Thirdson

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Posts by Thirdson

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  34

  Young Witness Calls on Me with the Tract - We Both get Educated !

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Thirdson

  Great Job Flipper! It only takes a one thing to cause someone to re-evaluate the their whole belief system. You may have started it. For me, a few examples caused me to think. A college course on biology, someone during house-to-house work, the unbelieving husband of a sister and a peak at WTB&TS on the internet in 1996. You never know where in the chain of events you added to the change in someone's thinking. 3rd
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  47

  Ran into the JW table at San Diego airport...

  by Confession in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  yes, my ladyfriend and i were entering the san diego airport for our flight home to phoenix late yesterday afternoon, when i noticed a forty-ish man and woman sitting down behind a table loaded with wts publications.

  i stopped to glance over them with joy.

  i made familiar comments about some of the publications, noting the newer soft covers and trying to casually engage the pair in conversation.

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  Thirdson

  After collecting my bags and with time to kill waiting for my ride I once went up to the desk at MSP airport to talk to the two 'sisters' there. I saw that they were underlining their Watchtowers for the Sunday study. How bad is that! Doing that chore while counting time. 3rd
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  2

  They Skipped our House

  by Thirdson in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  a short while back i posted the conversation i had with two jw ladies where i challenged them to explain the doctrine (and pretty much the only unique doctrine) of 1914 from the bible.

  well, last weekend another car group arrived in my road.

  it was early saturday afternoon and i saw a car turning round using a neighbor's driveway.

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  Thirdson

  A short while back I posted the conversation I had with two JW ladies where I challenged them to explain the doctrine (and pretty much the only unique doctrine) of 1914 from the Bible. Well, last weekend another car group arrived in my road. It was early Saturday afternoon and I saw a car turning round using a neighbor's driveway. A few minutes later it was back and parked at the end of the cul-de-sac. I could see this as we were out in our yard raking and bagging leaves. Now, I only noticed the car at first and it's not unusual to see people looking around our road as my neighbor's house across from me is for sale and at the end of the road is a new build house for sale.

  A little later we notice two ladies in long skirts walking up to a neighbor's house. They didn't seem to be carrying much and at first I thought they might be canvassing for someone on the city council but it was Mrs Thirdson who said, "JWs!" They must have seen us, we have a large lot but it is open, the lawn had lots of filled leaf bags scattered about and my daughter was running all around. I don't think they went to the front door while we were all at the back of the house so I think they didn't bother to stop to hand out whatever latest flyer they had.

  I guess word has got around that I might be a "difficult" call, or maybe even an "apostate." 3rd
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  31

  The Reasoning Book is Inspired

  by Thirdson in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  that is what 2 jw ladies who came to my door recently told me..

  to start at the beginning, periodically, these ladies have called and spoken to mrs thirdson but always on a week day.

  mrs thirdson is always very polite and has accepted the mags saying that i might be interested in reading them but making it clear that we are christians and not interested in joining their religion.

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  Thirdson

  All,

  Thanks for the comments. In the past week I have had time to reflect on the discussion and the comments here. In my opinion, JWs are no longer (if they ever were) students of the Bible. They are told what to say in the KM, and how to handle questions by referring to the Reasoning book. In my experience few JWs read the books and magazines they distribute to the public and will not look at other sources to check what their publications teach.

  When confronted with a challenge to the statement made in the reasoning book that it was historically untrue and unsupported by other sources they were at a loss. They were at a loss when told some of the real history of their own religion. As a result, without any foundation to fall back on they have to claim that their book is 'inspired' because they have to believe it is the truth because their books tell them they have the truth. I would give them them some slack and let them claim that their organization leaders are 'spirit directed' but really it is just semantics. The WTS wants to claim God's guidance as in only they have a channel of divine communication but still allow for making numerous errors. But in effect they are saying, "we are not always right but we are never wrong."

  The point I never reached in the conversation was that of relying more on a book interpreting a view of the Bible than the Bible itself. I don't believe the 2 ladies that called on me had real faith in God or the Bible but in a religious system that provides a coded set of beliefs and rules to live by. That make JWs a cult. We didn't even get to discussing the un-scriptural and dangerous teachings of JWs where members will willingly give up their lives or the lives of loved ones because their organization has declared in little books what portions of blood they can or cannot transfuse.

  Finally, the last time I spoke to JWs was about 8 years ago when I questioned two ladies at the Minneapolis/St Paul International airport who were manning an information desk. At this rate my next opportunity will be in 2016. I'll will relish the chance to talk about the hundredth anniversary of the return of Christ.

  3rd.
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  31

  The Reasoning Book is Inspired

  by Thirdson in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  that is what 2 jw ladies who came to my door recently told me..

  to start at the beginning, periodically, these ladies have called and spoken to mrs thirdson but always on a week day.

  mrs thirdson is always very polite and has accepted the mags saying that i might be interested in reading them but making it clear that we are christians and not interested in joining their religion.

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  Thirdson

  That is what 2 JW ladies who came to my door recently told me.

  To start at the beginning, periodically, these ladies have called and spoken to Mrs Thirdson but always on a week day. Mrs Thirdson is always very polite and has accepted the mags saying that I might be interested in reading them but making it clear that we are Christians and not interested in joining their religion. Later she told them that I had been raised a JW and when they asked my name Mrs Thirdson said that I was foreign and they wouldn't know me.

  Anyway, they came again recently when I was at home, I had just put my daughter's lunch on the table when there was knock at the door. I thought due to the early afternoon hour that it might be a salesman or political campaigner. Instead it was a lady, (I didn't notice the second younger one at first) and said she was bringing the latest magazines. (This is the gist of the conversation, I left out some things but this is the main part.)

  I was not prepared for this but before she managed to get anything out of her bag I said, "may I ask you a question? Why do you call on us. We are a Christian family and believers, why do you find it necessary to keep calling at our home?"

  The lady explained that because the worsening world conditions are predicted in the Bible and that the end of this system is near they need to call. I said, "Jesus stated that no one knows the day or the hour. His return could be tomorrow or thousands of years away."

  "Yes," she said, "but the Bible shows we are living in the time of the end." My reply was that your people have been saying this for 140 years. Her reply was we believe in everything in the Bible.

  My response back was, "where in the Bible does it state that Jesus returned in 1914?"

  "Well, we could come back and explain it."

  "No, show me here and now. After all, this is a fundamental teaching of your religion and just about the only unique thing you teach."

  The other lady said, "We don't believe Jesus is God."

  I said, "neither do the Unitarians, or the Christadelphians or for that matter the Mormons. But the 1914 teaching is crucial to your teaching that Jesus chose your religion in 1918, so explain it from the Bible."

  Well, out comes the Reasoning book. After seeing that the scripture citation was rather long, needed lots of explanation there was some hesitation so I pointed to the diagram of the 2520 years. I said' " OK even if you could explain the convoluted scripture jumping and making times years and years of days years the biggest problem is 607 BC. It's the wrong starting point, Jerusalem wasn't destroyed that year."

  "When was it destroyed then?"

  "About 587 BC or 20 years after your date. Why don't you check an encyclopedia or other history book, you won't find anyone saying 607. This is important, if that date is wrong then Jesus didn't return in 1914 and neither did he choose your religion in 1918. Tell me when was your modern religion founded?"

  "In the late eighteen hundreds."

  "Are you aware that your founding leader leader died in the early part of the twentieth century believing Jesus returned in 1874?"

  Shocked looks!

  "Do you know who William Miller was?"

  "No."

  "He was a Baptist lay preacher who predicted that Jesus would return in 1844." His followers were disappointed but the millennialist movement produced the Seventh Day Adventists as well the foundation for Russell's teachings. Now Russell predicted the end of the world in 1914 and got that wrong, and your religion has a history of predicting dates and getting them wrong, what is to stop the writers of this book changing their minds and saying that 1914 is wrong? After all, this book (pointing to Reasoning from the Scriptures) is not inspired is it?"

  Both ladies responded it was.

  Me, incredulous, "Your leaders who write these books are inspired, like the Bible?"

  Both ladies "Yes."

  Me - "So they're infallible, like the pope?"

  Younger lady, "Oh no, they are imperfect and make mistakes."

  Me "Well they are not inspired."

  Older lady "Well, we should be getting along we have people waiting for us."

  Me "OK, but you have a couple of things to research, when was Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians and who was William Miller."

  Younger lady, "Well you should read Matthew 24."

  Me "I certainly will. But I suggest you do the same and reflect on Jesus words about the deceivers who claim he already returned."

  So we left it at that and off they went. I don't expect they will back anytime soon or not at least when I am expected to be around. Mrs Thirdson will be primed to follow up should they ever come back.

  3rd
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  4

  Geography quiz

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. social
  2. current

  how much further west is los angeles, when compared with reno nevada?

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  jeff .

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  Thirdson

  A similar quiz is: If you enter the Panama Canal from the west are you on the Pacific or the Atlantic side?
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  51

  Big JW mutiny in the Vancouver BC area!!

  by 1914BS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well this year'a assembly is over and the dubs in the vancouver bc area are mad at the gb.

  about 100.000 dubs had to travel all the way to kamloops bc about a 300 mile drive one way!!.

  i have heard that that each dub had to shell out $500 bucks and more for food and lodging just to hear some druel about scolio.

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  Thirdson

  I just happened to be in Vancouver this past week. I walked past the KH on Tuesday in the shopping district on Robson. It looked small but quite full from the street. They didn't look mutinous to me. I also discovered the KH in the Kitsilano neighborhood (it looks like a house) while we were walking to the beach. Not that I was looking, but I tend to spot them.

  Anyway, Mrs. Thirdson and I love the Pacific Northwest (southwest, I guess if your Canadian) but it was our first trip to Canada in 7 years. The three of us spent a week in the Gulf Islands before moving on to Vancouver where we met up with my bil from Washington.

  3rd
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  5

  Ex-JW's in Telford, Shropshire

  by grahammaskill in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hello, i am an ex-jw new to this site.

  i was wondering if there was anyone from telford in shropshire, or indeed in the county of shropshire itself, that would like to drop me a line.

  i have been out of the religion for some years now but even now am having to deal with the emotional repercussions.

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  Thirdson

  Hello Graham, I used to live fairly close to your area and knew some people in Telford. In the early 90s I was told by a CO that on his recent visit to a Telford cong that their entire territory was covered during the week of his visit. In fact he said they basically covered the territory every week. At the time I thought the local folks would be terribly annoyed to have JWs call every week. Was this ever the case? What is it like now?

  Thirdson
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  31

  Tell A Story In 29 Words - In Honor Of Extra Day

  by snowbird in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  here's mine:.

  i've fallen down many times, but i've always managed to arise.. i know the day is coming when i will fall down and stay down until someone lifts me.. sylvia.

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  Thirdson

  The erroneous calendar led to a drift of ten days by 1582. This was fixed by not having leaps years in century years except those divisible by four hundred.
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  283

  Time again for........ Congregation roll call

  by Jourles in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it's been a while since this topic has been brought up.

  use it as a chance to see if there is someone you might know from years past.

  1973-1976 --- lakeside, ca??

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  Thirdson

  to 1970 Birmingham-Highgate UK
  
  1970 Salisbury, South Australia
  
  1970-72 Elizabeth Vale, South Australia
  
  1972 Birmigham-Moseley, UK
  
  1973 Redditch, UK
  
  1974-88 Alcester, UK
  
  1988-95 Redditch, UK
  
  1995-96 Eden Prairie, MN