Topics Started by M.J.
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9
JW black-and-white thinking, "us" vs. "them"...dispelled
by M.J. injust hearing the comments at this week's bookstudy, i marvelled at how black-and-white the typical jw is with regard to "us" vs "them"--with the main "them" being the "churches of christendom".
this whole mindset, and its ability to promote loyalty and motivation really showcases the power of granfalloon tactics: .
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/132810/1.ashx.
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25
1 Pet 3:18 & 1 Cor. 15:45--resurrection
by M.J. inin citing 1 pet 3:18, the wts says christ being made alive "in the spirit" means he became a spirit.
but does being raised "in the spirit" mean the same as being raised "as a spirit"?
my thought is that in the nt, when one is "in" something or someone, it describes the realm that person is in.
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16
PBS Mormon documentary is balanced, stinging
by M.J. inpart 1 of the documentary aired last night on pbs.
it dealt with the history of the movement.
tonight is part 2 and deals more with the church of today.
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8
Did we miss the America's Most Wanted feature on McLean?
by M.J. inaccording to the amw website, mclean was featured on their march 31 episode.
i never saw a thread on this.... hope they will air it again.. http://www.amw.com/show_archive/tv_detail.cfm?currentdate=2007-03-31&action=previous.
here's his data file: http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=35566.
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26
NBC News shows no integrity
by M.J. ini'm pretty upset after watching the crap on msnbc last night.. they kept milking the story about their package from that psycho, constantly flashing his photos and videos on the screen--just the way he envisioned it.. repeatedly the psychological experts they interviewed told them that this course of action would only serve to encourage others.. meanwhile they interview the president of nbc news, who talked about the "careful" consideration about what to do with the contents of the package, deciding to "immediately" turn it over to investigators.
(but apparantly not until they copied some of the videos and photos).. for their rationale on their decision to air these materials, all they could offer was, "if we didn't do it, some tabloid would have done it".
they were the only ones that got the stuff!.
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13
The WTS: Masters of the GRANFALLOON (propaganda technique)
by M.J. inin honor of the late kurt vonnegut, i would like to introduce / promote a term to watchtower watcher land: granfalloon.
this was a term vonnegut invented in the novel cat's cradle, meaning (in his words) "a proud and meaningless association of human beings".. but the point goes beyond disparaging the "meaning" of certain human "associations".. it turns out that vonnegut touched on a basic human tendency, that an individual's self-concept is largely derived from the social groups he/she perceives his/her self to be a part of.
in other words, our own definition of who we are to a large extent is wrapped up the various social categories we put ourselves into.
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10
Are the anointed declared righteous? While Great Crowd is not?
by M.J. inin the revelation bookstudy this week, there was a subtle suggestion of another fundamental difference between members of the 144,000 and the great crowd:.
*** re chap.
9 p. 46 pars.
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13
Why was instruction given to "abstain...from things strangled?"
by M.J. inwhat was the reasoning behind that instruction in acts 15:20,29?.
was it simply due to the fact that an animal dying by strangulation would retain more blood than various forms of slaughter?.
was it in reaction to a ritual or practice that had connections to idolatry at the time?.
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10
Know of a commentary on Revelation BETTER than the Rev Climax book?
by M.J. inknow of a good commentary/analysis of revelation?
a reference that's faithful to the concept of exegesis rather than eisegesis*?.
a good antidote to the revelation climax book currently being studied by jws?.
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23
Has anyone ever submitted a "Question from Readers"?
by M.J. in...and had it printed, perhaps?.
just wondering.
what's the process on doing this anyway?