I read THE ORWELLIAN WORLD OF JW'S.
It is a fantastic read. I was astounded at the application of 1984's assimilation process and that
of JW's. Particularly, the term CRIMESTOP. The ability to miss out on simple logic, blindly allowing
ignorance or reality to protect your mindset. Recommended reading for any doubters.
OnTheWayOut
JoinedPosts by OnTheWayOut
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9
Doublethink: to hold two contradictory beliefs simultaneously
by sass_my_frass init's been a while since the last orwell thread.
we went to a great play of 1984 last night.
poor winston, surrounded by insanity, forcing himself to learn that two plus two could be four, or five, or three, or all of them at once; whatever big brother says, to be allowed to live.
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OnTheWayOut
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50
Older WT quote reveals attitude toward disfellowshipped family members
by OnTheWayOut inhey, i discovered this older quote from reexamine.org.
i could not believe how serious it was about what a family .
member was not allowed to do with a disfellowshipped .
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OnTheWayOut
Sorry to hear that Sass.
We're glad you're here. JWD is thicker than water.
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20
An Elder...No longer serving as an Elder.
by xjwms inmy wife was at the meeting last night, ... and she told me this morning that an announcement was made that.
one of the elders decided to step aside.
he was so hard core it made me sick.
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OnTheWayOut
when I heard someone say so-and-so "stepped down", as though they were above everyone else
Sorry, Bo Peep,
I still go to meetings so I still have WT language. It did not feel like a step down. It was very lifting (of spirits).
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Are you 'following a worldly course'? Loaded WT expressions.
by jambon1 inanother example of the wts's loaded language that i actually find quite offensive.. the expression 'following a worldly course' is banded about, often in a similar context to that below, taken from the watchtower of may 1973 (convention review):.
the next oldest, a son, told how he also at one time wanted to go to college and follow a worldly course.
but his father sat down and reviewed the scriptures with him.. so, what is 'following a worldly course'?
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OnTheWayOut
Is there any way I can find something similar to this written in a watchtower or awake, etc?
The Manipulation of Information is an article in
6/22/00 Awake pp.4-8
It is the same as the link above.
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20
An Elder...No longer serving as an Elder.
by xjwms inmy wife was at the meeting last night, ... and she told me this morning that an announcement was made that.
one of the elders decided to step aside.
he was so hard core it made me sick.
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OnTheWayOut
If, in theory, Jehovah is the one to appoint you, does'nt he have to be the one to un-appoint you?
As a matter of fact, yes. Thru the Governing Body (okay, the service desk working for the GB), a person who no longer lives up to the task is removed. Regardless of the fact that I stepped down, I was not removed (deleted) as an elder until the GB answered the questions from my Body of Elders. Usually, this is done in a report from the CO to the GB (okay, the service desk again or somebody representing them).
SO, until you are un-appointed by Jehovah (okay, some guy who sits at the service desk going thru reports), your appointment is valid.
I considered pulling my letter before the WTS answered back about my doubts, and saying "NEVER MIND." -
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Myth, Legend... Religion? How does it start?
by Ingenuous inif myths and legends are at one time taken as fact, how do they get such status?
what type of people knowingly lie about profound matters and then allow others to be taken in by that lie, knowing the lie will change someone else's life?
how do these stories get embellished - seemingly without anyone realizing someone is spinning a longer and longer yarn - and why does it not smite the consciences of such people?
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OnTheWayOut
And John was probably writing about oppressive NERO when he wrote Apocalypse (Revelations).
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Myth, Legend... Religion? How does it start?
by Ingenuous inif myths and legends are at one time taken as fact, how do they get such status?
what type of people knowingly lie about profound matters and then allow others to be taken in by that lie, knowing the lie will change someone else's life?
how do these stories get embellished - seemingly without anyone realizing someone is spinning a longer and longer yarn - and why does it not smite the consciences of such people?
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OnTheWayOut
I also add my opinion (based on information from books I read) that
Nobody EVER followed all those Hebrew laws very much. They were way too complicated.
The priests wrote them to get sacrifices. They gave weight to them by acting as if they
used to be in place in the past. "People tried to obey all those laws up until King Solomon's day
had past," they would claim, but the laws were written after that time.
Solomon would probably get a good laugh at what they attribute to his wisdom, David, too.
After all, David stole the throne from Saul, he wasn't even in line for it. He would thank the
priests for making him into such a great guy. -
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Myth, Legend... Religion? How does it start?
by Ingenuous inif myths and legends are at one time taken as fact, how do they get such status?
what type of people knowingly lie about profound matters and then allow others to be taken in by that lie, knowing the lie will change someone else's life?
how do these stories get embellished - seemingly without anyone realizing someone is spinning a longer and longer yarn - and why does it not smite the consciences of such people?
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OnTheWayOut
First of all, I would have thought about the earliest known (photographic or otherwise) accurate position of celestial bodies and realized that it was after that "missing day." There is no way someone could have counted backward from what science knows and say that everything out there is missing a day.
Your main topic- I don't have the names of the books I read, but I have read about the possibility of how the Bible has started.
I offer the short version, as a book really is too short, you will have to understand much more is needed in explanation.The Hebrews worshipped like the other nations, but one group liked YHWH
above other gods. When Cyrus returned Hebrews to Israel, and this group
had permission to rebuild the temple, they looked like they had YHWH's favor.
People started worshipping YHWH above other gods. The priests decided to write
a set of laws for the people- IN ORDER TO CONTROL THEM, GET THEM TO GIVE
DONATIONS TO THE PRIESTS- as priests ALWAYS want that.
Later, the priests gathered all the legends and stories of this culture, re-wrote or
recorded them for the first time. Most may have been anonymous, some were given
famous names as authors to give weight to their sayings. As time went on, a bit
more re-writing when people did not like a story, or when it was discovered that one
thing contradicted another, adding famous names to more and more writings.Many things that were supposedly written as prophetic of Jesus Christ were actually
about WISDOM or were about THE KING of ISRAEL/ JUDAH being the son of God.
(It helps to flatter the king.) These were re-written again and the person spoken of
became generic, remove the name since that king is dead. Over time, these came
to be accepted as GOD'S WORD.As for Christians, Jesus was a Jew who knew his Hebrew scriptures. He decided that he
needed to ride into Jerusalem on an ass to "fulfill" prophecy, and claim other stuff, too.
When he was executed, instead of running scared, the Apostles/ Disciples decided to
continue the charade. Besides telling tall tales, they wrote tall tales, consulting their
Hebrew scriptures. Matthew and Luke did not even get their stories exactly the same.
Luke neglects to take Jesus thru Egypt. Perhaps that flaw was discovered after Luke's writings
and a trip to Egypt was added by Matthew (probably not the actual writers). Otherwise,
similar to the Hebrews, they edited their stories and got the gospels. Paul's letters and other
letters (if indeed written by the named authors) were never intended to be GOD's Word, but priests
(yes, priests again) re-wrote them and elevated their importance.NOW YOU KNOW. I am glad I could answer your question. Some people spend their whole life
not knowing this stuff. REMEMBER, it's just a theory. We don't really know either, but we do know
that the Dead Sea scrolls reveal much more than religion wants us to believe. Just like the WTS knows
the truth behind putting the name JEHOVAH into the Greek scriptures, but hopes you don't do the
research.
WOW, I am happy I finished explaining the roots of Judaism and Christianity in just a few paragraphs. -
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Voting with their wallet
by SirNose586 inwhen i came here in may, i began to see phrases like "voting with their wallets" or "voting with their feet" in regards to declining contributions and declining attendance figures.
i think i am seeing the former in action..... last sunday i went to the local ca.
at the half they read the accounts report--aka, cough up that dough report--and there was a "$4,000 deficit.
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OnTheWayOut
I alway liked the arrangement where elders would "anonymously" walk up the the CO or DO after the elder's meeting and hand them envelopes of money. All "anonymously" of course.
This is not limited to elders. You obviously did not have many brothers who wished to be elders/MS in your congregation.
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How old did you expect to be when the New System would come?
by JH ini became a jw at age 28 and no way did i expect to ever get older than 40 years old in this system.. maybe at the extreme, i could have imagined being 45 years old, not more..
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OnTheWayOut
I expected it no more than 2 or 3 years ago at the very latest. But I stopped expecting a year or three before that.