Gopher

Joined

• started 209 topics
• posted 10,871 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Gopher

• 
  305

  Waiting's Never-ending Joke Thread

  by Seven in

  1. social
  2. humour

  happy monday!.

  had no price tag.

  much to her embarrassment the cashier got on the intercom and boomed out for the entire store to hear: "price check on lane thirteen, tampax, supersize.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Toddy,

  Very funny stuff! Welcome again to the board!

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  40

  Rookie on the Field

  by peacepipe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been reading this forum page for about a year.

  at first i thought it was a meeting place for practicing jw's but after reading many posts found that most people here have been hurt or don't see things eye to eye with the wt org.

  i am not a jw but i have been associating with them for about 3 yrs.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Peacepipe,

  Welcome! I've been addicted, er, enjoying this board for 5 months now myself. I'd been a JW all my life up until last year, age 39. The main reason I'm not going back: they TALK love, but do not really practice it. That may sound shocking, because to new people like yourself they practice "love bombing", until either you're a full-fledged member or they've decided to give up on you! JW's will teach you to hate anyone who's different, after all they're about to go down to destruction in some violent Armageddon. The shunning of those who are disfellowshipped due to spiritual weakness or having doubts goes against human nature (which wants to extend love), and goes against all that the Bible says about love, and about trying to restore those with problems.

  So enjoy the board, learn. And also, invite your husband to read the board! He may find it enlightening or amusing. He will be affected by whatever you do, of course, and it seems he's been very tolerant of your spiritual search. You're very fortunate! Listen to him, he is being gentle when saying "please rethink this". Many other men would be very angry! Best wishes to you, please keep posting.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  34

  Anointed Christians throughout 2,000 years

  by ozziepost in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is the view as found in the latest magazine:.

  "for almost 2,000 years, that peace has been enjoyed by faithful anointed members of the body of christ.

  " (the watchtower september 1, 2001, page 14, paragraph 3).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Aaron,

  Shane said it quite well, about 'faithfulness'.

  In addition to faith and belief, the scripture says "Faith without works is dead". So works give proof that our faith is real, however works don't save us. Shane gave a good outline of the works God reasonably expects.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  34

  Anointed Christians throughout 2,000 years

  by ozziepost in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is the view as found in the latest magazine:.

  "for almost 2,000 years, that peace has been enjoyed by faithful anointed members of the body of christ.

  " (the watchtower september 1, 2001, page 14, paragraph 3).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Ozzie,

  No offense taken. It's all just an interesting discussion. (If you want to offend me, mate, you'll need to try harder!!)

  Six,

  Perhaps it seems like we're spinning our wheels here, going over nit-picky points that some crazed older man wrote 1,905 years ago? The "attraction" to the book is that it is still the worldwide all-time best seller, it STILL attracts an enormous amount of interest and attrmtion. So it doesn't hurt to be knowledgeable about it. That's a separate issue from whether every part of the book has merit. As I'm seeking truth, I'm finding some parts of the Bible more relevant and even more believable than other parts. But I am not (at this point in my searching/development) ready yet to throw out the whole book (akin to throwing out the baby with the bathwater). So yes, it is like a riddle (as opposed to a joke).

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  34

  Anointed Christians throughout 2,000 years

  by ozziepost in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is the view as found in the latest magazine:.

  "for almost 2,000 years, that peace has been enjoyed by faithful anointed members of the body of christ.

  " (the watchtower september 1, 2001, page 14, paragraph 3).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Hi Ozzie,

  Well... that old Watchtower training does linger on, doesn't it? I can't cite a specific scripture, so your conclusion is quite reasonable... that God looks at all humankind to see who are faithful....

  The only relevant scriptures I can dredge up (in the middle of the night here) are in Romans 8. Romans 8:17 speaks of the anointed as being "joint heirs of Christ, provided we suffer together that we may be glorified together". The idea of suffering together while not yet in a 'glorified' state, i.e., still here on earth, implies some form of association...not spelled out exactly.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  34

  Anointed Christians throughout 2,000 years

  by ozziepost in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is the view as found in the latest magazine:.

  "for almost 2,000 years, that peace has been enjoyed by faithful anointed members of the body of christ.

  " (the watchtower september 1, 2001, page 14, paragraph 3).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Cosmo,

  Awful question! Do you think only men are qualified to rule among the anointed??

  But seriously, there were women present at the original anointing of the Christians in Jerusalem. See Acts 2:17,18. So the anointed are chosen from among both male and female faithful Christians.

  Once they reach heaven, they become gender-neutral, that is, whether they were a man or woman before really doesn't matter. See Galatians 3:28 (best supporting scripture I could find, I'm not sure it's in the right context...don't have my regular Bible with me here in the office). God apparently wants a diverse background of individuals to rule in his Kingdom, so that the all different kinds of people may truly be helped by the Kingdom.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  11

  Quotes

  by h2o in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while traveling near tampa, florida i passed the "jehovah's witness assembly hall" and was struck by the fact that that must be where they make them.

  gene spafford .

  religion is the perfect justification for tyranny, because it doesn't require an ounce of reason or a shred of proof.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.
  Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

  A Sunday school is a prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience of their parents.
  Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956)

  An eye for an eye only leads to more blindness.
  Margaret Atwood

  Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.
  Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

  Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.
  G. K. Chesterton

  Church is only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members.
  William Temple

  Faith is believing what you know ain't so.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  305

  Waiting's Never-ending Joke Thread

  by Seven in

  1. social
  2. humour

  happy monday!.

  had no price tag.

  much to her embarrassment the cashier got on the intercom and boomed out for the entire store to hear: "price check on lane thirteen, tampax, supersize.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Waiting,

  How about "The Thread to End All Threads"?

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  305

  Waiting's Never-ending Joke Thread

  by Seven in

  1. social
  2. humour

  happy monday!.

  had no price tag.

  much to her embarrassment the cashier got on the intercom and boomed out for the entire store to hear: "price check on lane thirteen, tampax, supersize.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Seven,

  Oh you Cassandra! You sayer of doom! Who really wants to believe that WNEJT is about to go splat! Here---have a piece of this iceberg. (I hear the orchestra playing "nearer my God to thee". It's time to rearrange the deck chairs....... glug glug,)

  Quick get me onto another joke thread! But whoever starts it, please don't tease us with a "never ending" promise. Didn't we leave unrealistic promises behind in the Borg??? (Oh come on I'm not serious folks.... This is a JOKE thread remember)

  Enough of this stream of consciousness.... and I didn't even have any beer yet.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
• 
  34

  Anointed Christians throughout 2,000 years

  by ozziepost in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is the view as found in the latest magazine:.

  "for almost 2,000 years, that peace has been enjoyed by faithful anointed members of the body of christ.

  " (the watchtower september 1, 2001, page 14, paragraph 3).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Gopher

  Cosmo,

  Good question! The Bible says that their reign lasts "forever and ever", but that contradicts with 1,000 year limit set out in Revelation. So the WT Society explains that by saying the EFFECTS of their rule last forever and ever. (Kinda clever, eh?)

  They never come back to earth, in the way the Revelation and the Watchtower explain it, since they are immortal (incapable of dying). The teaching on what they do after the millenium is fuzzy, but they're always explained as remaining in heaven.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)