Slip 1:1
And the Sue was a fred. Not to be mistranslated as the Sue was Fred.
hugs
Joel
joelbear
JoinedPosts by joelbear
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119
Apostates
by Sue ini turned to this website looking for encouragement.. i thought it was a genuine jw chat site.. what do i find?.
most who write here, don't belive in the jw teachings.. most are complainers and apostate.. does any one know were i can find a genuine jw site?
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57
Famous Last Words
by You Know inthe great depression had more to do with shaping the character and defining the last century than any other event, except the great wars that caused and followed the depression.
the structure of the financial system though has radically changed since that time, in that it is many times larger, global in fact, and it is much more fragile and complex, in that it reacts nearly instantaneously to various factors.
the average person is now much more dependent upon and indebted to the system as well.
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joelbear
You Know,
I agree, few people are willing to undergo hardships out of faith.
I would be the first to agree with you that I lost my faith. I do not have faith in god. I have never met anyone who was willing to really do without or give up themselves to a life totally dedicated to god.
Instead, I see lots of people who say they have faith in god, but hedge their bets so they can say, well, I have faith in god, but I want to have enough money to live well also.
I admire true faith in god. Self sacraficing love, giving of oneself out of one's own need for others benefit. That definition gets me to thinking about faith. I just don't see it within the Watchtower organization, but then again, I don't see it anywhere else either.
Joel
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119
Apostates
by Sue ini turned to this website looking for encouragement.. i thought it was a genuine jw chat site.. what do i find?.
most who write here, don't belive in the jw teachings.. most are complainers and apostate.. does any one know were i can find a genuine jw site?
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joelbear
Hi Sue,
Welcome to the board. Pretty clear you are getting something out of your visit here or you wouldn't stay.
I wish you peace
Joel
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57
Famous Last Words
by You Know inthe great depression had more to do with shaping the character and defining the last century than any other event, except the great wars that caused and followed the depression.
the structure of the financial system though has radically changed since that time, in that it is many times larger, global in fact, and it is much more fragile and complex, in that it reacts nearly instantaneously to various factors.
the average person is now much more dependent upon and indebted to the system as well.
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joelbear
Why does god in one generation raise the dead, heal the sick and provide food for multitudes for people who haven't been tested at all and in another generation test people's faith by seeing how long they can stand bad conditions?
Joel
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57
Famous Last Words
by You Know inthe great depression had more to do with shaping the character and defining the last century than any other event, except the great wars that caused and followed the depression.
the structure of the financial system though has radically changed since that time, in that it is many times larger, global in fact, and it is much more fragile and complex, in that it reacts nearly instantaneously to various factors.
the average person is now much more dependent upon and indebted to the system as well.
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joelbear
You Know says,
Interestingly, typically those whose faith proves too feeble for the task are those who are 2nd and 3rd generation Witnesses. The majority on this board, by far, are those who inherited a religion but not a faith.
I agree. Fool my parents shame on you, fool me shame on me. Since we have seen the result of these dashed hopes, its not surprising we would be skeptical.
Seems like the "good news of the kingdom" hasn't been very good news for very many people.
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57
Famous Last Words
by You Know inthe great depression had more to do with shaping the character and defining the last century than any other event, except the great wars that caused and followed the depression.
the structure of the financial system though has radically changed since that time, in that it is many times larger, global in fact, and it is much more fragile and complex, in that it reacts nearly instantaneously to various factors.
the average person is now much more dependent upon and indebted to the system as well.
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joelbear
My parents bought the end is near stuff hook line and sinker.
We lived in a rented house my whole life. My dad worked at a job he despised and at which he never made more than $25,000 a year. He made his boss a millionaire, but was happy to stay at it because he "trusted in Jehovah". His reward would come eventually in the new system when "God rocks this world". He would have the last laugh, ha ha.
When he and mom approached retirement age they had nothing. Dad came up with the idea of raising Vidalia onions to make money. It worked great and he made enough money to put away some savings and buy some land and build them a small but comfortable house. Mom hates it there because she can't drive and is stuck miles away from friends and any entertainment. Dad sits and watches baseball games and mom reads. Of course they go out in service twice a week to tell people about the good news of the kingdom.
Joel
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57
Famous Last Words
by You Know inthe great depression had more to do with shaping the character and defining the last century than any other event, except the great wars that caused and followed the depression.
the structure of the financial system though has radically changed since that time, in that it is many times larger, global in fact, and it is much more fragile and complex, in that it reacts nearly instantaneously to various factors.
the average person is now much more dependent upon and indebted to the system as well.
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joelbear
I agree with the message to be prudent and wise in taking care of ourselves. I think this is an important message.
We should certainly not simply wait for god to fix things for us. We should build a good life for ourselves and use wisdom in preparing for the future since no one else is going to take care of us.
Good advice YK.
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The fixer
by joelbear inthought i would share this story so you could understand my reactions to things sometimes.. i was about 8 years old and we were living in jesup georgia.
my father was having problems with drinking and didn't get along well with my mother.. it was their wedding anniversary.
he came home late and had been drinking.
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joelbear
thought i would share this story so you could understand my reactions to things sometimes.
I was about 8 years old and we were living in Jesup Georgia. My father was having problems with drinking and didn't get along well with my mother.
It was their wedding anniversary. He came home late and had been drinking. He has brought her a vase of yellow roses. She was mad at him for being late and for drinking. She said she didn't want them and would rather have had candy or something she could use.
He lost his temper and through them out in the front yard, vase and all.
I went outside and picked them up and tried to make them look nice again. That green glass vase sat on our TV for years and years and was always a reminder to me of that night.
This event is a metaphor for my life with my parents. I was the fixer who tried to pick up the broken pieces and make everything look pretty again, even though it was never going to really be pretty.
Just another peak at what make me me.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com -
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This Board
by joelbear ini've been thinking a lot about this board and the people here over the past few days.. as most of you know, i got pretty pouty and threw a couple of fits over what i saw as being a wrong direction for the board.
i claimed doom was near, etc.
etc.. i have come to think that this board is very real.
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joelbear
I've been thinking a lot about this board and the people here over the past few days.
As most of you know, I got pretty pouty and threw a couple of fits over what I saw as being a wrong direction for the board. I claimed doom was near, etc. etc. etc.
I have come to think that this board is very real. We get mad, we scream, we yell, we discuss, we reach out, in a nutshell, we do all the things we weren't allowed to do under the construct of the society where we all had to grit our teeth and just smile at each other.
I, of anybody, should see the uselessness of pretending to be nice, burying anger, etc. What good did all that do me when I finally decided to be and think for myself? Zippo. Every friend, every family member turned on me and threw me out of their lives.
We see the reality of each other here and yet here we are continueing to associate with each other. It dawns on me, that that is what caring and friendship are about.
Anger frightens me. I was a scared little kid who grew up into a scared adult. I think that is what came out in me when the angry posts started here.
In the end, I am thankful for this board and for being able to be me, warts and all.
hugs
Joel
www.joelbear.com -
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Batting averages: WTS vs apostle Peter
by Defender inthe society publishes an average of 22,000,000 wt and 19,000,000 number of awake magazines every two weeks.
if we assume that 6,000,000 of each go toward the number of active publishers as their personal copies.
that leaves 16,000,000 issues of wt + 13,000,000 for awake = 29,000,000 that are to be used for disciple making.. multiply 29,000,000 by 26 = 754,000,000 average yearly printing.. divide 754,000,000 by 288,907 (number of baptized in 2000) = 2609. yes, 2609 number of magazines (not counting books, brochures and tracts) must be distributed in order to recruit one new member.. now for the number of hours; .
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joelbear
Defender,
Another excellent post. I appreciate your efforts greatly.
Makes it pretty clear that the magazines and books are basically irrelevant to people. Its the message not the medium that turns heads. A message that reaches the heart creates change.
hugs
Joel