GLTirebiter

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Posts by GLTirebiter

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  43

  Say it together now: "itsacult"

  by pirata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i dedicate this thread to itsacult.. everyone say it:.

  "itsacult".

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  GLTirebiter

  itsasnareandaracket
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  113

  WTBTS Elder & Ministerial Servant Problems

  by JW GoneBad in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i attended a recent ministerial servant k m school on the east coast and the main school instructor mentioned among other things (part entitled: 'objective of the km school course') that the total number of ministerial servants is seriously less than it should be.

  in times past the ratio of m ss to elders was much more than it is today.. in the u.s. apparently the total number of elders is 88,500+ as opposed to m ss 65,000. the numbers show & numbers don't lie: the society is running out of spiritual men.

  the instructor stated that this is a new downward trend that has (in so many words) the society worried.. the next speaker (part entitled: 'why we must be spiritual men') added that in his years as a traveling servant the pool of m ss has always been much, much larger than it is today.

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  GLTirebiter

  So, they have a total of over 150,000 clergy for a US congregation of about 3,000,000? One in 20 members is clergy class(*), about one of every 10 males, maybe one in 7 adult males? I suppose you can afford to run an inefficient organization...when you rely on unpaid slave labor!

  (*) Yes, I know they say there is no JW "clergy class"--but if it quacks, waddles, and swims like a duck...
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  23

  What Are Some Stupid Things JW's Ban

  by Pig in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i wanted to make a dramatic video to remind jw's to be faithful in what is least.. i need as many things as possible, each will only get a few seconds each but it will speed up until the things arent visable to the naked eye and it will end with a spining grinning satan head.

  huh, i know it's nuts but trust me it wil work.. these are the types of things i'm looking for.

  april fools day.

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  GLTirebiter

  There are the official bans they can put in writing, and the unwritten "conscience matters" where you know what we mean, so just do it without us having to say so!

  So with that intro, add "Independent thinking" to the list.
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  38

  Why babies go to hell (explanation)

  by whereami in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this just doesn't sound correct.

  can our religious friends help us understand this?.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aao98n9pqk8&feature=grec_index.

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  GLTirebiter

  Yes, I did see the videos and I too want back the ten minutes of life I spent doing so.

  The author refers to the answer in video #1, and dismisses that answer sarcastically. The answer is that baptism removes the stain of original sin, as stated in the Creed: "We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins." With original sin forgiven and no concupiscence to commit sins of their own, babies do indeed go to heaven: not hell, not purgatory, not even Limbo (if you believe in that): because they have been freed from sin, they enter heaven.

  The author claims that there is no scriptural support for baptism forgiving original sin, ignoring John 20:21-23, where Jesus makes the Apostles his agents on Earth with the explicit authority to forgive sin:

  and he said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you." After saying this he breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins they are retained."

  Jesus directly ordered that the Apostles should baptize, as told in Matthew 28:18-19:

  Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said "All authority in heaven and on earth have been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, even to the end of time."

  The author also stated that children don't have the ability to think and reason for themselves, that they could not choose to sin nor to accept baptism. That is true in the strict sense, but the child's parents have the authority--the moral duty--to make such decisions on their child's behalf. Just as the parents choose to vaccinate the child's body and to enroll them in a particular school, they can choose to vaccinate the child's soul with the grace of baptism and to enroll them in a particular religion. Religions practicing infant baptism also have a confirmation of that baptism when the person is deemed mature enough to make such a choice for themselves, so adult members have accepted that baptism for themselves as well as their parents having made that choice when they were infants.

  Finally, let's deal with the case of children who could not be baptised before death--the stillborn babies, neonatal death, etc. The sacramental rite of baptism is not the only way a person can become baptised. If the person, or the person's parents in the case of a child, desire they should have the grace of baptism but cannot have the rite performed before death there can still be a baptism of desire. "Man sees those things that appear, but the Lord beholds the heart."

  Innocent babies going to hell? Only in the author's straw-man version of christianity!
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  26

  Would you buy a 2 cylinder, 875cc petrol car that returns almost 70mpg?

  by lifelong humanist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've bought lots of cars over the last 35 years or so - mostly fiats and alfa romeos.

  i'm a dedicated italian car fan.. my very first car was a tiny fiat 500 with a tiny air-cooled motor in the rear (trunk).

  it was a 1967 car - they first appeared in 1957. it was cheap to run, slow, and very basic - but i just loved it!.

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  GLTirebiter

  If the spec sheet is true, the power will be adequate. It has about twice the horsepower of my late lamented '74 beetle, and weighs about the same. The power to weight ratio is slightly better than my present beast, a 4x4 with a 5.6 liter V8 engine, so I'd expect similar performance: not sluggish by any means, but no hot rod either.

  I see the drawbacks being having to rev it at 6000 RPM to get the power, and a muscle car compression ratio (premium gas).
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  2

  iPad -- Which King James Bible is available?

  by FatFreek 2005 in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  my wife (not a jw) just got an ipad.

  it seems to be very good as a reader -- we now get little rock's democrat gazette every morning before our hard copy is delivered in its box near the road.. now she wants a copy of the bible ready for the click.

  her hard copy is the kjv, red letter edition.

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  GLTirebiter

  I use the University of Michigan web site with an online KJV. You should be able to access that through Safari (can't try it myself, I don't use an Ipad). The down side is needing web access to do that. This web site uses little graphical content and loads quickly, so it's compatible with slower connections. Give it a try!
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  38

  Restraining order against me from my JW Wife

  by karlosranson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i should have posted this earlier for assistance.

  i left jw two months ago and since then my life has almost been a lifetime movie.

  long story short, my soon to be ex-wife believes i am full of the world, satan, etc etc.

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  GLTirebiter

  Get a copy of the "Preparing for..." brochure to your lawyer. Then follow your attorney's advice about the restraining order hearing! It may be an automatic action that applies equally to both sides with no implication of bad intent, or it might require a finding of fault. That varies, and your lawyer will know how the law applies to your case and in the court that will hear it. Equally important, a good attorney knows what tactics don't work, so you won't sabotage your own case.

  Good luck, and make the best of your day in court!
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  19

  The jws hijacked the 2nd funeral.

  by littlebird in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  last week i told you guys about my father in law who passed away.

  he was not a jw.

  he merely went to meetings with my brother in law to get out of the house and to go have lunch afterwards.

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  GLTirebiter

  SirNose, this does sound like something the "rev" Phelps would do. It's an incredibly rude, callous thing to do to a grieving family. And they wonder why people slam the door on them...

  Littlebird, I'm sorry this happened to you and your family.
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  44

  Could you ever go back?

  by MrFreeze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  not that i'm thinking about it, even for a brief nano-second, but something i have thought about is this, is there any way you could go back and not have people look at you with the stink eye?

  after admitting your true feelings, how in the world could people ever look at you the same?

  if you were in the situation of welcoming someone back, would you be able to look past the errors?

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  GLTirebiter

  Speaking as one who naively "married in": No, I don't think so. I hope I can find the strength to forgive, and I hope Ex can do the same for me. But I don't think I will ever forget. I cannot allow history to repeat itself.
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  42

  I am a bit poetic and sentimental tonight and could use some support

  by recovering in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  only earth wind and sky last forever they say.

  the grim reaper has a debt he wishes me to pay.

  i fear not death, for he is not a proud entity.

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  GLTirebiter

  I'm so sorry to hear the bad news. Vent away!

  I understand and support your choice to keep things under wraps and not make the holidays sad for your family, but do speak up as soon as the holidays are over--especially to your wife. Meanwhile, follow the doctors' advice.

  Hoping for the best, and remembering you in prayers

  --GLT