By continuing to accept profits from this arrangement they are giving these investments their tacit approval. I don't buy the 'they have no control over it' argument. They could easily say something like: "Dear Sister O'Rielly, we so appreciate that you'd like to donate your fortune to Jehovah's organization however this arrangement is unacceptable. If you'd be willing to liquidate these assets and donate the funds we'd gladly accept. We need to avoid even the appearance of impropriety."
paul from cleveland
JoinedPosts by paul from cleveland
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36
Revealing Watchtower tax returns
by Nambo inplease excuse if this has already been posted:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyqish-l_e.
under the freedom of information act, this guy has tax returns showing where your money goes, where it is invested, companies like northrop gruman, monsanto, cigarette and porn peddlers, and we thought we where giving money to god!
i am quite sickened to discover i was giving money to the watchtower to invest in arms manufacturers..
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I was ashamed
by Happeanna ini was once a person who believed in god destroying 7 billion people so a few people could live in paradise.. when the penny finally dropped and i realised what as a jehovah's witnesses i was really praying for , it made me feel sick.
what is attractive about a person that prays for this world to end .
i was ashamed to have been a witness deeply ashamed .
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paul from cleveland
When I was "in" I never felt "good enough" to be included among those that would be saved. I was never able to "put on the new personality" to the extent that I felt that I deserved to be saved. I tried to make up for my shortcomings by doing more. Enough was never enough of course. I thought "putting on the new personality" wasn't possible without Jehovah's spirit since what I needed was the 'fruitage of the spirit' [love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self control] So, if I did't have it there was nothing I could do to get it myself. For that reason, I thought Jehovah was withholding his spirit because he 'just didn't want me in the new system' for some reason. He was rejecting my sacrifice like he did Cain. [my favorite bible character] Finally I gave up trying to please him.
Regarding your shame, remember, you were deceived. It wasn't your fault.
Now, I'm deciding for myself what is right and wrong (I know, just like Adam). My goal is to live a life aligned with my own values. Always try to do the right thing and behave in a way so I respect myself. I'm no longer worried as much about what 'god' thinks of me as I am of what I think of myself. How do I behave when no one is watching? Well, there is never a time when no one is watching because I'm watching myself. I see everything I do. Seeing myself act in a way that doesn't align with the person I want to be damages my view of myself.
If it turns out that there is some 'god' outside of me and I am "wrong" (as an elder once told me), I'm learning to accept that that's okay. Whatever happens has to be okay because I have no say in the matter. I explained this to an elder's wife not too long ago and she said something like 'So you'll just be asleep forever' or 'So you don't want to live forever and want to be asleep forever' (something like that, I can only remember the thought not the exact words). I told her that I'll accept whatever Jehovah decides to do with me because I have a clean conscience. If he wants me dead forever I'm sure that's the best decision so I'm okay with it.
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Proof the earth can be flat
by slimboyfat in"our perception of reality has more to do with what is going on in here (our brain) than what's going on out there (in the world).".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03g221y.
is it a dark square or a light square?
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paul from cleveland
Yes, years ago, I read a book on string theory that explained the holographic principle. According to this theory not only the earth but everything else is flat as the universe is two dimensional. The third dimension is just a perception we create in our mind. -
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Starlight in a Young Universe
by Perry inthe scientific method begins with a faith statement called a hypothesis, and then goes on to look for evidence, for or against support of the faith statement.. secular materialists often change their ideas on exactly how things have made themselves, but never whether they did.. the manifesto for this self imposed mental ban seems to be summed up by geneticist richard lewontin:.
‘our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural.
we take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism.. it is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated.
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paul from cleveland
Perry, thank you for sharing. I found that very interesting. -
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What is the alternative to JW?
by Formerbrother ini mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.
im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?
the the bible is word?
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paul from cleveland
Dear Formerbrother, I truly hear you. I'm continually in the process of letting go. Accepting that it's okay not to know. As long as we're trying to be the best that we can be that's all that we can do. -
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Is proselytizing less condescending when evolutionists do it?
by paul from cleveland inis it just me?
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paul from cleveland
Cofty, I'll look again at some point when I can focus on this. I suspect it's my inability to stay focused that's the problem. If you say it's already simplified as much as possible I believe you. -
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Is proselytizing less condescending when evolutionists do it?
by paul from cleveland inis it just me?
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paul from cleveland
Yes, that's a good idea. The simplified version. -
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Is proselytizing less condescending when evolutionists do it?
by paul from cleveland inis it just me?
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paul from cleveland
Okay, let me look again. -
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Is proselytizing less condescending when evolutionists do it?
by paul from cleveland inis it just me?
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paul from cleveland
To me , proselytizing is something religions do to promote their faith without giving any , concrete / substantial / verifiable evidence to back up there claims
Proselytize just means to try to convert someone from one belief to another. Whether or not you're using facts doesn't make a difference.
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Is proselytizing less condescending when evolutionists do it?
by paul from cleveland inis it just me?
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paul from cleveland
Thank you! Yes, of course we're on the same side! That's why I feel free to express myself. Regarding Cofty's evolution posts, my brain goes blank reading them. I can not understand them.