Hmm. I was thinking about this one, but mainly because Blake Lively was in it. But I'm not sure if I could handle the violence. How does it rate compared to say, Terminator in terms of violent content?
--sd-7
Posts by sd-7
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34
This would come in VERY handy for some of us with JC's on the horizon...
by Morbidzbaby inhttp://www.livescribe.com/en-us/smartpen/echo/.
this is awesome...and pretty inconspicuous, i'd say....
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sd-7
Bah. Nothin' beats pen and paper. "The pen is truly mightier than the sword."
--sd-7
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Please can we all have a go at describing and celebrating our different NEW IDENTITIES, versus our OLD WBTS IDENTITY?
by Fernando inat one time most of us here identified as jws who follow the wbts gb/fds who claim to follow the bible etc.
some of us are journeying to a new identity, others may feel they already have a new identity.. although we likely have gone in many different directions, we share a common past which only ex-members can really understand and explain.
please could we each respectfully share and celebrate our unique perspectives of where we have come from, and where we each are now at on this journey?.
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sd-7
Old: Loyalist to the Watchtower through and through. Depressed because of not doing enough or being spiritual enough, troubled by the behaviors I observed, and lost...obeying orders but never really understanding what the point of it all was. It seemed so futile, a neverending battle we'd been forced into by virtue of birth and knowledge.
New: A thinker. An explorer. Loyal now, as I suppose I had always been, to a higher standard of right and wrong, not one that was fed to me, but one I chose for myself. I continue to search the scriptures for meaning, but I now read the works of so many others. I'm rebuilding my moral framework one patch at a time, and loving the freedom I now have. There will always be pain from what I had to destroy and let go of, but I know that I did the right thing in leaving the JWs. I'm stronger for it, and proud of myself for making it as far as I have. I can finally, after so many years of holding my head down, hold my head up high. There are battles ahead, which might seem neverending. But now I'm strong enough to fight those battles. Because now I see...that no matter what they told me, I was always strong enough. The Watchtower's chains only forced me to get that much stronger so I could finally break them, and be free.
--sd-7
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Emotionally blackmailing an acutely mentally ill person!
by serenitynow! inso my sister recently got out of the hospital after being suicidal and expressing a lot of delusional thoughts.
she is doing a lot better, but she is by no means back to her normal self.
my sister is an exjw, technically just inactive, but she reads the several versions of the bible and prays.
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sd-7
So...in short, your aunt's saying, "I'll only help you if you rejoin my religion." Wow. And here I thought the Bible said "Work what is good towards ALL". So much for the 2012 yeartext, "Your word is truth."
Anyway, it was the elders' callous attitude that was a key factor in waking me up. Once I realized that they were basically telling adults what to do without even opening their Bibles to show them why scripturally they should do this or that, I started to think...something is wrong here. They treat people like children and it's just wrong. They cannot produce spiritually or emotionally stable or mature people because they want dependent people, not people who are able to stand on their own.
They can't see anything beyond obedience to their laws, so they are in no position to be able to raise up the downtrodden. It's sad. If you can, you should try to help your sister in your own way. Because their brand of help is just going to have her hanging by a thread, for however long that can happen.
--sd-7
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Some personal thoughts as 2011 comes to a close
by Terry infirst off, if you are in a safe place inside your head, merry christmas.
i was fortunate to have had childhood christmases in my home growing up.
many born-ins are probably never going to know what they missed.. also.... i am thinking about all the nice, friendly, happy things i've given up for jehovah and it saddens me.
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sd-7
Awesomeness, as usual, Terry. Thanks.
--sd-7
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23
Some thoughts on Zechariah 7:1-5 as it relates to 607 vs. 587 B.C.
by sd-7 in(zechariah 7:1-5) 7 furthermore, it came about that in the fourth year of darius the king the word of jehovah occurred to zechariah, on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [that is,] in chis'lev.
2 and beth'el proceeded to send share'zer and re'gem-mel'ech and his men to soften the face of jehovah, 3 saying to the priests who belonged to the house of jehovah of armies, and to the prophets, even saying: shall i weep in the fifth month, practicing an abstinence, the way i have done these o how many years?
4 and the word of jehovah of armies continued to occur to me, saying: 5 say to all the people of the land and to the priests, when you fasted and there was a wailing in the fifth [month] and in the seventh [month], and this for seventy years, did you really fast to me, even me?
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sd-7
Sorry, the formatting is a bit ugly on this. Maybe I better try and fix it up a bit...but I doubt anyone but me is thinking about this sort of thing on Christmas Eve...
--sd-7
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Some thoughts on Zechariah 7:1-5 as it relates to 607 vs. 587 B.C.
by sd-7 in(zechariah 7:1-5) 7 furthermore, it came about that in the fourth year of darius the king the word of jehovah occurred to zechariah, on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [that is,] in chis'lev.
2 and beth'el proceeded to send share'zer and re'gem-mel'ech and his men to soften the face of jehovah, 3 saying to the priests who belonged to the house of jehovah of armies, and to the prophets, even saying: shall i weep in the fifth month, practicing an abstinence, the way i have done these o how many years?
4 and the word of jehovah of armies continued to occur to me, saying: 5 say to all the people of the land and to the priests, when you fasted and there was a wailing in the fifth [month] and in the seventh [month], and this for seventy years, did you really fast to me, even me?
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sd-7
And as an afterthought:
(Jeremiah29:1-10)29 And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the older men of the exiled people and to the priests and to the prophets and to all the people, whom Neb·u·chad·nez′zar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 2 after Jec·o·ni′ah the king and the lady and the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and the builders of bulwarks had gone forth from Jerusalem. 3 It was by the hand of El·a′sah the son of Sha′phan and Gem·a·ri′ah the son of Hil·ki′ah, whom Zed·e·ki′ah the king of Judah sent to Babylon to Neb·u·chad·nez′zar the king of Babylon, saying: 4 “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said to all the exiled people, whom I have caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and inhabit [them], and plant gardens and eat their fruitage. 6 Take wives and become father to sons and to daughters; and take wives for YOUR own sons and give YOUR own daughters to husbands, that they may give birth to sons and to daughters; and become many there, and do not become few. 7 Also, seek the peace of the city to which I have caused YOU to go into exile, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace there will prove to be peace for YOU yourselves. 8 For this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “Let not YOUR prophets who are in among YOU and YOUR practicers of divination deceive YOU, and do not YOU listen to their dreams that they are dreaming. 9 For ‘it is in falsehood that they are prophesying to YOU in my name. I have not sent them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.”’” 10 “For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’
According to this scripture, Jeremiah addresses King Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) as being already in exile, and indicates to them that their service to the king of Babylon—as service is what Jeremiah himself says at Jeremiah 25:11--is going to continue until the 70 years are fulfilled. This is about 10 or 11 years BEFORE Jerusalem is destroyed, yet Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) is addressed as already being in exile. Thus we see that the exile started well before Jerusalem was destroyed. Hence, the 70 year prophecy must have started long before Jerusalem was destroyed, or else this prophecy means that people already in exile in Babylon have to wait ANOTHER 10 YEARS for the prophecy to START. That would make no sense at all.
Also, “seventy years at Babylon” is stated only in the New World Translation and the King James Version but in more recent times it has been established that “at Babylon” is not a proper translation of the Hebrew here. Most other Bibles render this verse as “seventy years for Babylon”.
(I mentioned a little of this in my 10-page essay I posted awhile ago, but felt a need to write about Zechariah 7:1-5 after reading, I guess it was a Rolf Furuli argument using Zech. 7:1-5 as PROOF that 607 B.C. was the right date.)
--sd-7
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Some thoughts on Zechariah 7:1-5 as it relates to 607 vs. 587 B.C.
by sd-7 in(zechariah 7:1-5) 7 furthermore, it came about that in the fourth year of darius the king the word of jehovah occurred to zechariah, on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [that is,] in chis'lev.
2 and beth'el proceeded to send share'zer and re'gem-mel'ech and his men to soften the face of jehovah, 3 saying to the priests who belonged to the house of jehovah of armies, and to the prophets, even saying: shall i weep in the fifth month, practicing an abstinence, the way i have done these o how many years?
4 and the word of jehovah of armies continued to occur to me, saying: 5 say to all the people of the land and to the priests, when you fasted and there was a wailing in the fifth [month] and in the seventh [month], and this for seventy years, did you really fast to me, even me?
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sd-7
(Zechariah 7:1-5) 7 Furthermore, it came about that in the fourth year of Da·ri’us the king the word of Jehovah occurred to Zech·a·ri’ah, on the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [that is,] in Chis'lev. 2 And Beth'el proceeded to send Shar·e'zer and Re'gem-mel'ech and his men to soften the face of Jehovah, 3 saying to the priests who belonged to the house of Jehovah of armies, and to the prophets, even saying: “Shall I weep in the fifth month, practicing an abstinence, the way I have done these O how many years?” 4 And the word of Jehovah of armies continued to occur to me, saying: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When YOU fasted and there was a wailing in the fifth [month] and in the seventh [month], and this for seventy years, did YOU really fast to me, even me?
--This scripture shows that the fourth year of Darius (Darius the Great) was apparently 70 years after the destruction of Jerusalem. The Israelites were mourning in the fifth and seventh months of the year, for 70 years. The fifth month was when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the seventh month was when Gedaliah, who had been appointed by the Babylonians over the people left in Judah, was assassinated. (2 Kings 25:8, 25) The phrasing of the question asked by Sharezer and Regem-melech indicates that the Israelites had been fasting (and apparently they weren't quite sure how many years they'd been fasting, as the question says "O how many years?"), and were now asking Zechariah if they should continue fasting as they had previously been doing up until this time. Zechariah’s response indicates that it had been 70 years since the Israelites had been fasting in the fifth and seventh months.
Note that Zechariah’s response does NOT mention the 70-year prophecy of Jeremiah; he merely says that they had been fasting for seventy years. Therefore, in the absence of a mention of Jeremiah’s prophecy, we find a lack of evidence to support the notion that this is the same 70 years that Jeremiah foretold. Again, remember what Jeremiah actually said:
(Jeremiah 25 :8-11) . . ., 9 here I am sending and I will take all the families of the north,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even [sending] to Neb·u·chad·rez′zar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of astonishment and something to whistle at and places devastated to time indefinite. 10 And I will destroy out of them the sound of exultation and the sound of rejoicing, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the hand mill and the light of the lamp. 11 And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”’
Jeremiah mentions that they will SERVE seventy years, not be in exile 70 years. In any case, in every other instance where Jeremiah’s prophecy is mentioned, Jeremiah himself is mentioned. (2 Chron. 36:21, 22; Ezra 1:1; Dan. 9:1, 2) In this case, he is not mentioned. Therefore, this is a different 70-year period, as the Israelites have not been serving the King of Babylon since the Babylonians had been conquered in 539 B.C., which means the 70 years foretold by Jeremiah have long been over.
Furthermore, remember, in Zech. 7:1-5, men have been sent to ask Zechariah if they should CONTINUE fasting. If they have been fasting since 607 B.C., then by the time they ask Zechariah, then 90 years, not 70, will have passed by this time. Why would Zechariah then say they have been fasting for 70 years if in fact they had been fasting for 90? Or if they had in fact stopped fasting at 537 B.C., this question makes even less sense, as they would have ceased fasting for 20 years, and then asked if they should resume fasting--which is not what the question says at all anyway. The question seems to suggest that this fasting was a recent, continuing activity, not something that hadn’t happened in 20 years. This scripture makes absolutely no sense if Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C. Rather than supporting that notion, this scripture actually destroys it. Unless we’re going to assert that Darius the Great reigned in 537 B.C., which even the Society doesn’t try to assert:
***it-1p.583Darius***
It is particularly with regard to the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem that Darius Hystaspis figures in the Bible record. The temple foundation was laid in 536 B.C.E., but rebuilding work came under ban in 522 B.C.E. and “continued stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius” (520 B.C.E.). (Ezr 4:4, 5, 24) During this year the prophets Haggai and Zechariah stirred up the Jews to renew the construction, and the work got under way again. (Ezr 5:1, 2; Hag 1:1, 14, 15; Zec 1:1)
Since even the Society acknowledges that the second year of Darius was 520 B.C., we can reasonably conclude that his fourth year would be about 518/517 B.C., which would be almost exactly 70 years since 587 B.C., the historically accepted dated for Jerusalem’s destruction. Starting from that date, Zechariah 7:1-5 makes a lot more sense.
--sd-7
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Satan is responsible for birth defects- New JW teaching?
by serenitynow! ini am sure everyone has heard about the 2 headed baby recently born in brazil.
well the fb jw news, library, etc.
group had some comments on it.
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sd-7
Please this is the 21st century, there is no boogie man
You might even say--and quite accurately--that in this 21st century, there is no boogie. Man. For if there were, we could blame it all...on the boogie.
Even as a JW, I was reluctant to attribute just any and every thing to Satan. It just seemed so ill-informed to make that assertion. That to me didn't seem like accurate JW teaching, even. But the superstitions about Satan abound amongst some JWs. Sad.
--sd-7
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Georgetown University Hospital's bloodless surgery program
by sd-7 inhttp://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/bloodless.
--i happened to notice ads on the subway in my area promoting this program from georgetown university hospital, which is in washington, dc.
there are quite a few videos here, even one from the local news channel, about the program and it includes a jw who had a stomach tumor and was able to get surgery due to this program.
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sd-7
http://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/bloodless
--I happened to notice ads on the subway in my area promoting this program from Georgetown University Hospital, which is in Washington, DC. There are quite a few videos here, even one from the local news channel, about the program and it includes a JW who had a stomach tumor and was able to get surgery due to this program. (They even showed a copy of the "No Blood" card on that news report.)
I think what makes me wonder about this is, why aren't all the hospitals seeking bloodless surgery programs? The religious debate aside, wouldn't it be a good idea to find ways to minimize blood loss regardless of one's beliefs?
Of course I'm also worried because I'm looking at my JW wife's "No Blood" card. Granted, I would support her choice in regards to not taking blood. But I find it unconscionable that the Watchtower Society has effectively overruled all family relationships and essentially says, the only family this person really has is JWs, they have taken over the right to make medical decisions for your loved one. All without taking any of the financial or emotional responsibility for any of the consequences of that. They'll step in, make medical decisions, and at most, give a talk at your funeral if you die because you just happened to refuse the particular procedure that might save you.
But I certainly don't think blood is a cure-all or that it should be the go-to whenever things go south. I think it would be just plain good science to avoid transfusions and minimize blood loss as much as possible.
Well, just putting this out there, though it could be that someone else has already posted it. Just wanted to hear some thoughts, is all. Lastly, some frank condemnation of all the wicked: "You evergreen tree-worshipping pagans. Happy Nimrod-Saturnalia Day to you all, you bird food at Armageddon. May your eyes rot from your sockets, and your tongues rot from your mouths as Jehovah executes his righteous judgment. And when you look upon the horrifying visage of the glorified Theodore Jaracz as he comes with Jesus and the angels to conquer, you'll realize where you all went wrong, by not obeying his every word.
Oh. Sorry. Went too far. "
--sd-7
