Posts by Jringe01

108

Gay Marriage - The War for Equality

by Inquisitor in

i've just read lola28's thread "for those against gay marriage".

i thought i should present a clear message on what i think the gay marriage issue is all about.

the trouble with most discussions on this issue is that it gets clouded by a plethora of side-issues, non-issues, cave-men chest-thumping and medieval puritanism.

Jringe01

1 Thessalonians 4:11

It's so sad when those who claim to be Christian so blatantly refuse to follow the apostle's advice.

If one man marries another it DOES NOT prevent a man from marrying a woman...well only if you let it and that would show that you have no character, no individual personality. You can't live life by what others expect. It's up to you to chart your own course.

At best estimate homosexuals number 10% of the population...I don't think that gay marriage bodes the end of straight marriage which is growing way too fast anyhow. Look at it this way. Populations used to be controled by wars, famine and diseases which don't kill like they used to. Many people live longer and healthier lives so gay marriage is actually a useful form of population control with out rotting corpses and ruined infrastructure.

According to the bible the act of marriage between Joseph and Mary was simply this: he moved her into his home. The latter half of the 20th century proved this custom is alive and well. There's a marriage tradition for you... so now we have two traditions alive and well at the same time. Which one do you choose?

There was a wealthy man in Scotland who had a housekeeper who was very mean. One night he announced he was going marry her to astonished relatives. Then later that night he kills himself. The family quickly realized that he was playing a cruel joke on this woman he hated so much but the joke was on him. Because he announced his intention to marry to other people a Scottish court ruled that he had entered into a legally binding contract that thus superceded his will and this horrible woman got everything. Marriage is a legally binding contract between two parties. What motivates it is irrelevant. Interference in a persons ability to pursue such a contract could be viewed as restraint of trade, unfair competition, a monopoly even. In fact I'm suprised that someone enterprising gay lawyer hasn't seen that and tried to sue.

If marriage is such a wonderful institution then why are the people opposed to gay marriage not putting all that effort and energy into trying to trying to reduce the straight divorce rate. If these opponents of gay marriage did a little more to make their own institutions stronger then maybe their arguements would have a little more weight.

127

The End of Circuit Overseers

by scotsman in

is indeed apparently nigh as another poster predicted along with the end of the weekly bs.

not sure when this should take place but i'm reliably informed by a family member that one of the uk's overseers was talking about it fairly recently.

reduced to weekend visits by an outside but local elder instead.. i have no further info..

Jringe01

I'm not sure...I don't believe this is all about money or declining numbers. Mind you I have no proof but all these recent changes...

Someone mentioned that a lot of CO's and DO's would be disgruntled...this could be used to weed out disaffected people

We could also be "witnessing" the beginnings of preparations to go underground if need be. Look at it...one WT for the public and one for the faithful...if they have to go underground then they simply drop the "public" edition and the faithful are already accustom to recieving one WT per month of "food from the slave" so it's no big loss or adjustment with their indoctination. Eliminating or cutting down on the CO's and DO's who have become VERY numerous since WWII reduces the WTS's visibility and presence. The cut in the meetings makes the local rank and file that much less visible. All of these things would be required (and more) if they were driven underground so these are important first steps if you are planning for the eventuality.

After all, didn't Losh state in a talk that the preaching work was done?

I do believe that declining numbers, lawsuits and $$$ are a factor, at least for "public" speculation. However I think these changes reflect a decision to begin preparing to operate underground at some point in the future and the constant speculation about numbers, $$$ and lawsuits deflects attention away from the real goal. They are getting ready for the events they believe are going to be happening in the future or they are getting ready for events that will be happening in the future (the more frightening option).

66

HERE'S THE 2007 SERVICE YEAR REPORT

by Mary in

i'm not sure if this has been posted yet, so i took the liberty of scanning a copy.

here is the figures for the 2007 service year report.

interesting that over 9,000 partook at the memorial last year when the numbers should be going down.

Jringe01

Although I believe that a lot of people are leaving the religion I do not believe this report gives us any indication as to how many.

Just because the number of people baptized is larger than the increase in average publishers doesn't mean that it's a reliable yardstick for determining how many have left. Don't forget that many people preach without being baptized.

Thus unbaptized publishers, deaths, immigration and withdrawl/expulsion are the 4 factors that can affect the numbers. However since you cannot reasonably know how many people fall into each category then it becomes mere speculation to insist that because the number baptized is larger than the average increase then "x" number of people must have left.

Many of you on this board would not hesitate to jump on the WTS for speculations so then why would you turn around and speculate yourselves? If you want to continue to make a case against the WTS for it's past and continued speculations then you must hold yourselves to a higher standard or else they'll be able to turn the charge back on you and then it becomes a pointless discussion.

64

Long last letter to dad...please comment-not mailed yet

by dawg in

jw
friends

dad, .

i doubt youll even read this letter since it comes from your son, a son youve abandoned over your religious views, but i wanted to write you one final letter to see if theres any hope that you can come to your senses as far as this religion goes and we can renew our relationship.

im doing this because i care for you and mom deeply and feel very much distressed that you two refuse to see anyones opinion as being factual other than your own when it concerns the jw religion.

Jringe01

I agree with Scotsman...send a postcard with just a simple I love you and hope all is well.

In the very beginning you say in part: "...any hope that you can come to your senses as far as this religion goes and we can renew our relationship..."

Right there where I bolded and underlined...you just lost him. Say that to any JW and it'll put them on the defensive and you know how they get when they feel they or their precious faith are under attack.

You have valid points but if you want to reach him you can't use them, not like this.

32

Let's see how many American States you can name

by JH in

i tried this quiz and found it fun .

i'm sure i did better than some americans .

http://www.sporcle.com/games/states.php.

Jringe01

I got all of them but I got hung up on Massech...Massacheut....Massive Chewy Bits....damn it...Massachusetts. I hate that name.

36

What Crazy or Funny Practical Jokes Have You Played On People ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

or it could be crazy and funny both!

i think we have all had pranks played on us as well as played jokes on others as well.

somehow - i have found it certainly loosens life up somewhat , and makes it more enjoyable, having a sense of humor !

Jringe01

Yeeeah....Donna was less than amused when I finally had to tell her. I couldn't keep a straight face cause she was swallowing it hook line and sinker

36

What Crazy or Funny Practical Jokes Have You Played On People ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

or it could be crazy and funny both!

i think we have all had pranks played on us as well as played jokes on others as well.

somehow - i have found it certainly loosens life up somewhat , and makes it more enjoyable, having a sense of humor !

Jringe01

In the mid 90's I was out with 3 older sisters distributing one of those big special tracts. During our conversation I mentioned how I was going to visit my sister in a neighbouring cong and while there I'd be going to a nearby town to do some shopping and meet some friends there.

Now the two ladies in the front seat knew me very well (and knew I was gay and also knew that at that time I was not doing anything about it). So it really caught their attention when I started describing this "girl" I knew to Donna (who was with me in the back). I was telling her I go to see her and spend time with her every time I'm in that town, how sweet she was, comes from a good family, is really pretty with nice red hair...and cute freckles.

Well...once I mentioned the freckles the ladies in front got it but poor Donna...I had her going for a good 15 mins. She was so excited, wondering who this family was (she was sort of familiar with a couple big families in that cong), thinking I had met this really nice girl whose father "...owns a restaurant and a couple of coffee shops"

Extra points to you Mr Flipper if you can guess who the girl is. I'm certain you've at least seen her if not met her.

32

I'M SO SICK OF THIS !!!!!!!!

by zeroday in

jw
friends

it's march 15th for gods sake i want my spring...i'm sitting here in nashville freezing, can't get out on my motorcycle or anything...

Jringe01

Here in Montreal there must literally be a foot of show on the ground. Every couple-three days it snows some more

8

Anybody live near a University?

by hamsterbait in

jw
friends

there must be thousands of students from africa and the far east, who would be only too happy to translate part of a website, or even important threads from this site into their native tongue.. they would earn extra money, and the information would start trickling through.. the mid and far east and africa are served by very few lines to the net (most of east africa is served by one line) but at least its a start!!.

hb.

Jringe01

Take your pick

McGill

Concordia

Universite De Montreal

Universite De Quebec a Montreal

Two other French language universities have campuses in the city. With 6 universities and 12 Junior Colleges in an 8 km (5 mile) radius, Montreal has the highest concentration of post secondary students of any major city in North America (4.38 students per 100 residents. Boston is nest with 4.37 residents per 100 residents)

215

Quotable Quotes; Please Add Yours ...

by compound complex in

the endeavor to compel all men to think alike on all subjects,.

culminated in the great apostasy and the development of the .

great papal system; and thereby the 'gospel,' the 'one faith,'.

Jringe01

"Luke...you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view"

"If we are what we eat I guess that makes me fast, cheap and easy" a fellow JWD poster

"If you immediately know the candle light is fire then the meal was cooked a long time ago" Oma Desala