
I think if one were to look deep enough, there are so many things that are used today that were used by other religions/cultures that it would cause our heads to spin if they were to have to eliminate all of them. Look at how things are named today, we have cars that were named Demons and Taurus, months are named after gods, etc.
For an organization that is so driven by the bible (LOL), man sure makes up a majority of their doctrine.
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So what about Lent and Easter??
by Super_Becka inok, so today is the first day of lent (which is painfully obvious to me because i've chosen to give up my favourite snacks for lent and right now, i have a really bad craving for doritos), and it got me to thinking, once again, about wts doctrine and the whole banning of holidays thing that they have going on.. i've read the reasons behind banning things like birthdays, christmas, halloween, mother's and father's day and national holidays like canada day and independence day, but i have yet to read anything about lent and easter.. so, what's the line of reasoning behind the banning of lent and easter??
and i don't mean easter as in chocolate bunnies and easter eggs and all of that, i mean easter as a religious celebration of the resurrection of christ.
after all, jws have the memorial of the crucifixion, don't they??
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insearchoftruth
Thanks for another great question Becca, as a Lutheran, I am now attending a church that celebrates communion weekly, which I truly prefer. Each time I partake of the meal, it reminds me of the sacrifice that Jesus (God) made for me and I can not see of anything incorrect or immoral of remembering this sacrifice as often as possible. What really amazes me is that with the JWs there are only the annointed few who are allowed to partake and these annointed are the only ones who have Jesus as their mediator, the remainder of the faithful have to go through the annointed, now where is that in the Bible.
The Last Supper is specifically celebrated in the Gospels, but at least in my reading of the Gospel it does not tell one how or when one should partake, only that when one partakes that it is in remembrance of the sacrifice made for the believers.
The Easter Vigil is one of the most meaningful services of the year for me, for if it were not for the empty tomb, death would have won the battle, and the tomb and the empty cross make me KNOW the salvation that MY savior Jesus provides me, because I BELIEVE and his sacrifice.
I guess I am also in the "JWs make no sense to me" class
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Who is the King of Apostates ?
by Genesis ini would say either ray franz, randall waters, danny hasgard (sorry for the bad spelling dude) or satan.
what is your opinion on that ?
joff
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insearchoftruth
I agree with the above, but the internet has made the information flow so much more efficiently. Websites such as this, freeminds, silentlambs etc have done so much to make the truth about the wts available to those who could not or would not find it earlier.
Ray Franz and Randy Watters have both taught me a lot though!!
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Why do witnesses think they have the truth?
by JH in.
what would be the main reasons why the witnesses think that they alone have the truth?
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insearchoftruth
Thats a great and simple to understand summary Merry, I have been asking my wife the same question and she talks in watchtower circles so I eventually just give up!
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BETHEL NEWS: Bethel Elder Arrangement to be dissolved as of Aug. 31, 2006
by Elsewhere inhere is some news from a source within one of the wts branches:
hot news from todays morning worship announcement worldwide -- letter from gb being read on 1st of march 2006 to every branch (hopefully we will have a copy of the letter soon.).
as of aug. 31, 2006 the bethel elder arrangement will be dissolved!
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insearchoftruth
What is the benefit of changing the arrangement like this?? I am not at all familiar with the present structure, so I don't really know what the effect could/would be.
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2006 - A Year of Movers and Shakers for The Society
by truthseeker init's only march 1st and already several things have happened in witless land.... 1) awake!
goes monthly beginning january 1, 2006.. 2) to be confirmed: bound volumes cease production.
3) confirmed by congregation letter: paperback bibles replace hardback bibles.
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insearchoftruth
welcome cathyk, hope someone knows of the topic, that sure would put an interesting twist on things. The members of this board are great, very helpful to someone like me new to the teachings of the WTS.
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SECRET DOCUMENT: Publication Standards Manual
by Elsewhere indownload the publication standards manual: http://www.davidgladden.com/jw/docs/stdm-e-2006.pdf
have you ever wondered what guidelines the wts uses to write its publications?
shortly i will be releasing another closely related memo titled "writing for our journals".
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insearchoftruth
It amazes me how much information is able to get out, and the timeliness of the information. This to me is another reason that bethel may be getting smaller, to stem the flow of information to those not in the leadership. Information/knowledge is always equated with power, and as the info gets posted on the net, the GB is slowly losing its stranglehold of the power.
I echo the previous person who thanks all who are providing this information.
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Turns out... I'm not so smart! Why the difference?
by misspeaches inafter exactly 1 year on discovering jwd and working through emotions, feelings etc, i feel the need to relate this.. as a witness i really believed i was smart.
i believe i must have had a high iq.
that i knew so many more things then others.
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insearchoftruth
My view from the outside is that the wt conditions one to not think for themselves, by the way the watchtower questions/answers are developed, the level of writing of the study tools and the way that "knowledge" is force fed by the Watchtower (governing body). When one does not use the mind, it does not develop as it should. Plus, with the way the studies are run, the 'teachers' are instructed to tell you how well you are progressing so you naturally feel smarter, because someone is telling you that.
As I said, I am looking from the outside, but as soon as someone starts to really think for themselves, they seem to find the path that leads outside the watchtower world to brighter light that really is good for you!