InterestedOne

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Posts by InterestedOne

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  19

  Are elders ordained ministers?

  by love11 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs
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  InterestedOne

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZFgT1OkO2M
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  65

  Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

  by d0rkyd00d in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there are two videos recently that caught my attention on youtube that i'd like to discuss.

  both are posted below.

  my next post under this topic will deal with the specifics, but please watch first so as not to be tainted by my commentary.

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  InterestedOne

  When I was in college in the early 1990's, my residence hall organized a panel of representatives from various religions. The Christian panelist said "Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with Jesus." At the time, since I was immersed in Christianity myself, I knew what he meant, but somewhere deep down, something seemed wrong with the distinction he was making.

  The way I see it now, if a person believes in, worships, prays to, and/or has conversations with a deity, that person is practicing a religion. In the case of Christians, their deity is called Christ. If a Christian says he/she is not practicing a religion, he/she is simply incorrect.

  Pointing out the aspects of other religions with which you disagree, including religions that carry the Christian label, does nothing to support the idea that your version of the Christian religion is not actually a religion. Your version is still a religion.
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  66

  3/15 WT- " Forget the Good Times you had Prior to being JW - Can't .........

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .......... trust your mind !

  " yes, they actually said this in a wt study article entitled, " do not look at the things behind " .

  i swear the wt society writers and leaders are getting even more controlling and manipulative !

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  InterestedOne

  Here's another thought on the relationship between this article and Steven Hassan. I do think the writers know about and are targetting a basic idea Hassan presents in his advice on helping cult members to wake up: namely, accessing the pre-cult personality. The article sows uncertainty and doubt in the mind of the cult member for the occasion(s) when he/she might tap into the pre-cult personality. The article looks to me like a preemptive measure - the WT's own attempt to combat the combatting of cult mind control.
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  49

  Another day, another apostate. Here's my story.

  by I Want to Believe in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  been lurking for a bit, and feel safe enough now to tell my story (condensed).. i'm a third-generation born-in, but my parents were inactive for most of my upbringing.

  this means i got the worst of both worlds--no worldly friends (home schooled all but grades 2-3), no witness friends (since we never went to the hall except for memorial), and a generally isolated upbringing in a tiny, tiny town.

  needless to say, my emotional, social, and personal growth were stunted.

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  InterestedOne

  Hi I Want to Believe - Welcome. If you haven't already, go to youtube and type "Pascal's wager" in the search box and watch the various videos that pop up.
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  19

  Wish I didnt know....Part 1 My Story

  by Wishididntknow in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  [if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> </w:worddocument> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:latentstyles> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 10]> <mce:style><!

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  InterestedOne

  Thanks for sharing Wishididntknow. I'm curious to hear what happened next.
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  9

  Atheist Quote of the day

  by whereami in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  christians have put up with a theory of salvation that has at its core the idea that god requires the sacrifice of his own son so that human sin can be cancelled.

  'there was no other good enough to pay the price of sin,' we will all sing.

  the fact this is a disgusting idea, and morally degenerate, is obvious to all but those indoctrinated into a very narrow reading of the cross.. giles fraser.

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  InterestedOne

  . . . at its core the idea that God requires the sacrifice of his own son.

  This sure makes Christianity look like a cult of human sacrifice.
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  35

  Is it possible to be friends with a devout Jehovah's Witness?

  by losthobbit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just wondering if it's possible for a non-religious person like me to be friends with a devout jehovah's witness.

  as i understand they don't like to mix with us lower life forms.

  any thoughts?.

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  InterestedOne

  My JW acquaintance occasionally refers to her worldly acquaintances as "friends," but she refers to her fellow JW's as "best friends." She will say, "I'm going to visit some of my best friends," or "I'm having some of my best friends over." What she really means is that she's going to a JW gathering.
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  206

  i am a regular pioneer in my cong reading crisis of conscience.here goes...

  by MsGrowingGirl20 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm on page 90 right now...the info is definitely new and gives me a totally diff view as to how i used to think of faithful and discreet slave.

  i was thoroughly disgusted with the way the brothers handled the oral sex and leadership problem and the insight on the scriptures book...... still have alot of questions though.

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  InterestedOne

  MsGrowingGirl20 - I think many of those who remain see it kind of like this: Although they realize the WT/JW's are not god's organization, they do not believe any other organization is god's organization either. Since they don't see any point in rocking the boat with family and friends, who may not be ready to handle the truth, they stick around so they can at least talk with their loved ones.

  Regarding their personal beliefs about the existence or nature of god, history of religion, etc., plenty of people who remain just privately study these topics and are in the process of learning, as any healthy person is. They are no longer locked into having to believe the exact theological position espoused by the GB/WT. They are mentally free to examine the topic however they wish. Unfortunately, they just can't talk about it with their JW loved ones for fear of being shunned.
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  4

  some help please....

  by lavendar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i would like to email some (hopefully) "eye-opening" information to my jw family member....and i would like to do this anonymously.

  i have opened another generic email account.

  1) can emails somehow be traced back to the sender??.

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  InterestedOne

  Black Sheep, the link didn't seem to work. I'll try posting it again here:

  Cut from the same cloth
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  62

  Bizarre statement in April 2012 Awake

  by dozy in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as books go, it is tiny, but it is immeasurably great in its essence.

  it can be carried in ones pocket,but if it were found in a library of 90,000 different books, it would probably turn out to be the most important one of them all.. wow a strong endorsement of the bible?

  er no this is the wtbts we are talking about here.

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  InterestedOne

  Maybe I'm missing something, but based on NRFG's link, I don't think we know who said it.