JWD

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Posts by JWD

• 
  22

  White man`s religion

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was in the philippines some time ago.

  the big religion there is a group called `iglesia ni cristo`(literally church of christ).

  an indigenous group which sprung up around the turn of the century.. it has since become hugh(in the philippines).

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  JWD

  I`m sorry that this thread shifted courses and turned into a discussion on race. I guess I set myself up for it with the title I
  threw on it. By the way, I`m white, my wife is Japanese (Okinawan
  to be specific) and obviously our three children are mixed race
  Asian/Americans. With CNN report that many major US cities now have
  have less than half white populations,I`m slipping into the minority
  and the rest of my family is gaining ground,so to speak. At any rate,
  my original point wasn`t intended to be a discussion about race, rather the dynamics behind WT growth. One person posted something
  about the WT being in 235 lands. I`d suggest he break out his calculater and see what the proportion of JWs is to the non-western
  world. He would no doubt discover that in non-western lands, with
  the possible exception of Japan, the number of JWs is relatively
  small. As to why the WT had success here in Japan, there are a number
  of factors. First of all the `American issue`comes into play. Japanese
  like American `things`(Starbucks just opened their 200th shop here
  in only a few years). Then there is the Sunday School issue.Meaning
  after WWII many Christian churches put a great emphasis on Sunday
  School.Kids who had good memories of Sun.School were later contacted
  by JWs going door-to-door and thinking it to be another Christian
  denomination started studying.Another factor is the breakdown in
  families. Husbands gone from home and lonely wives looking for a
  friend. They hooked up with the local pioneer who visited and be-friended them. (If you go to any KH here in Japan, you will find an
  overwhelmingly high % of women. Also a high divorce rate). Despite
  the rapid growth, the WT here is now in rapid decline. The general
  population has a very negative image of JWs.JWs are considered to
  be `narrow-minded homewreckers` .Too bad about the poor image.
  Anyway, as far as Japan is concerned, if the WT came from any other
  country than America, it wouldn`t have gotten this far here. JWD
• 
  57

  Your best caption please.

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we all know how this works, just give us your best caption for this pic' .

  [why do i get the feeling that 'gutter' will crop up more than once?].

  nic'.

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  JWD

  Lady, before I had my sex change operation, I looked just like you!
• 
  5

  Where Did That Come From?

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ever wonder where some of the wt `biblical` teachings came from?.

  for example, where in the bible does it say that you should report.

  time?

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  JWD

  Ever wonder where some of the WT `biblical` teachings came from?
  For example, where in the Bible does it say that you should report
  time? More specifically, that you can start counting time from the
  point at which you approach the first person(or door)? How about
  birthday cake... one sister`s daughter brought home a round cake
  which she suspected was B-day cake.Fearing breaking Jehovah`s law
  the sister cut the cake into square pieces and then declared it was
  no longer B-day cake and therefore; safe to eat!! How about the 5
  meetings. Sure the Bible talks about gathering together, but where
  does it say FIVE MEETINGS. If 5 is good , why not six, how bout 7?
  Why do grade school boys have to wear neckties? Where does the Bible
  talk about the length of sister`s dresses? (One sister here in Japan
  was warned for having a very bright colored car! I guess it wasn`t
  theocratic. Probably, made somebody stumble!?) Recently, there was
  a ruling about wearing black clothing to funerals. Supposedly,it
  might give someone the idea that the bro. was involved in ancestor
  worship (never mind that Japanese wear black to graduations and weddings as well). The list is endless. What motivates a group to
  constantly be thinking up new rules...and then claiming they got
  them from the Bible? Reminds me of `Corban`. JWD
• 
  22

  White man`s religion

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was in the philippines some time ago.

  the big religion there is a group called `iglesia ni cristo`(literally church of christ).

  an indigenous group which sprung up around the turn of the century.. it has since become hugh(in the philippines).

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  JWD

  I was in the Philippines some time ago. The big religion there is a group called `Iglesia Ni Cristo`(Literally Church of Christ). It`s
  an indigenous group which sprung up around the turn of the century.
  It has since become hugh(In the Philippines). Anyone who`s been to the Philippines will know what I mean when I say IT`S EVERYWHERE. We were driving down a road which runs down the middle of Luzon Island and there were literally Iglesia Ni Cristo churches every couple of miles. The interesting thing is that group`s teachings share many of the distinctives of the WT teachings. 1914 is a very important date in
  their escatology which has the end of the world coming just around the
  corner.For the most part, however, it has remained a local religion.
  (There are a few churches outside of the Philippines, but no large
  numbers) On the other hand the Watchtower has reached around the
  world. Why the difference? The answer, I believe, lies in where it
  started...America. The rest of the world loves America, eats up
  Hollywood and wears Nikes. Even those who hate the US often do so out
  of jealousy.(Don`t get me wrong,I`m not a blind patriot by any means.
  My wife is Japanese and I`ve lived in Japan for 16 years.Long enough
  to see many problems with America) At any rate,the irony of the WT`s
  spread lies in the fact that it is still basically a white man`s
  religion. Everyone knows about the old WT mag. articles which claimed
  that if people of color studied the truth their skin would turn
  white. It was a given that everyone in the paradise earth would be
  white (Jehovah`s favorite color...?).Looking at older WT publications,
  it`s rare to find a non-white illustration or photo.Until very recently all GB members were white (i.e.Proclaimers book).Looking at
  the JW world-wide population it is obvious that the overwhelming
  majority of JWs come from `western countries` (I realize that many
  bros. in America are not necessarily caucasion).For being God`s one
  true org. on earth it certainly doesn`t represent an even cross
  section of the world population. Where are all the bros. in China?
  Or Bangledesh? ,etc. Why doesn`t the GB include bros. from Africa?
  Or Asia? Or South America for that matter? Here in Japan bros. and
  sisters are leaving the org. en-mass. Up til recently, however, the
  WT had great growth here. Why? Because it was from America. I dare
  say if Bethel hdqs. was in south-east Asia the result would have
  been very different. Makes you wonder, if Jesus was really a JW why
  wasn`t he born in a more influential place like...say Rome? Which
  reminds me...what color was Jesus? Or David? Or Abraham? JWD
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  115

  Randall Watters exposed

  by StiLLinTruth in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello again friends!.

  well it was time again for me to take my weekly dose of apostate faeces and see what it tastes like.

  decided to check out randy watters this time (we all love him here) and his little testimony on freeminds.org, titled "what happened at bethel in 1980?

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  JWD

  Still In the...
  Reading your little piece blasting Randall Watters, by the way, ever
  met the guy. I have... Anyway, your writing gave me falshbacks of a
  one-year novice who I talked to here in Japan. I sat and opened up the
  Bible while he thumbed through the `Reasoning` book spouting Bible
  verses and telling me many of the same things you wrote about. It`s
  amazing how even here in a foreign country the robotic speech patterns
  and utter dependance on WT literature is identical to the States. Anyway, after I finished talking to this guy he mailed me a letter
  (by special delivery since Armageddon is just around the corner and he needed to hurry. That was 9 years ago...) In the letter he warned
  me about the danger of knowing so much Scripture and yet not being in
  the `TRUTH`. He encouraged me to repent and come to the WT for salvation (Much like Noah`s ark...). Since then I`ve continued to read my Bible, have a happy marriage and three well adjusted children. The brother who sent me a letter,sounding very similar to
  your rantings,has been married and divorced, become a marginal alcholholic and had an emotional breakdown. I can see the TRUTH did
  wonders for his life. How is your personal life going...? JWD
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  14

  Strewth Sheila, It's OK To Have A Grope Ain't It?

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can someone please tell me exactly what constitutes a df'ing offence?.

  i recently read a post where someone said that they were df'd for committing "adultery in the heart", someone else for gambling, someone else for smoking etc etc.

  it's all very puzzling, back in the 60's the wtbts had a down on "petting and necking" but it wasn't df'able.

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  JWD

  It`s probably the same letter as was refered to earlier, but here in
  Japan a recent letter to the elders stated that masturbating while
  looking at pornography ON THE INTERNET was a DFing offence. Here in
  Japan porn is a real problem with many of the bros. and has been
  available in many forms for many years.It is ironic therefore; that
  the recent letter specifically tied it to the internet. It smells of
  an angle to put the fear into the bros. to keep them off the internet
  altogether. Other DFing offences have included going to a protestant
  church, talking to an apostate, reading Ray Franz`s book (now out in
  Japanese), smoking etc. There is definitely a lack of consistency
  however in how people are dealt with. For example one sister was
  DFed for immorality,but only after she had met with a former JW. One
  the other hand her younger bro. smokes and is sleeping with a sister,
  but he has been left alone. He`s simply treated as a `weaker bro.`.
  Perhaps he`s not viewed as being as `dangerous` as the older sister.
  Or maybe it`s that bros. are so much in the minority that the org.
  will bend over backwards to keep them in while sisters are more dispensable. A couple people I know were DFed despite the fact that
  they sent in letters of resignation. I gues it makes the org. look
  more `RIGHT` if they do the kicking out rather than the person doing
  the leaving. JWD
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  71

  My Identity!

  by qwerty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that got you to read this!

  what country are you from?.

  i find it encouraging to see where different posters are from in the world, especially for me, if you are from the uk or europe.

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  JWD

  I`m in Japan. Have been for quite a few years.Seen alot of crazy stuff
  over here.Living in Japan and watching WT robots acting,talking and
  dressing like their American counterparts really makes them look odd.
  Some people call it `modeling`.The unconscious wholesale imitation of
  the person (or persons) which you percieve to be spiritually on a higher level than yourself. So, we have Japanese people walking around
  looking like something from off the pages of a WT magazine.Very unnatural to say the least. Aside from being unnatural, the org. has
  succeeded in breaking up lots of families. Earned a pretty bad name for themselves among the Japanese population at large. JWD
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  11

  How about some NEW dates!!

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as i`ve looked into the history of the wt society it has become glaringly obvious that one of the main reason for the growth of the.

  org.

  has been it`s fixation on the end of the world.

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  JWD

  I don`t believe the WTS has completely written off the idea of using
  dates again to give a sense of immediacy to their message.Here in Japan all thruough 1999 the mass media was buzzing with stories about
  the end of the world.The result was various books with various theories about the end coming in 1999 sold like hot cakes (Needless to
  say when 2000 rolled around you couldn`t give them away!). So obviously false prophecy SELLS BOOKS. Without some kind of unique
  teaching about Armageddon which has some appeal to new people,the
  WTS really has nothing to offer that sets it apart from other religions. All of it`s other `so-called` unique teachings can be
  found in any number of other religions.Those who have been inside
  for a few years know all too well that it isn`t `God`s CLEAN organization` and the `love shower` turns cold after a while,so
  what`s left? What can the org. put forth as the irrefutable evidence
  of being God`s sole channel of Truth? Doesn`t the very name Watchtower
  have to do with fortelling the coming judgement. One brother refered
  to the NOV.1995 WT article about the NEW LIGHT on the meaning of the
  word `Generation`. The amazing thing was that the `experts` who were
  quoted in order to support the orgs. new light were all protestant
  scholars.On top of that the month before when the article came out
  and pushed the dividing of the sheep and the goats to the future it
  brought the WT teaching in line with Christendom!! Why should the
  NEW LIGHT bring the teaching back in line with Babylon!!? It seems the
  more changes which are made to a more `balanced view`,the more the
  org. just proves that it`s NOT God`s channel for anything. JWD
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  11

  How about some NEW dates!!

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as i`ve looked into the history of the wt society it has become glaringly obvious that one of the main reason for the growth of the.

  org.

  has been it`s fixation on the end of the world.

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  JWD

  To Prisca:
  The fact of the matter is that for the first 50 years the WT made a
  huge deal out of the 1874 date. Yet, when they dropped it nobody seemed to say `boo..` No doubt dropping 1914 would have a huge impact
  on the older JWs, but most of them wouldn`t quit anyway.The org. is
  their life, their entire families are in, it`s beyond religion for
  them, it`s more like `culture`.People don`t throw away their culture
  just because they don`t like everything about it. Besides the future
  of the WT lies in how many NEW people they can get in.The old ones
  don`t peddle the literature as much as new excited believers would.
  As far as dropping the use of dates altogether... the org. has made
  many statements in the past about `getting wiser and not setting dates` and then they go right back and do it again. The fact of the
  matter is without some supposed `inside track` on special knowledge
  about when the end is coming, the WT is just another small religion
  with some quirky teachings about blood,etc.As suicidal as setting new
  dates seems to appear, it is really the only way the org. can ever
  regain some serious growth. Without growth it will wither and die.
  JWD
• 
  11

  How about some NEW dates!!

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as i`ve looked into the history of the wt society it has become glaringly obvious that one of the main reason for the growth of the.

  org.

  has been it`s fixation on the end of the world.

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  JWD

  No doubt reason cries out against new dates. Reason,however, has never
  seemed to be high on the list of motivational forces driving the WT.
  It seems the the factors influencing most decisions are #1-Growth,
  #2-Finances, #3-Legal matters (Not necessarily in that order). As the
  years go by and the older members leave and/or die off, I would not be
  surprised to see the org. going back to the tried and true method of
  some form of date setting to give a sense of urgency for their message. Without Armageddon the WT has no way of convincing people to
  throw away their futures and labor without pay to expand the WT kingdom. JWD