simon17

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Posts by simon17

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  27

  I Offer You This Choice

  by simon17 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  suppose the following choice were offered you, and you had to choose one or the other.

  which would you pick (and perhaps why):.

  1) you can continue living your life as it is, die when you might, and that's that.. 2) you can instead agree to die in 1 year in exchange for this: you will be granted access to the entire past and future history of intelligent life in the universe.

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  simon17

  Suppose the following choice were offered you, and you had to choose one or the other. Which would you pick (and perhaps why):

  1) You can continue living your life as it is, die when you might, and that's that.

  2) You can instead agree to die in 1 year in exchange for this: You will be granted access to the entire past and future history of intelligent life in the universe. You can peruse it during the next year at your leisure, sort of like a 100% accurate wikipedia of civilized history. The entire future fate of our Earth, of our Solar System, of our species, how things will ultimately end. The entire past present and future of all other intelligent socities that are extinct, extant, or yet to come. This is a macro set of information: you won't know the future of your family or menial details of your random corner of the globe. You cannot share ANY information with anyone else in any way. Your last year will be yours to use as you please: travel, read this treasure trove of knowledge, say goodbyes, etc.

  Would you take that deal?

  ALSO: For the devout believers, this question is trivial and meaningless so no need to really chime in if this question is irrelevant to you because you believe you will be resurrected anyway and have a sort of full history anyway in the Holy Bible. That is not interesting.
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  62

  DELIGHTFUL DROP IN MEMORIAL ATTENDANCES: 2011 VERSUS 2014!

  by steve2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the us kingdom ministry shows the collective total 2014 memorial attendances of the countries that now comprise the us territory in 2014: 2,610,810.. those countries are: the usa, bermuda, jamaica, turks and caicos and puerto rico.. the same collective total for those same countries three years ago - 2011 - was 2,666,592.. that's a decrease of 55,782 from 2011 to 2014. i am happified.. while there has been the occasional year in which memorial attendances from one year to the next have shown decrease, this is a first: decline evident over a three-year period.. comments please!.

  .

  anyone have the know how on how to provide the link for the kingdom ministry download?

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  simon17

  Thanks BlueDolphin for the last 5-years tallies! the 2014 memorial attendance in the US territory is 6,152 more than 2010 but 55,782 fewer than 2011. It will be interesting to see the attendances from other territories. I'd guess the decrease will be more evident in the "west" than in say parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa.

  No, because 2014 only includes the US. Once Puerto Rico and the other places are added in, this year will be an all time peak.
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  62

  DELIGHTFUL DROP IN MEMORIAL ATTENDANCES: 2011 VERSUS 2014!

  by steve2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the us kingdom ministry shows the collective total 2014 memorial attendances of the countries that now comprise the us territory in 2014: 2,610,810.. those countries are: the usa, bermuda, jamaica, turks and caicos and puerto rico.. the same collective total for those same countries three years ago - 2011 - was 2,666,592.. that's a decrease of 55,782 from 2011 to 2014. i am happified.. while there has been the occasional year in which memorial attendances from one year to the next have shown decrease, this is a first: decline evident over a three-year period.. comments please!.

  .

  anyone have the know how on how to provide the link for the kingdom ministry download?

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  simon17

  Take a look at the 2010 numbers.

  US 2,485,231

  Bermuda 320,217

  Jamaica 37,271

  Turks & Caicos 1,188

  Puerto Rico 59,594

  Total = 2,903,501

  I'm going to go ahead and guess that there aren't even 320k people living on the small island of Bermuda. These numbers must be wrong.
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  43

  The INTJ Personality Type, (and those close to it)

  by done4good in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am compelled to write a bit about this at this late hour here in the us, because it is keeping me up.. the recent four year old thread on the briggs myers personality type test that was dug up, produced an interesting finding.

  many here, (at least tested informally for), the intj personality type.

  intjs also do not understand irrational behavior particularly well at all.. why does this matter?

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  simon17

  Took it again, but I'm always INTJ, every test I've ever taken.

  I have to make sense of the world in a logical way, and eventually JW-world just ate away at me because if one takes their doctrines (or the Bible's teachings in general) to their logical conclusions, they simply are not believable in any way. Evidence, logic, history, science, chronology, archaeology, etc etc... everything just ends up at the same conclusion: "these teachings are false", and no matter how much my family and friends and a nice hope for the future meant, they simply can't make up for the peace of mind of not having to believe falsehoods.
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  70

  Question for Atheists.. Did you gain a Greater Sense of Morality and Happiness?

  by objectivetruth in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've heard some view points that state, atheists are generally more moral & caring for fellow humans, than are theists.. i'd like to hear some personal stories of life changes and quality of life after you became atheist.

  i have a simple theory that may explain this.. i'll explain my theory if you'd like, after a few responses, as i really am interested in the personal changes that you experienced.. thank you very much, and i look forward to your stories..

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  simon17

  I don't think its fair to say one way or another. There are people who do awful things in the name of religion. But there are people who strive to be better people and surpress bad tendencies because of religion. On the other hand, some athiests use a lack of God as a crutch to commit bad acts while other athiests try to have a clearer picture of right and wrong based solely on doing good to others and this world.
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  75

  American Rantings About World Cup Soccer (Football)

  by RubaDub in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try ... i really try to watch football (soccer) ... it's world cup time ... i really do try.. i just don't get it ... i really don't.. yes, it's a world-wide sport.

  in most countries it is the number 1 or number 2 sport ... no doubt about it.

  it's maybe number 5 in the usa for professional sports.. from an american's perspective (i think i speak for many), we just wonder if these guys actually have testicles.

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  simon17

  It appears too, that hockey players only do sprints, and are relieved every 5 minutes? whereas these Marathon athletes in soccer do half - marathons 10 miles

  Not really: hockey shifts are typically 40-100 seconds. And yes, its basically the difference between sprints and marathons. I can tell you that having played some hockey, after a shift your legs are really shot sometimes.

  Hockey is far more exciting than soccer due to the speed of the game and the constant chances. However, it will never be as popular as soccer simply for two reasons:

  a) Its only a cold-weather game

  b) Its super-expensive to play
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  75

  American Rantings About World Cup Soccer (Football)

  by RubaDub in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i try ... i really try to watch football (soccer) ... it's world cup time ... i really do try.. i just don't get it ... i really don't.. yes, it's a world-wide sport.

  in most countries it is the number 1 or number 2 sport ... no doubt about it.

  it's maybe number 5 in the usa for professional sports.. from an american's perspective (i think i speak for many), we just wonder if these guys actually have testicles.

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  simon17

  I've watched a lot of soccer and I don't see how its even close to as interesting as baseball. What soccer has going for it is that is a simple game. Its cheap and easy to play, you can turn it on for the first time and fully understand the game and its rules in about 5 minutes.

  Baseball on the other hand is, by comparison, slow and strategic. People keep saying you need an attention span to watch soccer unlike American sports? How in the world is that? Soccer is 100% non-stop action (even though most of it is nowhere near scoring related). Why does that require any attention span. Soccer is easy to watch. Baseball, if you are new to it, is a real drag. The rules and strategy are extremely complicated. I feel like if you haven't grown up watching and playing baseball, you don't have a full appreciation of the perfection of the game and the strategy of it. Football also has a need for analysis and strategy that you simply don't get in soccer.

  Soccer is great because it is simple. Everyone can love it and understand it and play it, and therefore the world loves it. The fans are great and the game is extremely fun to play, and it can be exciting to watch. Baseball and football are great because they are fascinating, strategic, and interesting. They are hard games to understand fully, especially baseball which lacks the action of the other sports to placate a new viewer while they learn the intricacies. Both are great in their own way, but I will take football and baseball 100 times out of a 100, without question.
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  15

  Why the "worldly" thought of heaven is more comforting than Paradise

  by kneehighmiah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of the worst and best things about waking up is realizing that despite what you've been taught as a child, you are going to die one day.

  that was easy for me to handle, as i've had near death medical emerigencies.

  the hardest part is the thought of losing your parents.

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  simon17
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  44

  The purpose of changing JW names, titles and terms

  by gingerbread in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  during a discussion over the weekend, we exchanged ideas about recent changes in terminology related to assembly days, conventions and new titles for the higher-ups.

  i commented that for years in 'security' at larger meetings we were told to talk to any that seemed out of place and ask questions that would indicate if they were apostates - antiquated terms like 'overseer' or a reference the 'truth' book.. another in our group brought up the character in the orwell book 1984 and how his job was to separate new and approved terms from old words.

  this was called doublethink and blackwhite.

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  simon17

  Where can i see what terms were changed? I'm having trouble finding it for some reason. Thanks
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  61

  Problems of Dating the Watchtower Way

  by enigma1863 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i wanted to know what problems you have learned about dating in the "truth" acording to there policy.

  i feel like you dont really know someone until you live with them.

  also some put on a false personality until they get what they want i.e.

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  simon17

  Here's the real problem: In JW world

  Thing like talking on the phone regularly = Dating = Ready to get Married Imminently

  You can make it so ONE of those two equalities is true, and have a reasonable dating structure. But having them BOTH be true is completely nonsense.