The Methodists I have met are cool, whatever their methods.
Good luck with this one.
Posts by dgp
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26I dated a Methodist lady recently. (First date)
by Iamallcool inshe told me she is methodist.
for some reason the methodist religion does not appeal to me at all.
do you have any positive or negative things to say about the methodist religion?.
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42
The Generation(s) That Wasted Their Lives
by undercover ingrowing up as a jw, you see the world differently than most everyone else.
you see the world as something that is going to end very soon.
all that we know will be gone by the time we're adults.. when we were young, we were living in the last days and were expecting armageddon before we grew old.
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dgp
LOL Outlaw!
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12
English-language congregations in non-English speaking countries
by dgp ini am under the impression that english-language congregations outside of the united states must serve a purpose, other than just being the place where the missionaries can hang out and catch the occasional english speaker.
i think it's also a way to find the smarter guys in other countries and teach them the language and the jargon they will need if they ever climb up the watchtower corporate ladder.. what do people think?.
thanks.
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dgp
I can see the points made by all of you but -maybe it's the in me- I still feel something is left out of the picture.
I think the purposes of the organization do not necessarily match those of the people who attend those congregations.
I can see why they can open Kingdom Halls to attract old American expatriates. After all, large numbers of witnesses are not young anymore. You go where these expatriates don't feel at home (because, indeed, they aren't at home) and get them at a time when they need company and people "like them". That is understandable.
I can also understand that a native speaker of English might want to hang out in a congregation where she can understand what is being said. Fine.
But think, not as an American or Englishman moving to another country, but as a local. You realize that English is the de facto world language, yes, but it also plays the role Latin plays in the Catholic Church. If you want to be able to communicate with the guys who really run the show, you need to speak English. And it cannot be the sort of English that you'd use at a cafeteria, but serious jargon. You have to know words such as "rapture", and clichés such as "the faithful and discreet slave", which you can only acquire after some time and in a congregation where such terms are used all the time. So, a smart local brother will understand this; and so will smart people coming from abroad.
I can think of someone moving from the US, Canada or any English speaking country for the purpose of being recognized as a "hard worker" where "the need is greatest", taking advantage of money exchange differences, finding a wife (not necessarily a local, but another missionary from home, say) and then being in a congregation while he gets to learn the language. This would not be what I would call "the corporate reason to open an English-language congregation", but I am sure the Watchtower wouldn't miss its "side benefits".
Since you mention Mexico and Central America, it is of interest to me that many American Jehovah's witnesses are of Latino descent, yet those aren't the ones moving back to the countries their parents migrated from. Whatever Americans think of them, most Latinos who have spent a long time in the US, or were born there, do not have a real command of Spanish, but they are way closer to achieving that than an American of a different descent. Why is it not the Latinos that move down? They could also be the ones preaching to expatriates. English they do speak well.
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26
Society doesn't follow it's own advice: Aug 15, 2011 WT "Internet Eve"
by truthseeker ini thought this extract from the august 15 wt (study edition) was very telling.... .
today, anyone with an internet.
connection can become a desktop professor,.
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dgp
Question. "How can you avoid being a victim of misinformation?"
Answer by the worldly who doesn't know the ropes: "I can avoid being a victim of misinformation by having different sources of information, asking uncomfortable questions, reading things people wouldn't want you to read, checking backgrounds, and, above all, using my brains".
If you look at the image, you'll notice that the network cable doesn't have as many twists as the shadow in the shape of a snake. Dunces.
Besides, I went wireless long ago.
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42% of Canadians can't read (DC Talk)
by burnedout ini heard this statement at the dc today (saturday), the talk about some new brochure to help those who can't read in order to learn the basics of the truth:.
"one study finds that 42% of canadians can not read well enough to function in society... that's right brothers...
of course, no source was given, and then the speaker says how important this new 'tool' will be in the ministry.... i asked the wife what she thought of that and she agreed it sounded fishy.
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dgp
Talesin:
For the record, Illich does not want the abolition of schools. He just says that it is not the only place where you learn, and that other learning environments should be appreciated for what they are worth. Not having a degree should not mean you can't function in society. Illich was an advocate of learning from one another, as you do in this forum.
I think you'd enjoy "Disabling professions" as well.
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6
Dear Governing Body: I have a lot to thank you for
by dgp inon reading this thread (http://www2.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/211600/1/society-doesnt-follow-its-own-advice-aug-15-2011-wt-internet-eve), i could but think of how much i had to thank the governing body for.. they claim that these days, thanks to the internet, anyone can pretend to be "in the know" and become a "desktop professor".
and they encourage everyone to distrust what they find over the internet.. dear governing body, i did follow your advice this one time.
as a worldly, i had no clue, and for some time had to check what apostates and opposers were saying about the slave.
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dgp
You know, I'm actually wondering whether they would enforce their copyrights against a worldly. I don't think so. It would bring a lot of bad press on them. Why don't they want a worldly to know their own material, if they are so willing to give it to you at your door, and they are so willing to convert you?
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Dear Governing Body: I have a lot to thank you for
by dgp inon reading this thread (http://www2.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/211600/1/society-doesnt-follow-its-own-advice-aug-15-2011-wt-internet-eve), i could but think of how much i had to thank the governing body for.. they claim that these days, thanks to the internet, anyone can pretend to be "in the know" and become a "desktop professor".
and they encourage everyone to distrust what they find over the internet.. dear governing body, i did follow your advice this one time.
as a worldly, i had no clue, and for some time had to check what apostates and opposers were saying about the slave.
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dgp
On reading this thread (http://www2.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/211600/1/Society-doesnt-follow-its-own-advice-Aug-15-2011-WT-Internet-Eve), I could but think of how much I had to thank the Governing Body for.
They claim that these days, thanks to the internet, anyone can pretend to be "in the know" and become a "desktop professor". And they encourage everyone to distrust what they find over the internet.
Dear Governing Body, I did follow your advice this one time. As a worldly, I had no clue, and for some time had to check what apostates and opposers were saying about the Slave. And, when my mind had been made up already, well, I got this lovely CD that you and the Brothers at Bethel worked hard to make, and I found confirmation of anything apostates and opposers were saying. And it came right from you.
I thought I could but thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for having been so thorough in the making of that CD. It makes it wonderfully easy to find information in one breath, information that I would have trouble finding and collecting from the evil monster of the internet, populated as it is by apostates. Thanks to that CD, anyone can focus on processing the information, rather than finding it, and then the wonderful thinking abilities that our Maker gave us can work best.
Jehovah will not give Jacob descendants in the number of thanks I think you deserve for having done this. There is no way I will fall prey to you. And I will make sure others do not, either.
How fitting it is that all this information came right from you.
Happily Not Yours,
Worldly
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Association: Am i being lied to?
by roxanesophia ini don't hesitate to bring up with the girl i study with, my criticisms of the religion, and one of those is the association.
i keep reading on here that jw's don't make friends outside the cult, and this is what i used as an excuse for stepping further away from being baptized.
she tells me it's not true, and they can have what ever friends they want.
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dgp
This cult has obviously given you something you don't want to walk away from. But, whatever it gave you, it isn't real. Or, it comes at a price that you'd better not pay.
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Society doesn't follow it's own advice: Aug 15, 2011 WT "Internet Eve"
by truthseeker ini thought this extract from the august 15 wt (study edition) was very telling.... .
today, anyone with an internet.
connection can become a desktop professor,.
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dgp
It has always been true that anyone can pretend to be "in the know". That is exactly what they have been doing all this time. The internet makes it a lot easier to check whether you're telling the truth or not, however; and this is something that affects them. So they discredit any criticism.
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42% of Canadians can't read (DC Talk)
by burnedout ini heard this statement at the dc today (saturday), the talk about some new brochure to help those who can't read in order to learn the basics of the truth:.
"one study finds that 42% of canadians can not read well enough to function in society... that's right brothers...
of course, no source was given, and then the speaker says how important this new 'tool' will be in the ministry.... i asked the wife what she thought of that and she agreed it sounded fishy.
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dgp
Interesting. I guess this is made worse because the country works on the assumption that everyone can read well.
Deschooling Society, anyone?