Welcome to JWN, Elizabeth! Remember, JWs believe THEY, and only they, have The Truth. So anything YOU have to say is wrong or untrue unless you agree with them.
So here is your JWN gift... you're going to need it.
Frustrated with JW Bible study!
by ElizabethTravers 31 Replies latest watchtower bible
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leavingwt
I am a Christian & My goal is to show them that the Watchtower Teachings are twisted and misleading from the real Truth, that Jesus is God. And with that realisation I hope that they can come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour (& God) & be saved from their deception.
Unfortunately, the JW mind is not focused on reality/data/facts/Scriptures/Jesus.
The JW mind is controlled, as a result of Thought Reform (sometimes called Mind Control). Because of fear and guilt, subtly implanted over years in the mind of the JW, they will defend doctrines which have no basis in Scripture or reality. Why? They must. They must remain loyal to leadership at all costs. Why? If they don't, they TRULY believe that "Jehovah" will kill them soon at Armageddon.
The book and article below may be helpful. A word of caution, however: If the JW is truly happy, it's nearl impossible to reach him.
Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan
http://www.amazon.com/Combatting-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0892813113
Understanding Mind Control Among Jehovah's Witnesses
http://www.freeminds.org/psychology/mind-control/mind-control-or-brainwashing.html
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keyser soze
Hi Elizabeth, and welcome! As others have stated, JWs believe their own interpretation of scripture to be correct. More importantly, they rely on the WTS for that interpretation, because they believe them to be God's chosen channel. You must first get them to question that belief before you can challenge their interpretation of scriptures relating to the trinity or any other doctrine.
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JimmyPage
Arguing doctrine with a JW will get you nowhere. You will have better results trying to subtly get them to see that they are in a mind control cult. Try to help them see what they might be doing if they weren't JWs. This brings out their authentic personalities.
If you can shatter their belief that the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is God's "faithful and discreet slave" the rest of their beliefs will come tumbling down. You might review their history of false prophecies to help accomplish this.
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WTWizard
It is almost impossible to win an argument with a group of people that will happily alter the meanings of words to what they want them to mean. You could well be in the right, but they only need alter one letter of a scripture or redefine a word on you, and destroy your sound arguments.
You are probably better off to discontinue the study on the grounds that they are tampering with meanings of words and scriptures. No matter what proof you can find from the Bible that Jesus is God, they are going to find something out of context to disprove it. Hey, if they can say "Evidently, Jesus meant the group of people whose lives intersect with those who saw the beginning of the end" for a generation, they can tamper with the meaning of anything to prevent themselves from losing arguments.
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jonathan dough
I am annoyed that every single verse I used from the book did not help! They appear to be bullet proof
Follow these links for the answer. The JWs are wrong about everything, especially their stance on the Trinity. Far from bullet proof.
Proof texts that Jesus was, and is, God.
21) Phillip said to Jesus: Show us the Father - (John 14:8-10)
22) Jesus Christ resurrected Himself - (John 2:19 - 22)
24) The Father and I are one - (John 10:27-30)
27) The eternal Christ was not created - (Isaiah 9:6)
30) Prior to His incarnation Christ subsisted in the form (morphe) of God - (Philippians 2:6)
32) The Word was “begotten,” but not made, not created - (John 1:14)
33) The Messiah of the Old Testament stems from eternity - (Micah 5:2; Proverbs 8:22)
34) The Almighty says of Jesus “Your throne, Oh God, is forever and ever” - (Hebrews 1:8, 9)
35) Thomas called the resurrected Jesus “My Lord and my God” - (John 20:26 - 29)
36) Jesus refers to Himself as the “I AM,” which is God’s own self-designation - (John 8:58)
37) And the Word was God - (John 1:1)
Jesus Christ is not Michael the Archangel as the Jehovah's Witnesses teach.
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Quillsky
Elizabeth:
This is the real truth about Jehovah's Witnesses. It's all social, in the expanded meaning of the word social.
It's about family, and friends, their way of life, and way of seeing themselves. When I was a JW you could have argued me to death on doctrine and I couldn't have cared less. Even now, discussion about 607 and the trinity and bible prophecy makes my eyes glaze over.
That's the truth.
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Quillsky
Having said that, there are certainly some individual people who care about doctrine, and the bible, and worship. Clearly for example on this thread there are some people who care.
But the balance of probability lies in the two sisters calling on you being "social" Jehovah's Witnesses. The vast majority are.
None of the very many former-Witnesses I know in my real life have any interest in discussing doctrine, online or offline. For them it's simply not about the technicalities of the beliefs.
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garyneal
Quillsky,
That's not saying much for their loyalty towards their worship "...in spirit and in truth." I mean, they criticize the people in Christendom's churches for attending solely for the benefit of socializing and here they are guilty of the same thing.
My wife believes that the information that has caused me to reject them as having "da troof" came from apostate opposers like you all who leave "da troof" simply because you want to lead immoral lives or go do something Jehovah does not approve of like celebrate a Holiday. In other words, you guys are out because you just want to do your own thing and I am just believing your statements about the WT without checking things out for myself.
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Quillsky
garyneal, it's about so much more than socializing. It's as in social life. Family life. Way of life.