My comments echo Diamonds. I had no clue as to the number of people thinking and feeling the same things I was (am). I just ask myself, though, how others coped before the internet. It must have been terrible to feel so alone, not knowing of all the others going through the same thing in their own little corners of the globe.
Posts by acsot
-
35WHY YOU LOVE THIS BOARD
by hamptonite21 ini decided to start this thread, because so many time we go at each other because of difference of opinion.
( myself included ) but yet for me i love this place.
i love the different opionions, they make me think, i love the freedom of expression, the friendships, and the expriences that make this a special healing place.
-
-
-
25
WT Comments You Will Not Hear at the 11-17 WT Stdy
by blondie incomments you will not hear at the 11-17 wt study
jehovah blesses and protects those who are obedient--proverbs 1:33 .
(wts comments in quotes; mine without or in parentheses).
-
-
acsot
Thanks Blondie! I missed yesterday's meeting, my mother has bronchitis so obviously I had to stay home with her!! Now thanks to you I was able to partake of Jehovah's rich spiritual banquet, blah, blah, blah. Your comments were the dessert - thanks!
-
70
new service report (upturn)
by whatiloveaboutwater in.
has anyone seen the new figures in the jan 1st watchtower - i have.
what do you think about them?.
-
-
acsot
I agree with NameWithheld. I've been fudging my hours for several months, and from what I've read on a few posts here, I'm not the only one! So whatever statistics are reported can't be the real ones. I'm at work right now but was checking Canada's figures from around 1998-2002. It seems that, if my memory is right, around 1999 there were +/- 108,000 pubs in Canada. 2001 there were +/- 106,000. So even if 2002 brings it back up to +/- 108,000, it's not really a net gain over 1999. However, math and I are not on the best of terms so I stand to be corrected.
-
6
Seems that Y'all are having an impact
by acsot innotes from the wts annual meeting held on october 1, 2002. you may be excused at any time to be sick!
the real and unreal way to worship god - dan sydlik.
matt.
-
-
acsot
Metatron:
didn't I hear somewhere that NFL stands for "no football Losch"? ah yes, our leaders
-
6
Seems that Y'all are having an impact
by acsot innotes from the wts annual meeting held on october 1, 2002. you may be excused at any time to be sick!
the real and unreal way to worship god - dan sydlik.
matt.
-
-
acsot
notes from the WTS Annual Meeting held on October 1, 2002. You may be excused at any time to be sick!
The Real and Unreal Way to Worship God - Dan Sydlik
Matt. 15:1-20 Jesus said that they overstepped the commandment of God because of their traditions The state of a mans heart is what counts with God (I guess the WTS overlooked that part) Jesus statement was revolutionary. If he was right, it meant their whole religion, that of observing rules and regulations, was wrong. Pharisees were blind guides if religion constituted following external rules and regulations (you mean like counting time, counting magazines, handing in reports, three meetings/week, not questioning anything, what you can hang on a your bedroom wall if you live at Bethel, etc. etc.) . It is easier than loving the unloving or the unlovable, and helping them with their needs at the cost of ones own time and money (JWs prefer shunning, blaming victims, leaving magazines with people instead of giving food to the hungry) . . We must learn to love God with spirit and truth. One should give expressions from his heart when he comments in the Watchtower. If he reads and answers from the paragraph, the answer is from the copy and not from the heart (answer in your own words as long as it conforms 100% with what is already written down dont think for yourself) Meetings may help fix our mind on Jehovah. Thats what makes such meetings essential If religion is entirely external observances, it is evil in heart, and is no good. Meetings remind us of our duties and responsibilities to God.
(get out your vomit bags)
Maintaining Our Absolute Trust in the Faithful Slave - Gerrit Losch
Matt. 25:45-47. Jesus said the blind lead the blind into a pit. To trust someone fully, we have to know them well. Some do not trust enough. After a slanderous program in Europe, there wasnt much talk about it in the field. (anybody know what hes referring to?) However some of the brothers faith were greatly shaken. We must have complete trust. The first century faithful and discreet slave was represented by a Governing Body, and so too today. The apostles are alive now and in heaven. Should the news media or web sites make accusations, knowing the slave well helps us not to be affected by rumors. When rumors spread, do not add gas to the fire and continue spreading it. Be a fire wall .. Matthew 24 asks: Who really is the faithful and discreet slave? Well, who is it not? Could it be every true Christian? (here we go!!!!) No. In the first version of the New World Translation, this verse was worded, Who really is a faithful and discreet slave? This was corrected and revised. The Greek uses a definite article. Jesus would appoint the slave and still be alive at his return, therefore the slave could not be one person or individual. If the slave were just any faithful Christian, there is a problem. How could he be appointed over everything? How many were appointed over everything. Only one over all. Isaiah 43:10-12 speaks of Jehovahs Witnesses. The slave who would be around at the return, and was also put in charge in the first century, had a heavenly hope. The 1975 Yearbook, page 88 stated that in 1881 Russell wrote, Is it not that little flock of consecrated servants who are faithfully carrying out their consecration vows the body of Christ and is not the whole body individually and collectively, giving the meat in due season to the household of faith the great company of believers? Four years later his wife and others promoted the idea that Russell was the faithful and discreet servant. The February 15, 1927 Watchtower corrected it to Russells original understanding.
(now it really gets goofy) There are approximately 72,000 sisters in the heavenly class, if half of the 144,00. In what way can they disseminate spiritual food? Not by writing articles, but by preaching and teaching. 1 Peter 4:10, each one anointed male and faithful, letting their light shine by the oil of Gods spirit .. At Pentecost 33 CE the slave was appointed over some of the masters interests, not all. The domestics are individual members of the anointed, and not the great crowd. None of the great crowd was around when this was written, yet food was given to the domestics. The February 1, 1975, Watchtower spoke about the great crowd as a very precious belonging. Therefore they are a part of the belongings, including kingdom interests (sounds like rather circular reasoning to me) .
(youll like this part)
The identifying marks of the slave:
1. Dominant attitude of salve
2. Obeys commands, like preaching
3. Proves to be faithful under persecution/not spotted by the world
4. Provides spiritual food; quality and quantity. Sticks to Bible
5. Discreet (Greek e.g. Daniel 12:3, ones having insight will shine, in warding off attacks of apostates)
Do not the anointed meet these identifying marks? If Jesus trusts the slave absolutely, shouldnt we all the more so?
***********************8
At the Canadian branch it was mentioned:
Cases of child sex abuse now being made to smear Jehovahs name. Apostates continue TV programs claiming JWs cover up sex abuse. May 24 th letter to congregations, we abhor child abuse and report all such to the authorities. Case just completed in Toronto, judge will hand down ruling early next year. Isaiah 41:10 is our confidence.
Anybody get sick yet?
-
-
-
acsot
I'm in the same league as Minimus and Blondie. I've had questions and questions and guilt and fear for so long and then whammo! Read one e-book (God Lives in Brooklyn) and that was the eye-opener. I go sporadically, like Minimus, and also my mother is living with me, so for her sake I go. At the point I'm at now, the relief I feel (no more guilt, fear, etc.) more than makes up for whatever time I spend at the meetings I do happen to attend. Anyway, I use the time to compile my lists of errands or I use my notepad to write diary entries (it's quite therapeutic - and people think I'm so spiritual ! I hand in a service report but don't do any preaching - I actually enjoy screwing up their precious statistical reports that way. Once again, I don't want the hassle of elders wondering why I'm suddenly inactive and causing my mother a heart attack in the process (like many of you, I pioneered, special pioneered, served where the need was great, etc.)
-
6
Updates??????
by sunshineToo inhas anyone heard about the vicki boer's case in canada yet?
any new development/ lawsuits against the wts?????
?
-
-
acsot
Hi, I don't post much - read a lot though. I'm not online at home so try and catch up here at work when the boss isn't looking! Since my dub friends think I'm still in good standing I had the privilege of receiving the notes from the WTS 2002 Annual Meetnig. The notes are not to be posted to any website or sent by e-mail. Yeah sure. I will be posting some of them when I've had a chance to finish typing the more salient ones. The Vicki Boer case was talked about (get ready to vomit) as part of a series of "cases of child sex abuse being made to smear Jehovah's name". As we know, it's always the victims' fault, not the perpetrators who smeared Jehovah's name - in the perverted Watchtower way of twisting things. Apparently according to the notes I have the judge will hand down his ruling early next year.
And it's those dang apostates who are causing a stir - "using TV programs claiming JWs cover up sex abuse. Reference made to the May 24th letter to the congregations stating "we abhor child abuse and report all such to the authorities". Since they say it, it must be so, right? Anybody used their barf bags yet?
-
19
Will They Abduct My Son!
by 68storm ini would appreciate some input from the board that is weighing quite heavy on mind.. as some of you may know, my ex divorced me six years ago, strictly for religious reasons.
after an enormous amount of legal funds, i succeeded in getting an agreement signed that states that when the child reaches an age that the courts consider mature enough, we would both allow him to make his choice of religions.
even if he wanted nothing to do with religion.. it would seem that the time has finally arrived.
-
-
acsot
Hi Storm - I'm so sorry to hear what you're going through. I just wanted to know what part of Ontario you live in. I work in a law firm (not in Ontario) but we have offices in several provinces. Although we don't do family law, I can ask the lawyers in the Toronto/Ottawa offices if they can refer me to someone. Unless, of course, you have already found another competent lawyer to take the case. This really sucks.
-
27
How Would You Help An Alcoholic Friend?
by minimus inwe have a dear friend that is an alcoholic.
she is a witness.
she is a very sweet person.
-
-
acsot
This is really tough; my father was alcoholic and it seems that even when they know something must be done about their situation, the alcohol can rob them of any type of initiative or willpower to make an attempt to recover. The road seems too difficult. There are interventions that can be done, but I don't know too much about that. What helped me as an adult child of an alcoholic were the books and tapes by John Bradshaw (The Family, Healing the Shame that Binds You, Homecoming, etc.). However, the person has to confront some really painful emotions first to even start the recuperative process; alcoholism seems to be multi-generational and from some things I've read there can be a slight genetic pre-disposition to alcoholism for babies born to alcoholic parents, so at times one has to peel back layers and layers of generational/family dysfunction to get to the bottom. It can be done, however, painful though it is.
I would think that another impediment would be the fact that she is a JW, so with their circular reasoning (Im a JW, JWs arent supposed to be alcoholic or have any type of addiction, therefore Im not an alcoholic) it appears likely that shell have a very hard time facing up to the situation. I knew of a sister also who was alcoholic, her husband was a elder; everyone knew about it, talked about it, but according to her she didnt have a problem. The other elders didnt want to go near it with a ten-foot pole, all of them being younger than her and her husband and much less experienced (she was a Gilead graduate from the 40s).
Perhaps shed open up about her parents and the home situation when she was a child and then if there were similar addictions you could perhaps mention something about how its so difficult for children growing up in that situation to overcome those kinds of dysfunction. Since shes a victim of sexual and spousal abuse (which is a very common type of relationship for adult children of alcoholics to get into, they havent had any experience with anything different), then its almost inevitable that her willpower is lacking when it comes to trying to bury the problem. Reading Bradshaws books can be a start, maybe even for yourself so that you have an idea of what kind of dilemma shes in.
Shes fortunate to have friends like you.
-
15
losing the shadow of Jehovah.
by sleepy injust the other night i was feeling a bit down and when i went to bed i started to pray , then remebered i dont believe in god.
my whole life i believed there was a supreme being watching over me , who i could talk to and was listening to our prayers.its hard to get rid of that feeling from the back of you mind.
sometimes,when i do something i think i shouldn't , i start to say a quick prayer but then stop when i realise i'm just talking to myself.
-
-
acsot
This is amazing but I felt exactly the same thing last night. And I when I started to pray (on automatic pilot) I got pissed off and basically said, whoever's out there why do you make it so hard on us? if people are sincerely wanting to know you, why do you hide? And my conclusion was that now I feel sort of adrift, I want to believe and pray but it doesn't seem as though anyone or anything is out there listening.