Marvin, beautifuly presented; the starkness of the contrast is very telling.
Room 215
JoinedPosts by Room 215
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Allegiance They Never Knew
by Marvin Shilmer inallegiance they never knew.
because watchtower keeps publishing stories about jehovahs witnesses being led to believe it wrong to pledge allegiance to anything other than god, i have added to the repertoire of articles on the subject.
when i think of the horrendous suffering endured over the years over this issue, it makes me sick to know watchtowers top leadership did not clear up the misguided notion so witness children in school could stand in front of their peers and gladly pledge the oath of allegiance to the united states just like the president does.
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The effect we are having on the Watchtower is HUGE
by jwfacts ini was inspired by a recent thread i know i aint gunna crumble the wt, but a girl can dream to look at the effect we as individuals are having on the watchtower society.. 3dogs1husband quoted a story to show that even helping only one person is worth it.. it is encouraging to note that the one person you may have helped has lead to millions being helped, due to the power of compounding growth.. compounding growth is well illustrated by the rice on a chessboard problem.
if you start with 1 grain of rice on square one, and double it to 2 on the second, 4 on the third, 8 on the fourth, by the last (64th) square there would be 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains of rice.. likewise, if you help one person out of the grip of the watchtower this year, then next year you help one more and they help one, in a few years that is going to have a formidable result on the number of jehovahs witnesses.
look at the following statistics.
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Room 215
"I don't recall the exact time of the change in reporting hours but I distinctly remember that in the past when studying with a baptized individual only the study conductor was able to count the time. Now however, as mentioned in the April 2011 KM Question Box, both the study conductor and the publisher who accompanies him or her on the study should report the time spent."
I remember when neither the study conductor nor anyone else was permitted to count time when studying with a baptised person.
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" ...but did you know that God has a name? A personal name?" Nine Billion of them.
by Duncan inthis post - and i warn you now, its a longish essay - is going to be all about names.
but to get started, a little quiz: - what do the following all have in common?.
mount fuji, the river avon, the sahara desert, lake niassa.. .
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Room 215
It's superfluous, if not demeaning to assign a name to this Transcendent Being -- the First and only Cause of the Universe and its Sole Sustainer
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Why Does God Need A Name Anyway?
by Room 215 inif he is the lord god almighty, solely the creator and sustainer of the universe, why the need for a name other than that?
doesn't monotheism require belief that the other, named gods worshipped by the pagans don't exist in a place beyond the imaginations of their worshippers?
why then the need for a name, if it isn't to reinforce a differentiation between him and lesser gods?
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Room 215
"Abba, Father" seemed good enough for Jesus...
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New here - hello!
by sickandtired ini can't believe i'm actually posting here.
i've been lurking for a while and i've been having doubts about this being the "truth" for years and sometimes feel really stuck and hopeless about my situation.
i'm married to an elder (who is 110% jw) and i was for the most part raised in the "truth".
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Room 215
Welcome!! Your first-ever contribution to this forum is wonderfully eloquent and quite moving.
I keep thinking that maybe God is backing the Witnesses because I see evidence of love and harmony that I have not seen in any other religion.
You're quite right about the undeniably positive aspects of the Witnesses culture. One point to consider is the extent to which you've had the experience to venture elsewhere for a first-hand look at other religious communities, on which you might base a comparison. Another is to consider the extent to which we were all intimidated into avoiding the experience of taking a first-hand look.
Were you to do so, you might be surprised at the extent to which you'll find such qualities in evidence. Since the congregations of most protestant religions are far more autonomous -- less hierarchical -- than their JW counterparts, you'll likely observe less uniformity over behavior. Still, it's been my experience that communties of caring, charitable, socially conscientious Christians do indeed exist and are far less rare than the WT stereotype would have us believe.
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Why Does God Need A Name Anyway?
by Room 215 inif he is the lord god almighty, solely the creator and sustainer of the universe, why the need for a name other than that?
doesn't monotheism require belief that the other, named gods worshipped by the pagans don't exist in a place beyond the imaginations of their worshippers?
why then the need for a name, if it isn't to reinforce a differentiation between him and lesser gods?
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Room 215
If He is the Lord God Almighty, Solely the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, why the need for a name other than that? Doesn't monotheism require belief that the other, named gods worshipped by the pagans don't exist in a place beyond the imaginations of their worshippers? Why then the need for a name, if it isn't to reinforce a differentiation between Him and lesser gods?
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JW co-worker lost everything in flood... elders are nowhere in sight
by Alfred inrecently, a flash flood hit co-worker's neighborhood when heavy rains combined with blocked storm drains caused river water and mud to deviate and head straight for the lower homes in his gated community.
about 18 homes were affected in this neighborhood and there was absolutely no time to react.
before my jw co-worker could do anything, he had at least 3 feet of water and mud gushing through his entire one-story home losing everything except some pictures that were hanging on the wall.
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Room 215
"....and when he tells his elder handlers that he got some money from you, they will say,"A blessing from Jehovah."""" .... I just hope HE doesn't spin it that way!
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57% of all publishers pioneered in April
by hoser inwe had a letter read this afternoon after the watchtower study that said we had 54,408 auxillary pioneers in april and with the regular pioneers it totaled 64,855 in full time preaching in april.
57% of the publishers.. so my guess is that the co will come down hard on any congregation that didn't meet those numbers next april.. i think the 30 hour thing had it's desired effect.. hoser.
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Room 215
I suppose Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts were also beneficiaries of the April circlejerk....
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Attention Lurkers- Consider the effectiveness of your lifesaving work
by stuckinamovement inhypothetical scenario.
you are a city manager in a major metropolitan city with a population of 3,000,000.. .
if the governing body was truly convinced themselves of the impending disaster and the fact that the end is imminent would they not focus their efforts in spreading the message through effective means such as telephone, television, internet, social networks etc?
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Room 215
As I've said in other related threads, the GB's overriding priorities are ASSET ENHANCEMENT and PRESERVATION ... the only lives they're really interested in saving are those of its corporations!
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Did Jesus preach from door-to-door with sidekick Apostle (W. 15-12-2010)
by AnthonyMorrisXIII in'hello, i'm just calling on you and your neighbours to talk to you about why there's so much trouble in the world'.. "rather than feel frustrated or discouraged because jehovah's day seems delayed, we should be glad that there is still time for us.
to be zealous for true worship.
" (pp.
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Room 215
How ludicrous... just shows their contempt for the collective intelligence of their flock. Do they have any idea how costly and prized such hand-copied scrolls were? How could the "unlettered and ordinary" disciples afford them, much less read and understand them? How many of them existed in private hands away from the synagogue? And how did the "householder" know they weren't bogus copies concocted by the guys at their door? What percentage of the population-- including the disciples -- could read and write in the first place?