Ha Ha! Well you know what I have seen? On several occasions I have purposely sqeezed to the front of the line to get in first - for a specific reason. I've been the first one to get inside the door, and then I have RUN to the best seats. And you know what I saw every time? That the best seats were already saved (covered with WT magazines) before the rest of the people even got inside! The reason I tried that a few times was to see who was saving seats - it is the workers who get there before the doors open. They save seats for themselves and for their friends who will be arriving later. This was in Florida, at the circuit assemblies, special day, and at the district convention.
snakeface
JoinedPosts by snakeface
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27
Amusing line in April 2014 KM
by respectful_observer inunder "2014 convention reminders":.
seat saving: when the doors to the facility are opened each morning, please to not rush to the seating area of your preference as if competing with fellow attenders.
a self-sacrificing spirit that moves us to seek the good of others identifies us as true christians and moves onlookers to praise god.. ................................................................ i personally don't recall them previously making reference to the jw-version of the "running of the bulls" that takes place every morning when the doors open at 8:00 a.m. have seen it myself many times, it's always good for a laugh.
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Where does the need to worship god come from?
by Socrateswannabe inwhere does the need to worship god come from?.
this is a question that i asked myself repeatedly when i used to believe that god exists.
i struggled with this because i have never had the urge, and i imagined myself an ingrate because of it.
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snakeface
Good illustration, Apognophos. You are right - there does seem to be 2 types of people (introvert/extrovert?). I was just watching segments of the movie Gravity on youtube last night, and in the "detach" scene, Sandra Bullock asks the other astronaut, "What should I do?" at a time when they are having a crisis. It made me think about that, how some people look to others, whereas with some, the thought of asking for help does not occur to them. Maybe it is people from this second group who exploited the other group's need to please (and expect a reward from) a superior being...and that might be how organized religions began.
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Where does the need to worship god come from?
by Socrateswannabe inwhere does the need to worship god come from?.
this is a question that i asked myself repeatedly when i used to believe that god exists.
i struggled with this because i have never had the urge, and i imagined myself an ingrate because of it.
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snakeface
I tend to think ancient peoples observed how powerful the forces of nature are - wind, hurricanes, ocean waves, earthquakes, etc. - and reasoned that there must be some super-powerful being manipulating these things. Therefore the people wanted to get on this being's good side, rather than getting on his bad side, so they'd get good weather (for their crops). Since many of these things - sun, moon, rain, lightning, wind - live in the sky, they reasoned that "god" lives in the sky.
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Chat with Elder, how would you reply?
by awakening inhad a sit down chat with an elder who is aware of my doubts.
we were on the subject of new light, i was saying that if the org changes a teaching then the old teaching was wrong and cannot qualify as truth at the time it was taught, so where did the falsehood come from?.
his response was the gb is imperfect!!
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snakeface
OK. Then since "Jehovah allows his people to make mistakes..." then why is there a disfellowshipping arrangement?
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Chat with Elder, how would you reply?
by awakening inhad a sit down chat with an elder who is aware of my doubts.
we were on the subject of new light, i was saying that if the org changes a teaching then the old teaching was wrong and cannot qualify as truth at the time it was taught, so where did the falsehood come from?.
his response was the gb is imperfect!!
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snakeface
I guess what that elder is saying is that the GB is actually the "Judas class".
Just as Jesus selected Judas, Jesus (and Jehovah) selects the GB. Then just as Judas chose to become bad, the GB chose to teach falsehood.
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Chat with Elder, how would you reply?
by awakening inhad a sit down chat with an elder who is aware of my doubts.
we were on the subject of new light, i was saying that if the org changes a teaching then the old teaching was wrong and cannot qualify as truth at the time it was taught, so where did the falsehood come from?.
his response was the gb is imperfect!!
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snakeface
Bad analogy.
Guided by Holy Spirit Jesus selected Judas, then Judas chose to become bad. Jesus had no control over what Judas chose to do after having been selected.
Guided by Holy Spirit, GB teaches thus-and-so...but then, does the teaching choose to become wrong? Or was it wrong all along?
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Weekends Are Wonderful Since Leaving The Cult
by minimus inno silly meetings.
no wasting time knocking on doors, bothering people.....life is good..
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snakeface
I still get up early on weekends because I have to let my dogs out. But afterward I can go back to bed, or I can enjoy a leisurely big breakfast (and then go back to bed if I wish) or throw in a load of laundry and do some chores so that the rest of the day is free. Every other week I go out to breakfast and have a big feast - Belgian waffles, omelets, a stack of pancakes or whatever...it is so nice to just take my time and not be on a schedule.
I live pretty close to the assembly hall. Often on the weekends I pass by it and see the parking lot full. All those people are sitting there - in their suits and dresses - wasting the whole day while I'm either doing something fun or getting errands done so I can have fun later on.
Other religions have weekend activities, but they do not take up the whole day. Those churches realize their members have other - important - things to take care of on their days off from work.
The Bible says, "Keep first the kingdom." It does not say, "Seek only the kingdom," and do nothing else.
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Coworker has been studying
by MrFreeze inso i found out last week that a coworker of mine has been studying with jehovah's witnesses.
i think she said she had been studying for a long time and has been to plenty of meetings.
her grandmother is a jw apparently.
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snakeface
As skeeter said, be careful and tactful. Otherwise she could do what witnesses usually do - complain to the boss about "persecution".
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snakeface
You're definitely more relaxed and you look more approachable than previously.
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Funny experience last night...
by pronomono inmy story in brief..... after being a born-in, getting baptized at 15, and seeking to excel based on the approval of elders and my parents, i hit a bump in the road.
i moved to a new congregation, and was a little more than disheartened by the lack of love.
with all my responsibilities removed from the recent move and being told that i no longer qualified for responsibilities due to my declining activity, i sat down to do some long overdue research to appreciate our spiritual heritage.
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snakeface
Good for you! You did a good thing by telling him you'll be there for him. Your behavior gave a good "witness" to him about how unloving the organization is. You showed interest in him as a person. "Actions speak louder than words."