The reason for dropping the food service was the Swaggart tax thing. If they charge fixed rate for food items, they have to collect, and pay, tax. Tax=disclosure of profits=public access to said profit statements=hard questions from r&f and detractors. Better to liquidate that little business than open the books to public scrutiny. There are after all many other ways to fleece the sheep...
While I'm sure donations were really adequate to cover costs, the Crooklyn Codgers prefer their profit pure and plentiful and, where possible, secret from you and me.
I recall one excruciating assembly from when my kids were wee little ones. I was exhausted by Sunday afternoon, and was sitting there yawning my head off, yawn-tears streaming down my face. A sis from our congregation turned to me,saw me wiping my face yet again, and said, 'I get sad whenever the conventions end, too. It's all right.'
!!!
I was appalled that she mistook my extreme boredom for weeping over the end of the program! I did NOT disabuse her tender notions, tho. Anyone that clueless needs to remain in blissful ignorance.
the new testament states that a warrant was issued for the arrest of jesus and that judas was the man that turned him in.. this warrant would have carried a description of the man that called himself the king of the jews, however this description did not find it's way into the bible.. this seem's a bit odd in particular since after all it would be interesting to know what the messiah really looked like.. i mean, think about it, if you had the chance to record the events of a man of such importance would you not include a description of his image?.
the appearance of jesus has been a subject of disscusion amongst many jw's (and other christians aswell i'm sure) and i remember many such occassions when the topic was being discussed and needles to say the opinions on this matter differed greatly.. the one opinion however that usually prevailed was that of a strong well built man, after all he was a carpenter etc.... as i said there is no such description in the bible, however, it was reported by josephus in his "capture of jerusalem".. now, i don't know whether this report is a genuine one or not, maybe jh can throw some light on that, but a copy of josephus description has survived in slavonic texts and it paints a picture quite at odds with the image many people have painted for themselves:.
'...a man of simple appearance, mature age, dark skin, small stature, three cubits high, hunchbacked with a long face, long nose, and meeting eyebrows, so that they who see him might be affrighted, with scanty hair with a parting in the middle of his head, after the manner of the nazarites, and with an undeveloped beard.'.
"I have read about many other religions both new and old and have yet to find anything that has as much authenticity or applicability as does biblical teaching and the teaching of Christ."
Really? Perhaps you need to actually read some of the sacred texts rather than commentaries 'about many other religions.'I find the Tao much clearer and simpler.
The salient points Jesus made, the genuine baseline moral precepts, are found in every religion. Jesus added a lot of stuff about swords and families divided and other unsavory stuff, IMO. Then there is the indisputable fact that most of the Jesus story is blatantly plagiarized from Mithraism and other even older religions (virgin birth, resurrection miracles, etc.)
I find the Bible the least attractive package of guidelines available. The 'teachings' of Jesus are forever lost to us; all we have is third-and-fourth-hand accounts of what he said and did, and most of that is certainly not trustworthy enough to build a life upon.
the new testament states that a warrant was issued for the arrest of jesus and that judas was the man that turned him in.. this warrant would have carried a description of the man that called himself the king of the jews, however this description did not find it's way into the bible.. this seem's a bit odd in particular since after all it would be interesting to know what the messiah really looked like.. i mean, think about it, if you had the chance to record the events of a man of such importance would you not include a description of his image?.
the appearance of jesus has been a subject of disscusion amongst many jw's (and other christians aswell i'm sure) and i remember many such occassions when the topic was being discussed and needles to say the opinions on this matter differed greatly.. the one opinion however that usually prevailed was that of a strong well built man, after all he was a carpenter etc.... as i said there is no such description in the bible, however, it was reported by josephus in his "capture of jerusalem".. now, i don't know whether this report is a genuine one or not, maybe jh can throw some light on that, but a copy of josephus description has survived in slavonic texts and it paints a picture quite at odds with the image many people have painted for themselves:.
'...a man of simple appearance, mature age, dark skin, small stature, three cubits high, hunchbacked with a long face, long nose, and meeting eyebrows, so that they who see him might be affrighted, with scanty hair with a parting in the middle of his head, after the manner of the nazarites, and with an undeveloped beard.'.
That sounds about right really. People WERE smaller then. In the Cleveland Art Museum they have a medievel suit of armor for horse and man. A 5-foot-tall female would be hard pressed to fit into it. The total weight of the armor was over 200 pounds! Imagine a man 4'6" carrying a load that big into battle!
It doesn't detract from his accomplishments if he was short. Everyone else was probably pretty short then, too.
Besides, Mom always said it ain't what you got, it's how you use it...
has anyone on this board ever experienced contact with demons?.
i have heard demons talked about for years, however i have never known anyone that has had any real experiences with them, i have only heard storys.. .
With all due respect, how do you know she wasn't? Whether consciously or not, she could very well have been the source of the voices. Who ever tested her medically or tried to discern the reason for the occurrences?
It's just easier to say, 'oh, yes, see, DEEMINZ!' and shudder.
in one of the threads i read today, they were talking about looking into your eyeballs to diagnose cancer and the like.
also selling herbs.. my comment and question is this: it seemed like in my congregation and the surrounding ones, alot of the sisters were into kineseology, reflexology, herbs, vitamins, color therapy, aroma therapy, etc.. alot of touchy feely hippie crap.
while i personally agree that there needs to be more synergy with eastern and western medicines, it would appear reading the boards that alot of witnesses are into this sort of stuff.. is this your experience?
You Don't KNow Dick said, "Hey, she don't call herself Mommie Dark for no good reason. / You Know"
Of course you Jehoobersuckers like to pretend there is some demonic evil reason for the name, because you always speak out of your slime-filled fearful hearts.
She calls herself Mommie Dark, you horse's ass, because she married Papa Dark.
if I had experienced those things my first stop would be my doctor, to rule out brain tumor, night terrors, or other physical causes. My next step would be to get a videocam and record every minute of my sleeptime. What I would never do is consult some witch doctor in disguise of an elder or other religiopsycho. They just feed the fear without offering any actual assistance besides petitioning some skydaddy and blaming the victim. I would definitely consult a sleep expert and probably get a trusted friend or neutral adviser to observe my 'prime time' of experience.
What I would NOT do is whinge about deeminz and reject any advice that didn't agree with my established religioprejudices.
You know NOTHING about my experience or what tunes I can sing. You obviously don't want help reviewing the alternatives, you want someone to validate your theory that associating with JWs led you to demonic attack. If this fantasy comforts you or you need that fantasy to feel important to God, why bother to ask for others' opinions?
