Magnum

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Posts by Magnum

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  25

  Is this the start of a change of policy regarding individual JWs preparing internet pages.

  by joe134cd in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a quote of a quote taken from anthoney mathenia:.

  " for organizations like the watchtower, absolute control of their message is paramount.

  it will not even allow its own adherents to spread their good news online.

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  Magnum

  DwainBowman: The site seems to be down now!

  Yeah, I got a blank page when I clicked on the link.
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  44

  Fresh Newcomer

  by Yondaime in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hi guys, my name is yondaime,.

  my will to remain in this relgious sect is fading, i'm about to be a freshman(just turned 18) in college.

  , i have seen so many terrible things happen to good people in this cult and i'm sick of it!

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  Magnum

  I like your dad, too.
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  45

  Is the Watchtower Intentionally Trying to Force People to Leave the Organization?

  by kneehighmiah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the leaks from the new november watchtower are alarming.

  they will disturb even longtime jws who haven't surrendered all rational thought.

  it's become so cult like its scary.

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  Magnum

  steve2: Perhaps too we credit your average JW with too much sensitivity and/or critical scrutiny? For many it will be ho-hum what's on TV tonight?

  I was kind of thinking the same thing. It think the mag strikes us because we have more analytical ability, discernment, and heck, outright intelligence; that's why we're on this forum. I really think all the mag will do is excite those still in. I'm thinking my family members are just going to be more determined to stay loyal to the org after considering the mag.
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  25

  Watchtower November 2014: Witnesses can't donate blood

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  let us read a recent watchtower publication:.

  many medical professionals and other advocates of blood transfusion appeal to people to donate blood in hopes of saving lives.

  however, jehovahs holy people acknowledge that the creator has the right to say how blood is to be treated.

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  Magnum

  Londo111: I was surprised…I thought they were trying to quietly pocket this teaching.

  Exactly my thoughts. I really thought they were going to gradually drop the blood doctrine.

  BU2B: I cannot grasp this. I will voice my confusion at the KH, among JWs, does not matter. IF BLOOD IS TO BE POURED OUT, AND THAT IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE USE FOR IT, HOW THE F%^k DO THEY JUSTIFY BLOOD FRACTIONS THAT COME FROM HUNDREDS OF LITERS OF DONATED BLOOD THAT WAS MIXED TOGETHER AND BROKEN DOWN AND WAS NOT POURED OUT???

  I agree with your thinking entirely. Just think about it. Instead of being poured out on the ground, the "sacred" blood is taken to a processing facility run by "worldly" people where it is processed by machines to separate the components. I read an account of a doctor's describing the process; it was eye-opening and would certainly seem to go against JW doctrine.
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  101

  The Watchtower 11/15/2014

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  http://bayfiles.net/file/1jpu5/qhxxxl/w_e20141115.pdf.

  select "premium download".

  (thanks breakfast of champions).

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  Magnum

  Oubliette: You can't be "more wrong" than wrong!

  I respectfully disagree. You seem to assume that wrong is absolute – that there are no degrees of wrong. “Wrong” is not an absolute adjective like “dead.” One can’t be more dead than another, but one can be more wrong. There are degrees of wrong. I know of no society that doesn’t recognize degrees of wrong. US law and courts recognize degrees of wrong; there are different punishments administered according to degree of wrong. It is well documented and widely accepted that the word “wrong” has a comparative form – “more wrong” (some accept also “wronger”). It would not have a comparative form if it were considered to be an absolute (or ungradable or non-gradable) adjective. I have never seen the word “wrong” on lists of absolute adjectives.

  Consider this from the Wikipedia article “Wronger than wrong”:

  “Michael Shermer has described as "wronger than wrong" the mistake addressed in what he calls Asimov's axiom, after the noted author Isaac Asimov, who discussed the issue in his book of essays, The Relativity of Wrong. A statement that equates two errors is wronger than wrong when one of the errors is clearly more wrong than the other. As Asimov put it:

  "When people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together."

  If someone asks whether 7x9 equals 63, and some answer “no”, then clearly they are wrong, and one is not more wrong than the other. However, suppose, instead, that he asks what 7x9 is, and he gets two answers, “64” and “164”. I think he would be logically justified in saying that “164” is more wrong than “64”.

  Suppose one predicted an event was going to occur in 1960 and another predicted the same event was going to occur 1980, but the event occurred in 1982. I say that both were wrong, but the one who predicted 1960 was more wrong.

  Also, it seems logical to me to say that one can be more wrong by virtue of his being wrong more. One who has wrongly predicted financial trends more than another is, to me, more wrong than the other. It is with the concept drawn from that I said “The passing of time has shown the supposed slave to be more and more wrong.” I see nothing wrong with that logically or grammatically. The org adds to its lists of wrongs with the passing of time. Its wrongness is ever more evident. It is more wrong now than it was in the past as it has built a bigger record of wrongness.
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  101

  The Watchtower 11/15/2014

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  http://bayfiles.net/file/1jpu5/qhxxxl/w_e20141115.pdf.

  select "premium download".

  (thanks breakfast of champions).

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  Magnum

  I listened to directions from the the supposed "faithful and discreet slave" (now = GB) for over 30 years - making drastic life-altering decisions based on what it (viewing the slave as a singular entity) said. It was wrong and it screwed my life up. The supposed slave has a well-documented record of being wrong for over 100 years. So why should I believe that, supposing there is going to be a great tribulation, the slave will all of a sudden be able to get things right?

  As the years pass and individuals and organizations prove themselves right, they generally acquire more respect and more of a following and more of a right to give directions. The passing of time has shown the supposed slave to be more and more wrong. So, again, if there is a great tribulation, why should anybody make life-altering decisions based on info from this "slave"?

  berrygerry: He's reading from a branch letter - conveniently flopped over to show.

  Yes, that is intentional and calculated. It's N Korea tactics. Why does the org have to say over and over "listen to me", "obey me", "listen, obey, and be blessed", etc.? If it had acquired a record of being right over the years, it wouldn't have to keep telling everybody "listen to me". People would naturally want to listen to it.
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  31

  Disturbing cover picture November 2014 awake!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  oh wow..... i have just seen the cover picture for the november awake!.

  sorry, i don't know how to post a picture here....(perhaps someone else can assist?).

  it is just plain creepy.. the article is called "keys to a happy life".... but the looks on the faces say something different!

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  Magnum

  I just checked JW.ORG. The latest they have up is Oct. Do you have the physical mag? I want to see the cover picture.
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  56

  Demon attacks on JW in past, where'd they go?

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the 80's and 90's (maybe even earlier) i remember hearing lots of witnesses talk about "demon attacks".

  whether it was someone studying the bible who then started having strange things happen in their house to people bringing stuff home from yard sales and getting personal attacks and horrible dreams resulting in them dystroying stuff they brought home or getting rid of it.. .

  i also remember hearing a sister say she had to pray in a home with a study because the study started to get attacked.

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  Magnum

  You know, I haven't really thought about that until now, but you're right. There was a lot of talk about demon attacks and influence a few decades ago, but not anymore.
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  26

  I Don't Think The Witnesses Really Care If You Can Explain Doctrine As Long As You Accept Them!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  gone are the days of getting into discussions about their beliefs.

  doing major research to prove a position or watchtower doctrine is a thing of the past.

  all they want from you is to surrender and accept everything they say as undeniable truth.. do you agree?.

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  Magnum

  Absolutely agree. Those days are gone. I remember the old days of debates, reasoning, deep research, etc.

  No more reasoning from the scriptures or even the Watchtower publications.

  Yep, on more.

  I think it's deliberate. The org realizes its doctrines are not defendable. It knows that if it sends its drones out to reason and debate, they'll get clobbered and will perhaps begin to see the holes in JW theology. It knows all the old Freddie stuff is baloney. So now the org is playing it safe.
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  46

  You should meet Brother Smart Engineer

  by garyneal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife, who now thinks i am not competent enough to discuss spiritual matters with the kids, thinks that i could really benefit from discussing matters of the bible with this nasa engineer who attends meetings at her kingdom hall.

  apparently, he is quite knowledgeable in the bible and has a good grasp of their doctrines.

  at least according to her as i never actually spoken with the man at length but i do know that he is an elder.

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  Magnum

  breakfast of champions: Sure he's great with mathematics and problem solving in the physical world. . . but not so great at critical thinking skills/reasoning through bullshit. I think a lot of engineers are the same way. I call it "engineer brain" . . . . really damn smart with regards to problem solving in the physical world. . . . but that's it.

  Smart evaluation. Your discernment of what you stated and your ability to explain it, to me, give indication that you're smart.

  Your dad is an example of what I was referring to in my posts on this thread. There are certain types of smarts. Some are smart in certain narrow ways. That NASA engineering dude might hava an area of engineering that he's good at, but that doesn't mean he knows much about and/or can explain the Bible and JW theology.

  Oubliette: These people should really be referred to as "engineers that work at NASA." It's not like NASA made them or owns them.

  Good point. I was thinking the same thing even though I used the term "NASA engineer." Engineers who work at NASA are not necessarily any smarter than those who work for Westinghouse.