Posts by UpAndAtom

24

How to change 1914

by Bendrr in

chances are this post will find it's way to the eyes of the spies in brooklyn but what the hell.

i'm here to help, even if it means sending a crate of ammo to the enemy.. as a rule i stay out of discussions of the empire's doctrinal issues.

not that i don't read them, i just usually don't have anything to add.

I personally believe we are in the period known as the "first resurrection" ala Revelations, and that this started somewhere in the 1800's with the advent of major technological breakthroughs (some breakthroughs still unheard of even unto this day - ala my picture). It may even be possible that we are still in this first resurrection, even today. Although I'm starting to think it's a transition period. It's a bit hard to see at present.

I am now eagerly looking forward to the second resurrection, which I believe may have started 3-4 years ago in a small village in Taiwan. A little boy born into poverty currently exhibits amazing powers, the likes of which have not been seen since the 1890's. To be fair, I believe this little boy is only the tip of a very large ice-berg which may not manifest itself to the masses for many long years (ie. 20 years... 60?). It's entirely possible this little boy will grow out-of his powers, but I am still very excited indeed - for I see the tip of an iceberg emerging.

I'm not going into specifics due to some *very* specific advice given in the bible regarding such knowledge.
"Seek for truth like buried treasure" - "Knock and it shall be opened". These are not just nice little sayings that tell you to keep looking under the same rock for knowledge. They underlie a very powerful truth about personal growth and achievement. Sometime I can't do for you... no matter how much I want to.

I think the greatest problem with 1914 is the backwards focus it gives all Jehovah's Witnesses... not only when they are JW's, but also when they leave. If you want to focus on any teachings, then Revelations is my preferred choice, as well as the verses immediately before the famous John 3:16.

38

Have you ever honestly had Jehovah ansure your prayer?

by Singing Man in

yes have you ever honestly, had jehovah ansure your prayer in a way that told you it was from him and not some trick of a wanting heart?

UpAndAtom

I have a question for you, and all non-believers. I am quite surprised to see so many here!

When you go to the Doctor for an aliment, and he prescribes a medicine you have never had before, Do you take it? Does it not take a leap of faith to believe the medicine will actually help you, and not cause you to have an allergic reaction and suffer because of it. It's a sad fact that Medicine kills more people every six months than died in the Vietnam War.

Most people take medicine with blind faith. They don't even consider the imbalance the medicine may cause to their bodies, nor to they consider potential damage done to the kidney's, liver or acidity/alkaline problems to the intestines. So next time a Doctor prescribes you an anti-biotic, will you first look up it's side-effects on the Internet, or will you take a leap of faith in mankind, when you are not prepared to take the same leap of faith in God?

Have you ever heard the story about Desert Pete, a song popularized by the Kingston Trio?

The song is about a dusty well, a bottle of water, and a note written by the mysterious "Desert Pete". A man is lost in the desert without water and stumbles onto an old water pump. He tries the pump but it produces no water. Discouraged he sits under a tree and much to his surprise sees a full bottle of water with a note attached. The note is from "Desert Pete" and explains the bottle of water is for priming the pump. All one has to do is pour it into the dusty pump, then you can have all the water you want! Of course, the man is torn. He wants desperately to drink the water in his hand rather than pour it down a pump that may be dry as a bone, but he finally chooses to take a leap of faith and pours every last drop down the well. He succeeds in pumping water and drinks all he wants, leaving a full bottle of water (with note attached) for the next traveller.

We all get a spiritual thirst at times, and all I can say is, "Give God a go." Take a leap of faith once in a while. Also, it wouldn't hurt to drop the attitude of only believing in God if he gives you a million bucks. He owes you nothing, and in fact the reverse may be true.

In answer to your question, Yes. I asked, I received and I was left in no doubt.

Having said that, my proof, was not your proof... and ultimately you must take a leap of faith to believe what I said to be true.

If you don't believe me (or Jesus) in discussions about Earthly matters, how then will you comprehend Heavenly matters?

8

Where does it state in the bible when/if the government will turn on jws.

by Frantic in

my jw friend informs me, the un will turn on all religion (the jws first).

does this have truth to it, or is it all speculation and hearsay?

i say this because he believes the government will turn on all organised religion sooner rather than later.. .

UpAndAtom

Every religion has its own interpretation, with the crackpots leading the way.

Well consider me a crackpot, but the book of Revelation is talking about the individual, and not entire nations (as is commonly believed). Use your word processor to replace all occurances of the following words in the Book of Revelations. You'd be surprised how much more sence it makes!

Replace " seven plagues" with "seven trials in which the soul may overcome its karma"
(Generally speaking "plagues" are "trials", not punishments.)

Replace " anger of God" with "karmic consequences"

Replace "sea" with "self-will" (makes all those WT illustrations seem pretty stupid really!!! Totally lost the plot they have)

Replace "wild beast" with "animalistic behaviour" (a major theme I'm afraid.. but all too true)

Replace "image" with "effects" (ala 'the wild beast')

Replace "number of it's name" with "natural humanity as opposed to evolved humanity" (this'll get your brian humming)

Replace "lamb" with "Christ Consciousness" (an easy one)

Replace "Earth" with "Physical Body"... or "Self Will"
(Generally speaking, the Earth means the individual in some way... not the planet)

I have more, but this is enough for now... Does anyone have any others? Please PM if you do.. I really am decoding it slowly)

59

What do you belive happens to us after we die?

by Singing Man in

jw
friends

i was raised a jehovah's witness and like most are aware, they presently belive that by and large everyone who dies ceases to exist.

i accepted this fate for most of my life and i guess i still do for the most part, but now that i do not go to the meetings what am i to accept death to be, as i will die as well as my friends and family at some point.

i think that idea of being in gods memory made sense to me as i have excepted it for forty five of my fifty years of being alive.

UpAndAtom

Anyway does anyone have some good resonable ideas as to what happens to us after we die?

The answer has been staring you in the face for years, but you have been blind to it. Here's a few quotes from your own JW Bible.

I suppose it starts with the fact, that your soul has never really died?

*** Rbi8 Proverbs 8:22 *** 22 ?Jehovah himself produced me as the beginning of his way, the earliest of his achievements of long ago.

Translation: You were mostly likely there too... right at the beginning when God created the heavens and the Earth. The above scripture is usually attributed to Jesus, but the text does not imply this.

*** Rbi8 Matthew 10:28 *** 28 And do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Ge·hen'na.

Translation: Your body dies - your soul does not (unless God decides to take it back.... I think you'd have to be a real hard-core bad-dude for this to happen, since God also makes the Sun shine on sinners, just as he does nice people.)

*** Rbi8 John 9:1-2 *** 9 Now as he was passing along he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him: ?Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, so that he was born blind?

Translation: Jesus's disciples were fully aware of the cycle of rebirth of a soul when they asked Jesus the question above. They assumed (correctly) that the man had lived before, and this was yet another one of his lives. Jesus never once rebuked them for this thought, but did caution them against drawing incorrect conclusions about the laws of cause and effect, karma and grace.

*** Rbi8 Matthew 17:10-13 *** 10 However, the disciples put the question to him: ?Why, then, do the scribes say that E·li'jah must come first?? 11 In reply he said: ?E·li'jah, indeed, is coming and will restore all things. 12 However, I say to YOU that E·li'jah has already come and they did not recognize him but did with him the things they wanted. In this way also the Son of man is destined to suffer at their hands.? 13 Then the disciples perceived that he spoke to them about John the Baptist.

Question for reader: What thought process caused the disciples to induce that John the Baptist was once the soul known as Elijah? Note, that Jesus did not teach the disciples this concept in the above statement, the disciples were already able to draw the correct conclusion to Jesus' statement!!!

*** Rbi8 John 3:5 *** Jesus answered: ?Most truly I say to you, Unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Translation: Your body will die (your soul will not), and you will be reborn again (and again, and again)... but it is far more important to concentrate of why you are reborn. Also note: Nicode'mus understood Jesus, but did not believe him, Jesus rebuked him for this.

The answer to your question lies in the Bible, not the WatchTower or Awake magazines. Throw them out, or start a fire!

37

Will The Brothers and Sisters Marry and Have Children in The New System?

by AwakenedAndFree in

i have a question for active elders, ex-elders and other bible experts regarding the following topic:.

will the brothers and sisters marry and have children in the new system?.

according to the watchtower, yes .

UpAndAtom

Adam and Eve represented a new phase in creation, that of a simplification of the sexes, due to the complexities that Sons of the true God were creating as per Genesis 6. Adam and Eve were the first official symbols of the division between the sexes, prior to Adam and Eve this was not neccessarily the case. Instead of the new system being sexless... there may in fact be multiple options, such as the ability to change your sex from male to female and back again (such as some frog do, and Clown Fish do (the Finding Nemo movie)). However, with greater range of sexual options, Mankind will again face an age-old problem that haunted the men of Genesis 6 should they take wives in the new system... or have not any lessons been learnt? If not, history of several thousand years gone, will repeat itself in the new system. I am confident we will be given choices... just as we were before.

37

Will The Brothers and Sisters Marry and Have Children in The New System?

by AwakenedAndFree in

i have a question for active elders, ex-elders and other bible experts regarding the following topic:.

will the brothers and sisters marry and have children in the new system?.

according to the watchtower, yes .

UpAndAtom

The scriptues you quoted are actually very closely related to Genesis 6.

?sons of the [true] God began to notice the daughters of men, that they were good-looking; and they went taking wives for themselves?

This was a major turning point in spiritual and physical evolution for mankind in general, and that Jesus in later times was actually referring to this time, before sons of the true God took wives at all. Also of important note, is the negative light in which taking wives is indicated. It was never desirably at all, and was the result of lustful feelings. I have only scratched the surface of what Jesus was really alluding too.

52

What did you day dream about at assemblies?

by lastcall in

jw
friends

as a kid i would try to pay attention, but i just couldn't hang in there.

if i didn't day dream i was going to go insane.. i used to create scenarios in my mind that i was a jw super hero.

i had a special costume that was partially made of "flubber" that would allow me to bounce all over the auditorium.

UpAndAtom

I would have never let those Nazi bastards hurt you, I would have bounced all over there asses!

LOL Best laugh I've had on these boards ever!

54

my heart hurts.

by flower in

well i have been feeling a bit like crap lately.

work has been very stressful and my attempts to make new friends outside of the jw's have been mostly futile.

the people i work with are immature and are more interested in the latest office gossip and whose doing what than anything else.

UpAndAtom

I dont believe in God for the most part. But at times like this I have to wonder if I have truly pissed God off from a very young age and have been doomed to live out this existance as a punishment.

God is love, mercy and forgiveness, not punishment. Jesus is the good Shepard and loves and takes care of his flock. If you are feeling lost, you need only call on him for help. He can hardly help you, if you do not seek it.

Imagine this, Jesus the loving and good Shepard is watching over his flock. A little lamb (ie. you) wanders off and gets into trouble.. soon you find yourself alone, scared and unsure of where your future is. When Jesus hears your bleats for help he leaves the 99 sheep that have not wandered anywhere, and comes looking for you.

This parable as told in the Bible, is a loving story. On the other hand, the Jehovah's Witnesses would have you believe that it's the responsibility of the little lamb to find the Shepard, however this is not what scripture teaches. If you listen to the Jehovah's Witnesses too much, they'll have you believing that the good Shepard carries a double-barrel shotgun, and will shoot wayward sheep on sight!

I believe very strongly that you are a lost sheep. I believe you were lost from the day you were born and you don't know why. I believe you will be lost until the day you die - unless you do something about it - anything, but please do something. I suggest moving to another state, getting a new job and helping those people less fortunate than yourself (even if you just sponsor a single child in a 3rd world country), and most importantly treat other people as you would like to be treated. I sence something about you... pm me to find out more.

17

Ozzie's Weekend Poll #71

by ozziepost in

jw
friends

well, we're a bit early this weekend, but the weekend is already in full swing downunder and, besides, i thought we should go to air to take our minds off other things!.

so, what are you doing this weekend?

mrs ozzie and i are going to join our navy friends for a dip and a sauna, followed by a bbq, washed down with............................tiger beer!!!!!

UpAndAtom

Avoid them (and would never hire another one either!)

55

11/1/03 Watchtower: an open plea for more donations

by paterfamilias in

i just read in the 11/1/03 wt an article entitled cultivate a giving spirit.

never have i seen the society so unashamedly extend its hands in search of more money.

i'm going to let the article speak for itself.

UpAndAtom

Scam artists get more desperate, the closer they get to being exposed! A quick grab for cash before the ship sinks. This is typical human behaviour, even for the more civilized amongst us.