trebor

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Posts by trebor

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  36

  Eric Reeder's dignified obit

  by Patron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  reeder oak ridge eric hampton reeder september 27, 2012 eric hampton reeder sadly passed away at his home in oak ridge on september 27, at 51 years.

  he's survived by two sons, tyler and travis, and many dear friends.

  he will always be seen in the mountains, seas, suns, and storms he loved.

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  trebor

  Thanks for sharing that Patron. It is appreciated.
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  630

  SAD news about OOMPA......

  by redredrose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  our friend, oompa, has passed away.

  just recieved the news a couple of hours ago, and have almost no details.

  it happened today or yesterday, he took his own life.

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  trebor

  I've been away for a few days and just came across this news today. This is absolutely and completely terrible and horribly devastating. My deepest sympathies and warm thoughts to those impacted by this tragedy - Especially to those who were close to Eric.

  In a chance that this will come across as constructive rather than full throttle hurt and anger over the policies and practices of the Watchtower Society, I will implore lurkers including those who think there is some “good” within the organization to please think long and hard about that “good”. The “good” is either superficially, fake, phony, counterfeit or/and can be found elsewhere.

  This “bad” this “evil” that is not an exception and has happen and continues to happen many times over to those who were members is real, is undeniable and shows what is a at the core of the Watchtower’s fruitage. An organization that thrives off fear, superficially coated in an artificial love that becomes evident and abundant once a member leaves or is removed from the ranks.

  Shunning is by far the most evil, manipulative and abusive device employed by the Watchtower Society and enforced by Jehovah’s Witnesses. It breaks up and divides families and drives those impacted at times to mental instability, chronic depression, and extremely sad in the case of Eric Reeder – known to many as Oompa – suicide.

  Oompa, I am so, so sorry your pain and hurt was more than you could bear any longer due to the shunning you experienced…May you finally be resting in peace.
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  13

  Detail SIMILARITIES between JWs and Mormons

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in some of my cursory readings about mormons, they seem to be as cultish as jws, but i don't know as much about them.

  what are some of the similarities you see in them and jws?.

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  trebor

  -Mormon's Joseph Smith = Jehovah's Witnesses Charles Russell

  -Encourage and influence their young to "choose" serving in a full-time proselytizing work.

  -Self-identify as Christian, though beliefs differ from mainstream Christianity.

  -During 1920's they broadcasted on national radio in part for public relations.

  --Participate in respective organization programs and activities on weekdays.

  -Oppose addictive behavior such as gambling.

  -Family Worship night.

  --Strict law requiring abstention from sexual relations outside of marriage and strict fidelity within marriage.

  -All sexual activity outside of marriage is considered a serious sin.

  -Same-sex marriages are not performed or supported.

  -Counseled not to partake in any form of media that is obscene or pornographic in any way, including depictions or graphic representations of sex and violence.

  -Have "off-shoot/splinter" groups from the main organization.

  -Mormon's "Less active" members similar to Jehovah's Witnesses "Inactive" members.
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  24

  The PHOTO

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when my mom died i couldn't cry.. she had had cancer before and had beaten it.

  you brace yourself.

  you wait.. but, she recovered and life went on.

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  trebor

  That was beautiful Terry - At least the ending.

  Glad you had a dream come true, if not in the exact way you expected.

  I'm happy for you.
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  51

  What's The Worst Thing About Being A Jehovah's Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for me, i think it's that the witnesses teach they are god's spokesman.

  they represent his "faithful & discreet slave"....and that they alone are expounders of the only truth and that if you disagree with anything they teach, you are considered worse than vomit.. it's unbelievable because these people are wrong so many times, it cannot be excused!.

  as a witness, you must accept every viewpoint and if you (and your family) do not accept it all, hook, line and sinker, you are "apostates"!!!.

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  trebor

  In harmony/conjunction with 00DAD...

  Swallowing the 'Blue' pill, conscientiously or not is [one of] the worst.
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  23

  Did any of you know the TATT before you left?

  by marriedtoajw in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know that all everyone's experience vary but i ask this because i am under the impression that since jw's are taught to avoid reading material that may be critical of their teachings they just stay away.

  yet many of you violated this at some point to come accross information that confirmed or convinced you of "the problems" with the org.

  i have also spoken to active jw's online who seem to know the controvercies but still defend the org vigorously.

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  trebor

  I found some TATT without 'outside' aid. In doing some research concerning blood (fractions) within the Watchtower Library CD-ROM, I came across their previous stance on organ transplants and it being cannibalistic. Then I came across their stance on rape and how a woman was guilty of fornication and not even worthy of everlasting life if she did not cry out while being raped. None of that took me outside the Society's very own literature - They damned themselves.

  All bets were off at that point. I knew there was no way - no way - that would be something 'God's chosen' organization would ever back.

  The NGO UN stance, standing by and supporting Jimmy Swaggart in the courts, Johannes Greber backing and referencing, false prophesying among nearly endless amounts of other facts just put the icing on an already baked cake.
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  3

  Is it hypocritical for JWs to sue over religious discrimination on the job, or school, etc.?

  by Theocratic Sedition in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at the meetings, in the literature, even the social enviroment mandated upon a born-in, it's constantly reinforced that "we're no part of the world.

  " considering jesus and paul's example, they didn't instigate legal proceedings, but were forced to be the subject of such due to the opposition they recieved.

  matter fact, jesus didn't even bother defending himself, while paul only defended himself based upon his roman citizenship and the rights afforded him, not to mention the importance he placed up spearheading missionary work.. that said, where's the scriptural precedence for litigation when a jw feels he/she's been treated unfairly on the job over matters like needing vacation time to attend a convention, or holiday participation?

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  trebor

  It is hypocritical, just as expecting freedom of religion but claiming neutrality.

  What if, for instance, everyone in America took a neutral stance during World War II? What if the rest of the world except Germany and their allies did as well? Nazis under Hitler would have ruled the world. The majority of religions, including Jehovah's Witnesses would have been wiped out. The publishing company would have been broke and destroyed. If not for soldiers who fought for freedom, Jehovah's Witnesses would not have the liberties they enjoy today. They'll wear their neutrality stance as a badge of pride while crying to the hilltops about their religious rights and freedom to exist, all while dismissing the obvious and simple conclusions and reasoning.

  The irony is they are able to claim neutrality and not be killed or imprisoned because of the people who actually fought in wars for such a freedom.

  A very similar scenario with Police Officers and the fact that you cannot make progress in the organization while carrying a gun contains a parallel irony. They discourage such a profession, believing it is not proper for Christians, yet expect the full protection of the law.

  So does “Jehovah” then see all Police Officers and military service people with disapproval? If yes, how do you justify or explain it especially in view of reality of both today’s world and historically? If no, what is the deciding factor?

  Sorry, didn’t mean to derail or go off on a tangent, but your post triggered this response. And the questions certainly are not directed to you Theocratic Sedition – It is to any would be defenders of their stance on the matters.
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  284

  ABOUT TERRY

  by Quentin in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  terry was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

  he has a severe case of cellulites which has affected his neck glands.

  his face and neck are very swollen.

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  trebor

  Terry,

  Best wishes, warm thoughts, and get better soon!
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  268

  WT and the Illuminati - truth or fiction?

  by SnowQueen in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i've been reading around this subject of late and it seems to make a lot of sense.

  i'm wondering if anyone is convinced and/or has seen anything that can substantiate or corroborate the 'facts' set out in these arguments.. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/bloodlines/russell.htm.

  i was particularly fascinated to read the following:.

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  trebor

  tornapart wrote:
  "For those interested, who have the time, this is well researched, well thought out, well presented and well worth a look...http://youtube.com/v/IFfdOkwyuL0&feature"

  It may have been well presented. Well thought out only on the merits of what the author researched; but definitely not well researched.

  Pike's predictions of three world wars has been well debunked for quite some time:

  See here...
  http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/Articles/Pike-Mazzini_Three-World-Wars.htm

  In part...
  "Exactly what William Guy Carr was trying to pull, I’ll never know. If you’ve bared it until the end, perhaps you’re disappointed to have found nothing about a prediction of three world wars, Communism, Nazism and Zionist Illuminati – or anything of the sort. A search through the entire book, utilizing relevant word combinations, turns up nothing either. Instead, what it truly represents is the scurrilous fantasies, and militant anti-Catholicism of its author: the impostor Leo Taxil aka Dr. Bataille, who profited handsomely while having a million laughs at the expense of both Christians and Masons; who confessed that his entire corpus of anti-Masonic works – spanning twelve years and representing thousands of pages (including the translated excerpt above) – were a complete and utter fraud; a colossal yet ridiculously farcical hoax.

  It is enough having shown that the so-called Pike/Mazzini letter came from the Taxil hoax and to have provided a full translation of it. However, if the reader is so inclined, there are plenty of resources to become familiar with all facets of the Leo Taxil case in the above embedded links.

  Taxil benefited from the atmosphere in France at that time, which was indeed rife with anti-clericalism, occultism, and outright Satanism. The poets and authors of Romanticism had also looked upon Satan and Lucifer as a hero, and became more outspoken as anti-clericalism became the norm."

  The author of the video is presenting Pike's three world war prediction as fact when it is not. Therefore, it places everything and anything else in the video as questionable to state the very least.
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  64

  What do you replace it with?

  by konceptual99 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so... i am coming to the conclusion that pretty much all of the doctrinal stuff that i have believed for 25/30 years is built on a house of cards and it's about to come crashing down.

  question is what do i replace it with?.

  my intellectual head says that that whole thing is junk and there is almost certainly no god at all.

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  trebor

  Tammy,

  Thank you for answering my inquiry. From what I am gathering the statement/notion: "Christ is the truth... Christ is the image and word of God."

  That is something you chose to follow intently to the extent that it is the ultimate and superlative statement of anything else written in the Bible. You have put your complete faith and trust in it, so much so that you believe the (holy) spirit has led you to have an understanding about life and world view which otherwise you would not either have discovered or realize.

  I believe I understand what you are stating, but too believe that anyone else can grab a statement from the Bible have an interpretation or strong belief of what it means - even to a superlative degree and then disregard or dismiss anything that goes contrary to that belief and understanding. As a side note, the order can be somewhat reversed too in that a person has a strong belief and finds something(s) in the Bible to support it.

  Again, I certainly understand and believe you are more than entitled to have your belief and I understand and respect that but at the same time realize the aforementioned.

  Let me provide this example...You stated that Christ being the truth and the image and the word of God is the conclusion of the bible, prophets and that all evidence and work and history has led up to it.

  I read the Bible and prayed and came to the conclusion that the last things stated in the Bible are the most important. Those are the things God wants people to understand, because often what is read last is remembered first, and that it makes sense that the whole Bible collectively builds to this epic finish and finale of enlightenment. So the last book of the Bible points to Christ coming quickly. The focus though is not on Christ, although he is an important part in understanding what God wants and how we become ultimately happy and in union...The point, though, is to move and live quickly.

  That is what the evidence and even life around as shows today. Doesn't society move fast, is life becoming faster pace as time progresses? Has not much changed so quickly in such a short period of time? And what example do we have from the son of God? What direction and admonition is he provided? “To come quickly”; therefore, we must learn to adapt and adjust to live and do things as fast as possible…That is the key to life and drawing close to our creator, learning to balance and move so fast in thinking and action. We are to come quickly as the Lord Jesus.

  Science points to amazing things which occur relative to speed and pace as well...’Faster than the speed of light’, ‘fast enough to break the sound barrier’. Once we achieve a fast enough pace that is pleasing to God, then we can hear His voice, beyond a spiritual speed at which most travel, we will pass through sound barriers and hear as well as witness God in what can be described as the breaking the spiritual speed of light and sound barrier.

  I'll stop there, but I hope you understand my point. Whether it is I read something from the Bible and put full faith and trust in that statement first and experience its "truth", or I first experience something or some things which also happen to harmonize with something I find in the Bible (Or at least I perceive it that way), in either case any person can experience or pick from a slew of notions, beliefs or philosophies, focus on any one of them, and then make it their ultimate or superlative 'gospel', and have a way to “prove” it, at least to themselves.

  You chose the statement: "Christ is the truth... Christ is the image and word of God."

  There's no denying millions feel and believe the same way.

  However, Jehovah's Witnesses picked that as well, albeit secondary and state the thrust and meaning of life and the conclusion of the prophets is about God's Kingdom and the sanctification and vindication of God's name. They have a slew of scriptures and scriptural interpretations that support it. They too point to all evidence and history and work leads up to that.

  The kicker here is if I go to China, the majority will have something completely different following a similar thinking and pattern (Belief statement -> “Evidence” -> Conclusion (Supports it, if not exactly as belief statement)). Ditto with India. The “Evidence” though is highly subjective to interpretation and situational according to (local) customs-upbringing - truly circumstantial.

  Again, I appreciate and respect for you to have your view and opinion. If I am misunderstanding your conclusion and belief and how you came to it, please correct me. Nonetheless, from a complete worldview and going through the same process many have gone through but instead focusing on perhaps some other statement/notion/idea, and/or living in a different part of the world, any person can come to any conclusion and believe it as their, if not the, ultimate truth.

  Logically for me, it just doesn't add up to anything conclusive, just another belief or interpretation of matters. Again, thank you for your time, efforts, and explanation...I'm always open to hearing, reading, and trying to understand different beliefs, philosophies and ideas. Truly Tammy, I am not looking to dispute or find wrong with what you believe, just trying to live and learn and understand life and humans better – looking for clarity on things every now and then, if I come across something that I believe I may be missing or not seeing for myself.

  Again, I appreciate it…thank you.