It was months before I learned of the 'active topics' link. I felt like an idiot when I found it.
Posts by Zico
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27
confused by the concept of BTTT
by inkling ini know "bttt" means "bump to the top", and is done on threads that people think are good, and.
need help from slipping into oblivion... right?.
what i don't get is that the msgs i see are ordered by simply the date of posting, so how does.
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One of those infamous JW e-mails
by Zico injust received this on a jw e-mail list, hadn't seen it on here before, so thought i'd share it, though it probably has been posted!
not sure what 'truth' has to do with selflessness!.
subject: 7%.
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Zico
Just received this on a JW e-mail list, hadn't seen it on here before, so thought I'd share it, though it probably has been posted! Not sure what 'truth' has to do with selflessness!
Subject: 7%
A man was having a conversation with God one day and said, 'Jehovah, I would like to know what the difference is between The Light of your Truth and The Darkness of Satan? ' Jehovah led the man to two doors.He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than th eir arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, 'You have seen The Darkness.' They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The man said,'I don't understand.' It is simple,' said God. 'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.' It's estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'. I am in the 7% Remember that I will always share my spoon with you.
In case anyone's interseted, I'm part of the 93%! -
31
Pioneer Heavy at the Top
by OnTheWayOut invirtually everybody above the rank of elder is/was a pioneer.. you can't become a c.o.
without pioneering.. bethelites (even sisters who marry in) were pioneers.. the administration is full of pioneers that worked their way up.. missionaries and senior overseers at all branches were.
pioneers.
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Zico
Excellent thread OTWO!
In order to get to the top of the Society, you have to first dedicate your life to serving that Society, and sacrifice other potential goals to do so. It means once they get to the top, into that position of control, they have no life outside of it, and nothing they could go into if they lose that control. The leaders in Brooklyn arguably have far more to lose than any one on this board, and so, even if they face the fact that they're promulgating deadly lies, they'd also have to face the fact that by exposing it they'd be left with nothing. Even those who realise it's wrong, seem to try to reform it from the inside instead of leaving and exposing it. This is what those at the top of the Society in Ray Franz's time tried to do when they realised it was wrong, Ray Franz even originally tried for inside reform, rather than the more effective method of leaving and exposing them, which he eventually did, but only after being forced out.
This is where the major problem in the Society lies, and the demand to pioneer to get to the top is the cause of this. -
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If your God were in charge...
by nvrgnbk inwhat would the world be like?.
for example, today orthodox jews and christians don't kill witches and homosexuals because they can't legally.. but if things were as their god decreed in the bible, they'd be dead.. islam, when it has enough power to enforce it's laws, summarily kills and dismembers those that offend allah.. so if you're unhappy with all the gays and druggies and atheists and witches and hippies, are you secretly longing for the day when your deity of choice exterminates them?.
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Zico
Sorry for the misunderstanding nvr.
"There are many that refer to themselves as Christians that have moderated their views thanks to the compassion and love that is within them, independent of their belief.
How can we defend Islam and Christianity and Judiasm as belief systems that are compatible with an ascending human society when so often they prescribe death for the "unfaithful"?"
It sounds like you believe Christians are ascending with Society to me, so what's the problem then? ;)
Nations that allow for freedom of thought and religion seem to thrive the most to me, to be, the most 'ascended' Nations, whereas there have been Christian/Muslim/Atheist dictatorships alike that kill anyone who disagrees with their beliefs and are the ones that have committed the worst atrocities. -
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What's the big deal with Jesus' "sacrifice"?
by bluesapphire inwhat was the big deal with that dam tree to begin with!
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Zico
Focusing on just the death and resurrection seems to miss a part of the story here in my opinion. Since he knew, as you say, that he was going to be resurrected, it seems to be about more than a bit of suffering.
Another view is that Jesus 'originally' lives in eternity. (Isa.46:10) He then enters into our world, and thus into time (Phil.2:6-8) In the flesh of man, he then stands between time and eternity, and reaches out to all of us by looking at all eternity, and taking all sin that has ever happened and ever will happen, on himself and away with him in his death, then just waits for us to reach back accept what he has to offer.
It's a beautiful story (IMHO!) about a God who became a man, and reached out to us in love. It resonates with millions of people, and, at the very least it offers people an object for their 'faith' A man, Jesus, to understand and build a relationship with when God is so incomprehensible, and his death provides a way for man to understand a God's love. -
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If your God were in charge...
by nvrgnbk inwhat would the world be like?.
for example, today orthodox jews and christians don't kill witches and homosexuals because they can't legally.. but if things were as their god decreed in the bible, they'd be dead.. islam, when it has enough power to enforce it's laws, summarily kills and dismembers those that offend allah.. so if you're unhappy with all the gays and druggies and atheists and witches and hippies, are you secretly longing for the day when your deity of choice exterminates them?.
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Zico
nvrgnbk,
I find some of your criticism of Christianity and other religious believers odd. You seem to suggest we should dislike 'gays' and 'atheists' simply because we're Christians? But then you do seem to have dedicated a lot of your recent posts to us being a nasty group. How is this different to what you claim Christians do to atheists? Yes, some Christians do look down on atheists and homosexuals as less moral people, or less kind people, simply because they're an atheist or homosexual, without looking past that and trying to see the person behind the beliefs or lifestyle choices. Criticise that, fine, but why go calling the kettle black, by doing the same to Christians yourself, simply because of their beliefs?
I suppose then, if us Christians would be out killing witches and homosexuals if not for the law, Christians must have had those laws forced on them, and that their introduction had nothing to do with any Christian? -
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Closer to perfection
by LtCmd.Lore inthe watchtower uses this concept a lot.
the idea that humans are somehow becoming more and more imperfect as the decades go by.. they use this to justify the fact that ged required incest of adam and eve's children, and noahs children.
because, i quote: "with that information, from where would you say that cain got his wife?
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Zico
"As if a 'more perfect' brother and sister are somehow less likely to share the same alleles as modern siblings... ?"
Wouldn't those alleles be less likely to be 'defective' though? -
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But WHY don't they disfellowship bloodtakers ?
by aligot ripounsous inany jw knows that one of the very bad things that a christian must not do is accepting a blood transfusion.
respect for the sanctity of blood ranks highest, in jw theology, on the scale of christian standards, along with not being a murderer, an adulterer, a robber, etc.
in fact, it is the identifying feature of jws for the onlooker.
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Zico
It's an odd one alright. They disassociate themselves by their actions? Surely someone who commits adultery or 'fornication' should then have disassociated themselves by their actions?
I think with the blood issue members are still given judicial committees anyway, whereas with the army they're not, 'cos in the army, they'd be unavailable for a judicial meeting, which shows how odd the disassociation for blood is, until you realise it's just a simple change in terminology for legal reasons. -
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god had no tongue????
by nelly136 incan't understand why this nasty piece o shite can't be named and why have they still got two other kids in their care?????????????.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/7093068.stm.
tuesday, 13 november 2007, 15:54 gmt .
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Zico
That's a horrible story. :( Sick parents...
'both parents, who have two other children'
It says they have 2 other children, but they're not necessarily in their care. -
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Are You A Witness In Good Standing?
by feenx inhey everybody :)
so i am curious about the jw's on here that are still in good standing.
even after i was df'd i still had the brainwash in my head telling me not to go onto an internet site discussing jw issues.
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Zico
'Good standing' is a phrase I've heard often, here and in the Kingdom Hall. I have no idea what it means. Does it just mean you're not disfellowshipped? Do you need to be baptised? Do you need to be active?
I'm not disfellowshipped, but I'm not active either.