Euphemism

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Posts by Euphemism

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  5

  Strange Terms

  by Disheartened in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  is it just me or does anyone else find the terms that the wt society use as strange and unusual?

  i mean where the heck do they come up with these terms???

  example:ministerial "servant"literature "servant"territory "servant"presiding overseer.

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  Euphemism

  Servant is actually a literal translation of the greek diakonos, origin of the English word 'deacon.' Overseer is a very legitimate--probably the most accurate, in fact--translation of the greek episkopos, origin of the English 'bishop'.

  The word 'bishop' implies a clergyman who has oversight over several congregations, so I think that the WTS is fully justified in not using it to refer to their elders. The term 'deacon', however, describes exactly the same thing as 'ministerial servant.' I think that the only reason the WTS doesn't use it is because they want to seem different from other Christian religions. (The term 'deacon' was used back in Russell's day, btw. It was eliminated at the same time that Rutherford got rid of the elders.)
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  22

  Is It Just My Evil Mind.....

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ......or do i detect the opportunity for a little harmless fun here?

  http://pub44.bravenet.com/postcard/post.php?usernum=3759674424.

  heh heh heh.. englishman.

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  Euphemism

  Valis wrote:
  Why is that site also selling non WTBTs bibles? Eheh...sounds fairly untheocratic to me...eheh

  Most kingdom halls that I've seen have some not-WT bibles in the library. It actually used to be encouraged for dubs to familiarize themselves with other translations, so that they could use them to preach to Christians who didn't accept the NWT. That advice isn't offered as much anymore (part of the overall dumbing-down of field service, I guess), but it's still given at Pioneer School.

  As far as the WTS smacking down commercial witness sites... Madzay and Stoops have been around for a long time. I don't know why the WTS would care about one more competitor in that field.
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  96

  "Reinstatement Party" Called Off Per The Society

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a number of weeks ago, i mentioned how my niece was seeking reinstatement.

  well, after all was said and done, the elders allowed her back in.

  my brother and his wife were giving her a little "coming back" party with about a total of 35 guests.

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  Euphemism

  IslandWoman... I understand that's the Society's reasoning.

  But the fact is... someone who is reinstated is supposed to be "repentant." They're supposed to have apologized to the person whom they hurt, and have proven the validity of their apology through any restitution possible. So they should have received forgiveness.

  I know... it doesn't always work that way. But just because the judicial arrangement is screwed up is no excuse for the WTS to ignore clear biblical examples.

  Besides, as far as I can tell, the rule applies to all cases, not just cases where there was a victim. There's no room for even the elders--let alone the actual people involved--to use their judgment and discretion based on the facts of the case.

  BTW... as far as the 10-rule thing... it's now down to 5 years. I know because my father was d/fed (unfairly). After he was reinstated, the CO and the local elders wanted to use him again (because they knew that his d/fing had been unfair), but they had to wait 5 years or else the Society wouldn't approve it.
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  38

  newbie and not understanding all of the aspects of this site

  by Maggie in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have read alot on this site for a while and just have been absorbing it as i make my way.. one thing i noticed was alot said about abuse of children... i experienced the reverse...false stories told..believed by elders because of hidden agenda and 20+ years as special pioneers ..etc.

  as of no count and belief in a new publisher destroyed our lives and children's lives.

  the horror never stops ...some of our family is disassociated...some disfellowshipped...some inactive...some active..some on a fence...mostly because of one or two elders and the misapplication of their power and lack of love to our family.

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  Euphemism

  Welcome to the site, Maggie! I sent you a private message.
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  7

  A Fireside chat with the Pastor

  by refiners fire in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  pastor russell says:

  odium attaches to the study of prophetic time by reason of past misapplications of it by "second adventists" and others, and the consequent failures to realize the events expected to occur at stated times.

  p astor russell then goes on to explain the consequences of these recurring predictive failures.

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  Euphemism

  I'm sure no one would dispute your overall point, RF! But just allow me a couple of words in defense of the Pastor. His position, no matter how wacked out, was not quite as intellectually incoherent as you make it out to be.

  Well I hope God feels duly justified in ‘burning’ the scoffers.

  Unlike the modern JWs, Russell didn't believe that all the world would be destroyed at Armageddon. He believed that it would be a time of trouble that would result in most of the world converting and being saved.

  So why preach the message to the unconverted?

  Russell didn't. His efforts were directed exclusively at white, middle-class Protestants, those whom he believed most likely to actually form part of "the church."

  IMHO, your other criticisms are spot on. Russell's bad habit of date-setting still lingers in the WTS. Unfortunately, his better doctrines--such as those of universal salvation--have been long cast aside.
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  4

  Space impact 'saved Christianity'

  by SYN in

  1. social
  2. current

  .

  what an interesting article!

  what do you guys think of this?

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  Euphemism

  Are you saying God does live in the Pleiades after all, SYN?
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  12

  J.W. Apologist

  by Kenneson in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have recently been reading from the watchman.com site.

  while this forum questions some w.t.

  teachings, it nevertheless defends it vigorously.

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  Euphemism

  Maybe the spirit of Fred Franz is actually directing e-Watchman... you know, just like the spirit of Russell was directing the WTS after he died. :D
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  15

  Are the JW rules different worldwide ??? and WHY ???

  by run dont walk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have read alot of threads recently and it seems to me that each country of jw's has a set of different rules.

  maybe most of the doctrines are the same, but there seems to be a big difference in ............... beards ........ clothing ........ tatoos ......... piercing body ......... grooming in general ......... cars ........... jobs you do ........ schooling .............. university ........... dating .......... what do you think ????????.

  i read one comment (can't remeber who it was) who said that the usa jw's seem to be alot more concerned about stupid little things then most other countries.. hopefully we will get comments from all over the world on this topic, and compare some differences.. also brings up the question why ???????.

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  Euphemism

  Blondie wrote:I was told that things get more regulated the closer the congregations get to Bethel (USA).

  I've heard that... not sure it's true, however. I lived in NY for several years, and in most congregations, things were a lot more liberal than in the Midwest.

  Most of the Bethel elders I've dealt with were good organization men; IOW, they were relatively smooth and polished. They could definitely be very controlling, but they didn't display the sheer reactionariness (is that a word?) found in a lot of rural congregations.
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  15

  Oh. My. Ghod.

  by SYN in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  major thumbs down on this one!

  read this post that i "procured" from jwzone:i didn't get the impression that they were talking specifically about nitwit.net...for all its reputation, i don't think it had a bad start.

  in the beginning, "stinky" posts were removed promptly, and the offender was booted.

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  Euphemism

  Thank you, brother!
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  15

  Oh. My. Ghod.

  by SYN in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  major thumbs down on this one!

  read this post that i "procured" from jwzone:i didn't get the impression that they were talking specifically about nitwit.net...for all its reputation, i don't think it had a bad start.

  in the beginning, "stinky" posts were removed promptly, and the offender was booted.

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  Euphemism

  Actually, the link works if you copy the text, instead of clicking on it.