Since Jesus and the apostles wore beards they would have a hard time proving they are unscriptual. At one time they may have been a sign of rebellion, but that time has passed, beards are widely accepted in society, so what is the reason for banning them? Obviously they are going to have a hard time maintaining the ban, I suspect they will start allowing them even for elders in the next few years.
LisaRose
JoinedPosts by LisaRose
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Beards galore at the Assembly
by Truthexplorer inok, at our recent assembly, i noticed that there were quite a lot of brothers wearing beards.
not just the older dudes, but right across a range of ages, young men, middle aged men and older men.
is watchtower beginning to relax this rule at last?
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Favourite Movie quotes...
by Tornintwo ininspiring, funny...you choose.... i'll start with inspiring: .
frodo: i wish the ring had never come to me.
i wish none of this had happened.gandalf: so do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide.
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LisaRose
Lme explain something to you. Um, I am not “Mr. Lebowski”. You’re Mr. Lebowski. I’m the Dude. So that’s what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.
The Big Lewbowski, obviously
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Does Jehovah Intervene - JW Teaching
by thedepressedsoul ini have been a jw my whole life and i have never been able to get a clear answer on this question.
jw's do not believe that jehovah will intervene if someone is sick, dying or stopping a car crash.
they feel that jehovah is letting "this world" play out before he solves all of these problems.
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LisaRose
“When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn’t work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.”
Emo Phillips
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Favourite Movie quotes...
by Tornintwo ininspiring, funny...you choose.... i'll start with inspiring: .
frodo: i wish the ring had never come to me.
i wish none of this had happened.gandalf: so do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide.
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LisaRose
Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.
American Beauty
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The X-Mas thing...
by punkofnice inchristmas means nothing to me.
i have no abiding, cosy, childhood memories of it.. i don't buy presents or cards....i have to be reminded.. i feel a bit weird.
people are celebrating and saying: 'i'm feeling christmassy.'.
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LisaRose
I can understand not feeling excited by a holiday you never were a part of. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is something to be said for making something special out of one day a year. It's a way to mark the passage of a year, to connect with loved ones, to slow down, to do something a little different. Things become special because you make them so, so create your own holiday traditions. It doesn't have to be anything everyone else does. It could be going to the movies, or having friends over for chili. We find ourselves without family around this year, so my husband invited some people over for a tri-tip bar-b-que. Not very traditional, but who cares, he didn't feel like ham or turkey.
I made a late minute decision to send cards this year, as I do paper crafting I even made them all by hand. As I was addressing them I realised that if I hadn't done this I don't know when I would have contacted some of my family, the date pushed me to make that connection, I was glad I did. I hate malls too, so I don't go there. I buy gifts throughout the year, stash them away and hopefully don't forget where they are, lol.
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Hope and Reality
by Alive! infor a long time, i've been moving into a place of utmost hope and faith.
universal reconciliation.
as a converted jw - i began my conversion with the joy that there is a hope for something we all would love - a world where each of us sees our fellow kind as a true brother.. i don't think that's an unhealthy way to live.. but - i'm living with the effects of corruptive thinking from a 'sect' - a divisive sect and judgemental sect that has hurt my sense of self.. it's terribly painful to have completely believed one thing, and then completely believe something else.... well that's how it feels to me.. i've read of some here who were jws for years, then became devout born agains for years and now are confirmed atheists.. wow.. how do you cope with the frivolous nature of your 'beliefs' - beliefs that were 'truths' for you in their own time.. i'm struggling - anyone else?.
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LisaRose
The realisation that the Watchtower was not the truth caused me to reexamine everything I once believed, that examination proved to me beyond doubt that God didn't exist. It was hard at first, I felt a loss, a belief system that made me belief the bad in the world would be fixed. But as time went by it got better and I could never go back to believing something just because it makes me feel better, or because the real truth is unpalatable. I would rather have reality.
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Another Trey Bundy Article on Reveal: "Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders say they don’t protect sexual abusers"
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://www.revealnews.org/blog/24232/.
jehovahs witnesses leaders say they dont protect sexual abusers.
by trey bundy / december 21, 2015 .
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LisaRose
It's the right thing to report child abuse to the authorities, whether it's the law or not. A group that claims to be the only true religion, Gods sole channel of communication with mankind, shouldn't need a law to force them to do the right thing.
Elders are actually not as capable as anyone else in deciding if an offender is likely to abuse again, they have no absolutely no training in counseling, psychology or child abuse. The many pedophiles who abused children for years, even after being reported to the elders, is proof of that.
The excuse that most child abuse is not prosecuted anyway is ridiculous. Many crimes cannot be prosecuted for whatever reason, does that means you throw up your hands and give up? You do whatever you can to protect children, unless of course protecting children is not actually your first consideration.
The idea that two witness rule cannot be changed is laughable, the Watchtower changes rules all the time, they interpret the scriptures however they want and change that interpretation when it suits them. It clearly doesn't suit them to protect children.
The idea that they punish child molesters is beyond ridiculous. The two witness rule pretty much insures child abusers will rarely be punished. Even then they can opt for private reproof, which is a slap on the wrist and does nothing to protect children. The idea they can monitor the person is silly, they see the person a few hours a week. The Candace Conti case shows that even when a pedophile is known to the elders they will do nothing to prevent contact with children. I personally know of a case where a known pedophile married a woman with children, less than a year after offending, and the elders did nothing, not even warn her, my friend got in trouble for telling her about it. This was a case where he actually admitted the abuse and was prosecuted.
Repentance goes a long way? Since when? This is actually quite disturbing, as it proves their complete lack of awareness of the risks. It's fairly well known that sexual preference for children is hard wired in child abusers and the possibility they will reoffend is quite high. Of course a child abuser will act sorry, but that's only after they have been caught, I doubt the elders could tell the difference between true repentance and "sorry I got caught". Even if they are repentant they are still a risk, you don't put children at risk.
Yes, it's possible an abuser will not reoffend, but you don't risk innocent children on a possibility. Their justifications and excuses are disgusting.
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Does Jehovah Intervene - JW Teaching
by thedepressedsoul ini have been a jw my whole life and i have never been able to get a clear answer on this question.
jw's do not believe that jehovah will intervene if someone is sick, dying or stopping a car crash.
they feel that jehovah is letting "this world" play out before he solves all of these problems.
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LisaRose
It's called confirmation bias, the tendency to look for and accept information that confirms our belief. From Wikipedia:
Confirmation bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities
These people who think Jehovah gave them that extra five dollars for gas money to go out in service also no doubt had times when money didn't magically appear as needed, but they only remember the time it did, because it confirmed their belief.
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Thanks GOD JW's don't have Beauty Pageants
by James Mixon ini can see it now, we are the most beautiful and smartest people in the world.. steve harvey will never be the host of another beauty pageant.
lol.
i was thinking, don't you think it's time for our society to move on from beauty pageants?.
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LisaRose
No, there is no large audience for child beauty pageants, the audience is comprised of the parents of the contestants, the whole thing is paid for by the entry fees. It's really pathetic. And practically everyone gets a trophy and a tiara, and a title, nobody wants to pay that much money and not have something to show for it, so it becomes kind of meaningless unless you are the super super ultimate grand supreme champion princess of the world.
And yes, it's time we did away with them. They are silly, like some sexist left over of the fifties. Little girls should not be taught that they are only valued for their looks and ability to entertain others.
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Why do animals suffer?
by nicolaou inbonnie is fourteen years old now and she's still fit and active, but she sleeps (and farts) a lot more and is definitely slowing down.. she loves us in her own dumb way and always comes to the door to greet me when i get home from work.
she doesn't 'sin' but yeah, she'll steal biscuits and feel shame afterwards.
she's loyal and intelligent and i dread the day when .
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LisaRose
My cat usually prefers women also, although she is gradually becoming more comfortable with my husband. She now sometimes prefers his lap. She was a shelter kitty, I think her previous owner beat her with the newspaper, three years later she still flinches when you turn the page, even though we have never done that, it's like a form of PTSD. She also has a problem with being shut up in a room, or if we go outside in the yard and leave her in the house. In either case she will go ballistic, climbing the curtains and knocking things over, she has ripped the fabric and broken the rods. She has very strong opinions on things.