Posts by Gary1914

37

Why do JW's elders act like their failed predictions is no big deal?

by booker-t in

i must admit after being an ex-jws for over 15 years now i still get fustrated at jw's elders when they act so non-chalant about the watchtower's prediction failures.

i was talking to a jw elder just the other day and he was trying to explain away that the society made errors in dates in the past but they are not "false prophets".

i was not even calling them false prophets he was the one that brought up the term.

Gary1914

Also Christmas is not the date of Jesus BD but he argues that the churches have not publically announced to their churches to stop celebrating a wrong date.

I don't know anyone who truly believes that December 25th is actually the day Jesus was born.

In fact, Charles Russell once wrote:

The December 1, 1904 Watchtower, page 364, states "Even though Christmas is not the real anniversary of our Lord's birth, but more properly the annunciation day or the date of his human begetting (Luke 1:28), nevertheless, since the celebration of our Lord's birth is not a matter of divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to him, it is not necessary for us to quibble particularly about the date. We may as well join with the civilized world in celebrating the grand event on the day which the majority celebrate - "Christmas day."

This elder was parroting what all elders are taught to say. We are supposed to dismiss all questions relating to past dates and predictions with phrases like "Oh, that was then... this is now and now is what we have to concern ourselves with." We are taught to deflect all accusations of constant change in policy just as the elder mentioned herein did. We are to praise change, turn it around and make it seem an acceptable and indeed wise thing to do.

125

Their "BIG" news 'KNOCKING' documentary

by DannyHaszard in

knocking documentary newsletter #1 summer 2005. .

witnesses.

stories of real families to humanize jehovah's witnesses.

Gary1914

Kid-A, I wholeheartedly agree!

42

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 2-12-06 WT Study (Righteousness)

by blondie in

25-29)(righteousness).

is this the only example of how a young woman can seek righteousness first, .

3. what is righteousness?

Gary1914

Q. Still an elder, ...eh? How do you do it.?

A. ZOLOFT!

42

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 2-12-06 WT Study (Righteousness)

by blondie in

25-29)(righteousness).

is this the only example of how a young woman can seek righteousness first, .

3. what is righteousness?

Gary1914

Billyboy, you are certainly entitled to your opinion and I respect your courage in questioning Blondie's efforts each week to analyze the Watchtower.

I am still one of Jehovah's Witnesses and indeed, am an elder in my congregation. However, since I am so close to the organization it is sometimes difficult for me to discern what they are really trying to tell us in their writings. That is why I come to this Board and to Blondie's weekly Watchtower "study". It helps me to see what the Governing Body is really trying to say, what they really want us to think and do. It is an invaluable aid to all ex-witnesses and witnesses too. Thank you Blondie, very much!

Billyboy, I suggest that you look for Blondie's breakdown of the Watchtower each week and not be so judgmental of her tremendous and selfless efforts.

If you yourself have gleaned something different than Blondie from the weekly Watchtower study, we would all be glad to read whatever it is you have to tell us. We can all learn from one another.

Welcome to the Board!

14

THIS SHOULD KEEP YOU BUSY FOR AWHILE!

by Gary1914 in

jw
friends

there are 30 books of the bible in this paragraph.

find them?

this is a most remarkable puzzle.

Gary1914

Serendipity, Blondie, you guys are true Bible scholars!

14

THIS SHOULD KEEP YOU BUSY FOR AWHILE!

by Gary1914 in

jw
friends

there are 30 books of the bible in this paragraph.

find them?

this is a most remarkable puzzle.

Gary1914

There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you
find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a
gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los
Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed
it so much, he passed it on to some friends. One friend from
Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat.
Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine
Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned
it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job
of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to
help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy
to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find
themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not
necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are
forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see
some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in
our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing
the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event,
which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth
set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over
200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most
difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it,
"The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight."
Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from
those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that
books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers.
Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle
are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well
against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is
no need for a mad exodus; there really are 30 books of the Bible
lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

By the way, I couldn't find them all.

15

Addition too the birthday thread. Not a DF'ING OFFENSE

by skyman in

w98 10/15 p. 31 questions from readers ***

"consequently, while it is entirely a private matter if christians choose to take note of their wedding anniversary, there are good reasons why mature christians abstain from celebrating birthdays.

notice it say's mature christians.

Gary1914

Russell, in my opinion, had a more balanced view:

The December 1, 1904 Watchtower, page 364, states "Even though Christmas is not the real anniversary of our Lord's birth, but more properly the annunciation day or the date of his human begetting (Luke 1:28), nevertheless, since the celebration of our Lord's birth is not a matter of divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to him, it is not necessary for us to quibble particularly about the date. We may as well join with the civilized world in celebrating the grand event on the day which the majority celebrate - "Christmas day."

18

Why do Watchtower Publications not have an ISBN number?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

open any wt publication (other than tracts) and you will not find (to my knowledge) an isbn number.. you may see (c) all rights reserved and first printing in english.. does anyone know why they would not apply for isbn numbers?.

for anyone who doesn't know what an isbn number is, here is some information.... .

http://www.isbn-international.org/en/whoneeds.html.

Gary1914

they don't have very many titles

Sad Emo (I love that name and your Avatar!) are you kidding me? The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society has been printing books and magazines for over 100 years. They have hundreds of titles!

Ecclesiastes 12:12 (New International Version)

12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

(I can write in black again!)

18

Why do Watchtower Publications not have an ISBN number?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

open any wt publication (other than tracts) and you will not find (to my knowledge) an isbn number.. you may see (c) all rights reserved and first printing in english.. does anyone know why they would not apply for isbn numbers?.

for anyone who doesn't know what an isbn number is, here is some information.... .

http://www.isbn-international.org/en/whoneeds.html.

Gary1914

Sad Emo wrote:

Plus, in the bigger scale of things, they don't have very many titles so it's probably not worth them getting registered as an 'official' publisher.

The Watchtower is an official publisher. That is their business. They are a book publishing company and their books sell millions, much more than any other publishing company in the world.

(I don't know how to change the font color to black! Sorry.)

73

Any Active JW's here!

by isaias4u2nv in

jw
friends

just very simply any active jw's in here!!

!

Gary1914

Here! I am a non-believing JW but I go through all the motions. Meeting attendance, field service. I even serve as an elder in my congregation. Does that constitute a "active" JW?