jeanV

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Posts by jeanV

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  100

  We have the truth - part 2

  by MutualRespectPlease in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does doing what is right in god's eyes mean we have to use only bible terms?

  i know the organization is not perfect.

  is there strong evidence that he has his people here on earth that although not perfect, are doing his will?

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  jeanV

  MRP,

  first of all welcome! I think you do have some valid points, like everyone else. That is a fault I have, I always think others have a measure of right when they express themselves. I do not believe in human stupidity but I do believe biases totally influence our thinking. For this reason people having the same experience/information may come to different conclusions.

  I have not read all the posts in the two threads, but still I could see a number of good questions that have been asked to you. I also have two:

  Could you ever imagine that your beliefs could be wrong?

  How do you think other religious/non-religiuos people would answer this same question?

  If you permit me, I would strongly advise you to read a book entitled: why we believe what we believe.
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  21

  Next year's District Convention will be 4 days?

  by erandir in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wtwizard recently started a topic discussing assemblies and conventions and mentioned the following:.

  (next year, it is four days but only apostates have access to that information.

  can someone please point me to the thread that discussed this or post the information in this topic?.

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  jeanV

  international conventions are still 4 days long, or at least it was the one I attended 5 years ago.

  blondie, there were a lot of 10 minutes talks this year so I think the trend is definitely to shorten them.
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  36

  What are some of the pro-JW discussion boards?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know there are some about, but i just can't find them at the moment.

  not e-watchman: i mean like loyal witness boards.

  slim .

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  jeanV

  www.scripturaltruths.com
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  181

  OKM 09/07 (english)- Just another brick in the wall...

  by metaspy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok guys and gals, i (being the assistant to the magazine counter) have acquired the newest okm.. i have uploaded it to imagevenue.com: here.

  hopefully that works!.

  by the way drew, your translation was very close.

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  jeanV

  I was always given the instruction to use the WTS stuff first, but was encouraged to get backup information from various secular sources and I remember the WTS used to always give dictionary definitions, expound (however incorrectly) on Greek & Hebrew, provide some historical information. Yet, in the last several years, I see a real dumbing down to the study material.

  a few years back there was not even a fraction of the information that is available now. even when a JW has good intentions, when searching on the net he is bound to stumble across material that contradicts the WTS, so better stop them before they even start.

  as some already commented, this article will make vomit only those that are already awake.
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  51

  regrets

  by IP_SEC in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i only have one regret in life.

  i didnt have a child.

  to have some little munchkin to teach about everything and see what they become?

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  jeanV

  34? great age! I have plenty of friends that had children much later than that (but I would not recommend to wait till you are 40 )
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  10

  Great Post on Cognitive Dissonance

  by Shepherd Book in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just thought i'd share something a friend recently posted at his site.. here it is: http://ryansutter.net/wp/2007/07/25/539/#comment-699.. it's about cognitive dissonance and the role it plays in the lives' of witnesses and ex-witnesses..

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  jeanV

  great link, thank you. I am also fascinated by the subject.
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  9

  Is the information the same at all assemblies?

  by I quit! in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the anti-school rhetoric was very strong, stronger than i've seen it in a decade.

  one particularly galling interview took place with this 19-year-old girl who went against her parents' wishes for her to go to college, spurning the money that they'd saved for her out of their want--they were not a rich family but scrimped and saved enough to send their daughter to school anyways, obviously foregoing pleasures and comforts for her.

  she "prayed to jehovah for a month.

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  jeanV

  in the past a few parts were manuscript (such as new releases, symposium on minor prophets on Sunday morning and possibly others), these then became WT study articles.

  Now very few, if any, are manuscript.

  About strict adherence to the outline, it all depends who you are and where you are.
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  34

  Watchtower deliberately lying?

  by AllAlongTheWatchtower in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember a topic a couple months ago, something about whether the gb actually believed in what they taught.

  other topics have been similar lately, and today i noticed the topic about google 'proving' that the wts deliberately lies.

  but is it deliberate?

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  jeanV

  which is not the case with countless magazine articles.

  if your mind is set on "I am right" mode, no matter what evidence is brought against you, you will always find excuses. Never underestimate the power of brainwashing (including self brainwashing). On top of that, how many JW's come in contact with information contradicting their beliefs? how frequently? do they really examine what they read? why there are still JW's defending the WT on the web (and they do come in contact with all the negative info)?
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  34

  Watchtower deliberately lying?

  by AllAlongTheWatchtower in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember a topic a couple months ago, something about whether the gb actually believed in what they taught.

  other topics have been similar lately, and today i noticed the topic about google 'proving' that the wts deliberately lies.

  but is it deliberate?

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  jeanV

  Was George W. Bush deliberately lying when he said that Saddam had WMD?
  Are Islamic religious leaders deliberately lying when they promise paradise with virgins for martyrs?
  Were Christians religious leaders deliberately lying when blessing soldiers said “God is with us”?
  Are ex-JWs deliberately lying when they post wrong/incorrect information on the web?
  The list could just go on indefinitely.
  
  The answer very often depends on what we believe (or what we want to believe ;-) )

  When someone unknowingly says something that they believe to be the truth, when they are confronted with the "real" facts, they are humbled and change to conform to what that truth really is. They do not continue to tell the lie even after realizing they were wrong.

  when it comes to beliefs, even mathematic may become an opinion and "real facts" are often subject to interpretation. Looking at the same evidence people come to different conclusions which are the result of bias that we have based on our beliefs.
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  119

  Great Books Thread

  by Open mind in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  what are the top 5 books you would either recommend and/or have had the greatest influence on you?

  (if you only want to mention one or two that's fine as well.).

  if you feel like it, please briefly tell us why.

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  jeanV

  welcome bad attitude. some of the books you cited look very interesting.