Posts by Juan Viejo2

14

Watchtower Puzzle Spirit-Directed vs Inspired

by FatFreek 2005 in

watchtower puzzle spirit-directed vs inspired.

scan your bible and you probably won't find the term spirit-directed.

i searched for that term online and could not find a dictionary that defines it.

I have read Crisis Of Conscience! What next?

by TimothyT in

so i read the book... i thought it was brilliant!.

any suggestions?.

timmy xxx.

Juan Viejo2

Greatest Show on Earth - Richard Dawkins. Makes evolution understandable and explains how to prove how old the earth really is.

JV

7

Current Teaching on Competition?

by skeeter1 in

jw
friends

i have an adult jw relative that is a baptised publisher.

been "in the truth" for some time, and is still going to meetings, out in service, etc.

this jw relative entered into a competitive horse show and won several ribbons.

When I was a kid JW (back in the day, a long ways back), competition was limited in sports activities. We could play chess or checkers then, but organized sports in school was considered to be over the line. Baseball, football, wrestling, boxing, basketball (other than simply shooting baskets by yourself), were all considered to be "warlike." Chess was later added to that list because of its history, not that you'd be likely to get killed or injured playing board games.

My father allowed and actually encouraged my brother and I to engage in sports like football, tennis, and baseball. We even played on Little League and school teams. My father loved sports and would not deny us the opportunity to get out and "rough it up" a little. Dad even liked to wrestle and slap fight sometimes - but never punching (except when we weren't expecting it and got blindsided as we walked in a door). My father was very much an exception - even though he remained a faithful JW for over 53 years.

But most JW families forbade their kids from engaging in competitive sports. Even those with a lot of talent could not play much. Sometimes we'd have a softball game or shoot a few hoops if a bunch of JWs got together for a picnic - but I could count all of those times on the fingers of one hand.

The secret words were "competition" and "war-like."

JV

10

Watchtower and 2014

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

watchtower and 2014. .

today i uploaded a new article offering my views of what watchtower has waiting in the wings.

my article is titled watchtower and 2014 and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/06/watchtower-and-2014.html.

Juan Viejo2

My guess is that at some point the WT will have to relent and start supporting Internet use. In the not too distant future I'm sure it will be impossible to buy a plain-wrap cell phone; all will have to be set up for a minimum level of Internet access. My Droid all but requires that you have an email account, preferably Gmail, so that you can load your contacts and their basic information.

More and more government agencies (DMV, business licensing, etc.) are requiring that you provide an email address. I can see elementary and secondary schools requiring Internet access via laptops or iPads for grades 3-12, just like most colleges and universities do now. Each child will either have to provide or be given Internet access in some form. But look at the benefits: eliminate school books, references, and school libraries. Let the kids learn to use the Internet to access approved texts and required research material.

The Watchtower already recognizes the power of computers and the Internet. They have at least 3 fully WT-approved websites of their own. They issue CD-DVD disks each year with the WT library. Why not put all of that on the Internet and let everyone access it via computer?

Printed materials? They're down to the point that WT and Awake! magazines are barely pamphlets, not the substantial mags we had from the time of Russell and up through the early 1990s. Why not point interested persons to the Internet to read current magazines (that are already available online from the WT) and then, for those without Internet service, allow the brothers and sisters to simply print a copy of the PDF version of the magazines and give copies to the interested householders?

New wide-screen TV sets come with built in Internet access. TV "no worky" unless you are connected to some sort of Internet access, either broadband cable or via satellite. To think that JWs will completely abandon their TV sets is a ridiculous idea. I doubt the WT could ever maintain that level of control, especially on the under 50-year old members.

I've been on the Internet since 1987, even before the "WWW" (world wide web) made its appearance. I've seen things progress so fast that even I, a pretty savvy webmaster, am having difficulty keeping up with all of the advances.

I think that the next generation of GB members will have to recognize by 2015 (2020 at the latest) that they will need to move from being a hardcopy printer/publishing company to an Internet online information provider. In fact, why should they spend all that money on foreign language versions of the magazines? I ran a quick test of one PDF copy of a recent Awake! magazine through the free online Google translator - and it was over 80% correct. By using minor adjustments in sentence structure and simpler word choices could probably get the accuracy up and over 95% (they are already doing the "simple" thing now).

I think they'll have no choice. If the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the London Times have all read the writing on the walls and eliminated the bulk of their print versions, then eventually even the WT will have to give up and go completely online.

And when they do, watch out! Nothing will be able to keep the flock in the pens. People need to learn and explore - it's built into our genes. If you type in "Jehovah's Witnesses" or "Watchtower" in Google search, half of the entries could be apostate or JW critical websites. They only have 3! So what will the other 7 front page entries be? How will they be able to prevent their followers from checking out those other sites?

Many JWs will access and explore those other sites, discovering bits of truth along the way. Only those who have been so brainwashed or full of WT kool-aid will not venture to those other sites. Hopefully the bulk of the next generation of converted and born-ins will have that exposure and will be able to clear their brains of the WT garbage.

A good day is coming...

JV

95

Top Ten Pickup Lines at This Year's Convention

by JimmyPage in

10. if i said you had a nice governing body would you hold it against me?.

9. let's overlap our generations if you know what i mean.. 8. what do you say we lose this great crowd?.

7. i want to be your faithful slave.. 6. tonight we're gonna party like it's 1974.. 7. your breasts are like towers.. 6. would you welcome a shepherding call?.

Juan Viejo2

"Forbidden fruit tastes sweeter. Come to my place for a snack..."

95

Top Ten Pickup Lines at This Year's Convention

by JimmyPage in

10. if i said you had a nice governing body would you hold it against me?.

9. let's overlap our generations if you know what i mean.. 8. what do you say we lose this great crowd?.

7. i want to be your faithful slave.. 6. tonight we're gonna party like it's 1974.. 7. your breasts are like towers.. 6. would you welcome a shepherding call?.

Juan Viejo2

"You look like you're in need of a love-bombing!"

20

Am I wrong for being angry at my dads funeral last year?

by shakyground in

jw
friends

that's the question that i have been thinking about all day for some reason.

it's 5:30 am and i been in and out of sleep all night.

let me go into further detail to explain.

Juan Viejo2

I've posted on this subject in the past. In my own experience I've been to the funerals of my mother, father, and step-mother, and everyone of them followed the standard JW funeral pattern. I even submitted a prepared eulogy for my father prior to his funeral, but it was totally ignored by the brother who gave the talk.

At http://ex-jw.com/two-funerals-michael-jackson I described the differences between the various funeral/memorials held for Michael Jackson two years ago. His private family funeral was held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park and the talk was given by a relative. But even though it was outside of the Kingdom Hall and was attended only by family and close personal friends, the talk was the same as for any other JW or JW family member.

Sad that JWs can not spend 30 minutes or more truly remembering their friend or family member.

One active sister wrote me after I published that article:

"I am an active Jehovah's Witness and always will be. But I happened to find your article about Michael Jackson and it made me so angry. Not at you for telling the truth and accurately describing JW funerals, but because of the hypocrisy of the Jackson family and my own experience.

"While the point of the JW funeral is to give a witness and to give all glory to Jehovah, few of the speakers ever remember why they are there. They are so stuck on the prepared outline that they hardly mention the deceased. In fact the dead become just a footnote to another public talk.

"The Jacksons approved that massive and impressive memorial at Staples Center and everyone made Michael out to be some kind of angel, the King of Pop, a superhuman and almost perfect person. In reality he was very talented, but he was also flawed in so many ways, had an addictive personality, and lived a very questionable lifestyle. But the big show did what it was designed to do - give him a big send off and remind the viewers of his many good deeds and accomplishments.

"So why did they feel it necessary to hold a separate JW funeral? What was that all about? He wasn't even a JW at the time and had in fact considered the possibility of converting to Islam. They couldn't even hold the funeral in a Kingdom Hall because he was tainted by being either DF'd or DA'd.

"My brother was also a former JW who became a musician. He was very, very good at what he did. He wrote several musical arrangements and songs that became quite popular. He was an accomplished bass and rythm guitar player. He was both a session and road musician for several major groups and performers. In spite of beng in the music business, he never became involved in drugs, alcohol, or roadie games. But he did not have time for meetings, service or assemblies - and really got tired of the constant harrassment by the elders that he give up his career and return to the Kingdom Hall. When he was robbed and killed by muggers while on a tour, the local elders commented that 'maybe Jehovah had punished him for his worldly ways.' No! He was killed by two ex-cons that had been out of prison barely a week. My family insisted on giving him a JW funeral. All the elder said about my brother was that 'he was a guitar player and had written a few songs.' That was it! No date of birth. Nothing about his family. No other mention about him or what he had accomplished.

"So although I am active and could never leave the Truth, I still burn inside every time the subject of my brother comes up. I will never again attend a JW funeral and I've asked my family not to hold a memorial for me should I precede them in death. But you know they will any way. They would never miss the opportunity to give another idiotic and unbearably dull public talk."

What more can you say after that description of a JW funeral?

JV

24

For your reading pleasure, we added 200 more documents to the Watchtower Documents website

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/documents/1800.html.

http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/documents/1900-1919.html.

http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/jw-stories.html.

Juan Viejo2

Thank you, Barbara and Joe. Great service to the entire community, in and out.

JV

21

Is the spring/summer weather in your area 'odd' this year?

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

much of our spring was very cold, intermingled with the occasionally 'extreme' heat.

so far summer [which started this week] is cooler than any i can recall, but extremely wet and high humidity.

the entire house feels like a wet blanket.. the doom-sayer types are constantly remarking how this must mark 'something' if not the end.

Juan Viejo2

Also an Oregonian - Willamette Valley. This has been a very wet year and most of the crops have been ruined or delayed by several weeks. Got to sit on our deck for just one day (Monday) when it got in the low 80s. Then dropped right back down into the gray 60s.

But hey, this is not evidence of global warming - just because the ice caps at the north pole are disappearing and the glaciers of Greenland are dropping off into the ocean at four times the normal volume.

I personally think that Jehovah has singled me out because of my apostate ways. Sorry that the rest of you between the 40 and 48th parallells have to suffer with me. Maybe someday we can all get together and have a pity party.

I would suggest that all of us go into our closets and have a private chat with J-God and beg him to average out some of the temps in the USA. Maybe move 20 degrees F from the USA south toward the north and let us all enjoy some nice 80-90F temps for the next month or so.

And don't forget to ask J-God to send a little of our rain down south as well. We've had enough and the folk along the cotton belt need all they can get.

JV

62

Br. Loesch - great tribulation, king of the north, generation overlap, new scrolls and more...

by Bonnie_Clyde in

just got this email...... .

subject: zone report germany date: 5/17/11 2:02:57 am.

we thought we would share one of our interesting experiences with you.

Juan Viejo2

Blondie - you have a PM

JV