james_woods

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Posts by james_woods

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  16

  Awake! response showing holidays are ok and conscience matter - Inside!!

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i forget where i got this, but this scan is from the july 2004 awake!

  magazine, and as you can see it responds to a reader asking about the obviously pagan pinata tradition.

  but that isn't the story or the shocker here, it is the society's response to the article.

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  james_woods

  Three cheers for three excellent points here -

  Daniel-P: right on with the "growth" card for Mexico. This won't be the first time that Mexico got special treatment to drag in more recruits: Don't forget the draft card bribery scandal...

  XBEHERE: Your Thanksgiving argument is one which I was stuck on even as a little kid witness. There was never any identifiable "pagan" custom attached to this at all. The pilgrims were just good people giving thanks to God as best they could. I asked this many times while a witness and the most logical of all the silly answers was that the holiday encouraged gluttony!

  Thirdson: Loved your DOG analogy. You are absolutely right about something I never thought about before - the only "good" reference I can think of to a dog (or dogs) was when they licked up the blood of the harlot Jezebel...but maybe that is not so "good" after all - they were eating blood! LOL...I have been thinking about teaching that mongrel you see in my pic how to carry around a NW Translation (in imitation of the way the Guantanemo torturers use German Shepherds to carry around the Koran in their mouths). Then he could just drop it at the feet of door-to-door magazine salespeople and hunch down and growl at em...
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  12

  Art - Surrealism

  by daystar in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'm certainly not an art history buff.

  but i have some sense of aesthetics, i like to believe.. i love van gogh's "starry night":.

  and albrecht durer's religious pieces:.

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  james_woods

  Don't forget all those J.C.Escher prints. Also Paul Magritte...
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  13

  digging in old books

  by digglina in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i'm new on this board and currently an inactive jw.

  although lurking for several months i only just registered.

  i was wondering if any of you took the trouble of going through old books of the wtbts and if it made you come to any conclusions.

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  james_woods

  Gosh, New Worldly, they could easily get Rutherford just on proven conduct issues, let alone his radical beliefs.
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  29

  Rank and Baseless New Light speculation

  by FreeWilly in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  warning, conspiracy theory ahead!

  in the past few years we've seen a few of the old-school anointed gb members pass away.

  given the fact that major organizational issues are decided by a vote within the gb, i wonder if the balance of power is shifting.

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  james_woods

  I am reluctantly forced to give TheListener my special BEACON OF REALITY award because he is admittedly right.

  These poor people do not have a clue as to even how you sum up (2520 - 607 + 1), or why you would do so in the first place. This kind of thing is "complex math and doctrinal science" to them and not for the masses. 1935? They have probably never even heard of it.

  I forget to add to my runaway nuclear reactor scenario: "Homer Simpson is at the controls - eating donuts on break"
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  19

  Pyramids and 1914

  by smudge in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have had several studies with several j.w.s as i am very interested in theology and most of my in-laws are j.w.

  on many occasions i asked to see the very complicated way that the year 1914 was obtained.

  everyone of my studies told me not to worry about it, that it involves much complicated math and it has been checked over and over and is right.

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  james_woods

  Which came first, the Pyramid measures, or the 606/607 - 1914/Daniel stuff?

  As I remembered it, the 1874 was Seventh Day nonsense based on the same Daniel chronology but with a different start date. Russell made up the pyramid stuff himself (or maybe with the other WT early day guys that he kicked out) in the 1880-1899 time frame. Then, after that, he bumps the Daniel start date and parallels the pyramid stuff to get 1913, adds it up again and gets 1914.

  Is it possible that he went back and "forced the balance" on 607 to just get to where he wanted to be from the pyramid junk?

  James
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  29

  Rank and Baseless New Light speculation

  by FreeWilly in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  warning, conspiracy theory ahead!

  in the past few years we've seen a few of the old-school anointed gb members pass away.

  given the fact that major organizational issues are decided by a vote within the gb, i wonder if the balance of power is shifting.

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  james_woods

  I just love this kind of speculation thread - especially when tied to the imminent meltdown of yet another failed prophecy!

  To me, the 1935 is like a nuclear subs reactor running pretty hot with the control rods stuck on overload. It is just like the 1914 generation as far as its chronology - but consider the difference in the fudge factor with each:

  How far into the future could/can each be stretched?

  1914 - bible based 70 or 80 obviously got completely thin by 1994. If they had made the argument that some live to 90, then they are admitting that modern science is prolonging life and pushing past the bible ages. (bad scene for lovers of literal numbers) They already jetissoned the "old enough to know part". The workover (blow some excess steam into the sea...) finally came in 1995 when nothing else could have been plausible as an excuse.

  1935 - by the same logic, bible based 70 or 80 runs completely out in 2005 or 2010. But wait, they can't jetisson "old enough to know"; for this date it has to be "old enough to be baptized". So, by witness standards, maybe 16 in 1935. (by Jesus standards 30). So in reality, by the most flimsy excuse, there can hardly be a genuine "sealed" 1935 annointed elder less than 87. (i.e. born at least as far back as 1919 - or age 88 if you want to take the "prophetic" 1918...). The only fudge factor left is the finding of yet another "replacement" annointed of an unfaithful from the first part of the century. Reactor Coolant getting a little warm again, eh Scotty?

  The beauty part of that is that they are already scared of these newbie "replacements" because they may be spiritually radioactive crazies!!! And, the doctrine is twice as "hot"!

  So what if you lose the "generation of 1914" - no big deal: Big A is still further out.

  But, if you lose 1935...( which was at the "core" of the literal 144,000 idea ) - notice I am really getting into this nuclear reactor analogy...

  * Majority of current and all new members of Governing Body may be "contaminated"...check their badges!

  * The literal 144,000 made up by Rutherford himself could be at risk! It is way past its theoretical "half-life"!

  James -

  (ok, so maybe I should not have stayed up and watched that movie "Sub K-19, the Widowmaker" last night...)
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  13

  Directed by Holy Spirit? or Bum-Steered by Holy Spirit?

  by Scully in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  *** w81 12/1 p. 27 the path of the righteous does keep getting brighter ***.

  however, it may have seemed to some as though that path has not always gone straight forward.

  at times explanations given by jehovahs visible organization have shown adjustments, seemingly to previous points of view.

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  james_woods

  Oh, yes - the "tacking into the wind"...

  I just loved how the illustration showed a full square-rigged china clipper running straight downwind with all sails set dead across the keel.

  I am not at all sure that those big clippers could tack into the wind at all (at least not like a modern yacht). Maybe run at some angle to the prevailing wind, but didn't they really have to travel with the seasonal trade winds to get back and forth?

  There were a lot of people in good standing who made a lot of derisive comments about "tacking into the wind". Talk about self-serving CYA drivel!

  James
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  21

  While the cat's away....................

  by HAL9000 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  its tuesday night and the

  before anything else, i would like to thank all those who have so freely passed on their experiences and knowledge it has helped me in recent years more than i can possibly (and succinctly) express.

  before coming to this forum, i spent some significant time trawling through kent steinhaugs excellent site to him and the members of that board i owe a great deal for providing much needed information at a critical time.

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  james_woods

  Hal,

  When I was just a young computer, my programmer taught me to sing a little song...

  Wait, was that a "kingdom melody" from my bible study conductor?

  Welcome here - I'll bet you can play one heck of a game of chess!

  James
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  9

  All the remnant 144,000

  by hopelesslystained in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have always wondered from the time of being a child and being familiar with a few of the professed 144,000 remnant; just why is there no enlightenment coming from them?

  the only enlightenment or new light is coming from the few in brooklyn, new york.

  does not make sense to me.

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  james_woods

  It also used to be that some of the elderly "annointed" were "given" shares of stock in the Society as sort of a ceremonial honor. They were given strict instructions to will them back to the society and not to give them to anyone else.

  They were also given a snotty little letter once a year before the society business meeting to be sure and send in their proxy to Brooklyn - God forbid that they might actually vote their shares for themselves!

  James
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  35

  I'm missing Seven006!!!

  by MerryMagdalene in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  he's a gentleman and a scoundrel and really adds a lot to this place.

  for those who haven't had the pleasure.... his great art: http://www.maloneillustration.com/art/fineart/programed.jpg .

  some favorite snippets: .

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  james_woods

  Both of you have that exactly right - the "Freddy Brown Shoes" story is priceless.

  Hope he is doing OK,

  James