Posts by Dunedain

18

What was your first public bible reading? And when?

by Mandrake in

i perfectly remember that, rehearsing with mom, trying to read with enough emphasis and in a proper tone.

i was 5 years old, back then in 1996 i think, and the portion was james 5:1-13.... i found today that i still know the first verses by heart!!!

it's actually a cherished memory for me, i came to memorize those because mom had me starting the reading all over again until i got to read it properly... and in time!!!

Dunedain

Outlaw - LOL, I remember my hall had the EXACT same podium, in both the front/main hall, and the back room. It had those 2 circular wheels that you would turn to adjust the height, and the pitch of the board that holds the notes and bible, lol.

Anyway, my first bible reading was back in the early 80,s. I was about 6 to 8 years old, I forget exactly. I do NOT remember what passage it was, which I guess is kind of weird. Like others here have said, it was actually a talk, with an introduction, then reading, and then I think a comment half way thru, and then a conclusion, after reading the rest of the verses.

The introduction and conclusion, was the hard part. To me the reading part was easy, cause you could look down and read. Where it got nervous was the introduction, and conclusion, because you had to give "eye contact" to the audience, and they were hanging on your every word, lol.

I also, remember the applause, since it was the first talk, and the "ooohs and aaahs", since I was a 7 year old, cute, little shit.

I remember the 'G's", and "W's", and "I's", for good, work on this, and improved. It was all based on things like, "eye contact", "inflection", "tone and poise", and crap like that.

For some reason, I was thought of as being a "good speaker", and was asked to give the bible reading at 8 years old, but at the assembly in front of like 4,000 people. I honestly didn't think I was anything special, but I was young, and cute, and read well for my age, and my daddy was an elder. SOOO, I now had to be a nervous, stomach cramped, scared to death, 8 year old speaking in front of thousands.

I will never forget it, it was at the "famous" Stanley theatre in Jersey city, New Jersey. To those that do not know, the Stanley theater is like the, opulent, gaudy, flamboyant, showy display, "Vatican" of the JW cult. Its the same type of place that the JW's would condemn other religions for being to "showy", but did it themselves.

14

Would you have done what Adam did?

by thinker11 in

every religious group know the story of adam & eve.

for me, i understood what they did was wrong but i never felt they were bad people and considering that they never murdered anyone and seemed to live normal lives after being kicked out, i found it hard to accept that they deserved to die forever and that we would be responsible for suffering for their mistakes.

i personally feel like i might have done the same thing adam did when eve offered him the fruit.

Dunedain

I have often thought about this exact scenario. One thing that I find, wrong with it, and there are many, is that really Adam, and especially Eve, were almost like children. They really had NO life experience. They were NOT even parents at this stage of the game.

If Adam was created as a perfect MAN, then he never had time to grow, and learn from childhood up. If you think about it, just because he was physically a "man", he would have been mentally an "infant" when first created. Logically the same would apply for Eve as well.

They were children, and the Genesis story heavily implies that the eating of the fruit occurred pretty early in the narrative. This again, gives tons of credence to the fact that both Adam and Eve were mere CHILDREN.

Who, and or what, was ALL these children knew? Well it was GOD himself. God was Daddy. God was Mommy. God raised them from creation, and taught them EVERYTHING.

Well, evidently, it seems as though he did a poor job. The FIRST time, a trial was put before them, they failed miserably. Can you imagine the first time your young child makes a serious mistake, you kicked them out of the house, and cursed them.

Adam and Eve, according to the Genesis narrative, were simply children, who were DECEIVED, and had NO knowledge of anything other than their creator. Sounds like a VERY harsh punishment for 2 innocent children, who were deceived by a being that was perhaps BILLIONS of years older than them, and of not only a higher intelligence, but was actually a HIGHER LIFEFORM.

The sicker thing about it, is that WE are paying the price, and WE were NOT even born perfect, and our lives are supposedly still being "deceived" by these billion year old, higher lifeforms, called angels/demons. DAMN, what chance do ANY have against this ?????

7

The Perfect Ones...

by JW_Rogue in

with the rc coming i was wondering if anyone else noticed how some jws seemed to have everything somehow?

you would see these attractive young couples who clearly were well off.

the brother had privileges though so you know he was at the meetings and fs regularly.

Dunedain

Esse quam videri's comment about that couple "discarding" their special needs child, has just made me sick to my stomach. I am actually, physically upset by hearing this, if it is indeed true, not that I DO NOT believe you Esse videri, its just hard to believe that people would do this.

This is so horrible, I am really disturbed by this. Down syndrome children are HIGHLY functional, and will KNOW if they are being "discarded". This makes me so angry.

15

Mid Week Meeting. The book of Job....what does this teach me about Jehovah

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

is it me or are you having a hard time commenting on what does this week's bible reading teach me about jehovah & what points from this week's bible study reading can i use in the field ministry ?

i'm having a hard time commenting because what does job show about jehovah....well, # 1 he allowed job's suffering, but he didn't let satan take his life.

# 2 what scripture could one use in the field ministry regarding the book of job...talking to a householder, see if you don't behave, god's gonna get you....or allow satan to get you.

Dunedain

The problem with why Job, at least to those who don't blindly follow/read it, is that it doesn't "fit" with a lot of the rest of the bible.

The reason for this, is that the STORY is much more ancient in origin, than the other books of the bible. The story itself states that Job was an "oriental", which is quite different than the other characters of the old testament and their Jewish origins.

The book of Job was quite obviously " added ", by the religious leaders, and most likely to be a fear inducing lesson to keep the sheeple on their toes. What is a better " group control", than making the sheeple think that at ANY time God can just come and wipeout your whole family, and life, all on a whim.

The book of Job is archaic in origin, and story, and message. It existed far before the bible was first written, and was added in, as almost an afterthought, but a good one, at least from the religious leaders perspective, to keep control of the people.

This is why, when WE read it now, being fully awake and away from the mind control Cult, it appears CRAZY, and PSYCHOTIC. It is NOT a story of a loving God. It is the story of whimsical, indifferent Gods, who think NOTHING of using humans as mere playthings. Humans, in the story of Job, are worthless. They can be bartered with, killed, destroyed, and tortured, for NO reason. The "lessons" in Job could have EASILY been shown without the evil toying of human life.

I can recall an Elder from a visiting congregation, giving the talk one Sunday, and he was saying how wonderful the book of Job was. He continued to say how fortunate Job will be in the new system, because he will have 2 sets of children to welcome back in the resurrection. STUPIDITY at its WORST!!!

7

How do you like me now?

by eyeuse2badub in

report in the news today that prince is leaving a large portion of his fortune to the watchtower.

bet the gb loves prince now and his 'questionable' music!.

just sayingeyeuse2badub.

Dunedain

He did NOT have a will, so unless he has been resurrected 3 days after his death, and personally called the GB, I call BS!

42

Has Anybody Hear a Rumour That Prince Died?

by cofty in

why do people care so much about celebrities?

Dunedain

Simon, would you care to elaborate, it seems like you care a lot about this whole caring thing, lol.

42

Has Anybody Hear a Rumour That Prince Died?

by cofty in

why do people care so much about celebrities?

Dunedain

Why does Cofty care so much about, what other people care so much about?

Hey Cofty, WHO CARES?

7

Break a promise okay with watchtower?

by punkofnice in

15:4. unless we come to the realization that we have made an unscriptural promise, we should do all we can to fulfill our word, even if it is very difficult to do so.

w06 5/15 p. 17-p. 20 par.

16. highlights from book one of psalms.

Dunedain

Its just MORE of the same, mind control garbage that the cult uses. In other words, you do NOT have to be a person of your word, if you can find some "scriptural loophole", you can get out of your promises. You can find almost ANY quirky, outdated, archaic, biblical story, somewhere in the bible, that you could "use" to get you out of a promise.

Well what ever happened to, "let your YES mean YES, and your NO mean NO". See, I just used a scripture to further MY point. This is what these JW's do, and it comes right from the top. They use MAN made interpretations to "swing" their horrible, shady actions, into the light of justification to do whatever they want.

They all have their "pet" scriptures that they use to justify that they just screwed you over, SCUMBAGS. This is what the GB does EVERDAY, and to EVERY member of the CULT. They use their interpretations, of the scriptures THEY only choose, to control what THEY want.

24

super heros

by Gratefullyunstuck in

jw
friends

after reading the content of the 1 day assembly on another post, please tell me wt are trying to suggest members cant follow super hero movies/characters etc.

the whole of my ex family wouldnt have a life if this happened!

surely a wake up call for them....... but doubt it

Dunedain

Like Barrold Bonds said already, this is really nothing new. I remember a 28 year old elder, I was like 19 at the time, saying the same shit on how Superman was like a modern Hercules, and superheroes are "demonic". Its really ridiculous.

You see, this kind of "logic" is pervasive in a cult. Once its thought about, or touched upon, or mentioned at Bethel, it spreads to most congregations, like its gospel from the scriptures. Then a visiting brother will mention it in a Sunday talk, and it just further drives the crazy mindset home.

This is cultism at its worst. JW's are ignorant, of most things, and "demonize" anything they don't understand, or deem "worldly", right away, without ever truly learning about it. It is fear control, and mind control, at the same time. By them "demonizing" superheroes, by comparing them to Nephilim, the cult uses FEAR. Then they tell you what movies you cannot see, and what comics/books you cannot read, and what toys your kids cannot play with, and that's the mind control.

It is a fear based cult, controlled by ignorance.

22

How Many Elders And Ministerial Servants Are There In Your Congregation?

by Village Idiot in

i'm curious to see how much manpower a little congregation - a hundred?

- requires to keep it running.

Dunedain

The last time I was at my KH/cong. of my youth, it was a little over 20 years ago. Back then in a congregation of about 120 publishers, there was 10 to 12 elders, and 12 - 15 MS's. I heard that NOW, 20 years later, there are only about 75 publishers, and 6 elders, and 6 MS's.

Understand, too, that this is a congregation that is in one of the boroughs of NYC, where they have access to bethelites, and others to "fill in the ranks". Looks like a huge decline, on all levels, if ya ask me.