esther

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Posts by 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
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  82

  Has anyone felt like leaving God altogether?

  by lookingnow22 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know that the answer is yes, but it would help me to hear your sentiments on this.

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  after you decided that the wbts, and thus jw's were not god's chosen earthly organization did you feel like you wanted to leave and forget god altogether?.

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  esther

  Kes, since I don't believe that the bible is God's word, how can I believe that Jesus was God's son, or our saviour?
  Jang, when I said that Paul was like the WTBTS, I didn't just mean his view of women, but also his views on marriage and his statements about the end of the world being just around the corner. I think he would fit in well with the GB.
  esther
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  82

  Has anyone felt like leaving God altogether?

  by lookingnow22 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know that the answer is yes, but it would help me to hear your sentiments on this.

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  after you decided that the wbts, and thus jw's were not god's chosen earthly organization did you feel like you wanted to leave and forget god altogether?.

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  esther

  I still believe in God, but not that the bible is his word. I cannot reconcile the God of the NT with the God of the OT. In fact, I can't even reconcile all of the NT. To me, the apostle Paul sounds very much like the WTBTS. So where does that leave us? I don't know what to believe any more, but whatever I do, I am not going to be led blindly.
  esther
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  3

  Jehovah Witnesses & Gambling

  by buffalosrfree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the land of the indian, no pun intended, their are jdubs who think it okay to support the local casino whether via the restaurant or the slots or even bingo.

  the spin i got from some of them on it, was that they were going out to have a good time and spending $20 to $40 on the slots that they were going to spend any way was not in and of itself gambling.

  the preponderance of jdubs using the casino restaurants is spun out in the same way, just an evening out.

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  esther

  Buff, while I agree that the excuse for gambling is hypocritical, I am less certain about the Casino restaurants. After all, using the Casino restaurant is not actually gambling. Also, it is possible that using other restaurants could actually be, unknowingly, aiding someone or something of which we disapprove, maybe criminal activity, for example.
  esther
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  60

  jws hassle 3 yr old

  by Blackcat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  seems the jws are getting desprate for recruits, an article from a localpaper....... http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/story3.html thought you all would be interested!

  !

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  esther

  Anglise, you said "But I would never witness to a minor and even stopped those I was working with doing this on occasion, I reasoned that I wouldnt want anyone doing it to my children so why do it to theirs." I agree with you. That is how I felt. I wouldn't witness to teenagers, even, without their parents permission, even while I was pioneering.

  Mommie Dark, your said "We're NOT talking about these bitches knocking on a door and talking to a kid who opened the door. These children were in their fenced yard playing and these idiot dubettes approached them, knowing full well what they were doing. They should have asked to talk to an adult or just plain moved along without speaking beyond a pleasant 'hello' if the kid made eye contact." While I don't necessarily agree with your description of them, you are so right when you say they should have asked to talk to an adult.

  Prisca you said "I think sometimes we get so filled up with hate/bitterness/condemnation for the WTS, that we forget what we were like as Witnesses ourselves." It is not hate/bitterness/condemnation for the WTS, just plain commonsense, as LovesDubs said in her post.
  esther
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  4

  When it rains...

  by ozziepost in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here in the eastern seaboard of oz it's raining today.

  have you ever considered that these rainy days are days of special activity to the witnesses?.

  in an endeavor to give at least one complete witness to all the inhabitants of this town, the brothers decided to preach there only on very rainy days, in the hope that they would not be bothered by the young folk.

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  esther

  ozziepost, I think that the Borg has a strategy for every type of weather. It is a beautiful day in this part of Oz, but I bet that won't keep them away.

  esther
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  17

  Marrying "Only in the Lord"

  by TMS in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the wt definition of "only in the lord" meaning only dedicated witnesses of jehovah in good standing greatly narrows the field of eligible mates.

  this has brought about some unusual unions because of the circumstances, involving people who would ordinarily not meet, let alone marry, if it were not for a shared belief system.. what unusual couplings have you seen in your jw days?

  how large was your personal field of possibilities and did it include some unusual options?

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  esther

  Mulan, you said "I met my husband at a party, the JW kids had a few times a year." The poor JW kids don't get much chance to do that nowadays. They can only have small parties, big ones are a no-no. No meals provided at conventions=no meal preparation=less chance to socialise with kids from other congregations. Get-togethers after the convention are frowned on=less chance to socialise with kids from other congregations. Perhaps the WTBTS is trying to cut out marriage altogether.

  esther
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  18

  Door To Door

  by ladonna in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my father a ms told me several months ago that jw's no longer do "regular door to door witnessing".

  he told me this as i said to him i cannot remember the last time i saw a jwitness at my door which was unusual.. has anyone any answers to this?.

  ladonna

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  esther

  ladonna, welcome,

  Door to door is still carried out here in australia. They were in my street last week. I believe other methods have been tried, such as witnessing in car parks of shopping centres, in shops etc. I don't think they are allowed into shopping centres here anymore. (and I know we spell words differently to you in the USA). Frankly, there are not many people at home any more, but I don't know if they preach any other way,

  esther