jgnat

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Posts by jgnat

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  36

  Before We Leave, Just Want To Say

  by onacruse in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  katie and i are about to head out to the airport, and by 3 pm tomorrow afternoon will be happy husband and wonderful wife!

  we would almost certainly never have met each other if not for this forum, where we have both laughed and cried and healed, with and through all of you friends.

  from the bottom of our hearts:.

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  jgnat

  Everyone has said it so well already. Your happiness makes us all so happy! May this be the Merriest Christmas for you both.

  ...so how many muchkins are you planning for?
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  7

  Holiday Traditions

  by meadow77 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  every year since i was young, we got to open one gift on christmas eve.

  when i was little i used to get excited wondering what it would be.

  it took me many years to figure out that it would always be pajamas.

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  jgnat

  Christian friends of mine almost came to blows in the early years of their marriage over Christmas. Her Christmases had been witness to drunken rages between her parents. No good memories there. Her husband's Christamases were full of family and warmth and food. She and her husband decided set up their own set of rituals. My girlfriend now looves Christmas, thanks to her loving and patient husband. Here are the ones I remember:

  • Buy a box of Christmas oranges. Always the oranges.
  • Oh yes, chocolate, too. Have lots of chocolate.
  • Go to a Christmas Eve candelight service.
  • After the service, open the presents. One at a time.
  • Each gift has to be passed amongst family and oohed and aahed before the next is opened.

  My fond memories include:

  • Making the family christmas cake. It was my job to peel the blanched almonds and flour the raisins and currants. Flouring raisins still takes me back.
  • Dad cursing and swearing over tangled lights. Hearing the hushed cursing again late in the night the year Santa brought a bike, Some Assembly Required.
  • Wishing someone would ask ME to decorate the tree that year (silly me. I never asked).
  • Making home-made Christmas cards. (I continued this with my own children).
  • Oh yes, Gently Feral, I pick out gifts all year. I take in the January sales and scour discount stores for outrageous deals. I have a "gift shelf" (nothing evil there. Even a witness could do this). These cool generic gifts go on the shelf when I get invited to an unexpected event. Last week, I pulled down all the treasures, and figured out what else I needed. I only bought four gifts more. Very inexpensive, and very efficient, too. I am such a scatterbrainy, I need this shelf to salvage the situation at least twice a year (shoot. Was the party tonight?)
  • The music, the beautiful music. Can someone tell me what is WRONG with Handel's Messiah in dubland?
  • The glow of a young child's face in tree twinkle-light.
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  37

  DubSticks

  by Farkel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .....or why they won't let me play at the kingdom halls anymore.

  sorry to wreck everyone's lovely christmas eve, but it's time for some brutal torture!

  if nothing else, "dubsticks" illustrates how a perfectly normal and often happy person is going along in life minding his or her own business, and then dubs enter into that life and change everything.

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  jgnat

  My apologies, Farkel. He's Yellow Naped Amazon. When we chatted, your bird took me back to my time in the West Indies, and the Mackaws I saw there. I must have done an unconscious association. When I said bobbing drunkenly, I was referring to his walk, not his condition.
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  19

  How many know about the little box?

  by gumby in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i guess i'm a dipshit.

  i didn't know about the little white box to the left of your name.

  if you click it your posts are gone until it's clicked again.

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  jgnat

  Oooh Gumby!

  BTW, you would be the only one who would notice. Just because I chose to ignore someone, everyone else can still see them.
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  37

  DubSticks

  by Farkel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .....or why they won't let me play at the kingdom halls anymore.

  sorry to wreck everyone's lovely christmas eve, but it's time for some brutal torture!

  if nothing else, "dubsticks" illustrates how a perfectly normal and often happy person is going along in life minding his or her own business, and then dubs enter into that life and change everything.

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  jgnat
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  33

  Are there too many EX-JW Born agains?

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i dont wish to offend anyone but this is what i think.a large number of people who leave the jehovahs witness movment become born again christians or join other religious groups.but is this a sign that many who have learnt that "gods chosen organisation" is wrong have not learnt anything at all?.

  maybe the prospect of facing a future without a god , a divine purpose , and a faith just too much for some people to bear.but in joining another religious group are they not making the same or similar mistakes as before?they are still putting their trust in a ancient book written by people they have never met, interpretted by other people or by themselves, they have not maybe learnt to be analytical in their thinking and to withhold trust until reasonably solid evidence is provided on an issue.. although other religious may or may not be more harmful than jehovahs witnesses if lessons on thinking and reasoning have not been learnt then we could be open to many more errors of judgment in our lives.. so does the fact that many jehovahs witnesses join other religons show that they are just moving on rather than understanding why jehovahs witness are wrong and learning from it?.

  maybe they dont fully grasp that the fudamental flaw to jehovahs witness , is belief in the bible as gods word only the second being following that through an organistation .if the bible is not gods word then all religions who follow it are flawed.. of course what other people choose to think or follow is none of my buisness and i fully respect other peoples right to believe what they want, but if this world is to progress and mankind to improve in thier dealings with one another then we can not all go round living in our own little fantasy worlds , we must be brutal with ourselves in checking why we believe the things we do and trying to align our minds with reality not fantasy.. this apllies to all aspects of our lives.but if we are not honest or open minded and reasonable enough to see there are some massive problems to the bibles authenticity and divine declerations how will we be able to make reasonable decisions in other areas of our lives?

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  jgnat

  sleepy, I do hope you don't mean that "born agains" are vermin that should be restricted, like rabbits in Austraila. From what I can see, the WTS does a real number on people, and it takes a long time for these people to be restored. What gives me great joy is to see xJW's come in to their own each in their own way. Each xJW's individuality and uniqueness is to be treasured. For that reason, I would not judge those who reject faith of any kind or chose to pursue thier own faith outside organized religion. The WTS poisoned that well for them, so to speak. Some come out of the society with their faith in God intact. I wouldn't criticize them for that either, if I were you.

  Pleasuredome, my brother, I love what you said,

  i dont have a problem with people becoming born-again, what i have a problem with is those same people insisting that other people should believe the way they believe otherwise they are not right, or dont have christ, etc...

  There are narrow minded jerks everywhere. Such people are not restricted to the WTS, or to the "Born Agains". Be careful with the labels.

  Edited by - jgnat on 24 December 2002 21:8:12
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  5

  WT's Top Biblical Helpers Nov 15

  by jgnat in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  december 29 wt study christians need one another from wt november 15, 2002

  places of worship.

  we are members belonging to one another - ephesians 4:25

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  jgnat

  December 29 WT Study

  Christians Need one Another from WT November 15, 2002 Places of Worship. Do we Need Them ? We are members belonging to one another - EPHESIANS 4:25

  Lets see what examples the WTS provides.

  Helper	Commended For	My Comment
  Aquila and Priscilla, tentmakers	p. 5-6 Received [elder Paul] in to their home, worked with him as tentmakers, and helped him to build up the congregation in Corinth. They even put their lives in jeopardy..Enhanced Appolos understanding of Gods word with regular bible study.	Brothers and sisters, be prepared to work, and work hard. Your elder needs you. The congregation needs you. Those in error need you. You have no needs.
  Congregation in Philippi	Regular healthy contributions to the unobtrusive donation boxes at the back of the room. p. 7...the Phillipians demonstrated readiness to contribute even beyond their means.	Get out your pocketbooks, brothers and sisters, your congregation needs you. But REMEMBER. This is NOT THE SAME as Christendoms churches begging for cash. Begging for cash is shameful. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AT ALL.
  Epaphroditus	p. 8 On account of the Lords work [Epaphroditus] came quite near to death, exposing his mortal soul to danger...a self-sacrificing and helpful Christian, and Paul really needed him.	Ministerial Servants and elders, be prepared to give more. Your CO needs you. Have you exposed yourself to mortal danger yet? Then you have not yet given enough.
  Aristarchus	p. 9 was a strengthening aid [for elder Paul]. Should not all of us endeavour to be strengthening aids to fellow Christians?	Aristarchus is a fine model to follow, but the illustration is a bit of a stretch. Aristarchus was a fellow leader and companion to Paul, and in the end, a fellow prisoner. Tradition says Nero lopped off his head. He is more an example of two leaders in the congregation supporting one another.
  Peter	p. 10 manifested strong, rocklike qualities, especially after Jesus resurrection.	...and especially after he received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Peter had pebble-like qualities until then. Funny how the WT left that out. It sure would help the average believer if they had direct access to the strength of the Holy Spirit when ministering to others.
  Timothy	p. 11 Though he had certain health problems, Timothy displayed whole-hearted faith and slaved with Paul in furtherance of the good news.	Uh oh. The faders cannot use ill health as an excuse any more. The ill cannot use that as an excuse any more either.
  Dorcas	p. 12 [made] many garments or do other loving things for those in need.	...and then the article immediately downplays the quality of Dorcas good works with this disclaimer: Of course, their good works primarily have to do with promoting Kingdom interests and sharing in the disciple-making work. I guess the seamstress types will have to put down their needles and get back to work peddling magazines.
  Lydia	p. 13 Welcomed the apostles to stay at her home. How we appreciate it when similar hospitality is shown by kind and loving Christians today!	That is right, brothers and sisters. Welcome the CO and Elders in to your home with open arms, but keep your prodigal children out in the cold.
  Jesus	p. 15 He liked hanging out at the temple and listening to the talks. He always wore a little suit and tie just like his father, and sat quietly and meekly in his chair, commenting only when recognized by the speaker. He never, never, never challenged the elders with his own interpretation of the scriptures.	What a fine example Jesus set for our young ones! Surely they should obey their parents and be interested in learning about spiritual things.

  We know barely anything about the life of Aristarchus or Epaphroditus. Why isnt Stephen mentioned? The Bible dedicates two complete chapters to his life (Acts 6 & 7). Could it be because he was a man full of grace and power, even though his simple assignment was waiting on tables for poor widows? Oh, thats right. The WTS stopped food services for its sheep a long time ago. If widows need help, they can call on that wicked organization, Meals on Wheels.

  Note:

  text in red is directly quoted from WT materials.
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  51

  Best argument against a Jehovah's Witness?

  by Happy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  don't get me wrong, i'm not one to actively persecute jw's, i'm just wondering what you guys think is the best agrument/point to use when a pesky brother or sister just won't leave you alone.

  normally, i am willing to listen to their drivel out of respect (even though i have no respect for the wt) but there are times when i am not in the mood to hear them babble.

  i normally bring up the 1914 generation point, and it normally works.

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  jgnat

  Food for thought? This was a real show stopper: "How do you tell the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet?"

  Three guesses what the next question will be.
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  51

  Best argument against a Jehovah's Witness?

  by Happy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  don't get me wrong, i'm not one to actively persecute jw's, i'm just wondering what you guys think is the best agrument/point to use when a pesky brother or sister just won't leave you alone.

  normally, i am willing to listen to their drivel out of respect (even though i have no respect for the wt) but there are times when i am not in the mood to hear them babble.

  i normally bring up the 1914 generation point, and it normally works.

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  jgnat

  What is the goal? To get the witness out of your face? To give them food for thought? Different goal, different approach. When my honey gets too annoying, I sing Christmas carols. Works every time.
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  32

  What's going on ?

  by Rockmangames in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why are people here said happy birthday..cheers..etc etc which that are against in jehovah's eyes when it is jehovahs witness forum here ?

  dont they see that its is j e h o v a h s - w i t n e s s forum ?

  i am so confused and i am so lost.

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  jgnat

  Rockman, there is a difference between biblical and doctrinal. It is the doctrine of the Watchower Society that birthdays are evil and bad, because beheadings happen there. Not everybody holds to that doctrine. Job, who was a man approved of Jehovah, allowed his sons to celebrate their birthdays. This is in the bible.

  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. Job 1:1-4