A common male name in Norway is Odd. Another one is Even. "Hi, you may very well be Frank, but I am Odd, and my brother is Even." :)
BTW, there are lots of names used by Germans at http://www.kindername.de/ (m = male; w = female).
Posts by dust
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74HELP with baby boy names! Contest!
by Jez inwe are having a boy and can't decide on names.
we want something a little different, not in 'the top 10'.
it also has to be english or german orgin.
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dust
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How help my JW-fiancée with her trouble with some JW-family-members?
by Zana ini am 29 years old, not a jw (never been one, never ever gonna be one), but i am engaged to one (27 years old) and we have marriage-plans for the end of this year.
we are getting along more than great, no real troubles about this religious topic in our relationship (so no need to write me some of those run-and-hide-posts .
and we are talking about her family: two sisters are quite dedicated jws, the mother is studying with them, the father died a few years ago and her 4 brothers don't care at all about the jws.
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dust
She might need your love and support more than she needs facts. Or she might need both. Ask her. And ask her how she feels and why (and perhaps you should ask if it's OK to ask, depending on whatever -- you're the one who knows her!).
It's fine that you don't want to convert eachother, but it is also fine if you at the same time don't need to avoid _talking_ about specific topics. If you check my post history, I think you'll find some words on how I first tried to "convert" my JW girlfriend (now wife and ex-JW) using facts and reasoning. That was the wrong thing to do (in our case). So I stopped doing it, but we kept talking about religious matters, and she more or less taught herself a quite a few things about the JW religion. Not because of what I said, but because she started to think on her own. -
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WAR in IRAQ: Is this about Religion or Oil???
by Kudra inmy mom says that one of the reasons that the wtbts is the true religion (after i told her many things they were wrong about) is that: .
only they told of this "war between governments and religion" and she can see "things coming to a head" in recent years and that this proves so much that this war is just part of the "sign" that the society has always pointed to.
she gives as example also the strong conservative christian leanings of bush and his regime.
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"Did not defile themselves with women"
by Legolas inso the 144000, wouldn't you say then are all men?.
i can't remember what crap excuse they gave for that one to get out of it not only being men....but all the writer had to say was 'they were virgins' if it was both sexes.. what do you think?.
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dust
Well, according to all JWs I have spoken to, only the number 144000 is literal. There are anointed women, they say. The Watchtower (March 1, 1999, page 21, paragraph 16) acknowledges that according to Rev 20:6 the anointed ones will be priests. Does this mean that there's no problem with female priests?
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My reinstatment letter part deux
by nonamegiven inwell, a while ago i posted a letter i wrote requesting reinstatment.
i waited a while and decided it's time to give it to the guys.
i'm going to give it to them tomorrow night.
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dust
"I never wanted to do the things I have done". As a side point, even Paul had that problem, and he analysed it in Romans 7:14-25 (also see verses 7-13).
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Resurrection vs. Re-Creation...
by Tuesday inum, what's the deal with this?
i'm speaking with a witness and he keeps talking about the resurrection and the way it's explained sounds like it's really a re-creation of all of our memories in god's mind then put back on earth in a re-created body.
so in essence a clone of me with my memories and personality will live forever in paradise, how exactly is that a resurrection.
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dust
Hm... So... If I decompose, and some of my atoms are transferred to a flower on my grave, and that flower is eaten by a cow, and subsequently becomes a part of another human's body, etc... How many bodies will be resurrected by means of reanimation of my atoms? And does the water molecules count in all this? I mean, at some time someone will sure drink me. You know, even now while alive, water is evaporating from my body and will probably rain down somewhere next week. Maybe on a cow.
Just wondering...
By the way, who am I? Am I yesterday's cells of my body or tomorrow's cells of my body?
Maybe the whole resurrection thing is just a way to keep us debating. Clever guy, God. -
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Watchtower change on Wikipedia
by aniron incame across this on wikipedia, seems someone didn't waste any time.
beginning in 2008, the watchtower will have different focuses in the two issues that are published each month.
the issue published on the first of each month will focus on religious articles that will be offered to the general public.
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dust
So, beginning i 2008, the Watchtower Society will observe a difference between religious and organizational matters. Interesting.
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Letter from my mom. What do you think of my response?
by reneeisorym ini invited my mom two months ago to my wedding.
she never responded and then today i get this.
what do you think of my reply?
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dust
Yes, who chose "this situation"? It's a controversial question, isn't it.
My wife is an ex-JW, and her parents shun her. I've told them that we know that it can't be easy for JWs to behave like this towards people they love. But that fortunately for my wife, it's not as hard for her to be treated like this, because she is not the one who is obliged to behave in a certain way towards anyone, she is not the one who feels any necessity of hiding her love.
I think (or rather hope) that explained it better to my parents-in-law than the classical "you are doing it, not she". I also added that even though they treat her the way they do, it is impossible not to notice that they do love her. We can tell from their faces, their eyes, the tone of their voice.
I've also told them that we defend their right to shun her, because they must follow their conscience. At our wedding, when my wife had introduced my parents to the guests, I introduced her parents (not present) saying that they were absent for valid reasons, and that we know it was hard for them. -
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What not to say?
by Wendy_Warden inokay, as most of you know from my other posts im trying to reach someone who is a jw.
well, i was wondering if there were things that non-witnesses said to you that kept you from listening to them.
are there things i should be sure not to say while witnessing?.
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dust
Use the WT litterature, and be sure that it says what you think it says. A JW doesn't like do disagree with the WT, but they have no problem disagreeing with the Internet.
You should not trust the Internet yourself either. ;) On the Internet we can often find good points and nice quotes, especially on this site. But often (and most often on other sites) we can also find quotes and statements that are a little misleading. For instance, I once read that 'The Truth Shall Make you Free' prophesized that man would never go into space. When I checked in the book itself, the quote was correct, but the context was such that I would never have read it as a prophecy, only a statement of the facts at the time.
Still, most of the quotes from WT litterature that I have read, are fine, and can be used. Just remember to be sure that the JW doesn't have a good answer. You could for instance ask here on this site what a JW would answer to a particular question. (And do let the JW answer, and let they feel that you respect them.)
Always take your time to get the actual source in your own hands, so you don't have to prove your case with a print from some Internet site. For instance, it could be that my copy of the Truth book had been revised to remove an actual prophecy, but this is the copy I have, so I can't use that prophecy to prove that the Org is a false prophet. If you want to prove that the WT misquoted another book (e.g. Darwin), get a copy of the book and show them. (And let them defend the WT before you move on to the next quote! Don't even think of criticizing the WT, just let the JW repeat the defence after each misquote. In the end they will feel that this is unfortunate, even if they don't say it.)
Also, don't claim too much. Don't insist that you are right and they are wrong. Take your time to really understand the subject, and then ask simple and humble questions, one at a time so your JW doesn't suffocate. It can take lots of time to find the right way to put it, but it's worth the effort. I would not have claimed that the Org is a false prophet, but I did ask once how the WT can claim that they never said they are prophets, given 'these quotes from the WT, here are the photo copies'. (Be prepared to answer the question 'where did you find those old WT issues?')
With some experience you will also discover that some of the problems and questions found on the Internet already have been answered by the WT. No matter how bad that answer is, a JW will trust it, so it is some times pointless to use such questions. But if the question has not been addressed by the WT already, the JW is forced to think, and that's a good thing. :) If you have the Reasoning book most of the WT answers to common questions can be found there.
In other words: Try to think like a JW when you prepare your question to them. And ALWAYS be humble and loving. In your heart, not only on the surface.
That's my advice. It works for me, it might not work for others, and it may also depend on who the actual JW is. -
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What is Rom 15: 20,21 getting at?
by yaddayadda inromans 15: 20 & 21 "in this way, indeed, i made it my aim not to declare the good news where christ had already been named, in order that i might not be building on another man's foundation; but, just as it is written: "those to whom no announcement has been made about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.
could this be used to show that jw's are wrong to condemn all other christians as false, because as long as these other christians have accepted christ and have him as their foundation, does it really matter if some of their doctrines are not quite right?
i think this scripture shows that jw's are wrong to focus so much on the faults of other christian religions.
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dust
The following question could also be added:
1 Cor 1:10 talks about unity.
In this part of his epistle (chapters 1-4) Paul touches upon the subject that some say they belong to Cephas, others say they belong to Paul, etc. So obviously these were regarded as proponents of different teachings. What is Paul's reaction in chapters 1-4?
Hypothesis 1: Paul reacted towards the theological differences (e.g. he felt that those who follow Apollos are wrong), he reacted towards the different of teachings, and accused people of apostacy, and disfellowshipped those who didn't follow Paul.
Hypothesis 2: Paul reacted towards conflicts that were based on personal strife, jealousy, self-righteousness, the establishing of different groups and the tendency to claim that one (e.g. Apollos) had a better or a worse teaching than another (e.g. Paul). (Also see Rom 14:1-12.) It's important to stick together despite our differences, our different habits and our different ways of practising our belief.
