slimboyfat,
You put it very rightly:
"It's not the religion it once was"--something which JW members are yet to discern!
anointed1
JoinedPosts by anointed1
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22
Not very zealous as before
by anointed1 inwhat i sense from the conversations of my family members and relatives who are jws is that at least some jws are not as zealous before with regard to the major subjects such as “sanctification of god’s name,” “vindication of his sovereignty” etc.
they begin to feel that such subjects are imaginary issues.. this is a good sign.
it shows people are worried about their own day-to-day worries.
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anointed1
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Not very zealous as before
by anointed1 inwhat i sense from the conversations of my family members and relatives who are jws is that at least some jws are not as zealous before with regard to the major subjects such as “sanctification of god’s name,” “vindication of his sovereignty” etc.
they begin to feel that such subjects are imaginary issues.. this is a good sign.
it shows people are worried about their own day-to-day worries.
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anointed1
Dear Perry,
I agree with you, and I have no problem with the purpose you associate with Jesus. I was trying to make the point that many have started realizing that why they are associating with certain org as they now feel that such ones work like Insurance Companies. When we are approached by them, we would feel that how much care Ins Cos are showing. But when we go to them with a genuine claim, they do everything so that we do not get compensation, or would at least delay it as far as possible. Similarly, religious entities give the impression that they exist for our happiness; but once we are in, we realize that we exist for their happiness—like some anchor caught in rock, they chain our minds to word-bound talk.
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Not very zealous as before
by anointed1 inwhat i sense from the conversations of my family members and relatives who are jws is that at least some jws are not as zealous before with regard to the major subjects such as “sanctification of god’s name,” “vindication of his sovereignty” etc.
they begin to feel that such subjects are imaginary issues.. this is a good sign.
it shows people are worried about their own day-to-day worries.
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anointed1
What I sense from the conversations of my family members and relatives who are JWs is that at least some JWs are not as zealous before with regard to the major subjects such as “sanctification of God’s name,” “vindication of His sovereignty” etc. They begin to feel that such subjects are imaginary issues.
This is a good sign. It shows people are worried about their own day-to-day worries. JWs invite people to their fold saying “Bible helps us to improve our quality of life in this problem-filled world.” Once interested ones are inside they are taught some imaginary problems God is facing and we are asked to help Him come out of the mess Satan has dragged Him into! People long to hear practical helps on questions as ‘How does one deal with the ups and downs of life and face challenges from selfish people with strength and presence of mind? ….etc.’ They need clarity: The cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but it is all about the thought. Therefore, separate the thought from the situation and let the thought find its balance in the equanimity of stillness. Right living comes from right thinking, for it is thoughts that ultimately get translated into action.
Such teachings would make people feel that they are already in paradise.
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Conditional Love
by Saethydd ini've noticed several posts recently claiming that jw friends and family members give out conditional love.
well, i'm not so sure that is entirely accurate, in fact, i would say they tend to be very steadfast in their love.
the issue is this, they have been taught a poor form of love.
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anointed1
All varieties of religion sell God and salvation as commercial products, thus making conditional love as their very basis. Hence question of them teaching the unconditional love does not arise.
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Why did C T Russell choose 606 BC?
by shepherdless ini recently commented on a thread in relation to the 607 bc - 1914 ad calculation, listing problems with the logic and mathematics.
afterwards, i wondered what made ct russell choose 606 bc in the first place.
here is my research so far.. i had read somewhere a suggestion that 606 bc was a number ct russell got from nathan balbour who in turn got it from william miller of the millerites.
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anointed1
No one is better placed than Jews themselves to record their own temple destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. Their encyclopedia gives 586 BCE: “At the end of eighteen months (586) the wall yielded. Zedekiah and his retinue fled by night, but were overtaken in the plains of the Jordan. The king and his sons were brought before Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah; the sons were slain, and the king's eyes bored out; and he was carried in chains to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar caused Jerusalem to be destroyed, and the sacred vessels of the Temple to be carried to Babylon.” (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11407-nebuchadnezzar)
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Does the Jehovah's Witnesses religoius cult create people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder ?
by Finkelstein inthe american psychiatry association lists nine symptoms – if someone ticks five of these, they could have narcissistic personality disorder.
the nine points of narcissism.
has a grandiose sense of self-importance.. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.. believes that he or she is ‘special’ and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people.. requires excessive admiration.. has a sense of entitlement.. is inter-personally exploitative (takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.. .
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anointed1
Thank you for posting that--very useful in understanding why organizations and individuals behave the way they do.
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Post war paranoia - or - The Truth Will Make You Nuts
by undercover incheck out this wacko bs from the 1943 'the truth shall make you free' book:.
page 342-343in the postwar "new order" jerusalem's modern counterpart, "christendom," will surround herself with armies of an international police force for her continued world domination.
the roman catholic hierarchy will attempt to act as the.
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anointed1
If one can believe murder of an innocent man would atone for the sins of the world (using evil means to reach a good end), anything else become believable
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No Judgment Day exists for humans
by anointed1 ina judgment day seems to be a fabricated teaching because of the following reasons:.
1) each generation believed judgment day would happen in their time (1 corinthians 10:11; hebrews 10:24, 25).. 2) putting an end to the present system of things and starting an eternally existing one does not match with our very makeup.
our physical body is full of proofs for something that exists as the builder and sustainer of body, for something that exists within the body—which we call “i”—which everyone experiences as something alive, conscious and as made of knowledge.
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anointed1
Dear The Searcher
Interestingly, such lofty concepts can be seen in some of the world’s oldest literature. “Choose to live and choose to love; choose to rise above and give back what you yourself were given” [a perfect reasoning because we flourish on the service of the society, hence we have to reciprocate it], from The Epic of Gilgamesh (which is at least 4,000 years old and which contains the flood myth that was later copied into the Bible)
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No Judgment Day exists for humans
by anointed1 ina judgment day seems to be a fabricated teaching because of the following reasons:.
1) each generation believed judgment day would happen in their time (1 corinthians 10:11; hebrews 10:24, 25).. 2) putting an end to the present system of things and starting an eternally existing one does not match with our very makeup.
our physical body is full of proofs for something that exists as the builder and sustainer of body, for something that exists within the body—which we call “i”—which everyone experiences as something alive, conscious and as made of knowledge.
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anointed1
The Searche, Albert Camus (who won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature) has a point to make: “Life is a sum of all your choices. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. Once we know our makeup—we are knowledge clothed in physical bodies—we start giving rather than taking, accepting instead of expecting. This improves all our relationships, and our lives become a celebration.”
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No Judgment Day exists for humans
by anointed1 ina judgment day seems to be a fabricated teaching because of the following reasons:.
1) each generation believed judgment day would happen in their time (1 corinthians 10:11; hebrews 10:24, 25).. 2) putting an end to the present system of things and starting an eternally existing one does not match with our very makeup.
our physical body is full of proofs for something that exists as the builder and sustainer of body, for something that exists within the body—which we call “i”—which everyone experiences as something alive, conscious and as made of knowledge.
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anointed1
A Judgment day seems to be a fabricated teaching because of the following reasons:
1) Each generation believed Judgment day would happen in their time (1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 10:24, 25).
2) Putting an end to the present system of things and starting an eternally existing one does not match with our very makeup. Our physical body is full of proofs for something that exists as the builder and sustainer of body, for something that exists within the body—which we call “I”—which everyone experiences as something alive, conscious and as made of knowledge. This conscious entity should be like a magnetic field that holds the iron filings because it holds the body. On its presence body is built and on its departure the body turns into trash. The way the cells are built shows that we are nothing but knowledge: "The entire cell can be viewed as a factory that contains an elaborate network of interlocking assembly lines, each of which is composed of a set of large protein machines," cell biologist Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences.
3) “I” the knowledge is not like robotic knowledge. I am able to distinguish between what is beneficial and wasteful (something that all the prophets acknowledged—Mathew 7:12) and also to do something even more than what is right [some people who own a variety of cars come in ordinary cars when they come to place of worship so that observers do not get distracted—something which no law requires for them to do; some people ensure that they use sweet words even to say No to some request ….]. That means one is not designed to seek guidance from another because he himself is knowledge. At the back of our mind we know that the other person is no different from me. May be out of helplessness one may do it, but consciously, why would anyone choose to be anything where he has to seek something from someone or something else? Wouldn't every human being want to be 100% within himself? The way we think is the way we become. Experience shows that whatever one holds as the highest, naturally all his energies get drawn towards that. That means whatever one does with whole-heart he can enjoy doing it—making every moment of his life a celebration. This fact has been discerned by many people. For example, Ecclesiasticus (33: 19–22 and 37, 13): “Whatever you are doing, rely on yourself, for this, too, is a way of keeping the commandments… Trust your own judgment, for it is your most reliable counselor.” [It’s easy to understand why this book is not included in the Biblical canon. To advocate that individuals rely on themselves and trust their own judgment means the end of religious hierarchy]. When they noticed the same concept even in the canonical book (Ecclesiastes 3: 12–13 and 9, 9) they neutralized it adding a verse that would contradict it in the end of the book: “Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14) which later grew into a mega-subject of Judgment Day [just like an immoral idea of murder of an innocent son being used for atonement of the sins of others which did not originate from God became a major subject of the Bible—Jeremiah 7:31].
4) God is not seen intervening in the affairs of humans which means man is allowed to use his knowledge with action-consequences-mechanism as the guiding force. This means a Judgment-Day is a fabricated teaching designed to turn humans to God by instilling fear in them (which again makes no sense or valueless). Judgment Day teaching is of human origin because of another reason also: the aftermath makes no sense! Suppose you are judged to be in heaven forever to keep saying holy, holy, holy …. to the God for eternity which would make your life eternally boring. And some are judged to be in eternal hell or to be eternally cut off—all in the heaven including God would feel tormented thinking of the destiny of these family members. This would make heaven and hell as one and the same!
5) In larger perspective, life is a flow of events. Each action/incident takes place just like a seed sprouts which happens at the coming together of various factors and forces which are not in the control of the individual. It is also a flow of choices and chances—sometime we don’t get sleep when we want to, and we go sleepy when we want to remain alert in situation like a seminar—which has its undesirable consequences, again not in our control. We cannot say that dirty mud is not good and lotus is good because truth is that there is no lotus without dirty mud. Love of money results in action that brings abundance of wealth which in turn convinces the owner of the folly of greed, which in turn inspires him to turn into philanthropy. Even pain-suffering-mechanism serves a useful purpose alerting us to avoid further harm. In the big picture even atheists are needed—otherwise religionists would become extreme human rights violators. That means things are to be viewed as a whole process which makes it meaningless to judge its parts, hence flow of events should run its natural course (which obviously make a Judgment Day meaningless).