Posts by Thirdson

28

JW's and pets

by SuperMommy in

.

does the wts have any rules...even unsaid implications...on pet ownership.

i have been hearing conflicting thing.

I remember a CO criticizing some in the congregation for doting on their pets and almost idolizing them. He said cats (domestic ones at least) aren't even mentioned in the Bible and when dogs are mentioned it's only in a poor way. (A bit like birthday celebrations.) The excuse for his negative attitude is the responsibility pets entail especially as some can't spend too long away from home because of their pets and miss assemblies, don't spend long in FS etc.

If anything can affect the book selling activities of the WTS then it will always be viewed negatively.

3rd

PS I don't remember anyone getting rid of their pets after that visit.

7

Charles Russell Website - great information

by run dont walk in

.

this guy did his homework, check out this site, has most, if not all russell's zion's watchtower mags and other info, great source for information, and history on the cult we all got out of.. www.ctrussell.us/.

hope i did the link right

Thirdson

I was gladdened (Watchtower word) to see that Russell and the BS had this hymn in their hymnal:

::Hymn 71::

Guide Me

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim thru this barren land; I am weak, but thou art mighty; Hold me with thy pow'rful hand. Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more. Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more.

The words don't quite match those used with the Music Cwm Rhondda, which is a shame.

I also noted that the last Watchtower of 1916 clearly shows that they thought Russell was the faithful servant providing meat in due season.

3rd

22

Ozzie's Weekend Poll #98

by ozziepost in

jw
friends

'owyergoin' this weekend?

i hope life for you is full of hope of something better.. mrs ozzie and i went to a picnic with friends today.

glorious winter sunshine at a 'country music style' picnic grounds and showgrounds.

Thirdson

Either,

2. Gorgeous!

Or

5. None of my business

Some sister's looked great with dyed hair. Others did it to hide gray. So what!

What about brothers then? That was always funny. How about closet baldies?

3rd

3

On someone's doorstep and.......help !

by blobby in

anyone had the experience of nervously knocking on someone's door and talking about a "topic" and the householder has misunderstood why your there !.

my experience:.

was on the door telling the householder about local politcs and how they all were the same in their views and that no party has the solution to end the problems we face etc etc.

Thirdson

hh,

I was on FS with a guy. He presented the magazines in his garlbled way. The householder must have tried reading the magazines upside down and shouts into the house, "anyone here want to buy the Watchmaker or A-Make?" We didn't bother to explain we weren't selling craft magazines.

Another time I walked upto a door and it opened immeadiately and I heard, "come on in Doctor, she's upstais." I had to explain I wasn't the doctor (although I once stayed in a Holiday Inn Express) and not bother them any further. I know many JWs would have used the opportunity to sell their religion on the theme of sickness and death but I felt it better to apologise and leave.

3rd

2

A Religion in a Packet

by Thirdson in

i guess when your religion is really a book selling/publishing empire then acts of worship are somewhat lacking.

what i mean from that is, having experienced many different church services, i now remember jw services to be lacking in worship, ceremony, praise and joy.

a meeting at the kingdom hall in comparison to other churches is like comparing fine home cooking to packet meals.. jw services are based on a packet formula.

Thirdson

...Cont'd

Even services at churches that follow a fairly rigid Liturgy, have a fairly wide choice for how services are conducted. None of the Pastors and Priests I have known would ever dream of giving the same sermon twice unlike me in my JW days where I had 7 talks I could give with almost no variation. When tragedy strikes or when an event affects the local community you can trust the pastor to adapt the service to mention the event or provide some comfort for those affected.

I am amazed at how many sick people there are in Churches. Every week a dozen people are mentioned, congregation members, their relatives, their relative?s relatives. These people are mentioned during the service and are named in prayers. They may have never stepped foot in the place of worship, may not be religious or might belong to another denomination but if a member wants them mentioned in prayers they get mentioned in prayers. Other people in the general community who have suffered loss are prayed about too.

How many Kingdom Hall services have children, boys and girls take a leading role in worship? Play instruments, sing in choirs, read the Bible and offer prayers?

When I first attended a service after leaving the Watchtower, I was amazed at the whole act of worship; women priests conducting services and giving sermons, choirs, anthems, organ music.

I often struggle with faith, I frequently doubt a caring God exists and I am sometimes bored by church sermons. But, I haven?t seen any waters drying up in the religious world outside of the Watchtower. In my opinion, the water the Watchtower gets is merely that used to re-hydrate the powder mix of their bland, boxed, religion.

Thirdson

2

A Religion in a Packet

by Thirdson in

i guess when your religion is really a book selling/publishing empire then acts of worship are somewhat lacking.

what i mean from that is, having experienced many different church services, i now remember jw services to be lacking in worship, ceremony, praise and joy.

a meeting at the kingdom hall in comparison to other churches is like comparing fine home cooking to packet meals.. jw services are based on a packet formula.

Thirdson

I guess when your religion is really a book selling/publishing empire then acts of worship are somewhat lacking. What I mean from that is, having experienced many different church services, I now remember JW services to be lacking in worship, ceremony, praise and joy. A meeting at the kingdom hall in comparison to other churches is like comparing fine home cooking to packet meals.

JW services are based on a packet formula. There is no individuality. A Sunday meeting of worship consists of 2 prayers, 3 songs, a sermon and a reading and rereading of corporate propaganda. The songs are pre-selected from a small list. There are no musicians (the music is pre-recorded) no choir, no choral anthems, no special arrangements and no music written by great composers. The sermon follows a set script and you?d be lucky (or fortunate) to hear anything that mentions any local happening or news event. The Watchtower magazine review is obviously a fixed script. The only part of a meeting where individuality and extemporaneous speech exists are in the prayers. Yet even those follow a set formula:

"Heavenly Father, thank for the occasion, brotherhood, spiritual food; bless the ministry and the Governing body; we remember the unnamed sick in our congregation and persecuted JWs somewhere else in an unnamed location; vindicate or sanctify your name and kill all the bad people soon; in-jesus-name-amen."

18

Deleted's Top Five Poll #2 - What books helped you get out of the Borg?

by Deleted in

jw
friends

here's my top five books that helped me considerably to see my way out.

(1) edward rutherfurd's novel "london" - it dawned on me that generation after generation thought theirs was special in god's eyes, this novel started me thinking.

(2) crisis of conscience - by you know who, wow!

Thirdson

Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand

Creation Book (I forget the full title)

The Family Book (I forget the full title)

After those three book I was ripe for Crisis of Conscience and

Apocalypse Delayed

3rd

10

For My North American Citizens: DEAD SKUNK

by RAYZORBLADE in

dead skunk in the middle of the road .

Thirdson

It took me 5 years to figure out that the occasional nasty smell that wafted into the car was roadkill skunk.

3rd

42

Just randomly underline study WT or book?

by Max Divergent in

jw
friends

.

did you ever get into just doing random underlines and notes and all that on your study wt or books just to look like you?d studied it without ever having even looked at it before?

.

Thirdson

Frequently. I'd spend perhaps 10 minutes underlining the answers. You could do it without reading the questions.

One time, I hadn't studied and during the talk the PO asked if I could read the Watchtower as the assigned reader was absent. Even though I could read it as good as anyone else without pre-reading it I declined based on the fact my W. wasn't marked in ink. For my sin of not studying I was deleted (never officially told, but my name disappeared from the list) from the Watchtower reader list for nearly 2 years. I got the reader job back when they made me into an elder.

3rd

6

1944 -Day - 1914

by stillajwexelder in

jw
friends

they have just been saying on the news that the 60th anniversary of d-day will be the last major commemoration -as all the veterans are dying off -- i.e.

the generation that saw 1944 -- but this was 30 years later than 1914 -- when are stupid witnesses going to open their eyes and start asking sensible questions such as "surely something is not quite right?

"

Thirdson

I thought the same thing watching items on D-Day this week and after watching interviews with the old soldiers (the real Band of Brothers who the series was based on.) The WWII veterans are dying off. I thought I mis-heard the 1000 veterans a day that die in the US.

Interestingly, I heard that an in-law's grandfather made it to France with veterans this weekend. He just happens to be the JW elder that resigned at the same time that I did, over the same event. I didn't even know he took part in the D-day landings. He's in his 80s now and not in great health. But he returned wearing his medals and ribbons. I'm glad he has returned for one last visit and to honor his fallen comrades.

3rd