thinker

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Posts by thinker

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  67

  'Deaden your body members'

  by Maxee in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i recently read a post on the net regarding how often men think about sex.

  i started to think about how often i did.

  i followed this up with a survey on antoher site and found i ranked low and they told me i had sexual problems.

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  thinker

  Spelling does seem to be a problem here. I hope I never get caught now.
  I wish Java and Larc had been on my comittee cases. I might have passed.
  TW
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  28

  The New World

  by larc in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  earlier, i had asked about changes under the thread, "new truth".

  your replies were interesting and informative, or should i say it was meat in due season and i found it upbuilding.

  i have another question: is the new world view still the same.

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  thinker

  Yes Nelly, that was the book. Prince of Peace. I was off a little bit on the time period. Can't believe it is that old. Really freaked me out when I read it. I brought it up in field service with a bunch of sisters in the car. One of the many reasons they didn't like me. Too many hard questions. Plus I know how to read the fine print. They were still on their abc's.
  How about some back up for the other stuff you said.
  I for one like the naked idea. I was of Waitings mind. Figured the Lord would put the canopy back up so we would be warm. Think of all the time we would save not having to wash clothes. More time to do the things we really want to do, like building our own baby grand piano, so we might be able to play it in a 1000 years.
  TW
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  7

  QUIZ ANSWERS

  by thinker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  give yourself 10 points for each correct answer.. .

  1) true or false.

  pastor c.t.

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  thinker

  Give yourself 10 points for each correct answer.

  1) True or False. Pastor C.T. Russell was an active Mason during his time as president of the WTBTS.
  A: True.
  Russell was a Knights Templar Free Mason of York Rite, Allegheny Pa.

  2) Name the stated purpose for building Beth Sarim, the Witness mansion in California.
  A: The mansion was built to house the biblical figures who would bodily rise from the dead.
  "At San Diego, California, there is a small piece of land, on which, in the year 1929 there was built a house, which is called and known as Beth Sarim. The Hebrew words Beth Sarim mean 'House of the Princes'; and the purpose of acquiring that property and building the house was that there are those on earth today who fully believe in God and Christ Jesus and in His Kingdom, and who believe that the faithful men of old will soon be resurrected by the Lord, be back on earth, and take charge of the visible affairs of earth. The title to Beth Sarim is vested in the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in trust, to be used by the president of the Society and his assistants for the present, and thereafter to be forever at the disposal of the aforementioned princes on the earth ..

  3) What non-scriptural reason was printed in a 1960's Watchtower for refusing blood?
  A: By accepting another's blood, you would take on the personal characteristics of that person.
  "The blood in any person is in reality the person himself.. poisons due to personal living, eating and drinking habits .. The poisons that produce the impulse to commit suicide, murder, or steal are in the blood. Moral insanity, sexual perversions, repression, inferiority complexes, petty crimes - these often follow in the wake of blood transfusion." {WT Sep 1 1961 564}

  4) True or False. If you were born and raised as a JW in Mexico, you would not be baptised, you would not belong to a congregation, you would not carry a bible door-to-door, and you would not belong to a religious organization.
  A: True. The Mexico constitution prohibits religious organizations from owning property, so the GB decided to incorporate the mexican branch of the Witnesses as a CULTURAL organization. Rites similar to baptism are called "the symbol", witnesses belong to a "company", no bibles are carried, and no religious organization exists.

  5) The GB once concidered changing the 1914 date of Christ's invisible return. What date was considered as a replacement and what eath-shattering event happened in that year?
  A: 1957. The first launch of a man-made object (Sputnik) into outer space.
  The must have shook up the organization considering their stand in 1943:
  *** The Truth Shall Make You Free, p 285, 1943 edition ***
  Man cannot by airplane or rockets or other means get above the air envelope which is about our earthly globe

  6) Pastor Russell wrote of Jesus' presence on earth as beginning in what year? (The earliest year, not 1914.)
  A: 1874. "The Scriptures show that the second presence [of the Lord] was due in 1874 .. This proof shows that the Lord has been present since 1874" {WT Mar 1 1923 67}

  7) True or False. Prior to Dec. 1972, if your husband was having anal sex with another woman; you did not have grounds for divorce according to GB policy.
  A: True.

  8) Who was the main translator for NWT bible?
  A: Fred Franz.

  9) True or False. The GB always consults scripture to make policy decisions.
  A: False.

  10) What two ailments were once described in a Watchtower as being caused by "worms in the body"?
  A: Appendicitis & Typhoid fever
  "It is known that only about three out of every one hundred operated upon for appendicitis really have a diseased appendix needing removal. We give below a simple cure for appendicitis symptoms. The pain in the appendix region is caused by the biting of worms near the junction of the transverse colon with the small intestines, low down on the right side of the abdomen. This remedy is recommended also for typhoid fever, which is also a worm disease. The medicine is Santonine dose, 3 grains, an hour before breakfast; repeated for four mornings, or until all the symptoms disappear. Then one dose per month for three months to eradicate all germs. This recipe is of INCALCULABLE VALUE. Not only will it save the surgeon's and hospital fees of perhaps $200, but it saves weeks of ill health, inconvenience, convalescence and loss of salary." {ZWT Jan 15 1912 26}

  Bonus question: According to the Mayan calendar, when will the world come to an end?
  A: Dec. 23, 2012

  SCORING:
  80-100: Consider yourself an apostate
  60-80: Independent thinker with apostate tendencies
  40-60: Independent thinker
  20-40: You're "marked"
  10-20: "Bad Attitude"
  0: Good JW
• 
  35

  Watchtower History

  by RR in

  1. forum
  2. suggestions

  i once offered this to obed, and he did seem interested, however, because of my being a free thinker, it didn't go too well with the jw moderators on witnet.. i had propose a history forum, where the history of the watchtower society could be analyzed, their beliefs, and practices, how they evolved, why they believe as they did or do.

  such a forum will enlighten many to the organization they either once called or currently call 'jehovah's visible organization.'.

  "people in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones"

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  thinker

  RR,

  I was surprised by your answer to the Russell as a mason question. I look forward to hearing a further explaination of your reasoning.
  In the meantime, let me present what evidence I have for saying "yes, he was".
  I found some websites that make a short statement about Russell being a mason. I ignored these. Then, I found one which listed the specific masonic temple(lodge?) he belonged to (York Rite, Allegheny Pa.) My curiousity grew.
  Recently I downloaded a bunch of sermons by Russell. Found 3 references to masons. All of the quotes seem favorable of the masons:

  "Who may know God's secrets?"

  "As in some secret societies there are different steps
  or grades--for instance, all Masons are familiar with
  the secrets pertaining to the first degree yet not all Masons
  are familiar with the secrets, etc., pertaining to the
  thirty-second degree, so in God's Secret Order there are
  first principles of the doctrines of Christ which must be
  known to all who belong to the order, and are also "deep
  things of God," which may be known only to those who
  have made advancement by growth in grace and knowledge
  and love. (Heb. 6:1; 1 Cor. 2:10.) To some unfamiliar
  with the facts but having a knowledge of earthly
  secret societies it may seem strange to say that the secrets
  of the Divine Order of the Sons of God are so abstract,
  so impenetrable, that they may be discussed freely in
  the presence of others and not be comprehended at all."

  (How many people at that time (or now) knew that a 32nd degree mason was the highest "rank" attainable?)

  "The desire of all nations."

  "Free Masons have waited twenty-five hundred years
  for the same glorious personage, as Hiram Abiff, the
  great Master Mason whose death, glorification and future
  appearing are continually set before them by the letters
  upon their keystones. He died a violent death, they
  claim, because of his loyalty to the Divine secrets typed in
  Solomon's Temple. He must reappear, they claim, in
  order that the great antitypical Temple may be completed
  and its grand service for Israel and for all peoples
  may be accomplished. They claim that his presence is
  to be expected speedily."

  "The overthrow of satan's empire."

  "Would these same men be so dishonest
  in respect to their vows to the Masons or the Odd Fellows
  or other human organizations? Would they support
  things which they did not believe? We cannot think so."

  Lastly, I always wondered why Russell got so interested in the great pyramid. As you probably know the masons claim their secret society was started by the pyramid builders (hence the name "mason"). Why else would a man travel from the U.S. to Egypt (no easy task in the 1800's) to study and measure the great pyramid.

  This is by no means conclusive proof, but it seems very convincing to me.

  I look forward to your reply.

  p.s. If you don't already have Russells sermons I'd be glad to send you a copy.
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  8

  God is here for Antichrist and Roy

  by God in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i speak to you from the heavens.

  roy i love you and i know you have a problem with animals.

  it's ok cause your daddy had the same problem too.

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  thinker

  Interesting that they both showed up and disappeared almost simutaneously. Could they have been someone who was already here under a different name?
  Thinkers Wife
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  35

  Watchtower History

  by RR in

  1. forum
  2. suggestions

  i once offered this to obed, and he did seem interested, however, because of my being a free thinker, it didn't go too well with the jw moderators on witnet.. i had propose a history forum, where the history of the watchtower society could be analyzed, their beliefs, and practices, how they evolved, why they believe as they did or do.

  such a forum will enlighten many to the organization they either once called or currently call 'jehovah's visible organization.'.

  "people in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones"

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  thinker

  Anyone up for a little trivia quiz?
  OK, put your fingers on your keyboards and let's play.

  1) True or False. Pastor C.T. Russell was an active Mason during his time as president of the WTBTS.

  2) Name the stated purpose for building Beth Sarim, the Witness mansion in California.

  3) What non-scriptural reason was printed in a 1960's Watchtower for refusing blood?

  4) True or False. If you were born and raised as a JW in Mexico, you would not be baptised, you would not belong to a congregation, you would not carry a bible door-to-door, and you would not belong to a religious organization.

  5) The GB once concidered changing the 1914 date of Christ's invisible return. What date was considered as a replacement and what earth-shattering event happened in that year?

  6) Pastor Russell wrote of Jesus' presence on earth as beginning in what year? (The earliest year, not 1914.)

  7) True or False. Prior to Dec. 1972, if your husband was having anal sex with another woman; you did not have grounds for divorce according to GB policy.

  8) Who was the main translator for NWT bible?

  9) True or False. The GB always consults scripture to make policy decisions.

  10) What two ailments were once described in a Watchtower as being caused by "worms in the body"?

  Bonus question: According to the Mayan calendar, when will the world come to an end?

  I will post the answers in a separate forum in a few days.
  Thinker
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  18

  Judicial Defense ?

  by thinker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it occurs to me that this forum has a vast resource of knowledge and experience.

  i'd like to suggest we put our heads together and find possible defenses for active witnesses facing a judicial committee.

  with frenchy's intimate knowledge of committee rules and rr's huge library, along with everyone's individual experience; we we should be able to build a logical defense (assuming logic is a useful tool to jw's).. from my own research, i have put together a logical defense for an active jw who wishes to associate with a da'd friend.

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  thinker

  Everyone,
  Thank you all for your replies. But, let me make my point perfectly clear. The WTBTS writes high and mighty words in print but their actions are harsh enough to earn the label "cult".
  My imaginary "defense" was just one way of illustrating the hypocrisy of their words. Again, I never expected this to really work, I only wished to point out the duplicity.
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  18

  Judicial Defense ?

  by thinker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it occurs to me that this forum has a vast resource of knowledge and experience.

  i'd like to suggest we put our heads together and find possible defenses for active witnesses facing a judicial committee.

  with frenchy's intimate knowledge of committee rules and rr's huge library, along with everyone's individual experience; we we should be able to build a logical defense (assuming logic is a useful tool to jw's).. from my own research, i have put together a logical defense for an active jw who wishes to associate with a da'd friend.

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  thinker

  I must say, I have to agree with just about everything said on this board. I wish I had had access to this site, when I was going through all my trials. My husband is fully aware of the actuality (sp?) of what goes on in the back room with judicial meetings. I have informed him. He just keeps hoping to save others from the heartache of what I and many others have gone through. He is definitely aware of what is written and what actually happens aren't always the same. But wouldn't everyone agree his reasoning is sound. And using their own quotes. Interesting, if not effective.
  Thinkers Wife
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  23

  hello

  by claudia in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello everyone, i dont think anyone really remembers me, i was posting months ago, then i was without a computer, but i am back and love how this list has grown!

  well maybe spectromeyes remembers me.

  anyway,hello.

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  thinker

  Welcome Claudia,
  Nice to see a new face. If you would like to know a little more about me, go to the Hello page. Waiting anxiously for any new posts from you.
  Thinkers Wife
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  14

  Christmas Greeting!

  by RR in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a few years ago i met a women, former jw from queens, ny, she had left the society for various reasons, one of course, was the 'lack of love' within the congregation.. she started her own greetings card company for xjws, called great crowd greetings.. in going through my stuff, [the never ending, some day i'll get this basement cleaned up] i came across a card she sent me during christmas 1996.. on the cover it reads:.

  "i bring you glad tidings ...".

  on the inside it reads:.

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  thinker

  Cool!
  This is my first year really celebrating Christmas. My husband suggested opening our gifts about a week ago. And he is the one who wasn't a witness. What a blast. Sent out my Christmas cards last Friday. Of course my family doesn't know I am doing all this. Wouldn't want to get the apostate label on top of everything else. Went to a Christmas party thrown by another disassociated friend last week. Life is just one big busy whirl.
  Merry Christmas
  Thinkers Wife