Thanks Van. A nice little reminder. I got a kick out of Derek. He is 32 years old and was told he would never finish high school. Funny, I am 64 years old...twice his age and I was told that I would never finish elementary school, then high school, then Armageddon was going to come while I was in Bethel and then before the end of the 20th century. It's amazing to me how this thought process is transferred from generation to generation of Witnesses and no one questions it's validity. I had major doubts before my baptism in the early 70's and spoke to two members of the 'committee' at the time. Both assured me that Armageddon was only a few years away and that I should forget about my doubts and put Jehovah first in my life. I was told that all my doubts would be answered in just a few short years and then we would all be in the 'New System'. One of the Elders that told me this died in 1975 and the other Elder died a few weeks ago at 87 years of age. It won't be too long and I'll be dead, also. The three of us 'never will have gotten out alive'
sparky1
JoinedPosts by sparky1
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6
Leaving Jehovah's Witnesses
by Vanderhoven7 inthought this might be interesting for those considering leaving watchtower religion .
https://youtu.be/pjoor9e77g8.
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sparky1
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Another silly Bible story...this time brought to you by Moses
by RULES & REGULATIONS indoes this silly bible story make any sense after you take off your rose-colored glasses?.
moses comes down from the mountain with two freshly made tablets of stone written with the finger of god.
one commandment on the stone tablet reads '' you must not kill/murder.
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sparky1
...however, he was the 'meekest' of assholes.
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Caleb and Sophia with different names
by neat blue dog inin one country they're david and sophie.
in another they're petra and olena.
i just chanced across this recently.
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sparky1
..."I am a shallow, inwardly antisocial..." - Rub a Dub
You mean we have something in common?!
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Caleb and Sophia with different names
by neat blue dog inin one country they're david and sophie.
in another they're petra and olena.
i just chanced across this recently.
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sparky1
RubaDub, my best friend has a son named Caleb and one of my customers is named Caleb. Both are around 30 years old. I live in the United States. In 2018 it was the 45th most popular boys name in the United States.
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Caleb and Sophia with different names
by neat blue dog inin one country they're david and sophie.
in another they're petra and olena.
i just chanced across this recently.
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sparky1
It appears that the Korean Caleb and Sophia are wearing traditional Korean dress known as Hanbok. Here are a few comments on the meaning of Hanbok taken from Hanbok: An Introduction to South Korea's National Dress - "Regardless of the differences in these classifications, the basic aesthetic framework of all Hanbok is centered abound the Korean fondness for naturalness, desire for supernatural protection and blessings, and the Confucian style dress code. ... However, traditional Hanbok is still worn on special occasions and celebrations such as weddings, Lunar New Year, ancestral rites, and dol, a child first birthday." - theculturetrip.com
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Do You Think Trump Should Be Impeached?
by minimus insome democrats are zealously pushing the impeachment route to get rid of trump.
even if you don’t like him, do you support impeachment proceedings?.
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sparky1
YES and then removed from office by the Senate. However, that is my opinion. The will of the American people and the judgment of both Houses of Congress take precedence over my wishes.
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Thoughts on Sundays wt about persecution
by nowwhat? inso let me get this straight.
even though law enforcement has their hands full with illegal drugs and guns on the street, child traffickers, dangerous gangs and such.
they are going to now pool all their resources to confiscate bibles and religious literature?!
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sparky1
"For this is what Jehovah of armies has said, 'Following after [the] glory he has sent me to the nations that were despoiling you people, for he that is touching you is touching my eyeball. For here I am waving my hand against them, and they will have to become spoil to their slaves'."- Zechariah 2:8-9 NWT Revised 1984 version
This translation of the scripture is unique to Jehovah's Witnesses as far as I know. You can check this out for yourself on Bible Gateway. In fact in the NWT Revised 2013 edition it has been changed to, "touches the pupil of my eye."
(Please note that my posting was of a humorous nature to point out the ridiculous myopic viewpoint Jehovah's Witnesses have of their own self-importance on the 'world scene'.)
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Thoughts on Sundays wt about persecution
by nowwhat? inso let me get this straight.
even though law enforcement has their hands full with illegal drugs and guns on the street, child traffickers, dangerous gangs and such.
they are going to now pool all their resources to confiscate bibles and religious literature?!
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sparky1
Well yeah... I mean like DUH! Its right there in the Bible you know. They're gonna touch Jehovah's eyeball and then all HELL is gonna break loose.
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Psychological Changes in the Vocabulary of the WTS
by blondie inpsychological 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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Montana Supreme Court will hear the $35M case tomorrow
by Corney inthe 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.