esther

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Posts by esther

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  31

  Interpretation of Scripture

  by chacha in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  can the bible be interpreted correctly only by the watchtower?.

  do you believe that the bible was written to all people?

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  esther

  hi Cha Cha, you asked

  Can the Bible be interpreted correctly only by the Watchtower? Do you believe that the Bible was written to all people?

  I don't think the bible can be interpreted, because I don't think it is God's word

  Hi Cliff, you say

  If Jesus came back in 1914 and is now ruling, why do we need interpretation of the scriptures?

  That is a good question. I have another one along the similar lines. If Jesus returned in 1914, why is the memorial for him still kept? Paul said in 1 Cor 11:26

  For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives

  
  You also ask if anyone is a JW. Well I was baptized as a JW, am not df'd or da'd, but I have no intention of going to any more meetings, witnessing or anything. I am just adrifting away, quietly.
  esther
  escaping to freedom
  edited in the interest of better grammar
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  6

  When did Jw really get "free from Babylon...

  by PerFect in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as i understand a person who wants to be a witness must send a resignation letter to his former church or denomination.

  this must be done even if the person never been active in that church.

  for exampel if a person got baptised as a baby in a church and then some decades after want to be a witness you have to write a letter of resignation to that church, even if you havent set your foot in that church for years.

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  esther

  The question from PerFect was

  When did Jw really get “free from Babylon...

  
  Short answer NEVER.
  As far as a letter of resignation for churches, I don't know when it started, but I did hear that one was need in 1970. I was told that it was important even if one had not attended church for decades. I think it applied even if your association with was only being christened in to the congregation. I personally didn't bother.

  esther
  no letter writer
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  19

  Is this how they control people?

  by Loki in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if religion is, as marx said, the opium of the people, do the borg just have theirs at a better grade than most religions?

  is that why it is so hard for people to "kick the habit"?

  is that why we feel so strongly about the borg - reformed druggies being the most outspoken and all that?

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  esther

  Loki, you said

  If religion is, as Marx said, the opium of the people, do the Borg just have theirs at a better grade than most religions? Is that why it is so hard for people to "kick the habit"? Is that why we feel so strongly about the Borg - Reformed druggies being the most outspoken and all that?

  I think that we are really all drunk with the freedom of being out of the control of the Borg

  JanG

  A belief that leaves you free to discover your full potential and allows you to think things through for yourself is
  the healthiest place to be.

  You are soooo right.

  esther
  Drunk with freedom
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  41

  Perversion of Baptismal Vows

  by AlanF in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an appendix in the book contains some 120 questions along with hundreds of scriptural "proof texts" that the proselyte is then expected to study.

  12 jesus commanded his followers to baptize new disciples in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.

  the following quotation shows what the proselyte is expected to study just prior to baptism:.

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  esther

  Alan, I guess that I didn't bother listening to the baptism questions at the assemblies. To me, if one believes in the bible and the god of the bible, that 2nd question is blasphemy, nothing less.

  esther
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  43

  The Rainbow as a sign to Noah

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know if this has ever been brought out - i just thought of it:.

  the bible tells us that it rained for forty days and forty nights.. it stopped raining and noah & co floated around for a bit.. when they landed, noah sacrificed some of the animals (weren't they in short supply?

  ) and god promised never to bring a deluge upon then earth again.. to back this up, there was a rainbow in the sky as a sign.. now, what causes a rainbow?

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  esther

  Simon, never thought about that.

  Hey patio, where did you get that great information about the Sumerians?

  esther
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  76

  I attended the meeting tonight.....

  by silentlambs in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i went to the meeting tonight to check out things in the local congregation.

  this spiritual paradise is showing a few cracks.

  when i arrived about ten minutes before the meeting started, i felt like a ghost.

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  esther

  silentlambs, I have a deep admiration for what you are doing.
  DannyBear, from what I have read, silentlambs is officially a member of good standing in the congregation. He is therefore as entitled both to attend any meeting and make comments at the meeting as anyone else in the congregation. Who knows, his still being a member of the congregation may help to get the situation better exposed.
  You made a comment about children having the innate ability to withstand enormous trauma and abuse. While this has a limited amount of truth, I know adults who have been admitted to mental hospitals because they were sexually abused as children. Sexual abuse of children is evil. It is not something they can just forget.

  esther
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  22

  who are the governing body?

  by robin33126 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jehovah witness when mentioning "governing body" they say it like if they knew who these people are.

  i asked one jw to mentioned their names and couldn't answer me.

  so what is so special if they don't know the names, lives, background, of these people?

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  esther

  Francoise, I am not sure if I would find the boredom and distaste of attending is worth the fun of freaking the Borg HQ out. It sounds like a great idea for those who could handle it, though

  esther
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  68

  JW's & alternative medicine

  by slipnslidemaster in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in one of the threads i read today, they were talking about looking into your eyeballs to diagnose cancer and the like.

  also selling herbs.. my comment and question is this: it seemed like in my congregation and the surrounding ones, alot of the sisters were into kineseology, reflexology, herbs, vitamins, color therapy, aroma therapy, etc.. alot of touchy feely hippie crap.

  while i personally agree that there needs to be more synergy with eastern and western medicines, it would appear reading the boards that alot of witnesses are into this sort of stuff.. is this your experience?

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  esther

  Ok, slip'nslidemaster, now that you have brought this topic to the top again, here is another possibility. A lot of people are attracted to the WTBTS because they are under stress. The society gives answers that alleviate that stress for a time. They are hearing all kinds of new stuff, so aren't too bored at the meetings, etc, and are all fired up to tell people of the wonderful hope for the future. After a time, they get bored, have to force themselves to attend meetings, go witnessing etc and get very tired. Tiredness, however, is not considered a good reason to miss meetings or FS. If their minds, at this point, don't make them feel so unwell that they have to slow down, they force themselves to keep going, getting to the point of exhaustion, and getting really sick. They are really stressed. The stress is now more than when they 'came into the truth', because they can't think, even to themselves, that the the society is causing more stress. Anyhow, that is one idea that entered my head
  esther
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  19

  Should the goverments act?

  by PerFect in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi all,.

  since the courtcases in moscow and france are on the wall, what are your thoughts on this.. should authorities act by making laws against destructiv sects?.

  what kind of laws, and what criteria should identify a destructiv sect?.

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  esther

  hawkaw, it is my belief that government action could lead to claims of persecution. There are many civil rights movements which would agree, so the result could do more harm than good. So I tend to agree with Francoise that publicity is the best way to handle the situation.

  esther
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  10

  door-to-door records

  by philo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm trying to get a picture of how d-d records are used.

  particularly, with regard to household security, are 'persistent nhs' kept in the maps in your area?.

  i used to file the cong maps, and we kept old d-d records back to target these persistents at unusual times.

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  esther

  philo, one of the congregations I was in did keep a record of persistent not-at-homes. They gave them to either regular pioneers or publishers who couldn't go d2d because of age or health. These would then write letters to the householders so that they did not miss out on the 'good news'. I don't know whether or not the d2d records were kept after that, or if it is still done.
  esther