Such changes would undoubtedly increase interest and activity in the Society. In the short run, they will see a dip in membership as all those who were trapped by the shunning policy would now seize the opportunity to make an official exit. Some of the more judgmental, hardcore JWs who love shunning and the martyrdom that comes with refusing blood, would also take their exit. But in the long run, more non-JWs would decide to become JWs when they find out that they won't have to endanger their life by refusing blood, if they become a JW. The religion will become more mainstream.
Island Man
JoinedPosts by Island Man
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Hypothetical: If WTS Reformed...?
by Cold Steel inas i said in the subject line, this is purely hypothetical.
what do you think would happen if the wtbts leaders decided to reboot some of the organization's more controversial practices.
not that they would deny their claims to be jehovah's earthly representatives, nor the key elements of their eschatology; but in administrative outlooks.
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Hello - New Member
by NotAnointed ini just wanted to intoroduce myself.
i have been lurking for some time and finally decided to register and hopefully contribute to this great forum.. i am in my mid 30s and have never been in the truth.
my wife became a jw several years ago and since she is a (mostly) stay at home mom my two boys are also jws.
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Island Man
"I am saddened that some on this forum have lost their belief in God due to their proir association with this false religion."
I don't know of any who lost their belief in God due to association with JWs. I think you're very mistaken in your views. It is the lack of evidence for God that caused me to stop believing and not any association with JWs.
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If I Became a JW, Could I Have My Cat on Paradise Earth?
by Cold Steel inwould i?
i wouldn't mind if he slept through eternity (he sleeps most of the time anyway).
i'd just like to be able to move him around occasionally.
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Island Man
No. JWs say animals were not made to live forever and the resurrection hope doesn't apply to them.
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How to Irritate JWs: The Catholic Way
by Hernandez inwhat's the greatest advantage in becoming a roman catholic after leaving the jehovah's witnesses some 17 years ago?
why, it's the way it totally irritates people and really pushes their buttons...that is, if you are one of the unfortunate jehovah's witnesses who happens across my door during field service.
i have developed several techniques to make it very frustrating to the unwary witness who hopes to make headway at my house.
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Island Man
You can also try this: Ask them what religion they belonged to before becoming a JW. There's a good chance that one of them was a Catholic. When they say they were Catholic you just say: "So that means you're an apostate and I have no dealings with apostates!" then you close the door and leave.
Alternatively, you can take the same platitudes and rationalizations that JWs use to excuse Watchtower's errors and injustices (imperfect men taking the lead, the light gets brighter, that was in the past, wait on Jehovah (or "the LORD"), etc) and apply them to your own church to justify remaining in your own church despite its errors. Just change the wording slightly to avoid suspicion that you're mocking them. Give them a taste of their own medicine.
Another thing you can do is ask them for advise on how you can help your friend escape the clutches of some obscure cult. Just make up a name for the cult - preferably a name that is not the name of an existing cult, so that the JW will find nothing online if they researched it. (It's a very obscure cult) Then you describe the cult to them making sure to mention characteristics that are very similar to JWs. For example you can say that the cult:
~ Teaches that they are the restored true church and only they are true chritians and it labels all other professed chrisitians as being part of "churchianity".
~ Teaches that the cult's leadership council was divinely appointed by Jesus in the year 1939 to teach true christianity. They are the only channel of instruction that God is using today. Members must trust the leaders and accept their teachings to have God's approval. Persons must serve God in association with their group to have any valid hope of surviving the end of the world.
~ Forbids invasive gynecological exams citing the command to "abstain from fornication" mentioned at Acts 15:28,29. As a result female members refuse to get pap smears and male members refuse digital (with the finger) prostate exams. The result is that the death rate from cervical cancer and prostate cancer is higher than average, among members.
~ Teaches members to not have friendship or close association with non-members because they will corrupt them spiritually.
~ Shuns those who resign from the cult - including their own family. Shunning causes some to commit suicide because they find themselves all alone since they never cultivated friendships with people outside the group.
~ Teaches that the end of the world is coming soon and only members of the cult will survive. Because of this the cult discourages university education and many members forego getting a good education and end up struggling financially later in life.
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2016 annual meeting
by obarac injust a few minutes till the start ..... we hope for a news from absalom and wifibandit very soon.. wifibandit, any tread on reddit for am?.
also there were some info about live stream.
any news about that..
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Island Man
So the new songbook that was released just a couple years ago is now to be discarded. What a waste of dedicated fund$!
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Counting time
by Emma ini may not have put this in the correct spot, but i do think it's scandalous the way time gets counted now.
i've seen a cart at the edge of our farmer's market, never anyone close enough to talk.
yesterday was a drizzly day and there were two carts set up, covered in plastic, "witnessing" on their own.
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Island Man
Counting time period, is ridiculous. It fosters and encourages a host of unchristian attitudes.
~ The attitude of making time instead of making disciples (this attitude seen especially in pioneers).
~ The attitude of quantifying and comparing the sacrifice and spirituality of individuals based on the number of hours they do. This contradicts the principle Jesus taught by the story of the widow's mite. Jesus' showed that it is the subjective personal effort that one puts into their acts of devotion that counts, and not objective measurable quantities.
~ The attitude of comparing oneself to others. Because time can easily be measured it becomes very easy to measure your time against another persons or against the pioneer time threshhold. This contradicts the scripture that says not to compare yourself with others but with yourself.
~ The attitude of objectifying the persons they preach to. Because spirituality, social standing and fitness to move up the theocorporate ladder are all determined in large part by average monthly output of preaching hours, many JWs treat the preaching work as a business to be profited from where making cash equals making hours. In this mindset, the people they preach to are treated as resources to be exploited for personal gain. Ever wonder why JWs call the person they're studying with, a bible study instead of a bible student? It's because they see the person as a bible study that they get to record on their field service slip. They treat people as 'study objects' and 'preaching hours objects', just as some selfish perverts treat women as sex objects.
One time I was riding home from a meeting with a group of JWs and they were discussing how best they can pair up to do their various return visits and bible studies. One practically optimal scenario involved 3 of them going on a bible study. As soon as the thought came up it was quickly dismissed with disappointment because "oh but we wouldn't be able to count the time".
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What would be the perfect song to introduce a JW comedy sketch?
by usualusername1 ini have no idea.... .
any ideas will help.... .
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Island Man
Or you can open with this:
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What would be the perfect song to introduce a JW comedy sketch?
by usualusername1 ini have no idea.... .
any ideas will help.... .
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Island Man
Stiff necked fools - Bob Marley
You only need the first 50 seconds. "... yes you have got the wrong interpretation mixed up with vain imagination..."
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ls homosexuality really normal?
by atomant inl know animals do it but their animals.they dont live by a moral code.the thought of 2 men going for it is not normal.what are your thoughts?.
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Island Man
It depends on what you mean by normal.
If by normal you mean what is typical or most common, then no, it's not normal. If by normal you mean occurring naturally then yes it is normal.
Tell me why homosexuality is not moral.
Is it because homosexual unions are unable to produce offspring? If this is what makes it immoral then to be consistent and impartial you'd also have to condemn as immoral, any kind of heterosexual intercourse between married individuals where one or both are sterile. You'd have to say that only sexual intercourse that can result in conception is moral. Is that your position? If not, why not?
I'm yet to hear a rational argument for why homosexuality is immoral, that does not employ fallacious reasoning and or does not surrender to blind obedience to religious texts that condemn homosexuality without giving rational, sound reasons for why it is wrong.
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How Dangerous are Blood Transfusions really?
by TheWonderofYou inthis is a report about the successful implementation of the patientbloodmanagent in germany and prof. zacharowski as well as the business trip of his life with shocking facts about transfusions in his bag.. http://screenart.tv/portfolio/gefaehrliche-bluttransfusionen.
this year 2016 president obama and vice biden awarded german physicians prof. kai zacharowski with humanitarian award for patient safety.
the patient safety movement foundation set the goal to massively reduce the number of preventable deaths of hospital patients worldwide by 2020.
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Island Man
Blood transfusions are less dangerous than the medical conditions they mitigate. This why the JW arguments about risks associated with blood, are utterly brainless. They're as brainless as someone refusing to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a person choking to death, because of the relatively small risk of organ damage posed by the procedure.