Magnum

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Posts by Magnum

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  11

  Has someone messaged me ?

  by jhine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi folks .

  i haven't been on for a while and looked in today to see a notification that l had a pm .

  however l can't see anything newer than a couple of months ago , which l had already opened .

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  Magnum

  Congratulations!!!

  and... I've got the same situation with the message thing. I agree with what LoveUniHateExams said.
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  123

  1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  awake!

  "if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

  because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

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  Magnum

  zooooooo: I also think that it affected people who had faith in God and his word more than those who had weak faith, their lives were adversely affected

  I think that, too. I'm one who really believed it (though I always had nagging questions/doubts). I was ripe for the picking because I love justice, I am horrified by the suffering of sentient beings, I love the earth and want to see it protected, etc. Therefore, I gave the religion my all, not making any preparations for the future, etc. I have no retirement prospects and starting tomorrow at over 60 yrs old, I will be working two jobs - seven days a week. I will work out of town (about four hrs away) Mon-Fri full-time and then come on the weekends and work full days Sat & Sun in a neighboring city. Both jobs are difficult - both mentally & physically demanding. I have virtually no life.

  Thank you governing body. I'm so blessed for having been a JW. The pioneer work was such a great blessing. I'm so glad I did it. ----NOT
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  123

  1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  awake!

  "if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

  because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

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  Magnum

  Phizzy, you're thinking of the 1-1-89 Watchtower study article that indicated that the preaching work would end in the 20th century. The wording was changed in the bound volume from something like "in the twentieth century" to something like "in our day". [going from memory, so, somebody please correct any of that that needs correcting]

  It seems that fewer JWs & exJWs realize that there is an earlier (1971), more profound statement that was not changed (as far as I know).

  
  
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  31

  What Do You Want To Talk About Regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we do talk a lot about how this site doesn’t center on all things jw.

  so what would you like to discuss?.

  the floor is yours..

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  Magnum

  I want to talk about the mindset of the longtime JWs in about the 60 and above age group. What are they really thinking? Are they confused? Do they have doubts?

  My JW grandfather would be over 100 now. If he woke up from the dead, first, he'd shocked that it's 2021 and "this system" is still here. Then he'd be shocked at what JWdom is now and what it is not now - not the religion it used to be. He was active at a truly different time - when it was exciting to be a JW and the end of the world was imminent and the religion was deeper. He and his peers would be baffled and confused to see it now.

  As a small child, I remember when a few JWs in my area would travel long distances to the first convention of the year so they could get the latest information. JWs really thought it was all going to end in the 70's.

  Those who really remember those times won't be around for that much longer. I was wanting to make a post on this site about some problems with the Live Forever book, but then the thought entered my mind that probably many who post here now aren't even familiar with it.

  Anyway, does anybody have any insight as to what the mindset of the longtime older JWs is?
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  34

  Why did Jehovah Kill all the animals in the flood? What purpose did it serve??

  by pistolpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some of my jw family that is waking up posed that question to my jw family that is still hanging on to jw belief.. the stepbrother that posed that question told me;.

  "in all these years of being a jw, i actually never gave it much thought as to why jehovah had to kill millions of innocent animals that had nothing to do with mankind becoming evil.".

  i keep picturing in my mind, all the baby puppies and kitties that were destroyed by jehovah.

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  Magnum

  That question haunted me from day one. As JWs, we were taught to really meditate on and visualize Bible accounts, but I think that can backfire on JWs. I can't stand to visualize the flood account long, but I've done it enough to picture the horror of animals treading water until they give up.

  In the past few years, I read an account of a man (I think in Florida and who I think is an attorney) who was offshore (I think several miles) in his small pleasure boat. He found out there was a raccoon that had been sleeping somewhere on the boat. He somehow (don't remember exactly) got the raccoon into the water and left him out in the ocean to die a horrible death. There was a major outrage and a huge uproar. Imagine that scenario billions of times over.

  A few years ago, I found a half-grown dead squirrel in a 5-gallon bucket that was half full of water. I had left the bucket in my yard and I guess it collected rainwater. I don't know how the squirrel got in, but it couldn't get out and drowned. I was horrified, but that's nothing compared to what happened in the supposed flood.

  Not only puppies and kittens. I've raised four raccoons from infancy, and all four were beloved. They were playful, intelligent, feisty, affectionate, and social. They seemed to really love life. (One was seven years old and died two weeks ago from today. We took her into a neighboring state to the only vet we could find that would treat her. We spent $760 trying to save her. It was horrible. I loved her so much and she really seemed to love me.) I can't imagine those coons as babies or adults dying a horrible death such as an animal would die in a flood. I can't imagine elephants, big cats, or anything dying like that.

  I always secretly (except to my wife) hoped that Jah would resurrect those animals. I searched for clues in the Bible. I found a passage in Psalms that refers to animals' being in sheol. That gave me hope that they'd be resurrected since JWs taught that all in sheol (or hades) would be. So, I consoled myself by telling myself that maybe there was some answer that we don't know about.

  Great evidence indicates that animals have been suffering for millions of years - millions of years before man appeared on earth. So, JWs can't say that animal suffering started due to man's rebellion in the Garden of Eden.

  There's horrific suffering that goes on now that ruins my life thinking about it. I know I've mentioned this before on this site, but I'm going to keep mentioning it. There's a market in Asia where cats are beaten until they're staggering and then boiled alive because some people think that boiling them alive makes the meat taste better. There's a another place, also in Asia, where raccoons (or animals similar to raccoons) are beaten until they stagger and then skinned alive. I accidentally stumbled on the video and it horrified me beyond what I can describe. A raccoon, still alive, with its skin completely gone, was hung upside down by it's feet on something like a clothesline. It tilted its head up and looked at its skinless body; all it saw was muscle, etc. It was worse than anything I've ever seen in any horror movie. I could literally beat to death the person who did that.

  Imagine the precious creatures in the photo you posted slowly drowning, or being skinned alive, or being boiled alive, or being burned alive. I will not be able to die in peace knowing such has gone on and still does.

  Sorry for writing so much; this is a subject I think about constantly. To answer your question, I don't know why and would really like to.
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  9

  my personal car plate

  by stan livedeath in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my avatar is my personal plate on my mg sports car.. some years back a friend gave me a small model very similar to my car.. only today i noticed the number plate--spooky !.

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  Magnum

  FFGhost... and the "FJW" to "XJW".
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  21

  'Theocratic Careers' and the Covid Pandemic

  by eyeslice in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the watchtower has always banged on about not pursuing worldly careers and that best career was 'theocratic service.

  but now i am wondering what line they will take.

  let's have look at the options;.

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  Magnum

  Hey Reservations! Loved your post. I don't think it will ever be the same ever, either. In fact, I also believe that in another way it will never be the same. It will never recapture the glory it had in the older days (maybe pre-1995?). Have you been around for a while? it was going down even before the virus. Do you remember the excitement, boldness, etc. of the 1980s, for example?

  Also, what you posted about the "monumental attitude shift" is extremely interesting. And... I can't wait to see the carnage, either. Going to be interesting to see what the next few years hold. I hope you'll stay here and give us your observations/insights.
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  38

  William Shatner is 90 years old but doesn't look like it-------Why?

  by pistolpete in

  1. social
  2. current

  i can't believe william shatner is 90 years old but doesn't look like other 90 year olds that i've met.

  is it genetic?

  is it lifestyle.

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  Magnum

  Damn, he does look 60. Unbelievable!
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  38

  What Do Today’s Jehovah’s Witnesses Really Think?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was a witness i knew what my beliefs were and could defend my views, even if it really was wrong.

  i understood jw doctrines .

  i could define what the faithful and discreet slave was.

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  Magnum

  Good question and good posts!

  JWdom for the most part stopped producing really strong, studious, analytical types sometime in the 90's or maybe early 2000s. The doctrine began to fail, and the higher-ups knew it. They lost their boldness and got scared. They began to dumb things down. They began to almost discourage analysis, questioning, deeper study, etc. No more of the days that I remember as a child - hearing well-studied and well-read adult JWs sitting around the pool at night after the district convention discussing the king of the north, deeper prophecy, etc.

  It seems to me that JWs are sort of in a hazy limbo - a state of dazed confusion. Think of some land that was supposed to win a war, but didn't. It has been bombed and conquered. Buildings are destroyed. Rural areas are in smoke. Its citizens are wandering around in dazed confusion thinking something like "It might not look like it now, but we're still gonna win this." They just can't allow themselves to accept reality. They won't give in. They rationalize. They can no longer strongly defend the motherland because they are torn inside and confused and don't really know what to believe. They know something is wrong, but can't/won't admit it.
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  10

  We used to say if they dumb it down any more they will have to draw pictures.....

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well guess what!

  they are using whiteboard animations!😳.

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  Magnum

  Overrated, I would absolutely love to see how the diehard old-timers who were largely responsible for my coming in would react to what the religion is now. First, they would be shocked that "this system" is still here in the 2020's. Then, if they didn't have a heart attack from that, they would have extreme vasovagal syncope from seeing what the religion is now.