by PaulinoRamones 9 Replies latest jw friends
I need some clearing up, who is the angel Gabriel? and who is Michael? and witch one is the one used to represent Crist?
I would apressiate any feedback as soon as possible, i have used many search engines and they all give me a bunch af different anwsers, and many different religious belliefs and interpretations of the bible................... plase i need this cleared up.
There are different beliefs on this. And that's all they are, beliefs.
I tend to go with the simplest explanation:
By the way, welcome to the forum!
Just a disclaimer, that's my personal belief. The official Jehovah's Witness belief is different.
By the way, what's your religious background Paulino Ramones?
Well, first, thanks for the clearing up, i was raised in a catholic/christian family in mexico, after ariving here in the U.S with my mother she tryed to really get me involved with the catholic church, but since i was always torn between both, i kinda took my own route for a couple of years and became kinda athiest, 'kinda" because science is all theories, anyway, after many years; a Jehovah's wittnaess family steped at our door and since my mother was and has been always the friendly type she greeted them and became really good friends and after plans for bible study she had a talk with me on how i should give religion another chance, i agreed and after weeks of home study whe went to the congregation whare i was greeted with such kindness and not having a tithe plate shuved in my lap, it also helped that after meeting my 10th grade teacher who opened my mind on how a person should study the religion before believing, i did and found out that not only do the JW's really state the truth insted of making up theyr own belliefs and asking for money, i started studying the bible and after many pondering i realised that god is real, and i repent on my herresy and slowly have started to change, and thaks to gods good grase and passience that he has given me i have advanced so much in my school and life, so much that im in 12 grade but already in a college studying Automotive Technologies, and hopefully with gods kindness i can become a automotive engeneer for porsche like i have always dreemed of.
What about you pirata?
Welcome to the forum PaulinoRamones. JWFACTS.COM is also a great website if you want to learn more about what the Watchtower teaches.
Welcome PaulinoRamones.
You walk into a Kingdom Hall and everyone is friendly, and it seems like the truth? It has always been like that, but this religion has made so many false predictions, and changed its beliefs so many times. The Witnesses believed that Armageddon would come last century, and they were wrong. You should research their history to find out how many times they have mislead people.
Hi Paulino,
Welcome to the forum! Ask as many questions as you want, do lots of research. The Boreans of the Bible did that. The truth will set you free.
satinka
Paulino, un consejo (some advice): No quieras que alguien te dé las respuestas; búscalas tú y verás que se te abre la mente / Don't try to find someone who will give you all the answers; find the answers yourself, and you'll see how your mind opens up.
Hi PaulinoRamones,
Thanks for sharing your story! It is very interesting to read all the different paths we take.
I was born and raised a Jehovah's Witness. Overall I had a pleasant and enjoyable childhood. I am still one of Jehovah's Witnesses, but a few years ago I started to research my beliefs thoroughly. One of the events that made me start to think about things was the death of a close friend who died because they refused a blood transfusion. Although I do not teach contrary to the official teaching (as this would probably get me disfellowshipped), I spent months researching all the scriptures related to the blood doctrine, all the Watchtower articles on Blood, and the circumstances surrounding the Jerusalem decision. I came to the conclusion that the Jehovah's Witnesses understanding of the command to "abstain from blood" ignores the context (to prevent a schism between Jews and Gentiles) and the spirit of the mosaic/noahide law (to show respect for life). As you already saw, I also did not agree that the scriptures support the teaching that Michael is Jesus (as I briefly stated above).
There's a lot of good, honest sincere people that are Jehovah's Witnesses, most of my congregation is. I also found that there are a lot of good, honest sincere religious and "worldly" people too.
You may wonder why I still stay a Jehovah's Witness even though I don't think everything taught is the truth. You probably already know this, but since Jehovah's Witnesses believe they are the only true religion, they feel that any member (especially baptized ones) who disagree with the official teachings, and continue to disagree with them even after help from the elders, may be disfellowshipped as an apostate. The apostate is viewed as someone who has rejected Jehovah and his visible organization, when in fact the apostate just doesn't believe it is the truth. This is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but Jehovah's Witness family members are directed to shun a disfelloshipped one and not talk to them (the exception being for immediate family members who live in the same household).
If I said my true feelings about the Bible's teachings, I would likely be disfellowshipped as an apostate unless I re-accepted the official teachings. This would cause a terrible strain on my marriage, and my immediate family (mother, siblings) would no longer be allowed to talk to me. So that is why I stay a Jehovah's Witness.
