The usual JW response I've heard is that the writers are humble, so they don't want any glory to come to their names. However, you raise a good point that even the Bible books are attributed to named individuals. Does that mean the "humble" reasoning implies the Bible writers were not humble?
InterestedOne
JoinedPosts by InterestedOne
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Why can't anyone just simply tell me who writes the watchtowers or the publications for that matter??...(please read)
by Joliette ingot into a discussion with my mom after a sister (that lives down the street from me) went back and told her some things that i said.
after me and mom got done having a deep discussion on the phone, i asked my mom a simple questions: who writes the watchtowers?
i've been going to the hall since i was three, and i have yet to have this questions answered.
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WatchtowerÂ’s Judicial System
by Marvin Shilmer inwatchtowers judicial system .
today i uploaded a new article to my blog addressing a central aspect of judicial process and how its lack in watchtowers system undermines justice and confidence, not to mention undermining the honesty of watchtowers presentation of its system.
the article is titled watchtowers judicial system and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/04/watchtowers-judicial-system.html.
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InterestedOne
leavingwt - Yeah, I was thinking about how her strict view doesn't accommodate children who get baptized. Regarding that problem, I have heard the JW's I've spoken with recently emphasize the importance of understanding what one is committing to before getting baptized, and that the congregation needs to be careful about letting children do it too young. Aside from the problem with child baptism, regarding the other part of what I mentioned, about the OD book, do you think that book plus the other information provided to baptism candidates provides full disclosure to a consenting adult?
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WatchtowerÂ’s Judicial System
by Marvin Shilmer inwatchtowers judicial system .
today i uploaded a new article to my blog addressing a central aspect of judicial process and how its lack in watchtowers system undermines justice and confidence, not to mention undermining the honesty of watchtowers presentation of its system.
the article is titled watchtowers judicial system and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/04/watchtowers-judicial-system.html.
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InterestedOne
leavingwt wrote:
Prior to being baptized, were you informed that you could be disfellowshipped for anything that three elders agree upon? If not, DECEPTION was involved in the recruiting process.
Although I haven't done a side-by-side comparison between the OD book given to baptism candidates and the confidential Shepherd book, I would guess a JW would claim that the OD book provides full disclosure to the prospective convert of what they are getting into. My JW friend is convinced that she "knew the deal" before she got baptized, and it is part of her reasoning for feeling no sympathy for those who leave the org - she sees them as people who made a commitment and broke it.
If elements of the JW org policies and procedures are in fact concealed from prospective converts, how does this compare with other denominations? Like are there elements of the Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic or other such church's policies and procedures that are confidential and not revealed until a convert finds out the hard way?
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Can We Please Stop Referring To The Simplified English Watchtower A The Dumbed Down Version
by Philadelphia Ponos ini really shouldn't have to say any of this but as someone who is in the process of learning a second language, i can tell that simple language makes things a lot clearer when you are not familiar with the language.
everyone on here started out reading simplified english while they were learning, including you native speakers.
i'm sure no one here was reading on a college level in elementary school.
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InterestedOne
Farkel - They now have two English versions. One they call "standard English," and the other they call "simplified English." They make pdf's available at www.jw.org
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Can We Please Stop Referring To The Simplified English Watchtower A The Dumbed Down Version
by Philadelphia Ponos ini really shouldn't have to say any of this but as someone who is in the process of learning a second language, i can tell that simple language makes things a lot clearer when you are not familiar with the language.
everyone on here started out reading simplified english while they were learning, including you native speakers.
i'm sure no one here was reading on a college level in elementary school.
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InterestedOne
Even before the simplified English version, I would hear JW's brag that their literature was written "on a 5th grade reading level."
Are there any other periodicals that have a special version for English language learners? Like is there a simplified English Time magazine?
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I cooked some hamburger last night & saw blood
by InterestedOne inhow do jw's deal with the fact that if you fry up a hamburger, there's some blood in it?
do they eat it anyway?.
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InterestedOne
Oh. Interesting. I didn't know that. I just assumed the red liquid in a package of ground beef was blood.
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I cooked some hamburger last night & saw blood
by InterestedOne inhow do jw's deal with the fact that if you fry up a hamburger, there's some blood in it?
do they eat it anyway?.
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InterestedOne
I see. So the idea is to get most of the blood out. It's more about the intent. This would be contrasted with deliberately using the blood for consumption in some way, or not washing a large drop of blood off.
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I cooked some hamburger last night & saw blood
by InterestedOne inhow do jw's deal with the fact that if you fry up a hamburger, there's some blood in it?
do they eat it anyway?.
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InterestedOne
How do JW's deal with the fact that if you fry up a hamburger, there's some blood in it? Do they eat it anyway?
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My Study Conductor Jumped Ship - Any Possible Explanations?
by InterestedOne inmy study conductor has informed me that he & his wife are switching to a foreign language congregation that is far away from the territory they live in (it will involve a lot of driving back & forth).
because he is switching congregations, he said he will not have the energy to devote to my study and recommended another brother who could take over, and i have met him.
however, this change happened simultaneously with a decision i have made.
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InterestedOne
Black Sheep - Thanks for that example. I didn't quite put 2 & 2 together regarding how much the literature contributes to their way of interacting with others. If you ask them a question, they're probably recalling what they've read in the literature, so I can see how they would be transferring the written tactics to real-time.
Still, I'm wondering about some of the informal phrases & tactics they use. Having seen a few random youtube videos that catch JW's in action, I've noticed certain phrases that, disturbingly, are -exactly- the same ones that my study conductor & my friend use. Two that come to mind at the moment are "Debate... we don't do that" and "you can do what you want." Even the vocal inflection was the same. Some of the dynamic tactics they use were mentioned by Mad Sweeney in another thread as follows:"They don't jump straight to lying. When you ask a question they don't want to answer they try to change the subject first. If that doesn't draw you off the scent, they will then obfuscate and answer a question that is sort of like what you asked but not exactly. It is only when you have them cornered that they will outright lie."
And I also observed that they will say "why are you asking that?" Do you think these are basic human coping mechanisms that individual JW's have figured out on their own, or are they coaching each other to act that way? Like is field service a time where those more experienced in these salesman methods teach the new ones how to do it? I'm just amazed that some random JW's caught on youtube would use the same informal phrases & vocal inflection as my study conductor, my friend, and the JW's I speak with at the hall. It's really weird.
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Alert: Witch hunt begins Watchtower 15 july 2011
by Gorbatchov inreading the posts about the 2011-7-15 watchtower about mentally retarded apostates i foresee the following scenario:.
1. congregational elders trying to get grip on non regular publishers and inactive witnesses.. 2. the good ones read in the watchtower that apostates are to find in the local congregation.
3. inactives like me (i hate this name, but i use their language), and liberal witness like me, will be hunted, .
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InterestedOne
nugget makes an interesting point. I went to my JW friend's congregation meeting on a sunday when they were going over a study article that said some particularly obnoxious things. I was really curious how my JW friend could sit there and not be disturbed by it. Well, I found out. The elder conducting the study brushed over the nasty stuff quickly and kept people's attention on the usual ideas of "do more," "love Jehovah," "we have so much love," etc. However, I think the nasty things still got into people's subconscious.