NotFormer

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Posts by NotFormer

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  19

  Col 2:16, the scripture that blows away all of WT's Pharasitical man-made rules and cult guilt trips

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  colossians 2:16.

  "ironically enough, i never even knew about this bible verse until i had grown up and was pomo of the watchtower cult.

  read it, then read it again.

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  NotFormer

  I like posts of a few paragraphs or so, not pages and pages that could have been distilled into those few paragraphs that I like to read (and try to restrict myself to; not always successful there! 🙄) AI generation could well explain the sheer volume of content.

  Speaking of which, to go off on a tangent, does anyone read/listen to those AI generated stories on YouTube that purport to be taken from Reddit? My rule of thumb for identifying them: they are ridiculously long; usually forty minutes where the story could have been told in five to ten minutes. My favourite identifier is: "Something inside me snapped! I didn't yell; I didn't cry".

  Waiting for something to snap inside our favourite verbose poster, then we'll have him, dead to rights! 🙄
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  23

  What Did You Do For Fun That You Felt The WT Frowned Upon?

  by NotFormer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the light of the lifting of sanctions on glass clinking and recent threads on chess and dvds of lord of the rings, was there anything you did for fun, as a hobby or for recreational purposes that you felt might be "taken the wrong way" if it came to the attention of the elders or sister busybody?.

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  NotFormer

  In the light of the lifting of sanctions on glass clinking and recent threads on chess and DVDs of Lord of the Rings, was there anything you did for fun, as a hobby or for recreational purposes that you felt might be "taken the wrong way" if it came to the attention of the elders or Sister Busybody?
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  79

  Toasting

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when did the jws make the rule that you couldn’t clink glasses together and raise glasses of wine?.

  and why the change to being a conscience matter now?.

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  NotFormer

  Beth Sarim: "Hard to see it.

  "I just think of all the birthdays through-out the average congregation.

  "Each birthday takes away focus & worship of the GB., organization.

  "Too much focus is directed away from the Borg."

  That's why Rutherford banned them in the first place.

  Reinstating them means huge amounts of planning, resources and labour will be diverted away from "DA werldwide werk". And don't forget, birthdays mean gatherings, and gatherings mean opportunities to sin. Elders who love sitting on JCs probably would rub their hands with glee at the idea. Those elders who are already overworked and unpaid for that work might groan at the thought.
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  3

  Text book life

  by ElderBerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  take an example of a young man who grows up in a religious belief system jw or something.

  he mostly believes it but in truth is agnostic so is not absolute sure one way or another.. but he goes through the motions and gets married has kids, his kids grow up with the religious belief system.

  his wife is also technically a believer but they both have an overall agnostic approach.. this would be the text book life.

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  NotFormer

  Is this another commercial for "JW lite"? 🙄

  Just get the heck out of Babylon, if you can!
• 
  79

  Toasting

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when did the jws make the rule that you couldn’t clink glasses together and raise glasses of wine?.

  and why the change to being a conscience matter now?.

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  NotFormer

  Vidiot on Rutherford: "God, what a vindictive prick that guy was."

  There was nothing he wouldn't do to make himself the focus of the religion he wrested out of the hands of others.
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  79

  Toasting

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when did the jws make the rule that you couldn’t clink glasses together and raise glasses of wine?.

  and why the change to being a conscience matter now?.

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• 

  NotFormer

  r51785 - “I think what we have been seeing is a walking back of the religion that Judge Rutherford created.”

  Vidiot: "Or, at the very least, what Ted Jaracz turned it into."

  I see them as doubling down on his legacy.

  Yes, many things have changed. But what of any real importance?

  They've changed on beards, women's slacks, toasting? Peripheral items, fluff, mere frippery!

  They've made disfellowshipment and shunning a tiny bit less obviously evil? But they still haven't removed the drive to baptise minors into what is essentially a contractual agreement that the organisation takes and treats very seriously.

  They've lessened the attention to the blood doctrine? They still haven't disbanded the Hospital Liaison Committees; they still have people who try to make sure that certain members of the congregation die in hospital!

  They still disparage and discourage higher education at every turn.

  Ted Jaracz's masterpiece, the weaponising of the two witness rule in CSA cases. They still say "Call the elders" in CSA cases. They still tell the elders to "Call the branch '. Nowhere is it simply encouraged to "Call the police".

  Let me know when the GB changes something of actual importance. 🙄
• 
  9

  Question from readers , upcoming watchtower article

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "is it permissable for a christian to make a toast to the governing body for allowing us now to make a toast?

  "🤔.

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  NotFormer

  I'd love to see a larrikin JW try that! 😸
• 
  42

  "Playing Chess is evil, not for Witnesses" -Awake 1973

  by Witness 007 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  awake 73 3/22 p.12 "....the spirit of competition between players can lead to unpleasant circumstances, as the new york times reported: most families manage to keep the conflicts that arise in games to the chess board.

  but in some homes tensions linger long past checkmate.

  chess has been a game of war since it was originated 1,400 years ago....the games connections with war are obvious...a play-substitute for the art of war.

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  NotFormer

  Sea Breeze, is that for real? There was an article? Not just a zealous elder persecuting the flock at a higher level than usual? 🤔

  Edited to add:

  This was the best I could find at the WT's site:

  https://wol.jw.org/wol/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=101999931&q=labyrinth+minotaur+&p=doc&srcid=sch&srctype=jwo
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  28

  Why "Removed" instead of "Disfellowshipped or Shunning"

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was mulling this over last night...too much free time, i know.

  both disfellowshipping and shunning indicate the action of avoiding someone, taking them out of your sphere of associates.

  probably is a better sound bite to say "removed.

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  NotFormer

  If they aren't members anymore, then how are they even "removed". Removal implies that they were members in the the first place, but they're not allowed to even claim that anymore. Seriously: "individuals"?? "Unpaid drones" or "compelled donors" might be better classifications.

  As I see it, this is part of Bethel's game of "What's in it for the Great Crowd?" And their answer ultimately boils down to "Not much". 😔 They're not even members anymore.
• 
  66

  They are running out of people to do their stuff.

  by liam in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this is the watchtower study article being studied today.

  so it’s the current new light!.

  what are the new qualifications to be an “elder-aka older man...and circuit overseer?.

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  NotFormer

  Sea Breeze, sounds like it's not your father's WT anymore 😳

  Having read your story elsewhere, do you think that fourteen years old you would have been kicked out of today's JW congregation?