I went to a recent assembly. Being a non JW it was my first one. It was a special one day assembly. Not sure what the proper term for it is. And furthermore it was in spanish so I didn't quite catch everything that was said. Just as well I guess. What I did catch was very much railing against the Internet. One statement that really caught my ear was when this guy makes a statement to the effect of: "if you're listening to the ORGANIZATION, you're listening to Jehovah. If you're listening to anyone else, you're listening to Satan!" I don't know how I sat through the whole thing...
Posts by M.J.
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35Assembly & C.O. /D.O. Elder meeting notes
by doinmypart ini attended the 2004-2005 circuit assembly this past weekend.
the internet, online chat rooms, and jw online dating was mentioned several times both days.
during both the circuit overseer's final talk on sunday and the district overseer's final talk sunday they both spent several minutes talking about how the internet poses a serious danger to god's people.
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Depressed and doubting...
by dura-luxe ini've been out for 8 years, and for the first time in my life i am doubting.. not big doubts, but little ones.
it's all the middle east and the "peace and security" talk.
i feel like armageddon is coming.. the brainwashing never ends.
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M.J.
On another thread someone had provided a link to a site which explained how psychologically, ones beliefs are not necessarily tied to their reasoning. Once certain beleifs were established, the brain tended to hold onto them despite what was processed through the rational part of the brain--this tendency was a necessary component for survival. For example if by word of mouth you came to believe that washing your hands before you ate kept evil spirits from making you sick, you wouldn't easily discard that belief just because you couldn't make rational sense of it, knowing nothing about microorganisms. Apparently beliefs passed on from person to person, generation to generation, in general are one human trait that promotes survival, and the brain is wired to take advantage of that. So it's natural for one to have a tough time fully letting go of a belief, particularly a belief that the brain registers as being directly linked to survival.
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Some Verses That Jehovahs Witnesses don't want to talk about.
by truthbeliever inin all my years as a jehovahs witness,when i asked elders and others about luke 20:35-38,either the subject got changed,or they said the light wasn't shined on them yet.i looked through all the watchtower bound volumes and dictionaries,and found very little talk about these scriptures.hum...i wonder why they ignore them?ask the next witness at your door,and you will see what i mean.
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M.J.
"He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for they [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob] are all living to him."
Kind of goes against the notion that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have ceased to exist until they are resurrected (recreated) some day.
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So is there a new stance on B-days or what? Someone please explain........
by WingCommander ini have heard rumors on here and other places that jw's are now allowing birthdays to be observed/celebrated.
is this true?
i hope so.
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M.J.
So the number 1 reason for not celebrating birthdays is that it "focuses too much attention on the individual"????? Such reasoning smacks of cult behavior:
Under "Behavior Control" of the BITE model listed in Combatting Cult Mind Control/Releasing the Bonds :
Individualism discouraged; "group think" prevails
The other reason, "the only birthdays of Bible record are those of rulers who did not serve God." is just plain weak.
Do these 2 "earth shattering" reasons credibly make ALL JWs unwaveringly reject the celebration of birthdays? Nope. It's the fact that "God's Organization" tells them not to celebrate birthdays.
Point 7 of Lifton's 8 cult criteria:
Doctrine over person?The imposition of group beliefs over individual experience, conscience, and integrity
point 5 of Singer's 6 conditions for thought reform:
Creating a tightly controlled system with a closed system of logic, wherein those who dissent are made to feel as though their questioning indicates that there is something inherently wrong with them.
points 1 and 7 under "thought control" of Hassan's BITE model:
Need to internalize the group's doctrine as "Truth"
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Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism. No critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate.
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Does "Abiding in Christ" = Joining his organization?
by M.J. inmessage was to abide in him.
he very clearly says, ?abide in me?
and if you do this you will ?bear fruit?.
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M.J.
Happy Guy:
I do not see any signs of Jesus' organization in the world.
That's exactly the point I'm trying to make :)
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Does "Abiding in Christ" = Joining his organization?
by M.J. inmessage was to abide in him.
he very clearly says, ?abide in me?
and if you do this you will ?bear fruit?.
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M.J.
In John 15 we see that, above all else, Jesus? message was to abide in him. He very clearly says, ?Abide in me? and if you do this you will ?bear fruit?.
So the question is, how do you get to abide in him? The passage says you can?t do anything worthwhile apart from Him in the first place; you must first come to him. So how do you get to him? Is it by joining ?His organization?? I am employed in an organization which was founded and run by a certain dynamic individual, (we'll call him "Bob") who inherited the company from his father. I?m expected to dedicate a great part of my life to the organization, abiding by its core principles and direction from "Bob". In this organization, my work, dedication, and how closely I keep the highly regarded company values is evaluated by all my peers, so I?m very motivated to do what is ?right?. But I wonder, no matter how dedicated and ?good? I become as an employee, would this in itself allow me to really say that I abide in Bob? Does it bring me to know Bob or Bob to know me?
Philippians 3:8 says: W hat is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Does a certain type of acquired knowledge in itself bring us to abide in Him? When Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, he said, You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; yet you are unwilling to come to me, that you may have life ( John 5:39,40 ).
In many places, the Bible speaks of things like, ?Christ abiding in you? (John 15), being ?in Christ? (very often), Christ being ?in you? (Rom. 8, 2 Cor 13:5), being joined to Christ (Rom 7:4), Christ dwelling in your heart (Eph 3:16), a person having the Son (1 John 5:12), living together with Christ (1 Thess 5:9,10), etc. Paul even says that Christ lives in him (Gal 2:19). Now we might ask, was this a figure of speech to Paul used to symbolize how carefully he lived by Jesus? lectures on scripture? Perhaps it was the teachings of Christ that actually lived in him? It seems clear that Paul didn?t speak in an impersonal way about Jesus, but that Jesus is very real and important to him in a personal sense and that it should be the same for us: 2 Cor 5:15 - And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
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Fantastic scripture about man made rules
by Jez innwt says in matt 15:8,9.
"this people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me.
it is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.".
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M.J.
I agree that the JWs recycle scriptures. Their talks on the Bible seems so shallow, as they spout off line after line of assertions peppered with all-too-familiar Biblical "sound bites" collected anywhere from Genesis to Revelation.
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Fantastic scripture about man made rules
by Jez innwt says in matt 15:8,9.
"this people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me.
it is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.".
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M.J.
Thanks. Good one. I also like: You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Cor 7:23
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Filth, Lies and Sewage From Apostate Central
by Farkel init is not a difficult thing to find self-condemning words from the watchtower printing and lying corporation.
one merely needs to look at the filth and scum they spread about those who do not agree with them to find such self-condemning words.
then, simply substitute themselves for their enemies and see how true their own words ring.
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M.J.
Man, I can't believe that Watchtower article. I thought perhaps they toned it down a bit since the 1980s but this looks as bad as anything they've put out. Looks like folks like Farkel are really getting under their skin!
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Eighty eight years ago today
by Skimmer ineighty eight years ago today, c. t. russell kicked the bucket and went to his, er, "reward".
yes, it was on halloween.
was jellyfish russell done in by poison, perhaps delivered by an agent operating under the direction of booze rutherford?
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M.J.
Wow. Could you imagine the implications.