betterdaze

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Posts by betterdaze

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  57

  Prayer & Good vibes needed for our Dear Rabbit JWD/N member

  by FlyingHighNow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  he is undergoing very serious brain surgery today.

  pray for him and his beautiful mrs. rabbit.

  both them are seriously ill and it's not easy for them..

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  betterdaze

  To both Rabbits, my thoughts for health and strength are with you.
  
  ~Sue
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  6

  The first Apostate? Young James Sullivan Fled From the Work and Prayers of Pastor Russell's Society.

  by Mythbuster in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the brooklyn daily eagle new york.

  tuesday november 9, 1909, page 11. .

  james sullivan, a tall, fifteen year-old boy, plead not guilty to being a juvenile delinquent before judge o'keefe in the children's court yesterday.

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  betterdaze

  I did! Thanks for posting this account, Mythbuster. Very interesting to me (whose U.S. family began in that era in old NYC) and became the typical 15-year-old JW "rebellious youth" a few generations after.
  
  Is there any one here who was raised in it, who cannot relate to this young guy's circumstances? It was either sink or swim, and it appears he was trying to swim his way out of it as best he could.
  
  Hope he made it to shore.
  
  James Sullivan, may you rest in peace. And if, on the outside chance you're still with us on this earth, more power to ya'.
  
  ~Sue
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  91

  Creationist Theme Park: "Ark Encounter"

  by leavingwt in

  1. social
  2. current

  say hello to ark encounter.. .

  kentucky governor unveils plans for creationist theme park complete with full-sized ark.

  .. a joint project between beshear and answers in genesis -- a christian organization that also built a similar attraction, the creation museum -- the park will reportedly cost at least $150 million and create 900 jobs, according to the news release.. beshear's spokesperson kerri richardson declined to comment beyond what was in her office's news release on the project.. the amusement park, named ark encounter, will include all the modern recreation amenities, including: a full-sized wooden ark, a "walled city much like was found in ancient times, a replica of the tower of babel with exhibits, a first-century middle eastern village" and even outdoor parking.

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  betterdaze

  Will there be discounted admission for all the widows and orphans who could have truly benefited from $150 million?
  
  ~Sue
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  19

  Sisters no allowed in KH period!

  by life is to short in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i just found out during the elders school sisters are not allowed in the kh for any reason.

  i have a girlfriend that i became really close to when i was at bethel.

  we really were as close as real sisters, in fact i am still closer to her then my own flesh and blood jw sister but with my leaving the jw's it has been hard, she does not have a clue about my true feelings of this cult, i have tried to throw points out to her and she will not get them, she will not let her mind go there.. .

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  betterdaze

  The ideal Christian wife: barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen.*
  
  
  
  *Brain not required.
  
  ~Sue
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  3

  NZ Mine Tragedy - Aussie miner was a JW

  by 3Mozzies in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/aussie-miner-william-joynson-big-strong-but-trapped-in-dark/story-e6freuy9-1225958821843.

  after a year in new zealand, australian miner william joynson and his wife kim had begun packing their belongings, ready to return to queensland.. the photo albums and other personal items had already been shipped across the tasman.. after sons jonathon, 13, and benjamin, 10, finished the school year, the family planned to leave their modest cottage and move home early in the new year.. the joynsons had shaped a life in new zealand, centred around the pike river coal mine and the jehovah's witness community, of which they were active members.. friends james ashby and rodger griffiths described the man they know as willy joynson as a "typical australian".. .

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  betterdaze

  A tragedy for all concerned! My heart is with the families for their losses, the Joynsons no more or less than the others, but for all.

  May the miners rest in peace. Strength to their families.

  ~Sue
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  15

  How Eco-Friendly is the Watchtower?

  by donuthole in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have plenty of anecdotal evidence of witnesses going through life with the attitude of "we'll just clean it up in the paradise.

  " i wondered if this kind of attitude was manifest in the bethel homes and factories.

  is recycling something that the watchtower engages in at its facilities?

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  betterdaze

  
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  New Bible drops neutered language of controversial ’02 version

  by betterdaze in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  new bible drops neutered language of controversial 02 version.

  by bob smietana, the tennessean.

  the world's best-selling bible is getting an upgrade.. .

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  betterdaze

  New Bible drops neutered language of controversial ’02 version
  By Bob Smietana, The Tennessean
  
  The world's best-selling Bible is getting an upgrade.
  
  At stake are millions of dollars in publishing revenue and the trust of millions of churchgoers.
  
  Since its debut in 1978, the New International Version — known as the NIV — has been the Bible of choice for evangelicals, selling more copies than any other version. But a 2002 gender-inclusive edition bombed after being condemned as too liberal.
  
  Translators hope their latest edition, which debuted online this month, will avoid a similar fate. They've retained some of the language of the 2002 edition. But they also made changes — like going back to using words like "mankind" and "man" instead of "human beings" and "people" — in order to appease critics.
  
  It's available for preview at BibleGateway.com, with print versions expected in March.
  
  Wheaton College Bible scholar Doug Moo, head of the translation committee, said the group tried to create an accurate English Bible without ticking off readers.
  
  He thinks even critics will respect their work. Translators talked to them ahead of time and gathered suggestions for changes. Where there were disagreements, the two sides had civil conversation about it, he said.
  
  "We really tried to get it right this time," he said. "We tried to be careful about not bowing to any cultural or ecclesiastical agenda. We also talked to anyone who wanted to talk to us."

  The Rev. Don Polk, pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, first read the NIV back in 1985. Before then, he'd always favored the King James version, but felt its language was too dated. So he switched over.
  
  "I felt like it spoke better to our generations," Polk said.
  
  In 2009, the NIV accounted for 28% of Bibles sold in Christian bookstores. That was followed by the King James, at 16%.
  
  Today, the Committee on Bible Translation, which translated the NIV, admits Today's New International Version, the revision released in 2002, was a mistake. They substituted "brothers and sisters" where the New Testament writers used "brothers."
  
  They also broke a promise they'd made to James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, John Piper, pastor of Minneapolis megachurch Bethlehem Baptist, and other conservative pastors, not to produce a gender-inclusive NIV.
  
  In response, Dobson accused translators of distorting the word of God.
  
  "They picked a fight they didn't need to pick," said Jay Phelan, senior professor of theological studies at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago.
  
  Still, Phelan was a fan of the 2002 version. He worries that the translators have buckled under pressure from conservatives.
  
  "The whole idea that we want to make this constituency or that constituency unhappy is wrong," he said. "You don't do a translation that way. You don't say 'this will make the liberals unhappy' or 'this will make conservatives unhappy.' Your job is to produce the most accurate translation possible."
  
  Moo disagrees. He says that the new version of the NIV is accurate. But he also admits that the committee did some research to see what words evangelical Christians — who are most likely to buy the new NIV — prefer.
  
  So far most of the critics of the last version have remained silent about the new one.
  
  Focus on the Family had no comment. Neither did Piper or other vocal critics, some of whom have switched to the English Standard Version.
  
  Denny Burk, a professor of New Testament at Boyce College, a Southern Baptist school in Louisville, has complained about one change in 1 Timothy 2:12. That verse from a New Testament letter from the Apostle Paul, used to read, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man." Now it says, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man."
  
  The change from "have authority" to "assume authority" is huge, Burk argues. He believes that God gave men and women different jobs — and that women can't be pastors. Burk says the new Bible sides with his opponents.
  
  "It appears, therefore, that the NIV 2011 comes down on the side of egalitarianism in its rendering of 1 Timothy 2:12," he wrote in a blog at BibleGateway.com.
  
  But the debate on both the modern New International Versions hasn't been anything compared with how some Bible versions have been received in the past. Translators of the 1950s-era Revised Standard Version changed the Hebrew word "almah" from "virgin" to "young woman" in Isaiah 7:14, which some Christians believe predicts the birth of Jesus.
  
  But Revised Standard Version translators believed "young woman" was more accurate.
  
  With that one change, all hell broke loose. Critics said that the translators had transformed Jesus' mother from a saint to a sinner, said Peter Thuesen, professor of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. One minister was so angry that he burned the offending passage in front of an Associated Press photographer.
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  7

  iconoclast - breaking away from the tribe

  by jgnat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've recently finished the book, "iconoclast - a neuroscientist reveals how to think differently" by gregory berns.

  he sure makes a person feel better for being a rebel.

  the book moves quickly and is an entertaining journey through the mind an how it works.

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  betterdaze

  Hi jgnat! Berns was quoted recently in a magazine given to me by an awakening JW, of all people!
  
  
  

  “When people change their opinions or behaviors to conform, they are doing it out of a deep fear of being excommunicated from their group,” Berns says.

  “This has evolutionary roots because 100,000 years ago if you weren’t part of the community, you wouldn’t reproduce; you would die.”

  
  
  
  Here's a link to the full article in Ode, "a community of intelligent optimists": In praise of dissent.
  
  ~Sue
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  48

  Brazilian Billboards having impact

  by Gayle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  betterdaze

  Moreover, in our favor temomos Constitutional Law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its Article XVIII, which provides us follow the religion that we want, of course, without suffering social ostracism.

  
  
  Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  
  Article 18.
  • Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
  
  Article 20.
  • (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
  • (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
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  63

  Republican Vs Democrat

  by Bangalore in

  1. social
  2. humour

  a republican and a democrat were walking down the street when they came across a homeless person.. the republican gave the homeless person his business card and told him come to his business for a job.

  he then took twenty dollars out of his pocket and gave it to the homeless person.. the democrat was very impressed, and when they came to another homeless person, he decided to help.

  he walked over to the homeless person and gave him directions to the welfare office.

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  betterdaze

  I'd like to hear about the everyday people that give, help out their fellowman, those that don't toot their horn about it, but I probably never will as they

  give with the real spirit of giving, as a true gift.

  
  
  

  These people are too busy actually making something happen to be concerned with who is doing more than the other.

  
  
  
  Thank you, purplesofa, you expressed that so beautifully! Couldn't agree more. Your post reminds me of this classic credo from Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount":
  
  "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." — Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)
  
  
  In my experience, most who give from the heart (and are often in a position to give quite generously) do so anonymously, and without prejudice to recipients' political ideology or religious affiliation.
  
  Conversely, attention whores who are inclined to shout about it from the rooftops and/or seek sinister motives in others, make public fools of themselves… though they're often the last to know it.
  
  It takes all types to make the world go around. IMHO, assigning blame-'n-shame to one sort or another of "happy giver," is just pitiful quibbling when we can be actively doing to improve humanity's troubling situations.

  ~Sue