ThomasMore

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Posts by ThomasMore

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  22

  The Rapture

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was pioneering, i don't remember ever addressing the rapture question.

  does anyone know how a jw would respond to this verse?

  for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god.

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  ThomasMore

  Rattigan - you wrote:

  "As of right now (or rather 1995) all of the 144,000 have been anointed and sealed."

  Can you please elaborate on this comment. I have never heard that JW's ever felt 1995 was pivotal.
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  25

  Trump assassination attempt??

  by Diogenesister in

  1. social
  2. current

  it happened at a rally in pennsylvania, apparently.

  he seems ok i've seen a photo of him bleeding from his ear.

  this is absolutely nutso....if it's too it doesn't surprise me the way they constantly describe him as "far right" and that his supporters are "maga republicans".

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  ThomasMore

  Biden was quoted Monday on a call to Democratic donors that they needed to put a "bullseye on Trump". Of course he was not recommending violence, but it was irresponsible nevertheless. Tempers are flaring on both sides, but radicals don't know when to check their anger - so here we are.

  I heard commentators say that we still have months before the election, but the real attacks against Trump started AFTER he was elected. Is this what we have to look forward to if he wins again?

  Now an attendee has been killed and two others are in critical condition, yet some are still using inflammatory rhetoric to describe both candidates. We need civility.
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  27

  Awake 1976 - Should a Pocket Calculator Be in Your Pocket?

  by Ron.W. in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  awake 1976 - should a pocket calculator be in your pocket?.

  somehow this totally zany 'bible based' article passed me by first time around!.

  anyone remember it?.

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  ThomasMore

  Cell phones now have calculator apps so I wonder how calculator sales have been affected?

  I also found that the more I used my calculator, the less adept I was at doing calculations in my head. I decided to limit using the calculator to complex math like determining depreciation, compound interest, and CSA settlement totals.
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  51

  Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i still read on reddit.

  (though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

  it's been a long time.

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  ThomasMore

  Grandpa Atlantis - thanks for all you do mate!

  I think that they say they are unsure about how many KHs they have because:

  1) Some KHs in foreign lands are homes where pubs meet - not dedicated KHs

  2) They are selling so many so quickly that the number from day to day is different

  3) They leverage KHs for loans used for operating expenses and to pay CSA settlements, so technically the bank owns them :)

  It is a moving target that they view as semi-liquid assets. They are not emotionally attached to the KHs like the publishers who built them, paid for them, maintained them, and worshipped in them.
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  22

  The Rapture

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was pioneering, i don't remember ever addressing the rapture question.

  does anyone know how a jw would respond to this verse?

  for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god.

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  ThomasMore

  The JW answer was that it prophesied the resurrection of deceased anointed ones in 1918, all at once. However, they never addressed verse 17 with any finality which says "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

  They did offer that it 'could' be that the annointed still alive prior to Armageddon could be taken to heaven all at once, but they waffled back and forth as to when this might occur. While saying that all anointed would share in the battle of Armageddon as brothers of Christ, they later said that some could live through Armageddon and be taken afterward. Clearly, they have no insight on the matter, per their usual 'make it up as they go' method of muddling through scriptural explanations.

  I recall some 'heavies' saying that that 1 Thess sounded like Christendom's version of the rapture, but they did not want to use the word. Typical WTC spin.

  WTC also uses these verses as proof that Jesus is Michael the archangel.

  I always found it puzzling that they claimed that the Kingdom was established in 1914, but had no officials other than Christ until 1918. Details, details - don't bother Watchtower with details.
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  51

  Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i still read on reddit.

  (though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

  it's been a long time.

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  ThomasMore

  dropoffyourkeylee - I think your points are all valid.

  However, if WTC is banking on growth in Africa to save them, they are truly desperate. African publishers do not donate enough to offset the costs and risks of doing business there. Currently, WTC is not sending investment funds there as one might expect, given the interest being shown by the people.

  Political tides turn quickly in most African nations. US based religions are seen by the governments as a drain on the nation, and are viewed with growing suspicion. Historically, moving money out of those countries back to the US has been problematic, placing the JW Branch personnel in those lands at risk of imprisonment and/or persecution.

  African interest in the promise of paradise is to be expected. However, the cultures in those lands are not aligned with JWism at all. CSA, domestic violence, fraud and other practices are deeply rooted. Immigrants from African lands bring all those problems to the US where they manifest themselves in judicial hearings. I don't see any help for WTC coming as a result of interest on that continent - and I think WTC has serious doubts that growth there will ever be profitable.
  
  
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  36

  Big News: August English Watchtower released on servers

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  big news.

  just in from a friend who is fading.. disfellowshipping will no longer be a term used by jws.

  study article 35, paragraph 4 footnote says this:.

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  ThomasMore

  Well that settles it. I am going back!
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  12

  The "Baby Boomers" are starting to die off, and the effects

  by Captain Schmideo2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was born in 1964, so, i was 10 when the buildup to 1975 was happening (and watched the subsequent failure of that).then, when i was a teenager, i got to see the fallour of the big apostacy events in the 1980s.during all of this, i was told by my parents and by people of my parents' peer group that "this old system won't last much longer, and won't the new system be great!

  "it is now 2024. i am going to be 60 years old in a few months.

  over half a century.my mom died two months after her 80th birthday last year, after suffering for years of chronic poor health (some of it brought on by a very sedentary lifestyle, but also plagued by emotional and mental issues and family drama which did not help overall.

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  ThomasMore

  Vidiot describes WTC perfectly as trying to stop leaks in the dam with no hope of succeeding. Members watch and some still hang on.

  I recall how some supporters of Bernie Madoff were unwilling to accept that he had duped them. Regulators finally arrested him but some investors were still supportive of his ponzi scheme.

  WTC has run a multi-generational religious ponzi scheme for 145 years.
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  20

  Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower provide Shelter and relief to poor of NYC...by leaving...

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after over 100 years...watchtower helps the poor of nyc...by leaving!!

  jehovah's witnesses hotel becomes affordable housing.

  developed by breaking ground, 90 sands brings new housing opportunities to brooklyn.. .

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  ThomasMore

  It may be time for the AG to examine WTC's tax exempt status.
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  33

  Stupid dumb ass changes yet blood and 1914 no change???wtfge???

  by Witness 007 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  yeah wow women can finally wear pants and men beards...but 1914 is still a date not accepted since charles russell times and blood fractions are evil!!.

  are they crazy!!!

  !.

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  ThomasMore

  Witness 007 - you could be right about the importance of 607 BCE and 1914 - it's hard to predict how indelibly indoctrinated people will react to fundamental changes. I suspect that nothing will shake most diehards since they feel that there is nowhere to go. WTC has demonized ALL other religions, and these diehards need something to believe in. The question is how many are there???

  As for blood transfusions, Hospital Information Services (HIS) has softened over the years and HLCs are on a tighter leash than previously, but Sea Breeze makes a good case about their occasional need for martyrs. I am aware that HIS has waffled on hemoglobin containing products. Most HLC members don't even understand why hb is problematic for them, but HIS knows why.

  As for 1914, it is laughable that they cling to a 120 year old pivot date. Some relatively recent changes are the understanding of when war broke out in heaven. Now they say "about 1914" because WW1 started in July but the Kingdom was not established until October (according to WTC). If Satan was ousted from the heavens when the Kingdom was established, he was late to the scene of WW1 which had been underway for 3 months. So, WTC amended the explanation to say that war in heaven happened BEFORE the Kingdom was established, giving Satan time to get tempers flaring on mother earth. Hmmmmmm......

  607 BCE - WTC ignores the mounting evidence that it was 586-587 instead. I don't personally care, as the generation would be 100 years old still. Splane's nonsensical "overlapping generation" gymnastic exercise seems to be unraveling. It is seldom mentioned anymore. I know of not one single JW who can prove why it can be relied on.

  Blondie is spot on with her side by side of what they have said and what they now "CLAIM" to have said. My question is: How did she create the side by side columns in this app????? Hats off to her !!!!!!!!

  1925 - many IBSA left the organization when 1925 came and went without incident. Many left in 1975 as well. Again many left in 2014 when the 100 yr anniversary of the kingdom passed. Covid ended without the appearance of Armageddon and folks are still leaving/fading/DAing/ghosting meetings. The average age of JWs continues to climb. Young ones still leave when they are old enough to leave home. It's hard to deny that they are evaporating before our eyes, even if slowly.