Scully

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Posts by Scully

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  103

  JW and the Sabbath

  by Andromeda in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello brothers and sisters and truth seekers,.

  i am an active jehovah's witness.

  i don't believe in 1914 and i'm tototally against their way of dealing with abuse cases.

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  Scully

  Thanks, Andromeda - I was under the impression that you wanted to keep the discussion on-topic, so I'll just try to clarify what I said earlier.

  You are clearly aware that the average JW, unlike yourself, has a very limited depth of biblical understanding, due in large part to the WT having discouraged deep bible study in favour of its own sad-excuse-for-biblical-scholarship publications.

  My point is this: if you were to have your average JW look at Romans 14:5, they would be confounded, because on face value it places the onus on the *individual* as to the observance of one day over another. Your deeper understanding is way over their heads, and would be irrelevant to them.

  When you know your "frenemy" and the thought processes they employ, you can confound them using their own logic.

  fwiw, I am an atheist and have been for almost 20 years. But when I talk to my JW relatives, my ability to use their own "sword" against them has been very useful.
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  103

  JW and the Sabbath

  by Andromeda in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello brothers and sisters and truth seekers,.

  i am an active jehovah's witness.

  i don't believe in 1914 and i'm tototally against their way of dealing with abuse cases.

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  Scully

  Andromeda:

  "that verse is strictly about food"

  Verse 5 clearly is about the observance of any given day and the importance it holds to the one choosing to observe it:

  One man judges one day as above another; another judges one day the same as all others; let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day observes it to Jehovah.
  
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  51

  Why are anniversaries allowed but not birthdays?

  by hyperpen in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the scripture quotes aside, i was always told that we don't celebrate birthdays because that is a celebration of the self, which has no place in jehovah's organization.

  then why celebrate anniversaries?

  anniversary celebrations are about the joining of two selves, isn't that twice as selfish?.

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  Scully

  If JWs want to be party poopers and not celebrate their own birthdays, that's fine with me.

  As long as "each one is fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5) they can observe or not observe whatever day they wish. THAT is in the Bible™. Their Bible™. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures™.

  One man judges one day as above another; another judges one day the same as all others; let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day observes it to Jehovah. Also, the one who eats, eats to Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat does not eat to Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God.
  

  If they wish to argue over scripture, this is one that just doesn't rate worthy of arguing over.

  If everyone gets to celebrate their birthday - not in a form of worshipful reverence, but in appreciation for someone having touched their lives in a positive way - how does it elevate one person above another, if literally *everyone* has a birthday??

  Frankly, if God™ is so insecure about being worshipped when people have a party for someone's birthday, or wish someone "Happy Birthday", or send a card with birthday wishes, he doesn't deserve to be worshipped. Period.
  
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  103

  JW and the Sabbath

  by Andromeda in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello brothers and sisters and truth seekers,.

  i am an active jehovah's witness.

  i don't believe in 1914 and i'm tototally against their way of dealing with abuse cases.

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  Scully

  The best scripture you can use to your advantage is Romans 14:5, 6:

  One man judges one day as above another; another judges one day the same as all others; let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day observes it to Jehovah. Also, the one who eats, eats to Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat does not eat to Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God.

  My position would be that as long as you don't try to sway your fellow JWs to your point of view or try to impose your point of view on others, you should be safe from repercussions. How you decide to observe the Sabbath is none of their business, really, just as it's none of their business which grocery store you decide to shop at or what kind of car you drive and what brand of fuel you put in the tank.

  The various factions of Judaism can't even agree on how strictly the Sabbath should be observed, and I would venture to guess that they have had thousands of years to figure this one out, but for some reason, they haven't. Just be chill, do what you like in the privacy of your home and family, and don't try to force your beliefs on others. If you do this, you will have peace in your life.
  
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  69

  There is a new letter to elders about Child Abuse

  by ttdtt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  anyone see that there is a long letter on how to handle child abuse?.

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  Scully

  may now qualify for minor privileges, such as carrying or adjusting microphones, operating audio/video equipment, or assisting with accounts, literature, magazines, or territories

  My issue is not with such so-called "minor privileges". Why the hell are these monsters permitted to participate in Field Ministry™? If they put a blanket ban on Door-to-Door™ for child molesters, it would keep the Congregation™ from "sharing in the sins of others", by permitting a molester access to children, their parents and their homes. Sure, they claim that a known molester should be "supervised" by an Elder™ when they participate in Field Service™, but how do they know that the molester is not scoping out vulnerable families while going Door-to-Door™? How do they know that the molester - once they establish contact with a vulnerable family while going Door-to-Door™ - won't attempt to return ALONE at a later time? Why the hell are they aiding and abetting molesters in locating targets by insisting that they participate in Field Ministry™?
  
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  24

  The Shunning truth is now out...

  by babygirl30 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been df'd for 9yrs as of july 31 (yay me!).

  so as i have written about previously in other posts, my whole family (parents + sister) made the choice to treat me as if i do not exist, and i have accepted it.

  last summer they made a blatant show of it as our family reunion, in that they would walk right by me and not say one word...prompting our extended family to question their actions.

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  Scully

  I guess I've been lucky - my JW family members wouldn't dare shun me (Inactive™, not DFd) with Worldly™ family members present. They are so desperate that the non-JWs regard them as "normal" that they pretend not to be fanatics.
  
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  13

  Active JWs celebrating birthdays

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember hearing parents say they're going out to eat for their child's birthday some years ago, and recently i see a lot of active jws wishing each other as well as worldly people on facebook a happy birthday, including emoticons related to partying.

  is this a judicial offence, or have you seen anything similar?.

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  Scully

  I used to know a JW family (the father was the PO at the time) where each family member's birthday was observed, on their birthday, by going out to a restaurant that would give the birthday person's meal free. They declined the staff birthday-serenade and cake. If the mother in that family knew it was your birthday, she would go up to you and lip sync the Happy Birthday song to you. No music, no vocals = no birthday wishes.

  It never ceases to amaze me the logistical gymnastics that were employed to find these loopholes and work-arounds.
  
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  13

  Is wife beginning to turn around?

  by StarTrekAngel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  so some may have read the long and boring post about our last vacation and some of the things that my wife came to tell me during our time away.

  i am adding the link here but i can summarize it for time's sake.. https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5768475763015680/vacation-time-reality-closing-up-on-my-wife.

  in a nutshell, right before we left, we found out of a jw couple we know well.

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  Scully

  When I was having issues with the hypocrisy that I was aware of within our Congregation™, my mom recommended that I basically suck it up, and remember that my relationship with Jehovah™ was the important thing, not how other JWs were behaving.

  I said: "You know, it's interesting how if I was someone that you met In Service™ talking about the hypocrisy in their church, you wouldn't hesitate to point out that this was proof positive that their religion was false. How is it that when JWs behave badly and hypocritically, that the same measuring stick doesn't apply to them?"

  She couldn't answer me.

  We became Inactive™ more than 20 years ago, and while my parents don't go out of their way to call or visit so they feel they are compliant with JW rules, they've never turned me away or refused to speak with me.
  
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  11

  Would you consider shunning merciful?

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok

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  Scully

  I had a good laugh one time when a Sister™ shunned me in a grocery store. She was staring at me from afar, and when I made eye contact with her, she turned her face away and stuck her nose in the air. She just looked so foolish, and I'm sure she thought she was Giving a Good Witness™ to everyone around us who had no clue what she was doing and cared even less about what she was doing. I started laughing out loud, which totally pissed her off, because she got all huffy and stormed off down the aisle in the opposite direction.

  I think it was the best thing that could have happened out of that situation. I showed her that she had no power over me, and that despite her attitude (which was always pretty nasty toward me from the beginning) she was not going to have any impact whatsoever on my happiness.
  
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  33

  Has anyone been outed by jw health care workers?

  by purrpurr in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  carrying on from audespare thread.

  i was wondering how common it is for a sinner/apostate to be outed by a babbling jw care worker?

  say you went to your dr because you were pregnant and unmarried or wanting counseling for having to live a double life as a pretend jw... and a jw secretary at the drs office saw this on your file and went tattling to the elders?.

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  Scully

  I wrote an essay about this ethical dilemma for JW health care workers, when I was in nursing school.

  Confidentiality - an essay by me