In other words "I just wanted to come on here and insult you, then run away".
I have to say that you are all the most close minded people I have EVER run across. You say that Jehovah’s Witness are close minded, but I have never met any Witness’s that are as hateful and nasty and judgemental as you all.
You say here that you've only read a few posts, but yes we're judgemental not the person who comes on here reads a couple of posts and writes a long diatribe against us. Bear in mind many of us had been JWs for numerous years and some are still currently, that is where our Judgement comes from, yet yours comes from a few posts and you are open minded? Rather hypocritical if you ask me.
I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and I am proud to say so. I was raised as a witness and baptized at 16, I am now 38. I am now raising my children accordingly. I have 2 siblings. One is a witness and one is not. I love them both the SAME and do NOT judge my brother for his decision to not be a witness. My in-laws are also witnesses. 3 were df’d for over 20 years. I always talked to them, they are my family. All 3 have been reinstated over the past 7 years, and while I am glad that they are, I don’t love them any MORE because of it. If it makes them happy, that is all that matters to me.
Good for you talking to disfellowshipped relatives, the majority of JWs do not.
I have very good friends who are JW’s AND I also have very good friends who are NOT. I personally never judge a person just because they are NOT a witness. Yes, I am aware that is NOT what we are taught, but we ARE taught that Jehovah is the only one who has the right to judge the heart. My friends who are non JW’s do NOT judge ME because I AM a Witness, like you all. They love me for the person that I am, not what I believe in.
This paragraph speaks wonders dear, you realize that you are taught to judge people because they are not JWs. You'll notice here that most of us constantly talk about how nice most of the JWs are, how the individual people are fantastic, however due to their teachings they are inconsiderate. It is this type of policy that we're speaking out against dear.
Unlike the elder who remains in the congregation even though he is there under false pretenses, I remain a Witness because I truly believe that one way or another, I will live forever in a paradise here on earth. That is MY hope. Does this mean that I don’t miss meetings? NO! I struggle with meetings and service. If you don’t, then you don’t have a life OR kids! LOL
Does this mean that I don’t like to drink and have a good time with my friends? Heck NO!! I have plenty of Witness friends in the congregation that love to party (yes, I am 38)too! Nothing wrong with having a good time and getting up for meeting the next morning still sick to my stomach from the 1 too many Vanilla Stoli and diets from the night before…..lol NOT that I have ever done that before….I am just saying….lol
Again most of us were witnesses at some point for long amounts of time. When we're talking about JWs not being normal, it's in the sense that when a belief is questioned they go into attack mode. Most people do not start calling people names when their beliefs are challenged, you are doing nothing but proving a point here. You do realize the things you describe as perfectly normal, the WT describes as things only of the world and to be condemned right?
I know that what I am writing will fall upon deaf ears, but I feel like I have to be the one voice that speaks up for the millions of Witnesses who are trying to live their lives as Christ did. That does not mean that there are some who are not doing it exactly as Jesus lived his life as NO ONE can do that due to imperfection. BUT MOST do live their lives in an upright way. And they SHOULD be commended for their efforts to remain moral in the wicked world that surrounds them. Most religions/faith’s strive for at least that.
Exactly most religions strive for that, what makes you so special for doing it as well?
I have only read through a couple of posts
And you've judged us based on this...why? Aren't you doing the same thing you're accusing us of?
but will defend my faith when challenged.
No you won't, you said so at the start of this post.
I
am not as strong in my faith as some in the congregation. But, I go because of my love for God. I go because I do believe in a resurrection. I go because I do think that this way of life is not a bad one. It safeguards me and my family from things that are potentially harmful.
Many on this board felt the same way, have you read the expiriences of unknowingly letting a child molester babysit your child because of the disfellowshipping practices of JWs? If that happened to you, I'm sure you wouldn't be saying that the JW lifestyle safeguards you from anything.
Is it a bad thing to follow bible principals? Many do, who are NOT witnesses, yet they are not called a cult or made fun of because of it.
That's because they don't exibit the principles of a cult, check out Steve Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control.
What about the Catholic religion? They are not supposed to have pre-marital sex, yet they all do. They are not supposed to live together before marriage, yet they do. They are not to use birth control, yet they do. I could go on and on. YET no other religion is called CRAZY for what they believe in. Just the Witnesses because they actually expect people to follow the principals set out for us in the bible. Is there a forum for x-catholics to go and bash those who still believe the Catholic faith?
Have you ever seen a Catholic go on a tirade like the one you're on here because someone questioned their faith? More than your religion is called Crazy for what they believe in, it usually goes with the devoutness of the follower and the pre-mentioned cult properties. There are numerous forums for ex-Catholics, ex-Mormons, ex-Moonies, ex-Scientologists, what do you think the JWs are unique in that regard?
You say that the Watchtower rules our lives. Well, maybe they do suggest a lifestyle for us and some follow it to the extreme, but they would be the type to do so in any faith. But the Bible clearly states that it is ultimately up to us as to whether or not we serve God.
I love this "You say the Watchtower rules our life...well maybe they do tell us how to live our lives". Yes some people do follow what their church says, but if they don't are they punished for it with shunning, etc.?
What about the Pope? Some live and die by what he says. Yet he is an imperfect man. If the Pope started to kick out those in the Catholic Faith because they were using birth control, some would leave and some would do as he said because they believe he is ordained from God, even though an imperfect man.
Oh you mean like here, some decided to stay and some decided to leave? Why is it OK for Catholics to decide not to listen to the Pope and talk about it, but for ex-JWs...no such luck?
The Morman’s follow the guidelines set forth by Joseph Smith because Jesus Christ appeared before him in 1820. Joseph Smith was also an imperfect man, yet his followers are not called a cult or at least not that I am aware of. Is there an ANTI Mormon group who has a forum that bashes those who still believe in the Mormon faith? Maybe there is, I should Google it along with one for Catholics. LOL
The Mormons are considered a cult. There are anti-Mormon websites, they practice shunning of family members just like Disfellowshipping. Many have come on websites looking for support because their family shuns them. There are anti-catholic sites too. Yes people bash both the Catholic and Mormon faith. Dear you are VERY ignorant of this subject.
We all read the same verses in the bible. Some translations of the bible are clear and to the point. I love to read bible verses from other translations and compare the point being made in the verse. I do not believe that the translation that the Witnesses use is the ONLY translation that is correct. But, I do find it easy to read. Jehovah IS God’s name. Some just choose NOT to use it. I love the fact that I know his name.
Easy to read and correct are two different things. Jehovah is not God's name, the WT website even says it. You don't know his name, you know a mistranslation.
Does it really make you feel better at the end of the day to bash someone’s faith, someone’s core belief that may be the only thing that gets them through this life and on to the next, whenever that might be? It breaks my heart to see you all so hateful towards the Witnesses as a whole. I don’t see any of you any different from the Witnesses who you say are being judgmental of you.
You know what does make me feel better at the end of the day? I had a girl who was disfellowshipped who was being kicked out of her house at the ripe old age of 15. She messaged me for nothing else but a shoulder to cry on, someone she could talk to because no one understood what was going on with her life except someone who had lived a similar life. She later told me that if it weren't for my messages she would've killed herself. That is what makes me feel better at the end of the day.
I did not write this to debate my faith. I will not respond to any comments. I only wanted to voice my opinion and to possibly open your minds to the fact that just because I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses does not mean that I am not a normal person. Yes, the Watchtower does give us advice to follow, but I am fully aware that they are imperfect men. I answer only to the 1 who matters and that is my Heavenly Father Jehovah.
But you said earlier you do debate your faith. And what will you tell God if the WT is wrong?
When will the end come? Only Jehovah knows. I do not set my hopes on any particular time and I don’t know if it will be in my lifetime or the next. But the signs are there, you don’t have to be a Witness to see it. Ask any Born Again Christain…….they believe the same. OH Is there a forum for X-Born Agains? Will have to check it out…..LOL
Yes there is a forum for ex-Born again evangelical Christians. The signs are not there, we're literally in the most peaceful time in human history.
Most people in this world answer to the God that THEY believe in. I hope that the God that you all believe in is kind when it comes to judging your hearts. Do you have nothing better to do in your lives than to put down people and their beliefs who are just trying to get by in this life?
Do you have nothing better to do than to put down people who are struggling to cope with loss of family, friends, and beliefs all because of the destructive practices of the Watchtower?
You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Go find something productive to do with your time and check your hearts……
Could we say the same thing to you when you're going door-to-door and trying to convert people from their religion to yours? Go find something productive to do with your time...
So hypocritical I don't even know where to begin.