I think what made Crisis of Conscience so effective (as well as the followup book which is an extension of the first) is that it was not an “angry bitter” expose, “sour grapes” woe is me, nor was it a scandalous tell all. It was not anything like I was expecting. It was kind and reasonable in tone and very fair, while giving us a frank view of the inner workings of the Watchtower organization from a viewpoint few former JWs ever had.
Londo111
JoinedPosts by Londo111
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25
Did Crisis of Conscience find a market or did it lumber along until the copies ran out?
by TerryWalstrom incuriosity.i would think c of c was the grand-daddy of all the ex-jw books.is there any way to know for sure how many copies sold?
over what span of time before the 1st edition ended?
why did it peter out of print if it was a perennial seller?today, every tom, dick, and jasper has self-published the bleeding wound, 1st person singular, true confessional version of their own fall from grace.
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Jehovah`s Witnesses Boasted They have No Clergy Laity Class ?
by smiddy inwell that`s what was impressed on me to differentiate between the true religion and false religion , when i was converted in 1960 , do they still claim that ?
believing that they still do , i will say this.. what about ,:the governing body who definitely are set apart from the rank and file for their attitude towards the r&f , but also from the attitude of the r&f towards the governing body members.many do seem to idolise gb members by their actions , and the gb members dont seem to discourage that.. and not only for their attitude , how about their life-style , being housed in bethel with all the mod -cons of modern civilization as opposed to a r&f member living in a third world country .does the wt society do anything to make their lifestyle improve ?
{ did jesus have a place to rest his head ?
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Londo111
I believe it was Jim Penton who pointed out that JWs have a more pronounced hierarchy than most denominations in "Christendom".
Indeed, more important than getting paid (which as has been pointed out circuit overseers on up get forms of compensation), is the question of how much authority such an individual has over the rank and file. What happens to an individual do does not follow the direction or agree with the clergyman or priest or pastor or elder? In most denominations: nothing!
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The elusive song 151 makes an appearance.
by SadElder inthe missing song 151 now titled "the revealing of god's sons" shows up with the september edition of tv.jw.
no words or score on the jw page yet.
can't say that it sounds any different than any of the other songs they produce now.
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Londo111
Is there a link to this? I don't think I could stomach to watch...but I wouldn't mind reading the lyrics.
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Does anyone else squirm uncomfortably in disbelief?
by stuckinarut2 inas we know, every month on the "official broadcasting" presentation, a new "music video" is presented.. can these possibly be any more cringe-worthy??.
the words, music, singing are so, so bad....i mean, so bad!.
surely witnesses are not so stupid that they don't harbor secret feelings of awkwardness when they see these?.
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Londo111
I remember when the new songbook came out about 6 or so years back and I thought to myself, "This sucks! This is like some bad off off Broadway musical." And the new songs since then have only gotten worse.
Of course, when you are in, you cannot say that. A pioneer told me that she'd found the new songbook challenging, but she basically listened to the new songs nonstop and concentrated real hard. Eventually she loved the new music!
As if there is a choice. I remember in regard the old songbook, a subheading or an article that directed, "Enjoy those songs!" The Watchtower basically directs that an act of will be directed on liking whatever they dish out.
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JW marriages: “They” looked good on paper.
by Londo111 ini applaud anyone, male or female, who overcomes shallowness and looks at a person’s deeper qualities, especially in regard dating and marriage.
the movie and fashion industry does much to institute shallowness to the point that, in my opinion, it promotes outright discrimination and judgmentalism even as they give lip service to tolerance..
on the other hand, among jehovah’s witnesses, there seem to be a preponderance of incompatible marriages.
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Londo111
I disagree. I can't help but think how unlike my parents my personality and disposition is...
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December Study Watchtower - Preparing to Reveal a New Light?
by The Searcher inthe jw/wtbt's anti-scriptural & anti-christ teaching that "a person's own death wipes out their sins" (based on their lie that romans 6:7 is to be interpreted literally) appears to have had a little wedge inserted into it.
despite making numerous accurate references to the fact that 1st century christians had figuratively died to sin, the svengalis at the top of the brooklyn pyramid point-blank refuse to discuss/cite/quote romans 6:7 and its true meaning.
page 10, par.
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Londo111
If they do change the obviously out-of-context interpretation of Romans 6:7, it might be to lay down more fear, guilt, and obligation on the rank and file. And it might impact the Watchtower interpretation of resurrection hopes, who gets resurrected, and so forth.
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JW marriages: “They” looked good on paper.
by Londo111 ini applaud anyone, male or female, who overcomes shallowness and looks at a person’s deeper qualities, especially in regard dating and marriage.
the movie and fashion industry does much to institute shallowness to the point that, in my opinion, it promotes outright discrimination and judgmentalism even as they give lip service to tolerance..
on the other hand, among jehovah’s witnesses, there seem to be a preponderance of incompatible marriages.
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Is this the last chance for inactive and df'd ones?
by innerpeace inhi all, just wondering if there's anything going around about the elders receiving instruction from the society to give inactive ones and disfellowshipped ones one last chance to come back?
i ask because i have a still in family member that i received a message from, and urging me to go back.
the elders are apparently saying there is no time left.
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Londo111
I believe as the organization gradually declines this might be a real possibility.
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Reason why you didn't have the Heavenly hope, Anointed..
by James Mixon inwhen i found out what was in store for those with the heavenly hope, no thank you.
i love you jehovah.
but i also love the fruits here on earth.
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Londo111
The reason why I didn’t believe as a JW that I was “anointed” was because I believed their theology regarding the anointed, the 144000, and the "heavenly hope".
Basically, the anointed had no doubt they were anointed, just like most people are pretty sure whether they are male or female. I didn’t have that.
The anointed were supposed to have some sort of mystical sense that could not be described, (although the word mystical would not be how Watchtower would term it). But I knew I didn’t have any mystical sense like that.
Therefore, I could not honestly say I was.
I've known some people who professed to be, and while a few were not all there and there annointedness was discounted in my mind, some seemed relatively normal as JWs can go. I remember the sense of awe and reverence I had for the latter, the "genuine anointed".
Of course, now I know that they do not have anything I do not.
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Can you prove that our entire universe and existence is not a computer simulation?
by EndofMysteries inif you were a computer programmer and you were to create a simulated automated world, that would constantly evolve and self run after initial designs.
first you would have to code the rules, laws, and core elements of this world.
while this is being coded, the program is not run yet, so none of it exists.
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Londo111
The question is if we are in a simulation, what sort of computer is running it? What are the laws that govern how that computer operates? How do you get simulations to have a conscious experience? Is that computer a simulation in another computer, and what about that computer…where does the chain of infinite regression end?
Especially these questions are pertinent if quantum mechanics means that reality is “pixelated” and thus a computer simulation.
Electronic computers work because of quantum mechanics. Any computer powerful enough to simulate the universe would likely harness the power of quantum mechanics as well, even more so. Quantum mechanics explains how atoms behave, which is the foundation for chemistry, and as well as electromagnetism and this electricity which is what runs modern computers.
If we are a simulation running on a computer of some sort, then it might not be a computer in the everyday sense and the laws of physics that govern that computer’s behavior might be unlike what we observe, which is all based on the behavior of quantum mechanics. In fact, we might not call such higher reality a computer in the everyday sense at all. In that sense, reality might indeed be something akin to a “simulation”, but not in the sense of being in an electronic machine.