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8

What is the Special talk on?????????

by JT in

jw
friends

for those of you who still swing by the hall from time to time.

what is the special talk on this year?.

thanks

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Hi JT,

It's on a topic that the Society has NEVER covered before!

"Keep Close in Mind the 'Fear-Inspiring Day'!"

If you visit the Watchtower Observer site, you can read the full talk outline.

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1

Dear Prudie comments on JWs (?)

by comment in

jw
friends

i think it's pretty safe to assume that the letter-writer is referring to jws, unless it's mormons.

i liked the sentence in the response that begins: "it has always interested prudie...".

http://slate.msn.com/?id=2063825.

From slate.msn.com. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the letter-writer is referring to JWs, unless it's Mormons. I liked the sentence in the response that begins: "It has always interested Prudie..."

http://slate.msn.com/?id=2063825

Dear Prudence,
My question is simple: How do I politely but firmly put an end to a certain pair of religious solicitors who visit my house every few months? I've tried being rude, truthful, and just plain lying to get them to leave. They keep showing up. I am very comfortable in my religious orientation and have tried using that angle as well. I know these people are pests to a lot more people than just me. I appreciate what they're trying to do, but they need to respect my wishes as well. What's up?

—Hiding From the Doorbell

Dear Hide,
Alas, the time has come for no more Mr. Nice Guy—or in your case, Mrs. It is hard to believe that the same pair of pushy clods continues to try their luck, but if this is the case, the next time they ring your bell, try one of the following. If you see them from the window, ignore the bell. If you open the door, tell them they have very poor memories—then close the door. If they hound you some more, call the police and inform them that unwelcome solicitors are disturbing your peace and trespassing. It has always interested Prudie, who has dealt with these pests herself, that their hierarchy has not figured out that for every person willing to listen to a front-door spiel, probably a hundred are annoyed. Religion is not something to be sold door-to-door. Fuller brushes are.

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Calgary JW girl seeks non-transfusion treatment

by comment in

here's the full story, published march 26: .

http://www.canoe.ca/cnewslaw0203/26_transfusion-sun.html.

transfusion girl: i want the best treatment.

comment

Here's the full story, published March 26:

http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSLaw0203/26_transfusion-sun.html

Transfusion girl: I want the best treatment

By MELISSA RIDGEN-- Sun Media

CALGARY -- A 16-year-old leukemia patient who has been ordered by the court to undergo blood transfusions, spoke out for the first time yesterday saying she wants the treatments stopped in favour of a different treatment offered in the U.S. which doesn't go against her religious beliefs.

The girl -- who is now a ward of the province and cannot be named -- wants to go to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles where a doctor has offered her a treatment option that won't compromise her beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness.

"Not only is it better for me mentally with my religious beliefs, but I would be respected and treated with dignity as a person and I would be given better medical treatment," she said from her room at the Alberta Children's Hospital yesterday, where her lawyer said she has been restrained and forced to undergo treatment she doesn't want.

"I just want the best treatment for my leukemia and if that's at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre then that's where I want to be."

It will be up to the court to decide whether she goes to L.A., and it isn't known how treatments there would be paid for.

The girl was diagnosed in mid-February with acute myloid leukemia and after a court fight, she was ordered to undergo the life-saving blood transfusions, which her father supports but her mother does not.

[email protected]

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6

Good ol' dress, grooming and entertainment

by comment in

jw
friends

when did the phrase "dress, grooming and entertainment" become such a mantra for the watchtower society?.

this may just be my impression, but in the late 1970's and early 1980's, there didn't seem to be a part on every district convention and circuit assembly program about "dress, grooming and entertainment.

" but in the 1990's, there sure was.. even as a faithful witness, i started to find this emphasis a little embarrassing.. i mean, couldn't there be something more important to worry about?

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Xander,

You may have a point, in terms of their point of view. My feeling is that I would have stayed a Witness despite not having exactly the "correct" length of hair or taste in music or whatever, if I didn't know the things I know now.

But for someone who wants an easy source of blame for my "demise," I guess that would fit the bill.

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6

Good ol' dress, grooming and entertainment

by comment in

jw
friends

when did the phrase "dress, grooming and entertainment" become such a mantra for the watchtower society?.

this may just be my impression, but in the late 1970's and early 1980's, there didn't seem to be a part on every district convention and circuit assembly program about "dress, grooming and entertainment.

" but in the 1990's, there sure was.. even as a faithful witness, i started to find this emphasis a little embarrassing.. i mean, couldn't there be something more important to worry about?

comment

When did the phrase "dress, grooming and entertainment" become such a mantra for the Watchtower Society?

This may just be my impression, but in the late 1970's and early 1980's, there didn't seem to be a part on EVERY district convention and circuit assembly program about "dress, grooming and entertainment." But in the 1990's, there sure was.

Even as a faithful Witness, I started to find this emphasis a little embarrassing.

I mean, couldn't there be something more important to worry about? Couldn't we please have some more talks about environmental degradation or nuclear war?

You didn't see many people "falling out of the truth" as a direct result of their choices in "dress, grooming and entertainment."

Before the time when I had to quit associating, I attended every meeting and gave talks in the Theocratic Ministry School and Service Meeting, surpassed the congregation average in field service hours, and generally conducted myself as a model Witness.

I also owned some ripped clothing for daily living, wore my hair a little shaggy, and enjoyed listening to heavy metal.

And if I had not discovered all the problems with the Society's doctrines and policies, I would probably be carrying on just the same, whether it was the Hall or heavy metal.

To me, the emphasis on "dress, grooming and entertainment" is just another way for the Society to create guilt and control you. (You know, the sort of thing that Witnesses always ascribe to the Roman Catholic Church.)

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6

Do you make statements in the form of a question?

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

ever notice how the wts rarely ever makes a clear statement?

they tend to phrase things in the form of a question allowing the reader to infer the "correct" answer.. i wonder if this is to sidestep responsibility.. .

"as every one knows, there are mistakes in the bible" - the watchtower, april 15, 1928, p. 126 .

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Of course, there's another variation on this rhetorical tactic that the Society loves to use.

It's the one where they ask the question and then HOLLER something at you to tell you how to view the issue.

For instance:

"Do we ever doubt the value of Bible-based counsel from spirit-appointed elders? Never may that prove to be the case with us!"

Or:

"Did the first-century Christians shirk their responsibility of having a full share in the preaching work? Far from it!"

Is not such an approach loving, balanced and reasonable?

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140

Just As In the Days of Noah

by Farkel in

since the bible makes it clear that jesus believed in the scriptural account of the flood and since the evidence that a worldwide flood as described in that same scriptural account would have been virtually impossible, why should anyone trust jesus to be man's redeemer and the only begotten son of god?.

farkel

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I am sick and tired of apologists for the Bible who invoke the excuse, "It was written that way because it was more understandable to the people alive at the time, or because the language only had one word to describe a particular phenomenon."

Well, that's great to know. However, why doesn't this wonderful excuse hold true when others argue that prohibitions about the use of blood or homosexuality or whatever should be understood in context as local custom or prejudice of the time?

All of a sudden, in the mind of the same apologist, the Bible reverts to being this great universal text whose sacred prohibitions must be upheld with the same force in 2002 as they were in 20 AD.

What I want to know is: If God inspired the writing of the Bible as his message to ALL mankind, being a God of justice who "does not desire any to be destroyed" (2 Peter 3:9), why couldn't he arrange for these passages to be clear enough to be automatically understood the correct way by people living thousands of years later who are not fluent in ancient Hebrew?

Or couldn't God have picked another nation to be his chosen people if the Hebrews didn't have enough words in their language to make the Bible halfway clear?

There's obviously a huge communication gap if this was in fact some local flood but most people today still read the Bible and conclude that it's talking about a global Deluge.

I also have to roll my eyes at this particular explanation of why Noah and his family couldn't just have departed the region to be flooded:

"If Noah had relocated away from the area that was to be flooded he would have been unable to offer his neighbors a way to escape God's coming judgment nearly as long as he did."

Hmm. Maybe he could have told everybody, "There's going to be a flood here. That's why I'm moving. If you want to avoid the flood, you should move too."

He probably wouldn't have had any worse of a success ratio than he did with the method he chose to use, which resulted in the death of everyone but the eight members of his extended family.

I could go on and on about the logistics of loading the animals on the Ark, let alone all the people, but I won't.

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140

Just As In the Days of Noah

by Farkel in

since the bible makes it clear that jesus believed in the scriptural account of the flood and since the evidence that a worldwide flood as described in that same scriptural account would have been virtually impossible, why should anyone trust jesus to be man's redeemer and the only begotten son of god?.

farkel

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As always, the Bible itself must serve as our guide. That reliable, holy Book has stood the test of time.

Could there be a lack of harmony between the views of God's Son, Jesus, and the inspired Scriptural account of the Flood? Far from it! The Bible's perfect consistency is renowned with good reason. And the Scriptures contain all we need to know on any given subject.

So for clarification, let us consult the record in Genesis 7:22:

"Everything in which the breath of the force of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died [in a limited area somewhere in the Middle East]."

Truly, God's Word is alive and exerts power!

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12

"Social Retardation"

by Alana in

question for those who were raised as jws.....after you left, especially if as an adult, did you ever feel like you were "socially retarded"?

i was married twice to jws, yet when i was single again as an xjw, i really felt like i didn't know how to get to know someone of the opposite sex, how to date, what to do or not do, what to expect or not expect.

my ex-husband talked to me the other day and he stated the same thing.

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Definitely. I still do on many occasions, even though objectively I'm more intelligent than most of the people I end up socializing with. You can feel like a) you're still in junior high b) somebody's still looking over your shoulder to see how you're conducting yourself c) when you do succeed socially, you're just faking your way through and it can't last.

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9

My brief WT article with almost all WT buzzwords

by comment in

jw
friends

fine counsel--how does it benefit us today?.

1. fine, wholesome counsel has a happifying effect.

it educates and benefits the great crowd of overcomers, whose steadfast reliance on jehovah and the spiritual food from his organization truly is a cause for rejoicing.. 2. too, suchlike ones manifest their support for god's arrangement by regularly assembling at christian meetings and submissively acknowledging the headship of spirit-appointed elders.

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I think in recent years the writing has become more generic and recycled than ever. If you go back to the start, Russell's style was definitely different from Rutherford's. Then, if you look at magazines from the 1950's, they typically had at least something new or different to say. (For instance, there used to be a Questions from Readers in every issue of the Watchtower, on quite detailed topics of varying scope. Back then, I think they were actually trying to do the spiritual "Dear Abby" thing to some degree, rather just using that column as a soapbox to put the flock straight or to subtly introduce doctrinal changes.)

In the 1960's and 1970's, you had long rants about fulfillment of Bible prophecy and antitypes and whatnot courtesy of Frederick Franz.

But somewhere toward the late 1980's, they started to scale that all down, and most of the Watchtower articles since the 1990's have been rehashes of old material, simple stuff.

That's why we hear these buzzwords constantly. It's geared toward indoctrination through repetition, of course, but it's also an easy way for the writers to put together articles: just string together these familiar phrases in slightly different configurations and the article will be rubber-stamped for publication, and everyone at the Kingdom Hall will just nod along. Try reading what I wrote aloud as if you were the Watchtower reader on Sunday, and you'll see what I mean.

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