I had a JW hero. Great elder, speaker, father and role-model. He stepped down as the COBE and became an atheist. Time changes us all. We are powerless to stop it.
Bonsai
JoinedPosts by Bonsai
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Have you ever had a JW role model?
by nevaagain inthe jw hero thread motivated me to make this thread.
so when you were still in, did you have a role model which was also a jw?.
when i was young (pre school) my parents were friends with another young couple, which also happaned to live nearby.
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Do you have a JW hero?
by Island Man inwhen i say jw hero i mean a jw who courageously did what was right despite the indoctrination and peer pressure to conform to cultishness.
i have an unknown jw hero that i've never met but only heard of from an experience relayed to me about an incident at a jw funeral.. i was told that at a jw funeral internment, a non-jw put a wreath in the shape of a cross on the grave.
shortly thereafter a jw elder came up and removed the wreath.
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Bonsai
Takeoffthecrownis my hero. He has taken his crown off in order to come on to this site and enjoy association and fellowship with us all! Welcome brother! -
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July Broadcast Denies That JW Children Die Rather Than Have Medical Care
by BluesBrother inanthony morris 3rd delivered the broadcast this month and advised that lies are circulated that they let children die rather than have medical care .
he says this is so inaccurate as to be a boldfaced lie ...... further he says it is "up to the parents to determine what would be the best treatment for their children" .
now, does this mean that parents are really free to make a decision to accept blood for their minor child, if they so choose?
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Bonsai
Am I alone here in thinking that this whole broadcast was dressed up and produced for the consumption of the civil authorities who are scrutinizing this organization to see if there is cause for punitive prosecution? This broadcast has the feel of whiny desperation. Too bad the average JW will lap it right up, though. -
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Why using Jehovah for God's name is as good as using Yahweh
by oppostate inin another thread i wrote some notes about why using jehovah in english is as good as using yahweh.
i'm starting a discussion on this topic because it sounds quite ignorant to hear people talk of the monk who started using it in latin without really understanding why the monk did so.. the spanish dominican monk, raymundus martini, in 1270, didn't get hoodwinked by an old jewish superstition about pronouncing the divine name with the vowel points of another word.. 1. first the vowel points of adonay and jehovah cannot be the same for grammatical reasons.
you just can't use the same vowel points because some vowels aren't paired with some consonants in pronouncing hebrew words.
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Bonsai
I think I see your points.
Jehovah the name has earned the right to exist in modern times, just as Yahweh has.
We don't know what Martini knew in his day, so it's unfair to bash him, or claim that he was the inventor of Jehovah.
We both agree that the JW religion is a borderline, if not full fledged, cult. We both agree that they overemphasize the usage of Jehovah to fit their agenda? If so, then I have no problem with anything that you wrote. Sounds good to me. I'll stop bashing Martini and try to use the name Jehovah with more respect around JWs.
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A difficult yet necessary decision
by Brother Jeramy inthe past five weeks have been perhaps the most painful in my life as a witness.. some months ago a young man (i'd say in his late thirties or early forties) began attending meetings at my kingdom hall.
he had just moved to my area from another state.
he had disassociated himself from his home congregation many years back, when he was 20 years old and going through many of the typical trials and temptations most young men experience.. two of the elders met with him initially, and they later shared the details with the body of elders.
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Bonsai
Thanks for sharing the situation Brother Jeramy. You honest to goodness tried your best to be loyal to "the family". I applaud you for that. I remember some of your previous posts made me feel sad that I wasn't trying to help from the inside as well. I love my estranged JW family, but they are just too toxic and brain-washed to deal with right now.
This dysfunctional JW family needs to be educated. It's leaders need to have their day of reckoning soon. I'm sure whatever choice you make in the coming weeks or months will be the right one for you. this stupid religion is pushing the best members of its flock right out of the pasture. Their loss, not ours.
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JW's came to my door 6 weeks ago. I told them I was inactive.......
by Alchemist in6 weeks ago some jws came to my door.
i've been inactive for 8 years.
after they gave their presentation i told them i was inactive.
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Bonsai
You've become inactive, so you are marked my friend. You can go back, and I'm sure the initial love bombing will be nice. But at the end of the day, they will continue to view you as "spiritually weak" and "mentally unstable." They will guard themselves around you and worry obsessively about "stumbling you" which will prevent you from making friends who will value you for who you are and not for what they want you to be. The world sucks sometimes, but it's not like they are doing anything to make it any better. I hardly find the global campaign to spread guilt and fear as conducive to building a better society for our children. Give it a try if you want. Maybe I'm wrong. -
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Just found out my older brother has passed away
by stuckinarut2 ini have just found out that my brother (who was one of a bunch that shared this login) has died.. he and his wife were living in another country where they once pioneered.
i didn't see him that often.. such an empty feeling.....
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Bonsai
Remember the good times you shared with him. Those memories are what will keep him alive in your heart. Sorry for your loss. -
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Why using Jehovah for God's name is as good as using Yahweh
by oppostate inin another thread i wrote some notes about why using jehovah in english is as good as using yahweh.
i'm starting a discussion on this topic because it sounds quite ignorant to hear people talk of the monk who started using it in latin without really understanding why the monk did so.. the spanish dominican monk, raymundus martini, in 1270, didn't get hoodwinked by an old jewish superstition about pronouncing the divine name with the vowel points of another word.. 1. first the vowel points of adonay and jehovah cannot be the same for grammatical reasons.
you just can't use the same vowel points because some vowels aren't paired with some consonants in pronouncing hebrew words.
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Bonsai
May I flap my cojonads around for just a minute?
First of all, thank you for taking the time to research and share your thoughts on this subject. It seems you love god and want to preserve the modern trend of using the name of the Big J. I guess I don't really care if you want to use Elohim, Adonai, Yahweh, Jehover, Abba, Allah, Lord... whatever. For whatever reason, god allowed his name in it's original given form to be discontinued. Whether it was superstition or culture, that really doesn't change the fact. It doesn't seem like he cares one way or another about what you or I call him.
My issue is with JWs teaching that using the name Jehovah is the only way to have an approved relationship with him, and the only way to salvation. They overemphasize this modern name to sell their brand and put themselves on a unique pedestal.
When I was at the height of my indocrination, I honestly thought that the world knew that god's only true name was Jehovah, but they refused to use it because they were being manipulated by Satan and wanted to worship Jesus. Now I know that it isn't used because the real pronunciation is unknown, and Jesus himself never used it! The reality is that JWs owe so much to the Catholics. I think they should start calling themselves "The Catholic Witnesses of Jehovah".
Jesus (who I think is a bit more qualified than you or I to convey god's preferences) used "father" and "my god" when referring to the Hebrew deity. That seems good enough to me. -
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What Jehovah can't do...
by C0ntr013r induring the rc today i heard this(i am paraphrasing and translating):.
"jehovah has created the physical universe for us.
he is a spirit and he can't enjoy physical things so he created it for us alone.
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Bonsai
I'd rather focus on what he/she/it CAN do.
He/she/it can be silent.
He/she/it can be invisible.
He/she/it can be non-existent.
He/she/it is like that father that was never there, never cared. Always too busy to bother saving a child from a tsunami, or save a starving baby from a vulture. Too busy with the building of Warwick to stop earthquakes, viruses or cancer. Too busy showing humans that we can't live without him, by alienating himself from us during our greatest moment of need.
I remember climbing a mountain and screaming to god, "Tell me that you are there! Tell me that you care!"
All I heard were the echoes of my fading plea. God wasn't on the mountain that day....
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What Road Would You Choose---IF?
by John Aquila insay you could go back in time to when you were 15 years old.
no watchtower in your life.
but the experience you have now you could keep.
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Bonsai
What problemaddic 2 said. I got a lovely wife and a lovely kid and we all are getting out together, so I wouldn't change a damn thing. Just wish I would have taken school more seriously, though.