Happy birthday and anniversary to you and your wife!
And thank you for all your posts and of course, the great content you have put up on your site
Sparlock the Wizard
JoinedPosts by Sparlock the Wizard
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120
Why do the GB need a new Bethel compound if the end is so close? Here is the "official" answer
by sir82 inas most of us know, the society is spending 10's of millions of dollars on a giant, state of the art, secluded bunker country club headquarters in very remote, isolated warwick ny.. the question that "some" have is, why?
if armageddon is coming "very soon", why go to all that time & effort & expense?
why have thousands of jws dedicating their time to this massive effort instead of the "lifesaving ministry"?.
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Sparlock the Wizard
It's amusing how the GB will rationalize their decisions when they are directly opposed to what they profess and what they expect of the rank and file witnesses.
Just like they did with the Malawi scandal, and the registering as an N.G.O. for the U.N.
Nothing new, unfortunately...
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Connection Between Captives of a Concept and the Governing Bodys New Light?
by Cameron_Don insome have wondered if captives of a concept had anything to do with why the governing body changed their interpretation of the most important scripture in their theology - matthew 24:45-47. of course there is no way of knowing.
but since some of the changes deal with matters that are brought out in the book, it does seem fair to wonder.
the book makes the major point that according to their former interpretation the only way the society could be gods faithful and discreet slave organization today is if they had received jesus belongings appointment in 1919. .
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Sparlock the Wizard
Great post. I wondered this as well, as I read CoaC a few months prior to this particular WT article being leaked. It seem very convenient, like you mentioned, that now the future appointment of the slave/GB depends on nothing. It will simply happen.
@Terry: Interesting, I had never heard of the Doctrine of Investigative Judgement. I will have to look into this later...
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Former Longtime Elder - Reflections
by James Jackson inthe meetings are getting more boring to me.
some of the elders during their parts just talk and talk and talk about uninteresting things.
boring, boring.
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Sparlock the Wizard
gingerbread is right...The people that do many of the assigned tasks (except for Service Meeting talks) are now the baptized publishers that are in "good standing." These kids are the new MSs given the lack of many appointed servants and elders. What's worse is when you have an incompetent MS/elder that requires other baptized JWs to help him with his tasks.
For example, in a congo I know, the MS in charge of doing the accounting requires the help of two other kids in their late teens to complete the financial statements...
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Former Longtime Elder - Reflections
by James Jackson inthe meetings are getting more boring to me.
some of the elders during their parts just talk and talk and talk about uninteresting things.
boring, boring.
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Sparlock the Wizard
@Winston Smith: Wow, I've never seen a sister actually help out in mics before...I could see one doing the accounting behind the scenes when no one is there but our congo hasn't gotten that desperate for help yet (or any of the congos I know of). It would be more likely that they would delegate those responsibilities to non-baptized publishers that are in good standing before they consider giving them to women imo. I'd be interesting if this actually becomes the norm...
I wonder why the elders and COs take so long to appoint MSs and other elders...are they really still only offering the positions to those who meet their high standards? I figured they'd be getting a bit desperate by now...or perhaps no one is taking up the offers lol
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Who still goes to meetings and out in field service?
by SloppyJoe injust curious as to who on here still regularly attends meetings and goes out in service?
as i sit at the district convention i can't help but think who else out in the crowd is just like me.
doesn't believe what they hear, but are still here..
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Sparlock the Wizard
I also continue attending meetings and going to field service, although I do as little as I possibly can without raising any flags from friends or family. My current situation is very similar to Richard_I's.
It's funny, I had the same thoughts during the "Beware of Apostates" talk during this year's convention; "I wonder if anyone out there is thinking this is a load of BS?" There's got to be others it's just nearly impossible to know...
@Ding: Personally, the few times I go out to service, I simply hand out a magazine and walk away. I will usually introduce myself, mention I'm a JW and let them know that I have some bible-based info for him/her to read and leave. 99% of people will never ask you anything and if someone tries passing a study onto me, I'll just tell them it's difficult for me to pick it up because of my work/school schedule. Like SloppyJoe mentioned, it does make you feel like crap but I suppose you get somewhat used to it for after a while. You get used to doing the bare minimum and justify staying in for now because the alternative means losing your family and close friends.
I couldn't bear to bring another person into a group like this, but I'll still get that "you have no idea what you're getting into" feeling when I see that new study going to the meetings and "progressing in the truth."
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Julia gets hit with the Shun Gun for the first time...and it really hurts.
by Julia Orwell inmy jw friend of 20 years, the first one i ever met, the one who got me into jwism in the first place, unfriended me from facebook without explanation.
other jws who have unfriended me at least called me names (apostate) and told me they were unfriending me, but they were no loss.
but someone who's been your friend since you were 13...and no explanation...i'd think 20 years- 20 years!
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Sparlock the Wizard
Sorry to hear about it, Julia. Thankfully, I have kept pretty quiet about my beliefs for the most part and have not faced any shunning, although I have tremendous respect for those who do come out and speak their mind more openly. Hopefully your friend will realize her mistake.
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Former Long Time Elder, New Member
by James Jackson ini have served 20 years as an elder, 5 years as an ms. was on the district committee in 2010, held various positions on the district , circuit, and rbc level.
probably been on more than 100 judicial committees and even an appeals committee.
was the coordinator in our congregation and deleted because adult child was df ( i kicked him out at the time of his wrongdoing, but that wasn't enough for thr brothers).
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Sparlock the Wizard
Welcome to the forum, James Jackson
I am just an MS and have been "mentally out" for about at year. I would love to hear your thoughts on certain doctrines or topics you may find questionable. Take your time thinking about everything you read here. Hope all is well with your family and I hope we'll be seeing you around more often.
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Sparlock the Wizard
This site is pretty amazing
Like already mentioned, so many knowledgable and awesome posters make this a great place
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Incomplete quote in this weekends Watchtower study
by Sparlock the Wizard inthe first intro paragraph for todays wt study (may 15th, 2013 pg.
24) reads as follows:.
by and large, christendoms churches have distanced themselves from gods name.
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Sparlock the Wizard
The first intro paragraph for today’s WT study (May 15 th , 2013 pg. 24) reads as follows:
“BY AND LARGE, Christendom’s churches have distanced themselves from God’s name. For example, the Revised Standard Version states in its preface: “The use of any proper name for the one and only God…is entirely inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church.”
The paragraph, as do many quotes in WT literature, does not reveal the entire cited source. While I do not own a RSV Bible, I was, however, able to find the quote within the “To the Reader” preface in my NRSV Bible. Perhaps someone can confirm if the quote is the same in the RSV one but here is the last portion of the paragraph containing the quote in its entirety:
“Although the American Standard Version (1901) had used “Jehovah” to render the Tetragrammaton (the sound of Y being represented by J and the sound of W by V, as in Latin), for two reasons the Committees that produced the RSV and the NRSV returned to the more familiar usage of the King James Version. (1) The word “Jehovah” does not accurately represent any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew. (2) The use of any proper name for the one and only God, as though there were other gods from whom the true God had to be distinguished, began to be discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church.”
It seems that the WT writers forgot to include most of the relevant information. Not surprising…