paul from cleveland

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Posts by paul from cleveland

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  36

  A JW experience

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this is a quick experience i have recently had and i have two questions at the end.. a couple of weeks ago, the dogs were barking at the gate on saturday morning and wouldn't you know it, it was some witnesses.

  there was a father with his lovely wife and their young daughter.

  the father did all the talking as mother and daughter just dutifully smiled and watched.

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  paul from cleveland

  I've had two elders calling on my recently. By chance they caught me at home which is rare. I haven't really spoken to any Witnesses regarding doctrine for about 20 years so I was just curious as to what they had to say. I was surprised by the lack of understanding of some of their key doctrines. For instance, the blood issue. I asked why they won't accept blood transfusions and they insisted the reason was because it was unsafe. At first I thought they were giving me one of the benefits of avoiding blood transfusions and not the actual scriptural reason but no. We went round and round and they absolutely insisted that the reason the bible prohibits blood transfusions is because they're unsafe and we might contract a disease. So I asked then if it would be okay to make blood soup. Cooking the blood would surely make it safe to eat. The answer: No. I asked why and they said "no, blood soup is not good". Then they basically said "We don't take blood because God said so and that's good enough".
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  30

  Do you think JWN members would be surprised if they got to know you in real life?

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't think you'd recognise me much at all.

  i'm a royal mail postman, i love my job for the early starts and midday finish, the outdoors and the exercise.. i get on with people but i'm quite insular and don't enjoy crowds.

  i'm happiest when i've fired up the charcoal and i'm making souvlaki or adana kebabs for my family and a few close friends.

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  paul from cleveland

  Nic, thanks for sharing a little bit more about yourself. I have a perception of you from the things you write and choose to comment on. I notice that you have an analytical mind and are knowledgeable on many topics but never use that to make other feel inferior. You usually interpret ambiguous comments by others in a positive way. You look for the good in others or try to understand their motivations if you can't. Most of all, I notice you're empathetic to the suffering of others. When people post their painful experiences you're one of the first with some encouraging words. Of course I had no idea of your profession but I, perhaps incorrectly, assume most everyone here dislikes crowds and face to face confrontation.
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  37

  It's Too Late to Return to Jehovah!

  by naazira in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes friends it is too late for most of you to return to jehovah's org.

  based on the new garlic bread parable in this month's broadcast with the illustration using loaves of bread.

  it is obvious that the doors of the arc has been closed shut by jehovah's hand for some of us.. according to the new parable that can be found on jw tv.

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  paul from cleveland

  Destroying good food is wrong. With so many starving people in the world this presentation is disturbing, even in principle. When Jesus had bread he fed it to the hungry, he didn't destroy it. This isn't a game.
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  17

  another hello from Cleveland area

  by 08out in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lurker since 2008 when i walked out as an elder ,had all the politics i could take ,noticed a few from my area so i finally joined

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  paul from cleveland

  Wow, you're the third person today from this area. Welcome! May this be the beginning of good things to come.
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  22

  Hey from Ohio

  by sissyb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello all - i most likely won't post too often but want to introduce myself.

  i've read this board for a long time and feel like i know some of you!

  i was a third gen born-in (ne ohio), and half-heartedly believed until i was in middle school.

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  paul from cleveland

  Welcome from Cleveland Ohio
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  6

  Anyone from NE Ohio ?

  by Freeandclear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello all, i'm wondering if there are any ex-borg members in here from the north east ohio area?

  specifically warren, youngstown, niles, and surrounding areas.. feel free to private message me if you are still "in" and want to remain anonymous.

  i personally grew up in the warren tod heights congregation and know a lot of people from this general area, it would be nice to reconnect.

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  paul from cleveland

  Hi, I'm from Cleveland. I know there are others closer to your area but haven't seen them post lately.
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  6

  Physical vs. Mental

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i used to think there was a true dichotomy between things in the physical world and things that were abstract or imagined.

  but now i can't seem to understand why i ever thought that way.. i consider the mental to be a subset of the physical world (just as trout are a subset of fish).

  all ideas, abstractions, imaginings, etc.

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  paul from cleveland

  I consider the mental to be a subset of the physical world

  I think it might be the opposite. The appearance of a physical world is created by consciousness. One of the reasons I believe this is my understanding of what scientists see when observing the smallest particles possible. I've read that subatomic particles only exist as particles while they're being observed and measured by a conscious being. Until then they're just waves of energy. If this is true then it might also be true that the entire material world doesn't exist unless consciousness is observing it. Consciousness may be the primary foundation of the physical world, not a byproduct of it.

  This belief is reinforced in my mind because I regularly experience it firsthand while dreaming. When I'm asleep and dreaming, I may see and talk to friends, ride a bike, drive a car, see myself in an entire world. While I'm dreaming it all seems so real as I have no other point of reference. It's only after I wake up that I realize that the entire world I just experienced, including the other people I thought I was talking to, were really just a projection of my own consciousness. It all took place in my mind. What I thought was matter and other "consciousness beings" weren't that at all. How can I know that dreams aren't just an echo of a greater reality that we're experiencing while "awake"? Will I, at some point, awaken to an even greater ultimate reality?
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  46

  exJW Billboard is up.

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  waiting on higher resolution photos from wifibandit.. but here is the (redacted) notification from the company.

  apparently they take photos with a potato.. (the billboard directs folks to http://jwawake.com ).

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  paul from cleveland

  the text should be larger.
  
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  58

  Cappytan has made a video. Here is the link

  by joe134cd in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsbfnzrbiqq

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  paul from cleveland

  Private in US too
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  9

  Orthodox Jews Recognize Christianity as 'Willed By God' as Catholics Call Jewish Covenant "Irrevocable"

  by David_Jay in

  1. social
  2. current

  to date, over 50 jewish rabbis from around the world have added their names to an historical statement in response to ongoing jewish and catholic relations which have proved successful since the vatican released nostre aetate some 50 years ago...and the number is growing.. in the first days of december of 2015, about 24 orthodox rabbis signed a "statement on christianity" released by the israel's center for jewish-christian understanding and cooperation, with the vatican releasing its own document entitled "the gifts and the calling of god are irrevocable" just one week later.

  both statements recognize each other's religion as divine, from the same source, and part of the same (albeit mysterious) providential economy of redemption from god.. while not totally new, especially since the papacy of st. pope john paul ii, the vatican document is a substantial culmination of formal statements and studies that came before over the last half century.

  especially from the largely ignored but striking significance of the pontifical "the jewish people and their sacred scriptures in the christian bible," the new 2015 document is a reiteration of all that has come before in one place, resounding the previous scripture-study statement that the church holds that the jews are still the covenant people of god, that the covenant has never been revoked, and.... "in the past, the break between the jewish people and the church of christ jesus could sometimes, in certain times and places, give the impression of being complete.

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  paul from cleveland

  Just like in business when an industry goes down there are a lot of mergers and acquisitions. The religion business is going down. They're trying to support each other to stay relevant.