Rivergang

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Posts by Rivergang

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  30

  Jehovah's Witnesses and Mental Health

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this psychiatrist makes sense to me.. https://youtu.be/l5wcqc6m-gi.

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  Rivergang

  There is some considerable debate about whether or not chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a psychosomatic disease.

  Certainly - in my time at least - it was prevalent amongst the JWs. For example, back in 1990, it was estimated that 5% of the publishers in our circuit were affected by this condition. It was noteworthy, too, that it seemed to affect mainly the most "zealous" of the JWs - the "pioneers", missionaries and similar.

  Significantly, since breaking with that lot 28 years ago, I have only ever known of one person who suffers from this illness.

  CFS used to be called the "Yuppie Disease". It might as well also be named the "Dubbie Disease"!
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  17

  Charles the Third and the Two-Headed Beast

  by Anony Mous in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was reading an article about the pomp and circumstance around the first coronation in nearly a century.. made me think of the revelation book (the red one, not the bible) and the picture of the two headed beast with a sword and if i have some time today i will see if i can’t find it and age it a bit, it seems the sword is a bit dull and the two heads are now both octogenarians with severe dementia, kind of funny to see that instead of “swift judgment” we’ve come to internal decay.. what do you canadians, english, scots, irish and australians think about your new leadership?.

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  Rivergang

  In this part of the world at least, the coronation is unlikely to attract the same attention as in earlier times.

  For example, 85 years ago, my grandmother invested what for her would have been a year’s wages in a radio set. She did that solely because she wanted to “listen to the coronation” (ie. of King George VI).

  Cannot imagine this coronation generating anywhere near that level of interest!

  There are a number of reasons for that - not just the unpopularity of Charles III. At the forefront would be declining British influence in this part of the world, paralleling Britain’s post-WWII decline as a world power. The clinchers would have been two events which happened almost at the same time - Britain’s withdrawal “East of Suez” and its entry into the Common Market. Upon entry into the EEC, Britain thereby abandoned trade with the Commonwealth.

  Ever since, the term “Commonwealth” has meant very little, apart from that biannual Talk Fest called the “Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting”. Commonly referred to by its acronym CHOGM, it would more accurately be described as “NATO” - ie. “No Action, Talk Only”
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  9

  Were 1st century converts told to knock on doors?

  by BoogerMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  acts chapter 2 clearly shows (in jw minds) that door-door preaching was a must for all converts.

  (acts 2:37, 38, 41, 42) “now when they heard this, they were stabbed to the heart, and they said to peter and the rest of the apostles: “men, brothers, what should we do?” peter said to them: “repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of jesus christ for forgiveness of your sins, but also, preach to others by knocking on their doors.

  ...and on that day about 3,000 people were added.

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  Rivergang

  In countries like Papua New Guinea the JWs do also target public venues such as the markets (certainly during my time there, this was the case). Further, it always seemed to me that they met with more success doing that than futilely knocking on people's doors.

  Not to mention, too, that for many of the population, "home" is a hovel in some crime-ridden squatter settlement. Not sure how you would go about knocking on somebody's door when there isn't one!

  The JWs did "witness" within the squatter settlements, but even there they approached people only in the public places of those areas (such as the markets). To have approached somebody's dwelling within those settlements would have been an almost certain way of receiving physical attack - usually by some wild character wielding a bush knife!
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  17

  Charles the Third and the Two-Headed Beast

  by Anony Mous in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was reading an article about the pomp and circumstance around the first coronation in nearly a century.. made me think of the revelation book (the red one, not the bible) and the picture of the two headed beast with a sword and if i have some time today i will see if i can’t find it and age it a bit, it seems the sword is a bit dull and the two heads are now both octogenarians with severe dementia, kind of funny to see that instead of “swift judgment” we’ve come to internal decay.. what do you canadians, english, scots, irish and australians think about your new leadership?.

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  Rivergang

  Ireland formally left the Commonwealth and declared itself a republic in 1949. In response, Britain’s Ireland Act 1949 acknowledged that Ireland, to quote, “ceased to be one of His Majesties dominions”.

  Before that event, the Statute of Westminster 1931 effectively granted full autonomy to those countries which held dominion status within the British Empire. Ireland took that one step further in 1949 by removing any even token constitutional links with Britain. (Canada, Australia and New Zealand did similar during the 1980s -although all remained members of the Commonwealth).

  Not that Commonwealth membership has any great significance. Not all former British territories are Commonwealth members - Ireland and Myanmar (Burma) two name two. Conversely, some of its members (eg. Cameroon and Mozambique) never ever were part of the British Empire.
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  9

  Were 1st century converts told to knock on doors?

  by BoogerMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  acts chapter 2 clearly shows (in jw minds) that door-door preaching was a must for all converts.

  (acts 2:37, 38, 41, 42) “now when they heard this, they were stabbed to the heart, and they said to peter and the rest of the apostles: “men, brothers, what should we do?” peter said to them: “repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of jesus christ for forgiveness of your sins, but also, preach to others by knocking on their doors.

  ...and on that day about 3,000 people were added.

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  Rivergang

  Back then - and still in certain parts of the world to this day - people congregated in the market places. They went there pretty much because, for many, there was little else for them to do (I have seen this firsthand while living in Papua New Guinea). Not surprisingly then, Jesus and his followers focused their attentions on such venues as the market places.

  It requires a considerable stretch of the imagination to conclude from the bible record that early Christians went on a door knocking campaign!
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  33

  July 2023 Study Watchtower - Great Tribulation is coming soooooooooooooon!

  by BoogerMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  is this the "great tribulation" which jesus warned he would bring upon the corrupt christian congregations worldwide, (revelation 2:22; 7:14) or is it the same 1st century g.t.

  which he said would never occur again?

  (matthew 24:21).

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  Rivergang

  “The end is so close”.

  So what is bloody new?
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  5

  Did the Fugazi 1975 Prophecy Really Happen?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was 12 years old in 1975. how old were you then?

  all jw's were counting the years till armageddon.

  towing the line was the only thing that would get you through it.

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  Rivergang

  Thanks for posting, I certainly remember those events very well (including the denials which followed afterwards).The only thing I don’t recall is the countdown to “Armageddon”, as described in that video. Not in the congregations I was in, anyway!(Others may remember this being the case, perhaps?)

  For sure, the world will end one day - some four billion years from now, when the sun runs out of nuclear fuel.
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  42

  Young "Elders"

  by XBEHERE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ever since the annual meeting last october and the letter to bodies of elders stating that "exceptional young men perhaps in their early 20's could qualify for appointment as elders.." it even states this in the updated elders manual!

  have any of you pimo's, pimq's, or those on here with family/friends still in hear of any young men being appointed as elders yet?

  i am talking 21, 22, 23, 24 etc.

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  Rivergang

  Punkofnice,

  That in itself is a problem - what little knowledge they do have has been gained entirely from pornography. A situation which bears very little resemblance to reality.
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  42

  Young "Elders"

  by XBEHERE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ever since the annual meeting last october and the letter to bodies of elders stating that "exceptional young men perhaps in their early 20's could qualify for appointment as elders.." it even states this in the updated elders manual!

  have any of you pimo's, pimq's, or those on here with family/friends still in hear of any young men being appointed as elders yet?

  i am talking 21, 22, 23, 24 etc.

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  Rivergang

  There was a time when JWs used to criticise Mormon elders (sometimes even to their faces) about “not meeting the bible’s criteria” for appointment as an elder. And by that, they were referring primarily to the young age of most LDS missionaries.

  What was that one about those who live in glass houses be need to be careful when throwing stones!
  
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  38

  An emerging new global authority at how it will affect believers

  by Kosonen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  good day believing brothers and sisters, .

  i have to inform about latest information concerning the set up of a global authority.

  we have waited un to be empowered.

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  Rivergang

  Sounds more than a little far-fetched (polite way of saying “ what a load of shit”.)