patio34

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Posts by patio34

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  21

  JW Practices

  by patio34 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  maybe this irked you in the past?

  i had a hard time convincing--nay, believing--that we lived in such baaaad times.

  jws have the belief that times are bad, so we had the task of convincing the householders of that.

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  patio34

  Hannibal,

  That certainly is a valid point: all of us have limited days and should appreciate that fact and live accordingly.

  On the other hand, I always liked the saying "Life is too short to take seriously."

  TTFN,
  Patio
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  3

  Tale of the Five Army Officers

  by waiting in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  with several threads going on about why god would let satan live, the discussion if logically god is right, etc., i remembered this fine thinking material originally copied from h20.. if nothing else - it puts into mental pictures our quandry of our mental understanding of god's understanding and actions towards us.. *********************************************************************.

  the tale of the five officers (2000).

  when ms. k. was slowly raped and murdered by a common thug over the.

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  patio34

  Waiting,

  That pretty well covers all scenarios about why any God would allow such suffering in humans. And why the whole thing just doesn't make sense any way you look at it.

  Thanks for the thought provoking post.

  TTFN,
  Patio
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  21

  JW Practices

  by patio34 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  maybe this irked you in the past?

  i had a hard time convincing--nay, believing--that we lived in such baaaad times.

  jws have the belief that times are bad, so we had the task of convincing the householders of that.

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  patio34

  Well, thanks for all the replies. I really find it all hard to swallow now, but i'm newly out.

  It's been very liberating to read so many other sources now.

  TTFN,
  Patio
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  21

  JW Practices

  by patio34 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  maybe this irked you in the past?

  i had a hard time convincing--nay, believing--that we lived in such baaaad times.

  jws have the belief that times are bad, so we had the task of convincing the householders of that.

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  patio34

  Flowerpetal,

  Here is the reference: 12/15/91 WT page 11:

  "But we are as strong for it as we ever were, and we are appreciating it all the more the longer we have to wait for it, even if it required a million years."

  I remember a vague feeling of sadness, or disbelief when I read that. But it really doesn't say the last days could be that long, just that even if it were, we should appreciate it.

  It WAS a change in tone. It was a quote from Fred Franz.

  Patio
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  19

  Indisputable/physical facts

  by Norm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the bizarre world that exist within the watchtower society headquarters in brooklyn you can find all kinds of strange statements.

  particularly funny is the use of the expressions indisputable/physical facts.

  according to the watchtower from 1922, indisputable facts showed that jesus second presence began in 1874!

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  patio34

  Good points Norm. I'm afraid to read a WT yet for fear I'll fall down the rabbit hole again for another 28 years!
  And how about the phrase 'thinking people have observed (or reasoned)' when they agree with the WT point?

  TTFN,
  Patio
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  21

  JW Practices

  by patio34 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  maybe this irked you in the past?

  i had a hard time convincing--nay, believing--that we lived in such baaaad times.

  jws have the belief that times are bad, so we had the task of convincing the householders of that.

  1. 
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  patio34

  RR and Terraly,

  Good question about how long the last days could drag out.

  RR, since the WTBS has changed their position on the length of the generation, how does that affect the length of the 'last days'? It seems there is no definitive length to them now.

  So, then, really the term itself becomes meaningless. Remember what a WT a couple of years ago said 'even if it should go on a million years'? (I could find the reference if you're interested.) Maybe 'last centuries' or 'last millenia'?

  ttfn,
  Patio
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  2

  Origin of Baptisms

  by patio34 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  question to throw out on the table:.

  where did baptisms originate?

  it doesn't seem to be part of the hebrew scriptures (the ot), so why did john the baptist start baptising folks?.

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  patio34

  Seven,

  Thanks a lot for the information. I visited the site and am printing out the book recommendations. It's really right in the line that I'm reading in now. The real origins of some of the bible writings.

  Thanks a lot.

  Patio
• 
  21

  JW Practices

  by patio34 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  maybe this irked you in the past?

  i had a hard time convincing--nay, believing--that we lived in such baaaad times.

  jws have the belief that times are bad, so we had the task of convincing the householders of that.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  patio34

  Larc,

  Thanks for your comment. As we sit in our comortable homes and communicate almost instantly and share information and ideas, it's really quite amazing.

  I do agree that there are terrible problems in the world and one should do something to help alleviate them.

  One thing that seems interesting is the adopt-a-child children's fund for poor kids.

  TTFN,
  Patio
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  14

  JW attitudes on women - why beneficial

  by tergiversator in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my secret wish, when i was about 10 years old and we were going through the revelation book for the second time, was that one day we would show up at the book study and all the baptized brothers would be missing and they would let me read.

  i was pretty sure that i wouldn't mangle words like thyatira and laodicea nearly as badly as some of the poor brothers they roped into reading at times, who looked like they were being tortured during particularly difficult lessons.. i liked to read, i thought.

  my older brother got to read a lot, even when he wasn't baptized.

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  patio34

  Good comments. A sister here once said about a woman 'losing privileges in the cong' and she said 'what privileges does a woman have?'

  Don't you think the WTS just follows what 'worldly' people in general learn? For instance, it used to always be drummed in to spank children (use the rod!) and then about 10 yrs ago, the backpedalling really started, because the world in general saw it as negative.

  Other things too, such as the treatment of women. But, the WTS is always w-a-a-a-y behind!

  IMO, they read a lot of the new books every year and journals, collect a lot of the info, search in the bible for any relevant verses ('you can prove anythng by the bible') and then publish a series of articles. Of course, the ending is always 'all these problems will be solved by God's kingdom.'

  Patio
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  5

  Atheism and Theism.

  by Norm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a great deal of believers seems to suffer the delusion that atheism is some kind of religion.

  on the theist agenda seem to be a claim that atheism isnt anymore scientific than theism.

  and that theism doesnt promote a state of stupidity in theists.. atheism, which basically is absence of faith in god, in itself, might not be particularly scientific.

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  patio34

  Norm,

  Thanks for that post. It's right. The WT or Awake years ago likened evolution to religious belief. That's nonsense. It's just looking at the evidence that has been left and making a best-guess. One estimate I read recently said that 99% of scientists believe that evolution happened.

  Patio