"Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn,
A bubble floating in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp,
A phantom,
and a dream."
More TRUTH here than The Watchtower ever dreamed of.
the british library has a copy of this important historical work (dated to may 868 ce), and has been working to conserve its copy.
this film made by the international dunhuang project (formed to conserve relics from the silk road (the east-west trading network) backgrounds the sutra's story:.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgn5hqxtlmc.
"Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn,
A bubble floating in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp,
A phantom,
and a dream."
More TRUTH here than The Watchtower ever dreamed of.
this was first said in 1918 and adjusted to "will never die" in 1920. of course, the wts taught that the anointed had to die to go to heaven; but there was no great crowd teaching then, so they were talking about all non-anointed people on earth.
the wts members were known as bible students then and had been expecting the end in 1914 and it was adjusted.
one date that was stressed at that time was 1925. so i think they idea was that people living in 1918 would be alive to see the end in 1925, which of course did not happen.
i just wanted to intoroduce myself.
i have been lurking for some time and finally decided to register and hopefully contribute to this great forum.. i am in my mid 30s and have never been in the truth.
my wife became a jw several years ago and since she is a (mostly) stay at home mom my two boys are also jws.
Welcome!
As an non-practicing atheist, I weep into my pillow that you cling to your imaginary invisible friends. I will pray for you.
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/08/113_212343.html.
korean ex-jw brothers contacted the police and hinted to them that this murder could be related with wt's evil policy of shunning because.
father was an elder (ministerial overseer).
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https://culteducation.com/group/1289-general-information/8227-disclaimer-regarding-steve-hassan.html.
Did you think that Steve Hassan made his living selling hot dogs from a cart?
THIS is his career!
I am constantly AMAZED and AMUSED by the number of whining freeloaders who think everything should be given to them for free. They expect boneless BBQ'd chickens to fly into their mouths!
Well, time to pay the piper, crybabies! FREEDOM ain't FREE!
And for those who complain that the deprogramming sessions were ineffective: that just demonstrates how "devoted" (aka fucked up) you cultic family member is! ...and you're blaming the deprogrammer for that?
Investigate any of the other anti-cult practitioners out there and tell me if you find ONE who is a totally beyond reproach. They are the "Yin" to a cult's "Yang."
when you were "in" did you ever actually enjoy the ministry?
and i made no secret about it.
instead i would joke about me feather knocking, and made sure i had my bible in hand so as they come to the door they know what im about so they can shut me down before i even start.. i always wondered how or why there were people who enjoyed it.
Deep, deep within me sleeps the dessicated ghost of the "Dub of Witness Past" that I once was.
I was taught Watchtower Crap & Pablum since I was about 8, I was dunked under the [ha ha] "old covenant" baptismal oath in 1964. I didn't need college because I read AWAKE! magazine.
Reading your opening post raised the hackles on that dessicated decrepit ghoul within me; to think that ANYONE would speak openly of finding no joy in the D2D work! HOW DARE YOU!
Of course from where I am now this honesty is welcome, refreshing and fully justified, but there was a time...
so it occurred to me how crazy the wts is and has been.. if i am 25 years old and my parents had me when they were 25, my grandparents were 25 when they had my parents, and their parents were 25 and so on and we were witnesses, what would we think?.
my point?.
my great, great, great grandparents were around 25 years old when the judge was promoting the end of times in the 1870s.
"when the Judge was promoting the end of times in the 1870s."
You really owe it to yourself to get a more accurate grasp of JW history; lest you sound silly.
as all witnesses know, the opening gambit of the great tribulation will occur when the united nations turns on organized religion to devastate them and leave them naked of people and resources.
however, as jehovah's judgement day has been spoken of as being "imminent", the question that can be fairly asked ... 'is the united nations organization actually in a position to act as god's destroyer of false religion?
while i have no doubt that most within that organization had in the past tried to make the lives of the desperate better, the united nations has unfortunately now become a weak and underfunded political eunuch.
Given the record of The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society being 100% WRONG with their "Bible-based" speculations, what justification do you have for suggesting they might be RIGHT about this speculation?
I'll say it now, in plain language: there will NEVER be a "Great Tribulation;" there will never be a "not-so-great tribulation."
jws say they can go anywhere in the world and they " know" that they would be shown hospitality from their fellow brothers.
of all my years as a jw i found this wasn't the case.
i honestly believe that if i turned up at any of my fellow apostates on here house and said hi i'm chook can we have a coffee, the response would be how many sugars..
Q.: Tell me if I'm right or wrong.
A.: Yes, you are.
oh this is just worth sharing!.
so , as many know, it has been two years since i have attended any meetings, conventions, etc....nothing...cold turkey.. the hassles and problems the elders threw our way were monumental....so many details i could share, but suffice it to say, we stood firm and kept our dignity and poise and reminded them of "appropriate boundaries ".
one elder in particular has since spared no effort in ensuring that malicious gossip and slander has been spread so that witnesses have avoided us like the plague!.
You did the right thing. And why? Because you do not follow the teachings of men.
You have surpassed them.