John Aquila

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Posts by John Aquila

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  41

  Missed it by that much ----------23

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i almost had a freaking heart attack.

  i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

  i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

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  John Aquila

  James Mixon, if you won millions, would you claim the winnings under your name or would you claim the winnings under a Trust to remain anonymous?
  
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  41

  Missed it by that much ----------23

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i almost had a freaking heart attack.

  i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

  i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

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  John Aquila

  James Mixon

  If you don't play your chances are zip, but if you do play your chance are 1 in 41,416,353

  That's what the relatives and friends used to tell Marie Holmes, 26, a single mother of four children

  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/north-carolina-powerball-winner-claims-564-million-prize/story?id=29164478
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  43

  Change to dress and grooming rules for JWs in USA soon?

  by RayPublisher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my guy with the lurk account on jwtalk (where all the kool-aid drinking jws go to talk about how wonderful 'the twoof' is) sent me some more interesting threads, here's one:.

  spoiler: starting new the new service year september.

  "there will be new directives from the branch through the circuit overseer on dress and grooming that will disqualify one to be a congregation publisher.

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  John Aquila

  
  

  BluesBrother

  A friend of mine in the cong , about a decade ago , decided to revert to his hippie appearance and grew his hair in a long pony tail down his back. (he was a musician ) . He was barred from the platform, even the school

  but the elders could not prevent him going door to door. That, they said , was a command of J Christ and they could not stop him demonstrating his faith ...

  
  

  
  
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  41

  Missed it by that much ----------23

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i almost had a freaking heart attack.

  i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

  i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

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  John Aquila

  I only spend $2 a week. It's all random, but all you need to win is One time in your lifetime. I've met a few professional lottery players who play for a living. It's a job like anything else.

  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/How_lottery_legend_Joan_Ginther_used_odds_Uncle_Sam_to_win_millions.html
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  10

  How long will it take?

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at some point in the future, it has to finally dawn on people that something is seriously flawed about the idea of jesus coming in the clouds to save everyone who believes- and kill everyone who doesnt..

  will people still believe in jesus in another 1000 years?

  will people still be saying in the year 5015;.

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  John Aquila

  StrongHaiku

  But experience has shown me that there are people who, no matter what, will "ride that bus all the way to the end". My grandmother smoked even when she was in an oxygen tent. Some people never learn.

  That's true, There will always be those who will ride it all the way, but we are entering a world of full disclosure with access to the internet through all sorts of devices. In the past smoking was so popular that just about all the movies portrayed the hero and the sexy girl as heavy smokers. Since full disclosure about the dangers of smoking have become so public, and all the lawsuits against the cigarette companies, the trend in the U.S. for smoking is going down steadily. Cigarette sales have plummeted. Companies are targeting underdeveloped countries to sell their product.

  The WT is getting so much publicity that JWs can't help but be bombarded with all the publicity exposing the organization. Throw lots of mud at a target and some of it will stick. There are so many waking up and it's just the beginning.
  
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  41

  Missed it by that much ----------23

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i almost had a freaking heart attack.

  i even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when i got the the 5th number correct.

  i was checking my texas lottery ticket for this past saturday.

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  John Aquila

  I almost had a freaking heart attack. I even threw my coffee cup at the wall and starting yelling like crazy when I got the the 5th number correct.

  I was checking my Texas lottery ticket for this past Saturday. The pot was almost 10 million, about 7 million cash value. About 4 million after taxes. There are 6 numbers total. I got the first 5 numbers correct which will give you about $800 if you paid an extra $1 dollar which I didn’t. Number 23 would have made me a freaking F******millionaire.

  Since learning TTATT, that is one of the first things I always wanted to do, play the lottery. The JWs say it wrong because it is gambling. But they can’t comprehend that buying life insurance, house insurance; auto insurance is also a form of gambling. You place a bet with the insurance company that you will die and they cover your bet that you won’t. If you die, they pay your wife the amount of the bet. If you live, you lose your premium.

  I set aside $104 dollars a year to play twice a week. My statistics professor used to say, “You can’t win if you don’t play” Risk $2 dollars a week for a chance to will millions, oh yea! And even though people say the probability of winning a lottery is slim, the truth is, in the lottery world someone wins every single week.

  Do you play the lottery since you left the WT?
  
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  10

  How long will it take?

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at some point in the future, it has to finally dawn on people that something is seriously flawed about the idea of jesus coming in the clouds to save everyone who believes- and kill everyone who doesnt..

  will people still believe in jesus in another 1000 years?

  will people still be saying in the year 5015;.

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  John Aquila

  StrongHaiku

  I really wish that someday we may eliminate a lot of knowledge gaps that God/superstition resides in. That eventually religions, supernatural, and other non-sense get relegated to a museum in the "This is how dumb we were..." exhibit.

  There are studies being done that indicate cognitive dissonance has limits. How far a person is willing to stretch those limits depends on the individual him/herself.

  For example, a person who smokes may become exposed to information that says, “Smoking causes, cancer, heart disease That uncomfortable feeling pops in his mind and he starts rationalizing it away by saying; “My health is OK, or if I quit I will start gaining weight which is unhealthy, or I enjoy smoking so I’ll be careful and monitor myself.

  In time he get this nasty cough that he can’t seem to shake off and goes to the doctor. The doctor tells him he has beginning signs of throat cancer.He either need to quit or face the consequences. The cognitive dissonance that was causing him to rationalize away the information that smoking is bad, it now out the window. Now he realizes he needs to do something or he will die earlier than he anticipated.

  Cognitive dissonance does have limits.

  The question is though, what are the limits for all the people like Jehovah Witnesses to finally admit that being in the WT is not only a waste of time but can be dangerous, especially with their blood policy and disastrous with their educational views on schooling. Or all the New Light, lawsuits, or hypocrisy. Once a JW is affected personally, the Cognitive dissonance wall starts coming down pretty quick.
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  10

  How long will it take?

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at some point in the future, it has to finally dawn on people that something is seriously flawed about the idea of jesus coming in the clouds to save everyone who believes- and kill everyone who doesnt..

  will people still believe in jesus in another 1000 years?

  will people still be saying in the year 5015;.

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  John Aquila

  At some point in the future, it has to finally dawn on people that something is seriously flawed about the IDEA of Jesus coming in the clouds to save everyone who believes- and kill everyone who doesn’t.

  Will people still believe in Jesus in another 1000 years?

  Will people still be saying in the year 5015;

  “Jesus is almost here, it’s only been 5,000 years since he died, stay on the narrow road”

  Won’t it be extremely difficult to acknowledge that it’s been 5,000 years that a man named Jesus died so everyone who believes in him can live forever?

  (John 11:25, 26) everyone that is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all. Do you believe this?

  
  

  (Here's a hint, people that are exercising faith in Him "Are Still Dying")
  

  It’s been 2,000 years since a man named Jesus died and every generation since, believed theirs was the generation that would see Jesus coming in the clouds to rescue everyone.

  (Revelation 2:16) I am coming to you quickly. . .

  (Romans 13:11) for now our salvation is nearer than at the time when we became believers.

  (James 5:8 the presence of the Lord has drawn close.

  (1 Peter 4:7) the end of all things has drawn close.

  The same goes for 1914 as the year Jesus kicked Satan from heaven.

  At some point, Cognitive dissonance has its limits.
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  36

  Small details...

  by Garrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a witness friend wanted to meet up recently and talk.

  since this person was a close friend and who i thought had a level head, i'd go ahead and speak with him.

  our conversation actually helped me figure a few things out not only for myself but also about the witnesses.. so we're talking and i'm telling him my experience and the doctrines that i disagreed with as well as the scandals that made me disgusted with the organization.

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  John Aquila

  One last thing I finally realized is that the majority of witnesses DO NOT want to wake up. I no longer feel like the brainwashing is all that's keeping them in. I think that deep down, they understand what were telling them and they know that what we're saying is truth, but they don't want to face that reality. For them, living in their world, they are doing something that they believe has purpose. Taking that away from them is devastating and the majority is not mentally capable of allowing their mind to accept the facts that we provide them with.

  I agree 100 percent. Which is why I've stopped trying to help wake up all of my friends. If someone is really upset about a change in the Org. I may give him a crumb to see how he reacts, if he doesn't, then I take it no further. He or she can continue to be slave for the WT.
  
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  9

  2 Little Gems

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  owing to the bbc news iro loughborough, i know of a jw couple that were horrified.

  they exclaimed things along the lines of, "how could they let this happen?

  " "that's terrible of the elders in that congregation.. i guess they think it's just a one off.

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  John Aquila

  A local congregation announced they need more money as they are not meeting their monthly pledge. I can't tell you how good that feels.

  Yep, it does feel good when I hear a congregation cannot meet their monthly pledge. Keep those experiences coming.