Oubliette

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Posts by Oubliette

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  42

  Something a CO once said.

  by cappytan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "there are only three reasons you should miss a meeting.

  fever, fracture or funeral.

  everything else is a sorry excuse.

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  Oubliette

  I don't need "excuses," I have reasons, many of them in fact, to not go to the Kingdom Hall.

  But here's the most important one: It's a cult!

  
  
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  22

  Recycled WTS beliefs

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we all know the wts abandons and invents beliefs faster than apple can churn out new shiny stuff.

  but have they ever abandoned a belief and later picked it up again?.

  i remember many years ago we had one of those post-district-assembly review parts (part of the service meeting) where they were discussing some "new light".. there was some confusion about which was the "new" and which was the "old" and a semi-discussion ensued with people commenting.

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  Oubliette

  I hear the GB are thinking of reintroducing Russell's teachings on the pyramids: '

  WT "History Lesson" shows Russell's Pyramidology Beliefs - w2012 8/15

  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  23

  A Subtle Factor That Keeps Witnesses Silenced

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  had an interesting thought this morning.

  when a witness is 'in' they think everyone else is following and trying there best all in unity.

  i believe the reality is there are a lot of us 'in' who know different.

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  Oubliette

  FMF, this is a powerful epiphany you've just had.

  As Morpheus said, we all at first think we're the only one that doesn't believe. It is different though for those of us that leave. We are courageous, even if it's painful to lose family and friends.

  Ultimately, the most important relationship we have in this life is the one we have with our self. - Attribution redacted.
  
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  31

  Where is it said , not to independently do deep study of scripture

  by william draper in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i do believe it is written somewhere in jw literature .

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  Oubliette

  Great responses WF!
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  76

  Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.

  i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.

  to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.

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  Oubliette

  confuzzlediam: I was in my 40s when I returned to school. I already had an AA. I went to a local community college to pick up some missing transfer credits, then I went to university to get my BA.

  I'm now finishing up my Master's.

  It's empowering!

  The experiences of others on this forum have been encouraging. I hope to be an example to others as well!
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  10

  The art of being "Self referential" JW style....

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  have you noticed how everything from the gb or witnesses in general is "self referential"?.

  by this i mean that they adopt the method of using their own quotes, facts, statistics, teachings, events etc....to "prove" the new points made!.

  so for example, a teaching point or doctrinal reference is brought out, and in order to "prove" it, the gb will use their own self referential past points to back it up!.

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  Oubliette

  Yes, I noticed that many years ago. Nearly every teaching is "backed up" by quoting another WT publication. This gives the illusion of scholarship. But that's all it is.
  

  When I first began to notice this, I thought, "Well, I'll have to read that article to see what IT used for evidence/proof/etc."

  Of course, I often didn't, but many times I did. It wasn't long before I started to see a pattern, there is a dearth of independent material to verify almost all JW doctrines and practices. The are mostly derived in-house and simply asserted without any independently verifiable backing.

  Look at the relatively recent "overlapping generation" nonsense. The "proof" is the use of the word "evidently" in the sentence introducing the teaching, asserting that the WT writers--and they alone--KNOW what Jesus meant when he prophesied:

  "He evidently meant that the lives of the anointed who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914 would overlap with the lives of other anointed ones who would see the start of the great tribulation." Watchtower 2010 April 15 p.10

  That's it. No REAL evidence.

  Let's review: It's a cult!

  
  
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  76

  Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.

  i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.

  to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.

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  Oubliette

  confuzzlediam, good for you!

  
  

  It's never to let to be what you might have been! - George Eliot

  
  
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  8

  Thought provoking articles / videos

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i came across this site and love it, just full of interesting things to read.

  this one is particularly good about whether we are alone in the universe (as intelligent life) and what different scenarios could play out:.

  http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html.

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  Oubliette

  WMF: Thanks, a nice article on procrastination too.

  I saw that and wanted to read it but keep putting it off!
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  33

  And so it begins...

  by StarTrekAngel in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  wife and i have not reported a single hour of fs in 3-4 months.

  while my wife is mostly doing for me (positive thing), i know she would have rather done it.

  elder asked me to turn in my fs report this past week and then he added... "we need to talk".

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  Oubliette

  Magnum, I'm glad you like my posts. Actually, I thought I was being kind of snarky.

  I wouldn't suggest anyone use my responses verbatim, but the idea is to imagine the conversation much differently than we've been conditioned.

  The elders only have power if we give it to them. We need to reassert our appropriate personal boundaries, recognizing that their professions of "concern" are bullshit. They just want to assert their authority.

  Don't give it to them.
  
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  34

  April video online, "endurance"

  by bohm in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  april video online.

  at around 42 minutes, a women find jehovahs witness, but her husband is not too hot on the idea and so she has to study with her children in secret.

  however eventually the husband prays to jehovah that if jehovah will help him find a leak in a construction he is working on, he will go to a meeting and presto, the next day jehovah help him find the leak so now he is a witness..

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  Oubliette

  I think I need to take a leak ...

  
  

  Thank you Jehovah for helping me take care of my leak!