I thought that image was the inside cover of 50 shades of Grey!
Separation of Powers
JoinedPosts by Separation of Powers
-
-
-
-
30
Pioneer Encouragement - "You can sit in the back room"
by 4thgen inlast night one of the pioneers stopped by on her way home from the pioneer meeting.
she has always been very kind and i believe she is acted out of concern, however her visit was unsettling.
she mentioned that all the pioneers were counseled to invite everyone they know inactive or those who has had life has got them down to come to (a special?
-
-
Separation of Powers
The "back room" has been prepared for them? They don't have to dress up? They don't have to talk to anyone? Why bother going then? For several months, I have been trying to help a family member recognize that with the JW's, it is ALL ABOUT APPEARANCES.
There is NO substance. NO genuine love. NO genuine interest. Feign love, feign interest...look happy, be miserable.
That is the reason that if there is a god and judgment day comes...hearts will be weighed, not actions.
just a thought,
SOP
-
40
Tech49 has the CO over for lunch
by Tech49 inso awhile back, during our last circuit overseer visit, vic and i decided to bite the bullet.... there seemed to be very little support for the mid-week lunch plans for the co and his wife, so we signed up to host.
we definitely didnt want it to be awkward, so we invited a few others along, as a nice little group affair.
they were excited, and offered to do the cooking, so i said i would play along.. just some background.... this particular co is kind of a tool (big surprise right?
-
-
Separation of Powers
It will be very sad when he comes to the realization that when he can no longer serve and is of no real value to the ORG that they will release him into the wild. He EXPECTS that others will help him, but unfortunately, those people are becoming more and more scarce. It will be like in the movie where the woman is stripped of her nobility and her conniving daughter tells her, "You are just like me....a GREAT BIG NOBODY!" Yes, rock star status disappears quite quickly and Gluten free costs a LOT MORE!
The world is a scary place for those so sheltered, particularly when they are kicked out of the shelter!
SOP
-
52
Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-26-2014 WT Study (Obey Jehovah's Shepherds))
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite infine.
holy spirit appointed overseers to shepherd?
6:1, 2; jude 22) are these not good reasons for being obedient to those who are taking the lead?read hebrews 13:17.. .
-
-
Separation of Powers
Sorry Billy, I am a little late to responding to this...Good Job on the review.
Got to tell you all that the study at our hall was replete with kiss-ups and boot-lickers. Every year, over the past 10 that I can recall, there has been the customary annual study that glorifies the GB and another that glorifies the elders. I just loved the comment from the young bro who just painted with a broad brush how the elders "were really living up to the biblical requirements" and "how privileged our congregation was to have such fine examples." Yep, that's right! He will be an MS in no time!
Just a thought,
SOP
-
11
Satan And The Demons
by sojourner7 ingreetings.. i was wondering if someone could tell me according to wt theology, what happens to satan and the demons?
are they also annihilated or do they experience eternal punishment?
thanks!.
-
-
Separation of Powers
The expectation is...They will be in the abyss for a thousand years as one poster already mentioned. The dilemma here is the fact that the Bible, although it states that the dragon or Satan will be abyssed and released, it does not specifially mention the "demons." So, the ORG takes liberty with the account to state the "expectation" of the demons being with the dragon as well. They will, ultimately, be destroyed along with all the other "perfected" ones, who, like Adam and Eve are too shallow and inexperienced to withstand the temptations that Gog of Magog will throw their way. It is all rather muddled after that.
It is muddled because it is difficult to take a book like Ezekiel (Gog of Magog) and make application of it in concert with the Revelation (the Dragon, original Serpent). The "Revelation," written possibly hundreds of years AFTER Jesus, is an allegorical book, application to the modern day has been the norm since the Dark Ages, the Inquisition, and the spread of Islam by the Moors. So, that is possibly why it is so difficult to understand and interpret.
-
7
The Problem with FAMILY
by Separation of Powers ini woke up early this morning.
i had a dream that my mother had cut-me-off.
it was a painful dream for me...but it was only a dream.
-
-
Separation of Powers
I woke up early this morning. I had a dream that my mother had cut-me-off. It was a painful dream for me...but it was only a dream. When I awoke, I lay there in my bed trying to figure it out; trying to come to grips with the reality of what it would mean when I eventually cut ties (as I know I must). I realized something very profound. I realized that over the course of my JW existence, my family, my "fleshly" family, was never really close. In fact, when it comes to dysfunction, I think my family was just as dysfunctional as the rest (and still is).
One of the things that hit me, though, was the fact that in many of the congregations that I attended when I was young or even as an adult had large families in them. These families would go places together in huge groups, go to reunions, camping trips, etc. And when it came to congregational stuff, they would fight for their kids to be used in the congregation or protect their family members tooth and nail when they were confronted with wrongdoing. What hits me...and this juncture...is the response of my family to THAT type of family. In short, we didn't care for them, any of them. They were nepotists, showing favortism, could do-no-wrong, all those other cliche responses. But, in reality, they were simply a FAMILY. A REAL family. A "never takes sides against the Family" family. A "never let anyone outside the Family know what you're thinking" family.
Our family, in restrospect, was simply jealous because we gave up every real vestige of family for the organization. They didn't matter...really. THAT is the reason for the 'pain" in that dream, not that my mother had cut me off, but rather, that there never really existed any ties.
SOP
-
37
Why would Adam or Eve choose the tree of knowledge instead of the tree of life.
by smiddy inplease help me out here .. in genesis 2:16 it says " and jehovah god also laid this command upon the man: from every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction.
17 but as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it , for in the day you eat from it ,you will positively die.. ok we get that , but what about this ?.
wouldnt it make more sense to forbid the eating of the tree of life first ?
-
-
Separation of Powers
Good question...possible answer...neither tree existed. The story is an allegory, like Dickens.
-
40
Don't Miss the Meetings - Hebrews 10:24, 25 Re-examined
by Oubliette ini recently got an unsolicited lecture from a well-intentioned but nevertheless misguided jw friend.
the gist of it was that i needed to go to all the meetings or i would miss out on "everlasting life.".
i responded that i do not need to go to meetings to have a relationship with god.
-
-
Separation of Powers
So then, if meetings are SOOO important than why is it acceptable to "forsake" the meetings to work with the RBC, Bethel and other "spiritually" oriented tasks. Paul did NOT make any concessions here.
Another point, and I don't think anyone has touched on it, is the fact that many do not believe that Paul even wrote the Hebrews. So, when the "writer" speaks of "forsaking" what exactly does he mean. One might extrapolate from other Pauline writings just what Paul might have meant, but if it wasn't Paul that wrote it, no comparative ability exists. My take on the whole thing, get together with like minded believers, worship, encourage, the writer simply means, "Don't be a spiritual island." Nothing wrong with that. Problem is, the JW meetings are typically far from a place to be encouraged "all the more so" as the expected end "draws near."
SOP
-
122
Why doesn't god do anything tangible now?
by punkofnice ini was always told that god did loads of stuff that was evidence of his existance.
ususally very brutal things too (b#st@rd).. jesus walked on water and raised the dead we are told.. it seems to me also that the older the story, the more exaggerated it is...y'know...talking snake......global flood.. there are those that claim god speaks to them now and they alone 'know' it.
(cuckoo!!!).
-
-
Separation of Powers
Punk of Nice....Great thought provoking question..
Here are a couple of reasons:
1) He doesn't exist. Never has. Never will.
2) He doesn't care.
3) He does do tangible things, visible miracles each and every day. We just don't see it or simply don't appreciate it.
All religion is based on something supernatural. What we conceive or accept as scientificly explained, ancient cultures viewed as miraculous. Most overwhelmingly incredible stories in the Bible and other "holy books" may well just be part of the legend building applicable to ancient societies, or simply made up to encourage conformance.
Just a thought,
SOP
-
2
Watchtower DOGMA, the rejection of the Christian foundation
by Separation of Powers inthe word dogma is defined as "a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.".
i began comparative religious studies several years ago, in fact, i am currently attending school with the desire to acquire my degree in this discipline.
while studying the buddhist belief system, i realized how similar the jw's were in their evolution to every other religion.
-
-
Separation of Powers
The word DOGMA is defined as "a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true."
I began comparative religious studies several years ago, in fact, I am currently attending school with the desire to acquire my degree in this discipline. While studying the Buddhist belief system, I realized how similar the JW's were in their evolution to every other religion. Interestingly, when one's view is directed solely to western Christianity, it is easy to not see the forest for the trees. Our view, with regard to religion is tainted and myopic, particularly due to the indoctrination that many received while with the organization.
In studying the progression of ALL religions, it is apparent that what starts out as a premise or idea, a method or system, is usually hijacked and "organized." An addage I heard recently was quite catchy...it goes something like this:
The devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket.
The friend said to the devil, "what did that man pick up?"
"He picked up a piece of Truth," said the devil.
"That is a very bad business for you, then," said his friend.
"Oh, not at all," said the devil, "I am going to let him organize it."
The story is poignant in that it is universally applicable. Every religion may have started out with a gem of wisdom, but ultimately evolved into a organized belief system replete with a hierarchy dedicated to its orthodoxy.
The next time someone tells you how DIFFERENT the Jehovah's Witness organization is, pull out the old index or better still, the CD-ROM of the Watchtower publications. This is their DOGMA. They have morphed into what every other religion has morphed into, an ORGANIZATION.