Posts by The Finger

25

Ya ever struggle with feelings of hatred or negative views of others? Misanthropy?

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

somedays i've got a monster within my blood, and every so often i'd love to just give into it.

throwing the jw factor aside, i genuinely believe that having and demostrating love for others is an honorable way to live.

however, and there's always a however with everything in life, but i struggle sometimes trying to be consistent with love.

Higher Education June 15th Watchtower 2011

by jwfacts in

"higher education: jesus warned against seeking your own glory.

(john 7:18) whatever you decide as to how much secular education you will obtain, have you made sure of the more important things?phil.

1:9,10.. grzegorz, the computer programmer, made some changes in his life.

The Finger

"Grzegorz, the computer programmer, made some changes in his life. He said:"

I thought to be a "computer programmer" you would have already done "higher education"

When I was a pioneer there was a brother who went on to higher education and he missed alot of meetings and was viewed as weak. However once he finished his education he went to bethel, because of his computer skills I understand. He now has a good job and family and serves as an elder.

Another brother I spoke to very recently who didn't do any higher education but joined another brother in doing a very basic manual job self employed. Expressed his disappointment now he is nearing 50 with aching joints and not much financially for his hard work that the end hasn't come yet. He also told me how well he had done at school and could have done something else. He has never been made an Elder and has been removed as a MS.

It seems those who listen to the organization do rather poorly.

It's the same in so many area's. Another couple who married before us some 30 years ago and put off having children because they were so close to the end. Still no "end" and no kids and no house or retirement fund. But lots of faithful service.

The trouble is with the faithful service that if they are wrong and Christendom is right. Christ won't know them. Whether your the Elder with good job family and vacations every year doing a job you enjoy with a good pension. Or your the pioneer who sacrificed everything, the rewards the same.

54

Am I the only one who felt sorry for adam and eve?

by Joliette in

jw
friends

the witnesses always blame everything on adam and eve (besides satan).

for some reason, when i used to look at the my book and bible stories when i was little, i used to feel bad for adam and eve?

its kinda like getting mad at a baby for making a mistake.

The Finger

I felt to have had this beautiful woman who was your soul mate and be presented with a problem that whatever you did you would lose her was very sad.

78

May 22, 1969 Awake! promises "you will never grow old" - Creative Writing

by Mad Sweeney in

jw
friends

the year is 1969. faithful followers of the watchtower society are gearing up for the imminent end of the system of things just as they had been for the previous ninety years.

a young witness named andrew is trying to decide what to do with his life.

andrew is a smart kid and he has an entire lifetime ahead of him.

The Finger

Really good. Enjoyed reading it and so true.

24

TV's best Series-ending episodes

by Nickolas in

and now for something a little lighter.. i enjoy well made movies and television series, especially when they push the envelope, do something different.

there are currently two tv series i'm following closely (dexter and breaking bad), both of which have great promise for spectacular endings.. here are my biased rankings for a few television series that actually wrapped up with a final episode (out of 10).

m*a*s*h, "goodbye, farewell and amen" - february 28, 1983, after eleven seasons - 7/10 (series went on too long, got stale, ending was overdue).

The Finger

I've only just started watching Dexter. Just finished the first series. Wow, can't wait to watch the next.

19

Why did Jehovah preach the Good News to dead people?

by moshe in

it's one of those , aha!, moments that hits you right after you leave the kh.

if jehovah picked the wt society back in 1919 as his one true christian congregation and then asigned them and only the international bible students the big work of preaching the king and kingdom, at those famous,.

,uh-hum, everyone who heard the life saving message from rutherford's gang was going to be dead in a few years- everyone was going to the grave, not straight to the new system of things.

The Finger

moshe,

i felt bad when i spoke with the brother as he seemed to be disappointed, i thing witnesses trace themselves back to millar and the great disappointment nothing new, but was still being faithful. he actually wants to talk with me and asked to meet up. i told him i would but i dont want accusations of apostasy. he commented on the boreans and how we should be able to discuss things. which is true.

19

Why did Jehovah preach the Good News to dead people?

by moshe in

it's one of those , aha!, moments that hits you right after you leave the kh.

if jehovah picked the wt society back in 1919 as his one true christian congregation and then asigned them and only the international bible students the big work of preaching the king and kingdom, at those famous,.

,uh-hum, everyone who heard the life saving message from rutherford's gang was going to be dead in a few years- everyone was going to the grave, not straight to the new system of things.

The Finger

i met a brother today whom i've known for 25 years and we got in to conversation. he came across as concerned about the new generation teaching and the fact that he was relatively bright at school but has only worked a very mundane job since leaving along with the fact that he has never and most likely never will be an elder.

he commmented on his father, who is in his eighties, and how his father although a witness of many years commented years ago how awful the "millions now living" campaign was and what a lie it was.

382

The Gentile Times Reconsidered

by Spade in

disproving the date 1914 as a significant year in bible prophecy is of great importance to some (e.g.

carl o. jonsson).

along with the meticulous details of bible and secular chronology, broadening one's horizons when assessing exactly what this date represents when compared against the 6000 years of human history likewise has merit.

The Finger

The Bible is crystal clear when iterating prophetic words in which sound conclusions can be reached. A matrix of data can often be used to obscure clear instruction, but that's not the way God operates, that's the way some humans operate.

Spade this "crystal clear" and "sound conclusions" Don't seem to have been evident with Jehovah's Witnesses and divine prophecy. Maybe if you "step back and look at the big picture" for some it may seem more "crystal clear" I don't know.

What Russell believed, his understanding, his sound conclusions that he reached have all been jettisoned by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Rutherfords sound conclusions regarding 1925 I think he summed it up himself by saying "I made an ass of myself" (Watchtower October 1st 1984 page 24) Maybe the prophetic words weren't as crystal clear as he needed.

Now of course we have the umpteenth revision of what the prophetic words mean "that generation"

Yes I would agree "For God is [a God], not of disorder" Which makes you wonder about the Witnesses.

382

The Gentile Times Reconsidered

by Spade in

disproving the date 1914 as a significant year in bible prophecy is of great importance to some (e.g.

carl o. jonsson).

along with the meticulous details of bible and secular chronology, broadening one's horizons when assessing exactly what this date represents when compared against the 6000 years of human history likewise has merit.

The Finger

Spade,

"I provided some information that you think would allow a person to step back and look at the big picture. As for the meticulous details, the fact of the matter is the archeology is there to support the end of Jewish exile at 537 B.C.E. From this date, count back seventy years to 607 B.C.E. as the year for Jerusalem's destruction. It's just that simple. None of these facts will not go away if you choose to ignore them. Maybe the Bible as the unerring, inspired Word of God has been repudiated by most here."

For me to "step back and look at the big picture." Simple man as I am. Means that the archeology doesn't support the 607 date nor does the Bible specifically, it depends how you read it. Which means to me if I reject the 607 date I am not "repudiating" the Bible.

If I look at 1914 and the fact that Pastor Russel was looking to 1914 as a significant year by his calculations I could conclude that these calculations could be right as a major event the First World War occurred. Then I would have to conclude that the archeological evidence is in error.

However I also find that Pastor Russell was proclaiming 1874 as Christ's presence and ".the battle of the great day of God Almighty, the date of the close of that "battle" i s definitely marked in Scripture as October 1914 . - Zion's Watch Tower 1892 January 15 p.23" (Quote from the thread Challenge to DJeggnog Regarding his Lies)

Christ in Matthew 24 was asked what will be the sign of your presence. Russell must have felt he had seen that sign and was totally wrong.

Christ also gave a warning in Matthew 24:23-24 " At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (NIV)

I don't think the fact that 2000 years has elapsed had lessened the warning.

When I look at the fruitage of the Witnesses. I find that the baptism has been changed and the majority are not in the New Covenant which seems to fit with "..to decieve, if possible even the elect."

382

The Gentile Times Reconsidered

by Spade in

disproving the date 1914 as a significant year in bible prophecy is of great importance to some (e.g.

carl o. jonsson).

along with the meticulous details of bible and secular chronology, broadening one's horizons when assessing exactly what this date represents when compared against the 6000 years of human history likewise has merit.

The Finger

I found many things interesting in Carl Olof Jonsson's book. One which stood out to me was on page 196/197 A-1: Desolation or servitude-which?

"The seventy years, then, should be understood to mean years of servitude for these nations. This conclusion is so obvious that the Watch Tower Society, at the head of page 826 of its large-print edition of the New World Translation (1971 ed.), automatically describes the seventy years as "70 years' servitude due."

"Servitude " here should not be taken to mean the same thng as desolation and exile."

In the footnote.

"As the attention was drawn to this heading in the original version of the present work (sent to the Watchtower headquarters in 1977) and also in the published edition of 1983 it was no surprise to find that it had been changed in the 1984 large-print edition of NW. The heading (p. 965) now reads "70years' exile due."