i was inspired by a discussion on another board that i frequent (non-jw) about things we discover, get the hang of, or come to understand through experience, maturity, and learning.
without cut and pasting cliches, quotes, and proverbs, what are some ?secrets?
that you've personally uncovered on your life journey?
Check your fly before speaking in public.
Always note what level you left your car at in the parking ramp.
Polish your shoes before attending an interview.
Don't be afraid to ask questions in a meeting.
Don't assume anything when working with electrical wiring.
Tell the people you love that you love them.
I could go on and on but from the few above I have been burnt, embarrassed and frustrated on occasion.
3rd
in general, after nearly forty years in the "truth", i conclude that most witnesses are no prize as friends.. there are several reasons why:.
their "love" is often very conditional and qualified - sort of a "i'll be your friend as long as you count time and attend meetings" situation.. they are often so busy with theocratic busywork ( field service, meetings) that they have little time left for anything .
creative or interesting, like a real hobby.
I have found it hard to maintain long term friendships. We were never encouraged to have non-Witness friends growing up and we kept to ourselves. Some of my JW friends moved away but most drifted away as they grew up. I did the same and I am now in contact with a couple of old friend x-JWs. The only person I have kept as a friend for a long period (over 26 years) is not and never was a JW. I was his JW friend!
Of all my friends and relatives he is the one person who keeps in touch regularly and comes visit occasionally. My parents's never really knew him or his background otherwise I'd have been under pressure to quit association. Despite all the changes in my life at one person has been there as a friend.
3rd
on another thread, elsewhere said that he didn?t like going door to door, especially since he didn?t believe in what he preached.
i was a little surprised by his statement because i, on the other hand, did believe in what i preached.
i don?t think i would have been able to preach something i didn?t believe in.
No, I didn't believe in everything so I didn't preach the stuff I didn't believe...at least at the end. I didn't believe in Adam and Eve as real people and thought the story was an illustration of the nature of mankind. I wouldn't defend the Watchtower's version of creationism although when selling magazines this type of question never came up.
I had problems with the blood doctrine as well and either said things that I knew I wouldn't follow or was evasive with the truth. By the time I had real problems with WTS doctrine I had stopped going out in FS. I hoped for some sort of reform (about a year) but gave up on that hope and quit altogether.
3rd
heightened security measures in the u.s. now demand the implementation very soon of a new program called "capps ii".
airline passengers will now be required to not only present photo identification at the airport ticket counter, they will now be required to also provide their date of birth.. airlines are being ordered by the so-called "homeland security" agency to determine if each passenger is a flight risk, rating them "green" (ok to fly), "yellow" (need to be interrogated before allowing access to the aircraft), or "red" (forbidden to fly under any circumstances).. while many see this as a necessary security measure in the shadow of the 9/11 disaster, others are screaming "foul" because they believe it is an invasion of their privacy.. once this plan is initiated, i will no longer patronize airlines, not because of the invasion of privacy factor, but because of the threat of datamining.
what is "datamining"?
I did notice a hole in security recently at one airport. I saw that all passengers and cabin crew were made to remove their shoes and pass them through the x-ray equipment. (I don't know why a pilot would need to blow up a plane in order to crash it!) However, airport staff, those with ID cards (e,g, those who were wearing restaurant uniforms) did not have to remove their shoes. The security hole is this. A terrorist could get on board a plane with explosives in their shoes by simply get an accomplice to get a job as a worker for a gate area company, (waiter, cleaner) and wear the shoes through security. Once through the security check the terrorist passenger would swap shoes with his/her accomplice in the toilets.
I can't be the only one to see the flaw in security and that spot checks are made on airport staff.
3rd
heightened security measures in the u.s. now demand the implementation very soon of a new program called "capps ii".
airline passengers will now be required to not only present photo identification at the airport ticket counter, they will now be required to also provide their date of birth.. airlines are being ordered by the so-called "homeland security" agency to determine if each passenger is a flight risk, rating them "green" (ok to fly), "yellow" (need to be interrogated before allowing access to the aircraft), or "red" (forbidden to fly under any circumstances).. while many see this as a necessary security measure in the shadow of the 9/11 disaster, others are screaming "foul" because they believe it is an invasion of their privacy.. once this plan is initiated, i will no longer patronize airlines, not because of the invasion of privacy factor, but because of the threat of datamining.
what is "datamining"?
One point about information that I think makes sense is verifying that the person who checks-in is the person that purchased the airline ticket. I believe that security checks can be streamlined and focused. I fly relatively frequently, I buy return tickets billed to either a personal or a corporate credit card. I make my flights, I often check baggage, I sometimes fly with family members and I collect and use airmiles. I am different to the young man who turns up with a paper ticket for a one way flight paid for by cash. Who do you think should be subject to closer scrutiny? Where should the TSA be focused?
Proving that my ID is not fake is the key question. An airline does not need to have either my image or my fingerprint on file. If my ID card contains an electronic version of my image and of my fingerprint that the airline system can check and verify that information against my own face and fingerprint then that information stays with me and the issuer of the card. My greencard already contains both my fingerprint and image.
3rd
heightened security measures in the u.s. now demand the implementation very soon of a new program called "capps ii".
airline passengers will now be required to not only present photo identification at the airport ticket counter, they will now be required to also provide their date of birth.. airlines are being ordered by the so-called "homeland security" agency to determine if each passenger is a flight risk, rating them "green" (ok to fly), "yellow" (need to be interrogated before allowing access to the aircraft), or "red" (forbidden to fly under any circumstances).. while many see this as a necessary security measure in the shadow of the 9/11 disaster, others are screaming "foul" because they believe it is an invasion of their privacy.. once this plan is initiated, i will no longer patronize airlines, not because of the invasion of privacy factor, but because of the threat of datamining.
what is "datamining"?
I understand your concerns about data privacy but:
:they will now be required to also provide their date of birth.
The three forms of identification I use to fly are my driving license, my green card and my passport. All three already have my date of birth printed on or in them. I think airline frequent flyer programs I am enrolled with have my date of birth as well. At some Liquor stores they swipe my driver's license and my DoB appears on the till screen. I can't really see airlines asking for any more information than is already avaialble to them.
3rd
i have never been able to understand the "the brothers from xyz cogregation are sending their love" at the end of a public talk.. it always seemed to occur when the speaker was from a far-away place.
then, we all have to clap when he rhetorically asks "do you want to send our love to them?".
they never seem to do it when it is a near-by congregation .. only one far away.
I always found it weird (and would not applaud) when the "sending of love" was to be done via the visiting elder from the congregation next door. (We had a twin hall shared by 4 congs')
If I wanted to send my love, I'd go next door and tell them. Actually, I went next door if certain elders were giving the public talk and I didn't want to sit thru their drivel I had heard before...and that was when I was an elder.
3rd
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now that we're starting to read the bible at the beginning again.........i was wondering if this subject has ever been discussed.. the length of the creative days........used to be considered 7000 years in length.......stated rather dogmatically up until around the mid 1980's.
(aid book says this......insight book does not) of course....this is quite rediculous.......... more recent publications don't stress this .........just periods of time.......... yet there was never anything published to indicate how wrong this old view was.........done very gradually.......i think some still think the creative days were still 7000 years long.. if this topic has come up before.....maybe someone could post a link to it..
The idea that God would wait until Adam was 30 years old is a good one. But 30 years after 1975 is 2005 and thus the end is next year year .
However, the Watchtower is good at stretching dates and could perhaps state that since Adam's life-expectancy was eternal there was no need for God to rush things. Afterall, some of Adam's early descendants did not have children until their 70s or 80s. That way the WTS could keep the 7000 year creative day, and Eve's creation date could decades after Adam, even a century if the WTS survives into the 2070s.
3rd
PS According to Genesis, Adam was 130 years of age when he became father to Seth. Considering that Cain and Abel were born and appeared to reach maturity before Seth was born and that Cain had a sister to marry there is an upper limit to the time between Adam's creation and that of Eve...that's assuming that the Genesis account is history and not myth.
i was raised by the society with the constant drumbeat in my head: "this generation will by no means pass away ...".
when i was a kid, "this generation" was defined as one who not only was alive in 1914 but was aware of the changes in the world.
they were old enough to know the world before 1914, the war on earth, the war in heaven, jesus' installation as king and so on.. .
I see 2034 being mentioned again (120 years after 1914) but I don't see the significance. If 120 years is used to equate to the limit of time God gave Noah then in the current period the 120 years must have begun when the Watchtower Society started preaching about the end. That was in 1879 and the 120 years expired more than three years ago. To suggest that the warning was given in 1914 is stretching it a bit, but then again the Society is good at stretching doctrine. The "generation" almost doubled in duration until 1995 when it reached breaking point. I am sure that if the Watchtower Society survives after 2014 they will keep tacking 120 years on every significant JW date they can.
3rd
.
..."walking with god.
" why not call it "walking with god after we just gave him glory"?.
Notable conventions for me, that is the ones I remember. Who was at the same venue?
1969 "Peace on Earth" International Assembly - Wembley Stadium, London (aged 9)
1970 "Men of Goodwill" District Assembly - Bingley Hall, Birmingham, England (?)
1971 "Divine Name" District Assembly - Gawler Racetrack, Sth Australia & Ballarat, Victoria
1972 "Divine Rulership" District Assembly - Did not attend any, weren't we bad?
1973 "Divine Victory" International Assembly - Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland
1974 "Divine Purpose" District Assembly - Twickenham, London (?)
1975 "Divine Sovereignty" District Assembly - Dublin, Ireland
1976 "Sacred Service" District Assembly
1977 "Joyful Workers" District Assembly
1978 "Victorious Faith" International Convention - Dodger Stadium, LA, California
1979 "Living Hope" District Convention
1980 "Divine Love" District Convention
1981 "Kingdom Loyalty" District Convention
1982 "Kingdom Truth" District Convention
1983 "Kingdom Unity" District Convention
1984 "Kingdom Increase" District Convention
1985 "Integrity Keepers" District Convention
1986 "Divine Peace" District Convention
1987 "Trust in Jehovah" District Convention
1988 "Divine Justice" District Convention
1989 "Godly Devotion" District Convention
1990 "Pure Language" District Convention
1991 "Lovers of Freedom" District Convention
1992 "Light Bearers" District Convention
1993 "Divine Teaching" District Convention
1994 "Godly Fear" District Convention - Coventry, England
1995 "Joyful Praisers" District Convention - Uh, didn't find time to go (I was slipping)
1996 "Messengers of Godly Peace" District Convention - Convention Center, Rochester, MN (Saturday and Sunday morning only)
1997 "Faith in God's Word" District Convention - Absent
1998 "God's Way of Life" District Convention - Absent
1999 "God's Prophetic Word" District Convention - Absent
2000 "Doers of God's Word" District Convention - Absent
2001 "Teachers of God's Word" District Convention - Absent
2002 - Absent
2003 - Absent
2004 - Don't count on me being there
Most of the 80s and 90s either Wolverhampton, Coventry and once Birmingham. And at least once in there is Cardiff, Wales as well.
