And I wonder how to distinguish the satire from the real deal.
I've learned to distinguish it when its over the top. I enjoy a good troll thread here and there.
How many JW apologists really post here?
by Londo111 30 Replies latest jw friends
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problemaddict
Thanks man I can abide...
"You're out of your element!"
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jwfacts
Londo - it is still worth debating with the trolls. It incites a discussion that gets various enlightening viewpoints. Just don't get too upset by people that make comments on the Internet.
Still, it is better if a person can be honest that they are just playing devil's advocate, as a good discussion can still prevail.
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Crazyguy
I agree with JWfacts, having some one like SFPW arguing one side and we the other helps my skills to lovenly blow up their dogma. Most witnesses never encounter some one that can blow up their dogma and most ex JW's really are not able to either. Practice makes perfect, for I now can pretty much blow up a lot of thier stuff using just the bible.
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problemaddict
This thread has given me an idea. I think maybe a small series dealing with the common JW mental roadblocks, some of the doctrines they are more "convinced" of, and all the while playing DA would be great.
Thoughts?
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factfinder
Makes me think any jw apologists on jwn must be fake.
When I was still an active jw I never took part in "apostate" discussions or forums.
But it is good if someone like "sfpw" helps you to see through false jw teachings more clearly.
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thedog1
I don't view myself as an apologist. Just questioning what I believe and there is no way to do this inside the congregation without being exposed to severe results. But I am genuine and am still an active Witness.
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KateWild
I don't view myself as an apologist.- thedog1
Apologist's would not read CoC or have a problem with 1914 and the generation teaching. thedog1, I don't think you are an apologist at all. Love Sam xx
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John_Mann
Have just two kinds of true apologists:
1- The hit and run (and never reappears).
2- Ctrl+C \ Ctrl+V and no discussion.
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leaving_quietly
thedog1, sorry to say this: you've tugged at a thread. Once you've done that, your whole world can easily unravel. There is no going back. I do not say this to be mean, only empathetic. I also am an active witness (but mentally out), but having asked myself questions such as the following made my world spiritual world crumble.
Where did we get 1914 from? Where do we get paradise earth from? Why do we say only 144,000 go to heaven? Why do people say we don't believe in Jesus? (just to name a few)
I can honestly say that there was no apostate who was responsible for taking me away from JWs. All I've learned was the result of doing the research myself. I've since been rebuilding my spiritual world based on the Bible. I very much believe in God and his Christ... more now than ever before. Many here have stopped believing in God. I have not. I have read the Bible from cover to cover. I have learned much, much more just by reading it and putting things into context than I ever did through WT-colored glasses. I grew up in "the truth" since I was a toddler. I never questioned anything. I accepted everything. But one personal situation in my life caused me to do research in WT publications and I found policies outlined that were not based on any scripture at all. I thought: if this isn't based on scripture, what else isn't? The rest is history.
I'm sorry to say this, friend... it will be hard from here on out for you. The only thing I can encourage you to do, if you are still a believer, is to pray a lot, and research a lot. Most of all, read the Bible. After all, the FDS wants you to do just that. So, do that. Only, read it on your own, without WT publications. And, if you dare, read a different translation, and when things aren't quite what you recall them to be, look it up in the NWT, and in the Kingdom Interlinear, and in the Emphatic Diaglott, and on biblehub.com where you can see parallel versions. When you're satisfied with the correct way of translating a troublesome verse, look up the verse in the WT Library. You may very well find, as I did, that there are a number of verses that are not commented on much at all, if ever, and they are verses that by their lack of commenting on says much more than if they were commented on. Additionally, note where secular sources are quoted. If possible, go to the source itself and read the full quote in context. Sometimes, when read in context, the idea/intent is very different than what's presented.
Your "journey" ahead will be difficult, should you continue it. Many of us here have been through it already. Some, myself included, are still on that journey. Regardless of the journey, at least you'll find support here because you know you won't get it from the congregation.
~LQ