garyneal

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Posts by garyneal

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  102

  Explain in a FEW word's why the 607 date is incorrect.

  by XPeterX in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "if you can't explain it simply you don't understand it wel enough" albert einstein.

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  garyneal

  I can go to any encyclopedia and prove that Jesus Christ was not born on December 25th. This is the line often used by Jehovah's Witnesses to point out that Christmas is NOT a Christian holiday. Yet, those same encyclopedias cannot be trusted when it comes to the date of Jerusalem's desolation because they all disagree with the Watchtower's date of 607 B.C.E..

  Think of it this way. Christian who learns that Christ was not born on 12-25 goes and tells his preacher this new found information. Adament preacher insists that it is in spite of all contrary evidence (those encyclopedias). Witness who learns that 607 is not the date of Jerusalem's desolation and goes and tells the congregation elders this new found information. Adament elders insist that it is in spite of all contrary evidence (those same encyclopedias).
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  23

  How do you study the Bible? (for those that do)

  by Silent_Scream in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  what have you found is a productive way for you to study the bible?

  do you have a group?

  or a solitary preference?.

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  garyneal

  Right now, I just read it straight through. Sometimes slowly, sometimes in an attempt to catch up with my "read the Bible in a year" plan.

  Occasionally, I come across some very interesting bits that on the surface contradict religious teachings. Like Samuel being channelled by a spiritualist for Saul after Samuel's death (wait a minute, I thought the dead was conscious of nothing after death and I thought spiritualists can only contact demons), or Jehovah, Yahweh, or the LORD sending an evil spirit onto Saul (why is HE sending the evil spirit?) that only David can heal.

  I read Bible commentary on it but it inevitably goes above and beyond what is written to explain it. (Like the spiritualist channeled Samuel because God allowed it, where is that written in the passage? Or, the spiritualist REALLY channelled a demon and not Samuel, sorry the passage gave no indication of the being talking to Saul was anyone other than Samuel).

  I also read somewhere in 1st Kings where Elijah was called into Heaven. Hmmmm, Jehovah's Witnesses teach that ONLY the 144,000 go to Heaven and that the calling of the 144,000 did not begin until AFTER Jesus's death, burial, and ressurection.

  Makes you think.
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  30

  The "worlds" view of the preaching work- pretty accurate

  by stuckinamovement in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  true story ........so i was standing in line at the hardware store yesterday, picking up some garden stuff and happened to catch the conversation in front of me.

  the man in front of me was buying a no soliciting sign.

  the checker asked "who is this for, girl scouts?

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  garyneal

  You know, this never dawned on me but I recall talking to my wife about how the world generally views witnesses. "Those people who don't take blood, celebrate Christmas, and go door to door." She agreed that that summed up most people's view of them.

  So much for the preaching work...
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  31

  I am tempted to ask 25 year old very pretty lady out but.....

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  she has 4 kids.

  the father of her kids sees them every two weeks.

  i am not sure if it is a good idea for me to ask her out.

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  garyneal

  I have two kids and I can tell you that there is no time for romance or anything serious. When I was younger I would never date a woman with kids of her own.
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  36

  My personal thoughts on Ray Franz

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the death of ray franz hit me harder than i would have thought.. i had to reflect for awhile....alone......and quietly.. .

  after all, fine people die every day and some of them are indispensable, yet, we go on....don't we?.

  but, ray franz was something that can only be described in the phrase sui generis (one of a kind).. my task was to ask myself what it was that made ray so singular, potent and admirable without a trace of scandal or ill will attached to his memory.. .

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  garyneal

  excellent
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  42

  Are You Ready for The Memorial?

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it's this week, folks.

  i thought i might give you a new thread to vent on.

  many on our forum still go to the memorial or have to answer to family about not going.

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  garyneal

  If it makes you feel any better your wif probably isn't angry with you as such for not keeping the kids quiet, much more likely she is worried about what others are thinking as some in the hall rule over their kids to be good little quiet robots! Sad but true.

  Thanks Inisc and venetian,

  My wife laments now being so harsh with me that Sunday. I talked to some of the other witnesses after the meeting and they did not think we were that bad at all. Even the babysitter said, "I serve Jehovah, not other people," which I thought was a good way to look at it.

  Never-the-less, the damage is done.
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  58

  So what do your Jehovah's Witness friends and loved ones think of the generation teaching?

  by garyneal in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after the little skit at the last assembly where one brother was asking another for understanding about the generation teaching i thought, "wow, these people will believe anything the watchtower tells them.

  " the 'more mature brother' practically said verbatim everything the watchtower said as his explanation.

  evidently, this is one of the sources of the increased 'murmuring' that the talked warned against.. so, has anyone brought this up to their witness friends and/or family?

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  garyneal

  Thanks for the responses. It is hard to believe that perfectly reasonable people (otherwise) would just accept this doctrine (or pretend to) without question. The irony is that if another church preached something similar, they would be too quick to label it false teachings. If anyone has not yet read Captives of a Concept, I highly recommend it. It illustrates this point very well.

  In regards to the fear of dying and uncertainty, I can understand why they may feel this way to a point. I just see, as leavingWT pointed out, that they are truly trapped in the belief that going to the kingdom halls is the only way to serve God. I won't defend Christianity but many Christians believe that they simply need to believe in Christ sans the church. My wife pointed that out in our conversation when she told me that during her field service she would encounter a lot of householders who believed in God but did not believe in having to attend church regularly.

  But, I can understand somewhat, myself and a bunch of former IFB's are talking now about when we decided to leave those churches and why? They preach similarly that you must be in church (their church) to be in a good place with God. The fallout of that cult is just like the fallout of this one.
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  58

  So what do your Jehovah's Witness friends and loved ones think of the generation teaching?

  by garyneal in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after the little skit at the last assembly where one brother was asking another for understanding about the generation teaching i thought, "wow, these people will believe anything the watchtower tells them.

  " the 'more mature brother' practically said verbatim everything the watchtower said as his explanation.

  evidently, this is one of the sources of the increased 'murmuring' that the talked warned against.. so, has anyone brought this up to their witness friends and/or family?

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  garyneal

  They don't know everything and are trying to do what they are told to do

  Is he saying that the GB was trying to do what they are told? That sounds pretty odd.
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  58

  So what do your Jehovah's Witness friends and loved ones think of the generation teaching?

  by garyneal in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after the little skit at the last assembly where one brother was asking another for understanding about the generation teaching i thought, "wow, these people will believe anything the watchtower tells them.

  " the 'more mature brother' practically said verbatim everything the watchtower said as his explanation.

  evidently, this is one of the sources of the increased 'murmuring' that the talked warned against.. so, has anyone brought this up to their witness friends and/or family?

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  garyneal

  My wife and I had a discussion about belief and God this past weekend and she said something that struck me. She said that if it was up to her, she would simply have her faith and live a good life sans religion. So I asked her why does she feel that she needs to go to the meetings and she responded, "Because I do not like the idea of dying, being buried under rocks, being drowned, or being killed by lava." Basically, she wants to ensure that she will survive Armageddon.
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  43

  Kool-Aid Man, Is Your Army Ready For The Memorial? Where did you go?

  by Bubblegum Apotheosis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  kool-aid man, is your plan to protest the memorial still in play?

  are you mia?.

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  garyneal

  I get the anger people displayed toward Rick but sometimes I think people went too far in bashing him over his 'facts' and manner of protesting. While his behavior towards the members of this board should not be tolerated, I cannot help but to think that he must have just snapped and lashed out at that point. I guess like Mouthy said, it is probably for the best.