Posts by JeffT

39

What Are The Differences Between JWs Born In and Converted?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i tend to think that many jws who joined the religion in their later years feel foolish or are embarrassed by their decision to become one of jehovah’s witnesses.

.

i’m not embarrassed by my years “in the truth “ because i was raised from infancy to believe everything was god’s word and who are we to question jehovah and his organization?

JeffT

In 1972-73 I got caught up in the 1975 nonsense. It was my senior year in college, I was depressed and had no idea where my life was going. I was very vulnerable, and the local congregation was small and close knit. I liked the people (and probably still would if they would talk to me). Some parts of JW doctrine (neutrality, no trinity, no hell) made sense to me, I thought it was the truth.

My wife converted at about the same time, some members of her family were JW's, but not all. We were married at the Hall in 1974. By about 1980 we knew something was wrong, but it took some time, and a move, to break free.

As noted by others, for both of us it was a return to pre-cult living. My family (totally not religious) and the non-JW parts of her family welcomed us back to the real world. I think the transition was much easier because we had a support system waiting for us.

101

Who is the mediator for jehovahs witnesses?

by atomant in

lm getting conflicting advice.ls it the 144000 or jesus.l was always under the impression it was jesus.lf its the 144000 then when they pray the jw;s should be praying through the remnant not in jesus christs name but in the 144000;s name..

JeffT

About ten years ago a couple of JW's showed up at my door, and started in on their spiel. The one talking was obviously an elder. I told him that as a Christian I could have nothing to do with a religion that taught that Jesus was not my mediator. He said that Jesus was their mediatior. I said "when did that change?" He said they always taught that. I told him to look it up in the 1989 Watchtower and get back to me. Never saw either ond of them again.

21

GcMAF - cure or major treatment for autoimmune disease, cancer, autism, etc, and being suppressed or hype?

by Bad_Wolf in

since most people in this group have been taught how to research and fact check with our jw history and getting out, this is a topic that can be constructive to check out.

i stumbled upon this and spent some time researching it, and it's quite interesting.

it's part of your immune system, gcmaf.

JeffT

Listener: your post is a good example of where these kinds of threads go off the rails. The plural of anectode is NOT data. One data point is meaningless. According to Wikipedia there are 130 species of Scaevola. Which one is this story about?

A number of years ago I had a job taking care of research animals for the College of Pharmacy at Washington State. One of our researchers attempted independently to research laetrile as a cancer treatment. Supposedly laetrile could be manufactured from peach pits and was a cheap cure for cancer. He discovered that nobody actually knew what laetrile was. He could make "laetrile" from Yakima peach pits and Wenatchee peach pits (those are two different fruit growing areas in Washington) and end up with different chemicals.

21

GcMAF - cure or major treatment for autoimmune disease, cancer, autism, etc, and being suppressed or hype?

by Bad_Wolf in

since most people in this group have been taught how to research and fact check with our jw history and getting out, this is a topic that can be constructive to check out.

i stumbled upon this and spent some time researching it, and it's quite interesting.

it's part of your immune system, gcmaf.

JeffT

Cofty: thank you. Yes it is probably impossible to know how many lives Dad's work touched. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (where he did most of his work) says on its website that over a million transplants have been performed world wide. This is due in large measure to Dad's decision to spread his knowledge far and wide. He spent years traveling all over the world helping new transplant units to get established. The Hutch also had extensive training programs.

2+2=5: I understand what you're saying, but stuff happens and someday something is going to get all of us. People getting the best medical care possible still die. Sometimes (in my opinion) that concept gets shouted down by the lawyers looking for clients.

21

GcMAF - cure or major treatment for autoimmune disease, cancer, autism, etc, and being suppressed or hype?

by Bad_Wolf in

since most people in this group have been taught how to research and fact check with our jw history and getting out, this is a topic that can be constructive to check out.

i stumbled upon this and spent some time researching it, and it's quite interesting.

it's part of your immune system, gcmaf.

JeffT

I've tried to put a response on here about three times and couldn't do it because my blood pressure goes up too high. To put it simply, most of you don't know what (or who) you're talking about.

I grew up around doctors, the vast majority of them are dedicated professionals who are working hard for the best interests of their patients. Some of you know that my father spent his life pursuing a cure for leukemia. It took him a life time of work, but he succeeded. When he started working on the problem in the 1950's a diagnosis of leukemia was a death sentence, and most victims were children. Today, thanks to Dad's work on bone marrow transplants thousands of former leukemia patients are now living happy and healthy lives.

The work he did set the stage for today's advancements in immunotherapy, stem cells and other types of transplants.

If you think doctors are making too much money feel free to look up nonsense on the internet and treat yourselves for free. If you live and can tell us about it.

My Father

31

Bill Cosby Gets Sentence Of 3 to 10 Years!

by minimus in

jw
friends

wow!

i thought he might get less than 2 years incarceration..

JeffT

Don't bother with a GPS, just chain him to stake in his front yard.

25

What would you do or say?

by Butyoucanneverleave in

a brother who is not baptized ( so there's still hope for him ) had a sister recently run into him at a store.

show wanted to know if he's going to the kingdom hall.

she asked him to write a letter for her to give to his mother ( who's deceased) in the paradise explaining why he didn't make it.

JeffT

I'd tell her to write a letter to herself to be opened in 2050. She could describe what she thinks the Earth will look like then. If the big A hits before then she'll find out how accuate she was. If she dies before that, she can read it when she's resurrected. If she's sitting in a crappy apartment trying to live on social security she'll have a life lesson to ponder.

11

From no tight pants to Amish dress....how long?

by Diogenesister in

xanthippe what's this thing with really long dresses?

sometimes i see them on fs and i can't believe how long their dresses are now, almost down to the ground.. so i was reading some of xanthippe and phizzy's posts on the strangeness of jw dress and how much they stand out and i got to thinking.

so... at one point the amish dress code was current, right?

JeffT

I've noticed at work (a 28-day residential recovery center in a Seattle suburb) that a majority of the women, of all ages, are wearing dresses that come to at least mid-calf. Combined with bright colors and some nice jewelry, it gives them a San Francisco in 1967 look. Frankly I find it VERY attractive.

I think the problem with JW style clothing is not the clothing per se, it is the fact that they are frumps on the inside. The last two to show up at my door looked like their faces would break if they smiled. Their attitude and bearing would have been unattractive no matter what you did with their apparel.

64

2018/19 new light

by Ray Frankz in

hi guys, long time without paying a visit to this site.

today i returned to check a 'gossip' that is running around in brazilian exjw forums.. they are stating that is almost certain they will make a big change in their doctrine maybe this year yet in the annual meeting.

they say people in warwick were commenting on this.

JeffT

Finklestein I disagree. If they really wanted to dazzle the flock with BS they would combine announcing the 2034 date with everybody partaking. The sheep would all be "Oh isn't this amazing we must really be close to the big A if we're all partaking now. Aren't we special..." Blah blah blah.

I really think they could sell it if they wanted to.

49

Some thoughts on the message of doom

by JeffT in

jw
friends

one of the recent threads on the talk about the hailstone message got me to thinking.

the problem with putting out a message like that is what to do when nothing happens.

i have to think that somebody will be asking that question.

JeffT

One of the recent threads on the talk about the Hailstone message got me to thinking. The problem with putting out a message like that is what to do when nothing happens. I have to think that somebody will be asking that question. If they don’t, the whole thing will turn into one more busted prophecy from the Watchtower, and a corresponding decrease in membership.

That led me to thinking about the Jonah video. If they put out the message of doom and nothing happens can they then say “It’s just like Jonah, Jehovah changed his mind about destroying the world.” It would be very disruptive, or maybe not, it seems that the average JW will put up with a lot of nonsense from his religion.

I think it’s possible that the recent contractions (KH sales and the like) are in anticipation of a dry spell after they hit the reset button. Such a turn might give them the opportunity to revise their timelines and perhaps even mainstream the whole religion.

Just my two cents, but it is a possibility.