Oh yeah, they restrict the WT "study edition" as well. That is an internal version of the WT mag, not the same as the colorful, softer version they hand out to the public. If you ask for the "study edition," they might hesitate to give it to you.
InterestedOne
JoinedPosts by InterestedOne
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37
What is "the Kingdom"?
by Darth Eowyn ini have been lurking for a couple of months and decided to join because i wanted to get further information.. i am not a jw, ex jw, or even considering becoming a jw.
i am a fairly devout, practicing catholic.
two weeks ago, a couple of jw publishers stopped by to discuss their schtick.
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37
What is "the Kingdom"?
by Darth Eowyn ini have been lurking for a couple of months and decided to join because i wanted to get further information.. i am not a jw, ex jw, or even considering becoming a jw.
i am a fairly devout, practicing catholic.
two weeks ago, a couple of jw publishers stopped by to discuss their schtick.
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InterestedOne
Darth Eowyn - I think this will be an interesting discussion, and I look forward to hearing how it plays out. From what I've learned so far, JW's claim to be what the Catholics claim to be. The JW's think the Catholics are a false version of the real church. They think the real church existed all along but was kept underground by the domineering false Catholic church. It was only in the late 1800's with C.T. Russell that God started to bring out the real church to greater public awareness. Their recent video "Out of Darkness" conveys this general impression.
I agree with James Woods that the JW's are using mind control. They will use the same kinds of semantics in their explanations that you used in your "veneration" vs. "worship" explanation. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I am saying they will get very slippery with their language and definitions of words. I like the idea of an open examination of the history of Christianity and how it fits into history overall. I've noticed the JW's are very guarded about any historical commentary other than what is approved by the WT. Their "Proclaimers" book is terribly revisionist. I don't have too much experience with Catholic commentary on history, but I have to admit I have noticed some Catholic material that looks kind of revisionist or propagandistic like the JW material.
I recommend you get ahold of their internal books. Notice the "Bible Teach" book refers to "Reasoning From the Scriptures" and "Insight on the Scriptures." These are the main "research" tools they use to find canned responses to your doctrinal questions. They also have the WT Library CD (which for some reason they don't give out) which has these books plus many others as well as all the WT & Awake mags going back to around the '60s. However, the CD does not have two very important books. These are "Organized to Do Jehovah's Will" and "Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education." If you ask for these, they will probably refuse. They might say you're not "ready." If you get a chance to read these restricted books, you will better understand what they are trying to accomplish by doing this "Bible" study with you. Hint: they are not interested in dialogue.
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48
Elder said people "rarely" die from refusing a blood transfusion
by InterestedOne ini sat in on the "know your options" reading tonight, and the elder said a couple things i was wondering about:.
1. he said if a doctor says you have a high risk of dying if you refuse a blood transfusion, he is misleading you.
he said people "rarely" die from refusing a blood transfusion.
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InterestedOne
OMG. Scully, I just read that "answerbag." Thank you. I had no idea.
TD, thank you for those references to studies of JW's. I would like to see an update to the 1988 study.
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48
Elder said people "rarely" die from refusing a blood transfusion
by InterestedOne ini sat in on the "know your options" reading tonight, and the elder said a couple things i was wondering about:.
1. he said if a doctor says you have a high risk of dying if you refuse a blood transfusion, he is misleading you.
he said people "rarely" die from refusing a blood transfusion.
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InterestedOne
I sat in on the "Know Your Options" reading tonight, and the elder said a couple things I was wondering about:
1. He said if a doctor says you have a high risk of dying if you refuse a blood transfusion, he is misleading you. He said people "rarely" die from refusing a blood transfusion. Is there a statistic to confirm or refute that statement? Or, could the number of people that actually refuse blood transfusions be too low to get a good statistic Within the set of people who refuse blood transfusions, what is the percentage of them who die from their refusal?
2. The elder asked the congregation what are some things that "usually" happen when you take a blood transfusion. People responded with things such as hepatitis, infection, or your body rejecting the blood, and he approved of their responses. Do these complications happen frequently enough to say they "usually" happen?
I guessing #2 is probably the more inaccurate of his two statements, so I'm mainly interested in #1.
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Simple explanation why "Anointed" # going up (from the CO)
by InterestedOne ini asked the co, if the heavenly calling was closed in 1935, why is the number of anointed going up?
he simply said that the society no longer says when the heavenly calling was closed.
have they discarded the 1935 teaching?
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InterestedOne
I asked the CO, if the heavenly calling was closed in 1935, why is the number of anointed going up? He simply said that the society no longer says when the heavenly calling was closed. Is that it? Have they discarded the 1935 teaching? Did they officially discard it in any article?
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CO will sit in on my "study" this week: any suggestions?
by InterestedOne inin my "study" with jw's, we're in ch 7 of the "bible teach" book.
we did pars 17-20 last week.
this week, the co is in town, and my conductor is having him sit in.
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InterestedOne
boyzone - thank you :)
moshe - I asked the CO a couple of questions:
Q: If the heavenly calling was closed in 1935, why is the number going up?
A: The society no longer says what date the heavenly calling closed.
Q: Is there any individual who claims to be of the FDS?
A: His answer was confusing, and I'd like to post it on a separate thread.
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Posting recorded conversations or transcripts on the internet
by InterestedOne ingiven the weird dynamic of conversations with jw's, sometimes you only get the effect of it if you hear a recording of it.
i was wondering if it's illegal to post recorded conversations with them on the internet without their permission.
what about posting a typed-out transcript as long as the speakers are not identified?
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InterestedOne
Given the weird dynamic of conversations with JW's, sometimes you only get the effect of it if you hear a recording of it. I was wondering if it's illegal to post recorded conversations with them on the internet without their permission. What about posting a typed-out transcript as long as the speakers are not identified? Is that allowed?
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Do non-JW's who die after 1914 get resurrected?
by InterestedOne ini read something that indicates the wts believes that all those who lived & died after 1914 will not be resurrected.
supposedly they believe everyone has had an opportunity to hear the wt message.
is this really a wt belief?
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InterestedOne
I read something that indicates the WTS believes that all those who lived & died after 1914 will not be resurrected. Supposedly they believe everyone has had an opportunity to hear the WT message. Is this really a WT belief? Are there any articles that say this? If so, it would seem to contradict the idea of "real hope for loved ones who have died." I'm confused. What do JW's believe about non-JW's who have died after 1914 but before Armageddon? Here is where I read it:
"Response to 'What Does the Bible Really Teach'" by Wilbur Lingle on page 72.
http://www.archive.org/details/ResponseToWhatDoesTheBibleReallyTeach
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CO will sit in on my "study" this week: any suggestions?
by InterestedOne inin my "study" with jw's, we're in ch 7 of the "bible teach" book.
we did pars 17-20 last week.
this week, the co is in town, and my conductor is having him sit in.
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InterestedOne
If your study is terminated, they won't think it's because the org's answers weren't satisfactory, it'll be because you weren't "honest-hearted" enough to believe in them.
I know. It's messed up. I only typed that with some glimmer of hope that the conductor or my friend might have a moment of clarity.
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Abusive Relationships & Cults: Any Book Recommendations?
by InterestedOne incan anyone recommend some good books on abusive relationships and how they relate to people joining cults?
i have heard of steven hassan in the cult area, but what about the abusive relationship aspect?.
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InterestedOne
Can anyone recommend some good books on abusive relationships and how they relate to people joining cults? I have heard of Steven Hassan in the cult area, but what about the abusive relationship aspect?