kudos to jwn roving correspondent sd-7 for his insightful comments in a recent thread.
as a result of his inspired utterance, i received a flash of insight that has allowed me to predict with uncanny accuracy the exact date for armageddon's arrival.
what follows are sd-7's comments and my calculations.
FadeToBlack: I know specualtion is heresy, but I would have to say that it must be symmetrical. Thus, while 00DAD was in the ball park, the actual date (by my careful calculations) must be 2370 (AD/CE your choice).
I'm a big fan of symmetry, yet I fail to see the symmetry of 2,370?
Now if you'd said "2,332" then I'd understand; but you did not and so I do not.
Could you please explain? And while you're at it I'd love to see your "careful calculations" too!
00DAD
hello all u evil apostates!
jehovah's gonna kill the whole lot of ya lol j/k.
when ya find out the jws and the bible is a bunch of baloney there isnt much more to learn about.
DubR: Also someone said my re-introduction lacked finesse. I have no idea if he was being sarcastic but I didn't get it.
That was me. No I was not being sarcastic. Sorry you didn't get it.
DubR: Thank you again everyone that commented and Happy Holidays!
You're welcome! Same back at you.
can someone please give me a neutral explanation of the date 1919?
can the wt prove 1919 from the bible?
what about this quote?
Jeffro: I see you're one of those linear time theorists. I suppose you'd say 1923 came next. :)
Yes, you're right; I am. Good prediction!
Are you a prophet?
00DAD
can someone please give me a neutral explanation of the date 1919?
can the wt prove 1919 from the bible?
what about this quote?
I was going to say something hopefully witty, but AnnOMaly beat me to the punch.
I will only add that, Yes, 1919 did really happen. It was in fact followed by 1920, then 1921, 1922 ....
In all those years since, nothing the WTBTS predicted has ever come true, nothing.
actually, this is my second post as i replied to a thread a few moments ago, but it turns out i originally registered eight years ago but had never posted.. i left in 2000 (from a newport, s wales, congregation) having been brought up in it from about the age of three.
initially, i was obsessed with research and posting to forums but got over it after a few years and just rediscovered this site a couple of days ago.
i just thought it would be worth posting my account of leaving in case it helped others.. i always considered myself to be "strong in the truth" and genuinely believed it,, but i suppose the amount of suppressed doubts had been mounting up and i think it was the summer of 1999 when i first thought of leaving.
Welcome back and thanks for sharing. You never know who else is lurking and might be encouraged and emboldened by your post!
00DAD
ok, advise needed my friends!
the idea of fading sounds really nice to me and i would love to do it, but i'm just a big "chicken" and can't bring myself to stop all the jw nonsense.
i continue going to meetings and service out of some sort of fear, i know if i start missing too many people will be bothering me with phone calls and visits and such and they will sucker me into toing back.
What whathappened shared shows the brutal reality of this fuckin' cult!
Nevertheless, if you fade there is still some wiggle room for people of conscience that are "still in."
When a person is disfellowshipped or disassociated the WT's official policy is clear: Total Shunning 1 . Nothing less is acceptable.
00DAD
- - - - - - - -
1 - For anyone in doubt, note that the direction from the "Faithful Slave" in the upcoming January 1st Study Edition of the Watchtower is that even emailing a DF'd relative is out!
"Do not look for excuses to associate with a disfellowshipped family member, for example, through e-mail. (1 Cor. 5:11)" - w13 1/15, p. 16 par. 19
Oh, yes, what kind of evil person would ever "look for excuses" to talk to a family member? Bad, bad evil person. Don't do that. That's bad!
You may find a close examination of the cited scripture informative:
1 Cor 5:11: But now I am writing YOU to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.
I don't see emailing listed in this scripture, do you? Is it really true that "e-mail" equals " mixing in company with " someone? Paul said "not even eating." He did NOT say, "Not even emailing." Sharing a meal with someone if very different from getting and/or receiving emails. I don't know about you, but I get lots of emails from business associates and others that I wouldn't ever even think about had dinner with. Why is the WTBTS so uptight about this subject?
Notice too that any- and everyone DF'd is included in the WT prohibition, but Paul lists only a few specific offenses.
What if your beloved family member is/was disfellowshipped for some other reason?
In fact, does Paul even say that family members are to completely shun family members? Does it say that here? No. It does not. This is a WT rule which is completely unsupported by the Bible.
The fact is that they don't want those "still in" to talk to those that are "now out" because those "out" might say things that get those "in" to wake up and smell the coffee! It really is as simple as that.
00DAD
Thank you Cofty. She at least was mildy humorous.
So it was only a waste 1:12 of my life!
Okay, that was a waste of 9 minutes and 36 seconds of my life!
7:20 +2:16 = 9:36
Those that I used to think of as heroes have either betrayed me or let me down. And yet I am not without faith in humanity. For I realize that the problem was not in human-kind, but rather in my thinking: in how I defined heroism. It was my expectations that were off.
Now, my heroes are among the most ordinary people of this life. Everyday they do what needs to be done. They do it without complaining, they do it without expectation of anything other than acknowledgement that they are doing what they should do. They do what needs to be done with quiet dignity and grace. They take pride in what they do and who they are. That is enough for them. I am in awe.
As far as I know, no one has taken a photograph which captures all of them at once, or even the essence of them, otherwise I would post it. Until then I only have my words. But if you want to know what they look like, all you have to do is open your eyes. They are everywhere; they are all around us; they are the ones that don't draw attention to themselves: this is why it is so easy to miss them. I know I did.
Please, notice the heroes in your life. You'll be glad you did!
ok, advise needed my friends!
the idea of fading sounds really nice to me and i would love to do it, but i'm just a big "chicken" and can't bring myself to stop all the jw nonsense.
i continue going to meetings and service out of some sort of fear, i know if i start missing too many people will be bothering me with phone calls and visits and such and they will sucker me into toing back.
lostinthought, Taking time to consider your options and their consequences is by no means "chicken," it's smart.
For many, writing a Letter of Disassociation is an act of liberation. It makes them feel strong: they are making a statement loud and proud. I definitely get that, but generally they have no family members "still in." Those that do or did and DA'd themselves generally regretted it later. Don't be hasty or rash. Ask leavingWT if you don't believe me. Either way, writing a DA letter is still playing by, or at least to, their rules. There's no getting around that.
Deliberately getting disfellowshipped serves no useful purpose. (I know, that's' what I did ... big mistake). You lose your family, JW "friends" and your reputation is ruined in the eyes of everyone (that's a JW that) you used to care about. How is that a good thing?
Fading is hard. For some it is very hard. It's not always successful either, especially if you were/are "high profile" and the elders want to make an example of you. If you are a "nobody" in the congregation (sorry, I don't mean to bruise your ego, but that's the fact) you have a better chance of successfully fading. Nevertheless, that has consequences also: you need to be cognizant of the fact that from now to forever whatever you do publicly could bring you repercussions you'd probably rather not deal with. There are really so many things to consider.
If you decide to fade, you need a plan. You need a plan and you need to commit to it, then you need to stick to it. Things change so you need to be flexible, but you can't do that with clarity unless you have a previously decided upon plan.
One thing you really need to keep in mind is this: YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO TELL ANY OF THE ELDERS ANYTHING YOU DO NOT WANT TO TELL THEM! They have no authority over you unless you give it to them.
You do not have to be rude, you do not have to be argumentative and you do not have to be evasive. You DO need to figure out WHO you are, WHERE you are, WHAT you believe, HOW you will and will not allow yourself to be treated, and WHY this is important to you! (Realize that you are a work-in-progress and the ultimate answer to these questions may be many years, if ever, in the making).
As NewChapter said, no matter what you do you will find support here (something you would never find in the congregation!), but the decision remains yours. Whatever you decide we will support you.
Take courage. You can do this!
00DAD
