In my congregation - and there are NO exagerrations (tough word for us foreigners, but I guess you get what I tried to write ....) me and my wife are the ONLY ones NOT into window-washing ............
I am a University-educated guy, and have now taken up my studies, this time in New Testament Greek, and both of us work in "ordinary" jobs, in offices - which no-one seems to be able quite to understand.
So I am definitely a "Stafford fan".
TheOldHippie
JoinedPosts by TheOldHippie
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25
Who's Greg Stafford
by Room 215 indoes anyone know greg personally?.
i'm intrigued by the comments made regarding the recent release of his dissertations, and can't help but adimre him for the nobility of his intent.
it seems to me he's a victim of the delusion that the beliefs of jws are intellectually defensible and can withstand the test of empiricism and hard, objective scrutiny.. i can't help but wonder how he's regarded by his peers in the local congregation, the local elders ad circuit overseer whether he holds any jw office (elder, ministerial servant, etc), whether he gives lectures, parts on the meeting, etc.
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TheOldHippie
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"Three Dissertations" -- The Witness ...
by accuracy inback in the 1517 the catholic priest martin luther posted his "95 theses" on the door of a church in wittenberg and began the protestant reformation.
martin luther did not mean to start a revolution, though he attacked certain legalistic doctrines of the church and questioned the authority of the pope.
called to recant, he replied, "unless i am convinced of error by the testimony of scripture or by clear reason, i cannot and will not recant anything, for it is neither safe nor honest to act against one's conscience.".
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TheOldHippie
No matter what some of you may or might not think of me - I have for a long time been a Staffordian, a "Stafford" man. I am half-scholared, I have a B.A. in languages and language history, and I am presently studying New Testament Greek. I have no "theological" problems, thinking of soul, hell, trinity etc. But I have questions as to organizational dealings and authority - and I have fundamental Bible questions when it comes to a few points, such as the Noachian Flood, the Long Day, 607/587-1914 and 455-29. I am half a century old, I have been where I am today for close to 3 decades - but Greg Stafford definitely writes down close to exactly the same points which I have been trying to make, in my mind and at times in writing, so there is a Staffordian group rising.
The number one question is then: Can an organization being directed by God be reformed from the ground level upwards? Or for that matter, be reformed from above / GB, following pressure from below? If no, it will further disintegrate. If yes, it will grow and flourish - BUT it will have been proved that it wasn't God-directed after all!
What will it be - plague or cholera?
OR, is it so, that it IS God-directed, only that God works NOT thru the GB, but thru the ground-level, thru people like Stafford?
Man, are we in for some heavy thinking these days ....... -
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Seen the GB Lately?
by Prisca ini was wondering:.
has anyone seen any of the governing body lately?
how is their health?
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TheOldHippie
Barber ain't in his 80s, but around 95.
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WT books - rumours that need to be confirmed...
by TheApostleAK injust before i left i overheard an elder say that there is going to be a new nwt revision, a "organised" book revision (i heard another jw say this about 3 months ago) as well as a new ezekiel book (logically).. anyone heard this?.
oh, the new tms book has been released a few months back.. from alan
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TheOldHippie
Insights currently translated to other languages are updated on that and other questions ----- but not yet on the Temple question, so you need a bunch of bound volumes, books and Insights to keep up with the newest light ..........
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Disturbing trend in WT magazines...
by TheApostleAK inthis may be obvious to some but has anybody noticed the lack of doctrinal based watchtower study articles in wts for the last 2 years?.
lately we've been just getting either "pep talk" articles or articles that are only based on subjects.. the only new light lately is mainly the daniel and isaiah books.
and any new light in wt's is mainly just clarification (usually in the q's from readers page).. from ak
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TheOldHippie
I miss articles involving discussions on Greek words and terms and prophecies etc.... - nowadays it's just organizational history and development of doctrine.
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Who's Greg Stafford
by Room 215 indoes anyone know greg personally?.
i'm intrigued by the comments made regarding the recent release of his dissertations, and can't help but adimre him for the nobility of his intent.
it seems to me he's a victim of the delusion that the beliefs of jws are intellectually defensible and can withstand the test of empiricism and hard, objective scrutiny.. i can't help but wonder how he's regarded by his peers in the local congregation, the local elders ad circuit overseer whether he holds any jw office (elder, ministerial servant, etc), whether he gives lectures, parts on the meeting, etc.
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TheOldHippie
When I spoke with him one or two years ago, he was on the move from Chicago to the West Coast, and he was a ministerial servant.
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JW MURDERED AFTER MEETING
by Mister Biggs inthe new york daily news ( http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-04-11/news_and_views/crime_file/a-147249.asp) and the new york post ( http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/14181.htm) ran different articles on the same story.. .
grieving niece:.
natala prince yesterday cradles .
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TheOldHippie
Ronin1 delights in calling this "sickening" - but I doubt if you have any knowledge about whether elders or others have asked her repeatedly if they should bring her home, but she has responded that no thanks I feel safe etc. It is so easy to throw out accusations as soon as a tragedy happens.
This might in stead be a fruitful discussion as to "protection" or not. As someone stated here, one quickly says that the brothers were protected, when they were at the meeting and then a revolution broke out in an African country, and a couple of guys who thought they should stay at home in stead, were killed.
For my part, I stopped believeing in protection when the Lilleids were murdered and when at approximately the same time half a congregation in Spain were fried to death in a bus, mothers and children screaming to get out but the heat being so intense that no bystanders could make it to the windows and thus had to watch the ones inside being fried. 20 or so died - and in me died the hope of protection at the same time. -
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Paul didn't write Hebrews!
by badboy ini understand from a 1981 edition that paul wrote hebrews.. not so, i understand that its style is different from paul's letters and that early church fathers say that barsabbas(sp)alias joseph, a levite from cyprus(hebrews does mention the jerusalem temple).
i humbly suggest that the wt buys a niv study bible and toss all those factually inaccurate sources out of the window
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TheOldHippie
A bit too easy and quick to decide over a beer or a cup of tea or thru a couple of lines here that Paul did not write to the Hebrews. Lots of scholars say No, lots say Yes.
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Breaking NZ News
by shalom inthis was on the news in new zealand tonight.
we haven't really had any scandals here i.e the sexual abuse coverups haven't really been heard of here so this is big news in lil old kiwi land.. possible motive for disappearance.
updated: 05:50pm monday 8 april.
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TheOldHippie
A young boy was more or less murdered here, Unclebruce, you should not make fun of it. A really sad experience indeed, it must have been terrible for the one who died. I would really hope someone would close to twist the neck off the other ones. Sad sad sad.
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The most strangest sounds I ever heard ........
by TheOldHippie ini had an experience last night which was the strangest thing i have heard / felt for years ............. i had shared a bottle of white wine with my wife (i know that "tunes down" the whole thing, but man!
half a bottle of wine produces nothing like that ....), she went upstairs to go to bed, it was 10:45 at night, and i let the dog out in the garden for her usual you-know-what.
25 metres away is a small road, there are houses around, and 50 metres down to my left another small road departs.. i had been out 10 seconds, when suddenly very loud noices were all around, like - please don't laugh - santa claus with his sleigh came down the road, like sleigh bells sort of, but much louder and more distinct.
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TheOldHippie
Just that I ain't livin' in the US, and although choppers have been invented over here too, they are never flown over towns such as the one in which I live, and there have never been described chopper-experiences like the ones you mention here. "Our military guys are peaceful guys ........."