Anything that is untrue is harmful. I'm not fond of being taken down a road that goes to nowhere, which is exactly what untruths do. Screw all things untrue!
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this thread is not to try and prove which position is true or false, but i wanted to ask a question to believers.
i'll prelude the question with some examples.. jw's think that their message is true and benificial to others - therefore they knock on doors and informal witness etc.
i think it's safe to say most on this forum agree it is not true and it is in fact harmful (particularly to children) perhaps harmful in ways that the jw is not in a position to appreciate because of his/her warped perspective on things.. on the other hand - if their message was true, and armageddon is coming etc etc, then you could argue that them preaching this stuff is not harmful (actually its morally ambiguous but nevermind that for the time being) because the ends justifies the means - it all comes out in the wash etc.. in turn if mormons message was false then we can agree they are misleading, lying, wasting peoples precious time and lives and ultimately harming children and susceptable people by spreading it.
Anything that is untrue is harmful. I'm not fond of being taken down a road that goes to nowhere, which is exactly what untruths do. Screw all things untrue!
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The question was: "While you were a JW, what did you say when people ask you how was your Thanksgiving and Christmas?"
I would simply tell them the truth ... that it was a pain in the ass.
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my wife's brother died and an old friend i have known for years died also.
they both were within a few years of my age.
kind of scares me.. there were several others my wife knew died last week too.. ken p..
Something I noticed about every graveyard I've ever visited: They were chock full of dead people. Death is all around, no matter where a person goes. And if people aren't dying from illness they are killing one another. Yeah, someone will die in the next few seconds. And it just may be YOU! Watch out for the Grim Reaper for he cometh at a moment that you least expect. Then you'll be hauled off to the Undertaker. Your body fluids will be drained out. He will steal all the gold fillings you have in your teeth. You'll be put in a box that may even be too short for your body, but nobody will know. Then you'll be slowly lowered into a hole in the ground, and dirt thrown in your face. And there you will rot to pieces.
Pallbearer
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http://www.jw.org/en/news/by-region/europe/turkey/respect-conscientious-objection/.
un says turkey must respect conscience of its citizensplaymillions of christians conscientiously refuse to bear arms?and many nations honor that decision.
the un human rights committee has ruled that turkish citizens deserve the same freedom.. .
Conscientious objection to military service is as old as Christianity itself. E. W. Barnes, in his book The Rise of Christianity, wrote: "A careful review of all the information available [shows] that, until the time of Marcus Aurelius [Roman emperor from 161 to 180 C.E.], no Christian became a soldier; and no soldier, after becoming a Christian, remained in military service."
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What about Cornelius?
would i be in trouble?let's suppose that i had never stopped going to the meetings at the kingdom hall, and that i was still actively engaged in the field service.
if you were to be invited into my home you couldn't help but notice that the entire top (probably 6 foot across) of my entertainment center (a piece of furniture that holds the tv and that has glassed-in shelves on each side) is crowded with religious figurines, most of which came from the local catholic store.. .
next to that is the nativity scene that has several pieces: the wise men, the "star", the babe jesus, and joseph and mary etc.
Update:
I plan on building more shelves and buying more figurines, including religious figurines, and not worrying the least bit about what ANYONE here on Earth thinks about it.
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would i be in trouble?let's suppose that i had never stopped going to the meetings at the kingdom hall, and that i was still actively engaged in the field service.
if you were to be invited into my home you couldn't help but notice that the entire top (probably 6 foot across) of my entertainment center (a piece of furniture that holds the tv and that has glassed-in shelves on each side) is crowded with religious figurines, most of which came from the local catholic store.. .
next to that is the nativity scene that has several pieces: the wise men, the "star", the babe jesus, and joseph and mary etc.
Let's suppose that I had never stopped going to the meetings at the Kingdom Hall, and that I was still actively engaged in the Field Service. If you were to be invited into my home you couldn't help but notice that the entire top (probably 6 foot across) of my entertainment center (a piece of furniture that holds the TV and that has glassed-in shelves on each side) is crowded with religious figurines, most of which came from the local Catholic Store.
Now let's suppose that you, the one invited in, are an Elder.
Question: What will you think? And what will you do? Anything?
It just so happens that I am fond of sculptures, and especially those sculptures or figurines that depict people or objects in the Bible.
For example, at the left end of the ledge there is a figurine that says "Time began in a garden". Next to it is a figurine that depicts Mary and Joseph, with Mary pregnant and sitting on a donkey that is being led by Joseph. Next to that is the Nativity scene that has several pieces: the wise men, the "star", the babe Jesus, and Joseph and Mary etc. Next to that is a figurine that depicts the child Jesus learning how to work with wood, and with Joseph and Mary observing him. Next to that is a figurine of a grown Jesus holding a child in his arms. Next to that is a figurine of the Apostle Paul, holding a Bible in one hand and a sword in the other. Next to that is a figurine of the Apostle Peter, holding a key. Next to that are two separate figurines, both of which depict Michael the archangel defeating the Devil. Next to those, at the right end of the ledge, is a figurine that depicts Jesus, sitting on a throne with the earth underneath his feet, and flanked with a lion on both his left and right. Oh, and there are two separate figurines, each of which have a lion and a lamb that depict the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. Those are sort of sitting in the foreground. And also in the foreground there is the figurine that has the Lord's Supper, with Jesus and the 12 present.
Then if you were to swing around to the right of that piece of furniture you'd see a blue cabinet, on the top of which you'd see a figurine of Moses holding up the 2 tablets. Swinging still further to the right, you'd see a decorative blue "Blanket Chest". The top of it is literally cram packed with a mixture of figurines. There's another, larger, Nativity Scene. It is composed of the wise men, bearing gifts, and the "star". All separate pieces. There is also a figurine of the bust of Pharaoh. There is a figurine of a winged lion, quite similar to the one described in Daniel 7. There is also a figurine of a Rhino (which is the type of animal I think that Daniel saw but didn't name, his 4th beast in Daniel 7). And also there are the two figurines of the busts of Homer and Aristotle. There is a figurine of Saint Patrick. And there is a figurine of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Swinging further to the right you'd see on my fireplace mantle a huge, bigger than life figurine of Grumpy (the Walt Disney character). And there are 2 or 3 other objects there as well.
So there's no way that you, Brother Elder, could possibly miss the fact that I am a huge fan of figurines.
Now just what are you thinking? What will your reaction be?
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an old acquaintance way back from the h20 discussion board days has given me a link to a talk given at an assembly by the then district overseer duggan, that he had recorded on a cassette tape.
amazingly, he still had the tape and made it into and mp3 file and has shared it.
Leolaia and Black Sheep,
I don't know why you're having the trouble you are with the recording. When I download it and listen to it, it is clear and understandable. Also, if you go to the JW forum at CARM and click on my thread that is named "Download: Less than 83 month's to Armageddon, says a District Overseer", you will find in my post there where I transcribed what the DO said.
You can rest assured that the tape has NEVER been spliced. I should know because I was the one who recorded it, and it's never been in anyone else's possession all these years.
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an old acquaintance way back from the h20 discussion board days has given me a link to a talk given at an assembly by the then district overseer duggan, that he had recorded on a cassette tape.
amazingly, he still had the tape and made it into and mp3 file and has shared it.
I also thank "somebody" (Gwen) for taking the time out of her life to start this thread, a thread that I intended on being anonomous in.
I'm priviledged to have her as my acquaitance and friend, even as far back as the days of H20 (as she mentioned). And, as I'm sure that you all here will agree, isn't she pretty!
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[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser /> </w:worddocument> </xml><![endif].
an old acquaintance way back from the h20 discussion board days has given me a link to a talk given at an assembly by the then district overseer duggan, that he had recorded on a cassette tape.
amazingly, he still had the tape and made it into and mp3 file and has shared it.
Hey 3rdgen,
I don't know if Mr. Duggan's name was "Lester" or not. I suspect that it's the same person.
Thanks for sharing what you knew about him.
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[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser /> </w:worddocument> </xml><![endif].
an old acquaintance way back from the h20 discussion board days has given me a link to a talk given at an assembly by the then district overseer duggan, that he had recorded on a cassette tape.
amazingly, he still had the tape and made it into and mp3 file and has shared it.
Hey Black Sheep,
I just downloaded it again from sendspace and it was crystal clear. Don't know why you're having trouble getting it. Sorry about that.
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