Merry Christmas, Joe!
It's only 6am here, so I'll wait until later to raise that glass (or two).
Oubliette
JoinedPosts by Oubliette
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24
Christmas Eve Afternoon
by Joe Grundy inwell, it's christmas eve afternoon here now in the uk.. traditionally a time when all the panic shopping is over, what's done is done, what you've forgotten you've forgotten, time to raise a glass (or two) and relax.. so may i wish all members/readers/posters a very happy xmas, whether you celebrate it or not, and extra 'get up and go' for 2015.. best wishes to all.. .
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Bible Teach book
by factfinder inthe revised edition of the bible teach book is up on jw.org with a new cover..
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Oubliette
NewYork44M: I read the quote in the text posted. "There are people everywhere who have bad traits. This shows that god will soon act." Wow! This god of theirs is not very tolerant.
Actually, their God is very "tolerant." Look how long it's been that's he's done nothing!
In fact, his "tolerance" proves that the conclusion of the WT writers is wrong: There is no reason to conclude that "God will soon act" because there has always been "people everywhere who have bad traits" and God has apparently been fine with leaving it alone since the Great Deluge of Noah's day. Why would now be any different?
I know, don't tell me: "We're living in 'The Last Days'."
Only we're not! Indeed, the evidence--the real evidence, not the made-up cherry-picked stuff that's found in WTBTS literature--is that we are actually living in the safest period of human history.
Bad things clearly still happen, but the rates of all kinds of violence has been dropping dramatically for centuries and the trend is still down.
Steven Pinker: The Better Angels of our Nature
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Bible Teach book
by factfinder inthe revised edition of the bible teach book is up on jw.org with a new cover..
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Oubliette
It makes sense that, since the OLD WDTBRT book was based on the OLD NWT, they would have to have a NEW, REVISED WDTBRT book to match the NEW and REVISED NWT.
After all, we just want to know What Does the Bible Really Teach as of right now, this moment ... that is to say until some "New Light" comes along and then we have an "adjustment" in "our understanding" of what the Bible really teaches, but that's ok, because then we will really, really know what the Bible teaches, at least for the moment.
Lather, rinse, repeat: It's a cult!
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Oubliette
My Lodge cast iron skillets, naturally non-stick.
I can make beautiful pan-seared just about anything: fish, steak, you name it!
Even scrambled eggs turn out wonderfully and you don't have to worry about all the toxic crap from teflon.
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7
Watchtower Top Doctor on Blood
by Marvin Shilmer intoday i added a new article to my blog.
the information is a little dated.
material cited was published in 1973. but i don't find any good sources online for this information so i published it myself.. the doctor involved (now deceased) was dr. j lowell dixon.
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Oubliette
Thanks Marvin!
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114
What is truth?
by Heisenberg inwell, i have been lurking on this site for several months and i recently decided to join as a member.
i have made several observations and would like to make a few comments.. first, i am perplexed by the attitude of many on this site that are either former or active (but apostate) jws.
they seem to have a strong hatred for the wts and also for rank and file jws.
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Oubliette
▪ Why have Jehovah’s Witnesses disfellowshipped (excommunicated) for apostasy some who still profess belief in God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ?
"Obviously, a basis for approved fellowship with Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot rest merely on a belief in God, in the Bible, in Jesus Christ, and so forth. The Roman Catholic pope, as well as the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, professes such beliefs, yet their church memberships are exclusive of each other. Likewise, simply professing to have such beliefs would not authorize one to be known as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Approved association with Jehovah’s Witnesses requires accepting the entire range of the true teachings of the Bible, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses." - Watchtower, April 1, 1986, Questions from Readers.
Notice that accepting the Bible is not enough, one must also accept those "beliefs that are unique to Jehovah's Witnesses" no matter how often they change.
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114
What is truth?
by Heisenberg inwell, i have been lurking on this site for several months and i recently decided to join as a member.
i have made several observations and would like to make a few comments.. first, i am perplexed by the attitude of many on this site that are either former or active (but apostate) jws.
they seem to have a strong hatred for the wts and also for rank and file jws.
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Oubliette
Welcome Heisenberg!
if a personal God does exist, a caring and loving God, then JWs do have ‘the truth’ regardless of all the false prophecies and issues they have with changing doctrine.
Your conclusion does not follow from your premise.
One could just as easily say:
- if a personal God does exist, a caring and loving God, then Catholics do have ‘the truth’ regardless of ...
- if a personal God does exist, a caring and loving God, then Muslims do have ‘the truth’ regardless of ...
- if a personal God does exist, a caring and loving God, then Mormons do have ‘the truth’ regardless of ...
- etc, ad infinitum
That being said, you ask quite a lot of questions, none of them necessarily mutually exclusive, but you ask them as if they are.
Don't forget your uncertainty principle!
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How do you overcome this JW excuse?
by EdenOne induring one of those meetings that took place before my jc, one of the elders, who was a good friend of mine back then and used to come up with a few outlandish personal views about some teachings, attempted to counter one of my arguments like this:.
eden - "well, if the truth doesn't change, why is it that what we teach as 'truth' has changed over the years (several examples given)?
how can we dogmatically claim at any given moment that we have 'the truth' if our teachings keep changing?".
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Oubliette
"Though mistaken, they eagerly shared it with others." (Proclaimers, chap. 28, p.623)
Funny, I distinctly remember the illustration in the old Live Forever book about a person that was reading a map incorrectly with the point being that being sincere in your beliefs, but wrong does not make you right.
Hypocrites.
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An email from a Jw "friend" to me (accusing me of apostasy) a few months back.
by objectivetruth ini was going through old email and i came across the below email from a former acquaintance of mine who is a jw.
when we were both jw's, we were both pretty liberal in our beliefs.
its quite interesting how cognitive dissonance kicks in, for many & not too much for others.
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Oubliette
Or if you have some issue with the understanding of that scripture any reasonable person would agree that leadership is needed in an organization. I am happy to have the guidance from the governing body.
Leadership and guidance are far different from demanding unquestioning obedience.
This person is very confused.
We don't allow people to start sects within our organization or change things as they see fit. makes sense to me
Who is "we"? He just said that he is "happy to have the 'guidance' from the governing body."
I guess he doesn't know the history of this organization. Rutherford caused a schism back in the early 1900's and started his own sect.
This person is very confused.
Asking questions is fine .... What changes that is when you take ideas ... from someones mind thats not your own and spread those to others.
How does he not see that he is taking ideas from "someones [sic] mind that is not his own and spreading them to others.
This person is very, very confused.
If someone wants to leave our organization we don't disfellowship them. ... We love you as our friend and won't shun you just because your as we put it "spiritually week".
Well that's just not true. Some people can fade without repercussions, but not many. The number of ex- and technically current-JWs that are shunned simply for walking away without being DF'd is extremely large as probably most posters on this forum can attest.
You are not the one we follow and have no organization with any rich spiritual history.
Um, aren't we supposed to follow Christ and not men?
Have I pointed out that this person is confused.
If you do what Russell did and start something that makes Jah use you as his channel than I will listen and follow what you say.
Ok, so now he completely contradicts almost everything he has previously said. Also, how would he know if some contemporary person were to start something like Russell that makes Jah use him? How would he know since he refuses to listen to anything that disagrees even slightly with the GB, except of course when the GB disagree with the previous GB or themselves, as in last week's, last month's or last year's "old light"?
This person is extremely confused and clearly does not know how to think.
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An email from a Jw "friend" to me (accusing me of apostasy) a few months back.
by objectivetruth ini was going through old email and i came across the below email from a former acquaintance of mine who is a jw.
when we were both jw's, we were both pretty liberal in our beliefs.
its quite interesting how cognitive dissonance kicks in, for many & not too much for others.
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Oubliette
ADCMS: JWs prefer wishful thinking over evidence.
I would phrase it a bit differently: JW's prefer wishful thinking over critical thinking.
