i was still a kid and living at home at the time, and so that must have been well over 30 years ago, that i heard ron drage (now a senior member of the uk bethel) say "if you are waiting at the bus stop it, is better to be 10 minutes early rather than miss it".
what he was referring to of course was the then then 1975 issue; in other words armageddon has arrived yet but it just round the corner and we are a little early for it.. i don't know what brought this to my mind the other day but i got to thinking, surely if you are waiting for a bus and you get there 10 minutes early and it doesn't then turn up, how long do you wait?
10 minutes, 15 minutes, half an hour, an hour, two hours?
Most will wait until the day they die.
They think the bus is bringing them never ending life on a paradise earth - in there mind its worth the waiting.
It certainly was worth waiting for in my mind until -of course - I realised the bus was not coming.
Well, thats not quite right. I still think the bus is coming but it will come for all of us - but i am not waiting for it anymore.
It will turn up when its due.....
in the last year the watchtower's public relations department is being inundated with inquiries concerning jehovah's witnesses and their bizarre behaviour.
the recent murder and cannabalism of a three week old baby is the latest in a series of ongoing horrific news articles linking jehovah's witnesses to acts of violent crimes.
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/408515_baby28.html?source=mypi what is causing these problems?
Hey snowbird - you said - """"Down here, the churches are feeding people, clothing them, repairing the homes of the elderly, tutoring kids and taking them to amusement parks. Why, last Saturday, with the temperature shooting for the hundred mark, I passed one church and they had kids handing our free bottles of ice-cold water!"""" -- I have thought about this alot. JWs are told that the best thing they can do for there neighbour is offer them a bible study or a watchtower magazine. The churches do so much more for the local community, offering genuine help.
hi, i've been lurking hear for awhile and just registered this week.
you're an interesting bunch and i look forward to getting to know you better.. i started studying with the jw's when i was 16. i was dating my husband, 10yrs my senior, and he heard they had the truth.
i was in an abusive household, so i moved in with him, studied, got married at 17 and baptised at 18.. i believed in it hook, line and sinker for 22 yrs.
Welcome to JWN It is such a strain on everything when someone exits the JWs. When I first told my wife I was thinking of leaving she burst into tears and pointed to a beautiful picture on the wall ( a man and a woman walking through countryside) She said - I thought that was us in the new system! My heart was broken in 2 and I was not sure how things would pan out. After I had stopped going we had a sit down to discuss the matter - I showed her some of my evidence (UN, child abuse etc) 4 months later she stopped attending meetings. The key is to "try" and have a calm conversation about it - you never know - it might get him thinking.
do you think the wts would except this?.
.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-07-21-atheists-debaptism_n.htm?csp=usat.me.
""" most atheists don't even give a rats ass about those matters, and don't have any unified "practices """. Who mentioned "unified" practises??? At the moment it appears that de-baptism is a practise of "some" atheists. Religions do not have "unified" practices. """ It seems to me you want to group all non-believers together in one group to make it convenient to hate them """. A truly laughable comment!!! The classic "grouping people into one group" is from the atheist community - all religion is a hateful evil that tarnishes the world.
do you think the wts would except this?.
.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-07-21-atheists-debaptism_n.htm?csp=usat.me.
Blue Canary is absolutely correct - """ Oh, brother. This is as stupid as having surgery to reclaim your "virginity." If you want to draw attention to your beliefs there are more productive ways of doing so.""" I find this whole thing very strange - Atheists do not believe in baptism - so why do they believe in de-baptism???? I think that Atheism IS a religion. One definition of a religion is - ""a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe - a body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices"". I am sure that our Atheist friends can produce a definition that better fits there ideas though! But each to their own - if thats what floats your boat then go for it.
i don't feel i have to know the truth about how life started or where we're coming from etc, but can't help thinking abt it anyway now and then.
guess it's only natural.. right now i feel really clueless and that i have too little knowledge abt the darwin, big bang theory.... (i was always taught by the dubs that darwin questioned his own theory...but was it really so?)..
i have a close friend who's sure of the evolution but can really the complex and wonderful life and nature come abt by chance (even though he says it's not chance...).
((( ALL of the ACTUAL evidence points in the exact same direction - Evolution. That is precisely why it is FACT. The "articles" stating otherwise are totally bogus religious drivel, not impartial data. )))
Oh god!!!!!
Just like the Watchtower is the "only" truth and everything else is bogus. - have you learned nothing?????????
I notice you say that the articles stating otherwise are "religious". You do not need to read religiously motivated books to find a strong counter argument against the theory of evolution.
i don't feel i have to know the truth about how life started or where we're coming from etc, but can't help thinking abt it anyway now and then.
guess it's only natural.. right now i feel really clueless and that i have too little knowledge abt the darwin, big bang theory.... (i was always taught by the dubs that darwin questioned his own theory...but was it really so?)..
i have a close friend who's sure of the evolution but can really the complex and wonderful life and nature come abt by chance (even though he says it's not chance...).
"""Err no, the alternative according to science is that everything is here due to natural processes""".
What natural processes produced the universe - oh pleae elaborate?
"""Science does not know what came 'before' the big bang"""
Neither do I - no one does.
"""So perhaps you could rewrite that to be 'we dont know what made everything - entirely in line with the basic rules of science."""
No - quite happy with what I have written already - you have said nothing that changes what I said.
"""Evolution was proven by Darwin"""
Some evolutionary biologists would disagree with you on this.
"""If you could point out one scientific article (in a reputable scientific journal) that proves Darwin wrong on the fundamentals of evolution by natural selection?"""
And this is the problem - both sides of the argument can pruduce loads of articles, evidence etc etc - it is a circular conversation.
Look - believe what you want to believe, I am happy and content to believe that God created the entire universe and all life on earth. For me this is the only logical conclusion.
Each to their own......
i suppose the english word "love" has many meanings according to individual needs and experience.
the questions are for me: if love is unilateral or an interactive relationship?
is unrequited love none-the-less rewarding?
Well for me and Mrs Scotsman - We were walking along the sea front of Helensburgh, West Scotland - we had not being going out for long. We sat on a bench - it was a cold, gray day - both of us rapt up in coats, scarfs etc. It was really cold with a stiff sea breeze. Mrs Scotsman was rubbing her hands together to get them warm. So, I plucked up the courage and took her hand - this was the first time we held hands and it was like - electricity - I knew it right away. And so did she. I can't explain it any other way - we just knew this was the start of something special. We celebrated this occasion with a fish supper - it was brilliant. Yes - I am an old romantic........
"""If you vote for a creator then you clearly haven't read both sides.""" Oh God!!! I aint gonna get into this debate again - bye
""" I don't think desperate & fallacious creationist propaganda is what he had in mind. """ Can I ask - have you read this book? I have, and I can tell you that your description of it is so off the mark!!! Anyway evolutionists produce there own propaganda just as much as anyone else. """ I mean, would you read a book called 'Why Creationists Are Dumb Ass Idiots'? """ No I would not - thats why I suggested a book that does not call anyone an idiot! Richard dawkins on one of his "numerous" programmes said that people are stupid if they do not believe in Evolution. He sits there with scant evidence for anything he says - and tells everyone else that if we do not accept his opinions we are all mugs. I say read both sides of the argument - as I have. Perhaps you have to. After everything being considered - I vote for a creator.
