I usually try to avoid "me too" postings, but I have to agree this is an excellent thread. Kenpo makes a great case for searching on your own and the motives behind those who say they "know." A shame there's no way to print out a single post--I'll have to make note of this. Very well written!
Kingpawn
JoinedPosts by Kingpawn
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5
Does it really matter if people think it's real?
by kenpodragon inthe common thing now a days in media is to try to disprove the likes of john edwards and to say that these men are frauds.
in reality though, when i see this happen i wonder how such people feel when they see evidence that perhaps jesus christ did not exist, or that evolution might be right.
the answer is, they would not like it.
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An Odd one Out?
by link inthis question must have been asked before but i cant find it with the search facility.. does anyone know of a christian religious denomination that only has doctrine and dogma that is not disputed by any other christian religious denomination?.
this of course is entirely different to saying does that denomination agree with the doctrine and dogma of all other religious denominations.. i hope that someone will give this some thought because i could not come up with one.. thanks.
roast stake and veal pie.. link
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Kingpawn
By its nature disagreement inspires division when the tensions of two different groups within one denomination becomes more than the members can stand; otherwise why so many schisms and denominations?
I doubt you'll find any Christian (whatever definition you give that word) denominations that are an answer to your question. The more "points" of dogma and creed a group has, the higher the chances of disagreement with someone else's. And in the US we seem to be mostly split along the lines of Fundamentalists or liberals.
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Signs of the Last Days?
by Lin ini would appreciate some serious discussion and comments on signs of the last days.
i've already run a search for previous posts on the subject, and most of what i found was silly, sarcastic, name calling, etc, but nothing of any real value.
i would really like some information, links even, for some valuable information on the subject.
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Kingpawn
Lin,
My personal belief is that there will be no nuclear war widespread enough to pose a serious threat to continued life on Earth.
I can't say I'd rule out us seeing tactical nukes being used. I'd imagine it might be by a country that fanatically hates Israel and doesn't mind the chance of WWIII starting, or maybe two countries like India and Pakistan, out of hatred and machismo, or Hussein in a "it's now or never" scenario during a war. (Oh, unlike the WBTS, I'll admit here and now I messed up when I said we'd be at war with Iraq by now.) He might also do it as a bluff. IOW, by their use he confirms he has them, and we can't disprove his claims about his having more or he can send them farther than the Middle East, like London. So it buys him time for various purposes.
My main reason for paragraph one is that I can't see God allowing all His work to be ruined. Massive usage would render huge areas of the planet uninhabitable, and destroy farmland. There is the possibility of starvation and climate change from "nuclear winter." And it's not like we can raise crops on the Antartic icecap. BTW, there might well be more heating of the Earth from the smoke (a) darkening the planet, making heat build up, and (b) the heat not being allowed to escape into space (maybe--I'm no physicist), contrary to my earlier mention of "winter." Or ash from burning forests and what not fall on the icecaps, darkening them, and raising the Earth's temperature. Result: the icecaps melt, the sea levels rise, Florida and other low-lying areas vanish, social disruption from refugees moving inland, and the inrush of fresh water would affect salinity and sea life.
So while we have the capability to end ourselves I don't think we'll be allowed to do so. For those who don't believe we have such a Guardian Spirit (and they may well be right), I haven't any assurances to give on this point. And to some, all I wrote above is going to provoke a lot of incredulity that anyone could possibly be at peace on this issue with such a slender thread. But it's either trust in that or drive myself mad with fear worrying.
There were other signs too, like the mark in the hand or forehead. There's a website http://www.digitalangel.net/index.htm that tells about microchips that can be implanted in pets and people for a number of uses. Haven't been to the site in awhile but it makes for scary reading.
As far as the GT, if this was seen in a vision by John, then by his standards and knowledge of history up until then, a nuclear war would be the greatest thing seen. He'd have no concept of the power of the atom. If it's using Holy Spirit, which I think it will be, then nuclear power pales beside that. IOW, if we know warheads are headed here, we've had drills and what not to handle that; it's familiar. Something that can throw people into utter panic where they'd call for mountains to fall on them and protect them would have to be worse.
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Months of the year/Days of the week-Pagan Origin?
by nonjwalltheway inwhy do the jw's still acknowledge the months of the year and the days of the week.
i recall from my elementary school classes that the months of the year and the days of the week were named after roman gods and goddesses.
the watchtower preaches that a good christian will not partake in anything that has pagan origins.
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Kingpawn
April--Aphrodite
So that's why they say "Spring--and a young man's thoughts turn to love!"
At my age, April stimulates thoughts of--love? Nope, taxes!
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Is "questions from readers" made up b...
by SpannerintheWorks inan ex-jw friend of mine once agreed with me that the letters in the "questions from readers" section in the wt/awake!
were all made up by the wbts.. does anybody have any evidence either way?.
has anybody had their "question" published?.
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Kingpawn
With some of the ones reproduced on here from time to time, you get the impression that if they were a little more desperate and had a large nip of some stimulants you'd see these people on Jerry Springer.
I mean, reading them, I get the same sense of masochism behind them that would make a person go on the JS show. Mainly the more intimate questions.
Even sadder than that desperation would be the relief one felt that THE ANSWER had come down from the mountaintop and one's "conscience decision" had been made
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What really irritates you?
by SpannerintheWorks inthe following is what really irritates me:.
i'm just about to tuck into a $100 meal when some ignorant b*****d lights up.
when nobody lets me out of the side road onto the freeway.
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Kingpawn
Drivers who wait until you're six car lengths away before turning in front of you from a side road (and the road behind you is empty for as far as you can see).
Brittney Spears.
People who don't prewrite as much as possible on a check before having to pay.
Co-workers who want to dawdle and talk about pro wrestling when we've been there for thirteen hours already and half an hour will see us done. (They, of course, have missed two days that week and are milking the clock.)
Monthly "convenience checks" in the mail from a credit card company so I can go deeper in debt.
The Dell computer dude Steve (the redhead).
Political/religious people who really live the slogan "My mind is made up; don't confuse me with the facts."
Anyone using sex or flirting for personal advantage at work.
Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Laura Schlesinger.
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Is there something at most people know that I dont
by gilwarrior ineverytime i get mad over something, all my feelings just come out.
today, i had a really bad day.
(if you read my last post, you know what i am talking about.
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Kingpawn
gilwarrior,
going to be an exJW meeting here in Las Vegas, but it was cancelled because not enough people signed up. Great!
It's harder during times other than summer, I think, to get enough people to meet. It goes against conventional wisdom, but in summer we're more out and about, wanting to socialize and not be stuck in the house.
but I just can't read people!
It's not easy and it's not infallible. Even psychologists and psychiatrists can't do it all the time. Otherwise nobody who'd killed and been commited would be released back into society before they were really cured. And people can make themselves unreadable. Or they project conflicting messages. I remember the looks an interracial couple got from us when visiting the local KH--God's people, right, but there was a chill in the room.
I can be very paranoid over something completely insignificant and the other hand I can do or say the most offensive thing and not have any idea that I have done something wrong!
I do this less than before, but I still do it. Many of us probably do it and don't realize it because we're never called to account for it. For me, I trace it from my mother's last marriage to a guy who drank and was physically/verbally and maybe emotionally abusive to my mother, brother, and me. I never had a lot of therapy for it in the 30 years since (she once wondered, after I'd broached the subject years later, how it would affect me) but gradually I'm healing from it.
One thing that's helped me is to see I have redeeming qualities. I can be sensitive, and I know sometimes my tries at humor go beyond what's best sometimes...who doesn't?...and I cut myself some slack and try not to do it again. A sense of humor helps too. People care for me, I've been commended for how well-behaved my children are (discipline has advanced as they grew older). I can hold down a job and do jobs I hate sometimes because others depend on me. (This is not a slam at your not getting that job, btw.) These are things I can take a measure of pride in personally. You no doubt have things you can say are good about yourself as well. Be positive.
I agree with the poster who said making friends in Las Vegas would be tough. Not only is the population more transient, such as weekend gamblers, but the culture of the city--Vegas has a rep for gambling, for illicit sex, quickie marriages/divorces. These things all point to transiency. Non-permanence. People won't want to connect deeply with others (vertically) because of the pain of relationships ending soon. LV isn't Walton's Mountain.
When you meet someone: How do you talk to them?
Most people enjoy talking about themselves, so you might ask about anything they've seen/read/visited etc., that means a lot to them. Who have they met who's well-known? An actor? Sports figure? Pick a topic of conversation of mutual interest. Not something somber, like the DC sniper, but less morbid things like the World Series, something of local interest, etc.
It'll work out. You'll see. Good luck on the test!
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Should JWs watch GONE WITH THE WIND?
by badboy in.
i understand from usa today october 29 2002 page 4a that hattie mcdaniel,the actress who won a oscar for her role in above film had an alter built for her on the day of the dead.. therefore should a jw watch gone with the wind as they is a pagan connection?.
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Kingpawn
Therefore should a JW watch GONE WITH THE WIND as they is a pagan connection?
No, but not for this reason. Gone With the Wind has warfare, lust, adultery, women in submission to males, prejudice, conniving, and more in it. It's spiritually corrupting material...Good grief! What am I saying? This could just as easily describe the Bible! Ban that too!
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AOL IM
by XBEHERE inanyone on here use aol instant messenger?
i would really like to chat with someone 1 on 1 about some of the concerns/questions i have regarding leaving the wts.
i saw in some recent posts the question asked if arguing scares us off... or are some of us "double agents" (whatever the heck that is) or lurkers.
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Kingpawn
XBEHERE,
To answer your question:
or are some of us "double agents" (whatever the heck that is) or lurkers.
A "double agent" in the world of spying, is someone sent from country A to spy on country B and report anything found back to his/her handlers. If they're caught at it, they are offered a choice: death or the chance to spy on their country (A). So many times they may continue to spy for A but not let on that they've been caught and "turned" and their main allegiance is now to B.
J.K. Masterson's book, The Double Cross System, is a highly interesting and sometimes amusing recital of how the British actually "ran" (controlled) many of the spies the various departments of the German government (SS, SD, Wermacht, Gestapo, and so on) sent to England to spy against the British.
Here the phrase refers to someone who appears here, pretending to be an apostate sympathizer or someone with questions, but whose real purpose is to disrupt the board via flame wars, arguments, using multiple accounts/aliases etc. A search for threads using words like "troll" or "trolling" will give a recent thread discussing strategic and tactical trolls, for instance.
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What to do to live and work in the US?
by fulano in.
i lived in ny for almost a year (yes at the headquarters.
edited by - fulano on 30 october 2002 5:4:28edited by - fulano on 30 october 2002 5:6:52.
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Kingpawn
Prisca,
Surely the US government has websites about this sort of thing?
Seems to me that the logical place to start would be the State Department. Possibly contact them if fulano's still in the US, or the US Embassy in his home country.