0%. I was raised in the religion and thought it was garbage from very early childhood. However, the ten commandments and Jesus' teachings about brotherly love and compassion resonated with me.
sparky1
JoinedPosts by sparky1
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52
How Much of the WT Teaching Did You Believe?
by Ding insome people on this forum have said that they never really believed any aspect of wt teaching, that they couldn't wait to get free of it all.. others seems to have been really gung ho, believing it all until something happened that got you questioning "the truth.".
i would say my own high water mark was about 50%, which put me squarely on the fence, trying to decide if i should be in or out.. how about you?.
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sparky1
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How it will end for the believers
by iankiptoo intoday, many signs have been fulfilled showing that we are in the end times and much has been said in regards to armageddon, tribulation... etc but little in regards to what happens to those who believe and what transitions them to be free and escape from all that to the final destination.
this is my focus and message is based on that.in creation, there were two trees at the centre of the garden of eden and we are familiar with what happened;man ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and then we are familiar with the ramifications afterwards.
now through jesus christ, the events that will lead to the end for those who believe are in 3 stages1.knowledge will be increased (daniel 12:4)there will be a transition, knowledge will transition from that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to also include knowledge of the tree of life and this brings with it a transformation that will bring in the second phase2.healingthe knowledge/belief/faith will bring about spiritual transformational healing, also practical knowledge i.e.
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sparky1
You forgot stage 4 in your salvation scenario and the most important tree for the Governing Body. That would be the Money Tree!
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Creepy display
by neat blue dog in.
i dunno about you, but if i walked up to this display at an expo i'd be a little creeped out..
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sparky1
"Everything old is new again."
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19
What was your favorite video game?
by LoveUniHateExams ini've never been that big on video/computer games but i used to have a ps2 and my absolute fav game was star wars battlefront ii, released by pandemic in 2005.. you could choose to play as three different classes of soldier and fight for the rebels, the imperials, the republic or the battle droids.
as you played and gained points by killing the enemy, you could unlock a fourth and fifth class of soldier.
you could also play as a hero or villain - such as darth vader, luke skywalker, princess leia, etc.. there was something absolutely awesome playing as darth vader and cutting down or force-choking rebel soldiers on the tantive iv.. .
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Did You Ever Get Hit On By An Elder?
by minimus inthe organization stresses to elders to be careful with members of the opposite sex.
never be alone with a sister whether it be in field service or paying a visit by means of a shepherding call.
do you know of any elders that flirted or were overly “touchy” with females?
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sparky1
Yes...my Watchtower Farms roommate! When I asked for a room change because of this, the whole affair was turned around on me by the Home Servant Frank Lewis. After this, the Bethel rumor mill began to destroy my reputation. Funny thing was that eventually my room mate was disfellowshipped years later for 'conduct unbecoming a Christian'. Fuck Frank Lewis and Fuck Bob Fischer.
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Did You Think Jehovah’s Witnesses Were Typically “Racists”?
by minimus ini was a jw from infancy.
we had a melting pot type of congregation.
i grew up with all types of witnesses , all with different backgrounds.
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sparky1
Someone correct me if I am wrong but I don't think that there were any interracial couples at the US Bethels until the mid 1970's. Knorr did not believe in interracial marriages.
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Honoring Our Dead
by The Bethelite inyesterday, i was driving around on a beautiful fall day in arizona and thinking about how lucky i was.
how my dead friends could never enjoy this day or the thousands of other days they had missed over the years.
i'm still alive yet they are gone..... .
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sparky1
Keith, keep honoring James Olson's memory. I believe Jehovah's Witness theology, his parents, Bethel Organizational Hierarchy and Max Larsen ' killed ' him. Those who did not know him or his situation would do well not to judge him.
"We are born involuntarily, to please (or displease) others. That is what makes dying voluntarily the ultimate freedom." - Thomas Szasz MD
Pushed into an undesirable life situation by others, I believe he may have taken his own life to show them that ultimately he was in control of his final destiny.
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Good memories of full-time service?
by fulano inperhaps not a topic for everybody... mine.. in both sp service in a foreign field in europe , the freedom and helping people to read and write in spanish .
doing a lot of work in the congregations.. in missionary-service.. helping congregations in a third-world country and see good results in family relations.
and the siestas from 13:00 to 15:00..... who has good memories of bethel?
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sparky1
"Who has good memories of Bethel?..." - Fulano
I absolutely hated almost every waking second of my Bethel experience! The place was loaded with back stabbing, throat slitting, ladder climbing, hypocritical, boot licking, sycophantic, corporate stooges that were merely god intoxicated religious fanatics. That being said, I met some of the finest human beings I have ever come in contact with in my life at Bethel. Phil Wilcox and Ray Erickson were good and true men caught up in the movement. And I met some truly wonderful 'sisters' from around the country that probably would have made excellent marriage partners for me if I had only been mentally and emotionally prepared to meet their needs. (Of course, I didn't believe the Watchtower Dogma even when I was a Bethelite and so it would have been unfair for me to mislead a potential marriage partner into thinking that I was a real Jehovah's Witness.) The salad and the vegetables were a highlight for me at mealtimes. Other than these positive experiences, I would just as soon forget the whole damn Bethel portion of my life. But of course, our lives don't work that way...we go to our graves carrying the good and the bad.
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Russian raid on 50 Jehovahs witnesses
by Diogenesister inthere has been a raid on a large jehovahs witness gathering in norilsk, above the arctic circle, according to the moscow times.. a building with 50 jws inside was surrounded by masked, armed special forces forces who burst into the building and demanded they surrender all electronic devices.. i'll link the article but it's obviously going to drive these witnesses deeper into the religion.
not to mention the images conjured up in the report are likely to be used by watchtower as more fear mongering, since its very much like last year's terrifying assembly videos where witnesses were huddled in a field and surrounded with similarly masked, armed men.. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/10/22/russian-special-agents-raid-jehovahs-witnesses-resort-as-crackdown-intensifies-a67855.
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sparky1
Cowards will use any means at their disposal to silence those who disagree with them.
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In Honor of Jimmy Olson October 31, 1973
by sparky1 inin memory of jimmy olson, i have provided a link to his story below.
many who now post here are new to the forum and i felt it was necessary to honor his memory.
although i never knew him, his brother was my roommate for a time at watchtower farms.
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sparky1
"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide." - Albert Camus THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS (1942 EDITION)
Bumped for newbies and those unaware of the tragic demise of James Olson, ex-Bethelite who chose to leave the Jehovah's Witness religion by taking his own life.