StephaneLaliberte

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Posts by StephaneLaliberte

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  310

  How I recently handled JWs at my door

  by Christian guy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the jws stopped by my house a couple weeks ago on a saturday morning.

  i knew that with others most likely waiting for them out in the car they probably did not then have much time to engage in any serious conversation.

  so i let them talk while i feigned interest in what they had to say.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Very interesting Christian Guy. That being said, though I believe many things you have said do indeed make sense, I strongly doubt on the accuracy and on actually shaking the faith of these witnesses. Here is why:

  The JW are actually preaching, what they believe to be, the benefits of the Good News. That is, eternal life (in heaven and mostly on earth). These benefits, in their theology, are a result of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection – which is the good news. Therefore, they indirectly preach the good news. The only thing however is that when you ask anyone that is not a JW what the JW preach about, they will tell you that they preach Armageddon brought about by their God Jehovah. Therefore, in reality, one could argue that the message they spread is not the good news.

  As for the Mathew 24:14, some bible translation do render “Good news of the kingdom” as “Good news about the Kingdom”. That being said, I agree with your definition of the kingdom and I do believe that the Good news of the kingdom is about the hope for people.

  As for ONE hope, well, I believe that hope is “forgiveness of our sins and therefore, a resurrection for the dead.” Where? I don’t care. Either way, I’ll be happy.
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  72

  New Understanding of this Generation

  by pronomono in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  another tidbit of information about this generation from the 1/15/2014 study edition under "let your kingdom come - but when?".

  they've changed it again.. this generation will not pass away14-16.

  what is a third reason for believing that gods kingdom will come soon?.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I just thought of the fact that this new understanding makes the increase in number of the partakers irrelevant. Actually, we should rely on the 8 000 or so who partook about 3 years ago. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but 8 000 is not much. The society could easily run a small internal survey and get to know the exact number of people who professed to be anointed back in the 70s or 80s. I’m sure that number is very low.
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  72

  New Understanding of this Generation

  by pronomono in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  another tidbit of information about this generation from the 1/15/2014 study edition under "let your kingdom come - but when?".

  they've changed it again.. this generation will not pass away14-16.

  what is a third reason for believing that gods kingdom will come soon?.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Oppostate: The problem with the exemple you provide is that the Freddy lived exceptionaly old and correct me if Im wrong, but I don't believe that any 18 years old ever claimed to be anoited back in the 1960s or 70s. For this thing to work, you have to think of averages and not exceptions.
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  72

  New Understanding of this Generation

  by pronomono in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  another tidbit of information about this generation from the 1/15/2014 study edition under "let your kingdom come - but when?".

  they've changed it again.. this generation will not pass away14-16.

  what is a third reason for believing that gods kingdom will come soon?.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Based on the understanding promoted in the WT, 2022 is just about as late as Armageddon could happen. Here is why:

  1. Back in 1914, everyone baptized was automatically anointed.
  2. You could be baptized at around 15 back then.
  3. In the 60s and 70s, you had to be old to be anointed. Remember, at the time, the door was understood to be closed in 1935. We also know that any replacements for an unfaithful anointed had to be old, almost the same age as the other anointed from the 1914 generation, otherwise, he had no privileges and was frowned upon. So, let’s go crazy and pretend a 30 years old back then exclaimed that he was anointed and still managed to be respected.
  4. The 1914 group had an average life expectancy of 73 years.
  5. The second group had an average life expectancy of 80 years,
  6. Since Jesus said “this generation”, he spoke of them as a group and therefore, calculations should include most of them, not individual exceptions. This is why average are actually necessary.

  Considering the above, members of the first group were born before 1899 and passed away before or in 1972. Members in the second group were born before 1942 and can expect to live up to 2022.
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  41

  How many have read 'Crisis of Conscience'?

  by tornapart in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for me it was the book!

  it opened my eyes.

  i started it thinking it would just enlighten me about how the organisation works.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I did and I loved it.
• 
  10

  Obvious question...

  by braincleaned in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  all of this construction, the buying, the selling... why?.

  does anyone wonder why a publishing company has to be so huge?

  paterson, walkill, now warwick... .

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  StephaneLaliberte

  A great deal of emphasis is placed by the WT on building programs. Moreover, efforts placed in this area are often equated to the efforts placed in the door to door ministry. For instance, the expression “giving time to Jehovah” can be used for both a construction volunteer and a pioneer.

  Yet, when looking at the scriptures for a Christian reference on the matter, there is nothing to be found. They meant in private houses and obviously, didn’t produce printed material as the watchtower does today.

  That being said, the example set by the first Christian in this matter is irrelevant as it was recently clarified that they were not the F&DS. As a result, it is to be expected that the WT will take actions that were never taken before – they are unique, living in an exceptional time.

  Though I don’t agree with the logic, it is nonetheless their logic. As for comparing the sizes of other print houses with the ones of the watchtower, you must keep in mind that the employees of the other companies don’t live on site.
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  6

  Video on child abuse

  by TTATT in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  very strong video on child abuse in the wt.

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  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohaln1qhi90.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I think the video is very well made. However, it would be a good idea to make it a little more mainstream by rewording some of the items. For instance:

  "... committed under the protection of so called religious beliefs"

  could be

  "... committed under current organizational procedures".

  Concerning the things that can be done, I agree with them except for the first one. Everyonce in a while, a kid will actually lie about this stuff. So what about "Innocent until proven guilty"?.

  There is one thing that the video did not address:

  - Do the elders recieve as proof other type of witnesses such as pictures, recordings, medical/legal proofs or even contracdictory statements from the accused? I can't even find anything abou that topic in anything printed by the watchtower.

  - In places where elders don't have to report to the police, are parents still discouraged to do so?
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  19

  Dubs & Halloween

  by Nathan Natas in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Though I don’t abide to a whole lot of JW’s teachings, I must say that I am still against the idea to celebrate Halloween. That holiday is not only rooted in pagan practices but still puts forward concepts that don’t go along with being a Christian. Dressing up kids as monsters and sometimes even as little devils... I don’t see how someone can consolidate this with being a Christian. That being said, if it was just about dressing up kids for candies, I have nothing against that.
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  33

  Young children baptism

  by zound in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to further push the young children baptisms take a look at this image:.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  And they take pride that they don't baptize babies. Seriously, what is the difference when you baptize kids like this. This sickens me.
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  18

  RNWT: Page 1767: About 1914

  by StephaneLaliberte in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in appendix b1, there is a timeline for the message of the bible.

  on the second page of that appendix, there is a small section entitled "about 1914", what is this?

  don't you find it odd that they use the word "about"?

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  StephaneLaliberte

  As for World War 1, everything was sent into motion with the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in June 28 1914. As a witness, I always believed that Satan himself was behind the man that shot him. But now, that timeline just doesn't make any sense!