Magnum

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Posts by Magnum

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  3

  Currently Reading...

  by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  currently reading: apostles of denial by edmund c gruss.

  the book presents the history, doctrines and claims of jws clearly,accurately.it examines these in the light of the bible, in the light of sound exegesis of the original languages in which the bible was written and with best scholarship o the subject.. although this was written in 1970 , its author was a exjw, so i find it intriguing to see the jw world of that time from someone who witnessed and experienced it all.. hooked from line one itself, remains to be seen if it will deliver to the end but so far so good.

  has anyone read it ?

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  Magnum

  Have got it, but haven't read it. Definitely want to; just can't right now because of time. Please let us know what you think when you finish it.
  
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  The real Dracula?

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'm a bit of a horror fan - i love horror movies and the novel dracula by bram stoker is a pretty good read - especially the first four chapters, with jonathan harker being in dracula's castle.. i've heard before that stoker based count dracula on a 15th century voivod (prince) of wallachia who went down in history as vlad the impaler - apparently, he was extremely barbaric and cruel, as his name suggests.. vlad's father was also called vlad.

  daddy vlad was apparently part of an order of crusader knights, the order of the dragon.

  this order was formed to protect christian europe against muslim ottomans/turks.

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  Magnum

  I've read a good bit about him over the last few years - a lot about gruesome stuff he supposedly did, like impaling enemies up the back side and missing major internal organs so they wouldn't die quickly. I read that he even impaled babies. I realize that some of the info might be wrong, but there are so many accounts that it seems that they are based on some kind of reality or actual incidents.

  That house photo is interesting. I don't think of people back then as living in houses like that. It looks like a modern house.
  
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  My wife PIMI wife said today...." The Tribulation has started"

  by goingthruthemotions in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my wife pimi wife said today...." the tribulation has started" i was like wtf... i know things are bad.

  but...... we have had other pandamics and market crashes in the past.

  1889: russian flu 360,000 perished.

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  Magnum

  According to JWs, isn't the tribulation supposed to start with the destruction of non-JW religions by the governments, or have they changed that, too? What about the cry of peace and security? What happened to that?

  edit: Hadn't seen Vidiot's post when I posted.
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  18

  Interesting piece about Stephen Lett and family: property developers

  by Diogenesister in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  another very well researched programme by the blue envelope exploring stephen lett's bio and his family interest in property.

  interestingly his parents were pioneering until the new service year 1975 , when they immediately changed tack and began investing in properties along the gulf coast.

  once again, highly recommended veiwing.. https://youtu.be/9qh0jbvsdrc.

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  Magnum

  Just watched the video. Now I'm really pissed off. How effin dare they ask little children to donate their ice cream money while Lett is investing large sums of money. In the talk clip that was included in the video, Lett said to be content with sustenance and covering. As a member of the elite GB, he's guaranteed such (actually far better than just the necessities), so why is he spending time and resources on investments?

  Also in the talk included in the clip, he said that the end is imminent. Well, if he really believes that, why is he investing in property? This guy claims he's going to be launching off to heaven soon, so why not donate any extra money he has to his precious religion?
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  They need MORE $$$$$

  by TallTexan in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i haven't been to a meeting in years, but i was recently told by a friend of mine that they have really been hammering the 'use of your valuable things in support of the kingdom' in many of the talks and thursday night parts.

  i know they used to mention it all the time, but he said it's gotten really bad lately.

  i told him that's because the membership in the western (translate that to "richer"...lol) countries has really fallen off and even become negative in many countries and that the 3rd world countries can't contribute enough to support the great publishing empire.

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  Magnum

  Geoffrey Hebdon: From an inside report from the New York headquarters of the Watchtower Society, they are now entering into panic mode regarding the shrinking funds and the desperate need to realize their existing assets and somehow get their hands on more cash.

  Everything in Geoffrey Hebdon's post seems to ring true to me. I believe they are in panic mode. We know that they did confiscate all the kingdom halls and that they are now consolidating congregations and selling halls. Also, we know that they did instigate the "stealth tithing" (forgiving a few loans, but then making every congregation, not just the ones that had loans, make a monthly payment).

  It "smells' to me like they are having money problems.

  
  
  
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  29

  Hebrews 13:8

  by Acer21 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hebrews 13:8.

  "jesus christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.".

  the book of hebrews declare that jesus is god in this verse.

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  Magnum

  The book of Hebrews declare that Jesus is God in this verse.

  How do you arrive at that conclusion? I don't see anything in the wording that indicates that Jesus is God. I read the verse as saying that Jesus is the same "yesterday" (past - not necessarily eternal past), "today" (present), and "forever" (eternal future). How does that indicate he is God?

  TTWSYF, I don't see an issue with what you wrote about Michael. If Jesus was Michael, he was still the same person, just perhaps operating in a different role or capacity.

  
  
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  Coronavirus / Covid-19 - The canary in the coal mine

  by JimmyYoung in

  1. social
  2. current

  is anyone prepping by buying food that has a long shelf life?

  i have been messing with it for years.

  buying fat free powder milk, bullion cubes, rice, beans dried, and other things that has a shelf life of 25 years.

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  Magnum

  I've been thinking about it for years. Consider what otherwise normal, middle-class women will do at Christmas time when there aren't enough of a certain kind of baby doll for everybody. I've seen video of the stampede and fighting to get to the limited number available. If they will do that for a damn Cabbage Patch Kid or Beanie Baby, consider what the population in general will do when the food starts running short.

  I have not thought about storing stuff because of the Coronavirus, but I wouldn't laugh at the idea. I read recently the words of an expert who said it could possibly affect 60% of the earth's population.
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  28

  Mental Illness among JW's

  by Victor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  disclaimer: this article has some broad generalizations that will have exceptions to what is stated.

  this is the only way i can even attempt to address the topic.

  i've looked for scholarly articles published on peer reviewed journals for years.

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  Magnum

  In the congregations I have been, it seems there was a disproportionately large number with mental illness. In fact, in the last congregation I was in, an elder joked to me "half the congregation is on dope" (jokingly referring to meds prescribed for mental illness as "dope").

  There was a lot of depression, a couple of bipolar, two suicides (that I can remember - maybe more), one older female caught stealing drugs (for personal use) from a physician's office where she worked, several miserable children running away or leaving home as soon as possible, several with alcohol problems, etc.

  I think JWism contributes to such and might tend to attract those who already have such tendencies.
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  Unwritten, congregational 'rules'

  by Thetruthhurts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what were some of yours?

  the big one in our hall was no frontal hugs!

  these were generally thought of as inappropriate, only side hugs should be given between sisters and brothers.

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  Magnum

  No sitting in same aisle each week; need to move around.

  No working alone in service. That one burned me up because it was clearly wrong. I had references in JW publications showing it was wrong.

  I was given a locally produced script/form for Sunday meeting chairmen to use. I was told in a stern voice: "use it!"

  Many others.
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  19

  Do JWs believe that animals were created to live in harmony? Lion and the lamb

  by Doubledecker in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  thanks to all who replied to my first post, i appreciate you taking the time to do so.. i left jws for my own reasons as a teenager as i just simply didn’t believe it .

  i am enjoying playing catch up with all the information out there now showing multiple examples of false prophecies , covering up the truth and the jw broadcasting stuff is amazing ( as said before i’ve just ignored the organisation for 30 years ) , it’s totally brainwashing evangelical propaganda.. however i digress .... as a young kid i used to ask , “if in paradise the “ lion will lay with lamb “ and all creatures will live in harmony, why for example does a snake have venom if not to eat another creature ?”.

  like i say i was 10 years old i remember so please excuse the childish question.. but do they actually believe that was gods original plan for animals ?

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  Magnum

  I know for a fact that they used to teach that, and I think they still do, but that they don't mention it (at least not much).

  That issue was the main objection I had to overcome when I finally gave in and became a JW. And my overcoming it was not getting an answer to it. I just put it on the back burner as I was told to. I was told to put "the truth" first, and I would get an answer to my question later. Of course, no JW could answer it at the time, and I never got an answer to it; in fact, the question grew in intensity over the years. I gathered vast evidence that made the teaching that animals didn't kill each other before the flood seem ridiculous.

  I used to even gather evidence from Watchtower publications. For example, I remember an article detailing how a certain bird of prey has two sets of eyelids - one regular and one translucent. The article said that the translucent one was used by the bird as it was pursuing its prey; it enabled it to blink and not lose sight of its prey. 'Praise Jah for his marvelous design.' I was wondering why such an eyelid would be needed if animals weren't originally designed to kill each other?

  Another article described a particular bird that lived in or spent a lot of time in reeds (the tall grassy-like plants). The article described how the bird instinctively swayed in sync with the reeds as the wind blew so it could blend in and avoid predators. 'Praise Jah for his marvelous design.' I was wondering why animals would need a defensive strategy if there originally was no "offense"?

  So, really, it's not only all the evidence we in predators that makes the JW teaching seem ridiculous, but all the defensive strategies we see in nature also make the teaching seem ludicrous, for there would be no need for such if there were no predators.

  I won't do it now because I was planning on starting a new topic about it, but I could list pages of evidence against the JW belief.