NotFormer

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Posts by NotFormer

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  37

  new WT rule: no holding hands durning public prayer!

  by leftchica in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  so i just caught a glimpse of this new wt magazine(study edition) of course.. from dec 28th titled.

  "what do your prayers say about you".

  so now they are focosing on every aspect of our lifes even our actions during prayer.

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  NotFormer

  Pathetic micromanaging. 🤨 No wonder it died away as quickly as it emerged! 🙄
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  4

  Remember using the term BORG to refer to the WTS

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's interesting that when watchtower is referred to as the borg, it immediately brings to mind the scenes where individuals such as captain piccard are held prisoner within a vast collective hive type prison and unable to leave.

  they are then turned into drones.

  in fact here is how wikipedia explains it.. the borg are a fictional alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the star trek franchise.

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  NotFormer

  Landru's society in TOS's Return of the Archons was a fitting analogy. Probably more so. Cries of "You are not of the body!" carry an echo that a lot of JWs, past and present, can probably identify with.
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  7

  NOT on JW.org. Massive growth of new congregations in Africa? Really?

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  lady shares her experience attending a "jehovah’s witness church after accepting an invitation from one of their members".

  a nigerian lady shares her unexpected and comically awkward experience attending a jehovah’s witness service for the first time after accepting an invitation from a persistent male friend, who was a member of the church.. a nigerian lady shares her unexpected and comically awkward experience attending a jehovah’s witness service for the first time after accepting an invitation from a persistent male friend, who was a member of the church.. .

  she shared a video detailing her experience, with a caption that read;.

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  NotFormer

  Diogenesister, gotta agree with you, that's a bit of a head scratcher 🤔. Perhaps there is an "and" missing. "I will also be in Birmingham and in different nations", perhaps? Referring to Zooming between congregations in different places, maybe? Or the speech to text function interpreted something completely different as "Birmingham".
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  7

  NOT on JW.org. Massive growth of new congregations in Africa? Really?

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  lady shares her experience attending a "jehovah’s witness church after accepting an invitation from one of their members".

  a nigerian lady shares her unexpected and comically awkward experience attending a jehovah’s witness service for the first time after accepting an invitation from a persistent male friend, who was a member of the church.. a nigerian lady shares her unexpected and comically awkward experience attending a jehovah’s witness service for the first time after accepting an invitation from a persistent male friend, who was a member of the church.. .

  she shared a video detailing her experience, with a caption that read;.

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  NotFormer

  Is there any chance of backlash to anyone here. Like the inviter being carpeted by some elders somewhere for making the org look silly? Or an investigation into his relationship with the invitee?

  Why isn't a congregation of precisely two people merged with a another one "nearby"*?

  * I assume "nearby" means anywhere within twenty miles away across a crocodile 🐊 infested river or two.
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  8

  That famous 117 Adams St address

  by BONEZZ in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...is now owned by etsy.

  just happened across this.

  (maybe you all knew it but it was newz to me) finally made it to 1000 posts...whew..

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  NotFormer

  Blondie: "Wasn't that 10 years ago?"

  This sort of thing never gets old! 😭
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  4

  I AM THAT I AM - The Birth of The Kingdom of God

  by EisMe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my history.

  a childhood vision: the first sign.

  the first glimpse into my divine path came when i was just a child.

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  NotFormer

  Is this Burney himself? 🤔
• 
  65

  The End of the Times of the Gentiles and the Restoration of the Kingdom

  by EisMe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the end of the times of the gentiles and the restoration of the kingdom.

  the final stage of god’s plan on earth.

  the fulfillment of prophecy: the end of the gentile age.

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  NotFormer

  144,000 Jamaicans 🙄
• 
  51

  You Could Be Stuck in a University When Your Parent Dies. Convention Day 2 Video

  by liam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the governing body is going all out at this years convention.

  they are still discouraging university education.

  i guess the end must be real close .

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  NotFormer

  I'd better ask the question again, as it seems to have gotten lost: is compassionate leave a thing at Bethel? Is a family crisis easily attended to by a Bethelite?

  I'm asking because if it isn't, then you're going to be just as "stuck" at Bethel (if not more so) as at uni.
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  26

  SDAs Campaigning in my Area

  by NotFormer in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  not even as active as the jws (whom i have not seen for around a year now), nevertheless i get an occasional leaflet or other publication in my letterbox that seems to be seventh day adventist in origin.. the booklet i received the other day was entitled "national sunday law".

  i also had received this book years ago when i had some dealings with the sdas.. from reddit: "national sunday law involves a conspiracy theory which alleges that the united states government is on the verge of enacting a national blue law that would make sunday a day of rest and worship.

  the theory depends on the idea that the pope is the antichrist and the mark of the beast is worshipped on sunday.

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  NotFormer

  "Another form of evangelism is through acts of service and compassion. As Christ Himself modeled for us, showing love and compassion to others is an important part of sharing the gospel message"

  This was their approach with us thirty or so years ago. They always made sure we had transport to their church and back on Saturday. Invited us to church dinners*.They even offered to pay for our kids to go to their private school. The price of that: getting re-baptised into their religion and making a declaration at that baptism that Ellen G White is a prophet. A deal breaker, if ever there was one. 😳 But probably familiar to many here who went through a similar process when joining the JWs.

  As for the local SDAs, I'm not sure if the occasional leaflet dropped into my letterbox is a church-wide campaign or some highly motivated lone-wolf**. I might give the church a ring today and find out.

  In agreement with others here, I've always been struck by the similarities between JW and SDA literature. They are both branches of a similar doctrinal tree that took root during the restorationism era.

  * Don't ever believe that those tasty looking chunks of "meat" in their casseroles and curries are real: back then, it was all TVP (textured vegetable protein). One taste and you know, instantly, that it's not really meat! 🍖

  ** I imagine that he's spending a pretty penny for those booklets, if he's letterboxing the whole town. Again, it might be the church, rather than one lone individual. I'll hopefully know after I ring them.
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  21

  PIMA is best so it’s not a shock to the system if the tower collapsed

  by JohnR1975 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know most people here are totally out and that’s fine.. many these days are staying physically in for the social life and that is also fine.. i feel being fully mentally in is dangerous as it could be such a shock mentally if or should i say when the tower collapsed.. im sitting in the fence like so many others here.

  mentally agnostic if god exists or not and if the bible is his word.. when i talk to people who are physically and mentally still in i can tell that they so need it to be true.

  i’m worried for them when they wake up to the fact that they have been lied to 1914 wasn’t true 1975 wasn’t true 1999 wasn’t true and now here we are 2025 it’s all not true.

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  NotFormer

  I'm not sure painting Ray Franz as a baddie is a particularly sound approach. 🤔 You're just reinforcing wrongly held prejudices and stereotypes when you do that.