Posts by Magnum

7

Who am I talking about?

by neat blue dog in

jw
friends

.. is anti-gun, police and war?.

is subject to government but really anti-government?.

is prone to alternative medicine and science?.

Magnum

(raises hand)... I agree with Sea Breeze.

30

73 years old, a Witness for 48 years, an elder for 24 years, Baptized just before 1975. WOKE UP!

by pistolpete in

i thought i would post an encouraging experience i found today.

i've been seeing a lot of 70-80 year old jws waking up, and their children are posting their experience on reddit.

these are old elders, pioneers, circuit overseers who have given their everything and finally at the end of their life, are walking away.. maybe the key to waking up is that a person has to have a deep sense of right and wrong.

Magnum

pistolpete, wow, that one's interesting, too.

I especially like this:

I knew something was wrong for years but could never quite put my finger on it

and this:

The biggest change was the anointed no longer being the faithfull slave but only the GB being the slave. That meant that ever since the time of pastor Russell the whole doctrine had been false!.

and this:

The whole thing is now morphing into a new online trash internet religion with no real substance .

30

73 years old, a Witness for 48 years, an elder for 24 years, Baptized just before 1975. WOKE UP!

by pistolpete in

i thought i would post an encouraging experience i found today.

i've been seeing a lot of 70-80 year old jws waking up, and their children are posting their experience on reddit.

these are old elders, pioneers, circuit overseers who have given their everything and finally at the end of their life, are walking away.. maybe the key to waking up is that a person has to have a deep sense of right and wrong.

Magnum

GodBeliever,

I don't want to take this thread off its subject, so, I'm going to try to find time to PM you in the next week or so (leaving in a few minutes to drive out of state for work-related issue and will be really busy next three or four days).

In particular, I'm curious about this:

Not everything is what it appears to be. (See Plato's allegory of the cave).

I want to know you what you mean by that. I think about things not being what they appear to be a lot, but, I don't know if I'm thinking of the same thing you are.

Also, I agree with this:

It is very debatable to say that we are the only form of intelligent life in this universe.

And I constantly think about this:

everything is too complex to be random.

It does seem that way to me, but, then, I always think about the notion that if there is a creator, then isn't he too complex to just be here without some kind of origination or higher originator?

I don't know and I want to know. I don't have that many years left to try to find answers, and, also, because of the financial situation my having been a JW for decades put me in, I don't have much free time to read and research.

Anyway, I will PM you. As I said, I don't want to disobey forum rules and derail this thread. If you want to comment on any of the above, feel free to PM me.

30

73 years old, a Witness for 48 years, an elder for 24 years, Baptized just before 1975. WOKE UP!

by pistolpete in

i thought i would post an encouraging experience i found today.

i've been seeing a lot of 70-80 year old jws waking up, and their children are posting their experience on reddit.

these are old elders, pioneers, circuit overseers who have given their everything and finally at the end of their life, are walking away.. maybe the key to waking up is that a person has to have a deep sense of right and wrong.

Magnum

GodBeliever, I'm sorry. I really mean it. I'm just so accustomed to people coming on here and quoting a bunch of Scripture and not really making a point and/or not reasoning well that I made a wrong assumption about your post. My words were meant honestly, not as an insult. I really feel that a lot of religious people are not stable. They have this glassy/glossy look in their eyes as if they're under some kind of mind control. I made the assumption that you were of that type.

Unlike many, if not most, on this site, I have not given up completely on the Bible. I have a lot of issues with it and I have a lot of unanswered questions about its contents, its authenticity, etc. However, I'm keeping an open mind.

30

73 years old, a Witness for 48 years, an elder for 24 years, Baptized just before 1975. WOKE UP!

by pistolpete in

i thought i would post an encouraging experience i found today.

i've been seeing a lot of 70-80 year old jws waking up, and their children are posting their experience on reddit.

these are old elders, pioneers, circuit overseers who have given their everything and finally at the end of their life, are walking away.. maybe the key to waking up is that a person has to have a deep sense of right and wrong.

Magnum

GodBeliever, I have no idea what your point is. Let me start with your opening words... "Trust ye not in lying words".

Are you applying that to the man who left JWdom? Are you applying it to us ex-JWs? People like you come on here and just post a bunch of words, the meaning of which is unclear. I say this honestly, not just to insult: I really think people like you are mentally unstable and are societal misfits.

I could very easily and rightly apply your opening words to JWs... "Trust ye not in lying words". JWs should not trust all the deception, dishonesty, plain out wrong words coming from their leaders. They should not trust the doctrine that is shown more and more to be wrong with each passing day.

36

What useful piece of literature have the JW produced?

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

seeing on another post here about former jws throwing away literature.

i am curious as to the various opinions on there value.. for me i have been inactive for 3 years almost 4. i still have alot of books and of course all their bibles ever produced (except a few from the 1800s.).

in my opinion i think there are four books the jws produced that are useful:.

Magnum

Slidin Fast: The old Theocratic Ministry Guide Book. Strip it of the biblical bullshit and it could be re-published as a good guide to public speaking.

I agree with that. The book was really good. I learned some really good stuff from it - stuff I still think of, when, for example, I watch instructional videos on youtube and can't help but critique the presenters.

The book that replaced the old school guidebook was awful. It even had a lot of grammatical errors, poor reasoning, etc. that I marked in my copy.

I agree with the OP about the Kingdom Interlinear, but disagree about Mankind's Search for God. I read almost the whole thing, and thought it sucked. I think one could spend a few minutes on Wikipedia and read about different religions and learn a lot more in a few minutes than he could reading through that boring, poorly written waste of paper and ink.

30

73 years old, a Witness for 48 years, an elder for 24 years, Baptized just before 1975. WOKE UP!

by pistolpete in

i thought i would post an encouraging experience i found today.

i've been seeing a lot of 70-80 year old jws waking up, and their children are posting their experience on reddit.

these are old elders, pioneers, circuit overseers who have given their everything and finally at the end of their life, are walking away.. maybe the key to waking up is that a person has to have a deep sense of right and wrong.

Magnum

Thanks for posting. I've been wondering about the old-timers, the real true-believers who were around back in the deeper days when doctrine mattered.

Somebody on reddit asked what the turning point for him was. See the following:

************************************************

platinum717

1914. 607 BCE. 2520 Years.

That's what did it. It had been bothering him apparently for quite some time. So he decided to do independent research.

Down the rabbit hole he went.

chinapomo

That's the thing that helps a lot of old timers. Because the newer generations have no clues whatsoever about the doctrines.

Uncle_Homunculus

That’s why the organization has switched from being super analytical to slowly transitioning into a mega church. Can’t point out contradictions if you only have a vague idea of what’s in the Bible in the first place.

Suzzanne75

They're going to end up like the Mormons. They 'feel' its true. Warm fuzzies are the Holy Spirit telling you its true.

*******************************************

I thought this...

That’s why the organization has switched from being super analytical to slowly transitioning into a mega church. Can’t point out contradictions if you only have a vague idea of what’s in the Bible in the first place.

...was a really good comment. So true. The org is no longer analytical. Gone are the old days of the Freddy Franz deeper books. Gone are the days of the focus on doctrine that brought in so many intelligent, studious types who were really seeking. It does seem that the org is transitioning into a mega church.

I get the same feeling today about JWs that I did about churchies in years past. They don't know their own doctrine and get a deer-in-headlights look when asked doctrinal questions.

19

The Amazing Solar System

by LoveUniHateExams in

jw
friends

i gotta say, i don't know much about the solar system.

i never was particularly interested in it.. but i've recently read professor brian cox's book (which accompanies a bbc series) and it's completely fascinating.. i'm quite interested in pictures of mars.

martian landscapes seem familiar and different at the same time ….

Magnum

Martian landscapes seem familiar and different at the same time

Very good description. I agree. I just stared at that Martian landscape photo for a while. It's so weird to me that that is out there just hurling through space with no life on it. It's beautiful and yet lonely - even eerie.

Which book are you referring to? I'd like to read it. I just googled and found two that fit your description: Wonders of the Universe and Universal: A Guide to the Cosmos. I'll probably get both, but I'm wondering which one you read.

52

Collapse of JW Org - Possibly on the Horizon?

by JWTom in

this topics get a great deal of discussion here.

what i find interesting is even some of my pimi family is embracing the reality that all is not well with jw.org and that many current jws are just going through the motions due to not having a good way out of the org.

wondering what could realistically lead to the collapse of jw.org in the not distant future?

Magnum

I agree thoroughly, Pete Zahut.

Off the subject, but, Pete Zahut, you're back!!! I swear I was depressed because I thought you had left for good. I know you got pissed off, and I am truly sorry for any part I might have played in that. Really glad you're back. Please don't leave. I have always really appreciated your input.

8

"Congregation Bible Study" - Pure Worship

by Jeffro in

the pure worship book will be 'studied' at the weekly jw 'congregation bible study' starting next week.

anyone 'lucky' enough to attend might like to consider my review of the book for some salient points in the coming weeks.... .

Magnum

Just looked at link you posted. Don't have time to examine all of it now, but looks like some good stuff. Saving link so I can read it all later. Thanks a lot. I love this kind of stuff.