Posts by pirata

81

How Many JWs Have You known Who Have Commited Suicide?

by Was New Boy in

jw
friends

james olsen and richaed wheellock both bethelites.. rich templet.

rich and james out of guilt, richard out of depression.. james and rich were both under 30 years old.. after richard wheelock (a bethel heavy) killed himself the society changed it's stand on whether suicides could be resurrectioned or not..

pirata

And in which religion on the planet does no one commit suicide?????

You're right. The same problem is common to all religions.

In which religion are there not aposters???

You're right. Many people change their beleifs throughout their lives, making them apostates. JWs are more unique in that regards since they pressure family members not to speak to or show natural love to family members living outside the immediate household who have changed their beliefs. Of course there's that "I love you so I ignore you so that you come to your senses" thing they call love.

In which religion are their no pedophiles ????

You're right. Also a problem in many religions.

Not one- so you are just targeting Jw,s out of fear of feeling dead inside of yourselves. guilt and fear come from the inside of a person it makes them reason wrongly in the 4% of brain that is being used, one of satans greatest weapons against the weak.

This is a JW discussion board after all. If you want to target other religions you'll need to read the Awake! and Watchtower, or go to a different message board specific to that religion.

Were in the bible does it say that one's of Satan's greatest weapons against the weak is reasoning wrongly in 4% of the brain?

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Back to the subject of this thread: I personally know of two suicides.

6

Need scholarly/credible references for Orthodox (or other) Jewish views on blood

by pirata in

is anyone aware of any scholarly/credible references for orthodox (or other) jewish views on blood?

i would like to share this information with a jw, and was looking for something that leaves jws out of the discussion and would be seen as somewhat authoritative.

thank you..

pirata

@Pahpa. Good point. A lot of the discussions that showed up in my google search ended up getting into JW theology.

@jgnat. Thank you jgnat the google queen, I'll take a look at those references.

@moshe. Cool, I didn't know such a resource existed. I'll try the online rabbi resources. Thanks! Very interesting point about the elevator.

@Terry, interesting. I'll take a look at the western texts and the Noahide laws. Good parallel to the Sabbath in Luke 6:6-11.

6

Need scholarly/credible references for Orthodox (or other) Jewish views on blood

by pirata in

is anyone aware of any scholarly/credible references for orthodox (or other) jewish views on blood?

i would like to share this information with a jw, and was looking for something that leaves jws out of the discussion and would be seen as somewhat authoritative.

thank you..

pirata

Is anyone aware of any scholarly/credible references for Orthodox (or other) Jewish views on blood? I would like to share this information with a JW, and was looking for something that leaves JWs out of the discussion and would be seen as somewhat authoritative. Thank you.

41

Wife wants me to read Secret of Family Happiness, any suggestions?

by insearchoftruth in

hello, have been on this board for a few years, and now my wife is asking me to read the subject book with her.

.

it seems pretty 'vanilla' in my scan through it, seems to lift up the male headship issue a few times and of course the cure to all ill is to 'attend christian meetings'.. am still working to fully open her eyes, anything in here i can use that may help, any conflicts with current doctrine i could possibly point out??.

pirata

This is a good opportunity for you.

Start with an ice-breaker. Download the full "U.S. Religious and landscape survey" here: http://religions.pewforum.org/reports. Discuss the chart on pg. 67 which shows that Jehovah's witnesses have a divorce rate of 14%, compare with non-religious (12%), or Hindus (5%). Except some objections like "Satan is putting on the pressure against God's true Worshippers, that's why it's higher", or "Of course their divorce rate is lower because more are living together" (with the exception of Hindus). You don't necessarily have to counter these, just bring up the fact and let it be.

Find your own book that you want to study in parallel (ie. One week do the "family happiness" book, the other week do your book). One book I like is the book "Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why we justify foolish beliefs, Bad decisions, and hurtful acts", which not only explains cognitive dissonance theory, but also has a good chapter on how it can be used to maintain a strong marriage. It's only fair that you both get to share something you like with each other.

I suggest studying each chapter ahead of time, maybe posting here what you'll discuss each week and getting ideas for good points to bring up for that week. You can also look for parallels with the scriptures used in the chapter with similar sayings from other religions, or even secular sources.

25

Increase in demon activity?

by Igot2bme in

jw
friends

when i first started studying i was told that i would notice that the demons would try to stop me from recieving accurate bible knowledge.

well i never really witnessed anything unusual like objects flying through the air, bleeding walls, increased nightmares or something of that nature.

almost all the people that i know who have become baptized have a story or two about this having happened to them.

pirata

Satan is perceived to be more subtle these days... Here's the explanation given in the Bible Teach book, the book used to study with new ones:

*** bh chap. 12 p. 120 Living in a Way That Pleases God ***

As discussed in Chapter 10, Satan uses various methods to try to turn people away from God. On the one hand, he attacks “like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.” (1 Peter 5:8) Thus Satan’s influence may be seen when friends, relatives, or others oppose your efforts to study the Bible and apply what you learn. * (John 15:19, 20) On the other hand, Satan “keeps transforming himself into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) The Devil can use subtle means to mislead you and lure you away from a godly way of life. He can also use discouragement, perhaps causing you to feel that you are not good enough to please God. (Proverbs 24:10) Whether Satan is acting like “a roaring lion” or posing as “an angel of light,” his challenge remains the same: He says that when you are faced with trials or temptations, you will stop serving God. How can you answer his challenge and prove your integrity to God, as Job did?

* This does not mean that those who oppose you are personally controlled by Satan. But Satan is the god of this system of things, and the whole world is in his power. (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19) So we can expect that living a godly life will be an unpopular course, and some will oppose you.

46

is this site dominated by americans and canadians ?

by the max in

im new to this forum, most topics up for discussion are usa centric, and thus for us euro,s are boring, like whats on your tv chanels, wtf, who cares what your watching on tv,i dont come here to listen to that, either promote something intresting, or shut the hell up .

pirata

What did you come here to listen to?

8

another from a Yahoo e-mail group (note that it is the wonderful gb)

by therevealer in

jw
friends

i confess i have not been keeping up with all the chat here in groups but i just wanted to say that we have had 54% of our hall pioneering this month and its absolutely amazing.

we have never seen anything like it and i am so grateful to the governing body for this provision.

everyone is energized.

pirata

I could go out in service for 30 hours a month anytime I want. But then only Jehovah knows about that. Now I can put in 30 hours, get announced as an Auxiliary Pioneer from the platform, and everyone will tell me how great it is that I am auxiliary pioneering. I even get to go to the special meeting to encourage pioneers. What a loving provision from the Governing Body! (Funny, I remember not too long ago when people would be like "What a loving provision from Jehovah!").

31

"Trust the Faithful and Discreet Slave" Transcript [2010/2011 Kingdom Ministry School]

by pirata in

transcript for the talk "trust the faithful and discreet slave" talk given at the kingdom ministry schools:.

trust the faithful and discreet slave.

have we ever had to meet up with somebody with whom we've not seen before?

pirata

i can just imagine how many of my family swallow it, think it's logical and even go and tell it to other people who can't think straight.

In the CO's outline we were reminded that we can show our trust in the "faithful slave" by supporting their decisions even when we don't understand them.

31

"Trust the Faithful and Discreet Slave" Transcript [2010/2011 Kingdom Ministry School]

by pirata in

transcript for the talk "trust the faithful and discreet slave" talk given at the kingdom ministry schools:.

trust the faithful and discreet slave.

have we ever had to meet up with somebody with whom we've not seen before?

pirata

@VM44: I can't say the name of the speaker who gave this talk. I don't want to "out" anyone prematurely.

In case any Elders or Ministerial servants didn't get the point at the KMS school, the Circuit Overseers current outline for the meeting with Elders and Ministerial servants, about "Appreciating Spiritual Things", ends with a section on: Trust the Faithful and Discreet Slave.

20

See you later

by pirata in

jw
friends

it's been a year and a bit since i first joined jwn.

the guilty fascination, turned anger, turned sadness, turned acceptance has been a journey that i'm honored all of you have have been a pat of, whether you realize it or not.

although i haven't said much about myself personally, and probably won't as long as i still am a captive... er i mean a member of jehovah's witnesses, i appreciated reading all your posts, observations, stories and reality-checks.

pirata

Well that didn't last very long. I miss this place too much.

Thanks to all for your warm sendoffs!