JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  15

  WT quoting things

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i notice that the wt does a lot of quoting from various sources eg.

  for their creation/ecolution and their magazines.. do they ever check whether their sources of information are reliable?.

  what does all this quoting `prove', when i can do selective quoting that `proves' fairies exist, give me various books about fairies and i could cut and paste to `prove' fairies exist

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  JeffT

  Notice that they almost never footnote anything. It makes double checking the quote for accuracy or context nearly impossible.
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  41

  My Father Died

  by teenyuck in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just found out my father died today...he had a heart attack in the middle of the night.

  he was 63, one month shy of his 64th birthday.

  my 1/2 brother, age 19, who has been living with him trying to get off drugs, found him in his bed.

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  JeffT

  I'm sorry to hear of your loss. You're in my thoughts and prayers.
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  10

  LolliePopLovers/See how U rate

  by plmkrzy in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  http://forums.compuserve.com/scripts/flisapi.dll/lollipo2.htm?viewfile&srv=comedycentral&fid=6331&fvf=1/.htm .

  if this link works, see how u rate as a lover.

  it might be fun to see how many in this forum would make perfect couples.. don't forget to post your results.

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  JeffT

  Cherry

  People who like cherry are often the misfits of the sex world and seek out each other. They tend to prefer perverted sex, and can be masochistic or sadistic in nature. They are moody and often perform at their peak when they are under stress or during unhappy times. Though very passionate, cherry lovers do not take pleasure in simple things

  HUH?

  I like sex but SM? No way.
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  13

  My horrible encounter with the JC machine

  by jesussaves in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm new here, allow me to introduce myself.

  i am a 27 year old married mother of three.

  i was also a third generation jw.

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  JeffT

  Hi. Very interesting story. I'm also a Christian. My exit from the Watctower was much smoother, as neither my wife or myself were raised in it, and we left together. Reading some of the stories here I realize how easy we had it.
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  15

  Part 17: The Watchtower Strikes Back

  by Amazing in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  part 17: the watchtower strikes back .

  spy vs spy in the following part 18 i will tie up the loose ends ... but to give you an advance tip, i had three inside informants keeping tabs on what was going on.

  we were becoming more open about our new life, and we knew the elders were likewise watching our every step.

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  JeffT

  I bet my wife would like to meet your wife. Mrs. T thinks I'm a little off for visiting this board as much as I do. As far as she is concerned she was done with the Watchtower on March 18, 1989 when our letter went out.

  I must not be much of a threat to them. After we quit going to meetings they came by once or twice to encourage us, then stopped bothering.
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  6

  Baptismal Change Question

  by JBean in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi everyone... back in late december, teejay posted a question on why the baptismal change?

  i printed out the thread.

  the 2 questions were posted: the initial questions were taken from the may 1, 1973 watchtower and then the changed questions were posted from the june 1, 1985 watchtower.

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  JeffT

  Interesting disconnect between what the magazines say and what they practice. In the first article the examples of Christian baptism they relate all took place very quickly. Peter preached to a crowd and 3000 people get baptized. Phillip has a conversation with the Eunuch and as soon as they get to a pond, he baptizes him.

  What's the this? No six month home bible study program? Where are the eighty questions you have to get right? What circuit assembly? District convention?

  It seems, even from their own examples, that saying "Yes I believe" was all it took.
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  22

  Is it OK to kill somebody?

  by julien in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  speaking entirely from a biblical standpoint:.

  let's say you are a devout jw.

  your wife and children are being threatened by an intruder with a gun.

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  JeffT

  For all of my adult life if someone had tried to break into my house it would not have been a matter of getting the gun away from him. I'd have shot the SOB as soon as he was all the way inside (Washington State definition of self defense).

  If the elders had formed a JC over the matter I'd have told them to take a hike.

  I guess I always was a bad dub.
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  8

  WTS the most important unwritten rule. Code Red

  by Mr Bean in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  loyalty above the all.. even some of xjw's are not aware of this!.

  below one of my re posts on alt.religion.jehovahs-witn.

  the same occurs with any servant who commits adultry.

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  JeffT

  You are absolutely right. The real rules are unwritten, but you know what they are.

  This applies to other matters when dealing with the WTS. 1975 comes to mind. It isn't just what was in the books and magazines, it was the stuff coming off the stage at circuit and district assemblies, or during a CO's visit.

  I'm sure there are numerous other examples. It can make explaining it all to a nonwitness very difficult.
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  2

  Taking a new look at "the last days"

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a different view of matthew 24. a striking feature of all this writing (the new testament) is that it was dine in the street language of the day, the idiom of the playground and marketplace.

  in the greek-speaking world of that day there were two levels of language: formal and informal.

  formal language was used to write philosophy and history, government decrees and epic poetry.

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  JeffT

  A Different View of Matthew 24

  “A striking feature of all this writing” (the New Testament) “ is that it was dine in the street language of the day, the idiom of the playground and marketplace. In the Greek-speaking world of that day there were two levels of language: formal and informal. Formal language was used to write philosophy and history, government decrees and epic poetry. If someone were to sit down and consciously write for posterity, it would be in this formal language with its learned vocabulary and precise diction. But if the writing was routine – shopping lists, family letters, bills and receipts – it was written in the common, informal idiom of everyday speech, street language.

  “And this is the language used throughout the New Testament.”

  “The goal is not to render a word-for-word conversion of Greek into English, but rather to convert the tone, the rhythm, the events, the ideas, into the way we actually think and speak.”

  From the introduction to “The Message, the New Testament in Contemporary Language” by Eugene H. Preston.

  I got going on this by a recent thread on the Watchtower changing its understanding on the Earthquakes mentioned in the so-called sign of the last days. “The Message” presents an entirely different interpretation of Jesus’ words. This intrepretation raises a number of questions in my mind about how Christians ought to view “the last days.”

  Here are some of the relevant portions of Matthew chapter twenty-four. (Note – Preston does not use verse numbers.)

  “Later as he was sitting on Mount Olives, his disciples approached and asked him, ‘Tell us, when are these things going to happen? What will be the sign of your coming, that the time’s up?’

  “Jesus said, ‘Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation, and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.”

  {I’m skipping a couple of verses for clarity}

  “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people.”

  {I’m skipping a couple of verses for clarity}

  “If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning.

  “ So if they say, ‘Run to the country and see him arrive!’ or ‘Quick, get downtown, see Him come,’ don’t give them the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn’t something you go to see. He comes like swift lightening to you.”

  {I’m skipping a couple of verses for clarity}

  “Then the Arrival of the Son of Man! It will fill the skies – no one will miss it.”

  This view of these passages takes the exact opposite approach than that taken by the Watchtower. The various signs discussed are not “the sign of the end,” they are just the normal course of events. Rather than telling us what we are to be looking for in world events, Jesus is telling us that none of these thinks presage His arrival. We are to be focused on our walk with Him, not trying to predict the future. The long standing belief of the Watchtower that their interpretation of these verses is proof that we are in the last days is simply wrong.

  This then gives special impetus to Jesus next statement about being wary of false claims to be the Messiah. He can state emphatically that all such ones are false, because when He does return it will be an event even nonbelievers will see and understand. This utterly refutes the Watchtower understanding of an invisible “presence.”

  While it is easy to point to the likes of David Koresh or Jim Jones and say they are falsely claiming to be God, can it be said that the Watchtower has made similar claims? I say the answer is yes.

  “And while now the witness yet includes the invitation to come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation…” WT 11/15/81

  “To keep in relationship with ‘Our Savior, God,’ the ‘great crowd’ needs to remain united with the remnant of spiritual Israelites.” WT 11/15/79

  “So in this strict Biblical sense Jesus is the mediator only for anointed Christians…The ‘great crowd’ of ‘other sheep’ that is forming today is not in that new covenant. However by associating with the ‘little flock’ of those yet in that covenant they come under the benefits that flow from that new covenant.” WT 4/1/79

  “They recognize that they are not spiritual Israelites in the new covenant mediated by Jesus Christ.” WT 11/15/79

  “However for God to answer our prayers for his spirit we must meet his conditions, among which is that we must recognize the visible channel he is using for that very purpose.” WT 7/1/65

  By these words the Watchtower, in my view, usurps the proper place of Jesus in a Christians life. In order to obtain salvation we must follow the Watchtower; to have a relationship with God, we must remain united with the Watchtower and its followers. Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life; not a publishing corporation attempting to steal His seat.

  A final point, a question I’d like to ask of a witness (or anybody else that thinks we are in the last days):

  What difference does it make? If you knew for certain that the end of the world was tomorrow would you change what you are doing? What about if you knew for certain that it was ten thousand years away? If you are a Christian, you should be doing what you do because you love God. That shouldn’t change based on one’s understanding of some cosmic calendar.
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  15

  NOTICE EVERYONE regarding R. Watters

  by QUEENIE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on july 22nd this year 2002 randy watters celebrates his 50th birthday so all keep it in mine and not forget it!!!

  so i am a snitch big deal !!

  ):):):):)just one of my human imperfections..

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  JeffT

  My office got me big time last year on my 50th.

  There was some talk about bringing in a stripper, to which Mrs. T immediately responding by telling me if they did I'd need to find a new job.

  So birthday rolls around we're in the conference room having cake and our administrative assistant says "Hey Jeff, we really did get you a stripper!" The way she was standing in the door looked like she was waving somebody in from down the hall. I have no doubt I looked like I was about to have a stroke.

  Then she walks in and hands me a bottle of Parson's floor stripper.

  I could have killed them hall.

  Anyway Randy, have a good time.