If you want to be a reeeeeally good apostate ya hafta outthink 'em.
Start here to learn how it's done: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Clear_Thinking/clear_thinking.html
Posts by AnneB
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20Good apostate
by phoebed inguys, i have a little time and i wanted some advice.
i really like to be "good" and "super good" in everything i ever do.
i am kinda "perfectionist".
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7
What does it mean to be found faithful?
by kes152 inwhen he said his servants are to be found faithful, what did he mean by that?
whom does he consider faithful servants?.
if you have ever seen the movie willy wonka and the chocolate factory (1971), in that movie there was a man named willy wonka who was seeking a young, honest, loving child to take over his factory.
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AnneB
"...faithfulness cannot be determined only by what one does. The faithfulness that our Lord seeks from us is that which adheres to the things he believes, the things he values (because one can have faith in anything). If we want to be found faithful, our loyalty, our faith, our direction should be to do and practice what he has told us, to love one another even as he has loved us. And in order to do this, we need to keep looking at him as we are dealing with others..."
Faithfulness has a lot to do with obedience. They're not identical since, as aGuest mentioned, a person may have problems (in comprehension, in situation, etc.) which stand in the way of doing as the person may desire, that is, to obey, to be obedient.
This is a huge issue in my own experience, "thanks" to the dubs. How to keep loving people (even close family members) who have shown themselves more "faithful" to organizational teachings than to the God that organization claims to represent?
I remember a long-running debate among a group of dubs many years ago: Which is more important, loyalty or obedience? This thread seems to me to be along the same line.
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6
Jehovah's Witnesses Seek New Building Property In Brooklyn
by Bangalore injehovah's witnesses seek new building property in brooklyn.. http://blog.cleveland.com/parmasunpost/2010/11/jehovahs_witnesses_seek_new_bu.html.
bangalore.
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AnneB
They must envision closing other area Kingdom Halls and consolidating all the meetings at the one property.
Three KH's of that size would accomodate just about all the JW's on the west side of Cleveland!
That area is not exactly the most prosperous part of town. I wonder if JW's from more affluent areas will even drive there to attend the meetings.
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AnneB
As I sit here munching on a sesame seed bagel, I'll tell ya what I like:
Combine any kind of chocolate with soft cream cheese, warm it up until you can stir the two together, then spread it on a buttered bagel.
The chocolate cream cheese tastes kind of like the filling in a chocolate croissant...which I love dearly but don't get too often. This I can make myself so can have it any time!
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14
Random chance or design?
by goddidit ini don't read too much jw material because it's pretty much all the same old rubbish and the constant lies and propaganda drives me nuts.. however, i've noticed a common theme with the 'argument from design' articles.
you know, look at the eye, isn't it complex, evolution is wrong, blah blah.
all the ones i've seen end in a question like "what do you think, is this a product of random chance or design?".
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AnneB
Maybe the larger question is "purpose or plan?"
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20
Reinstated Males Serving as Ass'y Attendants
by doinmypart inat the circuit assembly this weekend i noticed two guys reinstated within the last year were both serving as attendants.
i thought brothers had to be "exemplary" to do that kind of work.
have the requirements changed?
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AnneB
Sometimes elders will use such appointments to inform the congregation that they are not/were not in agreement with the decision to disfellowship.
Using a recently reinstated person in any position of responsibility or extending any priveleges (field service, commenting, etc.) can mean that in their eyes the person was not guilty was guilty of a much less serious offense, or had a properly repentant attitude at the time of the JC, one that would not have called for disfellowshipping.
It's all politics and, like any other political matter, it helps to know how to interpret what you see and hear.
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"The truth "may not be enough ! An Epiphany moment
by caliber inthe whole idea of "the truth " .... is not enough!!!
too much wiggle space , assumption and twisting or hiding of true facts.
this is the oath said in court since the time of the middle ages in the anglo-saxon world to promise (oath ) to tell.... the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
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AnneB
Good thinking!
If you're interested, try Googling for the definition of "disingenuous". It goes right along with the track you're on.
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111
Can we understand the Bible without the Watchtower?
by brotherdan innot according to c.t russell.
in the september 15, 1910 wt he made these shocking claims regarding the 6 scripture studies that he wrote:.
"that is to say, they are not merely comments on the bible, but they are practically the bible itself...".
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AnneB
Read through the thread and remembered point #3...now I can't find the Edit feature!
3.) Studies in the Scriptures went through several revisions over the years. The earlier versions were, indeed, quite different in perspective from the later ones. Remember reading about the split in the WT after Russell's death, with Rutherford horning in and taking things in a direction Russell never considered? Well, it led to certain legal issues, one of which was "who owns the rights to early publications?". Actually, WT doesn't own the publishing rights to lots of earlier stuff including Studies in the Scriptures and (big surprise here) the Photodrama of Creation! The group now known as the Associated Bible Students has the rights to the early stuff! You can order copies of the Studies from them for a reasonable price and they are quite happy to share. WT never talks about that, do they! As far as the Photodrama is concerned, WT always shows the same roughly-7-minute clip...'cause that's all they own! The rest isn't "lost" in the manner that they imply (damaged, destroyed), it's lost as in "we lost the rights when Rutherford did his hostile takeover"!
Lots to consider. The Bible isn't the "Word of God" (and that WT publication is something I get angry about whenever I think of it). Scripture is different than Bible. Russell wasn't out to save the world, he was simply trying to save the Jews (in his later years). WT is....well, I'll leave that to the reader to decide; I know what I think.
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111
Can we understand the Bible without the Watchtower?
by brotherdan innot according to c.t russell.
in the september 15, 1910 wt he made these shocking claims regarding the 6 scripture studies that he wrote:.
"that is to say, they are not merely comments on the bible, but they are practically the bible itself...".
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AnneB
1.) As I understand it, Charles Taze Russell was of the opinion that the natural Jews were going to be restored to Israel and that his preaching was centered with that in mind (especially in his later years). It sounds strange considering what WT is today.
2.) Remember, "The Bible" is just the name given to the cover wrapped around 66-72 (depending on who's counting) books. Think of it this way: you could take a number of books on any topic, say math or gardening, arrange them in some arbitrary order then publish them under one cover, kind of a "best of" volume. That's the idea behind "Bible". Now "Scripture"; that's a different thing altogether! When you read "...all scripture is inspired by God..." don't think of it as meaning each and every line of "The Bible"; think of it more as the stuff in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The other book in what some call the "Old Testament" aren't even on par with the God-inspired stuff in the first five, and the stuff in the "New Testament" is more like "what we thought and did once we got interested in the "scriptures"", a journal of how people took what they'd read in "scripture" and applied it. That's a *very* loose explanation; I hope it serves to highlight the difference between "Bible" and "Scripture". The two concepts are not interchangeable.
3.) Oh, rats! I had a third point in mind but it's taken me so long to write the first two that I forgot what it was! If it comes to me in the time allotted for editing a post I'll come back and add it in. If not, well...you'll know it when you read these lines!
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39
strange comment from elder at the meeting today
by Evidently Apostate intodays watchtower was especially nauseating but during the study one of them made the comment concerning the big a " jehovahs timetable is not contingent on all nations being saturated by the good news".
the study conductor reafirmed his point and then continued.. wait a fuggin minute!
there are 1.4 billion chinese on the earth and only 40 million profess christianity.
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AnneB
Long ago in a city far, far away, the JW's told me that Daniel spoke of an image with toes made partly of clay. It was explained to me that, in the "march of world powers", that after the "Anglo-American dual world power" fell there would be "anarchy". They said that the toes of clay meant that people wouldn't stick together, hence "anarchy".
What if they misinterpreted? What if the toes of clay mean "rule by The People" as in People's Republic of China, that is, a communistic form of government? What if, during the time the "toes" are in power, the "Good News" is preached to the people represented by "the toes"....and THEN the end will come?
That about covers it as far as I'm concerned. WT is so centered on "the end" arriving any day that a further preaching work opening up in the (essentially) untouched part of the world is beyond them.