John Aquila

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Posts by John Aquila

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  26

  Does Bruce Jenner (Caitlyn) qualify for Baptism?

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  im not sure if bruce had a sex operation but lets say someone did have a sex operation and then studied with the witnesses and wanted to get baptized, would he qualify in todays jw world?

  could he have privileges?

  the bible says the past cant be held against you, once you accept the truth.

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  John Aquila

  _Morpheus

  They commented on this quiet some time ago..... You cannot misrepresent what you were born as, it would be considered an ongoing lie

  
  

  What exactly did they mean by that? Would a person need to get reversal surgery? That would be impossible.
  
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  26

  Does Bruce Jenner (Caitlyn) qualify for Baptism?

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  im not sure if bruce had a sex operation but lets say someone did have a sex operation and then studied with the witnesses and wanted to get baptized, would he qualify in todays jw world?

  could he have privileges?

  the bible says the past cant be held against you, once you accept the truth.

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  John Aquila

  I’m not sure if Bruce had a sex operation but let’s say someone did have a sex operation and then studied with the Witnesses and wanted to get baptized, would he qualify in today’s JW World?

  Could he have privileges?

  The Bible says the past can’t be held against you, once you accept the “Truth”

  (1 Corinthians 6:11) . . .And yet that is what some of YOU were. But YOU have been washed clean, but YOU have been sanctified, but YOU have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.
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  14

  Are they banning college again?

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i wasn't alive for this but my parents and many old timers told me that at one point it was pretty much a rule that you couldn't go to college.

  some of you may remember that from that time.

  over time they relaxed that rule to that you did what you had to do in order to provide for yourself.

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  John Aquila

  Not to mention you will most likely not qualify for privileges.

  You mean like giving 30 minutes outline talks? And you better stick to the outline or you'll be removed?

  
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  28

  Education makes you leave God

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  quote from the watchtower, simplified edition, september 2015, "how can we show that we love jehovah?".

  higher education often makes them lose their love for god..

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  John Aquila

  joe134cd

  Well if that is true. Then what about the Mormon church. They are bigger and richer than the JWS, although I do concede they have a more outrageous belief system. They fund universities and encourage higher learning, and although they have much the same issues as witnesses e.g internet, they are still performing better than the witnesses. If this was true then the Mormon church would be loosing more members than the JWS.

  
  

  If that's the case, then there is only one other explanation------The WT is full of Shi**!!!!
  
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  17

  What's worse, brutal murder or fornication?

  by Tornintwo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just to give you a bit of background, i've been researching my doubts for over a month, i'm convinced that although they may have some things right, they have a lot of other things horribly wrong.

  i'm still clinging to a faith in god, because i see a creator's hand in nature, and i believe in jesus and his teachings, love, mercy, compassion.....that if everyone truly applied these (including jws) then all would benefit.. but i read this article in march and it's been on my mind ever since.

  where isis stone a young couple to death for sex before marriage (a bit graphic).. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3017800/sickening-images-blindfolded-bound-couple-brutally-stoned-death-fornication-isis-militants-iraq.html.

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  John Aquila

  leaving_quietly

  When I read the OT about who not to have sex with, the one thing that was conspicuously missing was any command not to have sex before marriage. If it's in the OT, please show me where.

  (Leviticus 18:23) . . .“‘And you must not give your emission to any beast to become unclean by it, and a woman should not stand before a beast to have connection with it. . . .

  
  

  Of course that only applies if you want to marry your pet horse, “Acorn” or your pet dog. “Spot”

  
  

  Indiana Woman Wants to Marry Her Pet Dog – Tries to Rally Support From Gay Rights’ Activists
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  17

  What's worse, brutal murder or fornication?

  by Tornintwo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just to give you a bit of background, i've been researching my doubts for over a month, i'm convinced that although they may have some things right, they have a lot of other things horribly wrong.

  i'm still clinging to a faith in god, because i see a creator's hand in nature, and i believe in jesus and his teachings, love, mercy, compassion.....that if everyone truly applied these (including jws) then all would benefit.. but i read this article in march and it's been on my mind ever since.

  where isis stone a young couple to death for sex before marriage (a bit graphic).. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3017800/sickening-images-blindfolded-bound-couple-brutally-stoned-death-fornication-isis-militants-iraq.html.

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  John Aquila

  How does that reconcile with the God of love

  Perhaps a person might consider that in trying to reconcile a God of love with contradictions found in the Bible and the evil that exists in the world, ----

  One could ask himself; is it possible that "I" am starting off with a false premise that forms the basis of my argument?

  Since the premise or assumption is not correct, the conclusion drawn will always be in error.

  Here’s a good example I found in wiki that makes the point.

  {“Consider this example which involves an obvious false premise:

  · If the streets are wet, it has rained recently. (premise)

  · The streets are wet. (premise)

  · Therefore it has rained recently. (conclusion)

  This argument is logically valid, but completely wrong because its first premise to begin with is completely false - one could hose down the streets, the local river could have flooded, etc.”}

  There are some things in the Bible that have a ring of truth, but just because some things have a ring of truth, does not prove the Bible is inspired of God?

  Perhaps we are assuming that it is the word of God because “Many” people “Say” it is the word of God.

  For thousands of years “Many people” believed the Sun revolved around the Earth. And there was undeniable proof. All you had to do was sit in a chair all day and watch the Sun move from East to West with your own eyes. No one could deny the Sun was moving and the Earth was stationary. But now we know better.

  No one has all the answers about evil, God, and the afterlife. Everyone has a piece of the puzzle but no one has the entire puzzle.

  But if you start seeing that Perhaps the Bible is not inspired of God, then it allows a person to see that some of the stories in the Bible "may be" historically true, others stories may be distorted in one way or another, and others just plain false.

  The Bible does not have our name on it, it was not address to us. We are actually reading someone's else's mail.
  

  What FayeDunaway said is good advice, “It’s just nice to be Free”
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  46

  Well another one leaves the Borg.

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i took a quick trip to the store and i happened to see a young man (about 26-28 years old) who got baptized about the same time i was leaving- about 2 years ago.

  a couple of pioneer sisters found him in the door to door work.

  one of them, a very attractive girl.

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  John Aquila

  Possibly even on purpose; I think a pretty strong argument could be made that they don't want anyone but hard-core loyalists.

  All the stuff they've been doing lately seems tailer-made to alienate conscience-classers and fence-sitters.

  Or another possibility could be that, they are just plain stupid idiots!
  
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  30

  How many times were you told, "You Just Don't Qualify Yet to be an Elder"

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  you think it's the holy spirit that appoints the elders, at least that's what new jw males are told.

  the culture within the organization dictates to all young male jehovah's witnesses that unless you are an elder, you will not get the sultry, passionate- brunette, the voluptuous, curvaceous,- blond, or the seductive, erotic, red headed-vamp..

  so unaware of the social forces that are shaping your mind, you succumb to the dictum issued by the governing body to conform to the structure already in place- if you want to be successful.

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  John Aquila

  Doctor Who

  I was told I was appointed as an Elder but I refused it because I was just waking up. Couldn't/didn't want the bs involved. Now I am trying to slowly fade as a MS. Not as easy as it seems. I actually have a couple of "real" elders in my congregation and when you say you are missing because of sickness or something, they really try to help. I think I am going down the anxiety route again. Worked once before, and the brothers aren't trained to deal with it.

  Hey DW, I can imagine your situation is a real pain. Your awake and some men really care, but you can’t really say anything or all hell will break lose. It’s like you’re caught in a spider’s web, with several ropes attached to you. You just can’t cut one and be Free, because the moment you try to get loose, they feel the movement on the strings, and they come running to make sure you’re not going anywhere. Do what you need to do!
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  30

  How many times were you told, "You Just Don't Qualify Yet to be an Elder"

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  you think it's the holy spirit that appoints the elders, at least that's what new jw males are told.

  the culture within the organization dictates to all young male jehovah's witnesses that unless you are an elder, you will not get the sultry, passionate- brunette, the voluptuous, curvaceous,- blond, or the seductive, erotic, red headed-vamp..

  so unaware of the social forces that are shaping your mind, you succumb to the dictum issued by the governing body to conform to the structure already in place- if you want to be successful.

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  John Aquila

  SnakesInTheTower

  I was on the fast track to elder until I was derailed in 1991. A made up JC (years later when I attended MTS as an elder I confirmed even organizationally it wasn't a JC) was held against me with false accusers.

  It's always something, we should all run for congress or senators, same game.
  
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  90

  After 2 years my parents make contact. The end result is that I promise them to cryogenically preserve ONLY their heads

  by paulmolark in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it has been 2 and a half years since my departure from the religion.

  i was told by my parents from the start that i would never speak to them until i returned to jehovah dog.

  a few months later they told people they hoped i died before the end came, then all of this culminating in them telling my inactive / fading sister that they don't consider me a child anymore and they have given me up to satan.

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  John Aquila

  paulmolark

  yes it is sad, but again when I saw what this cult was going to do to my kids that is when I made the steps to step-down and leave. I could not in good faith do this to my kids. SO if I can take those steps so can they, they are just scared and that is for them to deal with. The worst part about my female parental unit is that she made up all sorts of rumors about me. YES my own mother. She started telling people that I cheated on her. It was an attempt to get my wife angered with me and alienate me too. Disgusting

  That is beyond cult influence, she is sick, you are doing the right thing. You definitely don’t want your kids exposed to that type of behavior. It’s just not normal human behavior.

  I’m glad you have the wisdom and the strength to do what you need to do.

  If an ex-JW can pull this off and do a really good job of pretending not to remember them, surely that should cause the JWs to think of the great harm they have done to their child by following Watchtower's cruel shunning policy.

  Also, how could a JW shun his child when the child isn't aware of why he's being shunned or what sins he committed and needs to repent of? How could they expect someone to show genuine repentance for something they don't recall doing? How do they wrap their conscience around that?
  

  Island Man That is the best idea I’ve heard yet.