Dido you are right about Russell not being qualified for a religious office one way or other he was an adulterer and he did get involved in the occult.
We have an alternative line of argument at:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/8/75868/1.ashx
which shows that Rose was around 25 years old when Russell was flirting with her. Leolaia found her birth record dated 1869.
Is becoming a witness the right thing for me
by marketman 62 Replies latest jw friends
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greendawn
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drew sagan
It all comes down to one thing...
Religious authority
The Catholics claim that the pope fills the roles of Peter, and that all must obey.
The Watchtower claims that Christ inspected the churches in 1919 and gave the same kind of authority to the Watchtower.
That is is, who are you going to believe. To me it is neither. No man can put himself between you and God. It's hard to see this because the JWs like to make issue out of so many other things. But in the end, you are choosing to follow a differant group of men.
Go to God, ask him what to do. He will reveal it to you. -
mama1119
I was raised JW and could not in good consience recommend it to anyone, especially if you have children, please don't raise them in the JW. Listen to your spouse....she is right to be oppossed, she is protecting her family
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serendipity
Welcome marketman!
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prettyinpink
RUN
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marketman
OMG... I never expected to get responses such as these! I am very unsettled after reading all these postings. It's been about three months since I began this journey. I've been to one Sunday Meeting and two Theocratic Ministry classes. And, I started and then stopped a personal study with my friend. The folks I met at the KH were so friendly and helpful. My "good friend" who has been helping me along the way is a great guy. He never pushed anything on me. Rather, he only answers when I ask. In some cases, he never brings up things at all. I can't imagine that he is not my friend and would drop me like a hot potato should I decide to never resume a study. Could people really be that blatant? Am I just some easily swayed person simply looking to fill a "void" to make me whole? Now, I am more confused than ever.
Isn't there some truth to what JWs state? For example, JWs state that there is only one true God and there is one he sent forth. If Jesus were God incarnate, then how is he also someone who was sent forth by God? It doesn't make a lot of sense does it?
Understanding Jehovah and of Jesus seemed to be pretty satisfying to me. When I was studying, it made you feel happy to be digging into God's word and learning about it. Why did I feel that way if all of this is so wrong?
HELP!
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tetrapod.sapien
hey marketman,
don't join any religions. make your own, just for you. you'll be happy. the difference is neglible. and you'll be breaking a 10,000 year old cycle that mankind has found himself stuck in.
best wishes,
ts
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Honesty
Understanding Jehovah and of Jesus seemed to be pretty satisfying to me. When I was studying, it made you feel happy to be digging into God's word and learning about it. Why did I feel that way if all of this is so wrong?
That's the way I felt, too. Until I discovered the cover-ups and hypocrisy of the Watchtower Society.Here's something to think about:
The Bible says that salvation is through Jesus Christ only at Acts 4:12:
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
Jesus said at John 10:8-10:
"All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.
Read the following and ask yourself, "Is the Watchtower Society a thief?"
WT 11/15/81 page 21 paragraph 18
‘Stay Awake and Keep Your Senses’
And while now the witness yet includes the invitation to come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation, the time no doubt will come when the message takes on a harder tone, like a “great war cry.”
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AlmostAtheist
The folks I met at the KH were so friendly and helpful. My "good friend" who has been helping me along the way is a great guy. He never pushed anything on me. Rather, he only answers when I ask. In some cases, he never brings up things at all. I can't imagine that he is not my friend and would drop me like a hot potato should I decide to never resume a study. Could people really be that blatant?
Individual JW's are just people like anybody else. There are nice ones and not-so-nice ones, generous and selfish, the whole bit. By and large, they are pretty friendly, particularly if you are just starting to learn about them.
But the Watchtower organization is another matter altogether, and unfortunately the nice people are bound to obey the Watchtower. So for instance when a child gets older and decides not to be a JW, the parents are required to shun the child.
Can you imagine a parent that refuses to speak to their child because of their choice of religions? This isn't theoretical, there are tons of examples of that right here on this board.
Your friend wouldn't be required to outright shun you if you choose not to be a JW. (He would though if you eventually get baptized, then leave) But you can count on your relationship becoming less chummy if you stop showing interest.
Be sure to check out the Watchtower like you would a new car. Don't just ask the dealer if it's any good. Ask people that owned the car and got rid of it. Find out why. Know it from all sides before you hand over your hard-earned faith.
Take care,
Dave
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Jeffro
marketman, if you are just looking for a religion - just any religion - full or happy smiling faces and glurge (and making your wife unhappy in the process), and not actually concerned about whether it's really true or not, then sure, go for it. But if you're actually looking for truth, look elsewhere.
Their supposed claim of authority is based on 1919, which is based on 1914, which is based on 607, which is demonstrably false. How the leadership could not be aware of this is beyond me, so dishonesty must be required in the upper echelons.
Not even good intentions and wishful thinking will make it real. Maybe you should help your friend realise that.