xray

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Posts by xray

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  19

  Six Convincing Lines of Evidence that the WTS was RIGHT

  by jgnat in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  true believers meet at armageddon (december 30, 2000)

  i find it oddly satisfying to read old reports of intelligent, scholarly, well-read men who confidently picked the time of the end.

  and were obviously wrong.

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  xray

  Recently I read of Russells many failed armagedon prophesies, about every 4-8 years, from 1874 through to 1915 when he gave up. What is interesting is to also examine what was happening to the membership of the Bible Students organisation, as the JW's were called. In the build-up to the prophesised date the numbers would often surge dramatically (e.g. 100% increase) as people joined up out of fear of destruction. When the date failed many would leave (e.g. 20-30%) but there was always a net gain. Often it was said that the remainder who did not leave felt a strengthened bond to the group, possibly caused by some sort of shared trauma.

  This is possibly the secret of the JW's success so far and I query some of the theories put to this forum that recent failed prophesy will ultimately or permanently damage the JW's. Perhaps their latest strategy of not prophesising an exact date may be even more detrimental to their existence in the long run, as the fear of imenent destruction is diminished. There are however other forces at work. The internet is one of them.
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  29

  Michael Jackson.....again!

  by ScoobySnax in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well now i can't make my mind up...!!

  (whats new) over her in the uk, skyone has just aired the michael jackson side of the documentary from martin bashir....you know the one where mj is filming bashir interviewing him, a kind of a me watching you watching me thing.

  while i've always thought mj has lost the plot a bit, i do like his music, and this new film totally contradicted the original bashir documentary.

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  xray

  Who cares what sort of person Bashir is. He is just the interviewer. The point of the interview was to illuminate the personality and activities of MJ, not the interviewer. To do this a journalist needs to leave no stone unturned and will use the friend and foe routines to get the subject to open up. So in that respect Bashir is a good journalist, although it does appear that MJ was rather inexperienced at interviews and was an easy target.
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  38

  IRIDOLOGY- The Diagnostic Study Of The Iris---What Did You Think?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jw's love to get involved in non-traditional treatments.

  in many of the congregations, the study of iridology was practiced.

  scores of "sick" people would have "parties" where they would come and get their eyes "read".

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  xray

  A few years ago an 34 year old JW aquaintance of mine suffered stomach pains and the hospital diagnosed a suspected stomach ulcer. He was given some tablets and a strict diet and told to return in a week for further tests. He was also told it would take many months of treatment and diet to heal the ulcer. He got an opinion from a JW herbalist who reckoned he only had an "intestinal inflammation" and a herbal treatment was given. This herbal medicine virtually eliminated the pain, much better than the hospitals tablets. So he didn't bother returning to the hospital and stopped taking the tablets.

  Two months later his wife woke in the morning to find him stone cold dead - the post mortem revealed he had bleed to death in his sleep from a ruptured blood vesel in his stomach wall, caused by an enlarged ulcer. The herbal treatment was effectively a very good pain killer, disguising the growing ulcer. The hospital tablets were designed not to do this. He left behind a wife and two kids.

  Don't put all your faith in alternative medicine. The alternative practicioners tell you what you want to hear nd give you things that make you feel good, which is very appealing but not necessarily the truth. The similarities with the way the WTS pushes its "truth", are obvious and this is why JW's are often also into alternative medicine.

  Xray
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  43

  WATCH YOUR FACIAL EXPRESSIONS- THE DEMONS DO

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  the july 1, 1962 wt.

  asks "can the demons read our minds?

  "" the demons.

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  xray

  Ohh my God!!!!!!! Just saw a demon behind my computer!!!!

  Horrible black beast-like eyes, pointed ears, terrible razor-sharp teeth and a tail, just like they describe in the WT. Staring at me, watching my every move, just waiting for the chance to jump and possess my soul. I'd better take another swig of Jack Daniels, to ward him and his demonic colleages off......................aaahhhh thats better.

  Oh sorry, ........from another angle it may just be a mouse, but you can't be sure!!!! It's an easy mistake to make. These demons can take on many forms you know. It says so in the WT.
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  43

  WATCH YOUR FACIAL EXPRESSIONS- THE DEMONS DO

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  the july 1, 1962 wt.

  asks "can the demons read our minds?

  "" the demons.

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  xray

  It wouldn't take much to have higher intelligence than your actual dub.
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  70

  So What's Your Porn-Star Name? (Fluff, BTW)

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  you take the name of your favourite pet as the first part of your porn-star name, then you take your mothers maiden name for your porn-star surname.. which makes me...george bennet, hmm fairly ordinary i suppose... but her ladyship becomes...poppy male...ah, it works sometimes then!.

  this could be good.

  englishman.

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  xray

  Trudy Roode
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  38

  How I Help The Society Fake Its Statistics

  by metatron in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i'm a fake publisher.

  i turn in a fake field service report.

  i claim fake hours.

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  xray

  I'm tempted to join up and then submit fake data, just to experience the satisfaction of stuffing up their numbers by "placing" tens of thousands of WT's in the city dump. Could even make some money out of it by starting up a paper recycling business. There's definitely some entrepreneurial opportunities here.
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  9

  What Now?

  by mackey in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i gave my best friend crisis of conscience two weeks ago and she said she probably won't read it.

  i hardly have had any contact over the past month because i was fired from where we work.

  with every day that passes i worry more and more.

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  xray

  Mackey,

  Congratulations. You've done your friend a good service in getting her to accept the book. If she is your friend she will probably return it rather than destroy it. Now you need to read between the lines.

  She's been programmed to believe it's very sinful to read it or even possess it. If found out this could result in disfellowshiping which is just like ex-communication in the Catholic Church - like being put on spiritual death row. Even worse, as JW family and friends will shun her too. So the book has to be read secretly - that is why she told you she would "probably not read it", and you may never know if she has or not, if she remains a JW.

  My conclusion therefore is that she is reading it, or at least thinking of it. I'd just leave her alone to go down that path. Any pushing by you may reduce the chance of her reading it, so be very gentle.

  Regards, Xray
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  2

  Paranoia Reigns

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "if some tinge of doubt about jehovah, his word, or his organization has begun to linger in your heart,take quick steps to eliminate it before it festers into something that could destroy your faith...do not hesitate to ask for help from loving overseers in the congregation.they will help you trace the source of your doubts,which may be due to pride or some wrong thinking.. ...act quickly to route out of the mind any tendency to complain,to be dissatisfied with the way things are done in the congregation.cut off anything that feeds such doubts.. from the watchtower,2/1/96,p.23-24.

  from the 2002 supplement to the 1996 version of thus saith the governing body of jehovah's witnesses, by randall watters.. feel free to comment on the above paragraphs.what is actually being said here?

  blueblades

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  xray

  Hi Blueblades

  This is one of the techniques that make the JW's so successful. Down through history it has been used by many proponents of mind control for political or religious reasons but the JW's have got it tuned to a fine art.

  You could liken it to martial arts when they use the attackers intertia against them by reflecting the force back at them, or when you tie the type of knot that gets stronger the more force you apply to it.

  This is why one should be very careful when trying to break someone free of the JW's. Trying to break them free forcfully can end up with the JW control increasing over them. You have to go gently and use all sorts of psychology to lead them along the path. The internet and this forum are a wonderful tools to help with this process.

  My Dad tried to break me free when I was a teenager. It ended up with the JW's convincing me he was under the control of Satan and ruined my relationship with him for many years. That was a long time ago and we're good buddies now, I'm but you can imagine his sadness at the time.

  Xray
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  84

  A tale of three sisters.........

  by Tatiana in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it started in 1956. a girl was born.

  with lovely strawberry blonde, curly hair.

  dad and mom kissing.

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  xray

  And it started with a knock at the door and a WT magazine. I wonder how many similar stories there are out there.

  With my family, the knock happened in the early 1930's and 3 generations have paid the price. I've often wondering how different things might have been if my grandparents hadn't answered the door that day.

  But it doesn't pay to dwell on the past too much - just learn the lessons and move on.

  Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.

  Best wishes, Xray