never a jw

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Posts by never a jw

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  12

  If The Cap Fits

  by jhine in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  l sat in church on sunday listening to this sermon by ray , one of our lay readers , thinking " l wish that the good folk on jwn could hear this , they might be quite surprised " then l thought " why not share it ?

  mark 13:1-13.

  " l wonder what you make of this reading from mark .

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  never a jw

  "A joker suggested that it might have been that God was using him for target practice "

  This made me laugh hard. Thank you. The piece would have been perfect (for me of course) if you had cut it in half. That's how far I got before I lost interest. I am glad the joke was at the beginning.

  The only people who can make good predictions are scientists, on natural phenomena only. And even they get it wrong sometimes. Social studies subjects are too complex to use them for predicting the future so the moment I hear the word "prophecy" I get turned off, unless it means what it meant 2,500 years ago, a warning from God of punishment if bad behavior continued. Christian came later to turned that word into the modern meaning of gloom and doom. That's one of the reasons I can't stand fundamentalist Christianity.
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  79

  Ending Bible Study

  by Maria Nieves in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been studying with jehovah's witnesses for approximately two years.

  initially, i liked the studies and felt that i was growing closer to god.

  however, as the studies progressed, they seemed to become increasingly negative and i did not like what i was being taught.

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  never a jw

  Maria,

  Be concerned about your mental health first. Don't worry about your conductor too much. What the bible study conductor has done for you is more out of obligation to recruit more members than concern about you. They are loyal to the governing body, nothing else. They know no friendship or family love unless the governing body approves it. It's a very unhealthy religion. Be glad you saw the light before you got baptized. If you still worry too much, maybe a little research on the religion will give you the power to break loose from .... well...it's been said already, a cult
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  never a jw

  Love Unit

  Agree, but do worry about the few owning everything and the many owning nothing and creating a system that can lead to civil unrest. It has happened many times before. French Revolution being the best example.
  
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  never a jw

  OnTheWayOut,

  Precisely. I listened to Republican/right wing talk radio for more than 20 years (Sean Hannity, Mark Levine, Larry Elder, Dennis Preger). I was in the cult until I realized what you just described. I can't stand talk radio anymore, even when I agree with many of the main ideas of the hosts. They have created a black and white view of the world similar to that of JW's. "You are smart, you are right, you are good, if you are Republican. You are stupid, you are a hypocrite, you are wrong if you are a Democrat" they may say.

  By the way, what got me out of the right wing cult was blogs like this that explain how cults work.
  
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  never a jw

  Even though I would never touch socialism, I have been moving away from my former stand on Libertarianism. The main reason is IQ differences, which demonstrate in a very significant way that we are not created equal. The ones who have very high IQ's will likely rise to the very top and the ones with very low IQ's will likely remain at the bottom. A libertarian system will benefit disproportionately those at the far right of the IQ curve and create a small elite similar to kings and aristocrats with full control of everything. This assumes that humans are inherently selfish, and I admit that I lean in that direction regarding the average human. So while I think socialism hurts everyone, I still feel some hybrid system is a good middle ground where we maximize happiness and well being for all. The Classics in ancient Athens knew of the problem of the extremes and the benefits of moderation, but thousands of years later some can't learn.
  
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  never a jw

  Agree with Simon from his first comment to the last.

  How can we have so many rights for 8 billion people (healthcare, food, roof, education) in a world with scarce resources. Where's God when we need him??
  
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  102

  The Biggest Issue Is Not Guns—It Is Mental Health!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  crazy people shoot up places and kill people.

  take away guns and they will find knives, poison, bombs , etc.. seriously, there are a lot of mentally unhealthy people!

  they need professional long term help..

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  never a jw

  Yes, lots of mental problems. Let's make it harder for them to get guns. Of course the NRA and the worshipers of old documents (written by people to fit their times and places) will do nothing and continue worshiping the Constitution and especially the second amendment.
  
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  144

  Asylum Caravan

  by dubstepped in

  1. social
  2. current

  alright, so what is the deal with the thousands coming to the states right at election time seeking asylum?

  i'm not up on this, usually try not to be, but how can this not be manipulative?

  it's either manipulative in the size of the group and pressure that creates, or in where it started or who started this, etc.

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  never a jw

  @Simon "Just because he profited from other people's stupidity doesn't make him wise or sensible though."

  He certainly is far smarter than the average Joe.

  I am fiscally and socially a libertarian, but libertarian principals don't work in a world where intelligence, beauty and money are so unequally distributed. So, out of necessity and pragmatism, I have to compromise with those horrible "communists". We have to accept a hybrid economy so the most gifted (intelligent, beautiful and rich) don't become excessively powerful and cause our current system to collapse. George Soros doesn't look as bad anymore as Fox and Sean Hannity say he is.
  
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  60

  I Wouldn’t Be Surprised If The USA Had Another Civil War!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have never seen this country so divided.

  something is going to give.

  they is such a lack of recognition for the law.

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  never a jw

  a civil war? possibly, caused by those who want to fix disagreement by force instead od dialogue and compromise. Antifa and Black Lives Matter don't worry me. They are fringe little groups with no real power. I worry about those who have the guns to start a war. You know who those are. They voted for Trump in big numbers.
  
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  138

  JW org collapses

  by I Faded Twice in

  1. social
  2. humour

  ok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.

  honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.

  to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.

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  never a jw

  Al I can attest to is that 20 years ago they were creating new congregations and today they are consolidating them. In 1999 my wife was moved to a brand new congregation and just a year ago her congregation was eliminated. And to make things worse, these congregations were Hispanic. I am sure things in English congregations are much worse.

  It took them over a hundred years to reach their peak. It may take them just as long to reach their bottom. One thing I am confident of, their peak is in the past. Could they recover and reach new heights like the stock market does, I doubt it.