Posts by THE GLADIATOR

77

My Dad Died Today

by cantleave in

jw
friends

he has been ill for some time, but it was still unexpected.

he was never a jw and i didn't really have a close relationship with him, since he remarried after my parents divorced.

i reunited with him in the mid 90's after over 10 years of not seeing him.. .

RANDY WATTER'S DAD JUST DIED

by Mary in

jw
friends

randy watters, owner of freeminds.org father just died a couple of hours ago from pneumonia and alzheimers.

he was 86 years old.

as randy has been tireless in his efforts to help countless people come out of the wts, i would like to express my sincere condolences to him at this time.. .

THE GLADIATOR

Sorry to hear about your Dad, Randy.

You have been inspirational to so many people.

18

ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE NEW PUBLICATION IS THIS YEAR?

by sweet in

anyone know what the new publication is this year thats being released at the 3 day convention.

THE GLADIATOR

I remember a new book being introduced with great fanfare at an assembly.

‘So we must give whole-souled devotion to our God Jehovah if we are not to be caught out, so close to the end of this wicked system. Jehovah is not a God to be mocked. He demands exclusive devotion and total obedience from his servants, if we are to be spared. You cannot serve two masters. You must choose between working for what Satan offers or what Jehovah offers. How will you make Jehovah’s heart rejoice? How will you be found Holy on that terrible day of retribution? How will you prove yourselves acceptable to Jehovah on his day of vengeance?’

We were not left to ponder the answer; it was generously supplied for us. Acceptable service on this occasion meant buying copies of the Watchtower Society’s new book release, available immediately after the lecture. Additional copies would be available through our own congregations. It was to be the new group study book, so everyone would need to have one.

I expect the new release will be full of big color pictures and called, 'Around the Bend.'

40

A serious question for Christians and Non-Christians: How Can Love Hate?

by sabastious in

1 john 4:2 - whoever does not love does not know god, because god is love.. .

what does the statement "god is love" mean?

well quite simply that god = love.

THE GLADIATOR

Little sister: Perhaps in truth we need to look again at what we understand and mean by the term love. It is I think more complex than we realise

full of extremes of emotion both good and bad.

Good comment. Love is an illusion, it is the name we give to the feelings we have towards people and things that we place value on.

In protecting those things we may at time feel other emotions towards those that threaten our values. That emotion can vary from mild discomfort to anger or hate.

Find out what someone values the most because that will be where they place their greatest love. They will hate anything that threatens that value. Two sides of the same coin.

24

Bouncing checks in JEHOVAH'S NAME

by Terry in

jw
friends

1.they call themselves witnesses but they've never seen him.

jehovah.. 2. they call their religion the truth but it keeps changing.. 3. they are the only true religion.

even back when they taught things they now don't believe!.

THE GLADIATOR

Good metaphor! The Watchtower publishing company has always made sure that its own account is separate to Jehovah's account. They have become more deceitful in recent years. The checks they write on Jehovah's account are no longer dated. They pay out when the imaginary Jehovah decides.

Other churches have always been smarter. The rewards they offer are are only payable after death in an invisible realm far from earth.

How did the Watchtower publishing company manage to be so dumb as to issue dated Jehovah checks payable in this world?

11

Are you like Ivan Ilych?

by AK - Jeff in

his reaction at the knowledge that he was mortal - was yours similar when you recognized that you would die?.

on some level it seems very difficult as a human being to accept one's mortality.

though we may acknowledge it verbally, we submerge our heads in the figurative sand when it comes to realistic acceptance.

THE GLADIATOR

When I left the JW set-up I too had to adjust to the reality of my mortality. I was no longer chosen for a special purpose but just a fool whom reality had caught up with. Standing on the platform in my smart suit lecturing people, had been pretentious. Believing that I knew the answers to all life’s questions while the rest of the world stumbled in the dark had been arrogant.

All my life I had been promised that I would never grow old and die but would live forever on earth, when it was turned into a paradise. I began to realize that I was going to grow old and die like everyone else. After so many wasted years believing I was chosen, coming to terms with the reality that I was just like every other human, was a humbling experience.

35

The longest prayer you had ever endured.

by african GB Member in

from personal experience i know it usually happens at the end of a district convention.

it would be either the do, co or an experienced elder.. they usually go through everything that was said throughout the dc and thank jehovah for this and that...... last year i used my stop watch to record the time taken by our do,.

by the time he said amen!

THE GLADIATOR

Twickenham stadium London in the 60's I was 8 years old.

The orator on the platform said he would offer prayer on our behalf. He began by reiterating all the main points from the hours of lecturing we had been blessed with. He then offered his thanks and praise to the great and mighty, all-powerful, loving and just, slow to anger, generous and wise, merciful and kind, omnipotent creator and God of the universe to whom we owed our salvation - Jehovah. Now he was stating all the things we were expected to do to bring praise to this great name.

After a very long time I began to wonder if there had been a mistake and he had started another lecture. I peeped through my fingers which I had covered my face with and looked around. Every one I could see had their eyes closed except mother who was still trying to stop my brother whinging.

Eventually we all uttered that most wonderful word together – Amen! 'Only seven more days to go,’ I thought as we filed out of the stadium.

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