respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  6

  West Springfield, MA Congregation

  by ryebass in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  looking for anyone who was a regular at this congregation back in the 70's and 80's; my father just passed away and these were golden years for me (inextricable from my youth) despite any ill-feeling or resentment i may hold towards the faith at this point in my life (my father remained a witness until his death a few days ago).. thanks in advance.

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  respectful_observer

  I suggest you also post over on the exjw reddit, as there are a few people there from the Greater Springfield area (e.g., Chicopee, etc.)
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  34

  BBC News "The ex-Jehovah's Witnesses shunned by their families"

  by snare&racket in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  bbc news website has this linked on front page.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40704990.

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  respectful_observer

  I would agree that by the BBC not being exceptionally clear or correct about the reasons behind a particular disfellowshipping, any PIMI JW will immediately dismiss the entire article as untrue and apostate lies.

  On a side note, apparently about the only thing that has remained completely unchanged in the last 50 years of the Watchtower is the font they use for signage at the conventions!! Holy crap!!

  
  
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  27

  the Great Cntraction continues

  by never a jw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just learned that my wife's congregations will soon be disbanded.

  her congregation will disappear (cahuenga spanish in north hollywood in southern california).

  all the members will be added to other neighboring congregations.

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  respectful_observer

  The number of self-deporting undocumented/illegal (your choice of term) immigrants in the US has been significant in the last year. It's no secret that many Spanish congregations the West Coast of the US have/had a significant number of members who were living in the US illegally.

  I'm sure the numbers of people deciding to self-deport, or not even come to the US in the first place are having an impact on publisher numbers in the Spanish congregations.
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  162

  2017 Convention Video To Be Shown Regarding The 1975 Failure

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go3arnnsfkk&feature=youtu.be.

  no mention whatsoever that it was watchtower themselves that strongly hinted towards this date.

  instead they blame those who "put their trust in a date, not jehovah".. let's recap... .

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  respectful_observer

  Prepping their audience for another disappointment? He was "dedicated to Jehovah, not a date". What other dates might they rethinking?

  That's what I'm thinking.
  
  
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  61

  Would human settlement of Mars invalidate Bible prophecy?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't think this topic has been discussed before but yesterday i read something to the effect that trump wants a human mission to mars to be completed within his presidency.. with that being said, the watchtower teaches that what started on earth ends on earth, in other words, the fall of adam and eve would end with the passing of the 1,000 year millennial reign when christ destroys all his enemies, rebellious "perfect" humans, and the devil and his demons who are let out the abyss for a short while.

  he then hands the kingdom back to his father.

  an elder in my old congregation once told us during a public talk that he was an ardent astronomer but then referenced the scripture where it says, "the earth he has given to the sons of men" (psalms 115:16).

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  respectful_observer

  I recently participated in the following discussion with a couple of J-dubs:

  If Satan and his demons were cast down (and restricted) to the earthly realm in 1914, does that mean if humans started a colony on Mars that Satan and his demons would be unable to influence them?

  It was interesting to see how everyone sought every possible scenario of how those settlers would, in fact, continue to be subject to Satanic influence. It was if they actually preferred that scenario vs. one where a person could actually escape the clutches of Satan.
  
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  31

  Circuit Overseer's Idiotic Comment

  by FedUpJW in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at last night's clam the circuit overseer made this comment, "we elders sometimes have to act as judges in the congregation.

  but we (the elders) are imperfect, and so cannot know everything about judicial matters.

  that is why we (the elders) have the biblical rule that there must be at least two witnesses to wrongdoing.

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  respectful_observer

  Wow...the double-speak is mind blowing....

  "But we (the elders) are imperfect, and so cannot know everything about judicial matters. That is why we (the elders) have the biblical rule that there must be at least two witnesses to wrongdoing." We need to follow the two witness rule.

  "Sometimes though it is impossible to have two witnesses to a sin, and we (the congregation) may feel that a sin needs to be addressed instead of left in Jehovah's hands." We DON'T have to follow the two witness rule. We DON'T have to "wait on Jehovah".

  But we need to remember what we read here in (Jeremiah 29:23) . . .“‘“I am the One who knows, and I am a witness,” declares Jehovah.’” So he concluded that we must support the Two Witness Rule and know that, "eventually Jehovah will address any wrong in his perfect manner." We have to follow the two witness rule and wait on Jehovah.

  So pretty much whatever the elders do/don't do...they're covered.
  
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  58

  Just a quick Poll...Do you think the GB is sincere?

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been thinking about this the past few days and curious what the honest consensus is here just for fun.. show of hands,.

  is the governing body.... a: completely sincere.

  they really do believe what they teach.. b: somewhat sincere.

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  respectful_observer

  I think they are both sincere and insincere simultaneously. They are intellectually dishonest, and knowingly use falsehoods to convince themselves and others to believe. Thought stoppers and logical fallacies keep the cognitive dissonance in check enough for them to perform the mental gymnastics needed to keep the plates spinning. Being honest would be very uncomfortable, so they just block out the doubts by any means necessary and blame Satan - they are too invested to do anything else.

  ........................
  

  I'd agree with this. I think they sincerely believe in the core doctrines but aren't afraid to use intellectual dishonesty and outright deception to keep the sheeple believing because, in the GB's minds, they're too stupid to attain salvation on their own. It's what lets the GB continue to defend certain teachings and policies they themselves realize are indefensible, illogical, or unbiblical, but would destroy the faith (in the Organization) of too many if they reversed course.

  Basically they see their use of "Theocratic Warfare" on their own people as justfiable since it helps keep those people in the Organization.
  
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  13

  NYTimes Article - Russia Moves to Ban Jehovah's Witnesses as 'Extremist'

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/world/europe/russia-moves-to-ban-jehovahs-witnesses-as-extremist.html?_r=0.

  vorokhobino, russia — a dedicated pacifist who has never even held a gun, andrei sivak discovered that his government considered him a dangerous extremist when he tried to change some money and the teller “suddenly looked up at me with a face full of fear.”.

  his name had popped up on the exchangalee bureau’s computer system, along with those of members of al qaeda, the islamic state and other militant groups responsible for shocking acts of violence.. the only group the 43-year-old father of three has ever belonged to, however, is jehovah’s witnesses, a christian denomination committed to the belief that the bible must be taken literally, particularly its injunction “thou shalt not kill.”.

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  respectful_observer

  Funny - no mention of the "earth shattering" campaign of JWs to write letters to Putin & his ministers. To listen to the num-nuts on JWtalk, you'd think it would be headline news across all majot media sources.

  .................
  

  Haha! I thought the exact same thing.
  
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  7

  My son was accepted to prestigious universities

  by never a jw in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some background needed.

  five years ago i decided to research what i thought was a good religion, the religion of my jw wife, to whom i have been married for almost 23 years.

  what prompted my research was my then 14 y.o.

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  respectful_observer

  U.C. Berkeley...all the way.

  Don't get me wrong, UCLA has a great reputation, but Berkeley's is better. I see lots of CVs in my role and Berkeley jumps out moreso than UCLA (even though my firm recruits heavily from both).

  That being said, if he has a specific major he's intent on, he should go with the school whose program has the better reputation.
  
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  26

  UK number plate

  by stan livedeath in

  1. social
  2. humour

  here in the uk--private--or personal- car registration plates are popular.. heres one i photo'd tonight.. .

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  respectful_observer

  I'm unable to grasp it.
  

  ................
  

  Then you haven't hung out enough with Donald Trump. He's the expert.