halcyon

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Posts by halcyon

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  13

  Jehovahs Witness Williams sisters revel in Obama win

  by What-A-Coincidence in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  http://www.stuff.co.nz/4753181a10393.html.

  the impact of barack obama's historic election win has extended to the tennis court, at the wta's year-end sony ericsson championships in the politically sensitive middle east.. .

  as jehovah's witnesses, the williams sisters do not vote - but that does not mean they do not care.. nine-time grand slam champion serena williams said she walked out for wednesday's round-robin match against dinara safina with her shoulders back and her chest puffed out with pride after the momentous events in her home country.

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  halcyon

  The more I think about theocracy, the more it repulses me.
  
  God-rule, yes. No problems with that. But God-rule always has to come through humans, which is repugnant.
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  25

  if all k-halls burned down in one night......????

  by oompa in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'd say, break out the hot dogs and marshmellows!

  !

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  halcyon

  seriously, if I was still "in", I would take that as pure evidence that Jehovah's spirit was NOT on the organization.
  
  JWs are a superstitious lot, aren't they?
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  36

  Should Marijuana Possession Be Decriminalized If Under An Ounce?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in massachusetts, possession of pot, if under an ounce will only get you a fine, under a new law.. some say this will send the wrong message about illegal drug use.

  (personally, i don't imbibe but i know many that do).

  so, do you think allowing this law to pass will bring about more illegal drug use?.

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  halcyon

  totally agree it should be decriminalized. It's not for me, no drug is. But I believe decriminalization would cut down on drug violence. Let someone be a loser if they choose (like the stoner on the streets of Amsterdam ... sitting alone, wasting her life, but it is HER choice, and she wasn't posing a danger to others).
  
  Innocent little kids will not be cut down in the crossfire of drug violence if drugs are decriminalized.
  
  Increase in usage? Yes, for awhile. Part of what would SEEM like an increase would simply be the exposure of people who ALREADY use, but privately. But over time use would stabilize. And maybe peer and societal pressure would help regulate it just like the pressure not to smoke does now.
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  8

  What sign would you hang on your gate?

  by Amha·’aret in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  given that i have 4 very large dogs, i like this one: .

  'jehovah's witnesses welcome!

  dog food is expensive!'.

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  halcyon

  ~~ NUDIST COLONY WITHIN ~~
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  26

  Did the WTS with all it's lies take away your interest in the Bible?

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  still interested .

  still read .

  still study .

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  halcyon

  Towards the end of my days "in" I became even MORE interested in the Bible. Bought a whole bunch of different translations and found one that I could read effortlessly for overall meaning. REALLY enjoyed that, and had my eyes opened to some overall concepts like love and the dangers of being judgmental, as well as a greater clarity on what israelite and pre-israelite times really looked like. (the dufus with the handmade god coming down the mountain declaring his god's strength, etc. It just seemed much more real to a clueless time.)
  
  I even seriously considered majoring in ancient biblical languages, just to read the bible for myself in the original languages. I needed to be able to prove what I had always been taught, because I was seriously doubting it was actually in the bible. But I soon realized that if I went to college to learn biblical languages, I would have bias built into the very translation of the words, and that would confuse me and I still wouldn't have a clue. (It was only later that I discovered that I couldn't possibly even read an original manuscript, that I would be relying on documents copied and translated several hundreds of years away from their originals, which was a real problem as well.)
  
  Then, I hit a point where I didn't want to read the bible at all. I had backed away from all the judgment and decided that Christ preached tolerance and love, and when I would come across verses condemning things, I didn't know what to do with them. Much of what Paul wrote was troublesome to me, and I didn't know where to draw the line between what was systemic to the Jewish times and what was really supposed to be a tenet of Christianity. How do love and condemnation mesh? I didn't know.
  
  Plus, I was in a time of trying to conquer all my stupid fears, which was a time when I was experimenting with a lot of "sinful" things just to get past the fear of them. The bible didn't help a whole lot during that time. I became afraid to read something that would put all that fear back into me.
  
  
  But now, I feel very solid in the place I am currently. I am somewhat interested in the bible again, mostly for historical value, but also I'm reading for meaning again. I know it will confuse me at times, but I'm still intrigued by the big Puzzle it seems to be. I still want to read and have that wonderful feeling of "AH! I get it!" and I want to do that without someone else telling me what I SHOULD be finding. I just want to see what *I* find for myself.
  
  This process took at least a decade.
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  12

  Indoctrination of children into the Watchtower Society

  by Homerovah the Almighty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  pulling off from another thread, the topic of children and the watchtower comes into high lighted consideration,.

  there is little doubt on the enormous psychological effects the wts's mental indoctrination has in the developmental growth of children.. i personally went through this myself as you folks as well, so i can relate to the experience.. goaling people to become servitude slaves for the needs of the society in support of both their identity and financial needs is in itself disturbing.. plying the same tactics on to impressionable children and schooling them into being door to door publishers is nothing more but disgraceful.

  and borders on criminal.

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  halcyon

  >When inculcated children grow up and have families, they unconsciously assist in preparing their own children for inculcation. Consequently, the inculcators will only need to reinforce and build upon the basics that the children were already exposed to at home.
  
  
  
  
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  6

  Obama said "peace and security" in his speech tonite

  by yadda yadda 2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jw's will be a bit excited about that!

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  halcyon

  See other thread just a few above this! :-)
  
  My questions for them, (reposted from other thread):
  
  ---------
  It's also a translation thing. Some translations use the phrase "peace and safety", which Obama didn't say. Also, some translations simply say, "whenever they are saying 'peace and safety'" or "whenever they are saying 'peace and security'"; whereas other translations say "whenever they are saying 'there is peace and safety'" or "when people are saying, All is well and secure"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And finally, does 1 Thess. 5:3 predict a time in the future, nearly two milleniums after it was written? Or was it talking about the fall of Jerusalem? Do we buy into a dual meaning? IS that a WT teaching, to buy into a dual meaning? or is that the original intention of Paul?
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  8

  When I saw this I had a weird, eerie feeling come over me

  by StoneWall in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this morning while moving some papers off my desk a paper fell to the floor and i immediately recognised it as being the leaflet that the obama campaign workers had left with me when they had called on my door.

  both of the gentlemen had been very nice and we had what i would consider a nice conversation.. .

  getting back to the leaflet, it was titled voting questions & answers and as it lay on the floor of my office at home my eyes caught site of this question.

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  halcyon

  Thank you, I've been needing a good "f" ...
  
  
  :D
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  2

  questions about a letter.

  by lancelink in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  my wife has an associate who senses something is wrong with her "spirituality" and last week they had a somewhat deep discussion.

  the associate is very much into being a jw, and so is her whole family, she just cannot wrap her mind around the fact that someone .

  could question the wt society and their beliefs.

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  halcyon

  If question number one is about the congregation being used as an organizational tool, then perhaps ask about the mormons. What is the difference?
  
  But then of course the point will be made that they don't have the "good news." Which raises the question of, how do we know that the WT version of the Good News is the ACTUAL version that should be preached? Which I predict will lead into circular reasoning: because the congregation says so.
  
  
  Just my quick .02 cents.
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  112

  Secret Santa Ideas thread

  by Angharad in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/166570/1.ashx.

  for everyone taking part in this years secret santa, here is the thread to post ideas about what you would like to receive.

  this way when you get your name of who you are buying for you can come in here and look at what your person has posted.. .

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  halcyon

  No tree for me yet this year either, so probably no ornaments unless it's something I can put away for next year when I'm hoping to have one.
  And please, nothing scented. Unless it's 100% natural and aromatic spice based ... i.e. cinnamon=good, clove=good, vanilla=bad, apple=bad.
  
  
  I would be happy with anything, but if you'd like to get to know me just a little bit first, I like:
  
  anything unique to your area
  nautical theme
  classical music
  Christmas music that particularly moves you, or the CD you listen to all season long
  Theatre
  History (except for wars)
  something you're skilled at making
  little sculptures or something you can set on a mantle or bookshelf
  coffee mugs or teacups
  picture frames