konceptual99

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Posts by konceptual99

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  2

  Mock the Week Joke

  by konceptual99 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did anyone else in the uk see mock the week last night?

  it had the first jw joke i have heard for some time on tv...... i bought an advent calendar for jehovah's witnesses.

  behind every door it said "f**k off".. i creased up..

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  konceptual99

  Did anyone else in the UK see Mock the Week last night? It had the first JW joke I have heard for some time on TV.....

  I bought an advent calendar for Jehovah's Witnesses. Behind every door it said "f**k off".

  I creased up.
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  162

  True Stories from the Tower - Part 1 "From Anointed to Pedophile to Bethelite"

  by BluePill2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  before i dive into the actual write-up of this experience, let me put some things straight.. i have thought long and hard if i should write more about my experiences during the 10+ years at different branches.

  during these years i worked from financial department, service department, home office and different it assignments.

  as you can imagine one sees and hears and reads a lot of stuff going through different stations in different countries.

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  konceptual99

  I would never claim to know better than individiuals directly involved in any specific situation but I think Villagegir's overall point is 100% valid. If I had been an Elder on a JC re child sex abuse and I knew an individual had escaped investigation by the authorities then I don't think my conscience would allow me not to report it, even years later.

  The WTS is not responsible for the legal side of things, elders are spiritual shepherds(!), which is precisely why they nede to involve the authorities who can determine if a crime has been committed and consider the safety of others an individual may come into contact with. The current WTS still allows for ones to escape investigation. The policy still defers decision making to WT Legal. Elders are still trained to follow policy and not their conscience. It was 100 times worse 10,20,30 years ago.

  If an ex-elder was manipulated into essentially covering up a case from the authorities then what are the circumstances that are stopping them reporting it now? There might be some valid reasons but there surely can't be many. The recent cases in the UK of historical abuse by media personalities demonstrate that any assumption about the scale or impact from one abuser can be seriously underestimated.

  I just hope that this discussion does prick the conscience of any current or ex-elders who know of these cases and have not done anything about it yet.
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  22

  My logic and emotions are in a turmoil. Need specific help please

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am still in, and as my name says "stuckinarut"...now i know it is not the truth, i know it for a fact...but im so messed up with a wash of hundreds of thoughts that i cant seem to get my head in order.. i thought i had my head clear and my 'sh1t together' so to speak....but ..... im sure you know what i mean?

  when there are so many reasons and facts proving ttatt, but if asked to make a list in bullet points now, i would get so overwhelmed....i just dont know where to start.

  i feel like i would be like a balloon let go flying around the room in all directions trying to 'spew' out the facts!.

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  konceptual99

  - illogical blood doctrine

  - rigid adherence to flood story

  - willfully ignoring science on existance of human kind for tens of thousands of years

  - UN hypocrisy

  - illogical doctrine on destruction of billions at Armageddon

  - disingenuous quote mining in publications

  - generations changes

  - "new" light flip flops

  - poor handling of child abuse cases

  - shunning policy

  - adherence to visible, documented works as being a marker of spirituality

  I think jwfacts has the full list...
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  8

  Pointless Speculation

  by konceptual99 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've noted a few people aluding to a rumour that there will be a "big announcement"(tm) that will "shock some"(tm) later this year, probably around agm time.. in the interests of pointless speculation, what might this be?

  i am sure we can all think of some outlandish possibilities but i am interested in what could have some possibility of actually happening.. for example,.

  - sisters able to do some aspects of ms roles.. - regional conventions (nee.

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  konceptual99

  I've noted a few people aluding to a rumour that there will be a "big announcement"(TM) that will "shock some"(TM) later this year, probably around AGM time.

  In the interests of pointless speculation, what might this be? I am sure we can all think of some outlandish possibilities but I am interested in what could have some possibility of actually happening.

  For example,

  - Sisters able to do some aspects of MS roles.

  - Regional Conventions (nee. DC) no longer in rented facilities but in assembly halls

  - Blood a conscience matter

  - Long term inactivity being considered as "DA by your actions"

  - Official tithe

  - Public WT and/or Awake online only

  - MS & Elders have to pioneer for 30 hrs at least once a year

  - 607/1914 prophecy change
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  37

  What words has the WT redefined?

  by Splash in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  these days, virtually every public talk speaker thinks it's interesting and intellectual to include a dictionary definition of some word.

  often the word is in common use and needs no explanation, such as 'exercise', or 'knowledge', or whatever.. now contrast that to all of the words that the wt has it's own meaning for, and referencing a dictionary for the common understanding of it would be viewed unfavourably.. words like 'generation' or 'men' (as in jesus is mediator between god and 'men' - 1tim 2:5-6).. what words have the wt redefined that you know about?

  - i'd like to compile a list if possible.. splash.

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  konceptual99

  apostate

  creationist
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  54

  IS Science Absolute Truth

  by seekchristonly in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  if we have faith in science and scientific claims about the universe, origins of life etc.

  is that absolute truth.

  if so then if they declare that god exists with evidence then do all those who believe in science then believe in god or a creator.

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  konceptual99

  But of course: If reality pointed to the existence of God, then the scientific consensus would take God into account.

  This is a very good point. For years I believed, thanks to WT rhetoric, that science was being disingenuous and deliberately ignoring "evidence" that would counter their theories and suggest that God has a hand in things. I also believed that disagreement amongst scientists was proof they knew nothing and could not be trusted.

  As I have read and understood more about the scientific process I came to realise that whilst you have to look at the sponsors and context of some reasearch, there is not some global conspiracy to deliberately remove God from every bit of scientific research. There is simply no compelling reason to factor the supernatural whether that be God, unicorns, Thor or anything else that is similar in any form into research.

  Even when the science has to admit it does not know enough there is still no reason to fall back to the position that "it wos God wot dun it". They simply wait until there are ideas and/or technology sufficent to be able to form and test hypothesis.
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  15

  How Did "Shepherding Calls" Go For You?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did you loath them?

  did you feel it was a "privilege" to have the elders care deeply about your spiritual well being?

  if you were an elder or ministerial servant, did you enjoy going to the homes of the sheep?.

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  konceptual99

  I think this is one area that the WTS and elders are completely missing the point. Instead of inviting themselves round to share a point of encouragment why not just go on the ministry with someone (note this is from the viewpoint of someone "in"), invite that single parent and her kids around for a meal, arrange a social activity with ones you want to encourage and do it regularly. Shepherding is about being a friend not a visitor.

  Sure there might be times that there is a specific point that needs discussion but generally it's about being friends. I have been in my current congregation over 30 years. I can count on one hand the number of times an elder has invited me and my family for a meal or out socially in the last 20+ years. I was until a short while ago a ministerial servant and remain nominally in good standing. It's no wonder eveyone (elders included) find shepherding such a chore.
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  98

  The world cup

  by Laika in

  1. social
  2. physical

  4 weeks of football and wimbledon tennis in between!?

  life is beautiful.. aaahhhh!

  i'm so excited!.

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  konceptual99

  Is nothing safe from conspiracy theorists?
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  8

  "Worldly" P.R. and Marketing Firms ???? ...

  by TTATTelder in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have noticed a few comments lately about worldly pr firms and marketing companies being used by the wt.. does anyone have any information confirming this to be the case?.

  for many jw's this would be borderline scandelous considering the venom constantly spewed about satan's world.. if i missed any threads about this topic, please give a link.. thanks for any input.. -te.

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  konceptual99

  I don't know if external PR agencies are involved but I know from personal contacts that there has been a number of commercially experienced high profile elders involved in special commitees related to the ongoing reorganisation and change mangement process.
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  56

  A Mormon becomes a JW in the Feb 2013 Watchtower...

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  glancing through the feb 2013 "public" watchtower edition, an interesting article appears on page 8.. here is the pdf download link.... http://www.jw.org/download/?fileformat=pdf&issue=20130201&output=html&pub=wp&langwritten=e&option=trgchlzrqvnyvrxf&txtcmslang=e.

  it's interesting how, in the story, the young man's jw aunt and uncle switch him from mormonism to the jw faith using third-party material (the nov 8, 1995 awake!

  article), and he ends up becoming a jw after confirming on the official mormon website that the claims in the awake!

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  konceptual99

  @podobear...

  Mormons have openly gay members who choose not to follow a gay lifestyle in terms of sex - essentially remaining celibate. You can find examples of this on the web. I also note that there are LGBT groups for Mormons.

  JWs have nothing of the sort. Although it is recognised that individuals may have homesexual desires an individual could only remain an approved witness if they remained celibate. It is the rarest exception for an individual to be known as gay, the only examples being where one has become a witness (or been reinstated) after openly practising a homosexual lifestyle. It is essentially unknown for any "born in" to openly come out as gay but remain celibate. There are 0 official or even unoffically tolerated groups for ones who may be gay but wish to remain a witness.

  No one can have homesexual relationships and remain a witness. They would be disfellowshipped. This includes a relationships where the law allows gay marriage. So even if an individual did not have sex until after marriage to their partner they would be disfellowshipped.

  The only way of being gay and remaining an approved witness is to suppress any sexual desires. The other way was to go to Bethel and be abused by one or two of the top bods but they seemingly have even got rid of that now.