Island Man

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Posts by Island Man

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  21

  By Way of Announcement, Darlene Jefferson Has Been Disfellowshiped

  by Cold Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was watching a jw video where the announcement was made of a young lady's being disfellowshiped, and it happened in a regular kh sunday meeting.

  this struck me as being a bit...cold.

  is this when the shunning begins?

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  Island Man

  "Who wants to be DF'ed and treated like crap when they could keep it between themselves and God?"

  Many do. Those that get DFd are mainly those that get caught by other JWs doing "serious" sins. They are then reported to the elders if they don't go themselves and confess their sin. A few sinners are plagued by guilt and voluntarily go and confess their sins without being caught by anyone. But they are probably in the minority.

  The number of people who are DF'd and reproved is not representative of all the "serious" sinning going on. Many JWs secretly carry on "serious" sins like smoking, celebrating holidays, fornication, etc. Those that are reproved or DF'd are only those that have been found out.

  There is even a JW expression - "living a double life" - to refer to a JW who is a good JW in the presence of other JWs, but is breaking the rules when not around JWs.
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  14

  Oct 2021 Time Capsule

  by LevelThePlayingField in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what do you think the jw religion will be like in oct 2021?

  if we go back five years from oct 2016 you get 2011. there was no jw.org, really pretty much no tablets, most people were using paper copies for everything.

  now that's all changed.

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  Island Man

  I think we will see larger congregations. With the consolidation going on where they sell kingdom halls and incorporate the members into other congregations we can expect to see bigger congregations.

  Also, I think they will start lightening the load of the elders at the meetings by having meeting parts video recorded. Maybe they will start it with the annual special talks. They'll have them pre-recorded by a GB member or one of the helpers, then have it shown at the kingdom hall.

  Because of the shortage of brothers, they might also have convention parts/talks video-streamed to multiple convention sites simultaneously.

  In short, expect to see more emphasis on the use of technology to impress the membership, keeping them focused on Watchower's modern, impressive packaging and distracted from the vacuous, illogical and downright erroneous message.

  I think the Awake magazine's days are numbered. I think we will eventually see a single, 20-something page quarterly magazine instead of the 11 page monthly alternating Watchtower and Awake magazines.
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  101

  Are Gods true worshippers on Earth today? If they are not JWs then who are they?

  by Formerbrother in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  is there gods true worshipers on earth today as jesus said there would be?

  if they are not jws then who are they?.

  who else comes close to being gods true followers today?.

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  Island Man

  If the god of the bible is real and the NT is to be believed, then God's true worshipers are scattered among weeds and will remain that way until the very end when the angels come to separate the weeds from the wheat at the great tribulation/armageddon.

  There is no one true organization. There are only true individuals. Perhaps these true individuals, in obedience to the Bible's strong words against sectarianism, rightly refuse to align themselves with any of the named denominations in existence today.

  I think true christians who really love God and Christ, would not be involved in the kind of petty sectarianism and promoting one denomination over all others the way sports fans back their favorite team at all cost. The true worshipers would not be promoting and drawing attention to a sect or an organization. They would be promoting and drawing attention to God and Christ.

  Furthermore, I would say that those looking for a one true group to follow are looking for the easy way out. They are looking for the broad road of convenience and are avoiding the narrow difficult road of personal responsibility to study, understand and apply the bible on their own with the help of god's spirit. They also lack true faith in the power of God's spirit to lead them. They need visible men to lead them and tell them what to do. They are unable to worship without having an imposing visible organization to look to and depend on. Deep down, they are lazy idolaters who don't want to do the hard work of worshiping in spirit. They want to set their focus on things seen instead of focusing on the things unseen. These are the ones that get sucked in and misled by the weeds because they have not taken Jesus' illustration of the wheat and weeds to heart, but choose instead to believe the false, self-serving interpretations of this illustration that is given them by religious organizations intent on exploiting and manipulating them.

  If there is no God, then the confusions, factual errors and logical fallacies so rampant in the Bible and all religions, make perfect sense.
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  11

  Another WT quote taken out of context from Author

  by LevelThePlayingField in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in this weeks mid week meeting the society is trying to explain why humans are a higher level of being than animals and then they say this: .

  12 “so, to me how precious your thoughts are!

  o god, how much does the grand sum of them amount to!

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  Island Man

  I wouldn't say the quote was taken out of context. The purpose of the quote was to lend credence to the idea that humans have special abilities that other animals lack. I think that all evolutionary biologists will agree with that. It is not like they were attempting to suggest that the textbook promotes creation or is anti-evolution. This is not like the quotes in the Creation book where they chopped up quotes and took them out of context to make it seem like the scientists were doubting evolution. I think the quote made here was fair.

  But I would say that they were a bit sneaky in not stating the source for fear that JWs would find the actual book and read it. I would also say that the quote shows Watchtower's intellectual dishonesty in the way it cherry-picks information quoting only what suits its purpose while ignoring, discrediting and denying what doesn't. It's a remarkable example of cherry picking information. But I wouldn't say it is out of context.
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  4

  Using Pokemon Go to spread apostasy!

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i tried to post this yesterday but the picture must have been too big.

  i don't know how to choose a smaller option.,.

  anyway, for any pokemon go players here: i noticed there is a pokemon go gym in the city right next to the where jws have their trolleys.

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  Island Man

  Good idea.
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  12

  At last something about JWs on a German news site.

  by Driving Force in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  for anybody who understands german.. http://www.n-tv.de/panorama/masha-16-jahre-zeugin-jehovas-article18689741.html.

  it is quite rare that a german news site actually puts something up about jws, after all they are insignificant from a newsworthy point of view.

  but i like the fact that they have put this up..

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  Island Man

  If you visit the site with Google Chrome browser a little box will pop up to the top right of the page giving you the option to translate it. If you don't have Google Chrome browser installed on your computer, WTF is wrong with you?!
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  8

  A Must-Watch video for all those trying to break free or fade!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  for any who may be fading, or trying to break free from the society, or those who fear how things will transpire , please do yourself a favour and watch this video!.

  it is long, but worth the investment in time, for it will help in many ways.. its called "coming out" by theramin trees, and for those who "come out" about recognising the truth of the society, it will help.. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mj-8ocmtb_8.

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  Island Man

  Every video from TheraminTrees is a must-watch for everyone!
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  24

  Oh the irony! The elder, a car accident, and me....

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  oh this is just worth sharing!.

  so , as many know, it has been two years since i have attended any meetings, conventions, etc....nothing...cold turkey.. the hassles and problems the elders threw our way were monumental....so many details i could share, but suffice it to say, we stood firm and kept our dignity and poise and reminded them of "appropriate boundaries ".

  one elder in particular has since spared no effort in ensuring that malicious gossip and slander has been spread so that witnesses have avoided us like the plague!.

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  Island Man

  EXPERIENCE AT NEXT JW CONVENTION:

  Speaker: Brother JW, tell us how Jehovah has proven to be an unexpected source of help to you in your time of need.

  Brother JW: Well Br. Speaker it was back in 2016. The family and I were driving on the way back from [such and such place] and we suddenly had a mechanical problem and ended up in an accident.

  Speaker: Wow! What a predicament to find yourselves in. What did you do?

  Brother JW: Well we immediately said a quick prayer to Jehovah and no sooner had we finnished praying and this car pulled up to the side of us and an individual came out to offer assistance. What was particularly remarkable was that this individual is someone who had made himself an enemy of Jehovah's people by abandoning the truth.

  Speaker: You mean an apostate? Jehovah answered your prayer with an apostate?

  Brother JW: That's right Br. Speaker, Jehovah actually used an apostate to offer us help in our time of need. This has really helped me appreciate even more the rich meaning behind the name of our God - "He Causes to Become." He can even cause your enemies to become a source of help to you in a time of trial. It reminded me too of the scripture at Proverbs 16:7 which says:

  When Jehovah is pleased with a man’s ways, He causes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

  Br. Speaker, my family and I certainly believe we have experienced the truthfulness of this scripture.

  [Rapturous applause from audience]

  Hey, it could happen. It really could! It could happen because of how deluded JWs are and because of the fact that the bible is a big book filled with diverse cherries to pick from. There is a cherry in there to rationalize just about every position imaginable.
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  27

  DEATH: How have you prepared? Funeral, cremation, donate body to Science?

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, hell!.

  i had dizzy spells and near-fainting and nausea for a few days, so why wouldn't i start thinking about death, ya know?.

  am i just very lax in my responsibilities in having no plans at all?isn't that irresponsible?

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  Island Man

  Dizziness and nausea could be symptomatic of an inner ear problem. I'm not sure if near-fainting would be a symptom. You should really see a doctor to make sure it's nothing too serious.
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  27

  DEATH: How have you prepared? Funeral, cremation, donate body to Science?

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, hell!.

  i had dizzy spells and near-fainting and nausea for a few days, so why wouldn't i start thinking about death, ya know?.

  am i just very lax in my responsibilities in having no plans at all?isn't that irresponsible?

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  Island Man

  Have you visited your doctor? Have you been taking any new medication recently, perhaps an antacid?