scratchme1010

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Posts by scratchme1010

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  21

  How serious is sexting

  by Homer notsimpson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some of y'all may know why i am asking this, but i am curious about it.. sexting in the elders book says it's enough to warrant a jc but it's very loose at it... what's y'all opinion?

  do elders care alot of it?

  what if it's an old case?

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  scratchme1010

  Do elders care Alot of it? What if it's an old case?
  

  I don't know why you are asking, but I wonder what do you as an individual think about it. What's your policy on it?
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  17

  Let me get this straight according to today's wt a person can make his own decisions

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on whether or not she chooses to shun?.

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  scratchme1010

  On whether or not she chooses to shun?
  

  That's right.
  
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  14

  JW Cultish Thoughts about RIP!

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ones who are lovers of jehovah .

  dont say rip .

  rip is also pagan in origin.

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  scratchme1010

  That JW stupidity is what really annoys me.
  
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  27

  Quick question can a monisterial servant conduct the watchower

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello.

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  scratchme1010

  What's a monisterial servant?
  
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  30

  Marrying yourself is now a thing....

  by James Mixon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok i'am old so i need some help to understand this new thing, what's the point in marrying yourself?

  this sound like a gb brain storm idea....i guess you can never commit adultery....

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  scratchme1010

  I fixed it
  
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  16

  Oooh, caught a JW colleague telling porkies at work this week.

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  there's a jw 'sister' at work, lovely girl in her mid twenties.

  anyway, on monday the union (cwu) called a one day strike in support of colleagues and all union members supported the action as far as i'm aware, except the sister.. she claimed it was 'against her religion' to strike.

  bare in mind, she's a fee paying member of the union.. now, a few of my workmates know of my past and asked me if this was really true, that jehovah's witnesses aren't allowed to strike.. we'll, i like this girl and i didn't want to make her look silly but what was i supposed to say after i stopped laughing?

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  scratchme1010

  We'll, I like this girl and I didn't want to make her look silly but what was I supposed to say after I stopped laughing?
  

  You don't stop liking her for standing for your own morals. Keep that in mind.
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  4

  Anyone have a scan of this ...

  by vienne in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  about 1910 the brethren writer william d. forsyth self published a booklet entitled israel's greater faith contrasted with zion's watch tower.

  i need a copy to further current research.

  anyone?

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  scratchme1010

  Never heard of such publication. Could you try a library/archives in the city where it was published?
  
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  30

  Marrying yourself is now a thing....

  by James Mixon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok i'am old so i need some help to understand this new thing, what's the point in marrying yourself?

  this sound like a gb brain storm idea....i guess you can never commit adultery....

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  scratchme1010

  This thread reminds me of this:

  Here
  
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  15

  When is a JW considered "awake"...?

  by biblexaminer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  1) they begin question .

  2) they stop field service.

  3) they stop going to kingdumb hall.

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  scratchme1010

  I consider myself quite awake from their nonsense, and I've never done any of these:

  4) They write letter stating they aren't a JW

  5) They burn their watchtower literature (I used a WT once when I ran out of toilet paper, does that count?)
  

  6) They burn their bible
  

  7) They burn their neighbor's bible

  8) They begin to sleep with strangers (did that while I was still in :-)
  

  9) They buy a gun (never seen the need for one)

  10) They use the gun to commit a crime (I've violated all sodomy laws, but I never needed a gun for it)

  I guess the beginning of the awakening may be different for different people. Some people are still in and stay acting as if they are JWs because it's in their best interest to do so for their own reasons, and they are quite awake.
  
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  22

  I have a theory related to the cult spectrum

  by ILoveTTATT2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  translating jwfacts into spanish has made me critically analyze pretty much everything paul has written.

  i would say paul is right 90%+ of the time.

  some things are just things that are outdated, on other occasions, things are partially right and just need to be tweaked.anyhow... one of the articles is "where else would i go"?since i am an atheist, ideally, for me, the answer would be "become at least agnostic, if not atheist, and lead an evidence-based life".

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  scratchme1010

  Check out the Worldwide Church of God... they were a BITE model cult, and now Grace International, from what I have read, isn't... but they went from non-mainstream to mainstream.
  

  I may need a little more than just a person stating that this is no longer a cult. Furthermore, mainstream and "not a cult" are not synonyms.

  Universal Definition

  CULT - Any group which has a pyramid type authoritarian leadership structure with all teaching and guidance coming from the person/persons at the top. The group will claim to be the only way to God; Nirvana; Paradise; Ultimate Reality; Full Potential, Way to Happiness etc, and will use thought reform or mind control techniques to gain control and keep their members.

  This definition covers cults within all major world religions, along with those cults which have no OBVIOUS religious base such as commercial, educational and psychological cults. Others may define these a little differently, but this is the simplest to work from.

  I am no expert, but what I have seen is that professionals an researches in the subject of cults have several different definitions and classifications of cults. In fact, some don't even use the word cult to define an organization, as it may be misleading based on the several definitions.

  Here are a few definitions:

  "worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings...a particular form or system of religious worship; especially in reference to its external rites and ceremonies...devotion or homage to a particular person or thing.“ – Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1971)

  "A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious...
  A system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator...
  Great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work...b. a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion." - Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition (1994)

  Then there's a "millennial" definition of a cult:

  "A group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g. isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of leaving it, etc.), designed to advance the goals of the group's leaders, to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community. – West & Langone, 1986, pp. 119-120"

  That definition applies only to what they call a "totalistic type" of cult, which is one of the several ways in which some experts classify cults, such as:

  1. cults as dangerous, authoritarian
  2. cults as culturally innovative or transcultural
  3. cults as loosely structured protoreligions

  There's a 4th form of classification of cults, based on Stark and Bainbridge’s taxonomy (1985) that distinguishes:

  1. audience cults
  2. client cults
  3. cult movements

  As I mentioned, it's not that cut and dry, what is clear in any of the descriptions, classifications or definitions, is that all those groups have several typical characteristics, many of which some are:

  1. unethical influence
  2. conversion
  3. manipulation
  4. mind-control - brainwashing
  5. exploitation
  6. charismatic group
  7. new religious movement – alternative movement
  8. psychological abuse
  9. harm

  That's the school where I come from, so my question is how does one can say that some organization became/was a cult and now isn't? How is that measured, what makes them a cult before and not a cult now?