I got left off the school for over a year and a half after "stepping aside" as an elder. Now, I probably give about 4 a year. I am a gutless piece of garbage for not just leaving. The only positive thing I can say is that I always try to introduce a non-JW thought. I know its not much, but it makes me feel a little better. I NEVER comment. I actually quit commenting about 6 months before resigning as an elder.
Doubting Bro
JoinedPosts by Doubting Bro
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44
How many here still giving talks at the meetings?
by BonaFide ini have a talk tonight.
anyone else still giving talks or parts?.
bf.
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My first year in JWD. Thank you!!
by tooktheredpill in"membership since .
hello guys!
today i noticed that i've been in jwd for a whole year.
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Doubting Bro
That's great TTRP! It's important for folks like you to post their stories. You've been an inspiration to many I'm sure (including myself). Unfortunately, while mentally out, I'm still physically in due to my wife. Have you posted how you were able to help her wake up? Thanks
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Great Christmas Beer!
by wobble inevery year englands oldest brewer,shepherd neame based in faversham,kent, brews a special christmas ale.
every year it is different by a big margin from the last,they are all good though... this years is great, a roaring 7% abv and great taste,as my good lady remarked "it's so christmassy you can taste the tinsel !".
if you can get hold of some wherever you are you wont be disappointed.. whatever,have a pissy chrissy!
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Doubting Bro
I love the winter beers! A couple of my favorites that are easy to get: 1)Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, 2) Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, 3)Pretty much any Barley Wine, 4)Several good Christmas/Winter Warmer beers. I just wish I lived in a place where I could get decent beer. The laws in my state (deep south usa) prohibit the higher alcohol beers. - Sorry, I forgot to switch to IE.
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Is it the JW's or the God of the bible you no longer believe?
by reniaa ini have a question for the ex-jw's on this forum after months of reading the forum..... many say how good it is to be free of the oppressiveness of the jw's that they can now enjoy the freedom to... have sex, celebrate christmas, gamble, embrace politics etc.
there are still biblical scriptures and principles in place that if you still followed the bible would mean you avoid these things and yet these are now embraced as one of the perks of no longer being a jw so in my confusion i ask.... if these are what you want, isn't it more correct to say you no longer follow the bible as apposed to just the jw's?.
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Doubting Bro
Especially in light of Romans 14:1-6 where Paul instructs Christians to not judge each other over the observance of such days. I don't have my WT Library with me right now, but I'm pretty sure their take on both Galatians and Romans is that Paul was referring to the Jewish holidays and those couldn't be objectionable since they were given by God. However, I concede that perhaps Galatians could be referring to other festivals. However, doesn't that cut against the JW argument that anyone who celebrates their birthday for example, should be removed from the congregation? I've studied the Bible a fair amount and I have never found a scripture that supports that stance. By the way, if the JWs are not 100% correct, then they don't have the truth. I haven't found any religion that I can honestly say is 100% in accordance with the Bible.
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Billy's Comments You Might Hear at the 10-12-08 WT Study (MAINTAIN LOYALTY)
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite incomments you will not hear at the 10-12-08 wt study - august 15, 2008, pages 7-11 (maintain loyalty).
review comments will be in red.
wt material from today's wt will be in black.
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Doubting Bro
For a religion that loves to misapply scriptures to fit their agenda (ok, most do that but the WTS is especially good at it), this "lesson" really takes the cake. How anyone could read that account and say the moral of the story was to not materialistic is beyond me. It really makes me wonder if the writing committee even reads the Bible. Good comments all, I really don't have much to add other than to wonder if the writing department has an unhappy camper who slipped one through. The parallels between the false religion set up in BETHEL,gold calf=organization worship and the old prophet claiming to speak for God yet causing bad things to happen to folks who follow his advice is remarkable.
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Notes from Annual Meeting, October 2008
by FadingAway injust got in email a few minutes ago...... note, there are three different sets of notes, they may seem repetitive but please read all three as some notes may have left out things where other notes added other points......... .
annual report .
the holy spirit is just jumping off of me!
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Doubting Bro
First - thanks for posting this FadingAway!
I guess they've decided to not break out any other doctrinal changes. I'm not suprised since there were so many over the past 2 years that they need to take a break for a little bit. Now, it seems the focus is on the structural changes with the CBS being eliminated, PO title changed and the rumored (and I believe true) demise of the COs as we know them. I wonder what other structural changes will happen this upcoming year?
Does anyone give a crap about Wayan? I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but the name dropping is a bit much. I didn't know he is "annointed". I wonder how long?
True anointed ones listen to the congregation as Paul and Barnabas did. Paul spent 3 years in the Arabian desert and was directly appointed by Christ, yet he never usurped the governing body's and their decisions, he always respectfully asked their decision and direction on things. 1 Cor 12:14-18
Right, that's why the Bible is full of times where Paul and Barnabas confer with the "GB" in Jerusalem? Oh, wait a minute, the only time that was the case was when the Jerusalem congregation was sending folks down to Antioch to stir up trouble with the Gentiles and force them to get circumcised. And, Paul didn't go up to ask for advice, he went up to tell them they were WRONG. By the way, you would think that the scripture cited would be an example of Paul humbly asking the 1 century governing body (the one that didn't really exist) for direction. WRONG - here's the quote from the NIV
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
The actual context is referring to gifts that every member of the congreation could bring to the table. Nothing about getting direction from a specially appointed group. It was about working together for the common good and not diminishing the others contribution.
Also, that "true annointed ones" comment continues the double talk. On the one hand, they say that the door didn't really close in 1935. On the other, they try to say that there are only a few left and that the big A is right around the corner. Which is it guys? Oh, that's right, you don't have a clue.
Sir82 - There must have been a butt-load of new partakers at the Memorial this year. In 2007, the number rose to over 10,000. How many were there in 2008? 15,000? 20,000? more? Must have been a startling increase for them to come out so strongly on this.
I totally agree with you. My bet is that it's probably at least a 10% increase.
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Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 10-05-08 WT Study (LOYAL LEAVE)
by blondie inquote.
quote.
quote.
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Doubting Bro
I heard more cultish comments at this "study" than I have in a long time. It was insane. The conductor went over so everyone could have a chance to verbalize their lover for the "slave". Good comments above - paragraph 15 was of course the highlight. The best was when the conductor made the statement that last weeks study didn't change any truth, but refined it. Refined? Taking a 180 degree change on an explanation is not refinement it's change.
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JWs come for a visit! I can't believe it.
by dawg ini just wanted to relate that this weekend, a group of jws came by and visited me-they had come to athens to watch the big game that my team didn't show up for.
most of them knew that i had written letters to many family members and friends saying the jws were full of crocodile crap and yet all of them hung out with me.
one was inquisitive in a good way, asking me if i was an 'apostate"... i told him that i was because i've formerly stated that i disagree with the jws about many of their doctrines.
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Doubting Bro
dawg - That's pretty awesome. It is a little surprising that they would seek you out given your pretty clear stand. I sometimes think its one thing to make a "mistake" according to WTS rules and be df'ed but to clearly say you don't believe what they teach is something far worse in a believing JWs mind. I agree with you that there are quite a few JWs who are JWs in name only and likely don't really believe. That's why they will never drop the shunning because if they did that, there would be no ramifications to leaving. PS - the Bulldogs just puzzle me because I just can't see the Tide as being THAT much better. Oh well, another crazy year in college football!
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Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 09-28-08 WT Study (SUCCESS)
by blondie in*** km 3/06 p. 1 par.
(mark 4:26-29) let us now consider three more of jesus' illustrations-the mustard grain, the leaven, and the dragnet.
when the wts says "god's people" do they mean anyone other than jws?.
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Doubting Bro
Billy - You are hilarious!! If you're not a comedy writer, you've missed your calling!
Bluesbrother - I think you've hit all the changes. What amazes me is the 180 degree change in some of these.
The mustard plant changing from all organizations that took on the mantel of Christian and were apostate to just JWs who are the true religion is pretty big. It seems there are two basic schools of thought on this illustration. Of course, since the WTS loves to change things, they have simply moved from one school to another. The old position was in the school that the mustard plant represented the growth of problems within the Christian church as represented by birds (agents of Satan per the illustration in Matt 13 where they eat the seed sown by the roadside) getting shelter there. The new position is in agreement for the most part with the commentators that say the mustard plant signifies the growth of Christianity from 1 person to a major world religion. The only difference is the WTS twist that the plant represents just the WTS. Of course, everything is always about them, so no shock there. What I read said that this plant signifies the outside growth of the Christian religion (numbers of converts).
The leaven is also not a unique WTS teaching and I found there are basically two schools of thought on that illustration from bible commentators.By the way, this apparently was a very long held view and may be one of the only things the WTS hasn't changed its position on, until now. The old WTS teaching that leaven was bad is not unique from what I saw in my brief search and is thought by some to represent evil in the church. The new WTS teaching is in line with some bible commentators only, of course, a WTS twist. Seems, an equal number of folks I read think the leaven represents the teachings of Jesus taking root in an individual Christian's life and "making that person over". Like a small amount of fermented dough can ferment the whole lump. Seems to make sense to me. Yet, the WTS twist is that while it represents "spiritual growth" this is evidenced by outside growth. That is different from the standard interpertation that this illustration represents spiritual growth of an individual. By the way, our conductor allowed a major deviation in the discussion where many took the standard interpertation and ran with it. He even agreed and by his wording actually disagreed with the WTS interpertation (not sure if he realizes he did that or not).
Finally, we come to the dragnet. Again, another 180 degree change. This one is unique to the WTS. It really doesn't make any sense at all. First, anyone that has used a drag net knows that you capture EVERYTHING in the area of the net. Fish aren't attracted to the stupid thing. Its not the same a bait technique where you entice the fish to strike at a lure. Also, its a one time thing. Either your a good fish or a bad fish. You are either kept or destroyed. They make it sound like you can change from a good fish to a bad fish or vice versa. I still have trouble understanding how the WTS explains this. Seems most of those commenting nor the conductor explained it very well and basically rushed through that part.
I actually read the whole book of Matthew this weekend to look specifically at the illustrations. In my uneducated opinion, it seems that Jesus basically was sending the same message to his apostles by telling them many different illustrations. There would be a contrast between his followers and those who didn't follow him. The faithful/evil slave, the worker in the field (one chosen one not), the sheep and goats, the wheat and weeds, the good fish and bad fish. Seems to me they are all talking about the same thing. To try to make these items all mean different things simply doesn't make sense. Yet, when you're trying to retrofit a failed theology - you have to make leaps of logic.
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Washington Mutual just failed. Meh.
by LDH ini better not see people who can't make payments on time getting to keep their homes.
i have a friend who is 67. she has an arm.
her payment dropped by $20 in august.
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Doubting Bro
Which is why the government should allow these businesses to fail. Chase probably ended up with a decent deal. The BOD of WaMu certainly will be sued for negligence and whoever wrote their Directors & Officers insurance coverage (AIG was/is a large writer of that type of insurance) will likely pay policy limits which will not even to begin to make up the loss for the investors. Treason? Not sure I follow that.I think the treason is actually being committed by the elected officials in Washington on both sides of the aisle especially if the bailout package in its current form is passed.