Posts by Gopher

9

Just Hours After Debate McCain Broke His Promise

by Gary1914 in

during the debate last night, obama and mccain both promised to stop the negative advertisements and to concentrate on the issues.. no sooner had the words came out of mccain's mouth when mccain and palin began sponsoring automated phone calls in key states informing voters of obama's connection with bill ayers, a terrorist.

it is the nastiest sort of phone call meant to sway voters done in a underhanded way, supposedly secretive manner.

really disgusting.. pundits have said that if mccain loses he can at least leave the race with his dignity.

Gopher

Do you have any documentation of this new telephone campaign by the McCain people? Is there a news link?

21

Is Jesus still mediator to only the 144,000?

by sacolton in

has this changed?

if jesus is the mediator to only the anointed 144,000 ... who is the mediator for the rest of them?.

.

Gopher

It would seem that the mediator for the other sheep --- according to the WTS -- is the "anointed remnant", for which the Governing Body is the official spokesman.

If you associate with the "anointed remnant", then you have access to the lifegiving waters of truth and eternal blessings, etc. etc. etc.

It's amazing that they don't teach the non-anointed JW's to end their prayers with "in the name of the anointed remnant and Jesus Christ, amen."

38

Paul and Jesus

by Slappy in

maybe it's just me, but lately it seems like there is a trend (well, moreso than usual in any case) of saying that paul is somehow of a different mind than jesus and that the teachings of the two contradict each other.

while i can see where having a jw background can easily bring this type of thinking around, most especially since they extol the teachings of paul and completely ignore christ, most of you are no longer under the power of the watchtower...er, you aren't are you?

and as such, you should be free of most, if not all, of the brainwashing to occurrs.

Gopher

Slappy quotes Proverbs 26:5 (calling Farkel a "fool"):

"Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." Proverbs 26:5

Well smarty pants, what about the preceding verse? Why didn't you heed this one?

"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him." Proverbs 26:4

4

Stephen Fry in America

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

i heartily recommend it to one and all.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00f2dfv/stephen_fry_in_america_new_world/.

i hope i make it over there some day to meet you crazy americans.

Gopher

That player only plays in the U.K.

But I'll take your word for it, that he says we're crazy. I cannot disagree there's a lot of craziness over here.

20

Can the average JW name their Governing Body?

by sacolton in

jw
friends

i don't think i met one jw who can name the governing body ... which is strange since they basically surrender their conscience to them.

.

could you (without cheating) name each member of the governing body?.

Gopher

I remember in the 90's when WTS president Freddie Franz died. (I was an active JW, and attended all the meetings then.)

I only learned about his death through a "worldly" newspaper, and had no idea who his successor was. Somebody at my hall later told me it was Henschel. I didn't hear of it through the organization till about 4 months later in the Watchtower rag.

24

Happy Anniversary to My Beloved Wife- Mrs. Flipper

by flipper in

jw
friends

.

just want to say it's 2 years for this e-harmony success story and going strong !

mrs. flipper is making me fajita's tonight so the grill will be cookin' along with other steaming things !

Gopher

Congrats to you & the missus. It's been a joy to talk with you both. I hope you have many more happy anniversaries.

- Jeff

4

Is this good or bad?

by Hikaru in

jw
friends

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,436664,00.html is this good?

or is this the facade of peace and security?

the markets almost crashing, then coming back causing them to give a facade of peace?

Gopher

It's good that the market responded to the government's plan to invest directly in banks.

The ups and downs of the market have happened for decades, and willl happen for many decades longer. The world is not ending.

2

Former Standish Arms Hotel in Brooklyn Heights Ready to Rent

by NewYork44M in

here is some information on the wt building sold in 2007 and now prime rental property in brooklyn heights.. .

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?id=23669.

monthly rent prices for the studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments range from $2,200 to $5,900 and $7,200 to $15,000 for several deluxe, larger one-of-kind apartments,.

Gopher

Interesting.

Were the rooms that nice when they had Bethel slaves living there?

I remember visiting friends in Bethel back in 1990, a married couple. They didn't live in the Standish. Anyways their room was compact, but they were thrilled to have a bathroom in their own room. Newer Bethel slaves had rooms without toilets, and had to walk down to the end of the hall for relief.

17

How do you pray?

by Hikaru in

jw
friends

great topic title....not the full question, but i'm guessing you all are raising eyebrows before clicking on it...heh.

anyways, my question is this... how do you pray?

when it feels like you're talking to the wall?

Gopher

I see no evidence of a God who works at all to benefit people on earth. Throughout history and continuing till now, billions have suffered and cried out for a little relief from above, while evil exploiters (including many who make a show of religiousness) seem to get the farthest ahead.

It's probably better to organize one's thoughts about one's situation in writing (lists, journals) or to talk to a trusted friend who you can actually see that cares, and get actual feedback without any guesswork.

God might just be a figment of mankind's active imagination.

407

Is it the JW's or the God of the bible you no longer believe?

by reniaa in

i have a question for the ex-jw's on this forum after months of reading the forum..... many say how good it is to be free of the oppressiveness of the jw's that they can now enjoy the freedom to... have sex, celebrate christmas, gamble, embrace politics etc.

there are still biblical scriptures and principles in place that if you still followed the bible would mean you avoid these things and yet these are now embraced as one of the perks of no longer being a jw so in my confusion i ask.... if these are what you want, isn't it more correct to say you no longer follow the bible as apposed to just the jw's?.

Gopher

Christmas is definitely a secular holiday. People say put the Christ back in Christmas, but in reality it never was there.

I'm not JW now but grew up as one, and as such did not develop a fondness for the holiday. So now I can "take it or leave it". However, I feel that it's a good time to get together with family and friends -- whether or not actual gifts are exchanged.

I'm quite certain that the real (although not public) reason the WT Society bans Christmas is because they don't want JW's to have close ties to their worldly relatives. It's all about separation from the supposedly-worldly influence of people 'not in the truth'.

Any other explanation they give is just noise they make to distract from the real reason.

The WTS picks and chooses what pagan-originated things their followers can or cannot enjoy. Holidays -- no. Wedding rings - yes. Calendars - yes. Pinata parties -- conscience decision.

See what I mean? They're not at all consistent, except in that they want to build an artificial wall between their followers and outsiders including non-JW family members.