Posts by Odrade

100

We have the truth - part 2

by MutualRespectPlease in

jw
friends

does doing what is right in god's eyes mean we have to use only bible terms?

i know the organization is not perfect.

is there strong evidence that he has his people here on earth that although not perfect, are doing his will?

Odrade

Heehee. "Motive." It's like a guy who visits a prostitute and then says: "But the only way I could preach to her was while she was working!"

181

OKM 09/07 (english)- Just another brick in the wall...

by metaspy in

jw
friends

ok guys and gals, i (being the assistant to the magazine counter) have acquired the newest okm.. i have uploaded it to imagevenue.com: here.

hopefully that works!.

by the way drew, your translation was very close.

:::"As per usual, they talk out both sides of their mouths. "

Of course, one is the "truth" for public consumption, and the other (opposite) is the "truth" for the rank and file. So which one is the "truth?" That's what I wanna know.

100

We have the truth - part 2

by MutualRespectPlease in

jw
friends

does doing what is right in god's eyes mean we have to use only bible terms?

i know the organization is not perfect.

is there strong evidence that he has his people here on earth that although not perfect, are doing his will?

Odrade

Interesting how "belief" doesn't require actual evidence. "Evidence" is something that can be documented, and usually duplicated. Saying "I see happy people," "I don't see corruption," is not evidence, it is simply your personal experience.

Also, regarding your vague "credentials", don't worry... it won't sound like bragging, but I doubt your credentials are any more impressive than many, many posters here who have objectively examined the evidence and come to very different conclusions. And just because you've done a lot of different activities for your faith, doesn't give you any more ability to approach things with clear thinking and logic - perhaps it's even a handicap.

Tell me, what do you think of this new directive from the Society which "suggests" that nobody need look any further than the Insight books when doing research? What if the publications quote a secular source? Would it be inappropriate to research the context of the quote? What happens if the context reveals deception on the part of the WT? Just saying...

181

OKM 09/07 (english)- Just another brick in the wall...

by metaspy in

jw
friends

ok guys and gals, i (being the assistant to the magazine counter) have acquired the newest okm.. i have uploaded it to imagevenue.com: here.

hopefully that works!.

by the way drew, your translation was very close.

Odrade

7 pages, and I just skimmed, but one thought is that the implications of this directive from WT will be to quash attempts to verify secular quotes in the literature by researching the source. I wonder how much this decision was influence by articles like AlanF's and Leoleia's, etc, where they show blatant and seemingly deliberate misreprestations of quotes in order to bolster their opinion in books like "Creation" "Our Creator" "Trinity" and so on.

61

Look what I got last night :)

by misanthropic in

jw
friends

he's 7 weeks old, he's a chocolate lab and i named him tony.

his eye isn't messed up it just looks that way because i was trying to get his face to look forward while i pushed the button all at once.

he kept me up all night last night crying, but hopefully just like with my beagle he will outgrow that.

Odrade

I'm training them at home. If I weren't godless I'd say "pray for me." LMAO!

5

My friend was DF'ed 7 years ago - lost touch now

by Orgull in

jw
friends

i was a good soldier, i shunned her like i was supposed to.

she applied for reinstatement several times but was rejected.

as far as i know she's still df'ed.. i have no idea where she is now or how to find her.

Odrade

Orgull, try google, myspace, facebook, 411, all the searches. I found my best friend like that, even though it had been 10 years. It was not an easy search, I tried a nickname and got a hit.

61

Look what I got last night :)

by misanthropic in

jw
friends

he's 7 weeks old, he's a chocolate lab and i named him tony.

his eye isn't messed up it just looks that way because i was trying to get his face to look forward while i pushed the button all at once.

he kept me up all night last night crying, but hopefully just like with my beagle he will outgrow that.

Odrade

Doggy boot camp? Or hunting school? Which program are you using? I have two bad dogs that I've just starting using "The Culture Clash" methods on... seems to be working better. They are both quiet right now, and Murphy (mini-dach) just went on an entire walk without trying to bite another dog, or going bark-tastic at dogs and bikers...

19

"You have received nothing but love from us..."

by DeusMauzzim in

jw
friends

"... since you were raised in the truth.

we respect your decision to break your promise and walk away, but don't slander us by talking about [child abuse / ngo / malawi / insert here].

how would you respond to this?.

Odrade

If you married a man, then discovered he already had a wife or two, and the marriage wasn't legal, would you feel justified in leaving? After all, you made a promise to "Love, Honor and Obey, till death parts" you.

It was a promise based on faulty premises and outright lies, thus the promise is not valid. I will respect your request not to speak of pedophiles and Harlots with YOU, but that is all.

16

Don't eat at Mario's!

by changeling in

the anticipation for the sept km is making me crazy!

i hope this rumor is on the level.

if it turns out to be a hoax i will be crushed.

Odrade

I like it! I'd love it if instead of moving to Staten Island, Chuck and Suzie never ate at Mario's again, but DID discover a new fantastic restaurant around the corner where the owner himself revealed one or two of HIS favorite places nearby... ;)

17

Pulling The TriggerThe Watchtower's Discipline

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

pulling the triggerthe watchtower's discipline *disclaimer: .

the approach of this topic requires that you temporarily disconnect your emotions.

connected to the watchtower society and view this case from a different perspective.. the perspective of the thread.

Odrade

"Compared to nothing, most things look good."

I agree. While the WT did provide structure, and certain skills for me while growing up, there would have been many ways far more beneficial to acquire that training. For instance, I could have learned social qualities of teamwork by playing sports, learned speaking skills by being on the debate team, learned a clean-cut lifestyle by going to most any church, etc. Those things are not necessarily dependent on circumstances such as being raised within WT framework.

IF you are comparing it to NOTHING at all, then yes, I agree with your premise, being raised with WT values was likely better than nothing in those particular areas you mention. But it's a faulty argument, because think of all the other things you learned during your upbringing. You learned to memorize everything and research nothing. (Any research was done with an index and the WT volumes, where you would read the presented material. Full stop.) You learned to judge anyone, JW friend or "worldly" foe, if they stepped one millimeter out of lockstep with your "bible understanding/bible-trained conscience." You learned to get up and give a 4-5 minute speech, that you read off of a notecard, cobbled together from WT publications. (These are the most approved talks, TOO much "outside material" got you a talking-to after the meeting...) You were told not to blow your own horn when you did good, but learned that if none of the congregation heard about it you didn't get "credit." And that "credit," whether it was for more hours in service, talks, quickbuilds, bible studies, or informal witnessing, really determined your social standing.

You learned that, while it wasn't okay to be prejudiced against a person's color, it was perfectly okay to be prejudiced against the stay-at-home mom who wasn't pioneering even though she "had plenty of time," the publisher who STILL hadn't joined the TMS, the 19 y.o. kid who STILL hadn't gotten baptized, and all of the Catholics, Jews, Baptists, Methodists, SDA, LDS, other protestants, Buddhists, atheists... oh yes, and WOMEN, who are not permitted to challenge anything spoken by an overseer.

But yeah, compared to NO upbringing at all, I guess the WT training was better than nothing.