Interesting. I noticed just how different my convention notes became after I read Steve Hassan's book. It was like I couldn't see anything but the mind control and dubious reasoning. I'm about to do it all again quite soon. It is interesting--I've done the same thing, looked back at my own mental state from the past. It's like reading about a totally different person.
Posts by sd-7
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'Talks That Inspire' looking back at where my mind was, I wrote about the time at the convention "Godly Obedience".
by Butterflyleia85 inmy assignment was to write about a speach i heard that inspired me.
well being a jehovah's witness that was easy for we all had it three times a week then during our assembles and convention meetings.
written 12/11/2005.
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A pic with all my love to all of you, my virtual friends!
by goldensky ini've been wanting to post a pic for so long.
i finally found out how!
here it goes: goldensky and daughter with all our love to you guys.
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sd-7
Aww, that's a nice picture! :)
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Persecution toward Jehovah's Witnesses; Charges against them valid?
by Butterflyleia85 inomg if only my mom's eyes could look through mine.
she just sent me this (as it is from jehovah's witnesses literture).
could it happen again?.
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sd-7
I found it particularly ironic for this tract to lament the fact that families were torn apart by persecution, children taken from parents, never to be reunited. They themselves do the EXACT SAME THING with the disfellowshipping policy. They dismiss people who are expelled in just the same way, as if they were "enemies of the theocratic state". And guess what? They also spend a great deal of time PUBLICLY DENOUNCING those who disagree with their doctrine. [Extreme sarcasm follows:] When it happens to Jehovah's Witnesses, oh, how humiliating! How terrible it is to be publicly denounced for no reason! What suffering we must endure!!
My only pity is for the poor souls who suffer the brunt of the punishment for what the bastards in New York push on them. Examine the literature, and any unbiased person will acknowledge extremist statements. Period. The Society is responsible for setting them up!!!!! Period. If you want to punish anyone, punish the Writing Committee. Punish the Governing Body. They're the ones who need to suffer.
The Witnesses are not in themselves enemies of any particular state, but they are by definition enemies of freedom of mind, enemies of decency towards their fellowman, and they can cause just as much harm as any government's war with the destruction they wreak upon the lives of so many good people. You can look at it as not entirely their fault. But just as in every other similar scenario, they're going to suffer the consequences of going along with it. No one can protect them from that. Injustice breeds injustice. If they'd done things the right way in the first place, maybe, maybe some of this stuff wouldn't happen. I may be wrong.
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Birthdays Okay -- if done by Fractions
by FatFreek 2005 ini have 2 sons who live close to each other.
thankfully, they are emotionally close despite the fact that the oldest never was baptized and therefore not bound by wt standards.. the youngest, the jw, had a birthday on the 1st of the month.
i wished him a happy one -- but, of course, only in my mind knowing that he would dismiss such a wish if he even talked with me on the phone.
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sd-7
There's a Questions From Readers in there somewhere. Should a Christian have cake on his birthday? That is up to the individual to decide. What sort of cake is it? Yellow cake? Bundt cake? Rum cake? If it is rum cake, could the Christian potentially become intoxicated, thus violating the scriptural command? Worse yet, in such an inebriated state, could he or she begin praising false gods of gold and silver as did Belshazzar the night before his death?
See what I mean? But it's amazing how two scriptures relating to events that HAPPENED on someone's birthday suddenly becomes a COMMAND not to celebrate birthdays. Everything's in the Bible for a reason, they say? How about the description of the Shulammite maiden's breasts being like towers in the Song of Solomon? Does that mean sisters should talk about that sort of thing? We could use that logic to justify anything.
Okay, maybe that was more of an adult section comment, but it's true, ain't it? But it is comical, in hindsight.
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QFR: Should marriages be arranged for true Christians in the congregation?
by sd-7 inin many cultures, arranged marriages are a common practice.
often this involves the parents of both parties making specific arrangements for their children to marry upon reaching a certain age.
sometimes there is money or property given to the parents of the bride as compensation for the loss of her efforts in the household.
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sd-7
--Oops! Sci-fi reference. Sorry, zoiks!
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QFR: Should marriages be arranged for true Christians in the congregation?
by sd-7 inin many cultures, arranged marriages are a common practice.
often this involves the parents of both parties making specific arrangements for their children to marry upon reaching a certain age.
sometimes there is money or property given to the parents of the bride as compensation for the loss of her efforts in the household.
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sd-7
I know. It is scary that I have this ability to write imitation Watchtower articles. The fact that I can is even more of an indication that this is a fraud. But Jamie--you're right. I hope one day it won't be so easy, but I've a feeling I'm going to be exposed to it for a very long time. If I live long enough, I might even get to see them do a new understanding of "this generation"--perhaps as the generation of anointed ones whose lives overlap with the generation whose lives overlapped with the generation of anointed ones who saw 1914. That ought to get them to at least 2170 or so. Let's hope Skynet puts a stop to it before then...
--Christopher
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QFR: Should marriages be arranged for true Christians in the congregation?
by sd-7 inin many cultures, arranged marriages are a common practice.
often this involves the parents of both parties making specific arrangements for their children to marry upon reaching a certain age.
sometimes there is money or property given to the parents of the bride as compensation for the loss of her efforts in the household.
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sd-7
In many cultures, arranged marriages are a common practice. Often this involves the parents of both parties making specific arrangements for their children to marry upon reaching a certain age. Sometimes there is money or property given to the parents of the bride as compensation for the loss of her efforts in the household. This has been discussed previously in this journal.**See The Watchtower, CD-ROM Library 2009, under the subject of "arranged marriages". But is this practice appropriate for Christians today? Although cultures vary, should Jehovah's Witnesses practice arranged marriages?
In Bible times, it was common for one's mate to come from one's family members. Abraham's wife Sarah was his half-sister. Isaac's wife Rebekah was chosen from the family of his uncle. Is this appropriate in our time? No. Avoiding the appearance of incest in the Christian congregation is vital to keeping the reputation of Jehovah's people free from reproach. Nevertheless, could others who are not closely related perhaps submit to an arranged marriage? How would such arrangements take place within the Christian congregation?
If the parents of a young Christian are servants of Jehovah and wish to make arrangements for marriage of their son to a faithful, baptized sister in the congregation, that is their personal decision. Wisely, we do not judge our brothers in such matters. However, the parents would do well to consult with the congregation elders to determine the reputation of the prospective bride and that of her parents if her parents are also true Christians. The loving counsel of the elders should be taken under serious consideration before any marriage arrangements are made.
The elders, of course, should be promptly notified--even on hand, ideally--for any marital agreements entered into by the parents of the prospective couple. Such an arrangement should be drawn up in writing and witnessed by at least two elders. The elders would then file a copy of said marital license in the congregation file, sending a copy to the Society using the new form am-236. Upon confirming that the Society has received a copy of the form, the elders may then notify the family verbally that a marriage ceremony may take place.
The parents should wisely seek to have the ceremony performed at the Kingdom Hall if both parties are baptized and in good standing. What if the prospective couple is not baptized or one party or the other has been recently disciplined? Seeking to avoid the appearance of approval of any wrong conduct or spiritual hesitancy, elders would not perform the ceremony at the Kingdom Hall. It would be up to the individual elder's conscience to decide whether or not he should perform the ceremony at all. If the elders decide not to do so, the Society should be informed by letter immediately, or at least prior to the wedding itself.
If the ceremony is to be performed at the Kingdom Hall, the elders would do well to meet with the parents of the wedding party and determine whether or not the prospective couple has maintained moral cleanness during the period of establishing the arranged marriage. Have the two parties interacted during the arrangement period, perhaps even "dating" or isolating themselves under the false reasoning that they could take immoral liberties since they will soon be wed? If any inappropriate conduct has occurred during the establishment period of the arranged marriage, the Society should be informed and the elders should take appropriate judicial action. Such a couple would not then be allowed to marry at the Kingdom Hall.
Should others, perhaps mature sisters in the congregation, along with the elders, help to decide when such arranged marriages can occur for those whose parents are not serving Jehovah? Perhaps. This would be appropriate only if the unbelieving parents have outright rejected the children on account of their faithfulness to Jehovah. In that case, mature sisters and elders could serve as spiritual parents and make the necessary arrangements based on the spiritual qualifications of the brother and sister under consideration. Are they at the same level spiritually? Is one or the other lacking in meeting attendance, field service, or perhaps unwilling to submit to theocratic direction? Such ones should not be under consideration for the sacred bond of marriage.
What can be done for those who do not meet Jehovah's standards for the marriage arrangement? If they wish to marry in Jehovah's organization and have his blessing, they would do well to put his lofty principles and Kingdom interests first in their lives. Marriage may not be the proper course for them at this time, knowing that only spiritually focused ones can endure the 'tribulation in the flesh' that marriage in this wicked system often brings. Such ones should wisely draw close to Jehovah, knowing that he will arrange for all their proper desires to be cared for in his due time, if they submit to his guidance.
Those who wish to marry should prayerfully consider Jehovah's direction on this matter. Marriage is a gift from Jehovah and must therefore be arranged according to theocratic guidelines. Let us therefore demonstrate our trust in Jehovah in all matters of life, including the binding theocratic arrangement of marriage.
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"Do not become unevenly yoked"--weird comment at meeting
by sd-7 ini heard a really bizarre comment at one of the recent meetings.
someone, in quoting this scripture, of course went with the usual doctrine of not marrying/dating someone who is not a jw.
but one woman took it even further, by saying that this applied even to people inside the congregation who 'weren't spiritual enough' or didn't have some magnificent spiritual goals in life.
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sd-7
Miseryloveselders--you want it, you got it. An arranged marriage article. OOoooh yeah. It's going to be classic. First you have to sound like you're not making hard & fast rules. Then you lay out the hard & fast rules, along with the exceptions to those rules, then what is done if said rules are broken. I think there'll be forms, too. Yup. I'm looking forward to that one.
But yeah...it's true they talk, but if you just remember that that's the only world they'll ever know, you'll see just how pitiful they really are. Of course, I actually saw that while I was INSIDE. "How much more so" do I see it now!
Surprised this topic has hung around this long. Nice.
--Christopher
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Tribute to the Pastor-Judge
by sd-7 init is with great sadness that we must report the passing of our dear pastor-judge russellford.
he hath finished his earthly course, and more assuredly the lord has raised him to an elevated position in the heavens.
truly, pastor-judge, thou art a king; and thine enemies shall come and worship at thy feet.
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sd-7
It is with great sadness that we must report the passing of our dear Pastor-Judge Russellford. He hath finished his earthly course, and more assuredly the Lord has raised him to an elevated position in the heavens. Truly, Pastor-Judge, thou art a king; and thine enemies shall come and worship at thy feet.
From his heavenly position, the Pastor-Judge will continue directing the final sealing of the anointed ones and the great tribulation, which by God's dates and not ours, will surely occur on or around October 13, 2010. Wisely, then, we gird up our loins to carry on the great harvesting and sifting work that the Lord has assigned us to do. We are not men-pleasers, nor do we seek to follow after or worship a man. Our worship and obedience is to Jehovah alone, and to Pastor-Judge Russellford as his appointed "faithful and wise servant". Indeed, we look to them as did the angelic great multitude, who in Revelation said, "Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb [Russellford in his elevated position as part of the glorified, composite Lamb of God]."
Indeed, we can look forward to forgiveness of our sins, which will be administered by the Lord is his due time, which, we have figured, is but seven months away.
Some opposers have branded Russellford an Apostate; we submit to you that these men themselves are the Apostates for repudiating the Lord's messenger so brazenly. It is genuinely tragic to observe the fall of once spiritual men, who attempt to harvest on Russellford's legacy like the vultures they are. Their end, of course, shall be according to their deeds.
Wisely, then, let us march on with zeal, for though there are many who oppose us, the Lord and the Angel of Laodicea himself--Pastor-Judge Russellford--are with us.
--The Editors of the Predicting the Coming of the Great Kings
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"Do not become unevenly yoked"--weird comment at meeting
by sd-7 ini heard a really bizarre comment at one of the recent meetings.
someone, in quoting this scripture, of course went with the usual doctrine of not marrying/dating someone who is not a jw.
but one woman took it even further, by saying that this applied even to people inside the congregation who 'weren't spiritual enough' or didn't have some magnificent spiritual goals in life.
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sd-7
Yeah, true enough, Mad Sweeney. It's just...you know how they talk if you've been around as long as I have. ... Never mind.
--Christopher