Thirdson

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Posts by Thirdson

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  68

  Only One Religion's WebSite Ignores the Desaster in South Asia

  by GermanXJW in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to whatever religion's website you surf, all have a comment on the tsunami in south asia: be it catholic, protestant, adventist, mormon, new apostolic or whatever.

  they try to give comfort and encourage people to donate for the suffering people there.

  but if you go to http://www.watchtower.org or http://www.jw-media.org there is no mention of it (at least by now).

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  Thirdson

  A message of hope continued to spread globally in 2004

  "We talk to people about our beliefs and theirs. We offer hope, comfort, and answers from the Bible in a world increasingly plagued by questions. That is a primary objective of our internationally recognized preaching work," explained Theodore Jaracz, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. "But to do that we have to extend ourselves, which at times may mean learning another language to be able to reach people of another community."

  Some of Jehovah's Witnesses around the world have taken up foreign languages on their own. Or in recent years they have enrolled in free foreign-language classes organized through local congregations, in order to communicate with people of other language groups.

  In the United States, for example, the majority of the 11,000 congregations are English, but the number of Spanish congregations is quickly nearing 3,000. Additionally, scores of other language groups are regularly meeting to build their knowledge and faith. Included are Albanian, Armenian, Cambodian, Greek, Korean, Navajo, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian and Vietnamese. American Sign Language has not been overlooked and has become the fastest-growing of these groups.

  In 2004, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, an international publishing arm of Jehovah's Witnesses, produced millions of educational tracts, magazines, books and Bibles to fill the needs of all of the aforementioned language groups. Also, since 1997, Jehovah's Witnesses have maintained and updated the Web site www.watchtower.org, which provides accurate information about their beliefs and activities. As of June 2004, the Web site has included published educational information in 250 languages, from Afrikaans, Chinese, and French to Hebrew, Icelandic, Punjabi and Yapese. Among other helpful details, the Watchtower Web site makes available the postal addresses of branch offices around the globe, where people can obtain more information or receive personal assistance from Witnesses locally.

  Media contact: J. R. Brown, telephone: (718) 560-5600
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  23

  CHRISTMAS DAY FIELD SERVICE

  by vitty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did you ever go out on the service christmas day.

  i always refused to, i mean even sinners deserved a day off from us calling.lol seriously i was too embarressed to.

  my husband got "forced" one year and said never again.

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  Thirdson

  When I was young I went out a couple of Christmases. Most reactions were the same as at any other time. Those who had started drinking early were quite friendly, most people were way to busy and a few quite rude.

  By the time I got married (1984) I had quit going on fs on holidays. a) It was my holiday too. b) People should be left alone on some days. Even as an MS and the short time I was an elder I always had an excuse why I wouldn't going out, let alone lead a group on Christmas day.

  Regarding CAs, in recent years the WTS has tried not to schedule these on Christmas day. Those in JW-defined "divided" households had trouble attending on that day. Instead Ministry School training for MS and elders was often scheduled on holidays. That was often an excuse not to bother arranging congregation FS on holidays.

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  31

  Naming your children Biblical names

  by JustTickledPink in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the thread about jael got me to thinking about all the biblical names i heard from witness children.. jael, barak, elisha, elijah, noah, matthew,.

  anyone else remember new babies coming into the world and being given "biblical" names?

  i thought it was hilarious when there was baby noah.

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  Thirdson

  All but one of my siblings has a biblical first name, though none would be considered unusual. Mine is biblical and fairly common in the UK but not in the US though. Of the 11 children in the next generation all but two have biblical names; my son being one of those that doesn't have a biblical name. The two non-biblical named kids have biblical middle names. My son's middle name is Alexander, which is Greek, but more than one character in the Bible is so named. Biblical names are still very common in Western society.

  Among JWs, I have known Jethros, Seths, Jareds (not terribly unusual at all) and one Geness -- named after Genesis.

  In the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, sixth brother, Frank, is supposedly named after Frankincense because it was the only name beginning with 'F' his mother could find in the Bible (he also smelled nice). There are actually three people named in the Bible whose names begin with 'F':
  
  Felix, Festus, Fortunatus.

  Thirdson (aka Maher-shalal-hash-baz Jones)
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  93

  What Are Some of Your Favorite Urban Legends About JWs???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  periodically, we post about what we realize were good fables that were spoken as "gospel".

  smurfs running up and down the aisles of the hall is a well known one......any you remember???

  ?

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  Thirdson

  The version about the Pope I heard was that his brother in Poland was studying with the dubs.
  
  I heard one brother in a Public Talk tell the story of a demon-possessed stone that crawled back into a home after being thrown away.

  I have heard several versions of the "sister" with the big men story.

  Another urban legend not unique to JWs was the astronomer's discovery of a missing day in Earth history that could only be accounted for by the Bible's account of Joshua's battle where the sun stood still.

  One elder told a tale of how a silver chain was discovered in a lump of coal. It was proof that an antedeluvian person had crafted the chain and that the jewelery had become embedded in vegetation that was turned to coal during Noah's flood.

  John Denver was supposed to ask JWs to leave his concerts.

  The Awake actually printed that Charles and Diana had received the book "Choosing the Best Way of Life" as a wedding gift. If anyone did receive a letter, it was a standard form reply...Chuck and Di got thousands of gifts.

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  40

  Anyone raised a Witness and broke free?

  by rune in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello, my name's daniel and i'm new to the forum.... i was raised a witness for the first 14 years of my life and then finally got out when my dad turned atheist...i live in ottawa, ontario of canada... i'm 21 now... still kind of unaccustomed to the world at large, if you catch my drift.

  my msn is [email protected] if anyone wants to chat.

  nice meeting you all

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  Thirdson

  Welcome Daniel/Rune,

  Good for you!! It took me until I was 37 to make the final cut and severe all ties. It can be difficult and family ties and friends can make it very difficult to leave. On top of that is experiencing a whole new world and meeting new people and friends.

  I am glad you are out but you are by no means alone. Half the people here were raised as JWs.

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  5

  Wishing everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING

  by TresHappy in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Thirdson

  I like this holiday!

  As an immigrant, only in the past 10 years have I come to appreciate the specialness of this time for families to get together. It exists without the pressure of the gift giving of Christmas. It is a time to be together and to give thanks for who we are and what we have.

  We are heading north Wednesday after to work, (a 3 1/2 hour drive) to Mrs Thirdson?s family?s lake home. It will be a very relaxing, good eating, drinking, and socializing time. (Pager and cell phone doesn't work in the area either)

  I hope everyone has a happy time this holiday.

  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

  3rd.

  PS I baked this evening too... 2 pies
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  31

  tell me about yourself

  by bagpuss in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  in a recent thread someone said that bagpuss was a good name but didn't know what it meant.. bagpuss was a character from a childrens programme in the 1970s and is becoming popular again now.

  i chose this name as like bagpuss i am soft,cuddlyand loyal, but will get the claws out when needed.. why did you choose your 'alias' and what does it tell me about you?

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  Thirdson

  "Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss
  Old fat furry cat-puss
  Wake up, and look at this thing that I bring
  Wake up, be bright, be golden and light
  Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing."

  I liked Bagpuss even though I was too old for such things. On vacation in England this summer my son bought his girlfriend a Bagpuss toy. It's sort of unusual, at least around here.

  As for me, I have two older brothers.

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  33

  Who thinks JW is a cult?

  by therealtruthsayer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  Thirdson

  When people ask, I tell them I grew up in a cult. JWs are a cult. They worship their lord and master the "Society."

  Since they are sensitive about being a cult and have to defend their cult status, it seems it shows they are a cult.

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  26

  What is LDS ?

  by Tyre in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  sorry, that's a silly questions.. i would like to know what is lds/mormon.

  and what's their doctrines.

  any info ?.

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  Thirdson

  The difference between LSD and LDS?

  One is a totally unreal, spaced-out, mind-blowing experience -- the other is a narcotic.
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  14

  Conned By Black & Decker.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't use b & d stuff much.

  i much prefer to buy my tools from makita or bosch.

  they last for years too.

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  Thirdson

  Mike,

  When I worked as a field engineer we preferred Makita tools. Even now I own Makita tools for home use. I've always treated the B&D stuff as cheap products only suitable for occasional home use. I seem to remember we only referred to that particular brand as Slack & Wrecker.

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