People have the RIGHT to believe what they want to believe. I have Catholic friends, Protestant, Jewish and yes...Muslim. I don't care what they believe, nor do I expect them to try to justify their beliefs. In the end, I have chosen friends with whom I share common interests NOT common beliefs.
Separation of Powers
JoinedPosts by Separation of Powers
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My Muslim friend's and the Koran.
by new hope and happiness inin another thread i raised the point " there are moderate muslims but their is no moderate islam".
now i must face the fact i have muslim friends who say they believe the koran.. well i have asked these muslim friends, if they have investigated the origins of the koran.
they have answerd " yes".
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Bible - War in heaven - Satan cast to earth - Why?
by berrygerry inreading the oct 1 1953 wt about gog of magog because of the posts about the changes of identity.. basic question:.
why would satan (whether gog or not) be cast to the earth?.
why not cast him to quadrant 4 of the galaxy?.
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Separation of Powers
There wasnt enough room!
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Why don't parents of an abused child go straight to police, why go to an elder first??
by FeelingFree ini hope i don't come across as judgemental but having read a lot on the current child abuse cases and the different threads on here, i am left wondering why on earth a parent of an abuse victim would go to an elder with the problem first and not straight to police?.
as a parent myself i know that if anything like that happend to my child (this applies to when i was still an active jw as well as now) i would not hesitate in going to the authorities as soon as i found out, it wouldn't of crossed mine or my husbands mind to go to an elder.
maybe after we had reported it but definitely never as the first port of call.
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Separation of Powers
In the 70's and 80's, when a lot of this stuff was coming to light and the eldership was in its infancy, the congregation was indoctrinated to believe that the elder BODY, no longer the Congregation Servant, was in charge of their spiritual well-being. Therefore, in order to please the almighty, one needed to demonstrate faith and appreciation for this "new light" that was more in line with 1st century process. That being the case, everything from depression, attempted suicide, cheating spouses, business dealing gone awry, and, yes, child abuse issues, were entrusted to this group of men who were appointed by HOLY SPIRIT and approved with a little green check by the Governing Body (well, actually the little green check was from the Service Desk). To go outside of this judicial process, and yes, many references were made to the words of the Apostle Paul when he said:
"When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to the believers!" (1 Corinthians 6:1 -New Living Translation)
"Don't you realize that someday WE believers will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?" ( 1 Corinthians 6:2-English Standard Version)
Yes, these holy spirit appointed brothers were QUALIFIED to judge all matters. They were not INCOMPETENT. After all, the Bible said so. So, unfortunately, these men simply did what they were told. They were instructed to follow procedures that, in my opinion, highlighted the importance of the congregation's reputation over the welfare of the victim. The victim's family, if they were "full boat" witnesses, wanted to uphold this standard of righteousness and theocratic arrangement that they were taught to believe was the God SANCTIONED manner to address all issues. We see where that ended...don't we?
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How good a boxer was Muhammad Ali?
by LoveUniHateExams inwhen i was a hyperactive kid, i used to like boxing, and of course muhammad ali.
he was a great athlete, with a one-of-a-kind style who made a stand for his beliefs.. now that i'm older, i admire athletes that are quieter and get on with the job in hand - joe frazier, for example.. i'd like to put american racial politics and ali's tragic current condition to one side and focus on the following:.
how good a fighter was ali?.
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Separation of Powers
Up and coming....phenomenal
At his peak of popularity...not as good as all that, more of a showboater than necessary....
In all though, considering the top of the heavy weights, had to be in the top 3...maybe even 2.
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Find What Your Social Status Was in the Congregation
by Mary inever notice how the "happiest people on earth" are also the most class-oriented?
the social structure in the congregation is more complex than the blueprints of a nuclear warhead, but just so that you "remember your place", see if you can find where your niche was/is:.
1. at the top of the social order of things within the congregation is of course, the presiding overseer and his family.
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Separation of Powers
Great progression and pretty much on point (one of the reasons I stepped down or in my case...UP)
I started as PO then ended by going back to college.....and everything in between.
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Separation of Powers
I heard a recording of JF and his discussion of the scorpions like locusts...an old 78 recording on shellac...bought a special needle at the radio place and played it on my old console player....SCARY!!!
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Is It Just Me??
by What Now? inwe're 2 years in to our exit from the witnesses.
we're not disfellowshipped or disassociated ... just inactive.
none of our friends speak to us anymore.
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Separation of Powers
By the way.....many of those "well-behaved toddlers" at the hall will become anti-social fanatics that can't seem to fit in anywhere but there. Many will suffer from depression, have commitment issues, and live double lives to address their problems at home.
Just saying...
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Is It Just Me??
by What Now? inwe're 2 years in to our exit from the witnesses.
we're not disfellowshipped or disassociated ... just inactive.
none of our friends speak to us anymore.
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Separation of Powers
Went to Starbucks the other day, there was a note on the information board that Wednesday nights a group that practices Russian meets there to practice their Russian and ANYONE (it was underlined) who wanted to learn was WELCOME (underlined again). Now, if I didnt speak Russian and I was free on Wednesday nights, I think I would be hanging out at Starbucks. Great way to meet friends with common interests...and guess what, if you happen to not go now and then, NO ONE will shun you...Isn't that amazing?!?!?
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Separation of Powers
1. Louis Armstrong
2. Miles Davis
3. Dizzy Gillespie
4. Lee Morgan
5. Chet Baker
6. Wynton Marsalis (only one still living of this group)
7. Bix Beiderbecke, Harry James, King Oliver (you decide)
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A question that bugging me
by wheelwithinwheel inwhy it has been deemed appropriate to assign brothers and sisters in each international convention city to spend hours and hours making souvenir grab bags full of knick-knacks.
and to assign other brothers and sisters to spend hours and hours preparing choreography, music, lighting, costumes and props, and practicing and practicing cowboy songs, pop music, dance and jw.org skits.. .
and to assign other brothers and sisters to spend hours and hours constructing giant bibles popping out of jw.org boxes and giant bibles turning into baptismal pools.. .
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Separation of Powers
Oh, by the way, because these are related to "spiritual" pursuits...I am sure they all got to count their time...