GinnyTosken

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Posts by GinnyTosken

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  105

  An Internet Apostate

  by Yadirf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an internet "apostate" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the internet.

  s/he tries to start arguments and upset people.. apostates see internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game.

  for some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people.

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  GinnyTosken

  Yadirf,

  I think you need to consult your dictionary and compare plagiarism to parody.

  I was not trying to pass off your ideas as my own; your original was there for comparison.

  Ginny
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  105

  An Internet Apostate

  by Yadirf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an internet "apostate" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the internet.

  s/he tries to start arguments and upset people.. apostates see internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game.

  for some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people.

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  GinnyTosken

  Here is Timothy Campbell's original for comparison:

  http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm

  Ginny
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  32

  FELLOWSHIP

  by ricoananas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been reading lots of messages in just a few days of logging on to this site and have to say that in the beginning it was bothering me to still be doing the jw thing.

  i dropped out after 25 years, the last 14 as an elder.

  now, however, i'm beginning to realize that the posts have been giving me a feeling of fellowship with many people who have gone/are going through experiences similar to mine, a kind of fellowship that i rarely if ever felt being among other jw's.

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  GinnyTosken

  Hi, Rico,

  Welcome!

  Is "Ananas" pronounced like "bananas"? If so, I think it's a lovely name.

  "Yes, we have no Ananas . . . We have no Ananas today . . ."

  Ginny
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  11

  Newbie here with questions.

  by AjaxMan in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am a newbie here.

  i am not a jw, never was and i don't think i will ever be.

  my last statement is due to the fact that i did read a lot of posts from this forum and about the jws in other sites.

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  GinnyTosken

  When I was a JW teenager, I had "worldly" friends. I owe them a huge debt, because they asked me hard questions about my religion, got me to think, and pushed me to go to college.

  I sincerely liked them, and my being nice to them was not just a facade. Still, my feelings about these worldly friends were very mixed. I was drawn to them by their intelligence and humor, but at the same time felt that having worldly friends was a guilty indulgence. I was wrong to allow myself this bad association and stupid to get attached to people who would likely die at Armageddon. The closer we became, the more difficult my dilemma.

  As long as I believed the JW teachings, there was always a mild wall of paranoia up against these friends. I felt there was much that they did not understand and much that they couldn't see because they were blinded by Satan. Because they didn't accept the moral code outlined by the Watchtower Society, I thought they had no moral code at all.

  Looking back, I'm surprised they put up with me. Warmth and friendliness could alternate with self-righteous judgment and withdrawal.

  At the very least, I would be prepared for mixed and confusing signals from your friend.

  Ginny
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  5

  Yoda is Satan!!!!! The fundy farside part II

  by expatbrit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.texemarrs.com/ameruss.htm.

  http://www.sounddoctrine.com/baphomet.htm.

  " http://bethelministries.com/insurance.htm.

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  GinnyTosken

  The sin of insurance should be somewhat familiar to ex-JWs.

  Insurance and Christians

  Does a Christian who trusts in God's help and anticipates the end of the system of things need insurance? Back in the year 1910, some posed this question to Charles Taze Russell, editor of the magazine now known as The Watchtower, companion magazine to Awake! Russell acknowledged that the Bible foretells the end of the present economic system, adding that personally he carried no life insurance.
  
  "Nevertheless all are not situated alike," Russell observed. "A father having dependent wife and children-if the latter be of tender years and unable to make their own living-has some responsibility for them." (1 Timothy 5:8) A man might set aside funds to provide for his family, Russell noted. "But in case he could not do this, he might be able to discharge his duty toward them through the medium of life insurance."

  from http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2001/2/22/article_02.htm

  Pastor Russell had this to say about insurance in Studies in the Scriptures, Volume Six, Study 14:

  Organizations for Mutual Benefit, etc.

  We are living in a day of organization, and it must be admitted that some of these have been and are truly wise and beneficial arrangements. Insurance companies of every kind are, of course, on a commercial footing, not, strictly speaking, philanthropic. They are endeavors on the part of humanity to bridge over the uncertainties and difficulties of the present life--to make provision ahead for death and its calamitous results in the affairs of dependent ones. We need not go into descriptions or details respecting the various kinds of insurance, but may say at once that it is purely a matter of business judgment, and not a religious question, whether or not the Lord's people shall avail themselves of insurance opportunities. We have known circumstances in which we consider that the father of a family did wisely in keeping an insurance policy for the benefit of his wife and children. Especially is this a wise course where the wife is not in sympathy with Present Truth and the husband's views respecting the near future, and when she desires insurance as a protection and as a rest and relief to her mind. If the husband's judgment in any considerable degree coincides with that of his wife, we think he would do well to maintain such insurance. We are not advocating insurance, and as for the writer, he carries none. We are merely pointing out that nothing in the Scriptures is designed to govern or regulate the conduct of New Creatures in this respect, and that each must use his own judgment in harmony with his own peculiar conditions in deciding the matter. According to our expectations the stress of the great time of trouble will be on us soon, somewhere between 1910 and 1912--culminating with the end of the "Times of the Gentiles," October, 1914. The beginning of the severity of the trouble is not distinctly marked in the Scriptures, and is rather conjectural. We infer that so great a trouble, so world-wide a catastrophe, could scarcely be accomplished in less than three years, and that if it lasted much more than three years "no flesh would be saved." In harmony with these anticipations we expect that when the financial storm shall sweep over Christendom, business and banks and insurance and property values will all go down together; that this, indeed, will constitute a serious feature of the trouble, carrying dismay and chagrin to hearts which have nothing else to rest upon--no heavenly treasures. It is very reasonable to assume that what are called the fraternal insurance societies will fall before the regular companies, because the former are without capital, and depend upon assessments; and because these assessments will become the more onerous as the membership of the societies not only ceases to increase, but, under pressing conditions, will dwindle. The failure of these various associations will, undoubtedly, dash the hopes of many, and make them reckless respecting all earthly prospects. Each, therefore, must decide for himself his wisest course as a steward of whatever property or income he may have; but none of the New Creation, controlled and guided by faith in the Lord, will feel such a trepidation in respect to the future as would bring fear to their hearts; nor will this class place such confidence in any human agency, protection or assistance as would make them feel dependent upon it as their treasure, and heartbroken in the event of its failure.

  from http://www.nsbible.org/sits_v6/v6s14.htm

  Ginny
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  8

  QUESTIONS FROM JOELBEAR

  by You Know in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on the previous thread ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=17150&site=3) on disfellowshipping you asked several questions: where is the scriptural reference that says qualified men will serve as judges in the congregation?

  probably one of the most important portions of scripture in that connection is the 6th chapter of 1st corinthians.

  there, paul chided the corinthians because they were using worldly judges to settle their disputes among themselves.

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  GinnyTosken

  YouKnow,

  Paul said with surprise: “Is it true that there is not one wise man among you that will be able to judge between his brothers?” Prior to that Paul reminded them that the anointed were going to judge angels and then said: “Why, then, not matters of this life? If then you do have matters of this life to be tried, is it to men looked down on in the congregation that you put up as judges?” This account shows, then, that it is appropriate for elders to serve as judges in the congregation.

  If anything, this account shows that it is appropriate for anointed ones to serve as judges in the congregation.

  In fact, Jesus cited this principle, or law actually, at Deuteronomy 19:15, when giving instructions on how to deal with problems that would arise among Christians.

  Jesus' words can be found at Matthew 18:15-17:

  Moreover, if your brother commits a sin, go lay bare his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two more, in order that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he does not listen to them, speak to the congregation. If he does not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you just as a man of the nations and as a tax collector.

  Yet you say:
  

  It is understood that when Christ said to escalate matters to the congregation that he didn’t mean that the whole congregation would serve as a jury in the case. That would not have been consistent with the arrangement in Jewish society where the older men listen to cases at law and judged for the nation.

  By whom is it understood that Christ didn't mean the whole congregation when he said "the congregation"? It seems to me that Jesus felt little need to be consistent with the established arrangements in Jewish society under the Mosaic law.

  NeonMadman has some very good comments about 1 Corinthians 6 in this thread:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=15500&page=2&site=3

  Ginny
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  7

  I Have A Religious Truck!

  by Undecided in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have a old('76) gmc 4wd pickup truck.

  it has holes rusted in places and has 200,000 miles on it.

  it still runs good and i pull my 35' camper to the coast with it each year.

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  GinnyTosken

  Undecided,

  I tell everyone it is a religious truck, it's holey, and I've driven the hell out of it.

  Does this make you a holey roller when you drive it?

  Ginny
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  6

  Seriously twisted...

  by closer2fine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  check this out..... .

  http://www.oddtodd.com/.

  *edited cause i forgot to post a warning!!!!.

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  GinnyTosken

  Closer2fine,

  LOLOL!! I love the "Laid Off" link!

  Thanks so much!

  Ginny
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  22

  JW statistics 2001 -- www.jwic.com/stat.htm

  by Osarsif in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jw statistics 2001:.

  http://www.jwic.com/stat.htm.

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  GinnyTosken

  Thanks, Osarsif, for sharing this.

  I found the commentary at the very bottom of the site especially interesting:

  What is common among those countries with zero growth or negative growth (most European, North American countries and Japan) compared to those countries with steady and rapid growth (former Soviet Union, most African and South and Central American countries)? This has been my question for the past several years since I started this statistics site. Economical, political and social instability of the countries seems to be related to the growth of the Watchtower religion. It prospers where the society is poor and unstable. It also prospers where public information sources are limited or restricted. In this regard, "epidemiology" of the Watchtower religion is very similar to that of contagious infectious diseases. Where public awareness of the disease propagation is limited, the disease spread rapidly. Is it totally a coincidence that the countries of rapid growth of JW population are also the countries of rapid growth in AIDS population?

  Ginny
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  18

  WAS DISFELLOWSHIPPING FOR CHRISTIANS TODAY?

  by Bill Parker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  was disfellowshipping for christians today?.

  tuesday, december 11, 2001. .

  in an effort to keep this as short as possible i am going to try and focus only a bare minimum of scriptures realizing that no one today appreciates too long a post.. in luke 12:48 these words are found, in part: ... to whom much was given much will be demanded.

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  GinnyTosken

  LOL at Englishman's "banging Daddy's crumpet"!

  [Edited to add: For those who may not have read Englishman's post above, I am referring to a phrase Englishman used. I do not mean to imply that Englishman banged his Daddy's crumpet.]

  Ginny