sleepy

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Posts by sleepy

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  6

  Rebel without a cause.

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i feel like a rebel without a cause.. its hard to rebel against the witnesses when none of them talk to you and you don't go to meetings anymore.. what am i going to do?

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  sleepy

  I feel like a rebel without a cause.
  Its hard to rebel against the witnesses when none of them talk to you and you don't go to meetings anymore.
  What am I going to do?
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  4

  Strange times on the ministry

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here are a couple of experiences i had while on the ministry.

  one day we were working one of those inter city streets in britain that contain enormous victorian houses long since unaffordable and to big for people to live in nowadays, which are divided up into as many flats as the landlord can imagine possible.. usually you find the outcasts of humanity lurking their.

  which always made them more exciting to do than suburban boring normality.. i rang the bell on one of these houses and offered the mags to a young man in his twenties.

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  sleepy

  This might sound crazy but a thought struck me when I was writing the above story , which I have been thinking about today.
  Did the man who claimed to see this boy have anything to do with his disappearence?
  I would feel a bit foolish taking this to the police , and it is a least 5 or 6 years sinse I last saw him.I don't even know the dead boys name.It could be that he read about this boy years earlier in a newspaper and was just mad in the head.
  But at the time I thought it was the demons, now I don't believe in all that, unless he is lying or delusional , how would he know about this dead child?
  Anyone know whether It is a known occurence that psychotic murderers try to get back in with the murdered childs family, and claim to have visions of the child.
  I am serious by the way, this was a very strange and troubled man.
  Any thoughts?
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  19

  The most boring book in the Bible.

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what did you find the most boring book to read in the bible?.

  its a hard choice as there's so many to choose from but i have to go with psalms.flipping nora it take for ever to read, is written in some incomprehensible way, and is about nothing!

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  sleepy

  What did you find the most boring book to read in the Bible?

  Its a hard choice as there's so many to choose from but I have to go with Psalms.Flipping Nora it take for ever to read, is written in some incomprehensible way, and is about nothing!
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  4

  Strange times on the ministry

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here are a couple of experiences i had while on the ministry.

  one day we were working one of those inter city streets in britain that contain enormous victorian houses long since unaffordable and to big for people to live in nowadays, which are divided up into as many flats as the landlord can imagine possible.. usually you find the outcasts of humanity lurking their.

  which always made them more exciting to do than suburban boring normality.. i rang the bell on one of these houses and offered the mags to a young man in his twenties.

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  sleepy

  Here are a couple of experiences I had while on the ministry.

  One day we were working one of those inter city streets in Britain that contain enormous Victorian houses long since unaffordable and to big for people to live in nowadays, which are divided up into as many flats as the landlord can imagine possible.
  Usually you find the outcasts of humanity lurking their. Which always made them more exciting to do than suburban boring normality.
  I rang the bell on one of these houses and offered the mags to a young man in his twenties. Now this is a while ago so I can’t remember exact details.
  Anyway he tells me he is having trouble with voices .Voices in his head , which he believes to be demons , that are telling him what to do. Now as a well educated witness ( basically I didn’t know what to say) I decline to discuss the issue there and arrange to call back in a few days with a brochure dealing with the issue.
  I don’t really give the call another thought as it is not uncommon to meet people like that in this area.
  
  A few days latter I get a call from an Elder. He wants to know whether I’ve had any strange calls on the ministry lately. I cant think of any. He persists and says he’s sure it someone I called on as the brother working with me has told him about this call.
  Why the concern from the elder?
  Because just a few minutes earlier a film crew from the local news station has turned up on his door step , with film cameras running ,asking why we are trying to expel demons from mentally ill people. The film they got was on the local news that night.

  Apparently this man got it into his head that we were coming back to expel demons from him. The house was actually a home for the mentally ill and usually a carer should have answered the door.
  He told his carer that me and my partner were coming back to rid him of demons, she phoned the news company , which then looked in the phone book for the address of the witnesses, and got this elders address and subsequently turned up on his door.
  Because of all this we get banded by the Charity “Mind” from calling on any of its houses in my town.

  Good thing I didn’t do my return visits very often.

  Well one time I did do a return visit and started a bible study with a man in his sixties in the same street as the last incident.
  The study is going ok, but he starts telling over the weeks of me strange things.
  Apparently some time ago (In the 60’s or 70’s) he started seeing images of a little boy.
  He told me that this boy sometimes walks down the street with him and talks to him.
  Ok this is mad I think , this guy has a spanner or two loose.
  For years he has seen this boy but doesn’t know why. Now this “boy” has told him his name.

  But it gets madder, he shows me an old newspaper cutting a few years ago. The newspaper cutting is about a boy who disappeared many years ago ,at around the same time as this man started seeing his vision , the article gives his name which is the same as the boy in his visions but not a picture .
  The man decides to get in contact with the family of the missing boy.
  When he gets in contact he describes the “boy“ he sees in his visions to them, and they say it matches their son.

  The family believe him and also believe he is in contact with their dead son, and he meets with them regularly to talk about their son.
  He points out that this boy is now sitting on the chair opposite me.
  I leave , quickly.

  Do you remember any strange experiences?
• 

  Society is selling New York Bethel.

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  society is selling new york bethel picture post cards and pens.. .

  look i couldn't resist.. april fools.

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  sleepy

  Society is selling New York Bethel picture post cards and pens.

  Look I couldn't resist.
  April fools.
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  9

  If you were a GB member how would you reply?

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you were a gb member how would you reply to this letter?.

  i am writing in reply to your letter of the 22 nov 2001.. i had previously written with concern over some statements found in the aug 1, 2001 watchtower pg 14 which stated, a mature christian does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbour private ideas when it comes to bible understanding.

  you asked me not to take the statement out of context, but failed to explain clearly how i had done so.. it is my understanding that it is believed that the governing body of jehovahs witnesses has the sole responsibility and is the sole channel that can understand and teach gods message in the bible.

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  sleepy

  If you were a GB member how would you reply to this letter?

  I am writing in reply to your letter of the 22 Nov 2001.
  I had previously written with concern over some statements found in the Aug 1, 2001 Watchtower pg 14 which stated, a mature Christian “does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbour private ideas when it comes to Bible understanding”
  You asked me not to take the statement out of context, but failed to explain clearly how I had done so.

  It is my understanding that it is believed that the Governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses has the sole responsibility and is the sole channel that can understand and teach Gods message in the Bible. If you do not agree with the “spiritual food” provided by them in some matter , this above statement seams to be telling us to forgo the use of our minds even on these private issues and to trust what someone else says , even ideas make little sense to you.
  In fact since Christian living based on the Bible touches on all aspects of our lives , we are asked only to have ideas or opinions which are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s witnesses.

  You direct me to the book of Matthew and talk of the “wonderful provision that he (God) has made to reveal truth through the faithful and discrete slave.” Yet these are not the words of the Bible, nor does the bible indicate that our minds would have to be kept in check by a “faithful and discrete slave”
  The fact than some men could be used by God to help others understand the Bible , does not in its self lead to the conclusion that they solely can understand the bible or that others must come to be in complete agreement with such men or otherwise be viewed as immature Christians.

  In fact there is also a difference between the “faithful and discrete slave” and the governing body of Jehovah's witnesses, that has oversight as regard to what is believed by Jehovah's witnesses. Many of the “faithful slave”, that is anointed ones on Earth, have no part in deciding what is considered spiritual truth by Jehovah's witnesses. Most have never been consulted by the Governing body.

  So I can see no scriptural backing for the idea that you cannot have private understanding of Biblical matters.
  A scripture from 2 Peter 1 is mentioned , but this is talking about prophecy coming from God, not man .I can not see what bearing that has on the matter, as it is talking of how God used men to utter prophecy.

  The idea of not having private ideas as in regard to the Bible , raises some important issues in my mind.

  This means we must put our complete trust in the governing body , that they are used exclusively by God and the Bible is not understandable without help from them .

  When we put this in line with the comment found in the July 1 2001 Watchtower pg 18 p 3. “Religious exhortations to the effect that you should just believe and should doubt nothing are dangerous and deceptive” we get a problem.

  Does this only apply to other religions or to Jehovah’s witnesses also?. Is it only Catholics , born again , muslins etc that need to consider that issue?
  The book “Is there a creator who cares about you” uses a quote on pg. 9 p3, “We invite all who have an open mind to consider this subject. The book Belief in God and Intellectual Honesty notes that one who possesses “intellectual honesty“ is characterised by a readiness to scrutinize what one believes to be true“ and “to pay sufficient attention to other evidence available.””

  It does seem dangerous to me that we should let others do our thinking for us , if they make mistakes in understanding Gods word , and because of following them we do also, how do we stand in Gods eyes?
  Can people who supported such regimes as the Nazis , with blessing from their church to do so, claim they are innocent since they were just following who they believed were Gods representatives on Earth?
  What if the society tells us, to do , or not to do something and this turns out to be wrong, yet all along we knew it was wrong but chose to forgo our reasoning ability and conscience due to fear of disobeying the Governing Body of Jehovah's witnesses?
  This has happened before. And everyone in the Governing Body knows it.
  Beliefs and polices have changed, and mistakes have been made.
  Does it make sense then to criticise other religions for following their leaders blindly when Jehovah's witnesses are encouraged to do the same?
  Should we not be following the principle of the July 1 watchtower , in testing all we believe and making decisions for ourselves? Not blindly following what others tell us to think due to fear of being considered disloyal or rebellious.

  Is it not dangerous for men to believe that they speak on behalf of God, and that they have absolute authority over his creatures ?Did God write the Bible only for the Governing body or for humans to read and understand?

  If I have misunderstood these issues I would like to know how and why.
  I thank you for your time in considering this letter.
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  13

  Will Charles ever be the King?

  by Mulan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do the british people think charles will ever be the king?

  if elizabeth inherits her mother's longevity, she could live another 25 years or so.

  that will make charles quite old, won't it?

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  sleepy

  Also the issue of whether the queen has any real power.
  Not compared to King and Queens of past centuries.
  But compared to Jim or Bob or me she does.
  She has money, so does the rest of the family.If Will or Harry were thick as donuts they would still have gone to Eton and then some fancy university.My children wouldn't.
  Do you think their position and wealth does not buy them influence?
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  13

  Will Charles ever be the King?

  by Mulan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do the british people think charles will ever be the king?

  if elizabeth inherits her mother's longevity, she could live another 25 years or so.

  that will make charles quite old, won't it?

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  sleepy

  Englishman,

  Maybe you speak for an older generation when you say,
  "However, the Royals are such a part of our lives that many Brits would feel as though a part of their identity had been taken away, imagine if the Americans decided to do away with the Stars and Stripes and also their evocative anthem."

  The Royal family is no part of my life and I feel nothing extra toward them, than I would to a stranger.

  Maybe they are a money spinner for Britian, but i still feel it wrong for them to have a right to national wealth due to their family of birth , while others live in poverty etc.It sjust not fair.
  I'm sure some drug dealers and crime bosses bring good things to their communities by donating to charities etc, but that doesn't make what they do right.(not that I'm suggesting they are criminals.)

  Although saying this I would wish no harm to them or for them to go into poverty.

  But we should have a say on the issue which at present we don't.
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  13

  Will Charles ever be the King?

  by Mulan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do the british people think charles will ever be the king?

  if elizabeth inherits her mother's longevity, she could live another 25 years or so.

  that will make charles quite old, won't it?

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  sleepy

  I hope not.

  I believe that this Queen may very possibly be the very last Ruling Monarch.
  If there is any future for the Monarchy it is in a very reduced role.
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  7

  The Queen of England V's Governing Body

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the queen of enland v's governing body.. the aging queen of england has a lot in common with the dear old men of the gb.. the queen will not abdicate.why?.

  because she believes she has been chosen by god to rule as queen over britian.. and the stupid brits let her have the power.. might as well be a whole country of jehovahs witnesses.

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  sleepy

  singsongboi.
  "And the stupid Brits let her have the power.

  what power?"

  I hope your'e joking.
  The Royal family enjoys vast wealth and privileges that most inhabitants of Britian can only dream of.
  Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm sure English man will)But there are still many traditions related to politics that she is still activly involved with.Opening of parliment, swearing in the primeminister, meeting with him to discuss policy at certain times.T
  THere is a house of Lords in Britian made up mostly of Aristocrats (people who inherit their postion due to family lines) which are still involved in passing new laws.