freddo

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Posts by freddo

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  12

  Post votes rolled up to topics

  by Simon in

  1. forum
  2. announcements

  just an experiment to see if it's useful or not .... the likes and dislikes for posts are now rolled up to the topic so you can see whether a topic is mostly positive or negative (or maybe a battleground?).

  with some 'decay' to the votes built in this might evolve into "most vibrant topics" based on more than just the number or recency of replies (ideally all will factor in).. ps: don't worry if some topic totals are wrong right now - i need to run a job to put some of them right..

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  freddo

  Very good! Thank you.
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  26

  Convention

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  gorby is as you know a long time fader.. visited the convention this weekend.. and concluded that samuel herds talk about hope was not so bad at all, it was well balanced.

  made some good points.. knowing both sides of the medallion, have to admit he was humble with a focus on hope.. the saturday drama impressed me.

  of course, there is a lot to say about the organization, this professional produced movie in a "true story" scenario, gave me the insight that hope is important for suffering people.

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  freddo

  In April I endured the Branch visit and UK broadcast to all KH's by Flodin and Kikot. Everyone including me felt that the only good thing about the visit was Flodin's talk.

  Yet as in all things JW I can't quite remember what it was about - just that it sounded "reasonable" - something about Christian personality I think.

  I also remember Herd at Twickenham, London 2014 and it was a personable folksy talk that was engaging.

  But if I want to derive hope from the Christian message it is not from these high up JW's with their Rolex watches, 1st class flights and entourages. For their lifestyle outweighs the words they use.

  No. It is when I hear of selfless deeds of rescue, feeding and medical aid done either in the name of religion, scripture or non-religious humanitarian deeds or in the name of the state such as the ARC that gives me hope.
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  16

  Weekend visit from JWs.

  by redvip2000 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  had a visit from the jws this week.

  i've lived in this house since 2012 and this is the first time, they have reached me at home - quite the urgent work.. anyway, i was home on saturday morning and around 10am, there was a knock.

  i had a feeling it would be them.

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  freddo

  If your object is to make someone think you have to guess at what will hit the target.

  Without wishing to generalise, "little old ladies" who have been JW's for a few decades will not give one moment's consideration to evolution being possible.

  Now ... maybe if they are asked how long they have been a witness and how do they feel about being told that 1975 would bring Armageddon? And then when they trot out "some brothers ran ahead" or somesuch you ask how they feel about the generation that saw 1914 with understanding would "by no means pass away" before Armageddon and yet that generation has passed away.

  When they hmmm and haww about that one ask them why that doctrine changed in 1995 and again in 2008 and again in 2010 so why would anyone trust the latest understanding of the generation doctrine if all the others had failed to come true?

  That might make her feel uncomfortable and the teenage accomplice would see her struggle and bluster to give a cognisant answer.

  You could then turn to the teenager and say JW's and their forerunners have been predicting Armageddon to arrive in 1914, 1925, WW2, 1975, the end of the 20th century and nice ladies like your older friend here have given their best years waiting half a century for this promise and there is still no sign of it coming; please examine your religion before you commit further to it.
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  23

  2016 Revised bethel visitors 'dress code' pamphlet?

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anybody have a digital copy of the revised bethel visitors 'dress code' pamphlet from this year?.

  thanks.

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  freddo

  Visited a nearby hall this week and one was pinned to the noticeboard. I noticed the poor little kid in the suit. Crazy stuff.
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  19

  Shunned by family

  by Ruth in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my fiancé is an ex-jehovah’s witness.

  when he was 18 years old, his 17 year old brother was killed in an accident.

  his parents having previously lost an infant daughter were understandably distraught and were therefore highly susceptible to an organisation which seemed to be able to supply definitive answers where more mainstream religion seemed to fail them..

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  freddo

  Hello Ruth,

  It's the "scriptural" divorce which has caused this (accepting that the real cause is JW pressure and his parents choice to follow it).

  Your fiancé's informing his ex-wife that she is scripturally free is what has led to this.

  The ex-wife "needs" to be scripturally free if she is ever going to re-marry in JWland. Like a whitewashed grave she "needs" to appear whiter than white because JW's "need" to appear - like the Pharisees of old - pure and clean.

  So the lackey elders at her hall will have consulted their branch office or the latest circuit overseer and been advised that the "reputation of the congregation" needs protecting as your fiancé has in effect admitted to having a sexual relationship outside of marriage and the ex-wife needs to have it shown to all and sundry she is free to marry.

  His parents are so brainfrozen, desperate, needy, entrenched, unable to be wrong or whatever after decades of following false hopes and thinking they would be of a select few in paradise petting lions with their deceased loved ones that they are probably incapable at their age (assuming 80 plus) to act differently.

  The best hope you have is acting as the "go between" (but likely not in the presence of your fiancé) as if you are not a baptised witness then they - even by the rules of JW land - should not be shunning you.

  You might also, with no guarantees of success, stay a while and ask about "loopholes" in the shunning/disfellowshipping/disassociation process/game. There are posters here who can find WT literature quotes that might support some contact in the case of "necessary family business" which individual JW's can use to ease their conscience when trying to do the "right thing."

  A good start is on the JW dot org website under "FAQ's" where the question "Do Jehovah's Witnesses Shun Former Members of Their Religion?" is shown. This is the "public face" of the religion and they paint it in a less severe light.

  They type so much drivel you can find contradictory statements which may, just may, get through to one or both of your fiancé's parents.

  Best of luck.

  BTW are you in the UK?
  
  
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  80

  Keep the meeting going! (even if somebody's dying)

  by TimeBandit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a true story.

  it's about a sister named henriette venema.

  she was a very loyal jw.

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  freddo

  The show must go on ...
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  23

  2016 Revised bethel visitors 'dress code' pamphlet?

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anybody have a digital copy of the revised bethel visitors 'dress code' pamphlet from this year?.

  thanks.

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  freddo

  Whitewashed graves is what they are. Fine looking on the outside but full of rotten bones.
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  34

  Port St. Lucie, FL Elder facing charges of sexual battery on child, lewd and lascivious behavior

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  http://www.tcpalm.com/news/crime/st-lucie-county/man-27-faces-charges-of-six-counts-sexual-battery-on-child-37eef916-9fe8-7596-e053-0100007f3f9d-387317751.html.

  https://jail.stluciesheriff.com/inmateprofile.php?inmate_id=241566.

  biggs, george calvin dob: 11-26-1978.

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  freddo

  @wifi and barbara

  I guess that if you have an article about George Calvin Biggs and Barbara says he was accused years ago then that confirms he is a JW?

  Is it the same person? - I mean if he's 27 and giving talks at conventions then he must be a very young rising star elder.
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  15

  The two faces of mrs hoser

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they say women are hard to figure out.

  she is is proactive about retirement planning but talks about how things might be in the new system.

  she shuns one of our children (dfd) but put him as beneficiary one one of her life insurance policies.

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  freddo

  @NVR2L8

  Please knock at his door and tell us the result. Please. Pretty please!
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  7

  I have to vent about someone...

  by babygirl30 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm sorry if this comes across as rude or mean, but i'm sorry - not sorry!

  there is a woman that was in my congregation for years.

  she was dating a 'worldly' man at the time and ended up df'd.

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  freddo

  Well ... I know it must be irritating but this is your opportunity to convince her that life outside is better and why that is so.

  It is incredibly galling when someone acts like she does - but she is talking to you and this is an opportunity to calmly tell her like it is (the jw organisation, I mean).

  ARC/Generation/unscriptural demands etc etc etc.

  If not for her for her kids?