pirata

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Posts by pirata

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  19

  Have a good Easter weekend.

  by tec in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm going to my parents for this long weekend, along with my boys, my aunt and her twin boys (same age as my oldest), and our pup.

  will be a busy and bustling weekend, seeing as the basement recently flooded, so that area is now off-limits.

  so for the next five days, the four and a half hour drive tomorrow is going to be the only quiet time i think i'm going to get, lol.. however, my mother is going to have a big pot of homemade chili waiting for us... and that alone would be worth the drive and the craziness :).

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  pirata

  

  Have a good one!
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  4

  my updated story and my thoughts

  by TheLoveDoctor in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  right now im fading and haven't been in service for 5 months 0000 in for 16 years ministerial servant for about 8.5 years pioneered for 3 years around 1994-97 later auxiliary then around 2004 got back on pioneer list for about the same time became elder for 5.3 years when i began reading books nothing apostate but then began searching apostate literature.

  i could ignore web sites like six screens and other apostates because u can tell when someone is just looking for attention and out to hurt or revenge.

  so i researched my research and found the lies in wt literature.

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  pirata

  I hated history so studying the wt history (Nah) I f u say so I believe u because U gave me no reason not to. Prophecy was something i hated and had lots of history that was mad complicated so I didn’t care If u

  say so i believe you though plenty of times I could not wrap my head around it.

  Same for me! Most of the prophecy stuff I didn't think about too much because it made my head hurt. One day I had a talk on 1914, so I looked in the dictionary some support for 607 BCE to quote in my talk. Stupid dictionaries they were all wrong, and I was in a rush to make my talk.

  Now looking back, I wish I had spent some more time investigating 607 BCE instead of shoving it to the back of my mind. Instead I shelved it for a good 10 years. Just recently I'm starting to read about history and logic and philosophy and it is amazing how little I knew (when I thought I knew everything that was important to know).

  I come to believe if there really is a god and if Christ is real we should imitate Christ to best of our ability but Christianity should not be organized like it is in large groups.

  Indeed. Jesus said that whenever 2 or 3 would be gathered together, then he would be in their midst.
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  34

  Do They Still Offer Food At The DCs?

  by Low-Key Lysmith in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  to this day, i still can't drink shasta cola or lemon-lime soda.

  when i was a kid, you would buy these books of "food tickets".

  the tickets were traded for terrible food.

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  pirata

  You can bring a salad, just not supposed to bring glassware or a huge meal that requires a table to serve.
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  15

  Your Favorite Kingdom Song (versions)

  by pirata in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what were your favorite kingdom song (versions) when you were a jw?.

  albums.

  5 stars.

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  pirata

  I'm serious here. What were your favorite Kingdom Song (versions) when you were a JW?

  Albums

  5 Stars

  A few years ago I discovered the Unreleased Singing Kingdom Songs (supposedly commissioned by the Governing body, but ultimately decided to sound to "christendom") that included George Benson and others. The songs were very well produced, done in jazz and modern ballad. I listened to these in secret because they were already "banned" from distribution by the time I found out about them. A friend of mine had this on copied CD, but refused to copy it for me or lend it to me after the Kingdom Ministry article came out saying not to distribute it.

  4 Stars

  I really liked the african versions of the Kingdom Songs, also produced by the society. There were no instrumentals, just beautiful singing in harmony. Africans sure can sing. My classmate (from the Congo) once warned me, when you hear singing, you start running, because during his time in Congo, it meant a protest was brewing.

  3 Stars

  The vocal versions of the new kingdom songs are pretty nice, but they all sound the same. After listening to 30 tracks of the same style, it would be nice to see things changed up.

  1 Star

  The officially released "Singing Kingdom Songs" with the Opera Dude and the barbershop trio. My mom used to play this all the time. She didn't like the singing much, but it helped to memorize the songs. I used to play it, and sing along very loudly, to annoy the rest of the family.
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  10

  The Message Bible

  by snowbird in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the poster, pirata, asked me this question on 4-20-11:.

  snowbird, what translation is that from?

  i'm starting to see the value in using paraphrased editions for to help get clarity of meaning.. i agree, and in my opinion, a good example of getting clarity of meaning can be found here:.

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  pirata

  While I don't think a paraphrase edition should be one's primary source, I look at it as a kind of "concise commentary".

  Having used a (mostly) literal translation (NWT) all my life, and only having ever known the modern day JW interpretation of scriptures, reading a paraphrased exposes me new ideas in a quick manner.
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  56

  Happifying? Real WT quote, or are we joking -

  by james_woods in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  maybe i just missed it, (the story of the word) - but i am seeing this word "happifying" in a lot of threads.. can it possibly be that the wt actually printed this??

  ?.

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  pirata

  "Happyifying" is not a word in the sense of being in the dictionary (well it is in the online urban dicationary and undictionary), but it was used o few times every few years or so in Watchtower publications up to the year 1998. The word is absent after that, but makes one brief appearance in 2009:

  *** pc p. 19 par. 4 Cultivating Faith in the Creator ***

  Is it not most satisfying and happifying to worship and to have faith in such a God?
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  13

  Works- question for xtians

  by LV101 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm confused.

  dr. chas.

  stanley says there's absolutely nothing we can do to earn life and it's all thru acceptance of the grace of the christ and repenting of our sins.

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  pirata

  snowbird, what translation is that from? I'm starting to see the value in using paraphrased editions for to help get clarity of meaning.
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  13

  Works- question for xtians

  by LV101 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm confused.

  dr. chas.

  stanley says there's absolutely nothing we can do to earn life and it's all thru acceptance of the grace of the christ and repenting of our sins.

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  pirata

  The author here: http://www.biblicaltheology.com/Research/CarterJ01.html

  presents the thought that Paul and James were thinking of the definition of 'works' in slightly different ways:

  Paul: Faith is complete trust in, and obedience to, Jesus Christ.

  Works are outward acts of ritual and adherence to a code to attain merit.

  James: Faith is belief in Jesus Christ, the resurrection, and salvation.

  Works are spontaneous acts of love that spring from the fruits of the Spirit.
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  32

  Homeschooling and JW children

  by Pams girl in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  how many jw kids are homeschooled where you are?

  its not very common here in the borough where i live.

  i just found out on the grapevine that a girl i know is taking her kids out of our very good primary school because she feels the other children are having such a bad influence on her kids.

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  pirata

  Growing up, my mother (a JW) did not like the idea of home schooling. The reason was that if you never got used to learning to stand up for your beliefs and interact with your peers, you would have a tougher time as an adult stepping out into the real world. I am thankful for that.
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  13

  Works- question for xtians

  by LV101 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm confused.

  dr. chas.

  stanley says there's absolutely nothing we can do to earn life and it's all thru acceptance of the grace of the christ and repenting of our sins.

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  pirata

  There's a noticably different focus on this matter if you read Paul's letters and those of the other apostle's seperately.

  The Apostle Paul preached heavily about Grace and Faith.

  The other apostles still placed more emphasis on law and works as necessary for salvation

  The emphasis on works/faith is one of the noticeable differences. I personally think that difference comes from that fact that Paul was chosen by the Lord even though he was extremely opposed right up to his conversion. He hadn't done one good work up to that point (from a Christian point of view), but was still chosen to play a large part in developing early Christianity.

  Another example is that It was the Jewish apostles who decided on the additional "necessary things" to abstain from (including meat sacrificed to idols) [Acts 15:28,29] in order to keep the peace between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Paul in 1 Cor 8 and 10, pointed out that abstaining from meat sacrificed to idols wasn't in fact necessary, but it was good to avoid so as not to stumble ones sensitve to the issue. Then in Revelation, written by Peter, he condemns one congregation for eating things sacrificed to idols.

  --------------------------

  The scripture about not going from door-to-door was referring to finding lodging. They were supposed to stay at the first home they were accepted at until they finished preaching in that city.