Jehovah could grow the resurrected babies in supernatural wombs; Jehovah has the power to do anything . [This is a joke. I no longer believe in Jehovah but the idea of what Jehovah can do in regards to resurrections is consistent with scripture.]
Disillusioned JW
JoinedPosts by Disillusioned JW
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Jehovah's Witnesses: remembering the weird and wacky!
by Vanderhoven7 indo you remember some of the weird and wacky stuff emanating from the watchtower society?
let's make a list from memory that we can use to inject a little humor into our discussions with jehovah's witnesses.
- venus may be an enormous jurassic park.. - germs don't cause disease.. - no beards allowed.
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Encouraged to do something = forced/intimidated
by neat blue dog inin a recent article there was this experience from el salvador:.
"during the meeting, brother baltasar perla, sr., who later became a member of the branch committee, asked all the elders present to give him their government-issued identity cards.
he then informed the elders that their names and addresses would be included in a written request to the government for legal recognition... then explained to us that since our names and addresses would be in that document, if the authorities ever wanted to ban our work, we would be the first ones they would come after and the first ones to be thrown in jail.
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Disillusioned JW
That is discouraging about how the congregation marked the record of the votes, but it gives me an idea of how to do battle with the JWs in court. My understanding is that in the USA because the WT is a corporation (though filed as a non-profit one) the congregations of the WT have to have votes on certain matters, the ones you voted on. As a result I think such voting is legally required to recorded correctly, like other corporate elections. Perhaps you and others have a legal case against their congregations and maybe against the WT. Of course you can't change the outcome of the elections since your vote (in regards to whether a resolution was passed or not) you was very much on the loosing side, but the congregation and perhaps the WT might could be subjected to some penalty due to vote tabulation fraud.
Of course if you take the matter to the courts you will probably be removed as one of JWs and thus not likely qualified to have your vote recorded.
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Nearly complete JW literature collection for sale
by jukief inas many of you know, alan feuerbacher spent 40 years researching watchtower.
during that time, he bought every item of watchtower literature he could find.
his collection is so big that it’s impossible for me to try to catalog it, although i might be able to get some volunteers to help me with that.
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Disillusioned JW
Diogenesister, by Nov '67 Watchtower magazine do you mean the November 15, 1967 Watchtower magazine issue? That issue has an answer in the "Questions from Readers" which said that accepting an organ transplant into one's body is cannibalism.
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Encouraged to do something = forced/intimidated
by neat blue dog inin a recent article there was this experience from el salvador:.
"during the meeting, brother baltasar perla, sr., who later became a member of the branch committee, asked all the elders present to give him their government-issued identity cards.
he then informed the elders that their names and addresses would be included in a written request to the government for legal recognition... then explained to us that since our names and addresses would be in that document, if the authorities ever wanted to ban our work, we would be the first ones they would come after and the first ones to be thrown in jail.
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Disillusioned JW
Last night or early today I read something (written about 30 years ago) along the lines of which said that one of the things which attracted people to the WT/JW religion (maybe especially in the Rutherford days) was that their congregations had control over the congregation's money., instead of the headquarters of the religion - unlike that of Christendom's churches. I am trying to find that content which I read, so that I get my precisely in mind what it said.] I then thought that appeal of being a JW ended when the WT started stipulating how much money the JW congregations must give away to the WT headquarters. Later I read the post by under the radar about how elders of the JW congregations are being coerced into handing over funds.
In some ways the WT/JW religion is morphing into something they proclaimed as evil, namely what they referred to as 'Christendom's churches'. That is kind of like the pigs in the book called Animal Farm over time morphing into humans which oppress the other animals in the farm.
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Nearly complete JW literature collection for sale
by jukief inas many of you know, alan feuerbacher spent 40 years researching watchtower.
during that time, he bought every item of watchtower literature he could find.
his collection is so big that it’s impossible for me to try to catalog it, although i might be able to get some volunteers to help me with that.
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Disillusioned JW
Pierre1977 in what sense do you consider the 1963: New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures as revised? I am aware it has certain kinds of revisions but I am wondering if you consider it a revision of the 1961 NWT or if you are saying it is a revision of an earlier printing of the 1963 NWT. If there is a 1963 NWT which is a revision of an earlier 1963 NWT that is news to me. I have one 1963 NWT.
The 1963 NWT is a compilation of the 1951 revision of the NWT Greek Scriptures volume and the five 1950s - 1960 volumes of the Hebrew Scriptures of the NWT. In my copy of the 1963 NW I notice that there are some revisions to the text of the 1951-1960 volumes of the NWT regarding some dates in the "Table of the Books of the Bible" and that many maps and diagrams are excluded. But my impression is that the scripture text, cross references, and footnotes are the same as that of the 1951-1960 volumes.
Regarding the 1950 NWT Greek Scriptures volume there were at least two editions. For example the WT's book called What Has Religion Done For Mankind? (copyright 1951) says that its quotes from the "NW" are from the "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, 2d edition". It does not say it is from the 1951 revision. My 1951 revised NWT says "First Edition ... Second Edition ... Revised May 1, 1951" thus confirming there was a second edition of the 1950 NWT.
Furthermore, my edition from 1950 (which does not say it is a first edition, second edition, or 1951 revision) on page 786 has paragraphs mentioning manuscript evidence of the spurious portion of 1 John 5:7, 8" (but in my copy of the edition from 1950 page 700 does not have a footnote referring readers to page 786; also page 757 does not mention page 786). In contrast I have personally seen an edition (probably an original edition) from 1950 which did not have that section. A person on this site says he/she has that early edition (probably the first edition) and posted a picture onto this site as documentation.
I desire to sell my copy of the 1950 NWT Greek Scriptures volume since hardly any WT book quotes from any pre-1951 NWT, but I need to avoid using my real name and email address when transacting with anyone on this web site. I thus don't know how I could sell it to you.
The '1944: American Standard Version (Originally 1901, 1944 printing)', or at least reprints of it, came in both a regular size (with a red hard cover) and a pocket size (with a somewhat flexible blue cover and with the outside edges of the pages stained red). I have both of those those (I bought the latter used from a thrift store).
The 1961 NWT was also available in both regular size and pocket size .
Other than the 1950 book mentioned above I don't desire to sell any of the books I mentioned above, except for possibly the pocket size ASV.
It would be too much work for me to scan books, thus I don't intend to assist in that manner, though I hope you obtain scans from somewhere.
Diogenesister, what is special about the Nov '67 Watchtower magazine? Furthermore, do you mean the November 1st issue or the November 15th issue. I used to have the 1967 bound volume of the Watchtower before I sold it (but I have a WT library CD with WT magazines on it going back to 1950). What is special about the 1927 Creation book by Rutherford? I used own it before I sold it. I did notice it had some strange teachings in it. I still have a bound volume of the 1966 Awake! but I intend to keep it.
I would like to show portions of my WT books to JWs in order to persuade some of them to stop believing in many of the WT's claims, but I don't know who would be interested and I don't know how to do so in a way that won't get me officially removed as a JW (and thus shunned by my mom and sister). As result years ago I sold off a lot of old WT books I used to have, including all seven volumes of Studies in the Scriptures and nearly book authored by Rutherford (except that I have retained three books by Rutherford). -
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Nearly complete JW literature collection for sale
by jukief inas many of you know, alan feuerbacher spent 40 years researching watchtower.
during that time, he bought every item of watchtower literature he could find.
his collection is so big that it’s impossible for me to try to catalog it, although i might be able to get some volunteers to help me with that.
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Disillusioned JW
For me at least, I think there is a personal benefit in keeping some WT literature. Primarily that is because such literature shows how in major ways the WT greatly influenced (starting in my very early childhood) my thinking and manipulated me to accept WT religious doctrines, and to reject evolution and atheism, and to thus become baptized as a JW while still a teenager. It also shows how the WT manipulated me to remain an active JW for about twenty years after my baptism.
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Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans
by Disillusioned JW ina news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .
the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.
this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.
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Disillusioned JW
road to nowhere, I just now got the following idea. Maybe I think so many people on this site are far right (instead of center-right) wing politically on this site because my views are so far left wing (while seeming very sensible to me), that relative to me center-right wing people bashing left wing progressive ideas (and progressive people) thus seem far right wing.
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Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans
by Disillusioned JW ina news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .
the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.
this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.
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Disillusioned JW
road to nowhere, I know that most "of the things we have that make life possible and enjoyable are a result of the industrial revolution", but I also know that that same industrial revolution is also creating enormous problems and that it (in combination with other factors) will eventually bring about the end of humanity unless humanity makes big changes before it is too late.
As far as getting older goes, I'm over 50 and I am well aware of my body showing signs of aging and that depresses me. I am a a convinced atheist and thus I know I will not live forever. Often times when I think about the fact I will die and never be resurrected that depresses me. My father's parents (JWs) died decades ago, my father (a JW) died about 20 years ago (he was about 20 years older than my JW mom). A few years ago my mother's step-father (a JW) got dementia (and had to be put in a nursing home) and later he died. Later my mother's mother (a JW) started acting bizarre and had to be put in a nursing home and later died (but at age 94). My mom (a JW) has major health problems and had cataracts removed from both eyes and received artificial lenses to replace her corneas and/or natural lenses and her eyesight is now poor. My sister (nearly my age and a JW and who never got married) has major health problems and lives with my mom.
I now have venous insufficiency in my legs and spider veins. My vision recently started going very bad (I think I have cataracts) such that on some days my bifocal glasses don't help much in reading fine print. I began getting grey hair in my early 40s. Starting about 1 or 2 years ago it became visible to me that my skin is not as elastic as it was prior to then. About 5 years years ago freckles (sun spots) appeared on my face due to exposure to UV rays of sunlight. [But thankfully so far regarding most bodily matters my health is still in excellent condition.] About 12 years ago I got an abscess in my face and neck as a result of a tooth infection and I had to go to ER at the hospital. If I hadn't gone to ER (and if modern medical knowledge and medicine didn't exist) I would have died within a week or so. My teeth are getting ground down. My memory ability doesn't seem to be good as it used be. I thus don't have any rosy expectations about living forever, or having excellent health during all of my remaining years of life.
I don't have nearly enough money saved up for retirement, despite my efforts since age 18 to accumulate wealth quickly (through saving and stock market investing/trading) so I could quit working early in life. That has me very concerned.
When people make posts bashing Democrat politicians (and Democrats in general and liberals in general), bashing progressive ideas, saying climate change is nonsense, praising Trump despite the harsh rhetoric he made about others), etc. doesn't that indicate they have far right political views? As for being "rabid", I didn't refer to them by using that word. I also didn't say every one (not even every conservative person) on this site is far right wing, only that many people on this site and that most who created certain forum topics on this site are such. Furthermore, I did not specify (at least as far as I recall) by user name those who I think are far right wing.
As for your question of am I a "rabid leftist" I am not literally rabid, but I have made posts saying I am a far left person who approves of some democratic socialist (and social democrat) ideas and who voted for Bernie Sanders and other far left political candidates (including a hardcore Socialist who ran as a Green Party candidate for a statewide office).
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Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans
by Disillusioned JW ina news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .
the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.
this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.
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Disillusioned JW
NonCoinCollector it is great that every day (or nearly every day) that you ride one of your electric bikes. For awhile I used an electric scooter (the small standup kind, but mine had an optional bicycle style seat) until the battery pack no longer could hold a charge. I also have a bicycle that I bought as a teenager, but I rarely ride it because I quickly get tired when pedaling it up inclines - even very mild inclines. I use public transportation combined with walking up 20 minutes per trip to get around.
For awhile (roughly form 2002 - 2006) I ran my own home based business which sold items on the internet. For a number of years it primarily sold photovoltaic modules/panels (solar electric power modules/panels), primarily on eBay. [It also sold used electronics and later it shifted to used books, items which I bought from thrift stores.] I chose that line of business (solar) became of my environmentalism. I stopped it when I no longer could be price competitive in the online marketplace.
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Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans
by Disillusioned JW ina news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .
the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.
this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.
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Disillusioned JW
I think DATA-DOG might be correct in saying there is not enough material to make all of the items he lists in regards to cars for everyone. For me, though that (not just in regards to cars, but for most other products also) is a great reason for the world economy to shift away from reliance upon the manufacture and purchase of enormous amounts of items. If what DATA-DOG said is correct, then capitalism (at least on the massive scale it has been for centuries) is unsustainable in the long run. In the long run it can't continue at an exponential growth rate - unless perhaps humanity spreads out to other worlds (and thus gains excess to the resources of those worlds).
Human society needs to greatly moderate its desire to buy much more things, and instead learn to be satisfied with using their existing things for much longer. Likewise things need to be manufactured to last far longer than they currently do. In nearly all countries far more discarded products need to be recycled (Germany is an exception to this, since a number of people who have visited Germany told me that Germany recycles everything).
The vast majority of the items I buy are things I bought used. I did that because I am thrifty, but it also has the advantage of making my use of natural resources (except of course for food and water) far less than would otherwise be the case.