JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  36

  Do You Think President Obama Is Muslim?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i really think that he is.

  not that it's a bad thing...

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  JeffT

  No, I don't believe he is very religious at all. From watching his words and actions I think that religious thought of any kind is not a big part of his world view. He does not seem to grasp how religion of any sort informs the actions and opinions of others. He keeps talking about encouraging religious tolerance, which is great except those that need to learn have no interest in it at all.
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  16

  What is the most current information on the Ricco indictments of Don Adams re: Menlo Park?

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  did this quietly go away?.

  details, please.

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  JeffT

  I don't see how anybody could be charged under RICCO, the court decided in favor of the WTBS and gave them possession of the KH.
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  19

  End of the world—How and When—explained scientifically!

  by abiather in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  end of the worldhow and whenexplained scientifically!.

  problem with humans is that they dont learn from mistakes.

  their greed has already spoiled air and water, and brought global warming which would ultimately sink most of the inhabited earth!.

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  JeffT

  Viviane4 hours agoNot making Internet access subject to an intelligence test?

  The great scientific minds of this century are coming, slowly, reluctantly, to recognise that a great mistake has been done.

  I just spit tea all over my computer.

  
  
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  55

  Are we pro-shunning or against it?

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just to continue my theme about religious freedom and how we approach criticizing the wts, i've also been thinking about 'shunning'.. i think shunning is the most unifying complaint that most ex-members of religious groups that practice it have in common.

  it is the layer that runs under every other complaint - whatever the reason for leaving it seems "... and i was shunned" can be added to it as the final rap on the charge sheet.. of course it seems like a no-brainer to many of us and we hardly ever stop to really think about it - shunning is bad, the watchtower believes in shunning therefore the watchtower is bad.

  they need to stop it.

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  JeffT

  I think the problem with the JW version of shunning is the official enforcement based on a poor understanding of a biblical incident. Paul wrote about a specific incident, which the WTBS has generalized into a policy statement. Paul did not actually tell the congregation to kick out the sinner, he wrote a letter which would have been read out in public. He pointed out the man's reprehensible conduct and asked why the put up with it. There is no threat to anybody if they chose not to follow his advice.

  Note that in his next letter he had to tell them to let the man back in when he changed his behavior. They went to the extreme on the matter and he had to call them out on that.

  I've been around other churches since leaving the Watchtower. I've never seen anybody shunned, although I have seen public call outs to change behavior. The attitude of main stream churches is to heal people, not punish them. They also do background checks on people working volunteer positions. I don't think they prevent people from volunteering entirely, they do keep molesters away from children, and thieves away from the contribution box.
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  19

  End of the world—How and When—explained scientifically!

  by abiather in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  end of the worldhow and whenexplained scientifically!.

  problem with humans is that they dont learn from mistakes.

  their greed has already spoiled air and water, and brought global warming which would ultimately sink most of the inhabited earth!.

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  JeffT

  I got as far as "God's Alchemy Group presents..." and turned it off. I don't want to have to try to figure out how to get my time back.
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  110

  Four Blood Moons might be significant

  by CharlieSmith1975 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuqzhnx7xma.

  the bible does say that the "day of jehovah" (armageddon) would be associated with the sun becoming dark followed by the moon turning to blood.

  but the moon turning to blood is specific to a total lunar eclipse.

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  JeffT

  Two to four lunar eclipses occur every year. That means there have been four to eight thousand since New Testament times. Not a very good method for pointing out a specific time.
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  3

  oh not again..

  by sowhatnow in

  1. social
  2. current

  yoga pants in the news , say its not true!

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  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31447905.

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  JeffT

  What Magnum said. This thread is useless without selfies.
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  24

  Morris Vindicated. Yoga Pants ARE Indecent

  by konceptual99 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31447905.

  even those in "the world" (tm) recognise the indecent nature of this type of apparel.

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  JeffT

  This is one random writer's opinion, not a tablet tossed down from heaven. For all we know it's some JW repeating what he heard at a meeting.
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  33

  Semi Home Study Based Charter School vs. Regular School

  by SonoftheTrinity in

  1. social
  2. family

  i blame my stepkids bad grades in school squarely on the watchtower.

  they don't get enough sleep because of the demands of family bible study and thursday meetings but comprimise isn't in my wife's vocabulary.

  my stepson has friends at school but there are also bullies, and the classes are overcrowded with sicknesses spreading through them in a way that is detrimental to the family's health.

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  JeffT

  Our granddaughter (who lives with us) is attending a three day a week private homeschool support program. The school is doing some VERY innovative things with the way it teaches. Kids who learn in non-traditional ways are thriving there. We use the other two days a week for art classes, and all day outdoor wilderness school and horse riding lessons; plus trips to museums and the zoo.

  Our youngest son, after a bunch of problems in public school, went to a two day a week tutoring program. At age sixteen he passed his GED and went to a local community college. (I have to brag, he just got accepted into a PhD program at Berkeley).
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  72

  Is the preaching work, no longer the number 1 priority?

  by ToesUp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been observing a pattern in recent wtbs publications and events.

  is the importance of the preaching activity no longer the number 1 priority?

  are not billions of lives still at stake?.

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  JeffT

  I have thought for some time that actually making converts is no longer a priority.  Most of the convention programs and talks, as well as a lot of magazine articles, and the information on jw.org are obviously directed at an internal audience.  Many items - talks about DF'ing, that goofy cart video - will drive away any nonmember with the brains God gave gravel.  Reducing the importance of field service is a natural outcome of that change in emphasis.