Raf

Hmm... should he get a free cup of coffee, or should he buy a round?

Is that a threat? It's the RULES OF WAR ™ for you!

And yet, THE and the Amzing Sea Monkeys remain in the Open Forum. Sometimes, I tell ya. :)-->

Danged Brit interlopers. Here. Invite a couple of friends.

Searcher, Stick around, please. In fact, I don't recall if you got your coffee or not, but if you did, here's another cup. On me.

Doug, I think I can honestly say that I know as well as anyone the similarities betweem the JW experience and the TWI experience, having been through both. When Refiner and Priscilla showed up, I was eager to welcome both of them. I am sorry that our personalities have so obvously clashed. It was truly not my desire. But sometimes that happens. I expect at some point that will be resolved. But I, for one, do take your statement at face value and I look forward to your contributions to this site, as I look forward to Priscilla's. Not only that, but I hope I've misjudged Refiner and that our little tiff was just that: a personality clash we can both get over quickly (as I've done before with a number of folks who can testify to that). Welcome aboard. Oh, and you're at a cafe. It's only polite to order some coffee. First cup's on me.

Long Gone, Thanks for posting that. I see what you're saying. I disagree, but explaining why would require the extension of an argument I'm no longer interested in having. I'll leave it this way: I appreciate your point, but stand by my comment.

Why I Reject Feline Sports Networks

Terrific flick. Those fights were excellent, and despite the fact that you can see it coming a mile away, that scene where MJ first sees Spidey AFTER the climactic fight was still stunning.

The church I attend, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, is HUGE. It has its own cafeteria. When you go into that church cafeteria, it makes sense to assume that everyone else there is a Christian. You cannot make the same assumption at IHOP. Or the Greasespot Cafe. But you can still order some good coffee here. And have some good conversation with some wonderful people.

A tiny little cult.

My site does seem to have benefitted somewhat. But I don't encourage anyone to leave GS. It's like this: I go to a bar. And I go to church. I don't expect people who attend the same church as me to show up at the same bar, too. And I don't expect everyone at the bar to show up at church. But anyone's free to do both. I guess this is a coffee bar. :)-->

Of course I don't mind you looking at the articles or reading the threads. That's why they're posted. I'll relay your message to Dot, with your permission.

Sorry. I have a large monitor. Didn't occur to me that it would bug other people. Of course, it didn't occur to me that a thread whose reason for existence was a computer burp would still be running four years later!

Actually, I think Herbert Armstrong taught the British-Israel thing. Ever read The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy? Makes the 13th Tribe look like the Torah.

It's apples and oranges. There's followers of the Jewish religion. There's descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Being a member of one group does not necessarily make you a member of the other. Koestler's thesis is that those claiming to be in the second group are not. And he was wrong about it. The article you refer to is talking about the first group. Yes, it is interesting.

Koestler debunked. Do a search for the word "Koestler" in this article. One more for good measure. Koestler's theory is crapola, and those who seized on it draw conclusions that are not based on accurate information. It was an interesting thesis, but as it turns out, it was simply wrong.

Diaspora. Koestler's thesis has been discredited by DNA evidence linking the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. At least, I think that's how it works. I'll look for the links.

My Web Site's main page is back up!

Oh, I'll give a quick summary as to why your name came up: This is an ex-Way site. A new poster who has never been associated with The Way started a thread called "Why I Reject Christ." This bothered some people, not just because of the name of the thread, but also because the person who started the thread is not an ex-TWI. So does a poster who has never been involved in TWI have the same "standing" (as it were) to discuss their beliefs? In passing, I compared this new poster to you and your often eloquent defenses of the Trinity. I wasn't sure if you had ever been involved in TWI. The new poster is a former Jehovah's Witness familiar with the writings of David Reed. He thought it was you. So do I. Someone else said it's not. So I wrote to you. Anyway, that's how the discussion got started. I don't expect you to resolve any of the central issues. But if you want to have a crack at it, go ahead. FYI: It's my belief that both you and the new poster (Refiner) should be perfectly welcome to stop in and say what you want.

Dr. Reed, Your impression is mistaken. The question we have is whether you are the same David Reed who has authored a number of books addressing Jehovah's Witness doctrine. We don't know for sure if you are that author. Thanks for checking in. Did you get my e-mail?

Are you sure? This forum's DA Reed has an email address that might indicate otherwise. It suggests a connection with Fordham University in New York. Fordham is a Jesuit university. Of course, working at Fordham does not make one a Jesuit, but excy doesn't sound like she's certain he is a Jesuit. She says "Jesuit OR Professor at Fordham..." Do we know if the author DA Reed is a Jesuit or Professor at Fordham? I haven't been able to tell.

Dubs are people who say one thing while their mouths say something else. They are also former Jehovah's Witnesses. J-W's J-Dubs.

What the longsuffering did you just say?

On DA Reed: really? I'd still be surprised, but he hasn't chimed in yet, so I'll wait to hear from him. I promise not to lose any sleep over it.