Posts by pseudoxristos

7

Humor. Quotes from a JW message board.

by pseudoxristos in

quotes from a jw message board.

i've added the hidden meaning to most.. feel free to add more.. .

*a lot of bowing your head will help keep your thoughts humble.. meaning: a lot of bowing your head will help keep you in the dark.. *don't put a question mark where jehovah puts a period.. meaning: don't question the watchtower period.. *exercise daily.

pseudoxristos

Quotes from a JW message board. I've added the hidden meaning to most.
Feel free to add more.

*A lot of bowing your head will help keep your thoughts humble.
meaning: A lot of bowing your head will help keep you in the dark.

*Don't put a question mark where Jehovah puts a period.
meaning: Don't question the Watchtower period.

*Exercise daily. Walk with Jehovah!
meaning: Exercise daily. Slap an Elder.

*Forbidden fruits create many jams.
meaning: Forbidden fruits keep jamming my thoughts.

*Give Jehovah what's right, not what's left!
meaning: Give the Watchtower the right and the left.

*Give Satan an inch and he'll become a ruler.
meaning: Give the Satanic organization an inch and it will become a
ruler.

*Jehovah doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
meaning:?????

*Jehovah loves everyone, but prefers "fruits of the spirit"
over "religious nuts"!
meaning: Jehovah loves JW's, but prefers "fruits of the spirit"
from "religious nuts"!

*Jehovah promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
meaning:?????

*Having truth decay? Brush up on your Bible!
meaning: Having truth decay? Brush off your Bible!

*He who angers you, controls you!
meaning: We anger you, the GB controls you!

*He who is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
meaning: The GB is good at making excuses and is seldom good for
anything.

*He who kneels before Jehovah can stand before any man!
meaning: He who kneels before Jehovah can't stand any of you!

*Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back,
usually with friends.
meaning: Kindness is difficult to give to us, because we keep
coming back, usually with friends.

*Most people want to serve Jehovah, but only in an advisory capacity.
meaning:?????

*Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.
meaning: Nothing ruins the truth like discovering it.

*Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
meaning: Plan ahead. It had rained before Noah built the ark.

*"Pray" is a four-letter word that you can (should) say anywhere.
meaning: "Prey" is a four-letter word that we're looking for.

*Prayer - Don't give Jehovah instructions - just report for duty!
meaning: Don't give Jehovah instructions - just report your hours!

*The Will of Jehovah will never take you to where Jehovah will not
protect you.
meaning:?????

*To be almost following Jehovah is to be almost within Satan's
reach..
meaning: To be almost following Jehovah is to be almost within
the GB's reach.

*Watch your step carefully! Jehovah does.
meaning: Watch your step carefully! The elders do.

*We don't change the "Word of Jehovah", the word of Jehovah changes
us.
meaning: We don't change the "Word of Jehovah", the Publications
department does that.

*When feeling down we should remember by knowing Jehovah we're, too,
blessed to be depressed.
meaning: When feeling down we should remember by knowing Jehovah
we're, too, busy to be depressed.

*Wisdom has two parts:
1) Having a lot to say.
2) Not saying it.
meaning: Wisdom has two parts:
1) Having a lot to say.
2) Not saying it, because you will be DF'd.

*Worry is the darkroom in which "negatives" are developed.
meaning: Worry is the darkroom in which "Witnesses" are developed.

pseudoxristos

(edited to correct errors)

50

Your best (one sentence) description of the WT

by moman in

jw
friends

here iz mine:.

#1) "a cancer of the soul".

#2) "a fools paradise".

pseudoxristos

Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

42

WTS TO END MAILED SUBSCRIPTIONS

by Seeker4 in

jw
friends

just heard that the society is going to stop mailed subscriptions.

magazines will all have to be picked up at the kingdom hall.

not sure when it's starting, but soon, i suppose.. sorry if this has been posted before, but i think this is very new info.

pseudoxristos

I've been getting both the Watchtower and Awake for just over 3 years now. I never paid a dime for them or renewed them. I don't know if the brother I studied with is renewing them for me or what. I haven't heard from him in about 2 1/2 years. If this is an oversight on the part of the Watchtower, then I'm sure I'm not the only one getting free subscriptions. Stopping subscriptions will save a lot of money if this is the case.

I really looked foward to the info. in the Awake about the U.N. You guys messed that up, now the Watchtower is stopping my subscription. What am I going to do now.

28

Why atheism?

by Skimmer in

jw
friends

on varieties of atheism:.

can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

pseudoxristos

Skimmer,

Did you make a choice or decision to become Catholic?
Were you raised in a Catholic family?

Please give us your background.

28

Why atheism?

by Skimmer in

jw
friends

on varieties of atheism:.

can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

pseudoxristos

After reading COMF's post I have to make the following correction:

I guess I really didn't have a choice in what I believe, just like I didn't have a choice what to believe when my mom took me to the Baptist church as a child.

The only choice I may have had, was to face my own mortality and find out what the truth was.

28

Why atheism?

by Skimmer in

jw
friends

on varieties of atheism:.

can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?

absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.

pseudoxristos

One thing that is interesting about atheism is that it usually is a choice and not something that is commonly incurred from one's parents. I think that there are several probable motivational factors and more than one may exist for any particular person.

In my case this was one of choice. After several years of challenges from Witness's, I found that I could no longer continue to believe or justify my protestant upbringing.

Perhaps the most common reason for choosing atheism is not a personal conviction that God doesn't exist, but rather a negative reaction against religious practices one observed (or was forced into) as a youth. I am not surprised at all that many exJWs became atheists. I wonder if many of these people are really atheists, but rather "areligionists" and are more closer to agnosticism than atheism.

I am personally convinced that God does not exist at least in the Judeao-Christian sense. Can't say for sure if other religions portray an accurate view of him. To many religions and not enough time. My background with the Judeao-Christian view of God has enabled me to determine that most other religions have many of the same flawed concepts for proof of their God(s). Though I cannot say this for sure, because I can not possibly study all religions. Kind of a "I've proved one wrong, why should the others be much different".

Another cause for a choice of atheism is the Problem of Evil. Also known as the Problem of Pain (C. S. Lewis) and the Problem of Disorder. The existence of evil is, as described in the _Handbook of Christian Apologetics_, "the only apparent proof of atheism". And while I know the theist answer to this (I am a Roman Catholic), I have yet to come across a simple, easily phrased answer.

The way I look at the Problem of Evil is as follows:

If our Sun exploded, or some other catastrophe occurred, and the human race was wiped out totally. This would be the most horrific event to ever happen. Could we call this evil? It could be called many things, but not evil. Society has come up with the term "Evil". Most people only perceive evil when there is intelligences behind it. In the overall picture of the Universe, the eventual explosion of our sun will be just another event in the Cosmos. No one will be left to assign a human quality such as evil to it. I don't think Evil really exists, just a human idea.

I have not studied atheism, so the above is my own view, and should not be taken as the view of all atheist.

Another reason for choice of atheism is the fear that theism may be true, complete with a promise or threat of judgment in the afterlife. Likewise, a fear of no survival of death could lead to theism. But is either fear a justification of belief or disbelief?

I am not in fear that theism may be true. Not really worried about it any more. I have looked into the beliefs that I was raised with and found them to be inaccurate. I must admit that growing up and the thought of burning in Hell did effectively keep me believing in God. I suspect that many Witness's found relief in the WatchTowers Doctrine of Death or non-existence, as opposed to eternal torment. After escape from the belief in Hell it would be difficult to embrace it again. I never became a Witness, but I fought long and hard to keep my belief in Hell. I finally had disproved so much of my previous religion, that it all eventually tumbled, Hell Heaven and all. I really don't think that if a God exists that he really cares what I personally think of him. The proof of his existence is so lacking as far as I'm concerned, that I don't think he could judge me for my disbelief.

Maybe more than a few people, perhaps those who could not be accused of having a low opinion of their personal intellectual talents, are atheists because, in their view, many or most theists are stupid, low-class, and gullible.
I wonder how many "strong" atheists are out there. By this I mean those that have examined the evidence and arguments and are convinced beyond all doubt that God does not exist or cannot exist. I know the late Isaac Asimov was one of these and he was an intelligent, well-read author, but I think he was wrong.
Likewise, how many "strong" agnostics are out there? Here, a strong agnostic is one who claims that we cannot decide the question. I think that the late Carl Sagan was one of these. It is arguable that Albert Einstein was close to this position when he suggested that "the Good Lord" was "infinitely subtle".
Are you an atheist? If so, could you share your reasoning with the readership?

As far as intellectually, I would not consider my self as superior to those that have religious beliefs. I do know that I have studied enough to be sure of what I believe and don't believe. I have to believe that the religious have not studied the same material that I have studied, and therefore have come to a different conclusion. There also could be some areas of religion that I haven't studied that possibly could change my beliefs. I have read quite a lot, and do not really expect this to happen though.

In the process of deciding that I was not a Christian, I have studied Higher Criticism, learned to read Koine Greek and some Hebrew and studied many of the theories of Biblical Redaction. Most people do not understand why I would be interested in this, and I cannot really explain it, put simply, I have to know.

I still haven't decided if I'm atheist, agnostic or what. I don't like the term atheist because it tends to offend most Christians. I am very interested in Christian beliefs. I may just be wondering if there was some thought or reasoning I might have missed.

1

Jul 22, 01 Awake dissemination of UN info

by pseudoxristos in

jw
friends

a quick search for the "united nations" on the watchtowers public information site, listed an article with a reference to the july 22, 2001 awake.

the awake article titled "helping hands are everywhere" contains a box entilted "international year of volunteers".

this is clearly one example of the watchtower disseminating information for the united nations.. interesting note:.

pseudoxristos

Scan of Jul 22, 2001 Awake
*
*

[excerpt from UN Site]

Promoting UN observances and international years established by the General Assembly to focus world attention on important issues facing humanity.

Kind of like waving a flag for a political birthday.

Can not get the pictures to work, here is the link:
* http://pseudoxristo.freewebsites.com/

Help, Can anybody tell me how to get the pictures and links to work.

1

Jul 22, 01 Awake dissemination of UN info

by pseudoxristos in

jw
friends

a quick search for the "united nations" on the watchtowers public information site, listed an article with a reference to the july 22, 2001 awake.

the awake article titled "helping hands are everywhere" contains a box entilted "international year of volunteers".

this is clearly one example of the watchtower disseminating information for the united nations.. interesting note:.

pseudoxristos

A quick search for the "United Nations" on the Watchtowers Public Information site, listed an article with a reference to the July 22, 2001 Awake. The Awake article titled "Helping Hands Are Everywhere" contains a box entilted "International Year of Volunteers". This is clearly one example of the Watchtower disseminating information for the United Nations.

Interesting note:
The page opposite the UN box, contains the Awake masthead containing the words "...yet it always stays politically neutral..."

6

Help, Changes in criterion regarding membership

by pseudoxristos in

jw
friends

has anyone found out what changes have been made in the criteria regarding membership as a "dpi/ngo" since 1991. i brought up the un issue in a jw chat group.

they apparently got the disassociation letter a couple days after it came out.

the following is the latest attempt to justify the issue.

pseudoxristos

Thanks everyone for the info.

It will be very helpful. I will see if I can pin them down, to come up with some specifics regarding the alleged changes. I will post anything interesting. Thanks again.

6

Help, Changes in criterion regarding membership

by pseudoxristos in

jw
friends

has anyone found out what changes have been made in the criteria regarding membership as a "dpi/ngo" since 1991. i brought up the un issue in a jw chat group.

they apparently got the disassociation letter a couple days after it came out.

the following is the latest attempt to justify the issue.

pseudoxristos

Has anyone found out what changes have been made in the criteria regarding membership as a "DPI/NGO" since 1991. I brought up the UN issue in a JW chat group. They apparently got the disassociation letter a couple days after it came out. The following is the latest attempt to justify the issue. Any help will be appreciated.

****begin quote****
here is a copy of the text from the resignation from the NGO.
since they have 'changed' their criterion regarding membership,
we can no longer share in their dissemination of information.
****end quote****