Gopher

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Posts by Gopher

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  20

  What is the WT's definition of an Apostate...

  by Bells in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't mean the 'unruly men who cook up wicked reasoning and season their brew with poisonous lies that deceive minds' definition.... i mean - who are they actually referring to when they are doing these awful talks at the conventions about the mentally diseased apostates etc.. specifically - is an 'apostate' someone who was actually baptised (baptized for you american's ) ?

  or can someone who was simply raised in "the truth" but left and was never baptised be classified as this lying, deceiving, mentally diseased apostate also?

  or am i considered to be an apostate - even though i wasn't raised in the cult, never went to a meeting etc.

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  Gopher

  Yes this apostate thing is convoluted. My two baptized uncles (now in their 60's and 70's) both left the JW's about 50 years ago. However, they faded and disappeared from a small-town congregation. So since they were never announced from the platform as "Disfellowshipped / disassociated" (or "no longer a JW" as they announce these days), they can freely associate with my JW relatives. However my sister and I were announced, so we're viewed as dangerous / poisonous and possibly apostate. BTW - My two uncles feel exactly the same way about JW's as my sister and I do.
  
  So the rule is: IF you were baptized and subsequently announced from the platform, then you could be apostate. If you were only baptized but got away, you're merely a "lost sheep".

  And of course, ALL this is Bible-based (tm).
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  6

  Nostalgia ... for the lost USSR

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  i spend some time exploring youtube.

  there's a huge amount of rubbish, but some really useful stuff, both sociological and academic.. what i've suddenly noticed is really interesting from a sociological aspect - a nostalgia for the vanished soviet union;.

  as in these videos:.

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  Gopher

  This yearning for "back in the US - back in the USSR - you don't know how lucky you are" is a combination of selective or ignorant nostalgia along with what seems to be a Russian trait of admiring extremely strong-willed leaders.
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  21

  The Fake "Joy" Of Jehovah's Witnesses

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you observe this "joy" when you see witnesses going from house to house, in the kingdom halls, out working, or during theocratic wholesome recreational activities?.

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  Gopher

  If they are not having joy in doing the organization's will, it is obviously THEIR fault. They aren't praying enough, or aren't studying enough, aren't associating enough or going in "the ministry" enough. And that's the truth (TM). I know. I used to give a public talk called "Serve Jehovah With A Joyful Heart". [cringe]
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  16

  Old 1920's watchtower about people flying in 'the new system?'

  by Joliette in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i can remember some people on here talking about this, but i can seem to find the post?

  any other weird articles from the 20's?.

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  Gopher

  Joliette -

  Try the link below:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/(X(1)A(ZCquJHwTzQEkAAAAYzViZjVhM2UtN2QwZi00Nzg4LWFlYzctYTQ1MWQ0N2JhMWJiladtxv44X4cOBAymrW-KfNu8OCs1))/watchtower/bible/141994/2/Golden-Age-3d-In-Paradise-we-will-fly-around-like-Superman-Cool
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  26

  No more district assemblies in Tri-Cities. News article

  by Indian Larry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for years the christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses has held a regional convention in the tri-cities, attracting about 16,000 of the faithful who spend an estimated $8.6 million while in town.. .

  but they won't be coming in 2014.. "what they told me is the decision has been made nationally to downsize the number of conventions from 400 to 100. they're simply consolidating," said kris watkins, president and ceo of the tri-cities visitor & convention bureau in kennewick.. .

  read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/08/01/2500842/jehovahs-witnesses-convention.html#storylink=cpy .

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  Gopher

  The original post mentioned the city of Kennewick, which indeed is in the Tri-Cities area of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick in Washington state. (My mom spent many of her young years in Pasco.)
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  11

  My daughter asks about the Bible

  by laverite in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my 9 year old asked me yesterday about the bible.

  some of her friends in school last year spent a lot of time talking about hell and it really scared her.

  i dealt with it with her, so she is reassured and comforted and realizes she doesn't need to worry about going to hell.

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  Gopher

  It sounds to me like you're doing very well by answering the questions as they come up.
  
  The Bible is definitely engrained in culture, and depending on where you live it can be even more so (like the USA's deep south). So just to be knowledgeable, children even in unchurched families (as I assumed yours is) would be helped by knowing the basics of the Bible and/or a few Bible stories that people believe (David and Goliath, virgin birth). With my older daughter who's old enough to talk about this, I have used the phrase "some people believe" when describing certain outlooks held by Christians and Jews.
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  33

  Poor Carly Simon

  by Hortensia in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  she looks so stiff and old next to taylor swift.

  geriatric singer/songwriter.

  nice to see them sing the song together, though.

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  Gopher

  I always watched Carly with great anticipation.
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  5

  Leah Remini on Leaving Scientology: ‘I’m Not About to Shut Up’

  by Oubliette in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  leah remini on leaving scientology: im not about to shut upleah remini will not be silenced.. after her headline-making split from scientology earlier this month, the 43-year-old actress is speaking out about it for the first time ?

  and says she won't stop talking.. "i believe that people should be able to question things," the former "king of queens" star told people magazine at saturday's 15th annual designcare benefit in malibu, though without uttering the word "scientology" a single time.

  "i believe that people should value family, and value friendships, and hold those things sacrosanct.

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  Gopher

  I'm so happy when celebrities leave behind their crazy cultish religions. It might give courage to others to follow suit.

  Leah is taking it one step further and explaining in clear and honest terms why she left. In doing so she is ticking off her powerless former captors. Love it!
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  4

  A Birthday Indiscretion?

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i grew up as a jehovah's witness so i had to deal with all the issues of not celebrating holidays at school.

  i took this pretty seriously and was pretty vocal every time something came up that violated my religious beliefs.. yet, it seems that there are always gray areas.. one day, my teacher announced that we would be making birthday cards for mcdonalds.

  i don't remember which birthday it was except that it was a round number.

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  Gopher

  Well it's all right now. I learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxdiraVxwkI
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  19

  Pagan traditions that witnesses still take part off

  by Freethinking76 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was reading an article where it said that weeding rings and the brides vail come from pagan origins,... who have any more?,please post.

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  Gopher

  They schedule their meetings using a "worldly" calendar. Many of the months of the year and most of the days of the week are named after pagan gods.