Posts by rocketman

20

As a JW, Did You Pray & Study With Your Spouse?

by mentallyfree31 in

when you were a jw, did you pray regularly with your spouse?

what about a "family study"?.

i was a pioneer and ministerial servant, but praying with somebody was always the most awkward, uncomfortable thing ever.

rocketman

I did pray at dinner, but it often felt awkward.

Then, one time we had Star Trek on, sitting at tray tables, and I accidentally addressed my prayer to Captain Kirk. That pretty much ended the prayer thing for us.

135

The generation changed is explained in the June 15'th WT!

by life is to short in

it is here in writing the new generation change.

on page 5 of the of the wt while talking about the annual meeting report.. "john barr gave the third and final talk.".

"john barr made clear that the gathering wound not continue indefinitely.

As we all know, when Jesus spoke the words "this generation will by no means pass away" the people who heard those words were the same people who saw the destruction of Jerusalem 37 years after. It's simple. There's no need for "new light", or "adjustments" in understanding; no need for strange explanations such as 'overlapping lives of the anointed'.

The WTS painted itself into a corner on this teaching (and on the entire 1914 doctrine) and they can't find their way out.

52

Doesn't an 'allegorical' Garden of Eden nullify the need for a Ransom?

by AK - Jeff in

i have noted in the past few months or years that christians, when faced the nearly insurmountable evidence that the garden of eden events are improbable if not impossible [i refer to fossil evidence that supports hominid existence on this planet perhaps millions of years ago, as example] to overcome, that the 'fall back' position is often that the garden of eden account is just allegory, not literal.. but it occurs to me that if it is just allegorical, then there is no specific event to mark the 'fall of man' and 'original sin'.

without that, what purpose is served with the idea of a 'ransom' in which 'the last adam' overcomes the sin of adam in the garden.

why would nt writers refer to the events as if literal if they are just allegory?

rocketman

One possibilty (though admittedly remote) that pops into my mind in regard to this topic:

1. Man evolves to the point where God now holds him accountable - in effect, God used evolution to "create" man, and then deals with a pair of Cro-Magnons named "Adam" and "Eve" when He decides that man is highly enough evolved.

2. Man fails to obey God, hence the "fall".

In this way, the story in Genesis remains allegorical, and yet there is some need for a ransom.

Of course, in this scenario, the ransom is not quite the same as the Biblical ransom.

240

Let's Talk Baseball ! Who's your Favorite Team ? Love My S.F. Giants !

by flipper in

jw
friends

and they are now in 1st place in the n.l.

west with a 6-1 record !

and the hated l.a. dodgers are in last place !

rocketman

Phillies fan here, and I like the Athletics too (used to be the Philadelphia A's after all).

Flipper, while it's nice to see the Giants off to a 6-1 start, isn't it a bit early to be jumping for joy? Last I checked, it's a 162-game marathon.

508

Most-Ignored Scriptures by JWs

by Mad Sweeney in

the watchtower has been known for over 130 years as a great scriptural cherry-picker.

they pick out disparate unrelated verses and combine them to support the wackiest of wacky doctrines.. on the other hand there are many scriptures they almost never address, whether because they contradict wt doctrine or because they simply don't have a clue what they mean or how to spin them to the wt advantage.. one of these is revelation 19:1 that mentions a "great crowd" "in heaven.

" the only time it is ever brought up it is dismissed.

rocketman

Excellent post Mary; and may I add a scripture you cited as one often ignored by the WTS:

"John 14:2-4"In the house of my Father there are many abodes. Otherwise, I would have told YOU, because I am going my way to prepare a place for YOU. 3 Also, if I go my way and prepare a place for YOU, I am coming again and will receive YOU home to myself, that where I am YOU also may be. 4 And where I am going YOU know the way."

I've seen it mentioned in their literature (including the Greatest Man book) but they seldom address what appears to be the obvious import of Jesus' words, and they (to my knowledge) shy away from explaining what the "many abodes" are.

26

Yeabook 2010 cover up -Rutherford's false prophecy that Armagedon was coming in 1925....half the Publishers leave the truth!

by Witness 007 in

this years yearbook covers "albainia" as i read these experiences i get to around 1920-25 and i notice that 3 or 4 healthy congregations turn into just 13-14 publishers by 1926 after "a time of trouble.

" although not mentioned this "trouble" was rutherford's "millions now living will never die" campaign with the watchtower saying armagedon was coming in 1925. most european congregations by 1926 lost whole congregations with only 3-10 "faithful " remaining {e.g poland, romania yearbook experiences} notice how the graph starts from the 1940's to avoid and cover up showing the flat lined publisher figures after 1925.....{notice also dips after 1975}.

however, check out the 2006 yearbook page 80. romania graph, and you see a flat lined publisher figure at 1926. the witnesses had to start from scratch.

rocketman

"John Barr, from the Governing Body, and Robert Pevy, who had pioneered in Ireland and who is now serving at Brooklyn Bethel, offered assistance. They took time from vacation trips in Britain to come to Ireland to talk with the brothers and encourage them."

Not to divert the topic, but how nice of those GB members to take time from their precious vacations. And wouldn't it be nice to be able to take an overseas vacation on the congregation's dime?

30

How much is gas in your area?

by Outaservice in

jw
friends

also, do you think gas prices affects the jw field service any?.

here it is approximately $2.69 per gallon.

i heard in michigan it is $2.99 right now.. outaservice.

rocketman

$2.80-2.285 for regular.

As Memorial Day approaches, it almost always goes up in price.

24

They sold their souls for rock and roll.

by A.Fenderson in

have you ever noticed any bands/musical artists that overall you really just don't like, or even actively dislike/hate, but out of freaking nowhere they have this one song that is just so awesome it makes you wonder where in the hell they got it, and why they weren't able to go to that place again for equally good songs?

i have two personal examples:.

hotel california, the eagles.

rocketman

First of all, my biggest problem with The Eagles is the length of their songs - did they ever do a song that lasted less than 5:00? Every one of them seems to go on and on. Hotel California is a solid effort, but it's saved by the great guitar work at the end; if not for that, it would just be another overly long Eagles song. And don't even get me started on Lying Eyes.

As for Mr. Wonder, I think he had a lot of really good songs: Superstition, I Wish, Do I Do, That Girl, Living For The City, You Haven't Done Nothin' being among my favorites. On the other hand, I hate Sir Duke.

Now, some bands that had sublimely great songs but who I otherwise didn't like and wondered how they ever became as popular as they did:

Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son is a great song, but otherwise I tired quickly of their sound, especially that freaking violin.

Boston - Foreplay/Longtime is a classic, just a terrific song. But otherwise, this group sounded the same all the time.

Foreigner - Double Vision is a great song, but otherwise I couldn't stomach this band, save for one or two nice ballads they had.

Pink Floyd - My obejction entails just one album, the famous Dark Side Of The Moon. Money is a awesome song, but otherwise I personally think this album is terribly overrated. I'll probably get flamed for such blasphemy.

508

Most-Ignored Scriptures by JWs

by Mad Sweeney in

the watchtower has been known for over 130 years as a great scriptural cherry-picker.

they pick out disparate unrelated verses and combine them to support the wackiest of wacky doctrines.. on the other hand there are many scriptures they almost never address, whether because they contradict wt doctrine or because they simply don't have a clue what they mean or how to spin them to the wt advantage.. one of these is revelation 19:1 that mentions a "great crowd" "in heaven.

" the only time it is ever brought up it is dismissed.

rocketman

First of all, interesting thread, and many good comments. However, it seems as though some replies contain scriptures that the jws don't ignore but simply interpret differently.

Among those often ignored is one quoted by Olin Moyle's Ghost, and with good reason - the WTS simply cannot interpret this scripture without the irony of implicating themselves: :Luke 21:8: He said: “Look out that YOU are not misled; for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The due time has approached.’ Do not go after them. [In other words, Jesus said don't follow religious leaders who say The End is near.]"

64

Did leaving the WT build greater appreciation for or kill your reading of the Bible?

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

i am really on the fence on this issue right now and would love some opinions.. i find that i dont sit down and read the bible for long periods since becoming inactive, but on the other hand, individual scriptures mean much more to me now.. i will sit down and look up some favorite passages from time to time and feel like its the first time i really "got it" - without the jw goggles on.

i love matthew chapter 23, since i think it describes to a tee the situation in jw congregations.

i think if jesus returned today, he would blast the elders and "leaders" of the borg in a similar fashion (along with most religious leaders) .matthew 24 is actually more interesting to me now, simply because my whole life was waiting for the 1914 generation to end sometime during the reagan era!

rocketman

Very interesting thread...

The WT experience killed religion for me, but not necessarily the Bible. I still read it, and have found that I've been able to finally consider other 'possibilities' such as some accounts being mere stories told to make a point rather than being actual events - i.e., the Flood, the Red Sea crossing, etc. I'm not saying these things did or did not happen (though there's no evidence of a global flood), I'm saying that just being able to consider the possibility of it has freed my mind and allowed me to look at the Bible in a different way instead of the WT way.

Leaving the Jws also opened my mind to the realities of evolutionary science (not to start a debate or go off-topic). But I now look at life on earth a lot differently than I used to.

Also, I've found myself more open-minded in looking into various Bible commentaries, etc. In many ways, I've learned far more than I ever did as a jw. The WTS had us believing that only they really understood the Bible; but in fact, there's a heck of a lot of Bible knowledge waiting to be had by simply picking up a good commentary or finding one online.