nugget

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Posts by nugget

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  11

  Ronnie Corbett.

  by karter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  and it's good nite from him.. one of the greatest comedians of my lifetime,he never used foul language he and ronnie barker were just truly funny.. i always enjoyed he two ronnie's.. rip.. karter.

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  nugget

  Been a part of my life forever he will be missed but leaves happy memories.
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  17

  Breaking news - from reliable insider source - GB member Sanderson to wed

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  not only that, but apparently it is to a transgender female.. new light wt article regarding "born that way" transgenders as a "conscience matter" to be released in the august 15 wt.. more details here..

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  nugget

  Very funny
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  17

  Child Abuse In This Weeks Meeting Part

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was sitting at the meeting this week and the "apply yourself to the field ministry" part started.

  it was the first part under, "the initial call".

  they read from the "good news" brochure and ask a question on it.

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  nugget

  I think the problem is the people writing this material live in a bubble which doesn't acknowledge reality. This is generic babble that has been churned out for years and they get away with it because their followers are trained to think that they are being told the truth and anything else is a lie. They are warned about investigating this for themselves so accept this nonsense.
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  54

  So... Are they done printing the number of partakers?

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  during the wt study yesterday i had a confused look on my face the whole meeting.

  more of a, wtf, face.

  one paragraph says, "therefore,the number of partakers does not accurately indicate the number of anointed ones left on earth.".

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  nugget

  I remember that this used to be a key statistic since it would reduce each year and was a way of determining how close we were to the end. It has become a source of ridicule in recent years as the number keeps increasing despite the repeated claims that the number is complete and places would only be available if an annointed is removed.,

  However when the GB contains people in their 50s it makes this all increasingly ridiculous.
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  57

  Did you participate in a Drama?

  by Hecce in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am bringing this up because even it was a lot of work, for the majority of the friends this was a rewarding experience.

  camaraderie, joking, costumes, props and when the time came the celebrity status of being in the drama.. back in the 50s and 60s, conventions could be as long as 8 days and from about 1966 the dramas became an integral part of the program.

  we had one per day and the brothers looked forward to their presentation.

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  nugget

  Never was in a congregation that did a drama. Sounds like fun although by the time we left the drama was prefixed by a talk and was less a spectacle and more a demonstration.
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  9

  What's the difference between 'works' and 'fruits'?

  by TTWSYF in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my uber jw elder brother used to use jesus's quote "you know a tree by it's fruit" and then would speak about how jws are the only ones going door to door and restoring god's true name.. my niece was the first to point out that those were works and not fruits.

  my brother retreated for a few days to contemplate the difference between works and fruits and when he returned to address the comment, he stated that works are fruits.

  what's the take from the jw apologist?.

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  nugget

  Works are tending the tree so in this case the service and the promoting Jehovahs name are works, The fruit will be the results of these activities.

  So door to door work what are the fruits, what is the purpose behind it? If it is to make disciples then it is a poor crop. If it is to explain their faith then the world outside the organisation is still unclear on the specifics of the faith and that Jehovah is their interpretation of God's name. If it was a real tree or a crop it is very poor indeed. Just doing the work is not enough there has to be something to show for it.
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  35

  out for a long time

  by Sledracer in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my husband and i have been out for a long time, maybe fifteen years, i must say we are in a bit of a nowhere land spiritually, we find it impossible to attend any other church.

  we really resent so much of how they messed up our and our children's lives.

  we can't get back all those 25 years we were in.

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  nugget

  When we left the organisation we lost many people who we had viewed as friends and had to start again. We were in the organisation for 40 years so they had pretty much controlled our youth and held us back. However I have put a lot of effort into rebuilding my life and finding new friends who will not drop me the minute I disagree with them.

  I try not to look back as there is little of value behind me and so much to discover ahead of me. Personally I could not go back, I found the basis of my faith was built on a lie, that the people responsible for my spiritual well being didn't really care about their followers and that my children were unimportant to them.

  I can honestly say that by embracing opportunities it helps recovery. You have time to explore spirituality and look for answers without returning to the organisation. Fear of other religions has been programmed into us and whilst it is good to be skeptical you can try talking to people with other faith perspectives and those who have none to see if this helps you gain an insight.

  Depending on where you live there may be a thriving community of exJWs happy to hear your story and talk about where they are in their lives and how they have recovered. You have made a start reaching out you can build from this point.
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  36

  Estimating future growth or decline of Watchtower

  by shepherdless in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have seen a few posts here, in various guises, in relation to whether watchtower is in decline.

  plenty of people respond, but it is all fairly anecdotal, or "gut feel".

  some of it has been wishful thinking.. as of late 2015, watchtower's numbers suggest it is still growing marginally, but there are various anecdotes on this site of publishers typically being older, and younger ones disappearing.

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  nugget

  I haven't been to a hall since 2009 so I am not in a position to say what is happening regarding meeting attendance. What I do know is that I see fewer witnesses on the traditional door to door work. I see fewer out and about in the community and apart from the occasional apathy cart they are invisible.

  It seems that the term witness has gone from an active verb of speaking out and sounding an alarm to a passive verb of someone who watches people go by.
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  20

  Reasons for NOT Returning

  by Saved_JW in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i left the watchtower in the winter of 2008. my first year out was by far the most difficult.

  i had every intention of returning to the watchtower for the very purpose of being able to speak with my friends and family.

  i had already concluded that the teachings were not the "truth" [after reading crisis of conscience] so coming back was more emotional then anything.

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  nugget

  I would add the loss of self.

  In the organisation you are taught never to think too much of yourself, not to celebrate your achievements or develop skills outside the watchtower's activities. From children you are taught to have no self esteem and to trust elders and appointed men completely. You are not encouraged to think for yourself, make your own judgments or pursue knowledge. You live a half life throwing away your potential to slave for an organisation that does not care for you or your well being. They squander the lives of their followers simply because of greed with no thought of the misery that this inflicts nothing could be more selfish or self serving.
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  34

  I have doubts... can you help me??- A new idea

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been perplexed as to how to brung my wife out of jws and to exit the religion... but i had an idea last night.

  i know that elders will legitimantly meet with brothers who have doubts and encourage them... not df them .. this is a sheperding call etc.. thus since my wife knows i have doubt s i could say: i want to have two brother over to discuss this ... she will agree.... of course i will hit these guys with biblical textual issues, an biology to where they are stunned and still ask... "so brothers... can you solve this conflict...?".

  in this case they will not think of me as an apostate but may question their own beliefs... .

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  nugget

  Remember that people as highly controlled as JWs do not always react logically. By expressing doubts in front of 2 elders and challenging their beliefs you go from spiritually sick to apostate before you can blink.

  What may be a ploy is to use family worship night to explore different areas of JW belief that you have issues with. E.g look up quoted sources in magazines and literature to see what the full quote says. Look at JW facts for some ideas of areas to tackle. Present it as a faith strengthening exercise rather than a destruction campaign. Always appear surprised when negative conclusions are drawn. If you challenge JWs directly they cling to the organisation since that is what they are programmed to do.