schnell

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Posts by schnell

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  27

  JW Policy Regarding "Marking" From The Nov 2016 WT

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jws will deny that local needs parts are often just a way to mark those in the congregation who are deemed to be "bad association" or who don't fall in line with the elders viewpoints.

  now, for the first time in a long time the wt discusses their marking policy and how it works in the nov study wt:.

  recall paul’s counsel regarding disorderly ones in the congregation.

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  schnell

  They made a marking talk about independent research?

  Oh that is low.
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  17

  Did you ever think about being persecuted?

  by Funchback in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was introduced to the jw religion at the age of 7. i can't recall when i was taught about having to suffer persecution in the so-called last days, but i do remember thinking that i would crumble under pressure.. as i entered my young adult years, i imagined how governments would persecute us.

  i had thoughts of being tortured for information and then how i would say anything to the torturer just to stop the pain and then be labeled a modern-day judas, missing out on everlasting life.. the jw way of life and expectations are both scary and unrealistic.. i am glad i have canceled armageddon.

  also, if i should ever be tortured for some belief or principle, i shall remain strong until the end.

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  schnell

  Heartbreaking, blondie. I am so sorry.

  I grew up being warned about the Big GT/A, and yet I grew up with all the news about Rwanda, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan. Even today, I struggle to rationalize how an American religion can talk so much about tribulations (who the hell else uses that word so often?) when Yemen and Syria have been embroiled in civil war for years now.

  But, my old friends don't see that. Nope, nope, they almost look forward to being persecuted...

  My mom texted me, asked where I'll be "when we are persecuted". I told her, "Probably bringing my mom and brother food and stuff until you decide it's okay to come out."
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  27

  JW Policy Regarding "Marking" From The Nov 2016 WT

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jws will deny that local needs parts are often just a way to mark those in the congregation who are deemed to be "bad association" or who don't fall in line with the elders viewpoints.

  now, for the first time in a long time the wt discusses their marking policy and how it works in the nov study wt:.

  recall paul’s counsel regarding disorderly ones in the congregation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  schnell

  I may have met rank and file who deny or are unaware of marking, but I had it explained to me years ago by an elder once he took me in the background for dating my then unbaptized girlfriend. It may have been obscure, but it was absolutely there.

  In fact, there was another young man in my hall who had a girlfriend at school, and this elder told me that the upcoming local needs talk was a "marking talk" especially for him. He said I may be marked as well if anyone came forward about me afterwards. So, very loving.
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  18

  Prince wanted Obama to ban birthdays and Christmas, according to his buddy Van Jones

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i saw this news scrolling at the bottom of the television screen this morning.

  i looked it up.

  not much of a story, but it certainly has the ring of truth to it.

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  schnell

  Let's just punish everybody who's not a witness. That'll show em.
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  15

  Wriggling Like A Worm On A Hook???

  by Disassociated Lady 2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  just been reading this week's study article for the jws:.

  imagine that an experienced guide is leading you on a tour of a wondrous and beautiful city.

  the city is new to you and to those with you, so you hang on to the guide’s every word.

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  schnell

  My wife came home and wanted to show me paragraphs 5 and 6 and see what I thought.

  Deuteronomy 18:20-22 is what I think.
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  5

  New Magazine Feature, "Questions from readers." ...........if only!

  by Lostandfound in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  never will the gb allow honest questions or doubts be raised, loyalty, loyalty,loyalty is their watchword, but if it did print qenuine readers questions, what would they be?.

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  schnell

  If witnesses are discouraged from pursuing higher education -- including degrees that are relevant in business, theology, biology, medicine, and law -- and the most growth comes from witnesses being born and raised into the religion, then doesn't that mean that the organization is facing a brain drain with each passing year even as the light is said to be getting brighter?
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  16

  Guilt-Tripping Questions In Today's Text! (And My Replies To These Questions) 

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thursday, december 8. take your stand against him, firm in the faith.—1 pet.

  5:9.. to do that, we need to prepare our mind and heart, to train ourselves now to do what is right.

  we do not know what our spiritual warfare may involve in the future.

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  schnell

  @Divergent, gotcha.

  @Darkknight757, it's definitely cathartic to read and obviously to write (just looking at all the replies where folks added their own rebuttals to the fray).
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  Selflessness, Pride, and Awakening

  by schnell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i haven't attended a meeting in months and last attended half of a one day assembly because i couldn't take another half.

  but truth be told, i have been more intrigued by buddhism since i was a teenager.

  in fact, i am finally getting around to reading the dhammapada by gautama buddha himself.

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  schnell

  I haven't attended a meeting in months and last attended half of a one day assembly because I couldn't take another half. But truth be told, I have been more intrigued by Buddhism since I was a teenager. I still am. In fact, I am finally getting around to reading the Dhammapada by Gautama Buddha himself. And I'm reading some Thich Nhat Hanh for good measure, specifically his book Creating True Peace.

  (Note: At this point, the forum software herped and my smartphone browser derped and the OP was posted before I finished writing it. This paragraph and what follows is an edit.)

  My problem is that I am coming out of the JW religion, a cult that strips you of individualism or allows only a facade of such. I have expressed here how angry I am at all of this, even how tired I am of JW behavior. I even complained about a specific JW in a recent thread.

  So at best, I see asceticism as a fanciful and impractical ideal that I really don't think I could achieve. I do not even want to. I have seen what happens when you allow bad things to happen to you, and I have to strike this balance between defense and peace. With a little anger, I feel that I have some dignity. I have pride, which is something I was taught all my life to avoid. I feel that I have a reason to be angry about certain things. But I also understand that I can't stay angry, and so all those things are passing anyway. Where does that leave the dignity and the pride? So I find myself on a bit of a journey here, no matter what ism is applied to it.

  From the Dhammapada:

  1. All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.
  

  
  2. All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

  ...

  39. If a man’s thoughts are not dissipated, if his mind is not perplexed, if he has ceased to think of good or evil, then there is no fear for him while he is watchful.
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  14

  Scriptures which link Yahweh to the Canaanite god El.

  by evilApostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  today, i want to share some scriptures i have come across in my research which show the link between yahweh and the canaanite god el.

  el and other variations such as elyon, el shaddai and elohim appear many times in the bible.

  these are usually translated as god, most high, god almighty and so on.

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  schnell

  Here's a fun quote from Aron-Ra's Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism:

  A word on the evolution of Genesis: The Akkadian cuneiform tablets of Enûma Eliš are the oldest of all creation myths, dating as far back as the early Kassite era in the eighteenth century BCE. That tale is told in seven tablets, accounting for seven generations of gods. On the sixth tablet, we read that the sixth generation created man to complete creation so that the seventh generation could rest. Sound familiar?
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  16

  Guilt-Tripping Questions In Today's Text! (And My Replies To These Questions) 

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thursday, december 8. take your stand against him, firm in the faith.—1 pet.

  5:9.. to do that, we need to prepare our mind and heart, to train ourselves now to do what is right.

  we do not know what our spiritual warfare may involve in the future.

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  2. 
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  schnell

  Can I ask something? I mean it with all due respect and you already know what it is and I am sure I'm not the first to ask...

  Why are you still reading the Daily Text of all things?

  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the rebuttals... I wouldn't volunteer to do it, so I guess I'm glad someone does. But damn.