richgirl

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Posts by richgirl

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  26

  At the RC now part 2

  by All for show in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok... my other thread i cant respond.

  we went to shut up our family... but myhusband is seething and said his brain has shut off.. the stupid is amazing.. they are playing videos that are lame and pointless for the first symposium.. for the first symposium... they asked why the bible has no pictures.

  because it was before photography...jesus used word pictures!!

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  richgirl

  What grandpa said makes my day!! The convention programmes have really become dumbed down over the last few years. The symposiums especially. It is not possible to get into any depth, or anything "meaty", in 10 minutes parts. Sure, it makes the time seem to go faster, but otherwise it's just a rehash of baby food!
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  The Heavenly Hope -- Simplified Suggestion

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the bible says there is just "one hope" for christians (ephesians 4:4).. revelation says god will come down and bring heaven down to earth.

  (revelation 21:2-3).

  the old testament focuses more on the hope of the earth being a paradise and the new testament focuses more on going to heaven.. but as we can see revelation and ephesians, there is only "one hope," and we will get to experience both the paradise earth and heaven.. i see no reason in the bible why we would need to take the number 144,000 literally in revelation, where almost all the other numbers mentioned are symbolic..

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  richgirl

  I have noted that over the years WT has taught that New Jerusalem comes down to earth (spiritually/figuratively speaking) and that blessings flow out of it into the earth. See for example the illustrations in the "Rev..Grand Climax" book (page 308,309). But when you read the description in Rev, it seems not that things flow out of it, but that people of all nations are invited into it. The water and the trees of life are in the city, not outside it. To partake of these, one would have to enter the city, wouldn't they? The gates are always open. I have also noticed how the GB still applies many things that have reference to the New Jerusalem, to themselves, as of 1918/9. The wording of Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21 have so many similarities. They even cross reference to each other in the NWT. However, the GB consistently applies the words in Isaiah to themselves (and the org) in the present, but the words in Rev, to the future.
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  22

  New Light! The Evil Slave Class no longer exists!

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  quote from the watchtower, march 15, 2015, page 23:.

  in the illustration of the faithful and discreet slave, jesus spoke of an evil slave who beat his fellow slaves.

  jesus was not there foretelling that an evil slave class would arise.

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  richgirl

  I don't believe in this class stuff. However, when the GB discounts an "evil slave class" they are basically saying "We can't fail!". How presumptuous is that!! I remember Anthony Morris saying, in an almost ridiculing tone, "There is no wicked slave class that has arisen in these last days". (2014 AGM) This makes Jesus warning about an evil slave redundant....just hot air. I would love to see them explain the illustration from Luke's gospel, which describes the differing degrees of punishment for the unfaithful slave.

  FusionTheism, you make some interesting points about the use of the word "illustration" and "classes" in the March WT. I will have to re-read it!! Do you think they will drop the term FDS "class"?
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  86

  Updated Chronological Timeline of the Great Tribulation -- after the New Light from July Watchtower

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the july 15, 2015 study watchtower article entitled "your deliverance is getting near", along with the jw broadcasting video entitled "gerrit losch: fortified by "the prophetic word," and chapter 21 of the god's kingdom rules!

  book presented a large amount of new light or clarified understanding of the events of the great tribulation.. here i am presenting it in chronological order -- this is the governing body's updated chronological order of events for the time right before the great tribulation through armageddon:.

  the final sealing of the anointed occurs just prior to the outbreak of the tribulation.

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  richgirl

  I really don't think the article in the July WT is saying that there will be an opportunity for members of Christendom to repent after the start of the great tribulation. The wording in the simplified edition is pretty ambiguous though, and could be read to mean that. The July 15th 2013 study edition, in the article, "Tell Us, When Will These Things Be?" (page 7, par 13) it is clearly stated that before the great tribulation starts people will have time to change their thinking. Some found that article ambiguous as well, eg. I had an elder phone me excitedly saying that people would have an opportunity to come over to Jehovah's side after the start of the trib. But that was not what the article was saying at all. I think the timeline chart on pages 4 and 5 confused some because it said that the "judging of sheep and goats" occurs after the trib, but really they are judged based on what they did before the trib starts.
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  22

  It's My Turn

  by OneFingerSalute in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well i finally got the, "we would like to stop by with the circus oversneer and have an encouraging visit.

  would ---------day be good, at say -----------?".

  it'll probably be a pretty dull visit with the entire conversation being only one way.

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  richgirl

  I was once asked if I would like a visit from the CO. I said, "No thanks. He can't tell me anything beyond what 's in the publications, and I can read those for myself".
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  12

  The New 2015 Insight Book

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what changes and new light have you found so far in the new 2015 insight book?.

  here's a short list so far of the articles i noticed which have been changed:.

  * generation.

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  richgirl

  They have changed (and shortened) the entry under "Faithful and Discreet slave". It omits what "commentators" have said about the parable at Mt 24:45-47. I suspect they removed it because, since the new light about the FDS in 2012, it undermines the whole basis for the GB claiming that the "slave" is a composite one (ie. a basis for organisation) rather than just referring to individuals.
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  71

  A big hello and thank you

  by iwasblind in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i just wanted to introduce myself and say a big hello to all of my mentally diseased friends.. i say friends because i have been lurking for some time so it feels like home (us lurkers are a bit scared and cautious so it takes a while).

  i won't bore you with too many details, but i am a born in, currently serving as the cobe of a congregation.

  my wife and i have pioneered for the last 10 years and were shaken awake by that ridiculous 15th july 2013 wt about the generation and 1914.. my wife who is much smarter than me has questioned for years.

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  richgirl

  Welcome iwasblind!! I am new to this forum too. also from down under....New Zealand in fact. (I posted as rupunzelsawake at jwstruggle) Boy, you really have your work cut out for you...It must be very difficult to maintain the facade and at the same time be true to yourself. However, who knows how you might be able to help thinking ones in the congregation before you inevitably leave. I will look forward to updates from you on the forum. Blessings to you brother, and to your wife!
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  36

  "Be Kind to the Fornicators in the Congregation!" -- New August Watchtower

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  have you noticed the article entitled "watch your associations in these last days" in the new august 2015 study watchtower?.

  unless i'm reading it wrong, or somehow misinterpreting it, it is saying that we should be kind to intentional breakers of god's laws inside and outside the congregation, including fornicators, but that we must not be close associates with them.. are they already preparing for a shift in their disfellowshipping practices?.

  here are the relevant paragraphs:.

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  richgirl

  Maybe the GB don't want members to report fellow witnesses to elders because they would be tied up with JC meetings every night of the week. How discouragaing that would be. Congregation numbers would drop....and that wouldn't look good. Has everyone seen the movie "The Prodigal Returns"? The worst "associate" in that was Al, an active JW in the congregation. What made me laugh was in the movie the "goody-good JW" brother of the main character described the corporate world as a "shark infested ocean" he wouldn't want to swim in. My thought was that the movie really depicted the congregation as a shark infested ocean.......and the motto....get out of it. Well, probably going overboard here!
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  13

  Jehovah’s Witnesses Recognize That People Have the Right to Change Religions, Just Not Their Religion

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  by alexandra james.

  http://jwvictims.org/2015/05/17/jehovahs-witnesses-recognize-that-people-have-the-right-to-change-religions-just-not-their-religion/.

  jehovahs witnesses say that people have the right to change religions and that they deserve respect when it comes to that right, but this is not something that they offer to those who leave their religion.

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  richgirl

  Great article Alexandra! The FAQ article also mentioned that when some of Jesus' disciples left off following him, he let them leave, and he did not coerce them into staying. I wonder how WT would define "coerce". As one of my "inquisitors" said to me, "We are not in the arm twisting business", as in forcing me to stay. At my JC meeting the same elder explained that we have free will, that they had "no trouble" with me doing things my way, and that they did not "judge me for that"!!! (Strange when clearly they were judging me. I was at a judicial meeting after all.) He said that everything I had presented to them "made a lot of sense". I explained that prior to the 1980s I would have been able to just walk away from the organisation without repercussions, but now they had the power to "hurt" me, to punish me. That is not "respect". I had to spell it out for them how I would be hurt, how I would now be treated and viewed by my friends, what lies my friends would now have to believe about me. I read a few quotes from WT magazines. They were clearly uncomfortable but went ahead and followed GB directives anyway, as I knew they would.
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  24

  New Light! People CAN now be saved AFTER the Tribulation begins!

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  for decades, i remember the society, publications, and elders saying that once the great tribulation begins, it is too late to repent or be saved.

  they said the "door of the ark will have been closed.".

  now, however, look at the brand-new clarified understanding / new light on this from jw.org, below.. they are still saying that the majority of worldly people will not be saved, but they are now saying it is possible.. the simplified july study watchtower says this:.

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  richgirl

  Wow! The language in the simplified version suggests the possiblity of not many (in other words "few") members of Christendom switching to JW. The non-simplified edition seems to be saying there will not be a mass conversion to "true Chrisitanity" post gt trib (as articles in previous years have stated, eg July 15th 2013, pg 7, par 13, states "Before the great trib begins, people still have time to change their thinking....") It certainly is ambiguous though. Is it intentional ambiguity or just plain bad writing.

  Perhaps many JWs have expected that the destruction of Bab the Gt would include the slaughter of all it's members......but really that would be impossible for then there would likely be few left to launch an attack on JWs (who are supposedly dwelling peacefully in the centre of the earth!) Even the UN, which JWs believe will attack false religion, is itself religious.....There is even a meditation/prayer room under the main Assembly room at the UN HQ. They protect religious sites, eg, the supposed birthplace of Buddha. The reference number for this site is rev666. I'm not joking!!! It's on their website. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666