dgp

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Posts by dgp

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  87

  DOES THE BIBLE really really EXIST?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the bible did not exist in jesus' day nor in the lifespan of his apostles.. people didn't walk around with one (bible) tucked under their arm.. christians didn't carry one (bible) door to door for preaching and teaching.. the closest thing to the bible was the septuigint greek translation of hebrew scriptures which not one person in a 10,000 had ever seen!.

  creation of the septuagint (wikipedia article).

  ...in the third century bce[6].

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  dgp

  Very interesting, indeed. If you have more information, I would appreciate it if you posted a link or something.
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  47

  Blood Transfusions 101 for JW's

  by moshe in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  blood transfusions 101 for jw's-.

  a blood transfusion will not save the life of a starving man = a blood transfusion is not food = a blood transfusion does not violate the ot law given by god to the jews to, "not eat blood" and that was later reiterated by the jewish christians to the gentile christians = the watchtower no-blood transfusion doctrine is a manmade abomination that kills innocent people = the watchtower society is guilty of promoting manslaughter.. .

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  dgp

  I posted this on another thread, but I think it fits here, too.

  I guess the earthquake in Haiti could be a huge embarrassment for the WTBTS. Would they insist that donating blood is not a good thing to do under these circumstances? If a worldly person donated blood that resulted in saving another worldly person's life, would Jehovah frown on that? What if a Jehovah's witness survived the earthquake, but needed a transfusion? Would it be fair to say that Jehovah wanted him to survive so he could die for lack of a transfusion?

  My purpose here is not so much to attack the witnesses, but to point out just how terribly wrong the "blood policies" are.

  I do hope every Haitian receives as much help as possible. All Haitians, JW or not, should be considered equal humans, equals also in the sight of God.
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  33

  I wonder how long it will be until we hear about JW's helping only JW Haitians

  by restrangled in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals
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  dgp

  I guess this earthquake could be a huge embarrassment for the WTBTS. Would they insist that donating blood is not a good thing to do under these circumstances? If a worldly person donated blood that resulted in saving another worldly person's life, would Jehovah frown on that? What if a Jehovah's witness survived the earthquake, but needed a transfusion? Would it be fair to say that Jehovah wanted him to survive so he could die for lack of a transfusion?

  My purpose here is not so much to attack the witnesses, but to point out just how terribly wrong the "blood policies" are.

  I do hope every Haitian receives as much help as possible. All Haitians, JW or not, should be considered equal humans, equals also in the sight of God.
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  24

  Do the Differences Between Spiritual Beliefs Really Matter?

  by daniel-p in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of the themes i think about every now and again is that of the nature of belief, the purpose of religion, and the presense of truth.. specifically, do the differences between spiritual beliefs really matter?

  meaning that, if every religion is just an amalgamation of different combinations of mysticisms, does it really matter if we are protestants, catholics, quakers, mormons, muslims, pagans, jews, or even jehovah's witnesses?

  further, does it really matter whether we believe in god or not?

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  dgp

  Many of us who post here believe that religious differences should not matter, but that's because, in many different ways, we have all gone a long way from what we were told as children. Not everyone believes so, and it think we'd better bear that in mind.
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  9

  the bible, not for the frail hearted

  by DaCheech in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my mom told me this the other day (she was born catholic, and converted to jwism in the late 30's):.

  when she was a late teen she asked this question to her catholic priest uncle: "why doesn't the catholic church encourage us to read the bible"..... the man told my mom "if the general public read the bible they would be terrorized by scandalous stuff that only the clergy can sift through".. instead of taking this answer and leaving it alone, it started her quest to find the truth, and what religion would teach the bible.. as we know, i, through her came in this wreatched religion that hides behind the bible to scam us.

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  dgp

  Nowadays, Catholics do encourage people to read the Bible, and they now quote the Bible for prayers. By "now" I mean many years ago, when I was still a Catholic.

  I agree with Farkel that this was not always the case. And, we don't have to go as far back as William Tyndale. The mass in the native languages is a relatively late development, and now Benedict XVI has reinstated the mass in latin "for those who want it that way". However, all my life I have found a clear difference with respect to the WTBTS. We were told NOT to read many books (those on the "Index"), but no one really paid attention, and no one really expelled you from the church if you chose to read the Bible on your own or study it at home or whatever. Priests and nuns did "explain" the Bible to you, but it has always been possible to disagree. If you want, you could parrot their interpretation but disagree with it with your friends and the people, and that would not result in your excommunication. The Catholic Church has bad points, yes, but their not letting you read the Bible isn't one anymore. When I was a kid, a neighbor gave me a Bible and no one said a word that was not of encouragement.
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  55

  Is The Internet The Worst Thing That Could Happen To The Organization?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the witnesses try to demonize the internet.

  in your opinion is the internet the biggest problem for the watchtower organization?.

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  dgp

  It seems to me that the internet alone would do them no harm. Now, the existence of so many people who have left the organization and are willing to speak up in fora like this one IS a big threat. The internet is simply a means to convey what so many of you have to say. It also helps former witnesses, disfellowshipped and dissasociated to get in touch and become stronger.

  The developing world has less access to the internet, but not as little as some people think. What they do not have, however, is the large number of people who have left the organization. In some countries that might not matter much. I remember that a person from Iceland was posting here. Many Scandinavians speak English, so Icelandics must, too, and they get to benefit from your own fora. I believe it would be a bit more difficult for Albanians, for example.
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  55

  Is The Internet The Worst Thing That Could Happen To The Organization?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the witnesses try to demonize the internet.

  in your opinion is the internet the biggest problem for the watchtower organization?.

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  dgp

  Free speech has always been the worst enemy of all authoritarians. So, I agree: the internet is a threat to the WTBTS. How serious, that's to be determined. In my opinion, they have seen that the internet might make their job easier, so they are trying to use what serves them and scare the people away from what damages them.

  I know that I didn't join because of what I read here and on other sites. So, I can personally attest that the internet has made them lose at least one person.
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  10

  NCC Report: church members outnumber JW's 140 to one

  by moshe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  based on a recent 2009 report of church membership in north america by the national council of churches, ncc, jw's are near the bottom of the list with about 1 million members and mainline churches have over 140 million.

  jw's have not had any success in growing any faster than mainline christianity and they are definitely behind the mormons in growth.

  well, this is one statistic you won't see in the wt yearbook.. top 25 churches ranked by membership:.

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  dgp

  I would also like the figure on the number of bible studies who finally didn't convert .
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  10

  NCC Report: church members outnumber JW's 140 to one

  by moshe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  based on a recent 2009 report of church membership in north america by the national council of churches, ncc, jw's are near the bottom of the list with about 1 million members and mainline churches have over 140 million.

  jw's have not had any success in growing any faster than mainline christianity and they are definitely behind the mormons in growth.

  well, this is one statistic you won't see in the wt yearbook.. top 25 churches ranked by membership:.

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  dgp

  I wondered what the figure for atheists would be. And I came upon this interesting thing:

  http://forum.richarddawkins.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=89233&start=0

  According to this webpage, there are 1,160,293 atheists in the United States, and 148,028,092 worldwide. I'm deliberately leaving out the "non-religious", because I'm not clear what that term means. If I add "atheists" and "nonreligious" for the United States, the figure is 34,902,508. I'm not sure how they collect these statistics, but, if that were the case, then only the Roman Catholics are more numerous than the atheists/non-religious.

  I'm sorry that they don't have the figure for the disfellowshipped / disassociated, or their rate of growth. THAT would be very interesting to check.
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  105

  Your faces

  by goldensky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear all,.

  i love it when your avatar is a real picture of you.

  i look at it with interest and my heart warms up.

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  dgp

  And Mouthy, don't forget you adopted me last Christmas.