...who gets to give talks at circuit assemblies, who gets to give experiences at district conventions, who has the largest Easter bonnet (oops got a little carried away).
Posts by Gopher
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15COMPETITION IN THE CONGREGATION!
by ADJUSTMENTS inthere always seemed to be a level of unspoken competition within the congregation.
wether it be between elders, ms, pioneers, etc... who's kids are doing more, who gets more hours out, who comments the most or the best, who gives the best parts, whos kids are the best, who has the better car, who has the better house, who has the better job and so on... it's not openly discussed but you can discern it through conversations, sometimes you can hear undertones of jealousy or meddling in others business, this always bothered me!
if this is gods organization whats with all the jealousy and competiton, i would see other religions or organizatons with less of these issues and question it!.
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23
Duck Watchtowercy
by Defianttruth inwith phil robertson getting the boot within a day of his comments by a&e, what would happen if the lbg community started calling all of the venue managers of their convention arenas and exposing them for the hate group they are today?
just a thought.
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Gopher
I agree with what he said. I don't see how men can be attracted to other men. Gross.
I don't see how people can stand to eat stewed tomatoes. Gross. I don't like them, so there oughta be a law banning them for everyone and anyone so that my sensibilities will not be offended.
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78
I think Im an Atheist :(? :)?
by chrisuk inive been pondering my beliefs for a while now and ive come across things that i just cant accept.
i was recently walking with a christian who stated that the universe couldnt just come from nothing.
he said that the universe was so complex that it needed a designer, he also said something which ive heard before.
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Gopher
I’m pretty sure that I’m now an Atheist, I almost wish I was still ignorant of the facts but I can’t un-know something.
ChrisUK,
I hear you there! It is definitely more comforting to "know" or believe in life after death and in some mysterious higher power who holds all of life's secrets that we will find out someday only if we are faithful to a certain ideology or believe in a certain ancient character.
But after a while it becomes more normal to simply look for evidence rather than to settle for acquiescing to belief in mysteries that a few religious higher-ups say they can explain to you. After a while it just becomes normal to acknowledge "there is not enough evidence" for any deity such as invented or explained by mankind. (Nobody can prove or disprove a deity, so in that sense everyone is agnostic. Those who believe there's enough evidence for one or multiple gods is a theist. Those who don't believe are atheist - without theism.) -
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I think Im an Atheist :(? :)?
by chrisuk inive been pondering my beliefs for a while now and ive come across things that i just cant accept.
i was recently walking with a christian who stated that the universe couldnt just come from nothing.
he said that the universe was so complex that it needed a designer, he also said something which ive heard before.
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Gopher
most theists don’t think the labels of complexity of even simplicity apply to God
There is no proof for what theists think. They can theorize all they want. God seems to be whatever theists/priests want him to be, in order to impress people with high-sounding ideas.
The idea of a God is a matter of faith, because as is mentioned he is really unexplainable. It seems that some people just love the idea of believing in a bigger-than-life mystery - it gives them something big to believe in. However such things are mere conjecture and cannot be proven or disproven scientifically or even logically. -
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Went to a Christmas concert at Bethel yesterday!
by Gopher inyes, you read that right.. bethel university is a christian college in a suburb of saint paul, minnesota.
the performers were ernie haase and the signature sound, a gospel quartet from the southern united states.
i went along with friends & my girlfriend who are believers.. for me, there were enough seasonal/secular songs to balance out the gospel / jesus songs.
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Gopher
Yes, you read that right.
Bethel University is a Christian college in a suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The performers were Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound, a gospel quartet from the southern United States. I went along with friends & my girlfriend who are believers.
For me, there were enough seasonal/secular songs to balance out the gospel / Jesus songs. The singers were very talented and entertaining.
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what kind of amazing peace agreement would capture your watchtower imagination?
by scotoma inembeded in the minds of jw's and xjw's is the watchtowers pairing of some kind of cry of peace and security followed by something referred to as the "disgusting thing standing in the holy place".
there have been many moments of peace starting with the end of world war ii vj day and ve day.
end of korean war?.
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Gopher
For my JW mind, it would have taken an historic agreement among all the United Nations member nations and particularly their SECURITY council, stating that war is unacceptable and that they had set in place some logical way to resolve conflicts. The UN website says "Under the Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security."
Of course, any such agreement would be fragile, paper thin and prove unsuccessful because of human nature. The scripture said there would be a "declaration" of peace and security, not actual peace or security. -
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Do You Think Anyone Looks Down On People Who Commit "Fornication"?
by minimus ini think only in strict religious circles, is it considered taboo.. does someone's "fornicating" bother you?.
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Gopher
Certain religious people do look down on it. The word "fornication" was created by and for the use of religious people. Like Paul once wrote "Unless I had been taught by the law [about sin], I wouldn't know sin."
It seems that those who are loudest about certain sins are those who fully enjoyed them when they were younger, but now have settled down and tell others not to do what they (the loud speakers) did before. -
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Happy Friday the 13th!
by wearewatchingyouman inanybody have any plans to chase black cats under ladders while breaking mirrors and spilling salt?.
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Gopher
I survived the whole day at work.
I shouldn't celebrate my victory over the number 13 quite yet. I haven't driven home.
The roads around here have been a bit treacherous.
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My thoughts on ex-Jw 'activism'
by Rufus T. Firefly ini have noticed several threads discussing the pros and cons of certain ex-jws who become activists toward active jws.
i dont know why anyone would find this to be odd; after all, jws consider it their god-given duty to expose religious error and apostasy in other religious organizations.
anyone who was ever a jw knows this to be true.
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Gopher
Well Groucho,
I think it depends on the type of activism that you mean. If it's the confrontational kind, that will rarely work with JW's. Confronting them only serves to reinforce their loyalty to "their" mother organization. If it's along the lines of providing helpful information - that has worked (when the JW is ready to consider it). If it's on doctrine, it rarely works. Maybe some people would leave JW's because the '7 Gentile Times ending in 1914' teaching is shown to be based on a false date, but more will leave if they can believe that they will be okay (not all alone, not evil) if they leave.
The JW's who post anonymously "engaging in debates with ex-JWs" are so blind and misguided - they are probably miserable loners who can't get a position in the organization and can't find anyone to love them because of their personality. (I've long since tired of debating with them; it's like talking to a wall.) -
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Humans are 6,000 years old...promise!
by notsurewheretogo inhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25193442.
this kind of satanic propaganda is obviously satan "misleading" and changing the evidence to suit...and boy is he good at it and very busy doing it!.
leg bone gives up oldest human dna.
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Gopher
The Watchtower had Adam's creation at 4026 BCE (exactly 6,000 years before the world system was to end in 1975) -- and I think they even had it down to which day of the year (approximately October 1st - 2nd). You know, it just sounds more scientific when they pin it down to a calendar day.