TonusOH

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Posts by TonusOH

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  77

  Heavenly Gates Closed in 1935… Re-opened in 2007

  by Alfred in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since 1935, the watchtower had been categorically teaching (for over 6 decades) that the heavenly calling of the 144,000 anointed christians had ceased in 1935. this teaching was especially significant to older jws (especially those who spent much of their lives serving the watchtower as pioneers, elders, missionaries, bethelites, etc.

  ) because many of these would eventually turn their attention to the aging governing body members and feel a sense of relief knowing that the end was drawing ever so near.

  in other words, as more governing body members (who were born before 1935) passed away, the closer they would get to their long-awaited reward of surviving armageddon and living on paradise earth where they would finally hug grass-eating lions near a waterfall while marveling at snow-peaked mountains in the distance.

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  TonusOH

  What was their last comment on the issue? Last I recall, they were willing to allow the partakers and count the numbers without any judgment, since it was left to Jehovah to determine who has the Heavenly calling. I don't think there's anything else they can do, either they leave it as-is or... what? Write articles critical of those who partake? Tell the partakers to be more stringent in their determination of what the Heavenly calling feels like? It seems like those options would insult and perhaps alienate them.

  I suppose they could find some way to reinterpret the scriptures and come up with a new explanation that accounts for the rise in partakers. But that could also encourage even more people to partake, which I am assuming they don't want (although, again, the new interpretation could do away with that concern as well).
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  43

  What novels would you recommend?

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i used to have a large-ish novel collection but my current collection is scaled-down because i was forced to move back to bolton 4 years ago and didn't have enough room for them all in my suitcases.. i currently own just 9 novels.. salem's lot (stephen king).

  three by john ajvide lindqvist:.

  let the old dreams die.

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  TonusOH

  I read Salem's Lot several years ago. I recall that I liked it, but I'd have to reread it to remember if there was anything that stood out, good or bad. I might have it on my Kindle, so maybe it's worth a re-read...
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  11530

  It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  TonusOH

  People can still view his videos and gain some understanding about the WTS and JW beliefs. But knowing about who Evans really is can prevent them from supporting him vocally or with money. There are other exJWs making content, though some have stopped, and a few in part because of unpleasant experiences with Evans. His approach to 'activism' has split the community and can make it more difficult on people who are looking for good info without any baggage. It's fine to recognize that some of his content is useful, but it helps to know who he is when the camera is turned off.
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  19

  Elder asks my disfellowshipped cousin to leave house while grieving for his grandmother

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  fourteen years ago i started a thread on how horrible my disfellowshipped cousin was treated after his mom passed away and the terrible actions on the part of the elders at the funeral home.. 67. horrible conduct by congregation elders at my cousin's funeral.............. well, here we are 14 years later, and things haven't changed!.

  my aunt ( who is my disfellowshipped cousin's grandmother ) was placed in home hospice care.

  the nurse told her daughters ( who are jehovah's witnesses and live with their mother ) that their mom probably has 2 days left to live and that they should call the immediate family.. my disfellowshipped cousin and his sister show up in the early morning.

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  TonusOH

  When you elevate men to a position of authority with little or no training in how to handle the responsibilities, this is what you get. A man who probably knows what the right thing to do is, but thinks that throwing someone out of his dead grandmother's home is the 'acceptable' option that will get him the least amount of blowback if it becomes a scandal. And the worst part? The part where the sisters are taking opposite sides on this, due to the shunning policy. This has the potential to create a rift and leave many different scars, that will last a long time.

  In short, bad policy and poor/nonexistent training = horrible situations like this.
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  43

  What novels would you recommend?

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i used to have a large-ish novel collection but my current collection is scaled-down because i was forced to move back to bolton 4 years ago and didn't have enough room for them all in my suitcases.. i currently own just 9 novels.. salem's lot (stephen king).

  three by john ajvide lindqvist:.

  let the old dreams die.

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  TonusOH

  Yep, those are the ones. So I guess he did intend them to be canon. :)
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  60

  What Will JW's Do If They Find Themselves Still Conscious after Death?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we all know that despite many scriptures to the contrary, jw's believe that when they die, their consciousness will cease.

  my question is this: what will be the likely reaction of jw's if they find themselves conscious after death?.

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  TonusOH

  I think it would depend on what they see. I always thought of it as closing your eyes and losing consciousness for a brief second, then waking up in a field somewhere with JWs welcoming the newly-resurrected.

  If I awoke and it was clouds and winged angels taking me by the hand, I guess I would have been confused. But Heaven is unlikely to cause any anxiety and understanding would arrive soon enough. I suppose Saint Peter would chide me, pointing out that if God was as I thought of him, I'd be walking towards a very different gate.

  If I awoke and I was in hell... it might take me a few moments to realize that I wasn't in the 1970s Bronx.
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  43

  What novels would you recommend?

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i used to have a large-ish novel collection but my current collection is scaled-down because i was forced to move back to bolton 4 years ago and didn't have enough room for them all in my suitcases.. i currently own just 9 novels.. salem's lot (stephen king).

  three by john ajvide lindqvist:.

  let the old dreams die.

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  2. 
  3. 
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  TonusOH

  LUHE: What is Jerusalem's Lot about? Is it set in the same universe as Salem's Lot?

  I think it is, though only the names give any indication that it might be related. There are no vampires, but it has more of an 'old gods' vibe to it. Perhaps it is his attempt to show that the site itself is evil, or attractive to evil.

  The story is depicted through the letters and journal entries of a man who moves into a large estate he has inherited. An estate with a strange and terrible past that is linked to a nearby deserted town that the locals refer to as Jerusalem's Lot.

  There is another short story (I don't recall the name or what collection it's in, but I can find out) that is set in Salem's Lot after the events of the novel. In that one, a man stumbles into a local tavern after his car gets stuck in a snow drift on a cold winter night, and the locals must help him find his wife and child, who were left in the car when the man went for help. What they find is... predictable. But it's also a decent story.
  
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  120

  Index of Evidence for Evolution Threads

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  re-posting this for reference.. #1 protein functional redundancy comparing the sequences of amino acids in ubiquitous proteins confirms the relationship between all living things..

  #2 dna functional redundancy comparison of the dna that codes for the amino acids of ubiquitous proteins predicts the tree of life with an astonishing degree of accuracy..

  #3 ervs endogenous retroviruses that infected our ancestors are found in the same place of the genome of our closest primate cousins..

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  TonusOH

  Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds just doesn't seem all that scary anymore. :anguished:
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  171

  Mass Shooting at Kingdom Hall in Hamburg, Germany

  by EdenOne in

  1. social
  2. current

  mass shooting at a kingdom hall in hamburg, germany this evening.

  at least 6 or 7 killed, dozens injured.

  single shooter on the run, police doesn't rule out more shooters.

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  TonusOH

  I always understood it as: God gave us life, and He can restore it if we lose it, and we have no way to repay Him for a gift of such magnitude. Thus, He also has the right to take it back. That covered any scenario in which God killed (or ordered the death of, or allowed the death of) any person. I always found it troubling, because it seemed like we were looking for an easy way to explain why He killed (or allowed the killing of) so many people, including in circumstances where it seemed unfair or excessive. If there is no scenario where God's actions could be considered unfair or excessive, then we can dismiss those examples.
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  11530

  It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  TonusOH

  Did he ever chide the WTS for their "we're not soliciting donations, but..." videos? I think he even made a t-shirt mentioning it.

  ...and there he is now, asking for more money while insisting that he's not asking for more money.