Comments You Will Not Hear at the 5-2-04 WT Study (3-15-04)

by blondie 38 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  heathen

  blondie--- I wasn't a long timer , I didn't make it past the first 6months . I do think the TMS is a long and boring meeting where people are forced to learn public speaking and are graded on their performance by the elders . Good God I even remember having to come up with one of those 5 minute talks about a scripture of their choosing , what a friggen nightmare and waste of time . Personally I think the thing oughta be more focused on learning the bible cover to cover like in a classroom or something . I just can't stand the way that it is just another requirement to be accepted in the church .

  cygnus--- I'm surprised you can't see the subtle way the WTBTS is replacing the word publisher with proclaimer .
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  blondie

  Okay, Porkchop. Actually the whole article was lame. I found the guilt trip for the elders surprising. Usually, the WTS blames the rank and file. I know from inside information that more and more elders are not "setting a good example." They talk the talk but don't walk the walk, in increasing numbers.

  Heathen, you missed nothing. But if you had a good elder in charge of the school, and had frequent assignments, the school could actually be the only place a JW would learn something that they could use when they left the WTS. I am a fairly good speaker and teacher because of what I learned. Even in high school, my skills learned at the KH were noted and acknowledged.

  Cygnus, I hope your recovery from your heart surgery is progressing well. My husband was taken off the transplant list. His last checkup with rehab was excellent.

  Blondie
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  jgnat

  I agree, Blondie, that the WT articles carefully chose their wording to set a mood or direction for the congregation.

  This week I focused on the directed language that instructs Jehovah's Witnesses how to feel.

  ..privelege...five times, three in the first paragraph
  ...joyous...cherish...whole-hearted devotion...great joy and zeal...delighted...rewarding...keen interest...cherish our treasure of service....
  Question 5: How should we feel about the ministry?

  Having suffered under the thumb of an abuser, I refuse to allow anybody to tell me how to feel. My emotions are my own, I should not deny them, even to myself. I delight in my Lord, and when the opportunity is right, I am not shy about saying so. If door-to-door work is drudgery, however, I have the right to feel that way.

  Most ironic were paragraphs 6 and 7 where the article claims that Jehovah's Witnesses today are reflecting God's glory, "all of us,...with unveiled faces reflect like mirrors the glory of Jehovah." (2 Corinthians 3:6-8, 14-18; Exodus 34:29-35). I would say the mirror is dulled, as man tends to do, with the peculiar pet docrines of the WTBTS. Scriptures do have power, but after the WT article is done with them, their power loaded down with dusty words. Personal testimony is reduced to a time-card.

  This mirror scripture has always been a favorite of mine, and I ponder it often. I believe facing God is very much like facing a mirror to my own soul. All my faults become obvious in His light. The only honest way to deal with the truth about myself is to make changes. As I do so, I reflect His glory better.
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  Blueblades

  Thanks Blondie! Now I will wait and see how many from my congregation will I see out in the field service.At our congregation, we use to meet up in the front of the hall after the WT.study to go out in service.After today's lesson , I wonder how many will go up front.

  When the CO. visits a large group would form up front, after he leaves only a small number would.Most would head for the exit right after the meeting.

  It's been two years since we have been inactive and no one has knocked on our door and we have not seen anyone from our congregation working the territory.

  It's good to hear that your husband is off the transplant list and is doing well.

  Blueblades
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  heathen

  jgnat--- I thought the way the article used the mirror metaphor was just another nice way of saying you are a sock puppet of the WTBTS . Without the lite from the org . you have nothing to reflect and are in spiritual darkness. Once again I don't see any signs of humility . Here are some scriptures that mention mirror metaphors 1cor.13:12 and james 1:23. I think the one in 1st corinthians is the apostle Paul saying that he cannot see things clearly and as we know alot of what Paul wrote was a matter of personal opinion . Faith , hope and love were the 3 most important things .vrs.13. I think the WTBTS could learn alot from james 2 where it states not to be so anal over what someone is wearing . They seem to have alot of man made rules that are being held up as spirit direction.
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  dustyb

  Blinking spiritual light that keeps being readjusted and clarified.

  maybe Jehovah's star is now a pulsar star and we can't see it yet, but they can =D
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  lurk

  Elders "who work hard in speaking
  and teaching" are noted by God and Christ, as well as by fellow
  Witnesses of Jehovah. (! Timothy 5:17, Ephesians 5:23; Hebrews

  get this job and get respectttttttttttttttttttt ,no more putting up with sister wisecracks

  Jesus patiently explalined things because he had a keen
  interest in others.?Matthew 16:5-12.

  the WT has an odd way of saying things..or is it just me that thinks this is odd?,it makes him sound like a do gooder or nosey neightbour ,when it was far easier to say he explained things patiently cause he wanted the crowds to understand what he ment .

  how gratifying it is when Bible students acknowledge that ?God is
  really among us?! 1 Corinthians 14:24,25)

  they could have quoted mathew 18:20..and had jesus amoung us.

  The apostle contrasts the new covenant made with spiritual
  Israel through Jesus Christ with the old Law covenant made
  with natural Israel through Moses. Paul adds that when Moses
  came down from Mount Sinai with the tablets containing the
  Ten Commandments, his face was so bright that the Israelites
  could not gaze intently at it. In time, though, something
  far more serious took place because "their mental powers wer
  e dulled" and a veil came to be upon their hearts.

  WTS law code is law for true christians
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  blondie

  Jgnat,

  Most ironic were paragraphs 6 and 7 where the article claims that Jehovah's Witnesses today are reflecting God's glory, " all of us,...with unveiled faces reflect like mirrors the glory of Jehovah." (2 Corinthians 3:6-8, 14-18; Exodus 34:29-35 ).

  Actually, jgnat, this feeds right why I finally stopped going. The love of God was not reflected at the KH.

  Blueblades

  When the CO. visits a large group would form up front, after he leaves only a small number would.Most would head for the exit right after the meeting.

  I can remember how the would browbeat the congregation about going out on Sunday after the meeting. Then the elder in charge would consider the day?s text, form car groups, and take off to do his thing without going with the people who met. It was no wonder the turn out was low when they say such an example.

  Heathen,

  They seem to have alot of man made rules that are being held up as spirit direction.

  You think so? (smile)

  Dustyb,

  After reading the 4 Presidents, I can see how Proverbs 4:18 has been CYAing the WTS from the beginning.

  maybe Jehovah's star is now a pulsar star

  lurk,

  the WT has an odd way of saying things

  that?s the "pure language" for you.

  Blondie
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  cyberguy

  "Referring to anointed Christians , Paul says that God has "adequately qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant."

  I found this statement to be very revealing! How can the "other sheep" be "ministers of a new covenant" when they are not in it? More double-talk!