Marked
exwhyzee
JoinedPosts by exwhyzee
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THE BLIND SPOT identifying the refuting target of Jehovah's Witnesses
by Terry inthe life of a human being progresses toward maturity and peaks and then gradually atrophies into old age, inability, possibly debilitation and then death.. it is the same for all people unless they meet with an accident or misfortune along that continuum.. i propose that we measure and test the virtue of being a jehovah's witness by focusing on the blind spot of their religion.. .
what is the blind spot?.
the watchtower society is in major denial that the members of that religion will actually grow old and die.. as a consequence of this major blind spot the members are less likely to include provisions for that inevitability.. the active and committed jw spends a preponderance of their vital years serving the needs of the group and not for saving for old age.. once that outstanding performance lessens and fizzles into decrepitude--the society itself makes no provision for their senescence.. .
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Must Read, Sticky Topics
by konceptual99 inhaving just found this gem with leolaia's superb post with 18 reasons the flood of noah's day is a myth..... http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/222593/1/did-the-global-flood-of-the-bible-really-happen-please-give-evidence.
... i wondered what topics going back through the archives should be must reads for anyone coming to jwn?
what topics/posts should be made sticky (if that ever where to be a possibility)?.
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exwhyzee
Marked for future reference .
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exwhyzee
How are you possibly going to understand the Bible or know what to think about?
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End of world predictions/ JW's
by exwhyzee ini thought this was an interesting site that discusses end of world predictions.
http://www.humanreligions.info/the_end_of_the_world.html.
there are additional links at the end of this page.
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exwhyzee
I thought this was an interesting site that discusses end of world predictions. http://www.humanreligions.info/the_end_of_the_world.html
There are additional links at the end of this page. They should be clickable even if they don't look that way.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Martin Gardner has authored a perfectly good introduction to the Jehovah's Witnesses, which I will quote at length. The JWs initial predictions of the end of the world were based on pyramidology and numerology. This is the use of measurements and dates surrounding the great pyramid in Egypt to predict days. Because the number of potential numbers to use are as plentiful as the imagination, almost any date can be made meaningful. Pyramidology and numerology is thoroughly discredited by mathematicians, and prophecies based on them have had an uncountable number of failures.
An American preacher enormously impressed by Smyth's researches [on pyramid numerology] was Charles Taze Russell, of Allgheny, Pa., founder of the sect now known as Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1891, Pastor Russell published the third volume of his famous series Studies in the Scripture. It is a book of Biblical prophecy, supplemented by evidence from the Great Pyramid. A letter from Smyth is reproduced in which the Scottish astronomer praises Russell highly for his new and original contributions.
According to Russell, the Bible and Pyramid reveal clearly that the Second Coming of Christ took place invisibly in 1874. This ushered in forty years of 'Harvest' during which the true members of the Church are to be called together under Russell's leadership. Before the close of 1914, the Millennium will begin. The dead will rise and be given a 'second chance' to accept Christ. Those who refuse are to be annihilated, leaving the world completely cleansed of evil. Members of the church alive at the beginning of the Millennium will simply live on forever. This is the meaning of the well known slogan of the Witnesses - 'Millions now living will never die.' [...]
To the great disappointment of the Russellites, 1914 ushered in nothing more dramatic than the World War, and the sect lost thousands of members. New editions of Russell's Pyramid study were issues with the wording altered at crucial spots to make the errors less obvious. Thus, a 1910 edition had read, '... The deliverance of the saints must take place some time before 1914....' (p. 228) But in 1923, this sentence read, '... the deliverance of the saints must take place very soon after 1914....'
Judge J. F. Rutherford, who succeeded Russell after the pastor died in 1916, eventually discarded Pyramidology entirely. Writing in the November 15 and December 1, 1928, issues ofThe Watch Tower and Herald, Rutherford releases a double-barrelled blast against it [...] The Judge did not remind his readers in these articles that he, too, had been guilty of a prophetic error. For many years he had taught that 1925 would mark the beginning of the great jubilee year. Alas, it also had passed, without perceptible upheavals. The sect now discourages the sale and reading of Russell's writing, and although members still believe the Millennium is about to dawn, no definite dates are set. ”
- Failed End of the World Predictions for 1914 to 1920 made by the Jehovah's Witnesses, compiled by the Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance
- Failed End of the World Predictions for 1925 to 1975 made by the Jehovah's Witnesses, compiled by the OCRT
- Failed End of the World Predictions from 1975 by the Jehovah's Witnesses, compiled by the OCRT
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New member says hey
by jay dubless ini have lurked now and then, just decided to join.. my older brother and i were raised by our jw mom, but our dad was a non-practicing catholic.
so we went to the hall, but were considered "weak" witnesses, since our family still celebrated xmas and birthdays, to appease my dad i suppose.
as a kid, i loved these holidays.. anyways, when my brother was 17 (i was 13), he spent a few weeks with our cousins in ky, who are all gung-ho j-dubs, and upon his return, he decided he was going to be more "theocratic".
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exwhyzee
Yep...It's often a mistake to try and enlighten a JDub especially one who has been in a long time. It's too frightening to face the flaws in the thing that anesthetizes you and provides enough of a distraction and a big enough time filler so you can deal (or not deal)with life's unknowns. One has to be ready to face such a thing in ones own time and way. Perhaps you can remember how scary it was when you were at that point way back when. All the superstitious thoughts about the fate of those who leave the org. still swirling around In you head. It's easier for them to punish you than to face that reality. Sometimes the sugarcoating of the organizations mistaks is a big part of making it as a Witness. With my older brother, I've found that it's best to let him ask me questions and only give vague answers or side comments that make him think about things on his own. We are only 18 mos. apart in age. Not long ago he made a comment about age and getting older. I said jokingly " yeah...weren't we supposed to be perfect by now? Ha ha . I could see he saw the humor but I could see that he was thinking more about why the end never came when they said it would.
Enjoyable post and interesting links....welcome!
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If Jesus Could Be Ressurrected On Earth And He Went To Bethel What Would He Tell The Governing Body CEOs?
by frankiespeakin infor starter stop judging and you will not be judged..
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exwhyzee
(Pointing at Watchtower) "That's not what I meant when I said that and I never looked like that either by the way".
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There was a knock at the door....
by exwhyzee inor more like a thunking sound really, which set our little dog into a fit of barking.
i crawled out from behind the fridge where i was doing a repair on the waterline for the icemaker, so i could go see what all the commotion was about.
i fugured it was going to be my neighbor returning my ladder but instead it was jw's handing out memorial invites.. the woman and the young man (her 20 something son) were people i had known but hadn't seen since we faded 4+ years ago.
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exwhyzee
Oh....P.S.....some were wondering about my Son. He got too sick to get all of his Chemo treatments....could only take 11 of them which put him into Intensive care. Even so, I'm happy to report he has been checked monthly for a time and now every 6 months and has been Cancer free for 4+ years. He and his darling Fiance' got married while they were disfellowshipped, no one but us and her parents would attend. What a beacon of light she was comming to see him in the Hospital and staying with us every few days from her small town about 2 hours from here. I'm happy to say they are a great match and are the best of pals. They weren't allowed to be reinstated for over a year and a half after they were married. He was reinstated first but the elders in her old Hall thought she needed an extra dose of punishment because she didn't break off her engagement with him and went ahead with the marriage even though they advised against it. They still attend meetings but this whole ordeal really opened their eyes and has sort of dispelled any magical illusions they might have had about the men running the show. Until she was finally reinstated, she would leave right after meeting and sit in the car while he stayed and visited. She thought it was good therapy for him to be able to talk to his friends while he was still recovering from the Chemo and didn't want to spoil it for him. What a great young lady she is and I wouldn't change anything that happened if it meant she wouldn't end up being in our family.
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There was a knock at the door....
by exwhyzee inor more like a thunking sound really, which set our little dog into a fit of barking.
i crawled out from behind the fridge where i was doing a repair on the waterline for the icemaker, so i could go see what all the commotion was about.
i fugured it was going to be my neighbor returning my ladder but instead it was jw's handing out memorial invites.. the woman and the young man (her 20 something son) were people i had known but hadn't seen since we faded 4+ years ago.
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exwhyzee
I'm just now finally able to sit down and read all of your comments and advice. Thank you all for taking the time to read my little anecdote and taking the time to offer encouragement and advice. It means a lot to me to be able to vent a little and have individuals from all walks of life and form far flung locations, know what I'm talking about. If I'd have related any of this to my co-workers for instance, they'd have wondered why it practically took a building to fall on me before I realized that I had built my life around a bizarre set of circumstances or had been living in an altered state of reality since childhood.
I haven't had any success in locating that Sister's phone number and it's just as well really. Since I made my original post and now after reading your comments, I'm realizing that I really have no need to feel as if it was inappropriate for me to have answered her inquiry with anything but the unvarnished truth of my own circumstance. If I'd have called her I might have made a real "dogs breakfast" out of the whole thing anyway.
The thing is....after a few uncomfortable past attempts at explaining why we left the Org. and to enlighten others about the things we learned after leaving it, I sort of decided never to bother trying to enlighten or save any of them again. I've found that most of them know full well, at least on some level, that all is not as it seems . They WANT to be lied to and they are quite adept at ignoring anything they don't want to hear. Whats more, they are quite prepared to punish anyone who brings this unwanted information to thier attention. You become the problem. They in a sense kill the messenger for pointing out, for instance, that every date they ever beleived was significant, turned out to be just another day on the calander.
Anyway, I need to stop projecting my own sentiments onto other people and being overly concerned about feelings they may not even be having. She probably went on her merry way not giving our conversation another thought while I continued through the day concerned that I may have spoiled someone's morning or worse.
Pfffft..... anyway....thanks for listening guys !
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There was a knock at the door....
by exwhyzee inor more like a thunking sound really, which set our little dog into a fit of barking.
i crawled out from behind the fridge where i was doing a repair on the waterline for the icemaker, so i could go see what all the commotion was about.
i fugured it was going to be my neighbor returning my ladder but instead it was jw's handing out memorial invites.. the woman and the young man (her 20 something son) were people i had known but hadn't seen since we faded 4+ years ago.
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exwhyzee
or more like a thunking sound really, which set our little dog into a fit of barking. I crawled out from behind the fridge where I was doing a repair on the waterline for the icemaker, so I could go see what all the commotion was about. I fugured it was going to be my neighbor returning my ladder but instead it was JW's handing out Memorial invites.
The woman and the young man (her 20 something Son) were people I had known but hadn't seen since we faded 4+ years ago. They attended the other congregation that also met at our Kingdom Hall. She is a really nice lady....sort of a hoot, always has someting upbeat to talk about.Raised her son on her own as the father ran out on them years ago. Her Son was always a bit of a odd duck but seems to have settled into being a young JW Minister in training despite his rocky beginnings.
At first they seemed taken aback as if they didn't expect anyone to answer the door let alone have it turn out to be someone they already knew. I invited them in out of the cold and we got caught up a little. She noticed the framed family photos on the bookcase in our entry and said "You and Mrs. Exyz were always the best looking couple I ever knew...it's no wonder your boys look like movie stars." Well that was certainly nice to hear....didn't expect to hear something like that ! But then she looked at me really intently and said "Gosh you look so good....you look so peaceful and content. Didn't you used to have trouble with depression? " I told her that it was actually anxiety that I had struggled with for years but it was no longer an issue whatsoever. She wanted to know how I had gotten over it....so I told her. In doing so I might have hurt her feelings or offended her and now I regret not having just given her a vague answer.
Instead I said " Well....you're not going to like hearing this but we stopped attending meetings a few years ago and the anxiety I suffered from for years, dissapeared overnight....vanished and hasn't returned." I told her that I couldn't stand to hear any more talk about the end of the world or how bad world conditions are or about the upcomming destruction of all non JW humanity. After having lived since childhood in constant dread of Armegeddon and the tribulation and knowing my non-Witness father could be destroyed any day and possibly even be destroyed myself if I failed to endure some form of torture during the tribulation, had made me a nervous wreck. She said " Oh but everything has changed, it's so different now... the literature is so encouraging". I said " but they've always maintained they were the only truth in the world and were being directed by God....if that was the case, why did they feel the need to change it ?" I told her how my Dad died from not taking a blood transfusion at the advice of the Witnesses, only to have the Society decide a short time later that blood "fractions" were acceptable. I told her how all the Brothers assured me he would be in the New System because he took his stand for Jehovah in the end but because he wasn't baptized, we couldnt have his Memorial in the Kingdom Hall. New System yes... Kingdom Hall...sorry no can do. I told her how my son was DF'd because he and his Fiance' went to the elders about a personal matter and even though many before them were not even so much as reprooved, they had the book thrown at them. I told her about how we were abamdoned by all our JW friends and family when he was diagnosed with Cancer a few weeks after he and our Daughter in Law's names were read from the platform. How he moved in with us and we helped him through Surgery, Chemo and a stint in intensive care and faced the possibility of burying our Son alone should he not survive the Cancer. I told her my last meeting was the memorial of 2009 where I sat and listened to them talk about Christ's loving sacrafice, about God's merciful provisions, watched them welcome perfect strangers into the Congregation with open arms while 200+ friends and family purposefully shunned our bald, sick, chemo-ravaged, frail Son because he and his Fiance' made a mistake. "That is not love" I said.
"Besides all that, what about the false prophesies? " I asked. Then I pulled from the shelf, a copy of that 1983 Watchtower. (You know...that one with the cover photo of all those elderly Bethelites looking heavenward) , entitled "1914 Generation That Will Not Pass Away". I told her that I knew some of those folks when I was in Bethel and they have all passed away. Some of them have been gone for 15 or 20 years now. I asked her how the Society could have millions of us spend countless hours spreading this information all over the world and then simply change the meaning of the word "generation" without so much as an appology or admitting they were wrong? I said "Every date they've held forth since the beginning of the Organization has been 100% wrong" She said "Well all you have to do is look at the news and realize the end really is close now....there's women kissing eachother on TV and earthquakes everywhere." I said those things have been going on forever but It's just that we have instant information now. The USGS says earthquakes and their severity haven't changed, it just that we now have more advanced and widely distributed tracking systems available than ever before. Besides....even if there is an end in store, that doesn't mean JW's are the only truth or will be the only ones included in God's plans. They are always condemning other religions for being wrong but when they are wrong themselves they simply act as if it never happened".
She said "Well I'm happy so...." I said "Well that's good that it's working for you sometimes people are better when they have structure in their lives....any kind of structure, but I just couldn't bear to look the other way anymore, it was causing me physical and mental harm". The Son looked like he was really thinking and she did too but I could tell she wanted to leave because she had no way of refuting anything I was saying.
I feel badly now and am in the process of hunting down her phone number so I can appologize for having been so blunt. I said everything in a calm and kind manner but no matter what, the words would be shocking to someone who wasn't expecting to hear them. As I said, she's a sweet lady and didn't deserve to have this come at her with both barrels and may have possibly spoiled her morning.
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Does the WT knowingly violate fire codes on Memorial night?
by Calebs Airplane ini've been to at least 5 different halls in my lifetime and have seen the same scenarios repeated over and over... the max occupancy sign (regulated by local fire code) is completely ignored on memorial night.. for example, one hall i attended had an average congo attendance of about 95 with a max occupancy of 175. however, on memorial night, we'd usually stuff at least 200 people into the hall.
don't ask me how, but we did... the other 4 halls i attended had similar scenarios.... however, my experiences could very well be completely isolated events.
so i'm curious to know what your experiences have been on memorial night.... have you noticed whether or not the fire code has been adhered to at your hall on memorial night?
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