FreeAtLast1914

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Posts by FreeAtLast1914

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  28

  Elder's message to me, on me being disfellowshipped tomorrow.

  by whereami in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it saddens me greatly to see all that has happened and to see my friends in this position.

  for me its a great loss but i hope that it will only be temporary.

  please allow jehovahs discipline to mold you and youre way of thinking.

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  FreeAtLast1914

  I, and practically every JW, at one time sincerely felt the same way the elder described. JWs don't understand the concept of unconditional relationships. They are trained not to. They are trained to think their response to your DFing is a loving one.

  When I came to my senses years later, my cousin was the first person I personally apologized to for my cold-shoulder treatment during his time as DF'd. I explained that was my training and that I believed my course was one that showed respect for God and his name. What a joke...

  Maybe your elder buddy will see the light eventually and pay you an apologetic visit. When he does it will be a great day for you. Either way, don't let his actions ruin the rest of your life.
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  23

  "Rutherford, a prominent member of the Governing Body" (David Splane, 2010 DC)

  by pirata in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in david splane's talk, "remain in the secret place of the most high", at the 2010 district convention he referred to "rutherford, a prominent member of the governing body".. while technically correct (the governing body is a technical term for a board of directors), the term "governing body" currently has a spiritual meaning, seperate from "board of directors", in the eyes of jws: the representatives of the faithful and discreet slave who make the decisions on spiritual matters.

  my understanding is that the "board of directors" handle other business/legal operations (since the 80s re-org).. please correct my if i am wrong, but retroactively applying the modern-day understanding of the term "governing body" to the board of directors in the rutherford/knorr era suggests that the board of directors had equal input on spiritual matters.

  my understanding though is that the president/vice-president made the majority of decisions on spiritual matters during that time.. does anyone know of any quotes or references from watchtower material that states who actually made the spiritual decisions during the rutherford/knorr era?.

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  FreeAtLast1914

  I'm still laughing at Sir82's comment. How true.
• 
  19

  A gem of hypocrasy from 1887 Watchtower

  by Aussie Oz in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  came accross this piece from the 1887 watchtower tonight.... have a read... you can see russell criticising the protestants for how they are not allowed to teach anything that is not sanctioned by the church.. sounds mighty familier...and can be mirrored right back at the wt.. watchtower 1887. .

  page 923 april 1887 (caps and italics russells and the wt).

  nor should we ignore the assistance of any of god's children in seeking an understanding of the scriptures, but we should give attention to them only so far and so long, as they teach and explain the bible, in harmony with the bible.

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  FreeAtLast1914

  It's my sense that eventually they will pare the CD-ROM down to 1980, which is when they really began to go hardcore against anyone questioning them and the treatment of DA'd dubs changed as well. That way they can completely wash away the 1975 debacle with this new generation of "born-ins". They'll demonise anything written prior to the 80s (unless its something they still agree with) and the R&F will be afraid to look up anything beyond that.
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  19

  A gem of hypocrasy from 1887 Watchtower

  by Aussie Oz in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  came accross this piece from the 1887 watchtower tonight.... have a read... you can see russell criticising the protestants for how they are not allowed to teach anything that is not sanctioned by the church.. sounds mighty familier...and can be mirrored right back at the wt.. watchtower 1887. .

  page 923 april 1887 (caps and italics russells and the wt).

  nor should we ignore the assistance of any of god's children in seeking an understanding of the scriptures, but we should give attention to them only so far and so long, as they teach and explain the bible, in harmony with the bible.

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  FreeAtLast1914

  I see why they only go back to the 1950s on the CD-ROM. Even that's tough the swallow, but can you imagine if they contained everything??
• 
  19

  A gem of hypocrasy from 1887 Watchtower

  by Aussie Oz in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  came accross this piece from the 1887 watchtower tonight.... have a read... you can see russell criticising the protestants for how they are not allowed to teach anything that is not sanctioned by the church.. sounds mighty familier...and can be mirrored right back at the wt.. watchtower 1887. .

  page 923 april 1887 (caps and italics russells and the wt).

  nor should we ignore the assistance of any of god's children in seeking an understanding of the scriptures, but we should give attention to them only so far and so long, as they teach and explain the bible, in harmony with the bible.

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  FreeAtLast1914

  Sweet one, Oz. Good stuff.
• 
  40

  It's official, got DF'ed last night

  by notverylikely in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm out.

  free at last, free at last..

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  FreeAtLast1914

  Congrats! Enjoy your wide-open freedom. I will drink to your courage this evening.
• 
  4

  When did the NT books become "inspired"?

  by VM44 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  when the nt letters written by paul and others were first read about 2,000 years ago, were they considered "inspired" by god?.

  what about the books of matthew, luke, mark, and john, as well as the book of acts?

  were they considered "inspired" right from the beginning?.

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  FreeAtLast1914

  Interesting point. The books of the Bible gradually became more and more respected until they were viewed as inspired by its followers. Ironically, the WT's literature is exactly the opposite: when it first comes out JWs view it as inspired, but after a few months (sometimes years) it's simply the writings of imperfect men overshadowed by the "newer" light and tossed in the trash, or worse after enough time has passed the WT views it as dangerous to read.
• 
  85

  Im finally leaving my jw husband.

  by littlebird in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some of you know i have struggled with this for awhile.

  i really do believe in marriage and the committment, however, sometimes enough is enough.. his endless preaching at me and calling me and my (adult) children satan has me realizing that this situation is not going to get better.

  the other day he kicked my son out of the house for wearing a cap, in his car, with a skull on it.

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  FreeAtLast1914

  As my grandma once told me: "Life's too short to be miserable. If the situation goes south and you've done everything to turn it around without results, it's time to bail." I was eighteen. Great advice.

  I feel for you, but a life without JW interference is a life worth living. Throw off the shackles. Good luck!
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  20

  What if... The Governing Body promoted online preaching

  by pirata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  imagine this scenario:.

  step 1) the governing body produces a brochure entitled: "addressing misconceptions about jehovah's witnesses".

  it brings all the apostate arguments out of the woodwork and addresses them (whether or not the answers make sense doesn't really matter).

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  FreeAtLast1914

  Interesting concept, but there's no way in hell the WT Society would ever encourage more web use. They fear the internet like Superman fears kryptonite.
• 
  5

  WTBS - The Ultimate MMRPG

  by FreeAtLast1914 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the lives of the typical jw include all the elements of a classic mmorpg, like world of warcraft.. there is the constant grind (field service and endless meetings and assemblies, commenting, demonstrations), quests (aka "privileges" of carrying the mics or cleaning the bathroom or mowing the lawn, giving talks), leveling (improving your status from r&f to elite by becoming a ms, elder, pioneer, co, do), buffs (receiving the call of "anointing", your life experience making it into a yearbook), and finally the rewards (anywhere from pats on the back for a job well-done on a part to being voted onto the governing body as the elite).. and just like with any mmo, you never reach the end, you are always grinding away for what amounts to be empty rewards in a fantasy world....

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  FreeAtLast1914

  WasBlind, if I could count the times I've heard the sentiment "are you doing enough for the organization"... Or to put it more accurately, "why aren't you doing more for the organization?"... This message comes from a group of men who don't work, who don't live in the real world, and who are intent on maintaining their ivory tower.

  MallCop, or as my dad puts it, "we already have one foot in the New World."