hm, at home in the family, I think it has its value, reminds you to be thankful in general, which is not a bad thing...
however, i hate it in public, always did the same as cantleave did (and hoped nobody else around notices)
inbetween
JoinedPosts by inbetween
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prayer before eating
by stillin ini mentioned to an elder/friend the other day that it occurred to me that there really doesan't seem to be any scriptural precedent or mandate for the tradition of praying before we eat.
i said that jesus blessed the loaves and fishes when he performed that miracle, and he blessed the wine and bread at the last supper, but i couldn't think of any other example of it.
i also suggested that the tradition of praying before eating was probably rooted in giving thanks to the various gods of nature and the perception og god as being involved in the outcome of the harvest, and that, by that way of looking at it, we probably shouldn't pray before eating....silence..
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Do you hold any ''responsibility'' for the believing the WTS?
by RULES & REGULATIONS injehovah's witnesses are the only people that will inherit life on paradise earth.
only jehovah's witnesses have the ''truth''.
the wts is the only ''channel' 'to jehovah.
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inbetween
thats one of the most nagging questions, why did I not see this earlier ?
Why did it take so long to see through this scam ?
Why did I defend the oddest teachings with far-fetched reasonings ?
My reply: hardly if ever, were we able to see the other side, anything apostate was demonized, and the usual house-holder we meet, has mostly only little knowledge of JW, or even the bible.
its all about control of information, the WTS feeds you only what fits their agenda, and make it appear "bible-based" so anything that contradicts them contradicts automatically Gods word.
only when their information control got too tight, (example km 2007, about not studying the bible in Greek, or the newer and more extrem approach to higher education) my personal red flag got up.
I started first to think for myself, and not to agree with certain teachings...then I ignored the warning about apostates, and came finally to this site...
If they slowly opnened up, a process imho that began in the nineties, maybe I still would be fully in, but they choose the other road, and therefore caused me (and others) to see through....
regarding responsibility ? well, Jesus forgave those who tortured him, because they did not know what they are doing, while he strongly rebuked those who knew, like the Pharisees, priests etc...
at least, thats what I hope for...
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Does anyone here ever feel that they don't fit in
by cantleave inyou no longer fit in with the jw's and aren't yet accepted by those outside either?.
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inbetween
exactly know what you mean, to a point at least.
I observe some people at work or in neighborhood, end even though most of them are just decent normal people, sometimes their perceived purpose in life seems too shallow,
let me explain: even when you realize the WTS is a big fraud, it gave life a "spiritual" dimension, shielding from a mere materialistic view of life, which is not completely satisfying.
(however this may often just be from the perspective of a JW, when you barley get the chance to really get to know people outsied of the "truth")
additionally when you live as an outsider for decades, it is hard to change in a short time to be fully integrated in society.
on the other hand, when you are with witnesses, even if many are close friends, when they start talking cultish, it seems weird for those of the "conscious class", and you may feel as not fitting in either.
Funny, i realise that I was never so full of this stuff, like prasing Jah for every positive thing that occurs in your life and blaming the devil for anything negative. Now it even strikes me more odd than before when I hear stuff like that.
Yep, I completely understand this feeling....
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Congregation Bible Study Book
by dig692 innot sure if this question was addressed yet, but does anyone know what the next book is that will be studied at the congregation bible study?.
i'm pretty sure we're close to the end of keep yourselves in god's love, or maybe it's finished already, so if anyone knows what the new study aid will be please let me know.. .
thanks-dig.
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inbetween
its the "follow me" book, the new one about Jesus,
in fact anything is better than the "gods rules" book we had the past year...
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Life On Hold: The CO Visit Week
by sacolton indid anyone have to cancel a vacation trip because it was on co visit week?
i still don't get why the co visit was as if god himself was in town.
is it kinda like if the pope were to visit with catholics?.
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inbetween
Co-visits, omg....
being a born-in, CO were often viewd as half-gods, elders getting nervous, because big boss is coming.
worse, some ass-kissy publishers, circling the CO and his wife before and after meeting, I never was that type of person.
CO-visits always ment more work, stress, and relief on sunday after the last talk....even as true beleiver, I always hated this times...
even though some CO were decent guys, even funny and one of them almost became a good friend,, (but after 6 visits, its too short of a time to from a real friend-ship)
the current one is also nice, one reason, why I wait before I resign. Will get a new one in fall though....
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Which book ,studied at the Book Study, you Hated or loved more????
by deep-blue-sea induring my life as jw i have studied many, many books of the wt at the weekly book study.. here you will find some of the books considered during the years with their publishing date:.
1955 new heavens, new hearth.
1961 from lost paradise to..... 1962 let your will be done on earth.
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inbetween
hate:
"gods rule" sorry, "Gods love"-book, its a list of do`s and do`nts, horrible for anybody in the conscious class...
"isaiah" books, just plain boring, even a CO admitted that...
liked:
"creator" book, required some thinking at least, and some some good explanations
"revelation" book, I know, some weird reasonings and applications, 7 trumprets for example, but at least not a dictating rule book
"daniel" book, same as revelation, and I love history...
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"People Don't Join Religions for the Doctrine"
by leavingwt in"people don't join religions for the doctrine.
this and other interesting observations by randy watters, in a new post at free minds.
a sample is below.. .
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inbetween
ak jeff, I agree completely, observe the same here, some just are happy with rules and if the society is uncertain, they endeavor to put certainty in themselves.
they need somebody to tell them what to do. Mayn of them would really fail in life, and have failed before joining.
For others (especially born in, or those caught off guard so to speak) it becomes a burden, they deal with either through living it only on the surface, or through depression, alcohol, other issues...
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If we were alone together in the woods 100 miles from nowhere
by John Doe inand a tree fell on me, pinning me to the ground, and all you had was a dull pocket knife, would you perform a field amputation of a leg or arm to save my life?
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inbetween
only after contacting the local HLC, and you need to have your DPA handy anyway.
How else should I know which fractions you allow to use ?
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Why Aren't You At Least FAding?
by shamus100 init doesn't take much, just stop going.
you don't even have to do it all at once; maybe do one meeting a week for a month, then one meeting a month for two months, then just stop going.. what's going to happen?.
nothing.. getting a shepherding call... q: what's wrong brother twinkletoes?
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inbetween
MLE, I quite understand your position, I am in similar "shoes"
fading as an elder is virtually impossible without facing more or less serious questioning.
If its not health, it must be something else. In my case, we had an elder resign some years ago, apparatently due to secular work reasons.
However, some time later, the real reason came up, he cheated on his wife.
If I ever would resign, I´m sure suspicions in this regard may run high, because my health has been very good so far, and I´m not good at faking things.
My goal is to resign sooner or later, but I need to find the appropriate timing. I work on my wife to get her used to the idea of switching congo, because this may be my only change.
But right now, we have a small BOE, where each one is needed desperately. Fortunetely, my fellow elders are of the more reasonable, intelligent kind, company men yes, but as open possible. My little influence can help to take advantage of that, and I could at least once prevent an unnecessary JC, by avoiding the merely legal aproach on things.
There is good that can be accomplished by those of the "conscious class", before they fade or drop out.
Maybe thats something in the end, that helps deal with the responsibility before God, however we may define it.
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This is probably petty, but .....Did you ever have a problem with losing your KM?
by miseryloveselders in"misery, do you have an extra kingdom ministry?
" "misery, you didnt give me my kindom ministry for april, i know its only february, but you wouldnt happen to have it, would you?
" "i could have sworn i gave you your km.
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inbetween
haha, yes, like Mad sweeney said, its a 50/50 issue.
half the time I forgot to had it out, half the time the pub misplaced it...
well lately it doenst matter, just take the one from last month, most of it is the same boring FS-advice anyway...