What steve2 so aptly said.
Hang in there please Maranatha.
There is amazing power in diversity.
The opposite of divide and conquer.
I'm sure this can get sorted and blow over.
Greetings and blessings
Fernando
Fernando
JoinedPosts by Fernando
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47
Delete Personal Messages
by Maranatha ini've never been on a website that doesn't allow you to delete your own personal messages.
why can we not do that on this site?
what are your motives in keeping our personal messages?
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9
37 years later, I finally got the CULT thing
by Freedom77 inhi all, just happened to come across this site again after 10 or 12 years - i see some old posts of mine under a diff username (can't reopen the account, forgot the freakin' password).
i left the borg in 1977, age 21, haven't looked back but every now and then i am amazed to find there's some old, old attitude from the jw days that i find is still clinging to my pants leg like a stray sticker.. looking over some of the posts here and some linked ex-jw sites yesterday it finally hit me - it is an effing cult.
when i was in, we were always accused of being that, so naturally we totally spouted the society's line and got all defensive, etc.
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Translating JWFacts to Spanish... Update?
by ILoveTTATT inas you all may know, it is an ongoing project to translate jwfacts to spanish.
given that there are more than 2 spanish-speaking jw's for every one that speaks english, it can be safely said that spanish is the #1 language in the jw world (even though everything is made originally in english).. the spanish-speaking jw's are harder to convince.
i attribute it almost 100% to socioeconomic factors.
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Fernando
I don't want to distract from the great work being done, but would love to learn more about the publisher statistics in the OP.
"there are more than 2 Spanish-speaking JW's for every one that speaks English"
Astounding!
I would never have guessed, but wish I was more informed.
Does anyone know the numbers?
English vs Spanish vs Total publishers?
Just glancing at the publisher stats isn't much help if one knows little about which countries speak Spanish.
Example: USA 1,219,931 publishers, Spain 110,940 publishers (2013).
Under Spanish Language in Wikipedia: "Approximately 414 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it second only to Mandarin in terms of its number of native speakers worldwide."
And under the native Spanish speakers by country sub-heading: Mexico - 110,974,139, and USA - 38,325,155, and world - 437,451,369.
Under English Language in Wikipedia: " It is the third-most-common native language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish." (1999 source).
What a surprise.
Anyone have the corresponding JW numbers/totals?
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Is this a new "This Generation" or not?
by Doug Mason infirst of all i want to express my sincere gratitude to atlantis and his good friends for making this 2014 book available.. ------------.
as i see it, and i am absolutely open to contradiction, the wts appears to be giving another new meaning to this generation.
this time the term means all of his anointed followers, including his immediate disciples.
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Fernando
Interesting...
They believe they are right no matter how wrong they are.
What if God believes they are wrong no matter how right they are?
(2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8) . . .the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.
(Matthew 7:22, 23) . . .Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness.
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Governing Body Will Get to Kill Worldly People at Armageddon! Gods Kingdom Rules Quote
by lostnotfound inso scanning through the gods kingdom rules i found this gem on page 228.. .
"in heaven, the 144,000 corulers with christ will recieve authority to share with jesus in weilding an "iron rod" of destruction against all enemies of gods kingdom.
( rev 2 26,27) then, together with powerful angels, the resurrected anointed ones will follow christ, the warrior king, as he sets out to confront the "vast army" of enemies that is closing in on its prey - jehovahs people.".
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Fernando
As the enemies of God's Kingdom (human autonomy) do the GB get to kill themselves?
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To understand cults we need to start understanding ourselves
by paranoia agent inthere are books out there that talk about why it is so difficult to convince someone that they are wrong.
hassan and singer specifically address destructive cults.
hassan refers to cult members under mind control and singer under thought reform.
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Fernando
In my experience and opinion, and in CBT (Psychology), we are all irrational, albeit to varying degrees, and all addicted to our particular worldview (or mindset, or paradigm).
Of course our worldviews sit on a spectrum ranging from narrow minded to broadminded.
The more expansive our worldview, the more room to move.
So allowing ourselves to be challenged can be a good thing.
Although life and adversity sometimes do it all for us.
The most compassionate of our species have often been to hell and back...
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Seriously considering stepping down as Elder
by fader77 ini have been an elder for 6 years.
it's been the last 2 years or so that i've really seen the hypocrisy, but the ability to know the shenanigans of the society through the body of elders letters has kind of kept me in there.
i'm to the point now that i can't stand the hatred and bitterness that the body of elders has towards myself and my whole family.
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Fernando
Hi and welcome fader77!
Stepping down strategically may help you avoid saying or doing anything you later might prefer you hadn't.
Transformation is a process, not an event.
The outcome is likely to be better if we're calm and rational along the way.
We're here for you.
Best wishes.
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What is the Biblical Leadership Model for Christian Communities?
by fulltimestudent innb: i'm using the word 'community' in lieu of the word 'church' or congregation.. --------------.
i know what i used to believe about organisational leadership in a community of christians.
1 timothy ch.3 was firmly fixed in my mind.
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Fernando
(Matthew 23:10, 11) . . .Neither be called ‘leaders,’ for YOUR Leader is one, the Christ. 11 But the greatest one among YOU must be YOUR minister.
(1 Samuel 8:5-7) . . .Now do appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing was bad in the eyes of Samuel inasmuch as they had said: “Do give us a king to judge us,” and Samuel began to pray to Jehovah. 7 Then Jehovah said to Samuel: “Listen to the voice of the people as respects all that they say to you; for it is not you whom they have rejected, but it is I whom they have rejected from being king over them.
(Psalm 118:8) . . .It is better to take refuge in Jehovah Than to trust in earthling man.
(Psalm 146:3) . . .Do not put YOUR trust in nobles, Nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs.
(Jeremiah 17:5) . . .“Cursed is the able-bodied man who puts his trust in earthling man and actually makes flesh his arm, . . .
(Luke 12:12) . . .for the holy spirit will teach YOU . . .
(John 14:26) . . .But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, that one will teach YOU all things. . .
(1 Corinthians 2:10) . . .For it is to us God has revealed them through his spirit, for the spirit searches into all things, even the deep things of God.
(1 John 2:27) . . .YOU do not need anyone to be teaching YOU; but, as the anointing from him is teaching YOU about all things. . .(1 Corinthians 2:14, 15) . . .But a physical man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot get to know [them], because they are examined spiritually. 15 However, the spiritual man examines indeed all things, but he himself is not examined by any man.
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What is the Biblical Leadership Model for Christian Communities?
by fulltimestudent innb: i'm using the word 'community' in lieu of the word 'church' or congregation.. --------------.
i know what i used to believe about organisational leadership in a community of christians.
1 timothy ch.3 was firmly fixed in my mind.
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Fernando
This is admittedly a challenging topic humans have grappled with since the beginning of our history.
Autonomy vs control.
Leadership vs management.
www.greenleaf.org paints a clear and compelling picture of authentic leadership.
http://www.gore.com/en_xx/aboutus/culture/ shows there are other ways than hierarchical command and control systems.
Our idolatrous materialistic passions impede us from understanding transcendent Biblical Leadership which would otherwise be clear.
No carnal human authority over other humans.
Humans are semi-autonomous beings designed with an internal guidance system comprising heart, mind, spirit and conscience.
These work best when we seek and find God on his terms via the liberating gospel of grace.
We are to be led internally, organically and authentically by the spirit and not the letter.
Law vs grace.
Faith vs works.
Legalism is apostasy.
Moralism is apostasy.
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Been asked to share my experience at church!!
by quellycatface inmy vicar asked me if i and another lady would like to say a few words about our faith journey.. she said my story was a particular powerful one, what with the da'ing and subsequent shunning.
i can also choose a hymn or christian song.. i was thinking of romans 8:38, 39 to highlight the shunning and the other scripture ne of how true christians will be indentified, if they have love among themselves etc.
i need to look that one up exactly.. any ideas for content for further content??.
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Fernando
Maybe you could ask how members share the gospel of grace with those who come knocking?
All one need do is ask a simple question:
"What is the gospel in one word?"
That is exactly how our family found "the truth of the Good News" and left the lie.