respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  26

  NEW NWT'S Distributed at 2013 Conventions?

  by TheSnarkyApologist in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  chatter on the street is that there exists a very high possiblility of the new newworld translation being distributed.

  it comes from a reliable sources, but who knows.

  has anyone heard anything about this?.

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  respectful_observer

  Now that the DCs have started for the season, we're well aware that an updated NWT is NOT being released at the convention.

  Since so many congregations are now out of Bibles (and many have been since late 2012), I encountered a couple of humorous takes on the situation...

  1. One elder recently deadpanned to me: "Hey, did you hear that the Watchtower Society is changing it's legal name?" Of course my first thought was "No, and how is it I haven't heard this on JWN???"

  "Yeah, they've decided to rename it 'Watchtower Tract Society'...since everyone's beginning to assume they've given up on printing Bibles!"

  2. Someone else also showed me a printout of the DC Program. Everything looked and read exactly the same, except instead of the title reading "God's Word is Truth", it had a smaller second line in the same font that read: "But we can't give it to you!"
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  47

  Awkward moment at the WT study today

  by FadeToBlack in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  when we got to paragraphs 10,11 with the reference to the box at the top of the page - is your teaching up-to-date?

  the conductor asked for an explanation of what the current 'bible truth' was.

  for the first one, 'this generation (matt 24:34) absolutely nobody raised their hand!

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  respectful_observer

  I decided I had to comment on the B. question for paragraph 16. My comment was:

  "The Beroeans heard this new information from Paul, and did the right thing by going back to the scriptures to prove to themselves that what he was teaching was true-- they weren't lazy and just assumed this new teaching from Paul was supported by scripture, they realized they were responsible for their own salvation, which required they prove this new teaching to themselves. That's why daily Bible reading is still crucial for us today. We just reviewed 3 different teachings that have changed recently. When we heard each of these changes, did we open our Bibles and prove it to ourselves, or were we lazy and just assumed it must be right? It's something we should all keep in mind next time the Governing Body (I refuse to use the term "Faithful & Discreet Slave") changes a teaching."

  Then on paragraph 18, I said:

  "As we discussed earlier, that is why it is so important that when the Governing Body changes a teaching, we take the time to open our Bibles and prove it to ourselves. It's so often because of these changes that people choose to leave the Organization and be considered "apostate"; if we haven't proven these changes to ourselves from the Bible, we will find ourselves unprepared if we're in position where we're challenged to prove that teaching from the Bible."

  The conductor didn't seem to flinch at either comment, although in both cases he simply moved on to the next paragraph. I don't imagine anyone there really listened to what I said, but it felt nice to say something out loud that was honest, maybe will make someone think, and is completely defensible if someone suspects I'm "mentally diseased."
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  23

  Do you know some witnesses that refuse to go to some restaurants because of the name like....

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lucky, luck, magic, fortune, etc...do you also know some of them that just shrugged it off and still went there to eat?.

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  respectful_observer

  What about Hooters?

  Haha! I still remember the very first time one of my co-workers convinced me to go to Hooters for lunch. I was petrified that someone from the Hall would see me. Sure enough as I walked in, a brother from my congregation looked up at me from another table with guiltiest of looks.

  I got the same feeling I did the ONE time I ever skipped school and walked into McDonald's with some school friends only to realize I was standing in line behind the brother who'd given my baptism talk.

  The angels are watching!!!
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  66

  "The END is soooooo close"

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i notice reported in a number of posts that this seems to a bit of a mantra with the dubbies now, more so than ever in the past.. is this because they are getting desperate for the life they live as jw's to change ?

  they don't really want to end their days with the constant drudgery of the jw life still going on, they want something different, but must "wait on jehovah".

  sigh.. i wonder if this is a small opportunity for us to sow some small, niggling doubt, why not ask, when they spew out the "it is soooo close" nonsense:.

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  respectful_observer

  I said "Dad, is the economy as bad as it was back in the Great Depression? Because if the economy is the reason the end will come then Armageddon shoulda come back in the '20s or '30s." I got the blank stare and the silence.

  I've used similar statements with the Friends TM , although I try to disguise my sarcasm a bit more.

  "You're right, the economy/violence in the Middle East is really bad!!! Of course if we think THIS is bad, just imagine what the JWs living back during the Great Depression, or during WWII must have thought Armageddon had started. Hundreds of millions dead, people being gassed to death in concentration camps and burned in ovens, and nuclear bombs going off!"

  Like Heaven's dad, they usually get quiet and don't say much. Nothing like reality and facts to deflate their enthusiasm for worldwide death and destruction.
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  10

  is it considered a df offence if you actually agree to your child having bloodj

  by brainmelt in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical
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  respectful_observer

  I believe there was a sample form letter sent out about a year ago (can't remember if it was distributed just to elders or not) around the annual Blood Card Service Meeting talk that could be drafted for parents to sign. If memory serves me correct, the gist of the letter was that the signer personally opposed using blood to treat their child, but they were trusting the doctors to use any possible treatment to avoid using blood.

  The letter must have been crafted by about a dozen WTS attorneys because it never says the parents are consenting to the use of blood, but it essentially absolves them of (congregation) guilt in case the doctor does use blood after all other means of treatment have been exhausted. This WTS-drafted letter doesn't have any use whatsoever in governmental courts, only in Jehovah's Witness courts a judicial committee.

  I'm sure someone with better search skills on this site can find it better than I.

  R_O

  Edit: the above poster is correct that it's considered disassociating yourself now, not that the Org is disfellowshipping you (thanks to Bulgaria). Yet another example of WTS playing legal Twister.
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  66

  "The END is soooooo close"

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i notice reported in a number of posts that this seems to a bit of a mantra with the dubbies now, more so than ever in the past.. is this because they are getting desperate for the life they live as jw's to change ?

  they don't really want to end their days with the constant drudgery of the jw life still going on, they want something different, but must "wait on jehovah".

  sigh.. i wonder if this is a small opportunity for us to sow some small, niggling doubt, why not ask, when they spew out the "it is soooo close" nonsense:.

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  respectful_observer

  I think a lot of JWs keep repeating that mantra because they have nothing left to hold onto. Many think that if they just keep repeating it, it will HAVE to happen.

  I've heard said by both Friends TM and from the stage, that the end HAS to be close because Jehovah would never allow His people to made fools of.
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  14

  Is there going to be a new NWT or what ?

  by sieborg in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i dropped off my wife the other day at the cuircit ass and driving out of the car park i was flagged down by an elder i know.

  he was and still is one of the genuine ones, a real solid guy.

  anyhoo, he tells me to come back as we are so close to the big a and he also tells me that a new bible is gonna be released.

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  respectful_observer

  A family member of mine (who is pragmatic toward many of the Org's imperfections but who I wouldn't describe as "awake") brought up the subject of the expectation of an updated NWT the other day. I speculated that perhaps they'll replace "loose conduct" with "brazen". The reaction was quick and sharp.

  "They can do that?!?"

  "Sure they can. They'll just say it's a more accurate translation."

  "They had better not. If I find out they feel like they can just change words in the Bible to better suit their current teachings, then there is something SERIOUSLY WRONG with the Organization TM ."

  Hopefully we'll have that question answered sooner rather than later!
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  30

  A JW husband emailing his ex-girlfriend after his wife reveals her apostasy

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a woman i've known for years recently confided in me.

  she told me she found out her jw husband had been secretly e-mailing his jw ex-girlfriend.

  he was telling his ex about how difficult it had been for him since his wife was now basically an apostate.

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  respectful_observer

  but none of them were romantic in nature except one that said, "You have been on my mind today, all day :)". She also said he had been wanting to talk with his ex on the phone and skype with her (although he said it wouldn't involve video skype, just instant messages). He even hid her skype name under the name of a family member to deceive her.

  ...........................

  There is ZERO CHANCE that nothing is going on between them. If it's not physical (yet), it's at least emotional. I have seen this pattern happen with several JW couples (and I'm sure it happens with plenty of non-JW couples too.

  1. The language of the email quoted above is emotionally charged...all the way down the emoticon. I have been shown countless texts and emails like that one, and in every single case it ended up the spouse was cheating.

  2. He's hiding his communication with her from his wife. You only hide it if you have a reason too hide it.

  If she's wants a better idea how much they're communicating, get online and look at the cell phone and text records from the last few months. It won't tell you the content of the texts, but it will show how often they're communicating. Even if she doesn't know this woman's phone number, dollars to donuts, she'll find a number she doesn't recognize that he's been texting back and forth with like crazy the last few weeks.

  Also, if she gets the chance she should check his cell phone call log, but especially his text log. If it's empty, or very near empty, it's a sure sign he's diligently deleting the texts/calls he sends/receives just in case anyone looks at his phone. All signs that something is going on.

  If he complains about her "snooping", tell her to pose this hypothetical to him:

  "Forget texting; forget Skype IMs; forget emails. If none of those existed, you'd have to be sending postcards/letters to each other. How would you feel-- how do you think I would feel-- if every day we came home from work, there were X number of postcards from her sitting in our mailbox? Is that appropriate for a married man to be getting that many letter/postcards from a woman not his wife every day?"

  R_O
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  37

  July KM - Jehovah's heart scanner in action

  by respectful_observer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  excerpt from july 2013 km article "new initiatives for public witnessing".

  4 how the witnessing is done: those.

  involved in special metropolitan public.

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  respectful_observer

  Excerpt from July 2013 KM article "New Initiatives for Public Witnessing"

  4 How the Witnessing Is Done: Those

  involved in special metropolitan public

  witnessing usually wait for someone to

  come to the table or mobile display. When

  someone approaches, he is invited to take

  any literature that interests him. The pioneers

  gladly answer from the Scriptures

  any questions he may have. If he takes literature,

  the pioneers do not mention the

  donation arrangement. But if he inquires

  about how our work is funded, they may

  explain that donations can be sent to the

  address listed in the literature. When possible,

  they ask: “Would you like someone to

  visit your home?” or “Are you aware that

  a free Bible study comes with that publication?”

  5 Sharing in this initiative has been very

  rewarding. One couple wrote: “Standing

  at the table and seeing thousands of people

  go by each day has impressed upon our

  hearts the vast work that is being done to

  reach people all around the world. Seeing

  these masses of people and thinking about

  how Jehovah truly cares for each person

  has strengthened our resolve to continue

  putting the preaching work at the center

  of our lives. We imagine Jehovah scanning

  the hearts of all those who pass by the

  table, searching for those who are worthy.

  We have rarely felt so close to our angelic

  coworkers.”

  1. I didn't realize that this was targeted specifically to pioneers. Hopefully that means no one will try to get me to ever do this (not that I would).

  2. The highlighted sentence brings very Orwellian images to mind...crowds of expressionless drones walking in a mindless haze with some otherworldly mind/heart scan and mysteriously re-routing their feet to the table full of WTS literature.
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  27

  How do you prepare your taco meats?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  respectful_observer

  Forgot about pulled pork tacos.

  1 pork butt. Put in crock pot with a can of stewed tomatoes, a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of peppers in Adobo sauce. Add black pepper, sea salt, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, garlic, and red onion. Cook on "Low" for several hours or overnight. Pull the pork butt out, shred, and put back into the crock pot and mix it in with tomato mixture and slow cook for a bit longer.