YHVH, or at least those letters are as close to the Hebrews letters we can get in our letters. It shows up a lot, it just was never intended to be pronounced, except by the high priest in the inner temple. We know how practically everything else was pronounced because the ORAL tradition carried it down until someone had the sense to start using vowels. In my limited Hebrew training, I can see from those four letters, if other Hebrew pronunciation rules apply, there are probably TWO syllables. My rabbi told me that scholars of Hebrew and the Jewish bible consider the pronunciation "jehovah" to be a comical, farsical rendition. Kind of like some posters here use the phrase "paradise erf" (I love that one) or "jehoober" (another funny one). Some scholars say that because when YHVH appears in prayers it is uttered "adonai" that the vowel sounds in "adonai" were what was used for the vowels in Jehovah (not quite, from my view), by whomever began using that pronunciation (not the Jewish scholars, that's for sure). For me, I find it that name, or any singular name, too limiting to address all that is encomassed by the notion of a singular, all powerful, sovereign of the universe. I have always wondered why JWs don't wear little gold engravings of the tetragrammaton on necklaces. My mom used to have a little window decal of it that she put in our car window. Shoshana
La Capra
JoinedPosts by La Capra
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81
JEHOVAH
by minimus inwe all know that we do not know the correct pronunciation of the name of god.
over 6000 times, the tetragrammaton is mentioned in the ot.
yet for some reason, most bibles do not use the name jehovah or yahweh but a few times.
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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
by copsec inanyone live there or been there?
is it great?
i am going for a week in february for a little r & r and really looking forward to it.
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La Capra
Don Eduardo tequila is even better. In Mexico, the cabs are really cheap, but ask for the fare in advance, before getting in. And tip the cab drivers. Renting a car there is so expensive, and the cabs so cheap, that this is the way to go. Sign up for some professional tours of the area (they let you drink on the bus), for campy entertainment. I was in the area in 1991 (Zihuataneju) and Cabo in 96. I'm off to Oaxaca next month. The most important thing to remember is to find a cantina that makes good margaritas, chips and salsa, and spend a few hours there every afternoon "resting", visiting with your companions and getting out of the sun. Chill. Shoshana
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Should the JW congregation keep a wriiten record of sins commited ?
by fearnotruth22 inany jw that has been disciplined by a judicial comiitee has the particulars of the sin he has been didsiplined for in a file kept by the elders inside a file cabinet containing other such records in that little room in the back .
that information is aceesible to elders with the key to the file cabinet.
years may go by but the file remains, even when a jw dies the file remains until elders wish to throw it out.
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La Capra
I guess I never knew about this envelope in the file thing. When I read about these things that I know I was oblivious to growing up, it fits in with all my emotional injuries and struggles I still wage war on daily. My inability to forgive myself and let go of my past mistakes could very possibly come directly from the emotional culture that requires such permanent records of mistakes. No wonder I never believed that Jesus really died for our sins...Shoshana
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Marking.
by Englishman ini've heard the expression a few times here but have normally not taken much notice.
i've been exited for 31 years and 4 months, well before the onset of elders, reproofs and marking.. i understand the first 2 but am all at sea about the the third.
someone please tell me exactly what "marking" is and how one becomes marked or a marker.. or markee!
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La Capra
In the context of the high control group, marking is a delightful little invention. When the folks cannot get enough dirt on someone they don't want around, they begin to "mark" someone, even if they cannot put their finger on why they're disliked. And thus, the cycle has begun. This person (can even be a five year old child) now never gets invited to social events, and if she invites others to socialize, the invitation is declined. This practice has basically three results. The first is that the person conforms their personality (even subconsciously) to fit into the "group." This person lives on constant guard of their true self, and in fear that she "will be discovered" for her real self. This is what the cult wants: Robotron conduct thinly veiling utter fear of rejection. Second, the person just withdraws into seclusion and depression. The cult does not mind this, because it is an example to everyone else what happens if you aren't exactly like everyone else-you are doomed to a life of loneliness and rejection. And thirdly, most commonly, the marked person seeks out other social release, which has to be "worldly". By doing this, the "marked" individual acts out a self-fulfilling prophecy: Dubs won't hang out with me, so I hang out with "worldlies" which makes the dubs not hang out with me....Everyone has to belong somewhere, it is part of the human condition, even biology (as some recent psychological studies have tentatively shown). The way that high control groups effectuate control through this need is fascinating. Sad for me, though. I was a victim, and my mom was too, since she let me hang out with "worldly kids" because there were no dubs in our neighborhood.
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Those scary apostates outside conventions with banners and megaphones...
by dolphman inremember those people?
my mom would tell me to not even look at them.
they had bullhorns, banners, waving at us as we walked in.
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La Capra
At the Cow Palace in San Francisco, there were always a few at the entrance gates. However, after driving through the streets of San Francisco, seeing them was a lot less bizarre than many of other sights we had just experienced. I always thought they must certainly be really convinced of what they were trying to tell us to be just a few, making noodles of themselves, in front of thousands of people whose convictions were so diametrically opposed and equally strong. Shoshana
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Request for song number
by Ron1968 inwould anyone know from the october kingdom ministry which is the first song played for the week of 10/27/03?
i am trying to help someone gain access to a jw site.. thanks!.
ron
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La Capra
Sorry to be fussy, but how much more difficult is it to say "64" (it's the last post on that link, Ron) than to set up the link? Just wondering, Shoshana.
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What did you day dream about at assemblies?
by lastcall inas a kid i would try to pay attention, but i just couldn't hang in there.
if i didn't day dream i was going to go insane.. i used to create scenarios in my mind that i was a jw super hero.
i had a special costume that was partially made of "flubber" that would allow me to bounce all over the auditorium.
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La Capra
I used to daydream through most meetings and assemblies. I had several alternative realities that I would slip into, running movies of the plots I made up in my head. Then I would outline them. I worked out some pretty clever plots, that I ended up throwing away because they were mixed in with my assembly notes, and I did a purge when I disassociated. I regret that part now, because while I can remember the gist of each of my alternate realities (I had 6), and a number of the plot lines, I can't remember how most them played out. I still think a few had screen play potential, but I can't recapture the details of how I developed the stories. When my mom would notice that I wasn't actually taking notes, she would make me put away my notebook. Then I would daydream about guys, sex, and was quite gifted at "fully realizing my fantasies" by crossing and recrossing my legs at just the right time in my daydreams. I wish I could have been doing something more productive with my time, now. All those days wasted. I calculated that I spent about 245 24-hour days in kingdom halls, at assemblies, conventions, memorials, and special talks in my life. Ackk! Shoshana
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How many people did you personally bring into the truth?
by yxl1 inare they still witnesses?
do you feel personally responsible?
have you made any attempt to correct their/your mistake?.
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La Capra
I still feel guilty about talking the boy who wanted to date me in high school into becoming one. After taking myself out, he's still in. He ended up marrying the mother of one of our classmates-clearly his issues were more complex than I as a 17 year old could fully comprehend. I feel the obligation to get one out for the one who's in at my fault. One day the opportunity will present itself. Shoshana
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My dub mom wants to remarry
by unbeliever inbefore she can though she needs my dad to admit to adultary.
they've been divorced for years but he has never remarried and has no plans too.. she says she's in love with a widowed brother but before they go any further she wants to be scriptually free.
she called my dad and asked him if he would help her out and he laughed and hung up the phone.
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La Capra
No disrespect to your mother, but, if this elder is a widower, he literally has his pick of hundreds of available, and scripturally free women in his circuit. Is it possible that your mother was selected as his "companion" for the very reason that she was NOT free? That way, there is a limit to the commitment he would have to make to her. Nothing was mentioned that the widower is seeking verifacation of her freedom, but your mother is. He can string her along, get her to do everything for him (like a good wannabe elderette would do, even possibly giving up a little something), but still be able to have peace and solitude whenever he wants it. If your mother ever gets her freedom, it's possible the "dating game" will end, because the widower will then be obliged to fish or cut bait, as they say. Just a thought, but it's something I saw with the widowers when I was a kid. The fools those single slightly post-middle aged women made of themselves. Hoo boy, just thinking of a few of them has me laughing to myself. Shoshana
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Would anybody have joined if...
by JH in.
would anybody have joined or remained in the jw's organization if they would have taught that the end was only in 100 years from now?
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La Capra
The whole allure of an apocalyptic cult is that it MUST appeal to an individual's fear of dying (or being destroyed at armageddon). To set the date out a hundred years removes most (if not all) potential converts. Think about why maintstream Christianity developed its heaven/hell doctrines (since everyone eventually dies...). When WBTS sets dates, they aren't so far off that NO ONE will be around then that is now, but still out far enough that the people that were pulled in for earlier dates won't be around, won't remember, or figured they'd wasted their lives anyway, that they go along with all the younger ones who were sucked into it all. Most people in the developed world have the opportunity to learn about WBTS pattern of random predictions gone by the way side. But all those folks in third world countries are ripe for the picking.... 100 years away? No Way Dude. Shoshana