under_believer

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Posts by under_believer

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  14

  Field Service?

  by Lo-ru-hamah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know if any one else here has made this observance but..... today as i was running errands around town i noticed quite a few witnesses out in the ministry.

  on a thursday, no less, but it wasn't that they were at peoples doors.

  they were all just driving around.

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  under_believer

  Yes, as a recently-active Witness, I can attest to the fact--that's all they do. In fairness I should say that there are a few who truly earnestly try to have a productive ministry--always checking out new "fresh" territory cards, always doing cold-calls, always making an effort. 99% of Witnesses, though, are just watching the clock and dragging their feet like 20 year Teamsters.
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  5

  ? about friendship and competition in the WTS

  by whyizit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my husband went to a "talk" given by a special visiting speaker last sun.

  we are not jws, nor have we ever been.

  a friend invited us, so my husband went as a courtesy to him.. they had some kind of talk about choosing friends, etc.... basically, they don't want you to get too close to anyone who is not a jw or showing promise of becoming one.

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  under_believer

  Excellent analysis and very perceptive for one who is not and never has been a JW. In the JW worldview, God's blessing is applied exactly to the degree that you are active as a JW (and that is an almost direct quote from a Watchtower study from a couple of weeks back.)
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  4

  Disfellowshipping Is Love and Other Examples of Orwellian Doublethink

  by under_believer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i posted this in response to another thread.

  i was sufficiently pleased with the comparison, and i am narcissistic to a sufficient degree that i felt it would be good to post it as an original topic.

  disfellowshipping is classic orwellian doublethink.

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  under_believer

  I posted this in response to another thread. I was sufficiently pleased with the comparison, and I am narcissistic to a sufficient degree that I felt it would be good to post it as an original topic.
  

  Disfellowshipping is classic Orwellian doublethink. No single publication--not Crisis of Conscience, not Hassan's brainwashing works, nothing has been so instructive for me in recognizing what is wrong with the Society as 1984. In this case, we are dealing with doublethink, which is when two contradictory concepts are both held to be equally true. The person who supports the disfellowshipping arrangement, in its classic Witness sense, believes the contradictory concepts that

  • One should completely reject a person who is guilty of sin, treating them as though they are dead and as though they no longer exist.
  • Treating a person in this manner is an expression of deep love, one of the most profoundly loving things that can be done.

  This is one of many examples of Witness doublethink, many of which revolve around love. These are arrived at because of a combination of bizarre Witness-specific Biblical interpretations, and honest problems that anyone will have who tries to reconcile the New Testament's message of love with the Old Testament's message of judgement. The thought process usually goes like this:

  • The New Testament says that God is love.
  • The Old Testament says that God destroyed an entire city, including babies, women, children, and the elderly, because there were some homosexuals there. Nor will these be resurrected.
  • Therefore, destroying an entire city, including babies, women, children, and the elderly, must be an act of love.

  Even though this completely explodes any human definition of "love," it must be accepted if one believes the Bible is literally true. The thought process at which disfellowshipping = love was arrived at is similar, though based on a more specious interpretation.
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  3

  Watchtower Library cd?

  by crankytoe in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a couple months ago someone posted a link to an .iso image of the latest watchower cd.

  i copied the link and emailed it to myself to download later, but i never got around to doing it.

  now i can't find the email.

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  under_believer

  There's a link to it at http://www.watchtower.cc/. About halfway down the page in the left hand column.
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  18

  Whats up with Witnesses being allowed to VOTE now?

  by runningrussianboy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i read somewhere that jw's can vote now?

  it was in a kingdom ministry a few years back.

  i remember being told that voting for anything but jehovah was a sin.

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  under_believer

  Well I guess I'll be okay then, Gary, since I have not held "congregational priveleges" for many years, nor do I have any desire to do so. Ever.
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  18

  Jesus: What is he?

  by jstalin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a question regarding jw doctrine:.

  what is jesus?

  i went to one memorial and he was described as the "perfect man," like adam.

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  under_believer

  Further Reading: docetism.
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  19

  Anyone from Beaverton/Hillsboro Oregon area here?

  by lost_light06 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just curious.

  seems to be a lot of mid-west, east coast and "across the pond" folks.

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  under_believer

  I currently reside in the Greater Portland Metro Area (a large area with lots of Witnesses so I feel my anonymity is safe.)
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  31

  Shunned Father: Law suit thrown out

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just received this in a silent lambs email.. very bad news.

  i don't understand it.. .

  canada in brief.

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  under_believer

  There's still the court of public opinion. I suggest he makes sure that this gets lots of publicity (it's already been doing well in that regard, and a bit more can't hurt.)
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  9

  Cthulhu fhtagn! Lovecraft fans unite!

  by lost_sheep in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i noticed under_believer's "o r'lyeh?

  " avatar, (cracked me up, by the way) so i thought i'd see who else on this board digs h.p.

  lovecraft.

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  under_believer

  ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

  I like everything except for the Derleth extensions to the mythos. It was such a wonderful non-dualistic system, and then he had to come in with his Catholicism and turn it into good vs evil. When in reality Cthulhu is above good or evil... the universe just is.

  May I humbly also suggest this interesting graphic novel.
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  11

  WORLD!!!! Please take notice!!!!

  by lost_light06 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just want to put the world on notice.

  the next time you open the door and see a jw standing there with a watchtower about armageddon and an awake about butterflies dont turn him away!!!

  do not say im not interested.

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  under_believer

  Why are we welcoming a guy with 69 posts to the board?
  Great post, BTW. I could read it over and over again all day.