Posts by Thirdson

101

Time for a 'bad joke' thread (groan)

by Simon in

.

how does bob marley like his doughnuts?.

.. .. "wi jammin"

Thirdson

Did you hear about the man with no arms and no legs who almost swam the English Channel? He got within a mile of the French coast but had to be rescued when he got cramp in his ears.

12

the special talk, that usually follows the memorial spoke of "three lines of evidence" pointing to the last days beginning in 1914.. not one of these included the "gentile times" chronology being mentioned.

(talk on babylon the great's hour of judgement).

they're phasing it out, i guess.

Thirdson

Hi HS,

The Governing Body are on heightened alert and feel that recent events prove their theology more than debates around the 607-1914 issue.

Is this an orange alert? I guess on 9/11 it went to red. Seriously, if they go purely by events as a "proof" they'll be just like the TV evangelists who see every world event as having significance. Gulf War II had a number of television preachers reading texts to show how everything on CNN was predicted in the Bible. A future WTS book will probably do the same.

Saying good-bye to 607-1914 still doesn't get around the problem of a Messiah who returned 89 years ago. After an absence of less than 1900 years the return time seems a bit long now without any divine action. They could move the whole return of Jesus to a new or even future date but that opens up another can of worms with the FDS authority,

Thirdson

26

How Many Here Changed Their Personality After Leaving The Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

are you still the same basic person that you were when you were a witness.

if you were idealstic, then, are you still now?

if you were a pessimist, are you an optimist, now?

Thirdson

I don't think my personality has changed, and I would argue that it is difficult to change personality. Sure, my beliefs have changed, and I am more open minded and accepting of the differences between people and less dogmatic and judgmental. But I don't think there is much difference in my personality. I am not the person I was ten years ago and while my change of religious belief has been dramatic there have been plenty of other changes in my life (mostly good, and I regard leaving the JW religion a very good thing) no less important.

Thirdson

PS I haven't posted much or even read much on this board recently. I have been extremely busy the past few weeks coping with down-sizing changes at work. In addition to managing large projects to handle logistical changes with the closure of international facilities I have assumed the duties of my former boss who was laid off in March. In addition, I am working with my attorney to resolve family law issues related to my ex-wife. I will provide an update on this when a resolution is reached. Despite the stress Mrs Thirdson and I are doing fine, knowing we have each other helps us cope with the uncertainties life throws up.

50

Do You Remember the Day of Your Baptism?

by minimus in

jw
friends

your baptism date is supposed to be the most important time of your life.

i was 9 years old when i took the plunge.

i remember my baptism, mostly because, i was baptized twice.

Thirdson

May 18, 1975. I was 14.

The location was a public swimming pool somewhere in Wolverhampton. I can't remember much about the day. I do remember that I was ill with the flu (that must have been a sign) but went to the CA and sat through the whole program becuase it was my 'special day.' I didn't go to school for a week afterwards. I felt too crappy for it to be a happy day.

I went to Dublin that year with my oldest brother to attend the DA. It was sort of a reward for getting dunked.

Thirdson

167

Was There Ever A Circuit Overseer That You Couldn't Stand?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i know this has been discussed before but i think a fresh thread on this will be enjoyable.

Thirdson

Nightwarrior,

I remember Alan Stokes, didn't like him one bit. He gave me a dressing down for thanking the congregation for their contributions and lectured me on how it was Jesus' money not the congregations'. He surrounded himself with wealthiest elders who he gave parts on assemblies and always stayed with the really rich elder at the big country house. (Said elder moved to the English Riviera and later to Malta I hear.) Stokes claimed he knew all about child care cause he once looked after his teenaged relative.

I thought he was a pompous ass but that's my impression of most COs and DOs.

Is Alan Stokes a DO now? I knew him in the mid 80's when served in one of the Worcestershire or Warwickshire circuits.

Regards

Thirdson

33

Where do the Gov Body get buried?

by Prisca in

jw
friends

just curious here.... where do the governing body and other senior bethelite members in brooklyn get buried when they die?

is there a central cemetery where they all get buried/cremated?

who pays for the funeral expenses?.

Thirdson

12 feet under!

Why 12 feet under? Because deep down they are good people!

Thirdson

(Sorry, old lawyer joke)

37

What is your favorite Broadway show?

by LyinEyes in

jw
friends

i have never seen a broadway show in person, but i have it on my to do list before i die..... of course there are some local shows that are being done that i want to take my children to see.

i think it will be alot of fun, especially for my daughter who adores the musical,,,,,,,cats.........we rented the video of the musical cats,and i have watched most of it.

as a jw i never pursued my interest in the arts, and i let that part of me die.

Thirdson

I have never seen a show on Broaway but I have seen "Broadway" shows and been to London's Westend.

I watched "Westside Story" again (on TV) last week. One of my favorites, for several reasons, is "South Pacific." I saw that on stage in St. Paul last year, it was wonderful!!

Thirdson

35

Difference of age

by JH in

jw
friends

so many times in the jw, i saw couples getting married.

but what struck me so often was the difference in age between the man and wife.

often the man was 15-25 years older than the woman.

Thirdson

I am 16 years older than Mrs. Thirdson. When I first met her, and for several months afterwards, I did not consider asking her out on a date. I didn't think she'd ever want to date me (an old man of 38) and besides I had a 10 year son as well. Well, she hinted enough so I took the chance. Here we are nearly five years later: she has a strapping 15 year old (his birthday was last Saturday), rugby playing, stepson and we are madly in love and intend to stay that way.

Mrs. Thirdson has her own career; she is pretty well running the non-profit organization she works for (and interviewing prospective executive directors -- i.e., her new boss). She is a member of the church council of the Cathedral we attend and is active on two committees including a group dedicated to promoting peace and reconciliation. I certainly do not control her nor have I molded her in to the person I think she should be, I think she is wonderful just the way she is, even if we disagree on certain issues.

I very rarely give attention to our age difference. S. is my best friend, at least equal, if not exceeding me intellectually. She is bi-lingual and an accomplished violinist. I, on the other hand, barely manage to write English and can hardly sing, having almost no musical ability. S. often feels insecure because of things we cannot control and is angry at decisions our political leaders make. She has on several occasions written to our representatives at state and federal level and to the President as well.

I am still amazed that we got together and am truly blessed to have such a wonderful wife. I think she looks great too : )

Thirdson

PS my JW parents were deeply concerned about S, not because of our age difference, but merely because she wasn't a JW.

7

20/20 SHOW LAST NIGHT

by Mary in

jw
friends

did anyone watch 20/20 last night?

here's what one of the stories was about;.

quite a few women who had planned on dedicating their lives to their country, have come forth to tell the horrors they've encountered while at training at the air force base (in colorado i think).. many women have been raped repeatedly by "superior officers".

Thirdson

RCat

[Quote]it's not just the Watchtower Society, but a root problem with society in general[/quote]

Very true! What the people of the Watchtower need to realize is that statement is true. Simply saying that you are God's clean, chosen organization doesn't help and doesn't protect anyone. No wonder it is a termed a "paradise" ....but for who?

Thirdson

4

What Would Jesus Do? or rather has not DONE

by Thirdson in

jw
friends

i know i am mainly preaching to the choir with this, but there are plenty of lurkers.

i used to lurk on the old h2o when i first began having doubts and i bet there are a lot more jws today who still want to believe they are part of god's org but see the many human failings of the so-called "visible organization.".

one of, if not the only, unique teachings of jehovah's witnesses is that jesus came back (has returned, is present) and in 1919 chose the watchtower society's board of directors as his representative governing body (except they didn't know they were a governing body nor did they know they were chosen since at the time they thought jesus had been back earlier and chosen them when russell was in charge).. so let's assume that jesus did come back in 1914, what has he done?

Thirdson

I know I am mainly preaching to the choir with this, but there are plenty of lurkers. I used to lurk on the old H2O when I first began having doubts and I bet there are a lot more JWs today who still want to believe they are part of God's org but see the many human failings of the so-called "visible organization."

One of, if not the only, unique teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses is that Jesus came back (has returned, is present) and in 1919 chose the Watchtower Society's board of directors as his representative Governing Body (except they didn't know they were a governing body nor did they know they were chosen since at the time they thought Jesus had been back earlier and chosen them when Russell was in charge).

So let's assume that Jesus did come back in 1914, what has he done? You would think that if Jesus was away and in heaven, and that he truly meant what he said in his departing words, "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt 28:20 NIV) that once he got back things would be radically different. But are they?

While JWs have grown in number in the last 89 years, Christianity in general has grown in huge numbers and many "new" religions have grown faster and more numerous than those who associate with the Watchtower organization. So while Jesus has been directing the work of "his people", other people (everyone except JWs), sincerely believing that they have Christ's blessing, but not uniquely chosen, have done much better or as least as well. (Let's not forget that in addition to maintaining their numbers or growing most of these other groups do a lot of charitable work to aid the poor, sick, homeless etc.)

For a long time, the writers of the Watchtower, guided by the GB (who are directed but not inspired) assigned Jesus the task of helping them separate "sheep" from "goats." Later on they decided that Jesus wasn't doing this because he hadn't yet "stood up" and "sat down" and was still "sitting" or something like that. So Jesus' role has been limited to guiding the organization. Still Jesus could do a lot here and show his real influence. As such you'd think that the "visible organization" would be ahead of the curve and Jesus with his superior oversight and all-knowing ability would be guiding carefully, avoiding the pitfalls caused when mere men run things:

Wouldn't Jesus have come clean on what he really meant about the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day?
Would Jesus have allowed the org to set rules on critical medical treatment only to change them because mere men got better insight about the components parts of blood?
Would Jesus have waited for TV documentaries, newspaper articles and law suits naming his "visible organization" before acting to change policy about the protection of children from sexual predators?
Would Jesus have given his blessing to his organization joining part of the United Nations organization, even if it were merely to obtain a library ticket?

If Jesus allows all these things to happen what sort of leader is he? Surely, after being away for nearly 1,900 years he'd be ready to get down to business and whip the visible org in to shape? Could it be then that the lack of evidence regarding Jesus' oversight of his organization is due to the fact he never chose them in 1919. It's a pretty big claim that the Watchtower makes, but where's the proof?

Thirdson