RunningMan

Joined

• started 101 topics
• posted 3,301 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by RunningMan

• 
  44

  Why can some question and others not

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we are not jehovah's witnesses because of a variety of circumstances, but one thing we all share is that we question.. what factors come together to make us questioners?.

  intelligence?

  but i know a lot of very smart non-questioning jehovah's witnesses.. bravery?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  Maybe the question is framed backwards. Instead of "What is present in
  us that caused us to do this?", maybe it should be "What is absent in us?"

  Here's what I mean. Religious people appear to have a deep need that is
  filled by their religion. I personally know some (OK, 1) JW who is intelligent
  and analytical. Yet, even when presented with apostate evidence, still refuses
  to see the point.

  I personally do not feel a need for the structure that either religion or God
  provides. Maybe that's the difference.
• 
  14

  Can we understand the message of the Bible

  by Bill Parker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  reply to question- can we understand the message of the bible?.

  joel bear made the following comment to me: as one of jehovahs witnesses who bears his name, why not give a well thought out answer to the question.. .

  the questions as far as i can determine are this: why is the bible so ambiguous that so many interpretations are possible?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  So, God's ways are higher than ours, so how can we puny mortals expect
  to understand his lofty thoughts? Well, if we cannot understand his words
  without being blessed, then why write them at all? Why not just bless us?

  And, if God bestows understanding on some, but not on others, then understanding
  has nothing to do with the Bible at all, but rather, on God's favors. Again, why
  bother writing it?

  The purpose of writing is to communicate thoughts to a reader. If the book is not
  written at an appropriate level for the reader, then it is a faulty communication. A
  perfect God should not make such an elementary communication error.

  The Bible is actually written much like a horoscope. It is vague and feely, and can
  be interpreted after the fact in just about any way that you want.
• 
  26

  Why prayer and Does it work?

  by Undecided in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why i began thinking on prayer was the request from my spanish neighbour to my wife.

  they requested that she come down and pray for his/her child who has been sick.

  my wife believes in prayer and says she knows it works.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  Prayer can be very useful as a tool for introspection and self-examination.
  It can help you come to terms with your problems. Many times verbalizing
  an issue can lead to a solution, or at least, acceptance.

  Beyond that, no, there is no magic. Apparent answers to prayers are simply
  random occurances.
• 
  12

  An Interesting Dilemna Part 2

  by mindfield in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, okay, so this isn't really a dilemna.

  i just want to hear your thoughts on this.... it's co week here in our cong...(woohoo) and i haven't went to the kh for about a month.

  my sis told me she'd really like it if i'd come, maybe just for tonight, since it's special (cough, cough) and to sit with her and her hubby.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  You appear to have the freedom to choose. Some of us are trapped by family
  ties and have no choice but to go.

  If I were in your shoes, I would not step foot in the God-forsaken Kingdom Hall
  again for the rest of my life..

  Also, don't forget the danger. You might meet a nice young sister and fall in love.
  Why get tangled up with them. Run.
• 
  13

  UPDATE ON "PRESENT THE TRUTH" ...

  by Bill Parker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  purgatory is still another.

  what method of teaching did he impart to the 1st century christians?

  how did he say that we should worship his father jehovah?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  Imperfect humans can write pretty good technical manuals. Why cannot
  the almighty of the universe write a book that can be clearly understood?

  And also, why are there so many different versions of the Bible with different
  wordings that lead to multiple understandings? Can't God look after his book
  and ensure that accurate translations are obvious and available to all?
• 
  10

  Do you think that...

  by crochunter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some people that come here regularly, do so to rationalize the fact that they have left the organization?.

  that's kind of how i feel.

  we talk about false prophecies, etc that the wtbts has done in the past, but if you believe the bible is real, isn't someone right?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  Paradoxically, although I no longer believe in the Bible, I come here for a
  Biblical reason. The Bible says, "Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves
  together."

  JW's do this to encourage one another in their faith. I come here to encourage
  myself in my disbelief.

  As a currently active Witness, I find meetings to be depressing and iritating.
  Coming here is like a breath of fresh air, a place where people can actually
  say what they think.

  I find this place encouraging and refreshing. No other reason.

  And as for the Bible. Well, forget everything that you have been told about it,
  and read it from the beginning. You won't get past the first 10 chapters. It's
  trash.
• 
  10

  Watchtower and printed material

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  would jehovah's witnesses even exist today if they didn't have books and magazines to sell?.

  could they survive with just the bible and their faith in god?.

  isn't it phenomenal how much of the material they print is simply repeated information?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  Well, you can't really blame them for repeating articles. Just look at all
  the paper they need to fill.

  For example, if we assume that the WT has been published semi-monthly
  for 122 years, the AW for 80 years, the KM for 60 years, and about 100 bound
  books published, you come to 184,410 different pages of printing. And I haven't
  included the yearbooks, daytexts, calendars, tracts, etc.

  This means that they have printed approximately 150 times the volume of the Bible.
  So, God's unique words would then equal only 0.67% of their printing.

  For an organization that claims to print "Bible based articles", they have certainly
  added a lot of their own words to it.
• 
  21

  My dad's response to the 'Cow' article......

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  earlier in isp's thread, someone posted a reprint of a 1952 wt article likening women to cows.. i cut and pasted the whole article to my dad as well as my sister and a jw friend who continues to talk to me despite my being labeled apostate.. i did not change any words, only highlighted or bolded the sentences that i thought were especially outrageous.. i sent the article under the 'guise' of a lighthearted joke to this sister, and telling her she needs to do her wifely duty and bear children to her husband.. a few minutes ago, i received this response from my dad.. lisa, .

  i don't understand your purpose in sending me e-mails of a 40-year old article from the watchtower that i already have access to if i chose to spend the time to look it up.

  i can sense from your "subject" and the high-lighted portions of the article that your intent was perhaps to riducule the counsel, especially the comparison of a young girl to a cow.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  "Perverted" apostates? - How did he find out?
• 
  12

  Ever had a pointless argument?

  by mindfield in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to make a long story short... nah, i'll just tell it the way it is.

  about 3-4 years ago, a @#$@ "brother" made a talk at an assembly.

  now, what made this talk so peculiar was that he used a quote from matt groening who apparently said "i'm sorry i created the simpsons, cause i see it has a bad influence on my children... this was to show that the "world" is very, very bad.. since i was (and still am) a devoted simpsons fan, i was completely shocked when i heard that "quote".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  Well, it's about time that someone else made this observation.

  About 3 years ago, our DO gave a talk at the circuit assembly where he
  quoted Matt Groening as appologizing for creating "The Simpsons".
  Our entire district took this as a ban on the show. It took a couple of years before
  people began watching again.

  Well, a while ago, I saw an interview on TV of Matt Groening, and believe it or not,
  the DO's comment was actually right - word for word. However, it was apparent to
  me that Matt was joking when he said it. It was a tongue in cheek appology to parents
  for unleashing Bart Simpson on the world.

  JW's aren't even smart enough to tell when someone is yanking their chain.
• 
  30

  No Tipping Hats to Women!

  by ISP in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just noticed the thread with the lady sporting a panama so i thought it might be as well to reconsider hatiquette...er hat etiquette wts style............ *** w52 4/15 254-5 questions from readers ***.

  questions from readers.

   is it proper for men to tip their hats to women?g.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  RunningMan

  It's probably just as well. JW's are notoriously bad tippers, anyway.

  Ahitaka:
  "{picture of man thinking of fornication while tipping his hat in the background}"

  When is a man NOT thinking about fornication?