My observation is that IT IS NOT THE TRUTH. When I realized it was a lie, it was pretty much over. The end.
Could U Please Cite Some Personal Interesting Observations About The Truth?
by minimus 119 Replies latest jw friends
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Pickled
I think a great place to start when considering whether or not a religion is dispensing the truth, is to look at the very foundation of their entire belief system. In the case of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, or Jehovah's Witnesses, the foundation of their belief system is based on this.....The leaders at the very top of this organization, the only one's who are allowed to translate the scriptures for everyone else, claim to have been appointed by Jesus Christ himself as "The Faithful and Discrete Slave", and they use Matthew 24 as their proof. They have, and continue to claim that in 1919 Jesus "inspected" their teachings and found that they were dispensing the "proper food at the proper time", thus appointing them with that special role. This is the only date in all of their literature that they give as the year they were appointed or given this role by Jesus Christ. If you are reading this post and wondering if that could really be "The Truth", ask yourself these questions..... 1. Why did Jesus approve teachings in 1919 that the Watchtower now states were a big "misunderstanding", and since then, have changed almost 50 of those teachings because they were incorrect? 2. Was Jesus fooled in 1919 as well, as he was doing his only and final inspection? 3. Since the Governing body itself has recognized, in admitting that many of these teachings were wrong, that the qualifications for becoming the Faithful and Discrete Slave were not met in 1919.....when was there a makeup exam? Where is it that the scriptures indicate that Jesus returned yet again to RE-inspect this organization? 4. If they did not qualify as the Faithful and Discrete Slave then....they are not that faithful and discrete slave today. According to their own teachings there were no do-overs. If they are not that faithful and discrete slave then everything you are reading in their literature, however enlightening it may be or however much sense it seems to make, still remains the interpretations of men, and not the product of a direct communication from God himself. In other words, whatever they decide the scriptures are "saying" to you....does not carry any more authority than you as a seeker reading those same scriptures for yourself and asking God to guide you.
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Blueblades
Without listing all the names of the individuals and all the books ( for they would be many, so many that it would take a book to list them ) written by those once in the truth. It is evident that one can come to the interesting observation about this so-called truth that the watchtower society says it and it alone has a corner on.
History has proven otherwise.
That very personal observation came to me when a judicial committee and an appeal committee proved that they know nothing about the one who called himself the truth.
My response to your question is a simple one that took me some time and an intense re-examination about the truth of those who claim that they alone have the truth.
Really, what is truth? Does anyone really know?
Blueblades
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minimus
EXCELLENT RESPONSES!!!!!!
QL, there are plenty of hypocrites who say "do as I say, not as I do".....Such is life as an elder.
Blondie, you mentioned how you have to be personally impacted by something to make the move. But what exactly was the catalyst for you? I guess I missed something in your response.
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Kinjiro
Truth is a very relative term in the religious environment... If I were to present to you a 'book' written by the aborigenes of Australia ( just for an example..nothing against them at all) that supposedly tells the truth about our beginnigs and the truth about the future, I am almost sure the mayority would call me crazy and would put no value nor faith in those writings...
Yet here are millions of persons putting their faith, their values, their futures and their life and the lives of their dear ones based on a book handed down from some nomadic tribes that roamed what today is called the middle east a few thousand years ago! The difference being a helluva lot of marketing...
If we truly want to be honest we should ask ourselves why do we believe what we believe... why are we swallowing all these teachings from JW and NON jws without examining what we are actually believing...
As you might well infer, I have no common ground discussing religion with christians, because of what was called 'circular references' (great post by the way)... I dont believe in the infallibity of the bible nor any other book written by humans... the truth is humans lie and are deceitful.. will write anything to dominate and control weaker minds... as a former JW that was my case...
I like Jesus very much... its christians I dont care for too much... I like Jesus teachings... just like I like Ghandi's or anyone that teaches us to care for each others...
I hate bribes and blackmail... and to me that is what the bible is all about... bribe:be good and subservient and dont question and you will live in paradise... blackmail: dont be and die forever or rot in hell...
sounds all to human to me...
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Pickled
If you are someone who is reading this thread and considering whether or not you should believe what your "study" partner is telling you, consider these things.... I am not an ex-witness. I have never been a Jehovah's Witness. I am not angry, nor do I feel betrayed, I have never been "kicked out" or disfellowshipped. I, like you, was presented with some beliefs and then went about the task of thoroughly researching the past, present, and claims for the future of the religious organization you are also considering. Do you find yourself feeling more and more separate from the life you used to know, and from the people you used to think loved you? Have you been feeling like you now know more than all of your former friends and family members, and are even feeling a certain amount of dislike for them as though they are slowly becoming your enemies? Do you feel a "gnawing" feeling in the pit of your stomach in those quiet moments when you are all alone? Has this new environment you are in caused you to feel an increasing need to feel rewarded by your enthusiasm, and do you find yourself feeling more accepted the more you show signs of commitment? Have you already noticed which kinds of questions are "good" questions and which kinds of questions are "bad" questions? Have you asked any questions yet about any of their literature that is older than 10 years old? Have you wondered why asking about THEIR literature causes the same response in them as reading "apostate" literature? Have you wondered how their own literature could possibly qualify as literature from the enemy? Keep searching. Keep seeking. Your journey should produce a sense that what you are moving toward is an easy fit, a light load. Your "revelations" should fit you like a glove. Take a step back and see that this is not a good fit. It is uncomfortable. The shoes are too tight. You began this search because you were unhappy and smart and wanted answers. Consider that not just any old answers will do. You see yourself as an independent thinker......and yet you are scarcely having a single thought without considering at the same time what your new friends are going to think about it. Can you remember at what point that started to happen?
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minimus
Pickeled, that was an EXCELLENT post! Very very thought provoking!
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shopaholic
If the JW truth was really the truth - why did it change so much? Truth cannot change - it can only remain what it is. One may expand upon it, but it cannot change.
Exactly. Especially if its divinely inspired.
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minimus
If someone wants to be a part of a group called "the Truth", one would want to live up to the billing. But "The Truth" is so wrong soooooooooooo many times, how can one in good conscience claim to be in "The Truth"? God cannot possibly be "feeding spiritual food at the proper time" incorrectly, can he? Surely, God does not flipflop from year to year and make errors. Yet, those entrusted with his pronouncements regularly get it all wrong....It makes no logical sense!
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Pickled
Maybe you have been asking some questions about things that you have been reading online and have received this response from your new friends...
"If this is not the truth, then how does the Watchtower Society continue to find SO many truths in the bible, and how do they provide SO much scriptural food for us while all the rest of the religions are moving away from the Bible in their teachings?"
I heard that several times. So I decided to try to find the answer. That is the very unique thing about truth.....it can provide the proper answer, at the proper time.
I asked myself these questions...
If they are NOT the faithful and discrete slave, then how DO they come up with so many "truths"?
Is there a system, a formula, a method they use to continue to crank out these unique highlights from the scriptures with such frequency?
Never underestimate your ability in this universe to find what you are looking for.
I found a formula, and here it is:
Pick a word out of the Bible. It can be any word, but make sure it is a word that could offer some revelations about identity of the characters in the bible, or about prophecy in general.
I am going to use a word in a way that the Watchtower Society has not used yet, but also in a way that will not conflict with their doctrines at all. As a matter of fact, my findings will actually reinforce their doctrine of "God is not a trinity", and I will completely prove that doctrine of theirs without using the scriptures that they have had to add words to in brackets to make it work.
The word I am choosing in this post is the word....LIGHT.
There are about 250 references to the word LIGHT in the Bible that will qualify for use in my formula.
Lift out of the Bible all the scriptures that contain that word and set them aside. Now put them all together in any order you like. Does it paint a picture?
The first thing that leaps out is that "Let there be LIGHT" is the first thing that God does after the heavens and the earth were created and everything was still void and without life.
Have you noticed yet that the vegetation sprung up even before the Sun was created? How did it grow without the light from the Sun?
If you take all your scriptures with "Light" you will see very quickly that there is light that needs fuel to burn, ie the sun burns Helium in order to give off light, fire burns wood for fuel in order to give off light, a light bulb burns the Tungsten filament in order to give off light.........but THIS light? Needs no fuel to give off light bright enough to make plants grow, to create life. That LIGHT that was created, if you put all the scriptures together...apparently was Jesus himself. The LIGHT of the world. The LIGHT, Jesus, apparently was CREATED by God with just a word.
Am I a channel of communication between you and God? No I am not. And look how I found this amazing and "secret" truth all on my own.
You can too.