sparky1

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Posts by sparky1

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  19

  Psychological Changes in the Vocabulary of the WTS

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  psychological changes in the vocabulary of the wts.

  i have been reading the publications of the wts since i was 6, 60 years now.

  we were too poor to have more than one subscription for each magazine so i had to wait until my mother had read it (she let them pile up).

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  sparky1

  "A language is not just words. It's a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It's all embodied in a language." - Noam Chomsky

  The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is well aware of this. Therefore they manipulate language in their publications in order to influence, control and change the personalities, beliefs, opinions, and behaviors of their adherents. Thereby they create the culture of Jehovah's Witnesses as a group and as individuals. The individuals then have no identity outside of the group or culture. The Governing Body slyly accomplishes this by claiming that they 'speak' for Jehovah and Jesus Christ and that Jehovah wants it this way. This is brought home to each and every witness by the Governing Body quoting this scripture: "For then I will change the language of the peoples to a pure language, So that all of them may call on the name of Jehovah. To serve him shoulder to shoulder." - Zephaniah 3:9 NWT Revised. This essentially causes the average, uneducated witness to feel special in that they now possess an esoteric 'language' that separates them from the world and gets them Jehovah's special favor. Thereby, they draw the conclusion that they are in 'THE TRUTH' and everyone else is in darkness. 'He who controls the language, controls the people'.
  
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  56

  Montana Supreme Court will hear the $35M case tomorrow

  by Corney in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  the montana case enters the home stretch.

  the state supreme court will hear oral arguments tomorrow, 13 september, at the northern hotel in billings during the state bar of montana’s annual meeting (announcement 1, announcement 2).

  an introduction to the argument will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the argument starting at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. utc, 9 a.m. sf time, 12 a.m. ny time, 5 p.m. london time, 2 a.m. saturday sydney time).

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  sparky1

  "I do not see the distinction, except in the minds of Witnesses."

  "Do Jehovah's Witnesses Have a Paid Clergy?"

  "Following the model of first- century Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses have no clergy-laity division. All baptized members are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work. Witnesses are organized into congregations of about 100 members. Spiritually mature men in each congregation serve as "older men' or elders. (Titus 1:5) They do so without being paid for their services." FAQ 2012-06-26 JW (dot) Org

  If their is no clergy than Data-Dog is correct. This religion cannot have it both ways. No Clergy, no Clergy confidentiality.
  
  
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  65

  Trump Derangement Syndrome Is Alive and Well

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was on facebook and a person i have known for a long time posted how trump is mentally ill and is truly a psychopath.

  a couple of her friends chimed in when i suggested that perhaps the fb friend was really the psychopath.

  a couple of her friends began to defend her but i was surprised by how many people defended the president!

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  sparky1

  Here you go Blondie:

  As is his wont, President Trump praised Ambassador Bolton as a "fantastic representative" on his team.

  https://freebeacon.com/politics/trump-praises-bolton-fantastic-doesnt-say-wont-fire-Mueller/

  Now that Advisor Bolton turns out not to be a sycophantic lockstepper , President Trump will view him as 'persona non grata'
  
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  84

  Do You Think People Should Be Scorned For Wearing A Red MAGA Hat?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you support free choice to wear a political hat or article of clothing?

  if someone wants to put a bumper sticker on their car in support of a political candidate or party, should they be able to do it without fear of being maligned or abused?

  ?.

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  sparky1

  "sparky1--how can people support a party that is confrontational and physically abusive -- even encouraging it's base to be uncivil/uncultured." - LV101

  I don't know how they can because I can't speak for someone else. You would have to ask them. I am Libertarian and old fashioned liberal in my thinking. I think that both parties and their followers are acting disgracefully and uncivil/uncultured. Even Supreme Court associate justice Neil Gorsuch says that 'he laments the loss of civility in public discourse' and that Americans should remember that their political opponents "love this country as much as we do."
  
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  84

  Do You Think People Should Be Scorned For Wearing A Red MAGA Hat?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you support free choice to wear a political hat or article of clothing?

  if someone wants to put a bumper sticker on their car in support of a political candidate or party, should they be able to do it without fear of being maligned or abused?

  ?.

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  sparky1

  Blondie, I gave thumbs up to each of your posts. Your opinion is valid and non-confrontational.
  
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  84

  Do You Think People Should Be Scorned For Wearing A Red MAGA Hat?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you support free choice to wear a political hat or article of clothing?

  if someone wants to put a bumper sticker on their car in support of a political candidate or party, should they be able to do it without fear of being maligned or abused?

  ?.

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  sparky1

  Absolutely not! In the USA anyone has the right to express their opinion and preference for whatever political party they support and endorse. No one has the right to inflict violence or verbal abuse on another person just because they choose to wear 'their colors' so to speak. I have no use for President Trump as a person and most of his programs and policy are bogus in my opinion. That being said, I applaud him, the Trump Make America Great Again committee and the RNC for having their political themed clothing made in the USA.
  
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  65

  Trump Derangement Syndrome Is Alive and Well

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was on facebook and a person i have known for a long time posted how trump is mentally ill and is truly a psychopath.

  a couple of her friends chimed in when i suggested that perhaps the fb friend was really the psychopath.

  a couple of her friends began to defend her but i was surprised by how many people defended the president!

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  sparky1

  I follow President Trump on Twitter every day. This tells me all I need to know about the man.
  
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  150

  Cause of Mass Shootings Mental Health?

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been sad to see so many groups and individuals say that the cause of these events are the mental status of the shooters.

  i have looked over the backgrounds of these shooters, and few had medically identified mental health issues.

  it is too easy to think that people shoot or kill other people because they are mentally ill.. actually, many or most people with real mental illnesses are most likely to be the victims of others.. i have been a volunteer with the organization called nami (national alliance of mental lillness) for 25 years now.

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  sparky1

  I am not a gun lover or collector but understand the rights of those who choose to collect and use guns responsibly. Personally I find assault type weapons offensive but my opinion should not trample on the rights of others. That being said, the people who 'misuse' anything (guns, knives, home made bombs, automobiles, vicious trained animals, etc.) to harm other human beings should feel the full force of the law and be subject to severe punishment in the swiftest manner possible. The DEATH PENALTY for mass murderers should be carried out swiftly and to completion. That should begin to slow down anyone thinking of perpetrating such heinous crimes.

  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/barr-and-doj-drafted-legislation-to-speed-up-death-
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  25

  Greenland For Sale

  by Poztate in

  1. social
  2. current

  the donald has recently suggested that he would like to look into buying greenland from denmark in the same manner that alaska was purchased from the russians.

  i think the danes would be smart to look into selling it as it is costing them money every year with very little returns for their investments so far.. the alternative might well be that donald declares greenland a national security threat and invades them so that the world remains safe for democracy.

  i would suggest to the danes that as any other real estate transaction that they put it on the open market and see how much russia or china are willing to offer .

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  sparky1

  "Everything is for sale." - Simon

  Not everything:

  My integrity is not for sale and my cat is not for sale. Everything else may possibly be negotiated.
  
  
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  22

  Simple Thought Experiment with a stunning premise!

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  thought experimenttake the classic definitions of "god" and deconstruct it layer by layer by asking achingly simple questions.ready?

  set?

  go!_____god is (fill in the blank with the usual definitions).

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  sparky1

  Interesting treatise. It reminds me of some type of a 'reverse' play on Baruch Spinoza's ETHICS.