@jake - wax = increase. So wax poetic means to become more poetic.
Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 07-08-2012 WT Study (GIFT MARRIAGE)
by blondie 29 Replies latest jw friends
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jgnat
Hubby couldn't handle this article. He asked me to cover it. I've teased him mercilessly over paragraph ten. According to this article, hubby's actions by marrying me have cut him off from Jehovah ever hearing him. Never mind the insult that I am relegated to "unbeliever".
Interestingly, this article prompted comments from the small community of JW's here in Grande Cache. It seems that many JW's don't feel worthy of Jehovah's attention, due to past indiscretions.
How very sad.
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Quarterback
I was fortunate to be sick today and avoided the meeting ...kindof glad I did
Really appreciated your work, Blondie.
Thks,
QB
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Room 215
thanks Blondie; nice job, as usual.... aw geez, is that what I missed yesterday by taking my grandson to a baseball game?
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Quendi
I remember having an unbelievable exchange with an elder about 'marrying only in the Lord'. He castigated his own mother for not doing this, saying she had "disobeyed Jehovah" by choosing an unbeliever as her husband. When I asked who this unbeliever was, you can imagine my shock when he told me, "my father"! His mother had married this unbeliever, raised a family--including this elder--with him, and was still happily married to him. When I pointed this out, including the point that his very life and existence had come about through this union and that he should be grateful, he insisted on talking about his mother's supposed 'disloyalty'. Yet another example of cognitive dissonance. What ever respect I once had of the man died on that day.
Quendi
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WTWizard
And, from what I heard, singleness (the absence of marriage) is also a "gift(??)". Seems that Jehovah is doing all he can to be stingy and still appearing generous by counting the absence of a gift as another gift. Which I do not appreciate, Jehovah. Nor do I appreciate that Jehovah wants me to take that "gift(??)" (which is nothing more than a default) and go to Nigeria, waste the next 20 or more years propping up a dying paradigm, and buying them time to start another Dark Ages instead of enlightenment during the Age of Aquarius.
And, ultimately, the ultimate damnation for doing so. Promoting such gross wickedness, plus a soul that cannot fight off karma, is the ultimate form of bad luck. All because Jehovah insists on giving me "gifts(??)" that are nothing more than the absence of the real "gift(??)".
That's the way you are going to treat me, Jehovah Scumbag. So, I am turning to your adversary, Father Satan. Hopefully, if you and your filthy angels don't block my communication and prevent Father Satan from having a fair chance, Satan will give me better gifts than you ever did, Jehovah Scumbag.
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Bobcat
Maybe its just me, but I find the whole idea of a "gift of marriage" and a "gift of singleness" to be ludicrous. Not unlike a hardware store salesman selling you a light switch and telling you he was throwing in two free gifts with it: "On" and "Off."
And, as far as I know, the Bible never describes the institution of marriage as a "gift." I could see a good mate being described as a gift from God. (Pr 12:4; 18:22; 31:10; Eccl 9:9; Gen 24:67) But not marriage in itself. To me it is simply an institution or a state (even if authored by God) that some one is either in or not. Whether it was good for any particular individual would depend entirely on the ones involved.
The same goes for singleness. The NWT has the words "gift of singleness" in the running head above Matthew 19:11. And the NWT of Matthew 19:11 is somewhat paraphrased. (NWT= who "have the gift"; Literal= to whom "it has been given") If you read Matthew 19:10, 11 (NWT) and replace "the gift" with the word "singleness" or the phrase "the gift of singleness," it makes nonsense of the verse.
Here is the verse (with context):
(Matthew 19:10, 11) 10 The disciples said to him: "If such is the situation of a man with his wife, it is not advisable to marry." 11 He said to them: "Not all men make room for the saying, but only those who have the gift.
Here is how they would read with "the gift of singleness" inserted in place of "the gift":
(Matthew 19:10, 11) 10 The disciples said to him: "If such is the situation of a [married] man with his wife, it is not advisable to marry." 11 He [Jesus] said to them: "Not all [single] men make room for the saying, but only those who have [the gift of singleness] or "who have singleness".
I inserted "[single]" in front of "men" because Jesus is saying not all men can make room for the saying 'not to get married' from verse 10. So he is obviously referring to men who are not yet married.
To me, R. T. France does a better job capturing the thought by rendering verse 11: "He replied, "Not everyone can accept this saying. But only those who have been given [the ability]." " He understands "[the ability]" to refer to one's ability to successfully deal with single life, not just to singleness.
If "marriage" and "singleness" are gifts, then how about "eating" and "not eating." How about "sleeping" and "not sleeping." Or "going to the bathroom" and "not going to the bathroom."
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JW GoneBad
Blondie asks: How many divorces have you seen in your congregation?
Answer: We've had our share. It is ongoing; we recently had one divorce finalize with another in the early stages and many other marriages strained to the limit with more divorces to come! Funny thing, many, and I say many of those in our congregation commenting on this article are on their 2nd marriage, servant body included. It is sad indeed to see the tears and pain on the faces of those affected by divorce!
Just another day in Paradise!
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scotoma
Once during a Watchtower study on marriage I wrote in the margins all the weddings I had been to in the 50 years of being a JW. These were weddings I personally attended total = 70. Number that were still together 35 - exactly 50% failed. Same as in the world. This spanned a time from the early 50's to the early 00's.
Sit down and do that exercise yourself. Make a list of all the weddings you've attended. Cross out the ones that ended in divorce. I'll bet you get a figure near 50%
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traveb
Is "perverted practices" in paragraph 10 code for oral and anal sex? At the meeting I attended our WT conductor just glossed over that. It's awesome how there's absolutely no scriptual backing for that rule.