the watchtower ?
july 15, 2011 (p17).
10 pauls warning about false stories is part of his first letter to timothy, a christian overseer who was charged with preserving the purity of the congregation and helping fellow believers to remain faithful.
Hahahaha! All that work and he could have just took a torch to the fields himself. Nope, he wasn't too bright, poor Samson.
Is there another culture's story that's similar to this? Where does this stuff come from? I think some ganja was involved. "Dude! You know what would be awesome? Best way to make popcorn ever!"
socrates is my hero and has been ever since i re-claimed my mind when i left the wt cult.
when i read the socrates dialogues which were compiled by plato, i found my purpose in my life.. the greek political cult killed socrates because he called them on their bullshit.
he was likely the most brilliant mind of his age (or any age), but they killed him for a very obvious reason: he didn't agree with the people in power and he was much smarter than the people in power.. he knew stuff that the people in power didn't want to hear.. i know stuff that the people in the wts don't want to hear.. socrates was an incredible genius.. i'm just a hack by comparison, but i may be just as dangerous as he, but in a smaller context.
You can do both Farkel. The internet is a pretty powerful tool, maybe you can use it for the good you want to do while you're in Hawaii. Depends on what you have in mind though.
What's your favorite thing in Hawaii? I've never been.
i had one of the most vivid nightmares that i can remember in a long time.
there i was driving with my family.
they are dressed in their sunday finest.
I have dreams where I'm visiting somewhere on vacation and my family's there along with several old friends and they ignore me, or they doing something that's going to hurt them but they won't listen. Or I'm watching one of them do something horrible but no one else will believe me. They're mostly just frustrating; the whole I wish I could tell them what I know but they wouldn't even hear me if I could tell them.
I've never had a dream where I went back, or even about a meeting or convention. Interesting you were in flip flops. Why do you think that was? About like being nude, especially at a convention.
edited
the watchtower ?
july 15, 2011 (p17).
10 pauls warning about false stories is part of his first letter to timothy, a christian overseer who was charged with preserving the purity of the congregation and helping fellow believers to remain faithful.
If the wt says something it is 100% true and from God.
Until it's not true anymore.
Their own writings have had as much "superstition and absurd tales of magic and sorcery presented as truth" as the Bible has. And I'm not even thinking of prophecy.
we used to be friends.
hes to much of a hypocrite for me to be around anymore.
he hates that i left but its ok for him to use illegal drugs before he gives talks.
I think I'd lose my mind sitting thru a meeting on coke. That's some kind of hell!
how come we cant eat animals in the new world?
where does it say that in the bible?
what about animals that die of natural causes or accidentally.
how the WTS came to the conclusion that it will be a meatless system
I don't see where that is backed up by bible scripture, unless I missed somethin'
It's something about how Noah didn't have permission to eat meat until after the Flood; also why the dinos were really all herbivores. Everything returns to how it was in Eden, God's original plan, before naughty Eve. I think lions will have a hard time chewing grass with the teeth they've got. Ditto for crocodiles and alligators. Picture that, lol!
Dumb, dumb, dumb! Seriously, how did we all buy this bs?
He said when he got in the white house he made it the #1 priority to capture/kill Osama. Hasn't that been the #1 priority since 911?
Um no. Last president stated it was not his priority, in 2002 even. Google it.
I thought the speech was great too. This is what I heard. Heehee! (Please excuse the language.)
thoughout my life i have seen many take the walk of shame that is disfellowshipping.
i have never been df'ed, but i have had many experiences reading the faces of newly df'ed ones.. their faces are always the same.
defeated by a foe that they never had a chance with in the beggining; a raping so-to-speak.
Our experiences have been different then. The experience that I had made me never want to return. I can't really fault them for it though, they're doing what they're told God wants them to do, it's perfectly acceptable in their minds. It was the end of the world for me, I was dead to God, dead to my family, I would be destroyed at Armageddon. But if my experience had been more like yours, or even if an elder had stopped by to check on me in the previous years I'd been out, maybe I would have tried to get reinstated, even just to have my family back.
My parents are good Witnesses. They did everything they were told to do. I was baptized at 12 and my sister at 8. I was a regular pioneer at 13. It didn't turn out well for either of us. It's not that I'm a bad person or even love "wickedness". I just don't like being deceived, controlled, blackmailed, or guilted into something. If something's true, there's no need for any of that. I don't think God would operate that way either.
thoughout my life i have seen many take the walk of shame that is disfellowshipping.
i have never been df'ed, but i have had many experiences reading the faces of newly df'ed ones.. their faces are always the same.
defeated by a foe that they never had a chance with in the beggining; a raping so-to-speak.
Have you been disfellowshipped, superspook? And if so, did your family and friends shun you?
i was thinking about what the elders are trained to do versus what i personally would do if a minor confided in me that someone was molesting him/her.
i'm not sure what the ethically correct first response should be.
my first thought is to contact some kind of law enforcement that specializes in investigating situations like this with people experienced in getting to the truth of the matter.
What's wrong with you? You confusing two things. I wrote that "criminal offenses be reported to the authorities," and that "theocratic" investigations do not mitigate the legal obligation to report all suspected cases of child molestation." I didn't say our theocratic investigations into such matters mitigate our duty to report such crimes, did I? It is you that is putting these words into my mouth, words that I did not say.
As Chapter 12 of this textbook makes clear, child abuse is a crime, and so, in addition to contacting the branch, elders would make clear that it is the absolute right of the victim, and this would include his or her parents or guardians, to report such to the proper authorities since child abuse, sexual or otherwise, is a crime.
This is the key though. Which happens first? Does an elder report the alleged crime or does he call the branch? See jgnat's post. I'd like to see what you have to say about that.
It is the victim's responsibility to contact the authorities about the alleged crime, not the elders' responsibility to do so, but if one of the elders is requested by the victim to report the alleged crime to the authorities -- and by this I don't necessarily mean the child, but the parents or guardians of the child -- then the elder is free to oblige.
Whose responsibility does it become when the victim confides in someone else? If the victim doesn't ask an elder to report the crime, is he not obligated to report ethically or legally, depending on the state? Would it not be in the best interests of the victim, in most cases, to report the crime even if they don't ask the elder to report so the victim can be protected from the perpetrator and receive appropriate care and potentially stop the perpetrator from molesting more victims?
BTW, we do not require a second witness to the alleged offense for it will suffice to have the "second witness" be the victim of the same offense allegedly by the same individual.
What does that even mean? My reading comprehension is failing me again. Does that mean if it happens again to the same victim then the victim will be believed or if it happens to another child?
Whatever we cannot do on our own, our God has the power to undo whatever harm should beset them, including the outing of anyone in our ranks that should prove to be a counterfeit Christian (like yourself).
This is the exact attitude that harms your children (and by your children I mean all Witness children). God will fix it. How long was it until Anthony Burns was punished for his crimes, how many kids did George Cockerill and Michael Porter molest and for how long before they were outed? Why did it take God so long to out these "counterfeit Christians"?
