Posts by sparky1

56

One reason behind the slow steady decline of JWs

by AllTimeJeff in

hello first of all to those that remember me.

i'm doing well, 10 years since my missionary trip to cameroon.

i've met a couple of goals.

sparky1

Great post Jeff! Thanks for adding this idea to the board so that others can think about this. I think that you are right about these men. They were District Overseers, Circuit Overseers, Special Pioneers and Missionaries all thrown together to 'govern' a huge religious/business empire with no 'real world' experience beyond their loyalty to the 'mother' organization. It reminds me of when the first residence building was built at Watchtower Farms. Someone got the bright idea to 'call in' Circuit and District Overseers to work on the project since they would be both spiritual and humble. My understanding was that this backfired terribly because these men were not used to hard work and none of them wanted to be told what to do since they were used to bossing other witnesses around in their small circuit and local 'kingdoms'. These men on the current Governing Body (tm) seem to prove the theory of the 'Peter Principle'.

15

Just read "Zealot - The Life And Times Of Jesus Of Nazareth"

by EdenOne in

so, keeping in mind that mrs. eden isn't so comfortable with english, i have been searching for books on the subject of the historical jesus and who wrote the bible, and i got very frustrated because there's not a lot of those in my native language.

most of what i read in english simply hasn't been translated, which is a shame.

in any case, i managed to get two: bart ehrman's "misquoting jesus" and reza aslan's "zealot".

sparky1

If you enjoy the work of Bart Ehrman , you can find much of it on DVD,CD or video and audio download at www.thegreatcourses.com. When their material goes on sale, it is very reasonably priced.

144

JW message becoming more and more relevant

by lsw1961 in

mans requirements are limited which can be satisfied with a little and tension-free endeavor..

however man attempts not only to collect but also to grab and amass everything to the excess.

somehow he feels that he can be happy only when he has in abundance whereas others have nothingwhich seems to be the thread that runs throughout the history.

sparky1

JW message becoming more and more relevant.

Of course Catholics can make the same claim:

"The kingdom of god means, then, the ruling of God in our hearts; it means these principles which separate us off from the kingdom of the world and the devil; it means the benign sway of grace; it means the Church as that Divine institution whereby we make sure of attaining the spirit of Christ and win the ultimate kingdom of God, where He reigns without end in 'the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven. (Rev 21:2)."- Kingdom Of God-Catholic Encyclopedia-Catholic Online

Jehovah's Witnesses DO NOT hold a monopoly in believing that mankind 'needs' Gods Kingdom. Take your pick of Bible interpretation as you will, but don't try to convince others that one particular 'brand' of Hocus-pocus is more 'real' than the others.

68

My Explanation of God.

by LAWHFol in

i am a theist & this is my version of god.. instead of using the term god, i'll use "unseen presence".. this unseen presence, is perfect in every way.

this presence is so perfect it can seem a bit boring.this perfection can be seen in the laws of science, for example gravity.. it does not sometimes work, depending on the mood of some one in the sky, it always works, perfectly.

gravity does not get angry and decide to stop working, and cause the death of innumerable living beings, it just works, through thick or thin, it is reliable.. what allows this unseen presence to remain perfect, is the fact that it does not act based on emotion, or strategy or regret.. it acts based on law, mathematical law.. this unseen presence is not partial to jews or muslims or jw's it is completely impartial at all times, to everything that exists.

sparky1

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12

WOW, I just found a great reason for a man to have long hair, from the Watchtower Org!

by Greybeard in

jw
friends

"the bobbed hair craze is sure to lead to baldness, sooner or later.

the reason for this is that human hair is like a tube sealed at the free end.

when the hair is cut, the oils which are the life of the hair become dissipated.

sparky1

Ha ha......always good for a laugh. I started losing my hair at 17 years old and the loss was greatly accelerated during my Bethel 'service'. Funny thing is, I almost never wear a hat even in the cold New England winters.

27

The Many Faces of Lett

by Watchtower-Free in

.

sparky1

Steve Lett getting his weekly Electroconvulsive Therapy treatments.

"I do believe in electricity, gravity, wind and Gods kingdom."

"I DO believe in electricity, gravity, wind and God's kingdom.'

"I DO BELIEVE in electricity, gravity, wind and God's kingdom."

"I DO BELIEVE IN electricity , gravity, wind and God's kingdom."

"I DO BELIEVE IN ELECTRICITY, gravity, wind and God's kingdom."

"I DO BELIEVE IN ELECTRICITY, GRAVITY, wind and God's kingdom."

"I DO BELIEVE IN ELECTRICITY, GRAVITY, WIND and God's kingdom."

"I DO BELIEVE IN ELECTRICITY, GRAVITY, WIND AND God's kingdom."

"I DO BELIEVE IN ELECTRICITY, GRAVITY,WIND AND GOD'S kingdom."

"I DO BELIEVE IN ELECTRICITY, GRAVITY, WIND AND GOD'S KINGDOM!"

"I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO...............................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(No offense intended to anyone who has ever needed ECT therapy.)

7

Jehovah went from love to fear--when?

by gma-tired2 in

when i was a child and teen jw in 50s and 60s jehovah was always referred to as our loving god now we are warned not to fall in the hands of a god to be feared.

when did jws change god from loving to a cruel god?

sparky1

Yes I agree with you sir82. But the new 'Green Bible' could have helped to add more fuel to the fire!

11

If they're just going to emulate Jimmy Swaggart and the like (e.g.: JW Broadcasting), why do they need such a massive compound in Warwick?

by Calebs Airplane in

they're obviously getting rid of the rags, drastically reducing printing of books in general, eliminating special pioneers, etc., etc.. ... what could they possibly need a 1.6 million square feet compound for (not including outside space) in the middle of nowhere?.

just to put things into perspective, 1.6 million square feet is equal to the square footage of roughly twelve (12) costco warehouse clubs.

wtf?

sparky1

They have lots of competition out there and Jehovah's Witnesses are the 'Johnny come lately' religion to the 'electronic church' style of proselytizing. When you are new to the game like they are, there is lots of catching up to do!

http://www.tbn.org/

7

Jehovah went from love to fear--when?

by gma-tired2 in

when i was a child and teen jw in 50s and 60s jehovah was always referred to as our loving god now we are warned not to fall in the hands of a god to be feared.

when did jws change god from loving to a cruel god?

sparky1

I too was a child in the '50's and a teen in the '60's. In my opinion one of the reasons for what you ask in you OP, is in the Jehovah's Witnesses use of 'loaded language'. The New World Translation came into vogue during this time period and I believe that it was used to slant the average witnesses view of Jehovah and his personality. Since Armageddon was coming any minute, Jehovah needed to appear even more powerful and warlike. Something like, 'my God is bigger than your god or my God can beat up your god.' Hence the New World Translation Committee changed the time honored phrase Jehovah Sabaoth or Lord of Hosts into Jehovah of Armies. By the late 1960's and early 1970's Jehovah was not viewed as all warm and fuzzy and loving but rather a god of vengeance that was going to bring Armageddon by the middle of the 1970's and destroy anyone who was not on his side. I think this mindset is still prevalent today. When I was a Bethelite in the mid 1970's I had a friendly acquaintance with Sam Van Sipma who had been the assistant editor of either the Golden Age or Consolation magazine. I don't know if the translation committee consulted him or not but he was of the opinion that 'Jehovah of Armies' was a crude and vulgar translation of the phrase and that' Jehovah of Hosts' was more elegant and closer to the meaning of what the Bible writer intended to convey. Just my opinion and my 2 cents.

50

Is this a BEAUTIFUL STORY--or what?

by Terry in

is this a beautiful story, or what?.

act one________.

now in an ordinary romance of the golden hollywood era, the boy goes off to war while the young lady waits nervously for his safe return.in a cary grant, debra kerr movie, the two vow to meet after a certain period of time and tragic circumstances intervene.. in my story, the young man is a conscientious objector who goes to prison instead of off to the vietnam war.

sparky1

Broken hearts can mend.

Relationships can be rekindled.

Time can regain its meaning.

And the story of our lives can have a happy ending.

Good luck, Terry. We all deserve a measure of happiness and love.