He's saying to the crowd, "When you see things things occur, raise yourselves erect because your deliverance is getting near..."
Or is this when Pilate said, "Look! The man!" ?
a new member of the jws forum has posted this scan of a picture in the french edition the april 2011 awake.. i have never believed the subversive wt artist stories but this one is funny.. .
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He's saying to the crowd, "When you see things things occur, raise yourselves erect because your deliverance is getting near..."
Or is this when Pilate said, "Look! The man!" ?
or do your fingers move fluidly across the keyboard when you type?.
i admit, i'm far more proficient with letters than i am with numbers and symbols..
How often do you find that you're the last pecker on a thread?
i read with interest the thread about how people who are mentally out yet still attend (some) meetings manage to do continue to do it and it got me wondering, how do those of us who are completely inactive, no longer practicing members of the faith, manage to pull off our new ex-jw life, yet never invite scrutiny or investigation from former friends, elders, etc.. take me, for example.
i've been out several years now, but have never officially renounced my faith.
i've never out and out called it a crock of shit to anyone who could make real trouble for me.
I was very high profile, always on the platform, conducting meeting parts, taking the lead in field service meetings. I was deleted from being a MS but still had other "privileges" such as carrying the mikes, sound system, offering prayer, being on the school, being in platform demonstrations...then one day several years ago I just never went back. Never even turned in the territory I was holding. After a few weeks an elder left a phone msg to call back but I did not return his call. That was it. No one ever came by or called afterward. Recently an elder and his wife drove by as I was walking down the street. They honked the horn, smiled and waved. I waved back. They could clearly see my goatee. If they were to come to my door I'd simply tell them I no longer consider myself one of them and do not wish to receive any further visits.
i had a phone call recently.
two elders want to come round.. now i ve been out for approx.
8 years.
It appears that your reason for agreeing to the visit is mostly because you want to find out WHY, after all this time, they want to visit you.
Does it really matter?
Don't concern yourself with WHY they want to visit. Concern yourself with whether or not you want to be in a room with them while they present their one-sided arguments to you.
They are not coming for a social visit. They are not coming to apologize to you and they are not open to hearing your "side" of the story - a story that ended 8 years ago when THEY slammed the book shut. They are not there to rewrite history. They are on a mission, most likely because the CO went thru the files and demanded from the elders an update on your status. They want to either invite you to come back (on their terms) or they want to figuratively spit in your face once again and reiterate their view that you are unworthy of life in God's New Order. Not because they care about your spirituality, but because they want to update their files. If they did care about you they would have contacted you much sooner.
If you had been disgracefully fired from a job 8 years ago and that former boss now wanted to visit you, would you agree to the visit?
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2012/02/5_hilarious_social_media_image.php.
this is actually not a former witness or anything, this is a cracked style article.
i think it's pretty funny, i think it's evidence that the wt is not going to be around forever.
That is hiralious! I mean hilarious! See, I'm laughing so much I can't type.
i have one question.
very important for me yours viewpoints.. .
acceptable for congregation meetings to clothe with necktie ascot?.
A better idea is to wear it but NOT go to the meetings at all. Go somewhere else. Anywhere.
i have one question.
very important for me yours viewpoints.. .
acceptable for congregation meetings to clothe with necktie ascot?.
Yes, that's fine. Make sure it covers your genital area, especially if you have a part on the platform.
it did for me even though i eventually walked out on my terms and fully convinced of the apostasy of the watchtower pharisees and sanhedrin (governing body).. initially it was very confusing and bewildering since i was a 3rd generation born-in and the watchtower was the only "reality" i'd known for more than 40 years.. a psychologist diagnosed ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) and recommended attending a cult conference and workshop for victims of psychological manipulation.
i learnt about "triggers" that cause turmoil and upset whilst one is suffering from ptsd.. for nearly 2 years i could not answer a phone without a minor panic attack.
i could only respond to voicemails.
I have been out of the organization - oops I meant cult - for at least 3 years now. No one comes to my door when they're working my street. They know I have a goatee and that I have joined another church. But a couple of weeks ago I was about a block away from my house, walking home, when an elder and his wife were driving by. They slowed down, honked the horn, waved and smiled. (Maybe they never got the memo.) They seemed to be very happy to see me. I smiled and waved back. (Maybe they count that as a shepherding call now?)
Maybe it can help if you think of the witnesses and elders as coworkers and bosses from a job you quit long ago. Back when you worked for that company you obeyed that boss, and you supported the philosophies/goals of that company. You took pride in your job and recommended that company to other people. But then you quit that job and have been working in an entirely different career for many years. If you now see the old boss walking down the street, you know you have no connection to him or to that company; you don't care if that company is doing well or not because it has no effect on your life now.
i've been getting really into cooking lately!
i do have most of the same hobbies i had before, (i've always been into art and reading and watching movies and travelling) only now i can do them whenever and don't have to worry about meetings getting in the way or people telling me i spend too much time with "recreation.
".
I enjoy leisurely Saturday and Sunday mornings, making a big breakfast and spending time with my dogs. Reading magazines (yes, reading them, not studying them). Going out to karaoke, where I've made some friends with other regulars.
But my biggest hobby is aviation. Several years ago I took flight lessons and became a pilot. Even when I'm not flying I go to the airport on weekends and hang out awhile; instead of knocking on doors each Saturday to bring a false message to people don't want to hear it, I get to share my aviation knowledge/experience with flight students who are eager to listen and learn. I attend various aviation seminars and events where I learn more and network and meet other pilots. Through them I get to fly various different kinds of planes and fly to various locations with them. I have made so many great friends through aviation. It's as Aussie Oz says about his dancing hobby, "It got me back into life and made me some great friends. These people easily replaced the fake friends at the K/Hall." And these new friends include me in all their birthday/holiday activities; they are my new family. In fact I posted in my facebook profile that my religion is Aviation.
i just recieved a "care package" from my mother (i'm inactive, haven't been to a meeting in a few months but haven't specifically said to her that i don't want to be a jw anymore) and in it, among other things, are 2 new brochures (one is simplified) called listen to god and live forever.. has anyone else seen these?
i think you can get them in pdf form on the jw.org website.
has anyone else noticed some of the weird pictures?
Now your mother can count it as a placement!
But to answer your question, yes, they want to blame everything on Satan (and Adam & Eve) and use illustrations to explain everything, instead of just saying, "it is what it is."