UpAndAtom

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Posts by UpAndAtom

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  16

  Clean, Clean the Kingdom Hall

  by Euphemism in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  three pages of this month's insert are dedicated to the article "let us keep our place of worship in good repair.

  " yes, that's 38 minutes of service meeting time devoted to instructions on cleaning and maintaining the kingdom hall.. aside from just the utter ridiculousness and infantilization of this, what really struck me was: "when was the last time that there was a three-page insert on visiting the sick?

  " if the wts devoted half as much organization and attention to such a basic christian duty as it does to the cleaning of the kingdom hall, the organization would be a better place.. i know, nothing new.

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  UpAndAtom

  Is 3 pages really enough? ha ha.
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  6

  Daily Scripture:Luke 11:9,10 When???

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  9.accordingly i say to you,keep on asking,and it will be given you.keep on seeking ,and you will find;keep on knocking,and it will be opened to you.10.for everyone asking receives,and everyone seeking finds,and to everyone knocking it will be open.. in all sincerity i ask this question:how long does it take to have this promised declaration of the lord to become a reality?.

  all my life i have been keeping on asking,and keeping on seeking,and keeping on knocking.so i have been doing the first part vs. 9. yes i have been doing my part.its been a lifetime.. when is the lord going to do his part vs.10.receive,find and open ?.

  have you been doing the same and for how long without getting a response?.

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  UpAndAtom

  JW's take phrases from the Bible very literally (as they are taught to do) and are ultimately dissapointed by their assumptions.

  I believe this phrase is just one of many where the point was completely missed... and in fact, will continue to be missed until a much deeper understanding of the scriptures is realized. I know everyone believes we understand them now - but I very much doubt this, despite the plain language and simple illustrations that Jesus used. I firmly believe that Jesus was talking down to us (at the time) in order to help change our thought processes in preparation for the actual truth which at the time would've been difficult to comprehend for the lay person... or at the very least, comprehended but not believed or followed. I don't believe there is any miracle that Jesus could've accomplished that would've changed the free will and desires of every man and woman at the time - he realized it and didn't fight it. Just went with the flow... having confidence that he was working to a different time table than us.

  I don't expect the scriptures to be fully understood by the masses until we are out of the dark ages... which I believe we are still firmly in. I feel we've regressed (not progressed) since Jesus' time. Perhaps in 20, 40 or 100 years time... passages like this will take on a different meaning... but I wouldn't want to set a date .
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  9

  How to Eders influence you?

  by UpAndAtom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am not a jw (never have been)... and am curious by the "10 hrs" i see posted from time to time.. does an elder pull you aside and say, "i see you've only done 9 hours, so i will revoke your status of ____?

  " do they actually have an scripture reason for insisting on logging hours?

  they must have some kind of reason that makes sence, otherwise you could just turn around and say, "two hours is enough - it's the quality, not the quantity" or can't you talk like this to an elder?

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  UpAndAtom

  I am not a JW (never have been)... and am curious by the "10 hrs" I see posted from time to time.

  Does an elder pull you aside and say, "I see you've only done 9 hours, so I will revoke your status of ____?" Do they actually have an scripture reason for insisting on logging hours? They must have some kind of reason that makes sence, otherwise you could just turn around and say, "Two hours is enough - it's the quality, not the quantity" Or can't you talk like this to an elder?
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  28

  Will you ever meet God or Jesus?

  by freedom96 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know this is bound to open up a lot of topics here, especially those who want to make clear their opinion that god does not exist.. that being said, this is for those who do believe in god.. .

  do you believe in a heaven, and if so, when you get there, in your opinion, will you ever personally walk up to god or jesus and talk to them face to face?.

  as i left the witnesses, i have gotten a better understanding of the bible, and my personal belief is that we do have a heavenly hope.

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  UpAndAtom

  Despite having a dead body - you may find that you perceive you are in fact alive (and still with human desires if not careful)... and thus will face the exact same question when your body dies, with the very real possibility that you still won't get an answer then either.

  Have you ever considered the possibility that when God created your soul, you actually did see him face to face - but rather than spend time with him - you choose for your soul to enter an human form on earth instead... and now yearn to return like the prodigal son. Note: Dubs believe human form is a soul - another form of warped reasoning that keeps them in the spritiual dark ages I'm afraid.

  You don't become a soul - you are a soul.

  Why wait until your body dies to see him? Your spirit is not dead now... it won't be dead when your body dies. So the real question is why are you not seeing him now? Selfish human desires is my problem. Thinking that I know what's best for me and others... then essence of being human... the essence of not wanting to talk face to face with God.
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  11

  Anyone lost or nearly lost a loved one because of the WTS's blood rules?

  by BLISSISIGNORANCE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the reason i ask this question is because when i became a jw i had 3 little children who relied on me for everything, including making the right medical decisions for them.. it really terrifies me when i think back to that time because i was so committed (i should have been actually) that i use to send my kids to school with the 'no blood' card hanging around their necks...........omg.

  i also filled in all their medical forms with 'no blood' in the 'special instructions' box.. well, since then, many bad things have happened to me and my family at the hands of the borg and individual dubs.

  also, many other things have come to light (not their light) that has proven the wts wrong and dangerous.

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  UpAndAtom

  I knew (step-family) that almost died as a result of the blood issue. Really stupid too. This poor woman was on the brink of death, and all the congregation could talk about was, "What's her blood pressure?" On the one hand they didn't want her to die, but on the other they did everything possible to make sure she stayed in the danger area, and to provide her with false comfort. She didn't want to die, but somehow I got the feeling the congregation could go either way on the issue. I didn't feel any love in the air.

  Their God is someone to FEAR... I didn't once feel it was a loving God of mercy and forgivness. This fearful attitude is just absolutely crazy! They are constantly fearful, worried... just as you still seem to be... and why? Because they have conditioned you to think in this manner. This is what they want. Fear of the world, fear of the consequences, fear of not doing the right thing!

  Fear is what holds people back from realising their true potential. There's a motto some successful people live by, it's called "Fail-Fast-Forward" It means, don't be afraid of making mistakes. If you fail, make sure you fail fast, so that you can move forward quickly and go onto the next thing to fix (or fail). The important thing is moving forward.

  JW's don't move forward. They are fearful of making mistakes. When they fail, they justify the failure in a theocratic light. After this... it just becomes a quagmire of rules and regulations to prevent further problems. It's just so weird, it's just wrong. Your worry about past actions is only evidence that you value truth higher than the men in that place do. Get out while you can. You will fail, you will make mistakes, but you should be prepared to make these mistakes today (or tomorrow, and not next year), in that way, you can fix them, then move forward. If you God really does love you - don't you think he would help you?
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  31

  I may be beating this to death, but this is just stupid.

  by shamus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, it's not like everyone knows that the jw dating website has like a 10 page thread here, but this response that i just got is absolutley horrible.

  i just can't believe that this "witness" wrote this to me!

  i will quote her response to me........ i see you changed your profile from a few days.

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  UpAndAtom

  How many people out there in the world, especially on the internet, hide what they are?

  I used to study with an author of Awake articles in Australia who's been caught out (by my partner) of dubious business practices...

  My point is... he hides what he does; and them feeds the flock spiritual food.

  I'm not saying that the spiritual food he feeds is neccessarily bad - but that's my point. Sure he's got some things in his life that he wants to hide - but that does not mean he's rotten to the core.... and neither is the Internet.

  Writing Internet articles - Writing Awake articles - What's the difference!? None.
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  31

  If JC really came back today

  by smack in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if he came to earth, how would he be greeted.

  locked up as insane?

  strung up by the current leaders of christendom?

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  UpAndAtom

  It's funny that you ask this question, because funny enough, Jesus himself once asked this very same question - about himself no less!

  In Mathew 16:13 He asks "Who do they say I am?"

  Some answered that they thought he was the prophets of old (Elijah, etc.). Now... why would people think that a prophet that has been dead some 500 years, be suddenly walking amongst them? Obviously the idea of reincarnation was not foreign to the people of the time.

  At this time, Jesus confirmed that he was Christ... and at no time rebuked the idea that he once might have been Elijah.

  I think the real question is not what if Jesus came back today... but rather, Would we recognise the Christ if he came back?
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  14

  Good Comebacks!

  by UpAndAtom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've got a great one line comeback that i would like to share... and was wondering if there are any other short but sweet ones to battle the rhetoric.. background:.

  my dub brother mentions that my sponsoring of children in 3rd world countries doesn't really save their soul, as only spiritual food can truely save them.

  to which i then reply,.

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  UpAndAtom

  I've got a great one line comeback that I would like to share... and was wondering if there are any other short but sweet ones to battle the rhetoric.

  Background:
  My Dub Brother mentions that my sponsoring of children in 3rd world countries doesn't really save their soul, as only spiritual food can truely save them. To which I then reply,

  "Well... I'll keep them alive long enough, until you can save them!"

  He shuts up after that.
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  20

  Are JW's getting lazy?

  by jwbot in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so, my s/o found a watchtower stuffed in our door, you know, the usual nobody-is-home-gotta-get-rid-of-these-things type deal.

  we didn't even hear the knocking on the door.

  (oh the joys of sleeping in on a saturday morning-no field service!).

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  UpAndAtom

  They are not getting lazy. I've heard that they have been encouraged to offload surplus (and old) material. I can't remember the reasoning behind this... but I'm sure there was a reason.
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  37

  Next New Light??? Heaven's Doors Closed in 1935

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the persistent passage of time has forced the borg to literally redefine the word "generation" to suit their needs (it now means any group of people within a span of time that can go on indefinitely).

  i'm starting to get the impression that they are going to have to do something with the 8000 or so people who insist on partaking of the emblems every year, thereby identifying themselves as "anointed" and heaven bound.

  in recent years they have tried to discourage people from partaking by emphasizing that they could be crazy or diluted or puffed up with pride if they partook (don't ya just love my jw speak!?!?

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  UpAndAtom

  very insightful funkyderek... you are obviously qualified to write for the WT and Awake.