***everyone's getting their hopes up, expecting a "really big shew" in the next couple of months, and they're not going to get squat.***
Maybe the WTS is hoping for a big, juicy disaster or war somewhere that they can pin the beginning of the great trib on. They've been running on empty with the 1914/WWI "prophecy" for quite a while. The longer they can keep up the anticipation that the trib or Armageddon will happen soon, the greater the chance a convenient (for them) catastrophe will happen, which they can then spin to make themselves appear "inspired by god."
Scully said tithing may be a possibility, too. True, Russell or Rutherford said something to the effect that demanding money from their followers was a sure sign of false religion. But so much of the WT past has been obliterated or falsified by the WTS; I'm sure it won't be hard for them to induce JWs to forget that little gem.
parakeet
JoinedPosts by parakeet
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83
THE BORG WANTS YOUR NUMBER
by Mary inmy elderly dub aunt (who's the biggest whiner the world has ever seen) came over tonight to first of all, whine about how her neighbour shuts her kitchen cupboard doors in the most annoying way possible and her dog barks and what was she supposed to do about it?
anyway, as soon as these monumental problems were solved, she informed me that at the bookstudy the other night, the conductor told everyone to "stay after the prayer" as he had 'something important to announce.
" naturally everyone did this, all the while wondering if the red phone at patterson was in direct contact with jehovah himself as the study was being conducted.
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parakeet
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Prepardness and the "Society"...
by Justice-One inyou know the "society" actually has something with this prepardness thing.
they just don't have a clue on what to tell people to do or buy.
i do not want to come off like a know it all, (i'm far from that....i'm still learning) but would anyone be interested in a thread that does not mention firearms (imho they are important, but to much of a hot-button topic) on prepardness?
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parakeet
Thanks, Justice-One. Sometimes you and your guns make me a little crazy, but it's common sense to be prepared for emergencies. Looking forward to your list of books.
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Are some people better off staying in the WTS?
by HalfWayThere ini read this forum alot.
though i don't post very often, i thought i would share the following thoughts.
my mother is 70, and lives alone (my parents separated and divorced about 23 years ago).
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parakeet
HalfWayThere:
***Has anyone else faced a similar situation, where you wish a family or friend could see the light, but know that they wouldn't survive coming out of it?***
My JW parents are in exactly the same situation. They are elderly and their health has begun to fail. Their lives have revolved around their JW friends and KH for many years. I believe it is kinder to let them live with their illusions. If I succeeded in persuading them to see the truth about the WTS, they would be left without their faith, their friends, and their way of life. I'm certain it would kill them -- literally.
I probably should have made the attempt many years ago when they still had the time and resilience to adjust, but I was too afraid of alienating them and being cut off from them. I still don't know if I did the right thing. -
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weddings before they were witnesses...
by candidlynuts in.
i have a relative who got married in the 50s , she had an impressive catholic ceremony and had many professional photos made.. i remember when she and her family became witnesses in the 70s and her talking about destroying all of her wedding pics because they were taken in a catholic church and the pictures had pics of crosses and stuff in them... .
i wonder if any of you know of incidences like that.. would you destroy your wedding pics just because they were taken in a church years before you became a jw?
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parakeet
***i remember when she and her family became witnesses in the 70s and her talking about destroying all of her wedding pics because they were taken in a catholic church and the pictures had pics of crosses and stuff in them..***
I've never heard of any JWs going to such an extreme, but your post makes me wonder: should JWs who were married prior to becoming witnesses consider the marriage invalid? They took their vows before a "Catholic" god, not Jehovah. As far as the WTS is concerned, the only acceptable evidence of such a marriage would be the marriage license, which does not by itself constitute a marriage bond. Are all these JWs really living in immorality and their children illegitimate? Hmmmmm........ -
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No Hope for the Handicapped/Sick/Retarded
by KennyC inout of all the large religious orgs' in the u.s., the only one that i have seen without some sort of special transportation arrangements for the infirm is the watchtower society.
not only that, the distributive help that normally comes in the form of monetary funds is nil.
this they ignore although it was a service that was appointed by the apostles for the sake of widows.
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parakeet
KennyC:
***I was one who did perform such distasteful but rewarding duties, and you see where it got me. Not to worry: ..... God has stated in his own words: "I owe you one.***
I salute your efforts to help others; so many JWs are conveniently 'busy' when their ailing 'brothers and sisters' need assistance. But shouldn't helping the needy be its own reward? -
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Scientists can now selictivly erase... err... hmmm... I forgot....
by Elsewhere inlooks like they have created the equivalent of the neuralyzer from men in black.. torture?
no, i don't remember being torchered.... that's odd, i swear i used to have 10 fingers!
http://www.physorg.com/news75883856.html.
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parakeet
Like most scientific discoveries, this one may have good consequences (as the article mentioned) and maybe some harmful ones. It could be considered "brain-washing" in its most literal sense. Certain government agencies might be particularly interested in this information.
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"Critical Hour" JW dies from no-blood policy
by parakeet ini just finished watching a discovery health channel program called "the critical hour," which featured the cases of four trauma patients (9:00 pm, edt).
i missed the beginning of the program, but apparently an elderly jw woman suffered a fall, was critically injured, and her only option for survival was surgery plus blood transfusions.
while she was still able to speak, she refused blood; later her jw husband, accompanied by the ever-present liaison committee jw, also refused the transfusion.
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parakeet
I agree that adult JWs must bear a measure of responsibility for their actions, but I tend to view them more as victims of the WTS than as perpetrators. My parents were suckered into this cult, and though it was stupid of them, they don't deserve to die as a result. Death is too severe a punishment for stupidity.
The WTS preys on adults who are under-educated, poor, or have had abusive pasts (my parents qualified on all counts) by offering them an imaginary refuge from a world that has mistreated them. I think many JWs are well-meaning, and they believe (however misguidedly) that they are doing the right thing. The WTS has messed them up beyond belief, and the WTS and GB should be held responsible for their part in tragedies such as this one. -
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"Critical Hour" JW dies from no-blood policy
by parakeet ini just finished watching a discovery health channel program called "the critical hour," which featured the cases of four trauma patients (9:00 pm, edt).
i missed the beginning of the program, but apparently an elderly jw woman suffered a fall, was critically injured, and her only option for survival was surgery plus blood transfusions.
while she was still able to speak, she refused blood; later her jw husband, accompanied by the ever-present liaison committee jw, also refused the transfusion.
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parakeet
zeroday:
***Why hurl, she wanted to die so she died. Why is that a big deal. Do you really believe there is a "Supreme Being" looking down on all of us and thinking he gives a S*****. Think again......***
No, she wanted to live, but the WT blood policy killed her. It's always a big deal when someone dies needlessly--she may have had children and grandchildren who will suffer because she is gone. I don't believe there is a supreme being looking out for us; the woman's death was regrettable because human life is valuable--you don't need a belief in God to have respect for life. -
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for atheists/agnostics
by BlackSwan of Memphis inhow did you get to the point where you are at now?
was it primarily new information that made you rethink religion and god?
learning about the ice age, the universe, the fossils out there?
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parakeet
saki:
***I want what "Jehovah" promises. I want that paradise.***
Just because you want something does not mean it's going to happen. When I was a kid, I wished for a pony so intensely that I convinced myself I was going to get one. Wishful thinking, however fervently believed, does not constitute unassailable truth.
You also say that you don't even want to entertain the idea of there being no god. This is the kind of closed-minded thinking that so frustrates the rest of us. Wake up! What are you afraid of? Use the brain you claim your god gave you.
I became an agnostic after I realized the JW religion/cult was based on lies. I became an atheist after extensive reading about other religions, which were based on flimsy premises as well. The one exception is Buddhism, a religion that has no personal god, that is based on "nothingness" yet is not nihilistic. But I have no plans on becoming a Buddhist any time soon. -
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Is questioning at the bookstudy still allowed?
by yaddayadda ini remember when i was a kid it wasn't unusual for someone to ask a question of the conductor during the bookstudy.
not that often but occasionally.
in my most recent years as a dub i can't recall anyone ever asking any questions.
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parakeet
***real questions ... are asked and answered in a wonderful nonthreatening confirmation of 'group think.'"
The author must never have attended a JW book study. There was nothing wonderful about getting the same boring crap stuffed down your throat week after week.