donny

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Posts by donny

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  12

  What is the latest New Light?

  by kozmo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  please bear with me here.

  it's been some time since i accessed the forum and 8 years since i really read any of the wts pubs or attended any meetings.

  so, in a nutshell, if someone will indulge me, what's the latest twists the wts has come up with on their doctrines, teachings, etc?.

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  donny

  The latest is LED technology if I am not mistaken. It's hard to believe that the florescent was so short lived.
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  4

  Swimming and Swimmin' mean two different things ?????

  by wasblind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  people can look stupid trynna be so politically correct.

  reminds of of people who walk around lookin' for lint to pick off clothes.

  damn nit pickers.

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  donny

  I agree that was a dumb decision. I have heard worse accents before. I once heard a woman of Geman/Austrian decent say "The Vashington Monument" and she was ok. Makes you wonder that if it had been any other accent other than a Southern one, would they have done the same.
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  14

  The Best of Both Worlds

  by donny in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  no, i am not quoting the title of van halens greatest hits cd.. it is a statement of how successful the society has been in molding their "faithful and discreet slave" concept of total trustworthiness.. on one hand they deny that the faithful and discreet slave are infallible when it comes to revealing the words and commandments of god.

  they have no position of "ex cathedra" as the pope claims to possess.

  therefore they can "sometimes" be overzealous or have a misunderstanding on a matter.. however on the other hand they claim that these occasional missteps are very few and far between therefore we should award them the honor of trusting them to be the sole channel of gods communiques.. this came to mind because of a jw that i work with made this comment.

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  donny

  No, I am not quoting the title of Van Halens greatest hits CD.

  It is a statement of how successful the Society has been in molding their "Faithful and Discreet Slave" concept of total trustworthiness.

  On one hand they deny that the Faithful and Discreet Slave are infallible when it comes to revealing the words and commandments of God. They have no position of "ex cathedra" as the Pope claims to possess. Therefore they can "sometimes" be overzealous or have a misunderstanding on a matter.

  However on the other hand they claim that these occasional missteps are very few and far between therefore we should award them the honor of trusting them to be the sole channel of Gods communiqués.

  This came to mind because of a JW that I work with made this comment. "I trust the slave to be the mouthpiece of God because there is nothing better out there."

  I asked him "have you really looked at any other alternatives?"

  He replied "No and I don't need to, they have proven themselves to me."

  "And how have they done that? I queried.

  "By diligent prayer and study of God word. I know that sounds silly to you, but it works wonders for me."

  When I asked him if he had any issue with the Faithful and Discreet Slave claiming the best of both worlds in regards to infallibility he replied "Yeah I know on the surface it seems absurd, but being that we are imperfect beings, there is no other way for it to work."

  "But cannot God pass on infallible information?"

  "Yes, he can and does, but it is imperfect man who must make sense of that information."

  "So if he passes on infallible information and the Faithful and Discreet Slave misunderstand it and pass that wrong interpretation to his sheep then that is acceptable?"

  "Yes it is because as I said a minute ago, we are imperfect and there is no other way for it to work."

  "So the Faithful and Discreet Slave have the best of both worlds of infallibility / fallibility when it comes to speaking for God."

  "Yes they do. Being true servants of God brings advantages not afforded to Christendom." (I hadn't heard that word in a while)

  "Well that must be nice."

  "It is and you should start attending meetings again so you can reacquaint yourself of that truth."

  That is an offer I will have to pass up. Although I was part of that organization for many years, it now sounds funny to me to hear such rationalization of a matter. How many other religions can so successfully claim the best of both worlds?
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  7

  It's not your lifestyle that gets you shunned, it's your label.

  by donny in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a coworker of mine who is married to a jw and i were sitting at break and he asked me why is it that jw's don't shun you for your lifestyle instead of a label they paste upon you.

  i kind of knew what he meant but i asked him for some details.

  he went on to explain the situation of one of his in-laws.. this 3rd generation jw person has 3 kids all of whom were baptized as teenagers.

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  donny

  I told the co-worker that he hit the nail on the head. It's all about control and manipulation and nothing to do with keeping the congregation "clean."
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  7

  It's not your lifestyle that gets you shunned, it's your label.

  by donny in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a coworker of mine who is married to a jw and i were sitting at break and he asked me why is it that jw's don't shun you for your lifestyle instead of a label they paste upon you.

  i kind of knew what he meant but i asked him for some details.

  he went on to explain the situation of one of his in-laws.. this 3rd generation jw person has 3 kids all of whom were baptized as teenagers.

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  donny

  I can inmagine it. I have felt the same type of mentality in my sojourn through the Watchtower.
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  7

  It's not your lifestyle that gets you shunned, it's your label.

  by donny in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a coworker of mine who is married to a jw and i were sitting at break and he asked me why is it that jw's don't shun you for your lifestyle instead of a label they paste upon you.

  i kind of knew what he meant but i asked him for some details.

  he went on to explain the situation of one of his in-laws.. this 3rd generation jw person has 3 kids all of whom were baptized as teenagers.

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  donny

  A coworker of mine who is married to a JW and I were sitting at break and he asked me why is it that JW's don't shun you for your lifestyle instead of a label they paste upon you. I kind of knew what he meant but I asked him for some details. He went on to explain the situation of one of his in-laws.

  This 3rd generation JW person has 3 kids all of whom were baptized as teenagers. (All are in their mid to late 20's now)

  Kid #1 was disfellowshipped 5 years ago for having sex with his fiance a week before the wedding. He has been married to this same girl since then and is doing well for himself but he has made no real attempt to get reinstated but has no real conflicts with his parents beliefs.

  Kid #2 married a JW when she was 18, divorced him at 20 and pretty much quit attending meetings except for the occasional assembly or memorial. She married a Marine at 22 and he died in combat 11 months later. About 6 months later she took up living with a boy she knew in school and has fathered a kid with him. She has no interest in her childhood faith.

  Kid #3 has never married and pretty much took the college and career path. She is doing quite well and declares herself to be agnostic and says religion is mostly a pile of steaming B.S., especially the JW's.

  When this in-law's wife had a large "gathering" at their family home recently for a fellow members baby shower, all three kids were at the house. People freely chatted with the kids 2 and 3 but shunned kid #1.

  This non-JW co-worker said this didn't make any f****in sense to him at all. He said "They are not shunning someone like they did in the bible. The bible says to quit fellowshipping with someone who is a believer and is practicing or living an immoral lifestyle. While I am not a believer, I can understand what that bible citation is saying. My nephew made one mistake and has since lived, according to their teachings, a clean lifestyle.

  "My two nieces have and continue to practice what their teachings state is a reason to shun someone, yet they have free access to roam and chat with other JW's. So it is obvious to me that you are not shunned for your lifestyle, instead you are shunned for your label which is assigned to you by the elders. And they really think that I would join such a religion that practices such an obvious error in practice?"

  So this non JW fellow can clearly see the obvious. It is not about lifestyle that makes you "bad", it's about what label you are assigned from the ones in charge of label assignment.

  D
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  46

  THIS MAN proved that God exists and he did it effortlessly!

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  meet a really smart fellow named anselm 1043--1109 a.d.. .

  he was elected abbot in lombardy in 1078 a.d.. .

  that than which nothing greater can be thought exists in the understanding.

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  donny

  Just for clarification,

  Atheism and Agnosticism are not mutually exclusive. Atheism states what one believes, Agnosticism states what one knows. I am an agnostic atheist. I do not believe in any supreme being but I do not and cannot assert that there is no such entity.

  Some are Agnostic Theists which believe there is a deity but do not claim to know who or what it is, much like deism.

  A Gnostic atheist is one that both does not believe and claims to know there is nothing beyond the physical realm.
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  57

  What rumors have you heard about yourself since leaving?

  by donny in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  good morning all,.

  i have had the opportunity over the last couple of years to speak with a couple of jw's who had either attended the same congregation i did or were married to someone who to the same one.

  for the record, i disassociated myself in 1992 due to being followed around by an elder or two who had heard that i had ray franz's "crisis of conscience" in my possession.

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  donny

  Great responses all! I had a great laugh reading some of your accounts.

  @ NewChapter - They no longer announce DA's or DF's? How does the congregation know to shun you?
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  57

  What rumors have you heard about yourself since leaving?

  by donny in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  good morning all,.

  i have had the opportunity over the last couple of years to speak with a couple of jw's who had either attended the same congregation i did or were married to someone who to the same one.

  for the record, i disassociated myself in 1992 due to being followed around by an elder or two who had heard that i had ray franz's "crisis of conscience" in my possession.

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  donny

  I also was told that I wanted to run for state office so I could submit a bill to outlaw the Society which would make me help fulfill a bible prophecy. That really was funny.
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  57

  What rumors have you heard about yourself since leaving?

  by donny in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  good morning all,.

  i have had the opportunity over the last couple of years to speak with a couple of jw's who had either attended the same congregation i did or were married to someone who to the same one.

  for the record, i disassociated myself in 1992 due to being followed around by an elder or two who had heard that i had ray franz's "crisis of conscience" in my possession.

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  donny

  Good morning all,

  I have had the opportunity over the last couple of years to speak with a couple of JW's who had either attended the same congregation I did or were married to someone who to the same one. For the record, I disassociated myself in 1992 due to being followed around by an elder or two who had heard that I had Ray Franz's "Crisis of Conscience" in my possession.

  Here is what I have been told.

  1. I forced my family to sit in a locked room while I read aloud apostate propaganda.

  2. I decided that visiting gentlemen’s clubs and other places of ill repute were more important than serving Jehovah. (for the record, I have visited a gentlemen'c club 3 times in my life)

  3. I wanted to start my own religion so I could control folks.

  4. A demon entered me causing me to have urges to hurt or kill Jehovah's people.

  I found these quite humorous and it just reminded me how the JW gossip machine gets going once someone leaves or is disfellowshipped.

  What rumors have you heard about yourself since your enlightenment?

  Donny