Once when my mother (now deceased) was in the hospital, I discovered her apartment had become infested with roaches. Someone advised me to use roach traps - cardboard boxes with an odor inside to attract the roaches and get them stuck inside. I did and it worked!
Justin
JoinedPosts by Justin
-
-
-
-
35
Why is it even ex JW's run scared when they hear the word apostate?
by happehanna ini just told them where i work as a volunteer, that i am going to a workshop for those that have left a cult tomorrow.
they were all fascinated and wanted to know which cult i had belonged to.
i said jw's and this one guy said i he used to be one of them.
-
-
Justin
"Cult" means different things to different people. While I personally think of JWs as a cult, I never refer to them as such publicly. I think "sect" would be a better description. It was Jonestown that gave "cult" a new meaning. Attention became focused on groups which physically isolate their people and use extreme methods of control.
There are those who leave the WT but continue to believe as JWs do. I think they are in more danger of returning to the WT someday, but that's their decision. Naturally, they find "apostates" a threat. (And remember, the "apostate" label is one that has been given us by the org, not one that we chose ourselves. It's not our name for ourselves.) Similarly, some ex-JWs continue to believe in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. That's their security now that they no longer have the org. But others become atheists. The believers may feel threatened by the atheists. Others choose to return to the original teachings of Russell, and feel that at least they are freer than if controlled by the WT.
Once people come to the decision to get free from the rigid control of the WT, we should honor their escape route and wish them well. It's too bad any of us have to consider others as a threat.
-
17
Irritating Mormon guy
by Mulan ini have a young man emailing me.
he is a mormon.
at first he emailed to me because he found my cousin's story on randy watter's website and my email addy is in the story.
-
-
Justin
Then use your filter to block out his e-mails and you'll never hear from him again.
-
27
Trinity
by desib77 inmy husband's cousin just called to offer me a book on the trinity.
my husband had told her that i didn't believe in the trinity.. i'm having a really hard time being open to the trinity.
i have jehovah and jesus drilled in to my head as separate entities.
-
-
Justin
It doesn't matter if the question is answered or not. It was the Son who died, not the Father. And the Father is God. When you raise questions about whose love was greatest, you're playing in a different ballpark.
-
7
The ``Four Presidents" Book: Impressions, Anyone?
by Room 215 ini've just finished reading the ``four presidents" book and am ambivalent about it.
much of it strikes me as illuminating if overly anecdotal; its impact is for me vitiated by (1) the paucity of documentation and (2) the anonymity of its author and contributors, however sympathetic i am to their reasons.
perhaps the most valuable part of the book are the notes and their copious references in early jw literature to bizarre, now-discredited beliefs.. while much of it rings true and is consonant with my first-hand experiences, i find the allegations of incidents in which young bethel boys engaged in late-night homosexual limousine liaisons with wealthy new yorkers hard to believe (these were alleged to have occurred at a time when i was there at bethel, and would almost certainly have seen or heard of any such via the ``grapevine" to which i was as well connected as anyone).. readers out there, what are your impressions?
-
-
Justin
I thought the "Four Presidents" book was invaluable in providing a systematic listing of changes in doctrine over the years. This, of course, has been used in the past as a critique of the WT, but I find that it is helpful in studying the older literature to be able to compare the old beliefs with the doctrines that later developed.
However, I felt there was an unnecessary emphasis on the Mystery Doctrine. This was the belief that Jesus and the 144,000 collectively constitute the Christ, and that titles used for Jesus alone in conventional Christianity actually apply to the entire anointed class, such as: the Prophet like Moses, the High Priest, the Eternal Father, etc. However, the Mystery Doctrine was expounded in the first volume of Studies in the Scriptures, titled The Divine Plan of the Ages. This was the "starter volume," and its Chapter 5 was: "The Hidden Mystery." So it's just "old truth" that was forgotten when the Society turned its attention to the earthly class.
See http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbnon/htdb0072.htm for the appropriate chapter in The Divine Plan.
-
10
Russell's The Finished Mystery
by GenericMan inthe following has been copied from my personal copy of the finished mystery:.
even the republics will disappear in the fall of 1920.
in one short year, 1917-1918, the vast and complicated system of sectarianism reaches its zenith of power, only to be suddenly dashed into oblivion.
-
-
Justin
The Bible Student editions are the 1916 editions, published one month before Russell's death. They would include changes up to that point, but not changes made later. I think the last edition published by the Society was 1924 or 1926. As one becomes aware of changes in the 1916 edition, one can simply put the original wording in the margin. Changes are usually minor, such as allowing a little more time after the 1914 date to elapse.
-
10
Russell's The Finished Mystery
by GenericMan inthe following has been copied from my personal copy of the finished mystery:.
even the republics will disappear in the fall of 1920.
in one short year, 1917-1918, the vast and complicated system of sectarianism reaches its zenith of power, only to be suddenly dashed into oblivion.
-
-
Justin
It's not Russell's Finished Mystery - Russell never wrote it. Russell had intended to write a seventh volume about the book of Revelation, but as he never felt he was given the "key" to unlock the Apocalypse, he never wrote it. After his death the Society published the Finished Mystery as the seventh volume of the Scripture Study series and claimed that it was the "posthumous" work of Pastor Russell. This was untrue, as a posthumous work is one which an author actually writes but does not publish during his/her lifetime - it is not something which others piece together from the person's other writings and then add their own thoughts to.
Bible Student groups today who offer the Studies in the Scriptures use only the first six volumes which Russell actually wrote. They may offer the Finished Mystery on a CD, for historical interest, but never as part of the Scripture Studies.
-
11
Who gave Constantine the right?
by codeblue innodenial and i were talking : who gave constantine the right to dictate that the bible canon should only include the 66 books that we see today?
there are dozens of other accounts on the life and time of jesus that non of us ever hear about or are able to research.. constantine in the 3rd century was a pagan!
yet we take his word for what is christian and what is spurious!
-
-
Justin
The four gospels and thirteen letters attributed to Paul were already considered canonical by the orthodox churches in the second century. This had to be done in response to Marcion, who wanted his own canon consisting of an abridged version of Luke and the letters of Paul. Marcion wanted to reject the Hebrew Scriptures completely, whereas the churches retained them in the form of the Septuagint. What was left to be decided later, and what led to the final canons as we know them today (in their Catholic and Protestant forms), was the acceptance of such works as 2 Peter and the book of Revelation. Of course the Council of Trent relied upon tradition, for the Council Fathers were not in the same situation as the early church, and were merely reacting to the changes called for by the Protestants (namely, the rejection of the Apocrypha).
-
21
What kind of site is this??
by scabsg ini am new to this site and am having a hard time seeing if this is for ex-jws or jw's.
i am an ex jw but am wondering why i have been given the staus of "newbie" a term widely used in the congregations for new comers to the "truth".
now, if this is for people who have left and are trying to get back on their feet again, why on earth would such a variety of titles be given to members on here??
-
-
Justin
As far as the rating system is concerned, I think all internet boards have them. It's a package deal. I might be wrong, but I think you can't have a board without them.
-
16
Come on, who really TALKS like this? "Your people are so joyful!" etc...
by somebodylovesme ini recently snuck a read of the km newsletter, which talked about assembly preparation.
aside from how ridiculous it is that they have to tell people not to push and shove (duhhh), i thought the quotes seemed a little, well, hokey.
i don't have it with me, so i can't quote it, but it was what i can guess is a commonly cited compliment: that the hotel manager/police/venue host said they are "thrilled to have jehovah's people" with them because "your people are so joyful" and so on.
-
-
Justin
If people refer to them as "Jehovahs," it's obvious they havent gotten their message across. Just as someone else has pointed out that, in spite of all the hours spent in the witness work, almost no one knows that JWs believe God's kingdom was set up in 1914, so similarly few people realize that "Jehovah" is supposed to be God's name. So what kind of a witness to "God's name and kingdom" has really been given?