Posts by WinstonSmith

17

wow

by Theredeemer in

jw
friends

it has been a long time since i have posted here, so, here it goes.

i have been back and forth for the last two years on whether or not to stay in this religion or not.

most of me wanted to stay for the same as many others, fear.

WinstonSmith

A high five for you and your dear wife from me and my dear wife :-)

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

You know what's funny Giordano, is after the talk I told the same story to Mrs Smith!

Makes me laugh every time :-)

Hope you all have a flippin' awesome weekend!

3

Jesus Christ any PS3 gamers?

by DubR in

if u are a hardcore ps3 gamer (at least lvl 10) holla at ur boi.

im sure there are hundreds of gamers on here so leave ya psn name or pm me.

l8r.

WinstonSmith

I'm a big fan of Bioshock. Don't play online though.....

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

I ate huhu grubs once. They taste like crunchy peanut butter.

Maybe, since I'm a kiwi, I'll just take some fush n chups....

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

We just got invited to an "International Dinner"

Everyone is going to "Bring a dish from their country of nationality" and we are going to eat them while we "enjoy christian association"

Please, please, pleeeease let Armageddon come before the weekend!

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

Hey Oz!

You are so right mate, I went through a phase of calling prayer 'talking with your eyes closed.' People only see what they want to see. When something goes their way they say Jehovah answered their prayers. Yet they conveniently forget the thousand other times the subjects of their prayers never materialised.

I tend to waver between faith and not being sure about anything. Does that make me agnostic? Not sure. I think it makes me human. I do believe in being good to others to whatever extent we can at any given time. I believe that there are some words of Jesus that we should live by, namely love God, love your neighbour, and treat others how you want to be treated. I'm also aware these are not necessarily ideas that are original to the bible. On the odd occasion when I do pray it is generally addressed to God, Jesus, Gaia, Buddha, Mother Nature whoever might be out there. It's more of an inner monologue than anything specific. Other times I'm like "thats a big ol' empty sky up there."

Hey, I'm just a dude doing the best I can with the tools I've got.

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

Hello everyone,

Hope you are having a good week!

Have had a very interesting series of chats with my sister over the last few days. Her and her husband (both pioneers and he is a MS) have been having some trouble in their marriage lately. They have just been through the wringer with the elders and the CO, and my sister has come out of it absolutely exasperated at the way she was treated. One of her comments was "I just want to tell them all to go to hell!" This has been festering for over two years and has now come to a head.

Let's just say Winston is endeavouring to eeeeeeever so lightly prod and point out the unscripturalness of what she has been told. I'm playing on the whole secret elders book / women are a second class citizen / opinions of men angles. I'm taking it from a "I used to be an elder so I have some inside info on all this for you" aspect.

Watch this space....

In the meantime, here are some notes from a recent public talk. These are just notes and not necessarily my opinion. I am reporting, not supporting.

What Kind of Prayers Does God Answer?

Pretty much everyone these days has a mobile phone.
They are useful, but they come at a cost.
All of us have a way of communicating that is free and the person we speak with is always there and ready to pick up.
Sadly not many people know how to use this way of communication, so their prayers go unanswered.
1986 was declared as a year of peace and many religious groups got together and prayed for this peace to come. Obviously these prayers went unanswered.
One reason prayers don't get answered is that they go to the wrong person.
Acts 2:21 says that those who call on God's name receive help. There are many different religions and they all have different books, but only our book tells people what God's name is. People's prayers don't get answered because they are praying to the wrong person.
Psalm 115:5, 6. People think they are praying to God, but they aren't because there is no reply.
Is there a channel that people need to go to? John 16:23.
Prayers must be offered through Jesus or else they just go nowhere.
Our motive is important too. People often turn to God when there are natural disasters and pray for the safety of the families. If the family member has died, then God gets blamed and that is not fair. Our motive needs to revolve around God's will.
When we make an emergency call, we have to be specific to the operator on the details of where exactly the ambulance or police need to go. Our prayers should be specific too.
Remember though that Jehovah will not answer prayers such as those that some make to win the lotto. It is better to pray for God's kingdom to come. For the preaching work to be successful. These are the things with which Jehovah is concerned.
Jehovah blesses the efforts of his faithful servants, so it is important that we follow through on the things we pray about.
Psalm 119:105. The answers to many of our prayers are provided in the bible this is why we have to study the bible.
Zechariah 4:6. Holy Spirit answers our prayers too.
One lady was left with three kids after her husband died. She prayed for comfort from God's word. Next day a JW called and said in his presentation "I have come to give you comfort from Gods word." When the lady heard the exact words that she had prayed, she commenced a study and is now a JW.
In WW2 there were a number of sisters in a prison. The guards threatened the sisters one day with forcing the sisters to put their hands in hot oil. All of the sisters prayed. Most of them prayed for release and deliverance. This sister instead prayed to maintain her faith no matter what. The guards left them alone. Looking back, the sister was grateful that she prayed in a way that focused on Jehovah.
One sister was a successful pioneer and then she came down with depression. She prayed for help to get over it. Soon after she received an invitation to go to Bethel. She was not sure if she could do it due to her condition. She decided to go anyway. A few months later she realised that her depression had disappeared.
What prayers does Jehovah listen to?
Those that are earnestly seeking Jehovah.
Those who have faith that he will answer.
Those that want to have a relationship with Jehovah.
Those that are specific and followed up with actions.
Isaiah 55:6.

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

"Jehovah's creation"

I've heard this phrase about 5 times this weekend. Friends got back from Thailand and put their photos on Facebook. Then they put up another album from the same trip called Jehovahs Creations full of pics of all the animals they saw. Sitting at the beach last night with some friends watching the sunset and we hear "Oh its moments like this that really make you appreciate Jehovah's creations."

Etc.

Dunno why but this phrase is starting to grate on me.

Don't mind me. Just venting.

12

The Sweet Taste of FREEDOM!!!

by Unbrainwashed publisher1 in

jw
friends

everyday is an adventure the only thing that stays the same is that each day i make my own decisions.

i take pleasure in getting to know new people.

with no agenda of trying to get them to convert to the org.

WinstonSmith

Great post UP1, bought a smile to my face, and I need that today.

'Worldly' people are just people now. Not potential converts. Not potential victims of God's wrath. Just people, all weird and wonderful in their own little ways.

Viewing people this way makes you see the world in a whole new light. It affects the way we interact. It makes relationships seem more genuine.

And that's pretty cool.

529

Analysis of anti-607 BCE Rebuttals

by Ethos in

i agreed yesterday to engage in the '607' topic.

i've read numerous threads and am well aware that this topic has been addressed and dissected quite thoroughly.

therefore, if you are uninterested in participating, that's fine.

WinstonSmith

Ethos' latest response (post 49) is revealing. It proves that he is in fact a Buddhist. Recovery came back as Olin Moyle who came back as Still Recovery who has come back as Ethos.

No matter how convincing an argument is, people will believe whatever they want anyway. This applies to both sides of the argument.