Posts by sparky1

58

Governing body deceiving members on purpose?

by wwjdnwt in

i was born into this religion.

i was a jw for well over 30 years.

i did much research before i had internet, i compared bibles and prayed deeply to help me to know if this was the truth.

sparky1

"My country, RIGHT or WRONG!"- Nationalist Zealot

"My religion, RIGHT or WRONG!"- Religious Zealot

That's my simplified take on the question.

22

An elder, Chief MD in Honolulu clinic goes door to door. Testimony given at JW convention

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.pressreader.com/usa/honolulu-star-advertiser/20150725/281848642300889/textview.

it sounds to me like he was a jw before he became a physician.

"kalauawa, who became a jw 31 years ago, said he had to overcome a major conflict between his religious and professional beliefs, because jws are opposed to blood transfusions.

Angelo Catanzaro

by Room 215 in

jw
friends

i recently heard angelo catanzaro, a rather prominent figure in the organization .. a long-time district overseer and a favorite of knorr's, died recently.

there was some indication that he and his wife figured out ttatt in their latter years and turned "apostate"... .

does anyone out there know what happened to them?

Back in the day, I was an acquaintance of Mark and Palma Bigelow (you can read from the obituary that Palma was Angelo's niece) and I even worked for Mark for a short time. To them, Angelo held god-like stature. I would be surprised that even if he knew TTATT that he would turn his back on it. But of course, anything is possible.

Hey Minimus.........do you remember that Sam Belfiore would explain in his talks that his name meant 'beautiful flower' in Italian? And he gave a heart warming talk on 'putting new wine into old wine skins' with his calm and grandfatherly manner. It is because of men like Sam Belfiore, Rudy Sunel, Charlie Sarakin , Dennis Raftopolis and Angelo Catanzaro as well as a host of Bethel speakers, that I wanted to become a Bethelite myself. I wanted to be just like them (Yikes! What was I thinking) In fact, Rudy Sunel was a friend of my mother and when I told him that I was accepted to Bethel in 1974 he was beside himself with joy. If he could only see me now!

36

Band Green Day and JWs

by hardtobeme in

a few years ago i heard of a story about two jw's being at a green day concert.

i think that the witnesses were bethelites.

the person that told me that story said that the band was about to play but they couldn't.

sparky1

Ahhhhhh.......................................the Summer of 1975! After slaving away all week at Watchtower Farms, Gary L. and I headed down to Baltimore in my green '69 Chrysler Newport Coupe w/the green alligator skinned vinyl roof. We picked up a couple of girls from his old congregation and cruised down the Baltimore Beltway racing a Corvette in and out of traffic. Our destination? A JOHN DENVER concert! Great venue, great music and nary a word out of John Denver about Jehovah's Witnesses or any other religion.

63

How dishonest was the Apostle Paul?

by opusdei1972 in

may be some of you will be shocked by this question.

however, when i was studying the bible with critical eyes i detected that paul ( or saul of tarsus) misquoted the hebrew bible in order to get false support for his arguments.

of course, this tricky kind of use of the "scriptures" was not only used by him, but others, like the author of the gospel of matthew got unsupported doctrines misquoting verses.

sparky1

CalebInFloroda,

Thank you for your interest in my post. Isn't Biblical Exegesis one hell of a slippery proposition!? Had the Apostle Paul been a Stoic philosopher writing to Stoics, I might be able to accept your interpretation. Marcus Aurelius explains what you have written about in his MEDITATIONS and I do realize that what you have said about the lack of distinction between 'nature' and the 'natural, social order of things' was indeed the viewpoint of first century Hellenistic and Greek thought. No doubt, the Apostle Paul was familiar with Stoic thought and may even have been trained in dialectics, argumentation and logic. However, he was still of Jewish descent and was 'Christian' in his thought processes. Please see the following meaning of PHUSIS: http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/phusis.html

63

How dishonest was the Apostle Paul?

by opusdei1972 in

may be some of you will be shocked by this question.

however, when i was studying the bible with critical eyes i detected that paul ( or saul of tarsus) misquoted the hebrew bible in order to get false support for his arguments.

of course, this tricky kind of use of the "scriptures" was not only used by him, but others, like the author of the gospel of matthew got unsupported doctrines misquoting verses.

sparky1

The Apostle Paul was a hack as a theologian, a jackass as a philosopher , blind to the realities of life and ignorant of the 'human condition'.

Case in point:

"Does not nature itself teach you that long hair is a dishonor to a man,.....?" 1 Corinthians 11:14 NWT revised 2013

Nature does not teach any such thing. In fact if a man does not get a haircut in NATURALLY continues to grow long just like a woman's hair would.

One of many 'nuggets of wisdom' from the mouth of the Apostle Paul.

13

Beads and Tight Jeans APPROVED Service Attire For a Brother?

by sparky1 in

many, many, many posters here have wondered what happened to the religion that they were raised in or baptized into 20 or more years ago.

i just got the shock of my life on jw(dot) org.tv!

there is a video testimonial of an american indian witness that was inactive for many years and has now begun to preach again.

sparky1

Would Forest James be allowed to tour Bethel in his 'native' dress?

13

Beads and Tight Jeans APPROVED Service Attire For a Brother?

by sparky1 in

many, many, many posters here have wondered what happened to the religion that they were raised in or baptized into 20 or more years ago.

i just got the shock of my life on jw(dot) org.tv!

there is a video testimonial of an american indian witness that was inactive for many years and has now begun to preach again.

sparky1

Where did you say todays meeting for field service will be held, steve2? Hey, how about after a few calls in service we head up to Patterson for a tour?

13

Beads and Tight Jeans APPROVED Service Attire For a Brother?

by sparky1 in

many, many, many posters here have wondered what happened to the religion that they were raised in or baptized into 20 or more years ago.

i just got the shock of my life on jw(dot) org.tv!

there is a video testimonial of an american indian witness that was inactive for many years and has now begun to preach again.

sparky1

Thanks for your input HowTheBibleWasCreated. I am a long time born-in and ex-Bethelite. You are quite correct in saying that in other countries the Witnesses dress similar to other members of their culture. If you were to watch the video, the Witness is a Native American Indian that lives in the United States in Oregon. You don't see any Native American Indians that have moved to other areas dressing this way, do you? If he wants to keep his beads that is his business but the tight jeans just seem not to be exclusive to Native Americans. Try going out in service yourself in black jeans and see how far it gets you! Do you suppose that he would be allowed to give the public talk at a convention in Portland, Oregon dressed like this?

18

I saw and heard something in a Kingdom hall I thought I would never witness!

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

when i was a kid i would hear religious songs on tv and start sining them... not knowing they were church songs... one day i started singing the hallelujah song (not sure the exact name of the song) my father quickly gave me a hard slap on the mouth and said if i ever sang that song again he would take his belt off and beat my butt until it was red!.

well fast forward 30 years..... the public speaker was missing today and so tv.jw>org to the rescue.... instead they decided to play the new video about the last hundred years since 1914.. instantly the hall was filled with the exact same song i was punished for!

yes a church song filled the hall for almost 5 minutes as we watch br.

sparky1

Yes I just finished watching this a few minutes ago. Did you notice that the 'brothers and sisters' were putting on their cross and crown pins as they were getting dressed? The song really 'threw me for a loop' too. The best part is Samuel Herds BLATENT LIE at the beginning of the video: "At the kingdoms birth in 1914 the Bible Students were not exactly sure what was going to happen." That statement is a LIE and complete bullshit! THE TIME IS AT HAND 1908 edition on page 101 CLEARLY states the following: "Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878 and that the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced." The Bible Students were not looking for the Kingdom to be set up in 1914. They believed that it was set up in 1878 and taught as much well into the 1920's. They were looking for ARMAGEDDON to come in 1914, nothing more and nothing less.