Posts by peace

35

The Real Purpose of Shunning Holidays

by metatron in

jw
friends

the watchtower endlessly prates on about pagan traditions in popular holidays - while the bible itself is loaded with subtle pagan religious ideas - such as wicked spirits being cast "into tartarus" (a pagan greek place in which the rebels against zeus got imprisoned) or "sacred secret" - a term the apostle paul likes that was adopted from pagan 'mystery' religions.. then we can throw in the reference to being divinely 'called christians' in acts - which uses a pagan term that refers to demonic oracles of the day.. of course, the watchtower has no objection to accumulating millions of pieces of paper that feature occult symbols (any dollar bill!).

in recent years, for good measure, they have added birthdays and thanksgiving to the official banned list, despite the sketchiest justification for doing so.

if birthdays are wrong simply because they figure in two negative accounts, then it makes much more sense to ban dogs as pets because of all the negativity in the bible about them!.

peace_lily

I believe Metatron nailed it. From the Bible Teach booklet, p. 159:

"Some agree that such holidays as Christmas have pagan origins but still feel that it is not wrong to celebrate them. After all, most people are not thinking about false worship when they observe holidays. THESE OCCASIONS ALSO GIVE FAMILIES OPPORTUNITIES TO DRAW CLOSE TOGETHER. Is this how you feel? If so, likely it is love of family, not love of false religion, that makes taking a stand for true worship seem difficult. Be assured that Jehovah, the one who originated the family, wants you to have a good relationship with your relatives. (Ephesians 3:14, 15) But you can strengthen such bonds in ways that God approves. Regarding the matter that should be our chief concern, the apostle Paul wrote: 'Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord.'" (Emphasis mine)

The Watchtower's holiday policy makes quick work of dividing Witnesses from non-Witness family.

BTW, has anyone read the article, "Are They Idolatrous Decorations?" beginning on page 12 of the December 22, 1976 Awake? The article purported to be about the heart symbol, which is claimed to have been used in pagan worship in Babylon. The article's bottom line?

"So the Christian needs to be primarily concerned about what? Not what a certain symbol or design possibly meant thousands of years ago or how it might be thought of on the other side of the world, but what it means now to most people where he lives...Though this was a religious symbol in ancient Babylon, does it now have such a meaning where you live? Most likely not...In that case, some Christians might feel free to use the heart-shape simply as a decorative design." (pp. 14-15)

Too bad they can't use the same logic in relation to Christmas, which encyclopedias say "is theorized" to be associated with ancient pagan customs, with no solid proof. Of course, the article wasn't really about hearts anyway. It was about trying to justify the pagan winged sun disk that graced the covers of the Studies in the Scriptures for many years.

18

Stack all Society's literature together in one pile -- how tall?

by FatFreek 2005 in

any of you math wizards willing to try a guess?

i mean everything -- books, magazines from 1879, booklets, pamphlets, tracts, etc.. it may be an interesting number.

ten feet?

peace_lily

One Bible verse you'll never hear at a meeting --

Ecclesiastes 12:12: But beyond this [words given by the One Shepherd], my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

4

Does anyone have the 1957 Kingdom Ministry newsletters?

by peace_lily in

i'm looking for an article from one of the 1957 kingdom ministry newsletters.

i'm sorry idk the month, but the title was something like "which world did god so love?

" i heard don nelson refer to it in his testimony, and i've been wanting to read it.. i don't want to put anyone out, but if anyone has it in pdf, a copy/paste of that article would be much appreciated..

peace_lily

Wow, itsibitsy, you did go all out! Thank you very much! I believe what Don said is there was a "sermon" in the KM that instructed JW's on how to share this information with the householders, but it seems he might have had the year wrong.

"God knew that there were lovable persons, or persons who could become lovable, in this world of people."

Hmmm, kinda ignores Romans 5:8, doesn't it? (But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.)

"Concluding now the discussion, we say that the "world" that God loved so much and that he sent Jesus, not to judge, but to save, is the world of people on earth as represented by those members who break away from the worldly, organized people and who exercise faith in God's gift of his only-begotten Son and then come into union with him or into association with him [i.e., via complete allegiance to his "earthly organization"], proving themselves to be worthy of God's love through his only-begotten Son."

Just the kind of arrogance I've come to expect from this bunch, always making a strong appeal to carnal, prideful human nature to reel 'em in.

4

Does anyone have the 1957 Kingdom Ministry newsletters?

by peace_lily in

i'm looking for an article from one of the 1957 kingdom ministry newsletters.

i'm sorry idk the month, but the title was something like "which world did god so love?

" i heard don nelson refer to it in his testimony, and i've been wanting to read it.. i don't want to put anyone out, but if anyone has it in pdf, a copy/paste of that article would be much appreciated..

peace_lily

I'm looking for an article from one of the 1957 Kingdom Ministry newsletters. I'm sorry IDK the month, but the title was something like "Which World Did God So Love?" I heard Don Nelson refer to it in his testimony, and I've been wanting to read it.

I don't want to put anyone out, but if anyone has it in pdf, a copy/paste of that article would be much appreciated.

13

Help With an Elusive Rutherford Book?

by Teary Oberon in

i've managed to find scans of all of judge rutherford's 100+ page books (23 in total) except for one rather elusive title:.

"can the living talk with the dead?

" circa 1920 by judge rutherford (128 pages).

peace_lily

I ran into the same problem when I was compiling my "electronic library."

Maybe someone else can clarify, but I noticed that the wtpubs list on the freeminds site listed both "Can the Living Talk with the Dead?" and "Talking with the Dead" as being published in 1920 and having 160 pages. So I assumed they were the same publication with two different titles and maybe the latter title won out and had more printings???

If you don't already have "Talking With the Dead," send me an email address in a pm, and I will forward a copy to you.

10

Does anyone recognize this ex-JW testimony from WNFJ convention?

by peace_lily in

i'm trying to find the testimony of a lady who spoke years ago at the witness now for jesus convention (i believe in pennsylvania).

she mentioned that her husband (i assume not a witness) came out as a homosexual during the years the org did not consider such to be grounds for divorce.

the elders advised her she didn't have grounds for divorce.

peace_lily

Thanks, guys; I'm still looking for it. I've been listening to just the beginning of all the testimonies hoping to find the right one. I wanted to post a link to it from one of my answers on YA. I can't remember all the particulars of her testimony--that part just stood out. Most people who disassociate have various issues that pile up--lack of love, hypocrisy, ever-changing doctrine, things that just don't add up.

Yeah, I've noticed that attendance for the past few years has seemed pretty slim (I watched the live feed online). It's really sad to see it come to an end--some of the teachings they've had have been such a help to me, and the testimonies have always been encouraging.

150

How many people watched "The Princess and the Frog?"

by garyneal in

how many christians?.

how many jehovah's witnesses?.

what do you all think of it?.

peace_lily

I tried to share two photobucket images, but it didn't work...oh well.

150

How many people watched "The Princess and the Frog?"

by garyneal in

how many christians?.

how many jehovah's witnesses?.

what do you all think of it?.

peace_lily

Does she object to certain issues of The Watchtower and and certain WTBTS publications as well?

Just wondering?

10

Does anyone recognize this ex-JW testimony from WNFJ convention?

by peace_lily in

i'm trying to find the testimony of a lady who spoke years ago at the witness now for jesus convention (i believe in pennsylvania).

she mentioned that her husband (i assume not a witness) came out as a homosexual during the years the org did not consider such to be grounds for divorce.

the elders advised her she didn't have grounds for divorce.

peace_lily

Hi all,

I'm trying to find the testimony of a lady who spoke years ago at the Witness Now for Jesus convention (I believe in Pennsylvania). She mentioned that her husband (I assume not a Witness) came out as a homosexual during the years the org did not consider such to be grounds for divorce. The elders advised her she didn't have grounds for divorce. She finally came to the end of her rope and divorced her husband. She was disfellowshiped (I don't remember if it was actually on account of the divorce or if it happened when she later remarried).

If I remember correctly, she took the necessary steps for reinstatement and then later disassociated herself when the issues she shelved kept piling up. I've listened to so many of these, I can't remember who this was. I'm hoping someone here (Mouthy, others?) who've been to the convention might remember her.

3

1972 Kingdom Ministry School Course-PDF!

by Atlantis in

here is a file some of you might want in pdf.click the link below and then scroll down to where it says, (click here to start download from sendspace) and click that link.1972 kingdom ministry school coursestart here:http://www.sendspace.com/file/lzbd1iatlantis

peace_lily

Posts by peace_lily