Hi Free2beme.......read your comments on this thread. You know..you're right. After leaving I thought and felt the same. I mean I was never a full baptized jw, but after being among them from 1973 to 1996, it is hard to believe any christian church is right. But then again, I thought, does it have to be right all the time? Better yet, who has the truth? No man or woman has the truth, but Christ does. Example......
"Jesus said to them, 'I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through Me."(John 14:6) Think about it. The Watchtower says that the only way to the Father,Jehovah, is through the watchtower. Yet Jesus said it's through Him. So who has the TRUTH? Jesus said it was in Him. Jesus said Life was in Him. Watchtower says it's through the watchtower.
Ever wonder why when you begin studying with the jehovah witnesses they have a detail study of christianism? Remember the, "Truth Book?" On chapter 2, it's called, "Why Is It Wise To Examine Your Religion?"
It's a word for word detailed study of deliberate systemically destruction of many religions. That includes all of christianity. It puts one in a very vulnerable poisition. Then they read a few scriptures to make you feel safe.
Then they point out a few things that may sound kind of contradictory. Then they read you more info on the life of a jehovah witness and how the watchtower helps you out with understandings on how to read the scriptures. And once they have you agreeing with the watchtower, the watchtower has you hooked. Yet they never really have you study why of the watchtower, but have you study how you become a jehovah witness and what the watchtower has to say. Later on I always wondered why they have you study more on the watchtower then of Jesus.
Then you leave the watchtower after years of study of the watchtower and jehovah. And in your mind it was pounded that if you leave the watchtower you leave jehovah...but do you really? Watchtower states that the only way you can understand jehovah is to stay with the watchtower. Yet you really never intend to leave jehovah, but your desire is to leave the watchtower.
All through the new Testament..or the Greek Scriptures it keeps telling you to keep the faith no matter what. Back then they had churches name after towns..like the Corinth church..which we do read Corinthians. We know where that church was. Corinth was a town where a group of christians were. No religion, just name. It was where a group of people who had the same faith.
The word,'religion,' means an institution where one has a belief in a high power. Yet ,"faith," means to rely on someone or something. Jesus said to have faith in Him.
Christianity,....a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior. So why do we need to have faith in an institution when Jesus asked us to have faith in Him? Christians, which Paul dubbed us as following Christ not some religion.
No religious church is perfect, yet we strive to be like Christ..a follow Jesus...christians. To tell the world we are christians. Just one more thought on the word, christian.......
As of some time in the 1990s Mormons began to call themselves christians. And you know why? The same reason the jehovah witnesses call themselves christians, to let the world know they are christians. Who's right? At the same time we are called americans....but then again there are Italian/americans, Black/ americans, Irish/americans, so forth and so on. "It can get quite confusing, but Jehovah and the Christ knows for sure. Isn't it true that Jehovah should know?
PEACE