Pickled

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Posts by Pickled

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  119

  Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for anyone that looks at this thread, could you write something either profound or simply interesting so as to make the reader see the truth about "the truth"?

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  Pickled

  Thank you Minimus. Glad to be here!
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  119

  Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for anyone that looks at this thread, could you write something either profound or simply interesting so as to make the reader see the truth about "the truth"?

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  Pickled

  I don't think any reasonable person is going to deny that mind control exists somewhere, sometimes. The question is whether or not that is what is going on with the members of the WTBTS. Is that correct? So maybe it is a good start to figure out what the framework of mind control is, or rather the characteristics that are exhibited when one is under the influence of mind control.
  
  After researching those qualities, the way information is fed to potential converts gradually, and the alienation of those in "the world" and the growing perception that they are the enemy.....doesn't it seem that many of those methods and results are strikingly similar to mind control techniques and results?
  
  However this may sound, please know Lola that I am not trying to single you out. It's just that in considering your comment, I also wondered how you personally view the fellow Witnesses around you in terms of control they might have over you. As an example, how willing would you be to share with them the fact that you post on this type of forum? I am not passing judgment and am not even suggesting that you should or should not disclose that to anyone at all. I have no idea if you are even a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses or not. But I do know just from my brief time around them that I never encountered one single person who would be willing to admit to their fellow members that they were having doubts about the Society in general. And I feel very confident that to admit that they frequented online sites like this one would put their membership in jeopardy.
  
  It just seems that when the type of "truth" that is being dispensed is so fragile and could potentially be so easily destroyed by "apostates who are just angry they got kicked out".....doesn't it make sense that the only thing that would keep them held that tightly together in spite of that fragility, would be some form of mind control? In other words....if their "truth" itself is so easily crushed...what is it that keeps them believing?
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  119

  Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for anyone that looks at this thread, could you write something either profound or simply interesting so as to make the reader see the truth about "the truth"?

  ?

  1. 
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  Pickled

  If you are currently "studying", there are questions you should ask your “study” partner. Questions are good. Questions can help clarify an overall message. Questions can bring to light underlying ideas, concepts, and beliefs that either time or agenda have not yet exposed. You should also ask yourself some questions so that you can know your own motivation; what your goals are and why those are your goals.
  
  Before a home buyer purchases a house, there is an inspection that takes place. The reason why the house is inspected is because no reasonable buyer wants to spend the next 30 years paying hard earned money, and spending hard to find time repairing a building that is in constant need of maintenance. The potential home owner generally wants to find a structure that is solid, without a shifting foundation, and is an overall reliable investment. That is reasonable. That is also just a house. It’s not a lifestyle change that is going to alienate all of your former friends and family. The house is not going to collapse around you leaving you wounded and confused if you have a guest over that it feels you should have never invited into your home. It’s just a house, and consider how much time is spent on average picking out just the right one.
  
  Ask your study partner about Love. But before you do, ask a co-worker or neighbor who has children if they love their children. Carefully note their response; their body language and facial expressions. Ask yourself if you can remember ever being in love. Describe that love. Consider the way you love your friends, your children, or even the way you felt while watching a news story on TV and the faces of the victims moved you to tears. People you didn’t even know and would never meet, and still you cried.
  
  Before you ask your study partner about Love, ask him/her about what it is that sets the Jehovah’s Witnesses, other than doctrine alone, apart from all other religions. The answer will be LOVE. Now ask what kind of LOVE. The answer will probably be “Love in principle”. The kind of Love that is a principle. The kind of love that is required. Mandated love. Again, carefully note their response; their body language and facial expressions.
  
  Now ask YOURSELF….how important is it to me to feel truly loved? How important has it always been to me in the past to have a friend who sticks by me through thick and thin, no matter what? How have I always felt about co-workers who run to the boss with details about any perceived errors of those they work with? What does genuine love mean to me? Am I willing to live entirely under a different and new definition? How do I think God should love me? Does it match the way this new group of people is loving one another?
  
  Questions are good.
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  119

  Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for anyone that looks at this thread, could you write something either profound or simply interesting so as to make the reader see the truth about "the truth"?

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  Pickled

  If you are considering this new religion take a moment and consider this...
  
  There are books included in the Bible that are more than 3000 years old.
  
  That means that some of the brightest, cleverest, and most brilliant minds on this planet have had more than 3000 years to point out contradictions, misstatements, falsehoods, and flat out lies within it's contents.
  
  Have they been successful? Ever?
  
  What does their lack of success after 3000 years tell you about the Author?
  
  Is the author consistent throughout all the books? Can you read one of the books written over 3000 years ago and compare it with another one of it's books written only 2000 years ago and find no contradictions or acceptable explanations about any changes that occurred?
  
  Can YOU find contradictions? Did the Apostle Paul commend a certain group of people for searching those books with a fine toothed comb to see if there were any contradictions? Does it seem to you that he was not nervous or defensive about what they might find?
  
  So it seems that THIS author's words have stood the test of time and intense scrutiny. Doesn't it?
  
  Now, let's compare THAT author's work with the author of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Literature. I won't even ask you to go back 3000 years. How old are you? Why not just go back THAT many years? Not 3000, but instead the tiny number of years that makes up your own brief lifetime so far.
  
  What are your conclusions about the differences in the 2 authors?
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  119

  Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for anyone that looks at this thread, could you write something either profound or simply interesting so as to make the reader see the truth about "the truth"?

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  Pickled

  Maybe you have been asking some questions about things that you have been reading online and have received this response from your new friends...
  
  "If this is not the truth, then how does the Watchtower Society continue to find SO many truths in the bible, and how do they provide SO much scriptural food for us while all the rest of the religions are moving away from the Bible in their teachings?"
  
  I heard that several times. So I decided to try to find the answer. That is the very unique thing about truth.....it can provide the proper answer, at the proper time.
  
  I asked myself these questions...
  
  If they are NOT the faithful and discrete slave, then how DO they come up with so many "truths"?
  
  Is there a system, a formula, a method they use to continue to crank out these unique highlights from the scriptures with such frequency?
  
  Never underestimate your ability in this universe to find what you are looking for.
  
  I found a formula, and here it is:
  
  Pick a word out of the Bible. It can be any word, but make sure it is a word that could offer some revelations about identity of the characters in the bible, or about prophecy in general.
  
  I am going to use a word in a way that the Watchtower Society has not used yet, but also in a way that will not conflict with their doctrines at all. As a matter of fact, my findings will actually reinforce their doctrine of "God is not a trinity", and I will completely prove that doctrine of theirs without using the scriptures that they have had to add words to in brackets to make it work.
  
  The word I am choosing in this post is the word....LIGHT.
  
  There are about 250 references to the word LIGHT in the Bible that will qualify for use in my formula.
  
  Lift out of the Bible all the scriptures that contain that word and set them aside. Now put them all together in any order you like. Does it paint a picture?
  
  The first thing that leaps out is that "Let there be LIGHT" is the first thing that God does after the heavens and the earth were created and everything was still void and without life.
  
  Have you noticed yet that the vegetation sprung up even before the Sun was created? How did it grow without the light from the Sun?
  
  If you take all your scriptures with "Light" you will see very quickly that there is light that needs fuel to burn, ie the sun burns Helium in order to give off light, fire burns wood for fuel in order to give off light, a light bulb burns the Tungsten filament in order to give off light.........but THIS light? Needs no fuel to give off light bright enough to make plants grow, to create life. That LIGHT that was created, if you put all the scriptures together...apparently was Jesus himself. The LIGHT of the world. The LIGHT, Jesus, apparently was CREATED by God with just a word.
  
  Am I a channel of communication between you and God? No I am not. And look how I found this amazing and "secret" truth all on my own.
  
  You can too.
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  119

  Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for anyone that looks at this thread, could you write something either profound or simply interesting so as to make the reader see the truth about "the truth"?

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  Pickled

  If you are someone who is reading this thread and considering whether or not you should believe what your "study" partner is telling you, consider these things.... I am not an ex-witness. I have never been a Jehovah's Witness. I am not angry, nor do I feel betrayed, I have never been "kicked out" or disfellowshipped. I, like you, was presented with some beliefs and then went about the task of thoroughly researching the past, present, and claims for the future of the religious organization you are also considering. Do you find yourself feeling more and more separate from the life you used to know, and from the people you used to think loved you? Have you been feeling like you now know more than all of your former friends and family members, and are even feeling a certain amount of dislike for them as though they are slowly becoming your enemies? Do you feel a "gnawing" feeling in the pit of your stomach in those quiet moments when you are all alone? Has this new environment you are in caused you to feel an increasing need to feel rewarded by your enthusiasm, and do you find yourself feeling more accepted the more you show signs of commitment? Have you already noticed which kinds of questions are "good" questions and which kinds of questions are "bad" questions? Have you asked any questions yet about any of their literature that is older than 10 years old? Have you wondered why asking about THEIR literature causes the same response in them as reading "apostate" literature? Have you wondered how their own literature could possibly qualify as literature from the enemy? Keep searching. Keep seeking. Your journey should produce a sense that what you are moving toward is an easy fit, a light load. Your "revelations" should fit you like a glove. Take a step back and see that this is not a good fit. It is uncomfortable. The shoes are too tight. You began this search because you were unhappy and smart and wanted answers. Consider that not just any old answers will do. You see yourself as an independent thinker......and yet you are scarcely having a single thought without considering at the same time what your new friends are going to think about it. Can you remember at what point that started to happen?
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  119

  Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for anyone that looks at this thread, could you write something either profound or simply interesting so as to make the reader see the truth about "the truth"?

  ?

  1. 
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  Pickled

  I think a great place to start when considering whether or not a religion is dispensing the truth, is to look at the very foundation of their entire belief system. In the case of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, or Jehovah's Witnesses, the foundation of their belief system is based on this.....The leaders at the very top of this organization, the only one's who are allowed to translate the scriptures for everyone else, claim to have been appointed by Jesus Christ himself as "The Faithful and Discrete Slave", and they use Matthew 24 as their proof. They have, and continue to claim that in 1919 Jesus "inspected" their teachings and found that they were dispensing the "proper food at the proper time", thus appointing them with that special role. This is the only date in all of their literature that they give as the year they were appointed or given this role by Jesus Christ. If you are reading this post and wondering if that could really be "The Truth", ask yourself these questions..... 1. Why did Jesus approve teachings in 1919 that the Watchtower now states were a big "misunderstanding", and since then, have changed almost 50 of those teachings because they were incorrect? 2. Was Jesus fooled in 1919 as well, as he was doing his only and final inspection? 3. Since the Governing body itself has recognized, in admitting that many of these teachings were wrong, that the qualifications for becoming the Faithful and Discrete Slave were not met in 1919.....when was there a makeup exam? Where is it that the scriptures indicate that Jesus returned yet again to RE-inspect this organization? 4. If they did not qualify as the Faithful and Discrete Slave then....they are not that faithful and discrete slave today. According to their own teachings there were no do-overs. If they are not that faithful and discrete slave then everything you are reading in their literature, however enlightening it may be or however much sense it seems to make, still remains the interpretations of men, and not the product of a direct communication from God himself. In other words, whatever they decide the scriptures are "saying" to you....does not carry any more authority than you as a seeker reading those same scriptures for yourself and asking God to guide you.
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  37

  New study shows JWs have the lowest retention rate of US religions

  by M.J. in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the pew forum has put out a report called the "us religious landscape survey.

  ", as reported in the boston globe: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/02/more_americans_2.html .

  of note is this quote from the actual report summary: .

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  Pickled

  http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080225/us_time/americasunfaithfulfaithful America's Unfaithful Faithful "An even more extreme example of what might be called "masked churn" is the relatively tiny Jehovah's Witnesses, with a turnover rate of about two-thirds. That means that two-thirds of the people who told Pew they were raised Jehovah's Witnesses no longer are - yet the group attracts roughly the same number of converts. Notes Lugo, "No wonder they have to keep on knocking on doors."
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  46

  IMPORTANT: Elders Mtg at Patterson

  by confusa in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a witness just informed me about a couple that we know who had their assembly recently, and it was announced at the private elder's meeting that there will be a special meeting with all the elders in the us in patterson.

  it was mentioned that we are now living "in the end of end of times" and that the un is talking about prohibiting religions.

  has anyone heard of this??

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  Pickled

  Usually when something is banned by anyone anywhere, it is done as a way to stop the effect it is having. What affect is religion having in the world that would need to be stopped? It seems that "Christians" and JW's alike relish any thought of "persecution" being directed at them, even when they have to invent it. I think they create this illusion of "resistance" as a way to reinforce their perception that their beliefs are having an effect on someone, somewhere, anywhere. I think the U.N. knows what any historian knows.....ban it, and it becomes more popular. Leave it alone and it turns into the diluted misshapen bucket of potpourri it is today that is, in all tangible reality, impacting only those who want to embrace it anyway.
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  47

  week long elders training class for 08 confirmed

  by isaacaustin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  announced at my parents service meeting last night

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  Pickled

  Did anyone go to this after all?