Yep. agree Simon. Last assembly we were presented with the fine example of an anointed sister from my cong. She went on stage and actually cried while she talked about the disappointment of her son leaving the truth. Everybody clapped like there is not tomorrow. What they don't know is that she doesn't truly shun her kid. For once, it is easier for her, the guy leaves hours away so they don't always see each other. But every now and then, when he comes, she doesn't take the chance to show her stance. She also visits with him and I have pictures to prove it.
StarTrekAngel
JoinedPosts by StarTrekAngel
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71
Doing the Right Thing, Making a Choice (shunning)
by Simon incontinuing a topic that is dear to my heart because of my experience as both a shunner and a shunnee .... some people seem to get very agitated when i talk about the responsibility people have to make the right choices and that despite all the wrongs within the wts, people themselves have a role to play and some personal responsibility for the experience.. notice i said "some" responsibility, not "complete" - this doesn't absolve the wts for the things they do wrong in any way shape or form.
so please don't get argumentative about possible meanings and absolutes - of course the wts has a significant role to play but we need to decide what we're trying to achieve here and why the personal choice is so important.. i'm also not talking about actual crimes that the wts should answer for.
if they cover up child abuse for instance, they absolutely should be reported immediately.
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71
Doing the Right Thing, Making a Choice (shunning)
by Simon incontinuing a topic that is dear to my heart because of my experience as both a shunner and a shunnee .... some people seem to get very agitated when i talk about the responsibility people have to make the right choices and that despite all the wrongs within the wts, people themselves have a role to play and some personal responsibility for the experience.. notice i said "some" responsibility, not "complete" - this doesn't absolve the wts for the things they do wrong in any way shape or form.
so please don't get argumentative about possible meanings and absolutes - of course the wts has a significant role to play but we need to decide what we're trying to achieve here and why the personal choice is so important.. i'm also not talking about actual crimes that the wts should answer for.
if they cover up child abuse for instance, they absolutely should be reported immediately.
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StarTrekAngel
I think that if one was to be involved in a murder case, the person pulling the trigger takes all the blame. You could never say that the bullet has some blame, even if a tiny one.
I agree that there might be those JWs out there that see shunning as a realization of power. A way for them to channel who they truly are. Steven Hassan explains in his book that someone that is under cult indoctrination does not loose free will and his abilities to make choices, but they do loose the choices themselves. i.e.: before being a JW, a situation may present you with choice A,B and C. After being indoctrinated, option C may be out of the pool because you were indoctrinated to think the bible speaks against option C, even though most reasonable people would not see it as such. You still have free will, except your options are now limited.
I don't care how much you know about the health benefits of salads, if someone managed to convince you that the salad is poisoned, you will not eat it. This happens to all of us day in and day out. Some people are afraid of flying to the point they won't fly at all, yet they have no problems texting and driving all the time. This only changes when you have a major awakening. People have awakenings to all sorts of things, not just from cults.
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Intriguing - but Unsubstantiated!
by The Searcher inaccording to one source on a western european 'apostate' website, the org's plan is to abandon the name "jehovah's witnesses" in the future, and replace it with "worshippers of jehovah.".
http://www.bruderinfo-aktuell.de/index.php/fixnews/#comment-4313 .
the gist of the account appears to be a repeat of rutherford's re-branding and debunking of old predictions made by the previous shower of fakers.
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StarTrekAngel
I always thought that the push for JW.org was a bridge to become known as Jesus' Witnesses. After all there is plenty of evidence in the gospel about being witnesses for Jesus, not Jehovah. It would put the org more in line with the idea of bearing witness, which is completely sidetracked in the current doctrine. -
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Are cults a hidden epidemic? Great interview...
by StarTrekAngel inhere is a great interview from 2013 between various cult ex members and experts, including mr hassan.
one thing i was surprised to hear is that the word cult is now considered "politically incorrect".
someone mentioned this on another thread and i made the comment that i suspected cults themselves had something to do with it.
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StarTrekAngel
Here is a great interview from 2013 between various cult ex members and experts, including Mr Hassan. One thing I was surprised to hear is that the word cult is now considered "politically incorrect". Someone mentioned this on another thread and I made the comment that I suspected cults themselves had something to do with it. Alexandra Stein points to that citing that some cults have lobbied government institutions to remove the word cult. I believe that removing it rests emphasis on the threat they represent.
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Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions
by thedepressedsoul inhere is an idea i tested.
works at both assemblies and conventions.
i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.
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StarTrekAngel
Funny, somehow when I proposed this a while back, people did not respond so well. Some accused me of trying to hijack DNS -
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My thoughts on the last WT study. Keep in Expectation
by StarTrekAngel inso i sat thru another brain mushing session for the sake of family.
it is no myth by now that the more time you spend awake the harder it is the accept that people just take all of this in without asking.
a computer has more reasoning abilities than your average jw at this point.
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StarTrekAngel
Yep. Thought that as well. -
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My thoughts on the last WT study. Keep in Expectation
by StarTrekAngel inso i sat thru another brain mushing session for the sake of family.
it is no myth by now that the more time you spend awake the harder it is the accept that people just take all of this in without asking.
a computer has more reasoning abilities than your average jw at this point.
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StarTrekAngel
Thanks Divergent. Another good text to add. This was just another article to make JWs feel special about their "secret knowledge". I am glad me or my family won't be around for the next one. We will be having a good time somewhere on vacation. -
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My thoughts on the last WT study. Keep in Expectation
by StarTrekAngel inso i sat thru another brain mushing session for the sake of family.
it is no myth by now that the more time you spend awake the harder it is the accept that people just take all of this in without asking.
a computer has more reasoning abilities than your average jw at this point.
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StarTrekAngel
So I sat thru another brain mushing session for the sake of family. It is no myth by now that the more time you spend awake the harder it is the accept that people just take all of this in without asking. A computer has more reasoning abilities than your average JW at this point. You can load and compile new code into a computer. By itself the computer will never know if it is being loaded with a virus but at least the compiler will find syntax errors or dependencies that can't be fulfilled. In the same fashion a JW may not be able to tell if they are in "the truth" without consulting an outside source but you would think they would be able to tell when they are being deviated from the scriptures. Such does not seem to be the case.
1 Timothy 2:4 speaks of a God who wishes everyone would be saved and come to know him. This isn't one of the many little known scriptures that JW so conveniently ignore. No, this is a well known text and its significance has been the subject of entire wt articles in the past.
Yet, this past Sunday, the one paragraph often used to drive witnesses to be at the forefront of neighborhood annoyances was utterly dismissed. In summary, the article explained that we should not expect the signs of the end to be so obvious that everyone would se them. If not, the article said, it would cause everyone to believe. See paragraph bellow
But do you expect conditions to become before “the great tribulation”? (Rev. 7:14) For example, do you expect that there will be a war in every country, no food on anyone’s table, and illness in every household? Under those conditions, even skeptics would likely feel compelled too admit bible prophecy was undergoing fulfillment. However, Jesus said that most people would take no notice of his presence, carrying on with life’s normal activities until it is too late. (Read Matthew 24:37-39.) Thus, the Scriptures indicate that world conditions during the last days would not become so extreme that people would be forced to believe that the end is near”
In other words, God does not really want everyone to be saved. He is afraid that if he makes the signal too obvious, the prophecies of revelation would not be fulfilled? What happened to Rev 1:7?
Most JWs don't realize the kind of God they are portraying when they support this teachings. From the stand of a believer, one who loves of people and worships a god who truly wishes for everyone to be saved, such statements don't make any sense. The reality is that the bible speaks of signs that are indeed obvious and that will truly show who would be in expectation and who is not. One of the MS's made a comment saying that being in expectation was like picking someone up at the bus station back in the days when cell phones did not exist. You show up at the bus station in or around the time the bus is supposed to show up. If it doesn't show up on time, you keep looking and waiting. Unfortunately the article makes it sound exactly like the emperors new clothes. Only he would see the bus, everyone else will not.
another funny thing I noticed while typing this. The bellow statement was added automatically when a copied and pasted a piece of the wt article
Excerpt From: WATCHTOWER. “The Watchtower, August 15, 2015.” Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
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These guys just freak me out!
by John Aquila inok, i didnt think anything about it.
but last night some friends from across the city called me up and said that the co was visiting their hall and in his talk he said that the society is getting geared up for a massive kingdom hall and assembly hall construction project worldwide next year.
they told the publishers; "get ready".
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StarTrekAngel
There are two threads in JW-Archive discussing the halting of construction. So it is obvious that many witnesses have heard the rumor. They are not calling it a rumor though. That makes me think that there might be a concussion campaigned being launched so that whatever other rumors the R&F may hear, they will shut down and continue donating. -
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"If you are teaching intolerance, we WILL shut you down!" English Prime Minister David Cameron
by stuckinarut2 inthe prime minister of england made the above statement yesterday regarding any schools that influence youths in a negative manner.. he went on to say that if youths are influenced in a negative manner regarding religious teachings that promote judgement of others (including same sex relationships, etc ) or that look down on other peoples free choice, the government would take action.. i cant find a newspaper article sorry...i just heard it on the radio news.... very interesting though...it may have a bearing on how those who learn ttatt are treated by the organization??
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StarTrekAngel
A scientist can collect 100 pieces of evidence that proves his theory and continue thinking that he may be wrong. A religious person makes a claim and no evidence will ever make him see his flaws.