Do you have access to the Watchtower on CD-ROM? Perhaps you could do a search using the terms "doctrines, origins of," or "teachings, orgins of" or "teachings/doctrines, basis of." There are some very gifted and dedicated scholars/researchers here. Perhaps they have the Watchtower/Awake library on CD-ROM. When you mention the sources of their doctrines, do you mean the biblical [scriptural] sources, or are you talking about other sources outside of the Bible? Specifically which doctrines are you referring to?
Rapunzel
JoinedPosts by Rapunzel
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need info
by buffalosrfree init was in the early to mid 90s that info came out i believe in a watchtower about where a lot of their doctrine actually came from, if anyone can steer me to where it is i would surely appreciate it.
i can't remember my name sometime much less where that information would be.
tks in advance.
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Coincidences....
by hillary_step ini love a good coincidence.
it is the closest i get to the supernatural these days.
how about this one.. a couple of days ago i was working from my home office and while doing so was listening to a bbc radio 7 re-run of the 1960's radio comedy, "i am sorry i will read that again", with john cleese etc.
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Rapunzel
If anyone is interested in coincidences, then I would highly recommend that he/she read an author named Paul Auster. Auster was born in New York City but has spent a lot of time in France. He has translated the French poet Mallarme into English. Auster has been very much influenced by the psychoanalytical theory of Jacques Lacan. Auster has received Le Prix France Culture deLitterature Etrangere and Le Prix Medicis Etranger. Paul Auster has received an honorary doctorate from the the University of Lieges, France.The notion of coincidences is a prominent theme in all of Paul Auster's writing, especially in his collection of essays entitled The Red Notebook. I would also recommend The Invention of Solitude and The Art of Hunger by this author. He is perhaps best known for his New York Trilogy. As I have said, if you are interested in coincidences, then you should read The Red Notebook.
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New light -generation change - which watchtower?
by Aphrodite incan someone tell me which watchtower has the new light about the generation change and maybe a link to the article or a thread about it please?
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Rapunzel
"willy go round in cirles" was sung by billy preston, a.k.a. "the fifth beatle"
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New light -generation change - which watchtower?
by Aphrodite incan someone tell me which watchtower has the new light about the generation change and maybe a link to the article or a thread about it please?
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Rapunzel
It reminds me of that song: "Willy go 'round in circles; Willy fly like a bird up in the sky."
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Marriage after Armageddon
by nemail ini've been a jw all my life and am thoroughly convinced this is the truth.
but there is one thing that i just don't understand.
many jw's believe that people who get resurrected in the new system will not get married.
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Rapunzel
Dear Nemail: Most of the people here are indeed ex-Jehovahs Witnesses. Most of the people on this discussion board are of the opinion that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society exists primarily to sell their magazines and books in order to earn a profit. Moreover, we feel that the Witnesses are a destructive, high-control sect that harms its members in many ways. If you want an answer to your question, I'd recommend that you ask the Elders in your congregation. Or you might perhaps write to the Society. But be careful. As many here can attest, people have gotten into trouble for just asking questions. If I were you, I would most definitely NOT let on that I thought that the faithful and discrete slave could possibly be the least bit wrong. That would not be cool. You could get in a lot of trouble for that.
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Why Is Relgion So Focused on Eschatology - to the Point of Obsession?
by Rapunzel inone of the major concepts that seems to be found in virtually all of the world's major religions is that of eschatology - the study of the end things, specifically the end of the world.
this is one idea that unites the disparate religions of the world.
furthermore, eschatological concerns constitute a link or a bridge between the religions currently practised in the world, and other ancient, forgotten religions.
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Rapunzel
I think that apocalyptical eschatology is somehow intimately connected with teleology - the study of [or, in existential terms, the longing for] design, purpose and meaning in human life and history, as well as the cosmos. Human beings seem to be driven to seek out patterns and design; they seek to impose an order on the chaotic flux of random phenomena that they call "experience". They search for forms, figures and faces in clouds. Humans seem to crave a sense of purpose in their existence; and they seem to long for a sense of purpose in the cosmos that they sometimes call "God." All of this well and good, I suppose; at least it is relatively harmless. But the associate aspect of teleology - eschatology - can have all sorts of undesirable consequences. Eschatology can be co-opted - hijacked, if you will; and it can lead to disaster. Just think of the case of the Aztecs. Their myths spoke of a fair-skinned God who be the reincarnation of their "feathered serpent" deity. One day, such a fair-skinned "god" did appear. The Aztecs were expecting deliverance; they got Cortez. Belief in myths can sometimes lead to disaster. In our world "equipped" with nuclear bombs and other weapons of mass destruction, the result could be the annihilation of our species and the destruction of our planet. What needs to be done - at the very least - is for people to consciously and closely examine these eschatological myths. People need to sudy these myths objectively. We humans need to be aware of the source of these myths.
I fear that this will be "mission impossible," since I feel that the source of these myths lies deep in the human mind. People speak of certain neurotics as having a "death wish." Perhaps apocalyptic eschatology is an indication that humanity as a collective may have an inclination toward a death wish.
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Why Is Relgion So Focused on Eschatology - to the Point of Obsession?
by Rapunzel inone of the major concepts that seems to be found in virtually all of the world's major religions is that of eschatology - the study of the end things, specifically the end of the world.
this is one idea that unites the disparate religions of the world.
furthermore, eschatological concerns constitute a link or a bridge between the religions currently practised in the world, and other ancient, forgotten religions.
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Rapunzel
One of the major concepts that seems to be found in virtually all of the world's major religions is that of eschatology - the study of the end things, specifically the end of the world. This is one idea that unites the disparate religions of the world. Furthermore, eschatological concerns constitute a link or a bridge between the religions currently practised in the world, and other ancient, forgotten religions. Why do all religions speak of the coming death; destruction; famine; chaos; upheaval; and disaster that will mark "The End"? To be sure, the world's various religions propose different scenarios in regard to what will happen at the End of Time, but they share a fundamental point in common in that all major religions speak of terrible things that will happen at a given point in the end. I used to think that only the three so-called "Abrahamic" religions - Judaism; Christianity; and Islam - were obsessed with eschatology, but such ideas are by no means limited to these three religions; they are also found in Hinduism and Buddhism [which may not be all that surprising after all, given that Buddhism is an off-shoot of Hinduism]. Moreover, it seems that eschatological concerns were on the minds of people who practised religions that are no longer practised. People in ancient Assyria thought that the world, as knew it, could not possibly endure much longer; they too were expecting the end of the world to come soon. Ancient believers in Valhalla wrote of a time when the gods themselves would go insane, and set Valhalla on fire.
In the opinion of many people, religion is the product of the human psyche. So, what is it about the human psyche that compels people toward this unhealthy eschatological focus? Are these fears a sort of masochism? Eschatological dread has been a part of religion for millenia; and this dread is still evident in today's "modern" world. Why is this so, do you think?
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Some Things About JWs Just Aren't Right!..... Huh???
by minimus injust because someone's a witness, it doesn't mean they're horrible people.
but the religion is very strange.
when you think about it, a witness can't go to a work christmas party by themselves but if an unbelieving mate wanted his jw wife to accompany him, this is her personal business.
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Rapunzel
Witnesses take pride in the fact that, throughout the history of their organixation, they have fought for their civil rights by using the courts to secure justice and fair treatment for themselves, especially in the areas of free speech and freedom of religion. They like to point out that, in so doing, society as as whole has benefited. After all, when the civil rights of an unpopular minority are protected, then the majority can breathe all the easier knowing that their own rights are necessarily protected.
All this is without a doubt true; and the benefits to society in general due to the Witnesses activism and zeal in pursuing their civil rights have been acknowledged by many people, such as sociologists and historians who are not Witnesses and may even be hostile toward Witness doctine. So, my question is: Why don't the Witnesses extend these hard-earned civil rights to their own followers? A glaring inconsistency is this: The Witnesses have indeed strove to secure their right to express dissenting opinion and ideas, yet they allow absolutely no dissension in their own ranks; they don't even allow questioning. They are all too happy to enjoy the protection of every freedom they choose, yet they show no gratitude to the liberal democracies in which they live. They are like hypocritical parasites "feeding off" of society's protection, but giving nothing back in return in terms of loyalty or even appreciation. not even deigning to give their own rank and file the same freedom of thought that they have been given.
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True Science, To Doubt, and to be Ignorant
by VM44 intrue science teaches, above all, to doubt, and to be ignorant.
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- miguel de unamuno, the tragic sense of life..
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Rapunzel
"I would gladly give my life for a man who is looking for the truth. But I would gladly kill a man who thinks he has found the truth." Luis Bunuel
"Religious faith, profound as it is, must surely remain a private matter. This rejection of totalized explanations is the modern condition. And this is where the novel, the form created to discuss the fragmentation of truth, comes in...The elevation of the quest for the Grail over the Grail itself, the acceptance that all that is solid has melted into air, that reality and morality are not givens but imperfect human constructs, is the point from which fiction begins." Salman Rushdie
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Elders knew a woman got raped- the woman presses charges but case was
by cognac indropped because there wasn't enough evidence.
the elders did there investigation and could probably help the case out a lot because they found the woman to be innocent and the guy guilty... they knew eachother through jws.
he was going to the meetings his whole life, but didn't have any priviledges.. 6-8 months later he became a publisher.
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Rapunzel
I have a question in regard to this tragic case - Does the concept of ecclesiastical privilege extend to elders in the Jehovah's Winesses organization? Can they use this as an excuse for NOT reporting a criminal felony such as rape, murder, or arson? Are they not supposed to report instances of pedophilia to the police? Are pedophilia and child abuse the only exceptions to ecclesiastical privilege? I ask this because don't the Witnesses say that they are different from other churches in that there exists no "clergy class"in the Witness organization? Don't they claim that all "publishers" should be considered as clergy? What does U,S, law state in regard to criminal felonies "confessed" [reported] to Jehovah's Witnesses elders by members of the organization?