Newly Enlightened

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Posts by Newly Enlightened

• 
  16

  !!!!INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT!!!! this morning. Family member hears TTATT.

  by Gojira_101 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so my husband's brother called him this morning.

  i will call his brother earl (fake name :) so earl calls him out of the blue, hubby hasn't talked to him in a few months.

  earl was never baptized and left jw's in his later teens and the family has also thought he was a low life and the black sheep of the family.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Awesome Kids! So proud of you all and so happy you have your brother Sweetie. You did forget JW Survey in your list.

  Keep us informed!
• 
  40

  My experience today

  by leaving_quietly in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  discussion with wife today led to her questioning whether i believe or not.

  i told her that i just can't roll over and accept everything new thing they say just like that.

  we were, of course, talking about the "new light".

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  Newly Enlightened

  Here's one for you, right from the Reasoning Book. This is what did it for us. pg 89 under subheading 'Cross'. In that first paragraph you will notice a quote from the IMPERIAL BIBLE Dictionary. There a few [...] in there. When you go to the ACTUAL source. Link below. The IBD says something quite differently that what is quoted in the Reasoning Book and is actually pro-cross.

  Why

  doWatchTowerpublicationsshowJesusonastakewithhandsoverhisheadinsteadofonthetraditional

  cross?

  The Greek word rendered “cross” in many modern Bible versions (“torture stake” in NW) is stau·ros

  ′ . In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. TheImperialBible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: “The Greek word for cross, [ stau·ros ′ ], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.”—Edited by P. Fairbairn (London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376

  What the IBD actually says:

  The Greek word for cross, (stauros), properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling (fencing in) a piece of ground. But a modification was introduced as the dominion and usages of Rome extended themselves through Greek-speaking countries. Even amongst the Romans, the crux (from which the word cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole, and always remained the more prominent part. But from the time that it began to be used as an instrument of punishment, a traverse piece of wood was commonly added: not however always then. … There can be no doubt, however, that the later sort was the more common, and that about the period of the Gospel Age, crucifixion was usually accomplished by suspending the criminal on a cross piece of wood.
  … But the commonest form, it is understood, was that in which the upright piece of wood was crossed by another near the top, but not precisely at it, the upright pole running above the other, thus "a cross" and so making four, not merely two right angles. It was on a cross of this form, according to the general voice of tradition, that our Lord suffered.
  ... It may be added that crucifixion was abolished around the time of Constantine, in consequence of the sacred associations which the cross had now gathered around it."

  Imperial Bible Dictionary pg 376

  http://archive.org/stream/theimperialbible01unknuoft#page/376/mode/1up
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  29

  Apostacitis

  by Rufus T. Firefly in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  apostacitis is a term denoting a condition with which the watchtower society has become thoroughly infected, particularly since the year 1981 when sincere christians who merely resigned from the organization over principled differences in belief became viewed the same as unrepentant wrongdoers (1 cor.

  5:11) and as those rejecting the good news about the christ (2 john 9-11).

  there was a time when news of one becoming an apostate was so rare among witnesses that it sent shockwaves throughout the organization.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Welcome, glad to have you with us. Sounds like you have many more stories to tell.
• 
  6

  A small gift for all of us that have been abused by the WTBT$

  by Brother of the Hawk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my first poem, i've written in over 30 years.. to all of my new friends and those yet to come.. the powers to be.

  my day started early, 2:30 am.

  i lay in bed to wonder, who i am.. midlife has come, my light is growing dim.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Thank you Sweetie. It was very touching!
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  15

  To all the Elders, Ms, Co etc. out there - Are you accountable for the deception

  by *lost* in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  if the elders united, rebelled and shut up shop - would it bring down the wt.

  they 'shepherd the flock' - does that make them more accountable than anyone else for the deception and lies and trickery and deceit.. are they all non-believers who are along for the ride ?.

  are they cowardly for taking a stand ?.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Hi Lost. We HAD a good friend for over 20 years that was an elder and sub CO. We used to be able to talk to him about anything and he had mentioned a few doubts he had himself.

  Not anymore, he's a gung ho compnay man that said I had independent apostate thinking and thought I was better than the org. So I believe that for the most part, they are partly responsible for what we see going on in the org today. They carry out the laws and punishments from the GB.
• 
  31

  My act of REBELLION

  by Gojira_101 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well a picture says a thousand words!

  i had a tattoo done today.. it was actually interesting because as i was chit chatting with the tattoo artist, she asked me if this tattoo symbolized anything....well actually it does i told her.. me: i was a jw and they are strongly against tattoos or anything that is really "normal" for people.. tattoo artist: i know all about jw, my ex-girlfriend's family was all jw, and i remember one time going over to her parents house and her grandma sat us both down and made us read some scriptures from her bible as to why we were going to hell.. me: actually you will due at armageddon, that is the jw thing.. tatt artist: oh right that is what her grandma said.

  i forgot about that, you're right.. so then the rest of the conversation was just me telling her it's a cult and i told her never listen to any jw who comes knocking.. something else interesting that happened just before i came on here.

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  Newly Enlightened

  I might even get one of Animal from the Muppets.
• 
  20

  Quote from this week's WT study

  by dissonance_resolved in

  1. social
  2. humour

  "god's servants on earth will not need to defend themselves against aliens from another planet.".

  good to know- but strangely no scriptural reference for this gem..

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  Newly Enlightened

  BOO!

  
• 
  13

  Interesting discussion with EX-JW ...

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  funny.

  i had an interesting discussion this morning with an older guy in our little town.

  so the stocker in the market is very outgoing and friendly to everyone.

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  Newly Enlightened

  I appreciate JWS for adding Barbara Anderson's thread about Russell being a Mason.

  I don't know if he was or not, but I do know that he was into pyramids, he did have the Mason & Egyptian symbols all over his literature and he was favorable towards them. They even had a small news blurb about Mason's in a 1895 WT, in a good light.
• 
  13

  Interesting discussion with EX-JW ...

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  funny.

  i had an interesting discussion this morning with an older guy in our little town.

  so the stocker in the market is very outgoing and friendly to everyone.

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  Newly Enlightened

  I don't know. I know there is a lot of controversy back & forth on that.

  He was just telling me what the Mason library had said about the Russell family name being several generations of Masons and from his own observation of being with the Mason's and knowing that Russell's pyramid is in the Mason part of the cemetary and was a honor and show of respect for a Mason of his 33rd degree.
• 
  423

  I have just been disinvited to my brother's wedding - Thanks AAWA!

  by Sic Semper Tyrannis in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i am an inactive jw.

  i havent been on this forum for a few months and have been lurking in others.

  i have met a few people in real life and online, both on this forum and on others.

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  Newly Enlightened

  I was unfriended and shunned by every JW on my Facebook. NOT because I 'liked' the AAWA, but because I posted a link to the show 48 hours that was about an elder having an affair with his EX-wife and his new wife ended up dead.

  JW's are judgemental, critical and fanatical.

  I don't know the details, but If you 'liked' AAWA on your Facebook then everyone on there would know. I don't believe for a minute that Cedars would do any of this deliberately.

  You may have to change your privacy settings on your Facebook

  And please, everyone. don't 'LIKE or COMMENT on' ANYTHING that would be questionable to a JW on your Facebook page because everyone on there will see it.