I was in West Springfield from 1969-75; Holyoke from 75-79; Southbridge from 79-99. I live in NJ now and don't belong to a congregation here (at least not a JW congregation ;) )
NeonMadman
JoinedPosts by NeonMadman
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I've done this before, but who is from MA?
by danfromma ini was in the newton cong from about 86-96, never baptized..
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Watchtower Writers - Prayer Specificity - Quantum Physics
by ataloa inwhere do the watchtower writers get their information?
are they free to research anything they like?.
several years ago there was an article that said we must be specific in our prayers.
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NeonMadman
According to their own publications, they get their information through angels and through resurrected members of the "anointed" class.
Huh? I don't remember ever reading that.
The part about angels is actually "old light," but was actively taught in the past. Check out these quotations:
The actual burning or destruction by fire is done by the officers of the Lord that are invisible to human eyes, that is, the cherubim, seraphim and angels ; but it seems clear that the cherubim have charge over fire or that which destroys. These invisible ones the Lord uses to put in the hands of his “faithful servant” class, that is, the man clothed with linen, the fiery message from his Word, or judgments written, and which is to be used as directed. The resolutions adopted by conventions of God’s anointed people, booklets, magazines, and books published by them, contain the message of God’s truth and are from the Lord Jehovah and provided by him through Christ Jesus and his under-officers…The interpretation of prophecy, therefore, is not from man, but is from the Lord; and the Lord causes events to come to pass in fulfillment of the prophecy in due time.
Vindication I, (1931) p. 120.
Without a doubt the Lord uses his angels to cause the truth to be published in The Watchtower... Certainly God guides his covenant people by using the holy angels to convey his message to them.
The Watchtower , February 1, 1935 , p. 41.
Certain duties and kingdom interests have been committed by the Lord to his angels, which include the transmission of information to God's anointed people on the earth for their aid and comfort. Even though we cannot understand how the angels transmit this information, we know that they do it.
Preparation , (1933) pp. 36, 37.
The "new light" came along later:
New Light: “Those who make up the one true Christian organization today do not have angelic revelations or divine inspiration. But they do have the inspired Holy Scriptures, which contain revelations of God’s thinking and will.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses – Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom (1993) p. 708.In light of their prior statements, though, I have to wonder whether it was angels who conveyed the "new light" that they weren't receiving angelic revelations...
Now, as far as communications from the dead, they once believed that Pastor Russell was still running the work on earth from heaven after he died:
This verse (Revelation 8:3) shows that, though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the harvest work. We hold that he supervises, by the Lord's arrangement, the work yet to be done.
The Finished Mystery (1917) pp. 144, 256Hence our dear Pastor, now in glory, is without doubt, manifesting a keen interest in the harvest work, and is permitted by the Lord to exercise some strong influence thereupon.
Watchtower Reprints , November 1, 1917 p. 6161.
Because Judge Rutherford was unhappy with all the devotion to Pastor Russell among the Bible Students, he came up with some "new light":
New Light: “No one of the temple company would be so foolish as to conclude that some brother (or brethren) at one time amongst them, and who has died and gone to heaven, is now instructing the saints on earth and directing them as to their work.”
Jehovah (1934) p. 191.
However, despite the above "new light," the Watchtower's current teaching is nearly identical. They still teach that anointed ones who have dies and are in heaven are communicating information to the remnant here on earth for publication:
It is fitting, then, that one of the 24 elders, representing anointed ones already in heaven, should stir John's thinking. (Revelation 7:13,14a) Yes, that elder could locate the answer and give it to John. This suggests that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Revelation - Its Grand climax At Hand! (rev. 2006) p. 125.
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Watchtower Writers - Prayer Specificity - Quantum Physics
by ataloa inwhere do the watchtower writers get their information?
are they free to research anything they like?.
several years ago there was an article that said we must be specific in our prayers.
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Florida woman fired for saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy holidays!
by Witness 007 infoxnews reports that a florida woman was fired for refusing to say: "happy holidays" she insisted that as a christian she use the term christmas.
i have found others with the same view.
though one witness sister was fired from a smallgoods company for refusing to say "merry christmas.
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NeonMadman
Well good, at least you get it :-)
Of course I do. I have years of experience with an organization that expected me to believe everything it said, just because it said so.
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Florida woman fired for saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy holidays!
by Witness 007 infoxnews reports that a florida woman was fired for refusing to say: "happy holidays" she insisted that as a christian she use the term christmas.
i have found others with the same view.
though one witness sister was fired from a smallgoods company for refusing to say "merry christmas.
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NeonMadman
Neon, your arguments are fantasy.
Well, thanks for the detailed refutation, then. I guess my arguments must be fantasy, because you say they are...
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Watchtower Writers - Prayer Specificity - Quantum Physics
by ataloa inwhere do the watchtower writers get their information?
are they free to research anything they like?.
several years ago there was an article that said we must be specific in our prayers.
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NeonMadman
According to their own publications, they get their information through angels and through resurrected members of the "anointed" class. The latter is, of course, necromancy and is forbidden by Scripture. And if they really do get their information from angels, one must wonder what sort of angels delivered the many false prophecies they have published.
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Florida woman fired for saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy holidays!
by Witness 007 infoxnews reports that a florida woman was fired for refusing to say: "happy holidays" she insisted that as a christian she use the term christmas.
i have found others with the same view.
though one witness sister was fired from a smallgoods company for refusing to say "merry christmas.
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NeonMadman
The supposed 'right not to be offended' was invented by the politically correct crowd as a means of advancing their own social agendas. We can't have public expressions of religion (including such things as wishing people a Merry Christmas) because people not of that faith might be offended by them. Unfortunately, when pushed far enough, the right not to be offended trumps every other right - the right to free speech, press, assembly, religion, etc. If I have to curb what I say because I need to worry that my speech might offend you, then I have lost my freedom of speech. Indeed, freedom of speech presupposes that some people will be offended by what others say; if such offense would never occur, then freedom of speech would never be an issue.
The other principle often raised in this context is that of the "separation of church and state." We can't have public displays of nativity scenes, for example, even if the vast majority of the people in a community want one, because non-believers might be offended, and any public display is seen as a violation of the "separation of church and state." However, such an interpretation of the separation principle is a recent distortion. The meaning of separation of church and state, as originally stated, was that the state had no power to interfere in any way with the public expression of religion. Under the original meaning of the term, a nativity scene in a town square, a valedictorian in a public high school mentioning her faith in Jesus as a source of inspiration, or a prayer said in opening a town meeting would all be expressions of the separation of church and state, not violations of it. The people's right to practice their religion in public was absolute; government had no power to prevent such things. However, in recent years, secularist judges have enforced a new meaning on the concept of separation that is 180 degrees from the meaning attached to it by the Founders.
And, if you think about it, the whole idea that religion should be kept out of the public square and should be practiced only in the privacy of one's home is a very large step toward the outlawing of religious practice entirely. In the most totalitarian anti-religious regimes of all time - Nero's Rome, Stalin's Russia, Mao's China and others - people had the freedom to worship God in the privacy of their own homes as long as nobody found out about it. Who could stop them from doing that? I disturbs me that our society seems to be headed in that same direction, where any public expression of religious faith will be seen as a crime.
Sorry, didn't mean to get off on a rant, but the implications of the whole "Merry Christmas" controversy go way beyond one time of the year, imho...
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Mouthy's" kids"please read.
by mouthy ini received many cards from so very many, but you all have to remember i am beginning to start demntia.... i thank you all ,my apartment is surronded with them , which i have to say pleases me muchly ..... but if you didnt put your logo ( name jwd) i dont know who you are.
( 3 times for emphesis ).
god bless you all happy & healthy christmas & a new year.....
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NeonMadman
Merry Christmas to you too, Grace. I'll have to get your address next time we see each other so I can add you to my card list. :-)
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Meetings canceled and double standard
by Iwonder17 ini live ina cold area where meetings are canceled from time to time.
i find it very funny that even the most "faithful" dubs sit in anticipation by the phone waiting for the call that the mtg has been canceled.
you would think that they would be disappointed since one of their meals is being cut off ( or one of their fingers as the old illustration goes )
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NeonMadman
One night many years ago, there was a major snowstorm predicted for the area where I lived. Because of the forecasts, the elders made the decision to call the meeting off, but they waited so long to decide that half the congregation had already left for the Kingdom Hall. I got there at the same time as several others, and we were all sent away. What made it really cool was that the storm never hit - it veered off in another direction and we never had a flake of snow. So we got the evening off (mostly) without having to deal with an actual storm. After that, I believe the elders decided they would NEVER call off another meeting, no matter what, but would leave it to the individual brothers to decide whether it was safe to go or not. Which, of course, made anyone who decided not to brave a storm feel guilty.
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Banned expressions= Pioneers abused me for saying "that sucks or peeved"!
by Witness 007 inyes as a young man on 20 out witnessing with the special pioneers one brother said his bible study wasn't home...."oh that sucks" said i......well, you would have thought i said "that sucks balls" three pioneers completely freak out and as a "trinity" start telling me off...i didn't think it was a swear word....anyone else?.
once the c.o used the term "peeved off" during his talk...well, everyone did research on the word to see if it was the same as "pissed off.
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NeonMadman
we are supposed to call it the INFORMATION BOARD - and why?! I have no idea
As I remember, we were told that "bulletin boards" were where the popes posted their papal bulls. Obviously, true Christians would want no part of that!!
Similar to what others have said, I was counseled once for saying that something "bugged" me, because apparently that meant that the thing that had been irritating me had somehow penetrated my anus.
Also, we couldn't refer to a mischievous child as an "imp," because that was a word that referred to a type of demon.